Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 11-11-2020

WEDNESDAY 11th November, 2020

' No.106180

HOPE RESTORED –– in first 100 days, groundwork laid to reboot economy, build inclusive society, transform lives, put Guyana on path to rapid development SEE STORY ON PAGE 3 & SUPPLEMENT INSIDE►

Parents in custody after infant dies under suspicious circumstances

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240 gain employment with Rose Hall Estate

‘Aunty Ramdularie’ unbeaten on 100 –– still caring for herself and others

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First Lady, Arya Ali, presents a bouquet to Aunty Ramdularie of Leguan, who turned 100 on Monday, in the presence of the centenarian’s family members (Office of the First Lady photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

240 gain employment with Rose Hall Estate ––130 hectares of land prepared for planting, factory being repaired

By Navendra Seoraj THE shuttered Rose Hall

Sugar Estate, since restarting operations about two months ago, has so far cre-

ated employment for 240 persons, 99 per cent of whom were retrenched when the

estate was closed in 2017.

The estate is on course to producing sugar by 2022, but management of the estate has said that the facility will rehire most of its employees by July 2021.

In 2017, the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition Government had announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of persons without jobs or sources of income. The move saw four sugar estates being closed and 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs.

The Rose Hall Estate, prior to its closure, was ‘home’ to some 2,500 sugar workers, but

Manager of the Rose Hall Estate, Aaron Dukhia (Stabroek News photo)

1,181 of those were retrenched.

The remaining workers from the Rose Hall Estate were transferred to Blairmont Estate over in West Coast Berbice and Albion Estate on the Corentyne.

“We have so far employed 240 persons… 99 per cent

of them are those who were severed, while two to three were hired outside,” said Manager of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate, Aaron Dukhia, during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, on Tuesday.

The current staff complement is just 10 shy of 250, the projected number of employees for this year.

Dukhia had told this publication that the estate will have about 1,900 workers by July/ August 2021, and will have a full complement of 2,500 workers when the estate hires cane harvesters in 2022. Preference will be given to persons who were once employed with the estate.

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‘Aunty Ramdularie’ unbeaten on 100 –– still caring for herself and others A HUMBLE life on the island of Leguan is all “Aunty Ramdularie,” as she is referred to in her hometown, has grown to know in her 100 years of existence, but, like a fruit, the journey gets “sweeter” with time.

The proverbial bat was lifted on Monday for Ms. Ramdularie when she reached her milestone 100 years on this planet; an achievement like no other on the island.

Born on November 9, 1920, Aunty Ramdularie

First Lady Arya Ali interacting with ‘Aunty Ramdularie’

grew accustomed to an expanse of water around her, moving from one end of the island to another, but never off.

Vice-Chairman of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Sheik Ayube told this publication that Ms. Ramdularie was raised on the island, where she got married and gave birth to six children.

Her story and journey are not about pomp and show, but a modest one as a simple housewife who loves caring for people, something she continues to do even to this day.

Ms. Ramdularie lives with three of her great-grandchildren, who enjoy meals and other treats prepared by their ‘loving’ great-grandmother.

Ayube said although the

woman has an issue with her ears, she is capable of doing anything; justifying the popular saying, “age is just a number.”

In recognition of Ms. Ramdularie’s milestone, First Lady Arya Ali travelled to Leguan to celebrate with the centurion.

The First Lady in a post on her Facebook page, said: “I was honoured to spend time with her. Our elders are a source of wisdom and strength. They travelled roads that we are yet to travel, have seen things we are yet to see, and have given of themselves in ways we are yet to give.

“They deserve every bit of recognition, love, compassion, and honour, for without them our journey would be much more difficult.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

HOPE RESTORED

–– in first 100 days, groundwork laid to reboot economy, build inclusive society, transform lives, put Guyana on path to rapid development

By Navendra Seoraj RESTORING balance to an economy ‘rattled’ by a fivemonth elections impasse and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, while protecting people, has been the foremost aim of the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government over the past 100 days in the office, said President, Dr. Irfaan Ali. Guyana’s economy, according to President Ali, was in a state of “neglectful distress”, especially during the five-month impasse after polling day on March 2, 2020, when people not only patiently awaited the election results, but were ‘forced’ to confront the effects of the pandemic, alone.

The perilous conditions persisted, while the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) engaged in corruption, squander-mania, unauthorised forays in the public purse and the unlawful disposal of public resources, the President lamented.

“These and other iniquities occurred whilst our people were being subjected to extreme hardships. The coronavirus pandemic triggered a downturn in production, a slowdown of business and the loss of jobs and income.

“Many families struggled to put food on their tables; many small businesses found themselves in a financially perilous state. Schools had to be closed; examinations adjusted and our health care system was left to rot with no basic medical supplies procured in the last two years,” said President Ali in his address to the nation on the Government’s 100 days in office.

He contended that instead of a comprehensive, coherent

and coordinated response to address the pandemic, the former Government’s reaction was illusory, incoherent and inept.

Testing was ‘abysmally’ low, while many regional hospitals were ill-equipped to treat severe cases of COVID-19, President Ali lamented, adding: “When we assumed office, we found insufficient quantities of testing kits, testing equipment, protective gear for frontline workers, ventilators and oxygen concentrators. The much-vaunted Infectious Diseases Hospital turned out to be an inoperable, bare-boned facility.”

On a macro level, public administration was anemic, said President Ali, noting that assessments, which the new Government conducted in ministries, Government agencies and departments, and in public corporations, found appalling levels of incompetence, maladministration, gaps in the delivery of public services and poor or absent policy directives.

NEVER BEEN DAUNTED “The PPP/C administrations, however, have never been daunted by challenges.

When the nation’s interest so demands, the PPP/C has always risen to the occasion.

And, true to form, we have commenced the task of remedying the lamentable state of affairs which we inherited.

We have over the past 100 days delivered,” said the Head of State.

The Government, he said, did not need to formulate a 100-day plan because development, for his administration, is not a sideshow but a sustainable process. Instead, the PPP/C’s constituted the government’s pact with the people.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali

“The tasks, which we have set after widespread consultations, commit us to work day-in, day-out to ensure opportunities, engineer equality and entrench national unity,” said President Ali. Delivering betterment was, however, not done in isolation, so the President extended gratitude to frontline health workers, teachers and members of the Joint Services who were equally involved in safeguarding the citizens of Guyana.

Over the past 100 days, the Government and other stakeholders have responded responsibly to the health crisis; they are rebooting the economy, relieving citizens’ burdens, restoring hope, rebuilding confidence and re-engineering development.

Among the measures employed to “relieve the

burdens” were the $25,000 COVID-19 cash grant; the $150 million for risk allowances for frontline health workers; the two-week taxfree payout to the Joint Services; the removal of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on water and electricity; and free water and increased pensions for the elderly.

Housing is a basic need which the Government also intends to satisfy, and it has already started to prepare the groundwork to deliver on the promise of 50,000 house lots over the next five years.

REBOOTING THE ECONOMY “Another of our immediate priorities was the rebooting of our economy while ensuring that our people and society were protected. We came into Government with-

240 gain employment with ...

Workers currently employed with the estate are focusing on tasks which include the planting of feeding materials, which will be used to create more planting materials for cultivation, and preparing the factory for repairs in 2021.

“We have managed to prepare 103 hectares of land and that is because of the rain, there was a cut…that is now being prepared for planting to start at the end of January,” said

Dukhia, adding: “Well that plant will be used for feeding material for the second crop planting of 2021…we will prepare land and cane next year for sugar production in 2022.”

Regarding work on the factory, the estate manager said they have started to “loose down” sections in preparation for “major repairs” next year.

Close to $700 million will be spent on the facility by February, but management

of the estate is anticipating limited expenditures because they have already reduced the tillage programme.

“Right now we are busy with the factory, rehabilitation of the structures, looking at housing for staff and we are busy getting up the bill of quantities for a lot of structures, with the hope that come next year, we can get work started,” said Dukhia.

The new Government of

Guyana has already released $3B to GuySuCo, of which $2.2B will be used for re-opening of the three estates and the remaining $0.8B will be used to re-capitalise the current assets to help achieve outlined objectives.

The Rose Hall Sugar Estate alone is capable of producing up to 38,000 tonnes of sugar, but the acting CEO had said the estate will be starting the “first grinding year” (2022)

out a budget. In record time, we crafted an emergency budget which included measures aimed at nursing our economy to good health, stimulating our economic sectors, attracting new investments, creating employment and improving the economy’s competitiveness,” said President Ali. In this year’s emergency budget, the Government has instituted measures to improve competitiveness including providing tax concessions on mining, agro-processing, cold storage and packaging; the removal of VAT on exports and allowing exporters, including those in the fishing, rice and timber industries, to reclaim input VAT. The Government has also removed the VAT on fertilisers, agro-chemicals, pesticides, and key inputs into the poultry sector.

“We are reigniting the engines of commerce and industry. Our people are being put back to work. Small businesses are regaining ground with the co-operation of financial institutions and financial initiatives of my Government. Investment interest is high. Our economy will be made robust again in a positive development trajectory,” said President Ali. Although new investments are important, there continues to be focus on the development of traditional sectors, which are integral to aligning Guyana along a positive development trajectory.

The sugar industry is already being resuscitated with the reopening of three estates; RUSAL has expressed interest in restarting operations here, while other investors have an interest in mining bauxite as well; and efforts are being made to revitalise the forestry sector, among

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other things.

On the other hand, as part of ensuring there is a diversified economy, the Government has liberalised the telecommunication sector, releasing a 30-year monopoly on the sector held by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).

“We are also eager to ensure that tourism emerges as a major growth pole in the future. In our first 100 days, we launched an Expression of Interest for the development of new hotels which has proven that there are tremendous interest in this sector.

In addition, we have engaged in discussions with a number of airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, West Jet and Inter-Caribbean Airways with a view to having them service the Guyana route,” said President Ali. An attractive sight will be below those flying over Guyana, as the Government has started the groundwork for transformational infrastructural change.

Among some of the impending projects are the new Demerara Harbour Bridge; a bridge connecting Guyana and Suriname; the four-lane East Coast Demerara-East Bank Demerara bypass road; a new four-lane road from the site of the new Demerara Harbour Bridge to Parika; and the 250-megawatt gas-to-energy project.

“Guyana’s prospects have never been more promising. We will translate that promise into prosperity. Guyanese can look forward to a better life under the PPP/C administration. Despite the monumental challenges which we faced, we have defied expectations and delivered progress,” President Ali assured.

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with about 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes of sugar. And, as cultivation increases, production will be ramped up to 38,000.

Guyana, in the past, had depended heavily on revenue from sugar, which was one of the country’s largest income earners until it started ‘drowning’ in debt. The industry became insolvent mainly because the cost of production was higher than the market price for the commodity.

It was reported in the past that GuySuCo produced sugar at an average cost of US$0.35 per pound while world market prices have averaged US$0.16 per pound.

Although the sugar industry has been considered a liability for years, the new People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration is hoping to “lift the industry from the ashes.”

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guyana CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Standard for street-vended food must be followed STREET vending has increased significantly within recent months as many persons are now operating food stands in Central Georgetown and other parts of the country in an effort to sustain themselves and their families.

Additionally, locals and nationals of neighbouring countries can often times be seen with their push carts and food trucks filled with eatables.

As Guyana celebrates Tourism Awareness Month, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is reminding these entrepreneurs of its existing standard governing street-vended food.

GNBS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Lloyd David, during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle,

explained that this national standard was developed to serve as a code of practice for food vendors.

This standard, he added, focuses on the presentation and preparation of street-vended food.

According to the standard, food vendors are required to undergo medical examinations and obtain a valid food-handler certificate.

These measures, David said, are necessary to ensure that all food vendors are in good health and have access to the relevant knowledge pertaining to proper food handling etiquette. In so doing, their customers will be protected.

Further, the standard highlights the importance of appropriate clothing and garments. Regarding this,

A food vendor in Central Georgetown taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Delano Williams photo).

Wednesday November 11, 2020 - 01:00hrs - 02:30hrs

GNBS Public Relations Officer, Lloyd David

David said it covers the transportation and storage of food items and the proper disposal of waste materials.

“Vendors have a host of food items that they use-sausages, chicken, bread-and so on, and we are cognizant that they might not

have the best storage facility at their vans or their carts or so, but we try to remind them to at least be mindful of how they store these food items and how to transport it and when they receive it, what kind of container can be used to store their items,” David explained.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the GNBS standard also speaks to the importance of adequate food-heating equipment.

David explained that these heating equipment are important to prevent bacteria from growing and possibly causing food-borne illness.

He reminded that vendors have an obligation to

--GNBS warns not just keep their facilities clean, but to ensure that any spots selected to vend are hygienic.

“We want the vendors to not just choose any random spot because it’s open. We want them to ensure that they select spots that are hygienic, not close to where persons dump their garbage or put their garbage bins, because that would encourage not just a smell, but also flies and we wouldn’t want flies being on the item people would have to consume,” he added.

David said that given the COVID-19 pandemic,

it is even more important for street vendors to comply with the standard.

“The GNBS generally expects the standard to be followed, but especially now with the COVID pandemic, we expect them to ensure that their customers are protected from any potential spread. Right now, it’s Tourism Awareness Month and the vendors may be getting more customers, but locals and tourists who may want to try their items, and we want everyone to be protected,” David stressed.

Senior Superintendent admitted to Guyana Bar

WHAT started as a dream 11 years ago has now become a reality for Senior Superintendent of Police Edmond Cooper, who was on Tuesday admitted to the local Bar. Cooper, who joined the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in 1992, will now be able to practise law here in Guyana.

“It wasn’t easy; it was very difficult, because I had a lot of challenges in the organisation, but I triumphed,” Cooper said. “It was resilience, courage and help from God that brought me this far,” he told the media after his admission ceremony.

--in fulfilment of a long-held dream

He said that if given the opportunity by the GPF, he will be embarking on a training programme to share the knowledge he has gained with his colleagues to “up their game”, in a bid to bring back respect to the GPF. “Education is the key to success,” Cooper said as he urged colleague policemen and women to further their education and remain committed to what they do.

“You might have challenges and roadblocks while you pursue your goal, but continue. Don’t stop!” the

Newly sworn-in Attorney-at-Law, Senior Superintendent of Police, Edmond Cooper

newly-appointed lawyer said.

He was admitted by Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire at the Demerara High Court, following the presentation of a petition by prominent Attorneys-at-Law Ronald BurchSmith and Mark Waldron.

The petition contained a brief biography on Cooper, who hails from the East Ber-

bice village of Nurney.

And while he is not the only one from the village to have gravitated to the Force, he is the first to have been elevated to the rank of Senior Superintendent.

He joined the GPF on September 14, 1992, as an apprentice, and was sworn in as a Constable on April 30, 1993. He started out as See page 5

guyana CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Extension granted to keep GRA staff in custody

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--as probe intensifies into Belgium cocaine ‘bust’

THE Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Tuesday obtained an extension from the court to further detain two Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) officers, as law enforcement officers continue their probe into Belgium’s seizure of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine.

Other suspects in the matter have been released on bail, and are required to keep in contact with investigators.

Their arrest comes after it was discovered that the scanned images of the containers that were taken at the Georgetown city’s port were deleted and have not

yet been recovered, as the technical issues are still being addressed, one investigator has confirmed.

Four containers reportedly left Guyana on September 25, and were shipped by Marlon Primo’s MA Trading, of Atlantic Ville, East Coast Demerara, to the consignee, Lotraco Recycling BV, in the Netherlands.

Primo is suspected to have fled to neighbouring Suriname.

Reports indicate that three of those containers were scanned, but the images were later deleted.

Home Affairs Minister

Robeson Benn has since expressed alarm at the size of the ‘bust’, and the fact that the shipment was able to pass undetected through Guyana’s surveillance systems.

“We are extremely alarmed at the shipment; the fact that it managed to escape, or was allowed to pass through the surveillance system, in terms of container scanners, container checks and all those things in relation to the matter,” he said.

The Guyana Chronicle has been reliably informed that CANU will be offering Primo protection and secu-

Senior Superintendent admitted ...

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a general-duty rank at the Springlands Police Station, and later rose to the rank of Police Prosecutor, in which position he would serve for 14 years.

He was later elevated to the rank of Station Sergeant for the Sparendaam, Beterverwagting, and Cove & John Police Stations, respectively, before going on to serve as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Bartica, Linden, Cove & John, and Port Kaituma Police Stations.

Later, he would simultaneously hold the positions of Officer-in-Charge of the Impact Base at the Brickdam Police Station

and Court Superintendent, following which he was appointed Deputy Commander of ‘A’ Division, Linden, and Berbice, respectively. More recently, however, he was appointed Commander of ‘D’ Division, ‘C’ Division, and Region Five.

He’s also served at one point or the other as OIC of the Project Office; Acting Force Training Officer; and Acting Second-in-Charge of Force Administration.

Cooper is the holder a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Guyana; an International Diploma in Leadership Studies from the American University of Peace Studies; and a Diploma in Private Inves-

tigation from Penn Foster College, in the USA. He also holds a Diploma in Public Safety and Security Management from the University of Guyana; a Certificate in Criminology from the University of Guyana; a Diploma in Legal Studies; a Masters of Arts in Legal Studies; as well as a Major in Criminology, Industrial Relations and Sociology and a Legal Education Certificate (LEC) from the Hugh Wooding Law School.

Cooper is also currently pursuing a PhD in Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism at the Charisma University, in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

rity, since he has expressed fear for his safety.

It was also discovered that the ship carrying the container had stopped in Guadeloupe for a few days, before making the onward journey to Belgium, and so CANU is now trying to ascertain whether the seals on the container are the same ones it left Guyana with.

The 11.5 tonnes of cocaine were neatly packed in a safe inside the container, which was then covered with

scrap metal.

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Belgian authorities are collaborating on the find.

Counter-narcotics prosecutors say they had tracked the trans-Atlantic journey of the cocaine from Guyana, on the north-eastern coast of South America, and seized it upon its arrival at the Belgian port of entry in Antwerp.

The catch is “the largest overseas drug bust ever,

worldwide,” federal prosecutors are quoted as telling the Belgian media, and that the estimated street value of the drug load is €900 million.

Three police officers, a port manager, and a lawyer were among some 20 persons ho have been arrested as part of the operation targeting the “well-structured” criminal organisation suspected of orchestrating large and “regular” drug shipments from South America to Belgium.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Tajeram Mohabir

New hope for sugar workers THE struggles of Mangru (only name), a cane harvester at the Rose Hall Sugar Estate, resonate with the families of many sugar workers. He was employed at the estate since he was a teenager.

Prior to that he did odd jobs to assist his mother eke out a livelihood for the family. His father was a cane-cutter, but alcohol consumed his life and little or none of his earnings reached his home on paydays. His first stop was at the local bar. As eldest brother to five siblings he had little choice but to leave school at a tender age and help to augment the meagre earnings his mother garnered from her kitchen garden and the poultry she reared.

When he had reached legally employable age, he sought work at the sugar estate and was employed as a cane-harvester.

Like most rural youths, Mangru was married by his parents to a girl he hardly knew, whose parents had asked his parents for a match between the two young people.

Five children followed in quick succession and Mangru swore that his children would be spared his fate.

He did his back-breaking job, wielding his cutlass on the canes and fetching the heavy bundles to be loaded onto the punts, in rain and sun. The pay from that job he handed over to his wife to run the home. She helped by cultivating a kitchen garden and rearing poultry as his mother had done.

After he returned home from the canefield he would still work on a plot of land he had been gifted by his father-in-law, where he cultivates rice. Both his jobs are labour-intensive and punitive, but he was determined that each of his children would be provided the education that he had been denied.

He also sells fish he catches in the rice and canefields.

The family live frugally, saving as much of their meagre earnings as they could. They invested in no luxuries such as television sets or a refrigerator. Basic labour-saving

devices such as blenders and toasters were out of the question, and only one light is used at any given time, except for rare occasions, because electricity, although necessary, has to be used sparingly. The children are encouraged to study during recess and lunch breaks at school because they had chores after school, after which they would study and complete homework at the kitchen table while their mother prepared dinner.

All the children helped their mother tend the kitchen garden and the elder boys had to help their father in the rice field after school, after which Mangru’s eldest son, Suresh, had to take the produce from the kitchen garden, and eggs if there were any, to sell from door to door.

The two girls helped their mother with the back-breaking housework, which was done using the most primitive methods.

Then came the day when Mangru, surreptitiously wiping away tears, proudly watched his son

graduate from high school. His elder daughter graduated the following year.

Today, both of Mangru’s eldest children are studying at the Tain campus at the University of Guyana; but their once-bright future became uncertain and gloomy because Mangru’s job at the sugar estate was axed, Rose Hall estate was closed and many of the employees and their dependants became collateral damage.

However, Mangru was determined that his two older children would get a university education, but the choice was hard, because he had to sacrifice the education of the younger siblings. The family started to eat even more sparingly, so not only the education of the younger siblings was compromised, but their health was also jeopardised.

Mangru’s story is replicated by hundreds of families in every sugar-producing community in which the estates had been closed. Sugar workers are not paid as much as

public servants, their benefits are scanty and subjected to achieving production targets, and their work is gruelling, highly labour-intensive and mainly performed in all types of weather, but they augment their incomes in many ways, with every family member contributing.

However, most of them live very frugally, build homes and educate their children.

Closure of the estates severely impacted their access to sufficient disposable incomes and lessened their spending power; so, indirectly, there were thousands of householders whose income-generation depended on the spending power of the direct employees of sugar estates.

Today, hope has been re-generated and the realisation of dreams are again achievable with the re-opening of the sugar estates. One more PPP/C Manifesto promise has been fulfilled in less than 100 days in government.

APNU+AFC advertisement a work of fiction, and wild imagination Dear Editor, KINDLY grant me space in your newspaper to respond to an erroneous and highly-misleading and irresponsible statement made by the former ‘Coalition’ Administration.

Editor, in an advertisement published in the November 10, 2020 edition of the Kaieteur News, dubbed, “PPP Report Card: 100 Days of Failure”, the fabricator of this fictious illustration pointed out that the PPP/C Government, among other things, failed to “Maintain hinterland roads and bridges, and to protect Indigenous Communities.”

Permit me to clarify that this Government and my Ministry in particular, is not one that is associated with failure and marred with incapacities. Firstly, I wish to elucidate that the Ministry

of Public Works is currently rolling out maintenance works in the Hinterland Regions, in collaboration with other Government Agencies.

Presently, maintenance works are ongoing on the Linden to Lethem Trail, as well as the Linden to Kwakwani Road.

Moreover, several Hinterland roads, in Regions One, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten, are expected to be soon rehabilitated. These much-needed works were stalled by the former administration. Some of the major projects that will come on stream soon include: 1. Rehabilitation of M4 (Region One) to Yarakita Road (Phase 2) 2. Rehabilitation of Compound Road, Mabaruma (Phase 4) 3. Rehabilitation of Orealla to Kwakwani (Phase 2) 4. Rehabilitation of 5 Mile to Airstrip Bartica

(Phase 4) 5. Rehabilitation of Karrau to Buckhall (Phase 4) 6. Material Stockpile and Rehabilitation of Mahdia Main Access (Phase 2) 7. Rehabilitation of Lethem - Aishalton Corridor 8. Rehabilitation of Internal Roads Lethem 9. Rehabilitation of Barrack Retreat Corridor (Sidewalks), Lethem If the author of this advertisement was indeed concerned about progress in his country, he would have noticed that the foregoing projects, along with so many others, were already tendered for.

Nonetheless, Editor, the accuser of the brethren claims that this Government has failed to maintain these Hinterland infrastructures, but they also forgot to mention that they’re the ones who are responsible for many of the

planned projects being unable to be rolled out. The now Opposition Party clenched on to power for so long, that they put the entire country on pause, while they fabricated new ideas to remain in Government. It is no secret that this exhausting phase in Guyana’s History severely impacted the economy.

Due to the long electoral process, the country was without a Budget, and was unable to allocate funding for infrastructural and other projects.

Nonetheless, Editor, please allow me to address this fabler, who also noted in his tale that this Government failed to “Protect Indigenous Communities”. This particular highlight almost makes me chuckle, since the former Administration, while in power, especially during a COVID-19 pandemic, failed miserably to protect these

vulnerable communities.

Thousands of masks, as well as food hampers and sanitation supplies have been distributed to Indigenous communities, so far, in a bid to protect our people.

Furthermore, protocols have been put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of our Indigenous brothers and sisters, and for persons travelling into these communities.

Let me also remind the author of this ‘advert’ that the Government has also initiated the distribution of a COVID-19 Cash Grant of $25,000 to benefit the entire country. The PPP/C Administration has even recommenced the Community Service Officers Programme, which will provide jobs for a number of Indigenous people, whose livelihoods were snatched away when the APNU+AFC Government as-

sumed office in 2015. Allow me to enlighten this group of apparent uninformed citizens that our Government has also restored the Amerindian Development Fund.

Editor, our Government has been distributing educational materials in the form of worksheets and others, to enable learning in the Hinterland and across the country. These are just a few of the measures taken by the PPP/C Administration in its first 100 days in office. How, then, can a Government which sat back and watched our people face COVID-19 in the eye now claim that this Government has failed its people?

Yours in Development, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill Minister of Public Works

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Statement by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, on the occasion of his Government’s first 100 days in office

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Theme: “Guyana’s prospects have never been more promising” My fellow Brothers and Sisters, TODAY marks 100 calendar days since I took the oath of Office to become Guyana’s 9th Executive President, but it can hardly be counted as same given the dire state of affairs and the two year absence of a budget.

When I assumed this Office, I promised a Government that would serve all the people of Guyana. I noted that there was much work to be done.

This work, I announced, would commence immediately. Indeed, the pace of the past 100 days has been frenetic. We have worked with feverish intensity to deliver benefits for all. But we did not do it alone.

I wish to thank all of our frontline health workers, teachers and members of the joint services for their heroic efforts during the pandemic and for the additional risks which they have so willingly shouldered. I wish to thank my Cabinet colleagues who have buckled into the driving seats of their sectors from day one as they steer their teams to deliver our vision. I wish to thank you, the people of Guyana, for your patience and understanding during these difficult times.

My Government did not need to formulate a 100-Day Plan. For us, development is not a sideshow but a sustainable process. Our Manifesto constituted our pact with the people.

It is underscored by a longterm vision. The tasks, which we have set after widespread consultations, commit us to work day-in, day-out to ensure opportunities, engineer equality and entrench national unity.

We anticipated that there would be challenges along the way. But we did not cater for a five-month interregnum as a consequence of the sinister conspiracy which was hatched to hijack this year’s elections and subvert the will of the people.

Democracy triumphed. We must not forget the post-election anguish and embarrassment. We will not allow the agents of discord to escape culpability. Yet, we are moving forward together as one people in unity and love.

We inherited a grim state of affairs. The economy was in a state of neglectful distress. During the five-month post-election period, our people not only patiently awaited the election results, but they were forced to confront the effects of the pandemic alone, while the caretaker government shamelessly engaged in corruption, squander mania, unauthorized forays in the public purse and the unlawful disposal of public resources.

These and other iniquities occurred whilst our people were being subject to extreme hardships. The coronavirus pandemic triggered a downturn

in production, a slowdown of business and the loss of jobs and incomes. Many families struggled to put food on their tables; many small businesses found themselves in a financially perilous state. Schools had to be closed; examinations adjusted and our health care system was left to rot with no basic medical supplies procured in the last two years.

Instead of a comprehensive, coherent and coordinated response to address the pandemic, the former government’s reaction was illusory, incoherent and inept. Testing was abysmally low. Many regional hospitals were ill-equipped to treat severe cases of the virus. When we assumed office, we found insufficient quantities of testing kits, testing equipment, protective gear for frontline workers, ventilators and oxygen concentrators. The much-vaunted Infectious Diseases Hospital turned out to be an inoperable, bareboned facility.

The social sectors were also hobbled. Our people’s struggles were real. They were provided with little or no relief. Despite the diligent efforts of teachers, the majority of our school-aged children were left without access to engagement and opportunities for learning.

The housing sector was in disarray with unacceptably low levels of house lots and housing units being allocated or completed. Poverty levels grew when many workers in the sugar, bauxite and gold mining sectors were unapologetically terminated and families placed on the breadline because of the previous administration’s visionless actions, political vindictiveness, incompetence, and the poor industrial climate.

Workers have traditionally been the backbone of our country’s economy. Yet, we had no labour ministry. The Labour Department lacked the capacity to effectively undertake the protection of workers’ rights.

Public administration was anaemic. Assessments, which we conducted in Ministries, government agencies and departments and in public corporations, found appalling levels of incompetence, maladministration, gaps in the delivery of public services and poor or absent policy directives.

PPP/C administrations, however, have never been daunted by challenges. When the nation’s interest so demands, the PPP/C has always risen to the occasion. And, true to form, we have commenced the task of remedying the lamentable state of affairs which we inherited. We have, over the past 100 days, delivered.

I am extremely pleased with the performance of my Government during the past 100 days. Ministers have been proactive. They have been going out to meet and address the people’s concerns. Over the

past 100 days, my administration has responded responsibly to the health crisis; it is re-booting the economy, relieving citizens’ burdens, restoring hope, rebuilding confidence and

lagers, friends and neighbours due to political manipulations.

I have already promised that we will leave no stone unturned to apprehend those responsible for these heinous crimes. It was my

President, Dr Irfaan Ali

re-engineering development.

RESPONDING TO HEALTH CRISIS AND IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES Our foremost priority upon assuming office was to craft a response to the coronavirus pandemic. Our response has been comprehensive and multi-faceted. We assembled a taskforce that included medical personnel and our regional/ international partners. We increased testing capacity to the point where we can administer as many as 600 tests per day and we are working to increase this to more than 1,000 by the end of this month. We have also acquired adequate supplies of personal protective gear and allocated $150M in the emergency budget for frontline workers.

Ventilators, oxygen concentrators and other equipment necessary for treating patients have been received and are being operationalised. We have retrofitted the Infectious Diseases Hospital, making it suitable for offering meaningful patient care and we have enhanced the capacity of regional hospitals to treat coronavirus patients. We have acquired much-needed drugs which are being used to improve patients’ recovery.

When a vaccine comes, Guyana will be part of the worldwide immunization process. We have signed on to the facility being provided by the Vaccine Alliance which will provide us with access to the vaccine. Our healthcare actions have not only been focused on covid-19 as we have also procured medical supplies that have been lacking in the system for over two years.

The first 100 days of my Presidency bore witness to the horrendous murders of three teenagers in West Berbice and the brutality meted out to vil-

Government who invited a specialist team from the Regional Security System to examine and assist with the investigation.

The team has expressed confidence in the capabilities of our local crime investigators. My Government will persevere in its efforts to ensure that justice is served. I am confident that we will be able to bring the guilty to justice. Our investigators, however, must be given the latitude, time and cooperation to bring the guilty to justice. These deaths are not a matter which should be manipulated to divide our people. Every life matters.

RE-BOOTING THE ECONOMY Another of our immediate priorities was the re-booting of our economy while ensuring that our people and society were protected. We came into Government without a Budget. In record time, we crafted an Emergency Budget which included measures aimed at nursing our economy to good health, stimulating our economic sectors, attracting new investments, creating employment and improving the economy’s competitiveness.

In this year’s Emergency Budget, we have instituted measures to improve competitiveness including providing tax concessions on mining, agro-processing, cold storage and packaging; the removal of VAT on exports and allowing exporters, including those in the fishing, rice and timber industries, to reclaim input VAT. We have also removed the VAT on fertilisers, agro-chemicals, pesticides, and key inputs into the poultry sector. And we have zero-rated the poultry industry.

We are reigniting the engines of commerce and industry.

Our people are being put back to work. Small businesses are

regaining ground with the co-operation of financial institutions and financial initiatives of my Government. Investment interest is high. Our economy will be made robust again in a positive development trajectory.

Support for our traditional sectors is integral to aligning Guyana along a positive development trajectory. We have begun the process of re-opening the Skeldon and Canje estates.

We will be establishing the Wales Development Authority aimed at implementing new and innovative opportunities for the Wales community. Land preparation, servicing of equipment and the recruitment of staff are moving full steam ahead. In the bauxite sector, RUSAL has expressed an interest in restarting its operations here. We have asked the company to submit a proposal which we will insist must be consistent with our labour laws and the protection of workers’ rights. Investors have also expressed an interest in mining bauxite ore located at Tarakuli, in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region. Efforts are being made to revitalise our forestry sector which has fallen into ruins in the last four years.

Guyana is rising again.

As part of the efforts to ensuring a growing, diversified and modernised economy, my government liberalised the telecommunication sector within the first 100 days of being in office. This is a tipping point in our country’s development.

Guyanese have been waiting for 30 years for this to happen.

The liberalisation of the sector will stimulate greater investment and competition, and spawn the expansion of the sector and the range of ICT services available.

Consumers are already benefitting from reduced costs for overseas calls and improved capacity of internet services.

We are eager to ensure that tourism emerges as a major growth pole in the future. In our first 100 days, we launched an Expression of Interest for the development of new hotels which has proven that there are tremendous interests in this sector. In addition, we have engaged in discussions with a number of airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, West Jet and Inter-Caribbean Airways with a view to having them service the Guyana route.

The construction sector will be key to driving growth in our non-oil sectors. Construction activity is being propelled throughout our economy. The availability of stone is a vital input into the sector but supply constraints are affecting production. This past week, I instructed that taxes on imported stone be waived so as to allow for the availability of adequate supplies.

RELIEVING BURDENS My Brothers and Sisters, Over the past 100 days,

your Government has been relieving the burdens which had been placed on your backs.

Mindful that our people were left stranded without much relief during the pandemic, we launched an almost five-billion dollar COVID-19 relief grant which will see every household receiving G$25,000. As of today, the hinterland communities have already benefitted from this grant and our distribution is now on the coast.

We have set aside G$150M for risk allowances for our frontline health workers. We know that this cannot compensate fully for their efforts. But we have done what was within our means at this time given the state of the economy. We will do more as resources permit. You have my solemn word on that.

We have not forgotten our men and women in uniform who have helped maintain order and peace in difficult times. The members of our Joint Services have benefitted from a two-week tax-free payout for 2020 -which they were denied for the last five years.

Our people also had to shoulder burdensome increases and additional taxes and fees over the past five years.

These taxes and fees deprived them of much-needed disposable income. It stifled business activity within the productive sectors.

Within the first 100 days, we have lifted those burdens.

We have removed the unconscionable Value-Added Tax (VAT) on water and electricity. We have restored free water for pensioners. We have carved off the oppressive corporation tax on private education and VAT on medical supplies.

Our farmers were saddled with increased fees for leases and drainage and irrigation services. Many of them could not afford to pay these unconscionable increases imposed by the former government.

We have reduced these fees.

We have also slashed by half the increases in licence fees which were instituted after 2014.

RESTORING HOPE We have provided relief aimed at reducing your burdens, while we aim to restore hope. Over the past 100 days, we have introduced measures aimed at making life better for you the people.

We have re-introduced the education cash grant which was callously snatched away from parents. But not only have we restored it, but we have increased it to G$15,000.

In addition, we have increased the uniform allowance. These measures will make it easier for parents to outfit their children for school.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

President Irfaan Ali's statement...

Housing is a basic need which we intend to satisfy.

We have begun to prepare the groundwork to deliver on our promise of 50,000 house lots over the next five years.

Our housing programme will create tens of thousands of jobs in the construction and home improvement sectors.

We want to ensure affordable housing for all. The cost of housing construction is expected to be lowered with the removal of VAT on building materials. Homeowners are also being provided with interest relief. They will now be able to reclaim, from their taxes, the interest on mortgages up to a ceiling of G$30M. Persons will now be able to borrow an additional $2M (up from G$8M to G$10M) at low interest rates.

We have not forgotten the elderly. Old age pensions have been increased from G$20,500 to G$25,000 per month.

Our people – all across the country – have seen and experienced progress over the past 100 days. All of our Ministries have been involved in delivering improvements in the lives

of citizens. The achievements are so numerous that it would take me an inordinate amount of time to enumerate. Let me, however, highlight some snapshots of our work over the past 100 days: A road rehabilitation and streetlight installation programme has been launched.

The Sheriff Street-Mandela Road Project has recommenced.

* We renegotiated the Payara Licence as well as constituted a Local Content Panel that is expected to produce its report shortly with recommendations and actions to be taken for Guyana’s Local Content Policy.

* Additional power is being added to the national grid.

The Guyana Power and Light has signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Giftland for the acquisition of 5 Mw of electricity. Another agreement has been inked which will allow GPL to obtain another 10 MW in time for peak demand during the Christmas Season. A number of unserved areas have either been provided with electricity

for the first time or are in the process of being connected to the national grid.

* The cost of hinterland transportation is expected to be reduced as a consequence of removal of VAT on such travel. Also, a new ferry will be sourced for the Parika to North West route. In addition, the Government is concluding an agreement with the Government of India for the supply of 30,000 solar panels to provide energy for hinterland residents.

* 108 Community Councils have been established to boost local development. A further 347 are expected to be revived or established. Community enhancement projects are being undertaken. A total of 951 Community Enhancement workers have been employed to undertake works in their communities. The Ministry of Local Government has commenced rehabilitation works at the La Penitence, East Ruimveldt and Mon Repos Markets.

* Work has resumed on

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completing the rehabilitation and the building of a number of police stations and quarters.

The government is seeking to acquire 50 new patrol vehicles for the Guyana Police Force to reduce the acute shortage of vehicles occasioned by aged fleets, poor operational and maintenance culture and practices and technical failures. Other vehicles are being sourced locally to assist the police to become more agile.

* In conjunction with the judiciary, a number of virtual courtrooms have been established at Camp Street and Lusignan to allow for trials during the pandemic. In an effort to reduce overcrowding at our penal institutions, Phase 1 of the extension of Mazuruni is expected to be ready by the end of January 2021. Works on the new Mahdia Fire Station were restarted while the rehabilitation of the Leonora, La Grange and Mahaica Stations have resumed.

* The Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme is being revived in order to generate greater hinterland employment opportunities.

Forty six (46) villages have been engaged in the programme since 1st October 2020. Despite the pandemic, Ministerial Outreaches were made to Fairview, Mahdia, Tumatumari, Micobie, Kurukabaru, St. Cuthbert’s Mission.

* We are supporting the small business sector. One hundred (100) small contracts have been issued to small contractors for the maintenance of road shoulders and sea defence verges.

* In the area of education, we have combined with COURSERA and the Commonwealth of Learning platform to offer 4,000 free online courses. The response has been enthusiastic. There have been more than 50,000 registrations, thus far. The Learning Channel has been expanded and is offering increased educational content to students. The Channel is now accessible in Berbice, Bartica, Lower East Bank, Lower East Coast, West Bank Demerara, and Georgetown. We are rolling it out to other areas, including the hinterland and this should be completed by April 2021.

Face-to-face classes will resume for Grades 10, 11 and 12 this week, under strict COVID-19 protocols, and we have already been sanitizing and retrofitting schools in preparation for this reopening.

* The Ministry of Housing and Water is accessing 6,356 acres of land, between Golden Grove and Peter’s Hall on the East Bank of Demerara and between Ogle to Cummings Lodge on the East Coast of Demerara, for the development of additional housing schemes.

In addition, land-clearing works have commenced for new housing schemes at Mon Repos and Cummings Lodge. The ‘Dream Realized’ housing drive has provided legal title to hundreds of Guyanese. Unserved areas such as at Lust-En-Rust are now

receiving water supplies for the first time. Also, water supply has been restored to residents of Red Village and Onderneeming. A new well has also been installed at Kurutuku, in Region Seven.

* The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has restored the Cricket Administration Act, commenced the preparations for the creation of three multi-purpose sports complexes in Regions Two, Six and 10, distributed sports gears to communities and is developing new models to modernize sports organisation.

RESTORING GUYANA’S CONFIDENCE We are restoring international confidence in our nation.

Over the past 100 days, I and my Ministers have been involved in a number of international engagements which attest to the international recognition and interest in our country.

I have, inter alia, addressed: * The 75th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on behalf of Guyana and also on behalf of the Group of 77 and China * The Virtual Island Summit 2020 * The Forecast on Latin America and the Caribbean Conference 2020, organised by the United States Department of Commerce and the Association of American Chambers of Commerce * The 75th Commemorative Meeting of the United Nations, on behalf of Guyana and also the Group of 77 and China * The United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, on behalf of Guyana and also the Group of 77 and China * The Meeting of Heads of Government on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond * A Flagship Event on the occasion of Guyana’s Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China * Meetings of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community; and * The Closing Ceremony of the Pivot Event, organised by the Inter-American Development Bank I have held meetings with a number of investors, heads of institutions and world leaders, all of whom have expressed a willingness to support Guyana’s development. The World Bank and the US International Development Finance Corporation have offered their assistance. I have engaged the Emir of Qatar on possible areas of economic cooperation between our two states which will see the contribution of three fully functioning field hospitals.

The Republic of Guyana had the distinct privilege of welcoming to Guyana the United States’ Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, the highest US official ever to visit Guyana.

We hosted the newly elected President of Suriname, Mr. Santokhie, immediately after assuming office.

Guyana’s international

standing has never been as highly regarded as it is today, a mere 100 days since we assumed office. We will need much of the goodwill which flows from this recognition if we are to advance our country’s transformative agenda over the next five years.

RE-ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT We have begun to lay the foundation for the implementation of a transformative infrastructural development programme. The PPP/C administration has in the past created a wave of impressive infrastructural projects which had transformed our country’s landscape. These projects have included the construction of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the National Stadium at Providence, the National Aquatic Centre, the Marriott Hotel, the Berbice River Bridge, the extension of the country’s main road networks, and the creation of a new airport at Ogle.

The second wave of modern infrastructural transformation is unfolding. Over the past 100 days, my government has begun to lay the groundwork for transformational infrastructural change: * We have finalized the location for and advertised invitations for Expressions of Interest for the new Demerara River Crossing * We have been in discussions, with the Republic of Suriname, about a bridge link between Guyana and Suriname * We have begun to reformulate plans for the construction of a four-lane road from Ogle to Haag Bosch * We are in the planning stages for a road link between the new Demerara Bridge Crossing and Parika * We expect, next year, to begin work on a 250 MW gas-shore project. We have commenced plans for a mix of energy-generation projects, including hydro and solar power.

Fellow Guyanese, Never before has so much been achieved in the first 100 days of an administration. Your government has been busy rebooting the economy, bringing relief to citizens, restoring hope, restoring confidence in our country and re-engineering transformation.

And we have only just begun! There is much more in store for you as we realize the promises and commitments in our Manifesto.

Guyana’s prospects have never been more promising. We will translate that promise into prosperity. Guyanese can look forward to a better life under the PPP/C administration. Despite the monumental challenges which we faced, we have defied expectations and delivered progress.

We must continue to progress as a united people. We must join hands and hearts in a common pact to ensure that the next five years and beyond realize the best of our people and best for our country. “We are at our best when we are united.”

I thank you.

November 10, 2020

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Parents in custody after infant dies under suspicious circumstances

THE parents of a four-day infant, who died under suspicious circumstances, are in custody. According to police, the parents-- a 27-yearold housewife and a 52-yearold driver-- both from an East Bank Demerara community, are assisting with investigations after the baby died around 18:05hrs on Monday evening.

Reports are that the infant was pronounced dead on arrival at the New Amster-

dam Hospital after she was found crying uncontrollably.

According to the police, the 27-year-old mother had, earlier in the day, left the baby in the care of her 52-year-old father and her eight-year-old sibling in a car as she went for a follow-up visit to a doctor.

The mother related that when she returned from the doctor, the infant was crying uncontrollably and was only clad in her underpants and pampers.

City Solid Waste Director feels targeted –– after ordered by Council to repay over $900,000 for unapproved work

By Richard Bhainie GEORGETOWN Solid Waste Director, Walter Narine, is yet to repay the sum of over $900,000 ordered by the Local Government Commission, on the recommendation of City Hall for work done in the City without the Council’s permission.

The sum of over $900,000 was disclosed by Mayor Ubraj Narine at the Council’s statutory meeting on Monday.

The Solid Waste Director, subsequent to the meeting, told the Guyana Chronicle that he had casually said that he will repay the cost for work done that was not approved by the Council, but disagreed with the sum quoted by the Mayor.

He explained that the Council had encountered some issues with a truck, and, as protocol, the fittest person to continue the job was a contractor.

He related that based on discussions with the then acting Town Clerk, Sharon Harry-Munroe, it was decided that Puran Bros will be engaged to execute the job, which it did.

A contention arose when Puran Bros sought payment for the job done and the Mayor and City Council, upon checking their records, found that permission was not granted for such work to be executed.

According to the Solid Water Director, he does not need to repay any money as he did not benefit from the work done by the contractor. He further pointed out that City Hall stopped the work that was being done by Puran Bros but later continued it. He also claimed that the work is ongoing but the Mayor said he was unaware of such.

Solid Waste Director, Walter Narine

Mayor Narine told the Guyana Chronicle that the Solid Water Director, and the then acting Town Clerk, were summoned to a meeting, and it was discovered that permission was not granted for the execution of work done by Puran Bros.

He noted that the Town Clerk cannot act without consulting the Council and further pointed out that the Solid Waste Director had agreed to repay the cost for the work done by Puran Bros.

The Mayor also informed that a committee investigated the matter and recommended that the Solid Waste Director make a one off payment of the monies and that recommendation was sent to the Local Government Commission which granted approval for Walter Narine to repay the sum.

At the statutory meeting on Monday, the Mayor and City Council decided to give the Solid Waste Director six months to repay the money. Some councillors objected to the Mayor’s proposed timeframe for repayment but the Mayor said that the timeframe was arrived at, on compassionate grounds, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dress the child had on was taken off.

The mother then fed the child, who she fell asleep, as the family made their way to a West Berbice relative

where the mother was planning to spend a few days until she recovered from the pregnancy.

After dropping the mother and children off, the father left

and later in the afternoon, the infant awoke and began crying again and was struggling to breathe. The mother and relative immediately took the baby to the New Amsterdam

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Hospital which pronounced the infant dead on arrival.

The body of the baby is at the New Amsterdam Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.

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guyana CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Berbice teens’ murders: Gov’t will utilise UK, US, Canada, not Argentina

Government will support and maintain its protocol in dealing with the US, UK and Canada and not Argentina in seeking forensics assistance into the murders of West Berbice teens, Isaiah Henry, Joel Henry and Haresh Singh, Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, said

– Minister Benn

Dead: Cousins Joel and Isaiah Henry

Home Affairs, Robeson Benn

on Monday.

“The normal recourse and overseas agents we deal with in further and replicate forensic analysis are in the United States-- the FBI, DEA—also, the UK policing authorities and the Canadian. Those are the ones we normally resort to and those are the ones which we will resort to; we have no particular preference to go outside the normal lines of engagement in relation to these matters,” Benn said.

Nigel Hughes, one of the lawyers on the legal team

for slain West Coast Berbice teens, Isaiah and Joel Henry, is recommending Government’s support and approval for the Argentine forensic team to be part of the investigations.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is offering a $3M reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the gruesome murders. The team from the CARICOM Regional Security System (RSS), which recently visited Guyana, has expressed satisfaction with the work being done by the GPF in relation to the brutal murders.

The team visited Guyana on September 28 and spent one week assisting local detectives with the case. Their final report has since been submitted to the GPF. The mutilated bodies of the teen cousins were found on September 6, 2020 in the Cotton Tree backdam in West Berbice.

Their gruesome murders sparked a week of violent protests. Three days after the Henry boys were found, on September 9, Singh was found in a bloodied state as well, in the Number Three Village backdam, hours after he left home on his motorcycle to transport water for his relatives who were working on their farm.

He was found unconscious by his 12-year-old brother, while his motorcycle was found torched. He died while on the way to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Singh’s murder is viewed as a reprisal killing for the Henry boys, after news spread that two of his relatives were arrested in connection with their murders.

Police had arrested over seven persons in connection with the murder of the Henry boys, but they were all released, as there was no firm case against them.

As a matter of fact, it

Dead: Haresh Singh

took the police more than a week to reveal that the cousins were killed elsewhere, and then dumped in Cotton Tree. A Post-Mortem Examination (PME) found that they both died from haemorrhage and shock, due to multiple incised wounds.

They both sustained severed spines, along with multiple chops about the body.

The killers carved out a huge ‘X’ on Isaiah’s head, while they cut open Joel’s chest. It is suspected that the boys had died some 36 hours prior to being found.

No one was arrested for the murder of Singh, and a PME found that he died from brain haemorrhage and blunt trauma to the head, compounded by compression injuries to the neck. Following countrywide protests against the murders, President Irfaan Ali had sought international help, and talks were underway to secure the services of one of the world’s foremost agencies in forensic anthropology to support the investigation of the police.

Persons who have information related to the murders are asked to contact the GPF on the following telephone numbers: 225-6411, 226-6978, 2258196, 226-1326, 225-2227, 225-3650, 225-7625, 2271149, 232-0291, 232-0213, 330-2222, 911, or the nearest police station. In this regard, the GPF assures the general public that all information received will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Chile bestows prestigious award on Shyam Nokta

PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali has joined in honouring Shyam Nokta as he received the ‘500th Discovery of the Strait of Megallan’ Award at a special presentation ceremony on Tuesday.

The award was conferred on behalf of the Chilean Government by the Ambassador of Chile, Patricio Becker at Nokta’s East Coast residence.

To celebrate the 500th anniversary, the prestigious award is being bestowed upon modern-day innovators in each country, whose work represents the spirit of exploration.

In his remarks, President Irfaan Ali extended congratulations on behalf of the Government of Guyana and lauded Nokta as a pioneer in the area of Environmental Science.

“Allow me to officially congratulate you on behalf of the Government and the people of Guyana on this accomplishment. Of course, this comes as no surprise to us. We are aware of your selfless talent. We are aware of your significant contribution. And we are aware of your technical capacity to achieve. So for us, this

expertise and provide leadership in the areas of climate change and the environment.

The President also recognised the important role of Nokta’s family in support of his career over the years.

He credited his parents, the former Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Harripersaud Nokta and his wife Melissa Nokta.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Becker pointed out that in all of his jobs in the public and private sectors, Nokta has demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and has been a trailblazer in the field of environmental management, climate change and ecological development.

Shyam Nokta, Ambassador of Chile Patricio Becker and President Dr Irfaan Ali

is not a surprise. Perhaps it is just the opening of many more moments like these in your life.”

The Head of State pointed to the important role that critical thinkers, ground-breakers and innovators play in shifting the narrative on key issues such as climate change.

“Shyam had separated himself from a very early stage in his career…. I re-

member that at one point it [environmental science] was not a highly sought-after career. But today we see in every single aspect of our life, every single project, every single programme, and every single development pathway, environmental science comes into play. And for him at such a young age to understand the importance that this field will play in global development, also tells you

about this young man.”

The Head of State added that Nokta has excelled in private enterprises, public work and at the international level and he hopes that he can continue to lend his

CREATE BETTER FUTURE More importantly, Chile’s Ambassador said that Nokta has also used his knowledge and talent to create a better future for Guyanese.

“I have the honour of presenting you this symbolic recognition from my country, for your brilliant professional career, thereby wanting to reward the spirit of exploration, associating it with innovation with a global reach.

Today we want to celebrate globality, the inventions that the new straits represent and that makes it possible to reduce gaps, distances and problems.”

In accepting the award, Nokta extended best wishes to the Government of Chile and noted that he was “humbled.”

He also said that he is very pleased that President Ali and the Government of Guyana have recommitted to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and to the partnership with Norway, as this presents a very good opportunity for Guyana to continue to show leadership and innovation on this very important global issue.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

US Marines Corps celebrates 245th anniversary THE U.S. Marine Security Guards marked the occasion of the 245th anniversary of the forming of the United States Marine Corps, at a small ceremony in Georgetown. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch was the guest of honour.

Ambassador Lynch hailed the work of the Marine Security Guards for answering the call to duty and for their

valour in protecting U.S. Embassies around the world.

Currently 184 U.S. embassies are guarded by U.S. Marines, a release from the embassy in Georgetown said.

The ambassador read a greeting from the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, thanking the Marines for their professional integrity and service to their nation.

A marine guard cuts the anniversary cake in the presence of Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch and his colleagues

‘Decorator’ charged with ‘conning’ GWI of $600, 000

A WOMAN, who allegedly collected $600,000 under the pretense that she would provide decoration services to Guyana Water

Inc. (GWI), was, on Friday, granted $50,000 bail by Magistrate Leron Daly.

Bibi Shanazz Embleton, 24, of Mon Repos Pasture,

East Coast Demerara, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to fraudulent conversion.

It is alleged that, on December 3, 2019, at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, Embleton being solely entrusted with the sum of $600,000 by

GWI to provide a decoration service for the said company on December 20, 2019, failed to do so, and, instead, converted the money to her own use and benefit.

According to the facts of the case, the accused operates a decorating service under the name ‘Enchanted Indian

Wedding Décor’ located at Lot 162 Mon Repos. On the day in question, the water company hired Embleton to decorate the venue for their Christmas Social and paid her $600,000 as an advance.

Employees, after learning that Embleton departed Guyana on December 5, 2019, made contact with her. She told them of her inability to

provide the decoration service. Embleton, according to the facts, indicated her willingness to refund the advance that was given to her.

To date no refund was made.

A police investigation was conducted into the matter and she was later charged.

The matter was adjourned to November 27.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Two ungraded subjects at QC now graded –– CXC re-moderating SBAs, principal confident of no discrepancies

By Vishani Ragobeer STUDENTS of Queen’s College, who were previously ungraded for Religious Education and Theatre Arts, recently received grades after the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) was engaged, according to the school’s Principal, Jackie Benn-Ralph.

In September, students and teachers of this school raised several concerns about the alleged poor grading for students at the 2020 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) examinations. Several schools raised similar concerns and since then, an independent review team was crafted to

examine those concerns.

On Monday, however, the principal told reporters that she is yet to be updated on the concerns of the poor grades received in many other subject areas. She highlighted that the CXC requested the students’ lab books for remoderation.

These lab books are a compilation of lab reports done on several topics and are submitted as the School-Based Assessments (SBAs).

“They’re expected to re-moderate those laboratory reports that the students submitted,” Benn-Ralph said, reminding that some of these books were already moderated. She also added, “We have difficulties with the CAPE subjects, so they’re looking at those particular areas, es-

pecially the sciences they’re looking at.”

The CXC found that there were some discrepancies with the SBAs once they began re-moderating all of the SBAs. Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, highlighted that the discovery that grades were not submitted by some public schools caused the ministry to consider sanctioning the teachers responsible.

Benn-Ralph, however, said, “I don’t think there are discrepancies here in particular because I am certain that our teachers knew exactly what was expected of them.”

She related that when the CXC spoke of discrepancies, they were probably speaking in a more general sense. Students of Queen’s College are usually

some of the country’s top students when the CXC results for the CSEC and CAPE examinations are announced.

Given the fact that the discrepancies are being reviewed, the Education Ministry has not yet announced which students have gotten the most Grade One passes as yet. These students with the most Grade One passes are usually considered to be the nation’s top performers, though a period permitting reviews is given. Usually, as well, after the Ministry’s announcement of the results and that review period, the CXC would recognise the regional top performers.

“We thought it prudent this year for us to wait until CXC makes the announcement about who got what in which country, about who topped and those kinds of things,” Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, highlighted recently.

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Chile bestows ...

Nokta currently serves as the President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and Chairman of the Local Content Advisory Panel. Prior to that, he had served as an adviser to the President and as Head of the Office of Climate Change, where he coordinated Guyana’s response to climate change, the development and implementation of the LCDS and REDD+Partnership with the Kingdom of Norway.

He was also involved in key conservation initiatives such as the establishment of Guyana’s National Protected Areas System and has chaired several national boards and committees in the areas of tourism, conservation, climate change and green growth.

Among the attendees at the award ceremony were former President and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharat; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Anand Persaud; former Minister Harripersaud Nokta and Conservationist Annette Arjoon-Martins.

The Strait of Magellan, a corridor of icy cliffs across untouched Patagonia linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was first crossed

by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. It opened up trade routes between east and west and also proved that the world was round. (DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Labour market in Latin America, Caribbean will recover slowly after COVID-19 –– ECLAC and ILO warn THE post-COVID-19 labour market reactivation in Latin America and the Caribbean will be slow and it will take a lot of time for the world of work’s main indicators to return to the levels seen before the health crisis, and even more time to be able to meet the targets established in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ECLAC and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicated on Tuesday in a new joint publication.

Edition No. 23 of the report entitled Employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Employment trends in an unprecedented crisis: policy challenges (November 2020) was presented simultaneously in Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru via a joint virtual press conference led by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Com-

mission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, and the ILO’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Vinícius Pinheiro.

Returning to pre-pandemic economic activity levels will take several years, ECLAC and the ILO warn, which will translate into a slow recovery in employment.

Thus, if the average growth rate in regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) held steady at 3.0 per cent, GDP would only return to 2019 levels in the year 2023. However, with the average rate seen over the last decade (1.8 per cent), GDP would not attain 2019 levels until 2025. And with the average rate notched during the last six years (0.4 per cent), this could not be achieved in the next decade.

Therefore, the United Nations organisations stress that

active macro policies are needed along with sectoral policies that would promote sustainable development with employment. This entails furthering environmental policies that stimulate jobs and growth, underpinned by active fiscal policies that foster employment, with labour-intensive investment projects and with a focus on environmental sustainability, which must be accompanied by industrial and technological policies to build national productive capacities and to increase competitiveness. It is also necessary to provide financing and liquidity to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), with longer maturities and at a lower cost.

In addition to supplying figures on labour market dynamics in recent months – especially in the first two quarters of 2020 – the joint ECLAC-ILO report indicates that for numerous reasons,

women, young people and migrants are among those heavily impacted by the health

that approximately 47 million jobs were lost across the region versus the previous

people in the second quarter of 2020 was bigger than for adults (3.4 versus 1.8 percent-

crisis. More specifically, the second part of the document examines the way in which young people have been affected by the current employment situation.

year. Many of those who lost their jobs were unable to find opportunities to swiftly reenter the workforce or withdrew from the labour market because restrictions on mobility prevented them from seeking employment. That is why job losses are only partially reflected in the increase in open unemployment, which rose from 8.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 to 11.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.

age points), even though their participation rate showed a larger decline (-8.7 versus -6.8 percentage points).

The impact of the crisis is greater among young people because there are fewer entry-level vacancies (fewer incorporations) and fewer renewals of temporary contracts and fewer hires following probationary periods (more terminations), ECLAC and the ILO indicate. The lower likelihood of obtaining employment discourages their job hunting, increasing the number of inactive youth who neither look for work nor study. “These long periods of inactivity have lasting effects on their career path: more informality and greater labour market exclusion in the future,” the report warns.

For all these reasons, the organisations call for promoting young people’s labour integration by combining classroom training with a subsequent phase of internships at companies.

This should be complemented with monetary subsidies to ensure youth attendance and participation, along with employment services to support their reentry into the workforce. In addition, vocational training programmes are needed that would facilitate labour reskilling or retraining for young people who have lost their jobs, and digital technologies must be harnessed to enhance learning capacity and thereby close the digital gaps between them.

UNPRECEDENTED BLOW According to the report, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic dealt an unprecedented blow to the economies and labour markets of Latin America and the Caribbean, which has led to the biggest contraction in the last 100 years, with major economic, labour, social and production-related costs.

The groups most affected have been those that cannot work from home (telework) because of their type of employment. This includes women, who in addition to experiencing job losses have also had to leave the labour market to carry out care and household-related tasks; informal workers, affected by prohibitions on people’s movement and households’ lower capacity for hiring workers; sectors related to commerce, manufacturing, construction and services (tourism and entertainment); young workers who are just joining the labour market, due to the lack of new job creation; lower-skilled workers in general in more informal jobs that require physical proximity; and MSMEs. The report also indicates that the greatest effects were felt in the second quarter of the year, when it is estimated

MOST AFFECTED “In terms of employment, the health crisis affected vulnerable groups above all, deepening inequality in the labour market. Women have been most affected by job losses and the decline in labour market participation. A strategic view must link sustainable development with job creation,” Bárcena and Pinheiro indicated in the presentation of the joint document.

With regard to youth employment during the COVID-19 crisis, the pandemic has sharply affected the employment of young people between 15 and 24 years of age, particularly those who are joining the labour market for the first time. According to available data from four of the region’s countries, the drop in employment for people in this age range was -7.8 percentage points versus the second quarter of 2019, while it was -7.3 percentage points for those 25 and older.

In addition, the increase in the unemployment rate for young

D'Urban Street man remanded on firearm-related charges A 25-year-old man, who was allegedly caught with an unlicensed firearm and matching ammunition in his possession, was, on Tuesday, remanded to prison by Magistrate Leron Daly when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Hamzah Eastman of Durban Street, Lodge, pleaded not guilty to the two charges which were

read to him.

It is alleged that Eastman, on November 7, at Cane View Avenue, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, had in his possession a .32 Revolver and four .32 live rounds of ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence.

According to the facts, on the day in question about 22:45hours, police ranks were on mobile patrol duty

when they observed Eastman on Cane View Avenue in the vicinity of Vlissengen Road, standing under a light pole. He was operating in a suspicious manner. As the ranks approached him, he reportedly dropped a shine object. The object was retrieved and found to be a firearm. He was arrested.

The matter was adjourned to November 27.

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Diabetes and its impact on one’s eyesight –– local optometrists urge patients to have regular eye exams

By Naomi Parris THE number of persons in Guyana who suffer from Diabetic Eye Disease (DED) is a cause for concern and it points to how little people may know of the effects diabetes can have to the eyesight.

According to Dr. Fionna Todd, an optometrist attached to the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), there are many diabetic patients who are unaware of the long term effects the disease can have to the eyes.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) disclosed that Guyana has an estimated number of 18,630

Guyanese who suffer DED, with nearly 5,000 of them at risk of losing their eyesight completely.

The leading cause of this is a condition called Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), which if not treated early, can lead to permanent blindness.

However, Dr. Todd noted that those numbers can be reduced if diabetic patients conduct regular eye screening exams.

In explaining how the eye screening examination is done, she said, “We start by taking a measurement of the patients visual acuity then we would put in some dilating eye drops so that we can get to see a clear view of the retina, which is the inner most layer, which would be screened to

see if there is any diabetic related damage to the eye.”

She explained that after this step, the dilation process will begin and when the eyes are fully dilated, the optometrist will take various images from several angles of the retina to have a holistic view.

Dr. Todd added that patients who show no sign of the condition are advised to return to the clinic within a year to have the test redone.

Meanwhile, for the patients who have the condition, depending on the stage of the illness, they will be referred to an ophthalmologist, who will conduct a further evaluation.

“If the patient is found to have severe [Diabetic Retinopathy] or worse, then we would refer them immediately

to another ophthalmologist so that they can be further evaluated and monitored at the eye clinic.”

She added, “According to how bad the condition is, that is how the follow up time will be, for various stages we will know when [the patient] can come back and check it.”

DETECTION KEY TO EARLY PREVENTION Dr. Lani Lord, another optometrist, who is also attached to the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Centre at the GPHC, highlighted the importance of diabetic patients having the test conducted regularly.

“For the persons who would have had diabetes for a while, either controlling or not controlling, it is important for them to be screened as well because diabetes causes bleeding in the eye which can eventually turn into blindness if they’re not checked or screened,” she explained adding that, “unless the patient is screened, we cannot know what is going on and most of them by the time it starts to affect their eyes, it’s already at a stage where treatment is meant to intervene or treatment is needed.”

Dr. Lord stressed that even if a person was recently diagnosed or have been diagnosed for a while, it is critical for him/her to have yearly eye screening to detect any diabetic eye diseases.

“It is always important for a diabetic patient to get

Dr. Lani Lord, an optometrist at the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Centre of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)

their eye tested; whether they are newly diagnosed or diagnosed years ago it is very important.”

WATCH YOUR DIET In Guyana’s food culture, starch is a major part of a Guyanese meal. However, what many diabetic patients are unaware of, is that starchy foods play a major role in spiking one’s blood sugar level.

Dr. Malissa Elias, the optometrist who is attached to the Enmore, Diabetic Eye Centre, explained that many

diabetic persons believe that their blood sugar level is only measured by the amount of sugar they make take in but that is not the case since they are many other foods, such has starchy foods and fruits, that can add to a person’s blood sugar level rising.

For example she said, “I find that most persons are not aware that they need to be careful with their intake of fruits as well, because fruit has fructose which is converted to sugar actually.”

Dr. Malissa Elias conducting an eye screening for Diabetic Retinopathy

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Smooth return to classroom for Essequibo students, teachers

A Mathematics teacher engaging her students at the Johanna Cecelia Secondary School

STUDENTS of Grades 10 and 11, on Monday, braved continuous rainfall in the Pomeroon-Supenaam region and returned to the classroom for face-to-face teaching following an eight month hiatus occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The students, outfitted with masks, were seen as early as 7:30 am entering their respective school compounds, where Environmental Health Officers were waiting to check their body temperature.

At the Johanna Cecelia Secondary School, the students sat in combination units neatly placed six feet apart. Mathematics was taught in the morning and English in the afternoon.

Abrams Zuil Secondary School students were very enthusiastic and the school recorded maximum attendance. Teachers reported flooding due to heavy rainfall but the water quickly receded and teaching went on as planned. Between 8:00 hours and 16:30 hours, students were taught Mathematics, English A, Office Administration, Human and Social Biology and History.

Over at the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School, students were happy to return to the learning environment.

The 8th of May Secondary School at Charity and Pomona Secondary did not record any major challenges.

During interviews with several teachers, they said they were happy to be back at school to continue teaching their students. Many teachers said that revision work and practising with CSEC past papers are the

primary focus now.

Teachers told the Guyana Chronicle that even when the students were at home, WhatsApp groups were created to assist them in preparation for the 2021 CSEC exam.

Meanwhile, students related that they too were happy to be back in school.

Many of them said that they prefer classroom teaching over the virtual learning experience.

When asked why, many of them related that the internet service in the region is very poor. Some indicated that it was very expensive for their parents to purchase data to access the teaching sessions and material.

“I am happy to be back.

I want a bright future and I will take all necessary precaution during this pandemic to ensure that I attain an education. I will be writing CSEC next year and I want to be able to get good grades so I can attain a job. I am happy that school reopened,” an excited Shana Persaud related.

Guyana Chronicle understands that District Education Officers were dispatched to region’s Eight secondary schools to access the teaching and the learning environment.

All secondary schools within the region had active learning and teaching and both teachers and students showed their commitment towards this new arrangement.

All of the COVID-19 guidelines, particularly the wearing of the masks, washing of the hands and social distancing, were observed.

An Environmental Officer testing a student’s temperature

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Chinese company asked to resubmit work plan for CJIA –– after presenting plan not reflective of terms in ‘original contract’

THE Government of Guyana has again asked the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to submit a revised work plan for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project, which reflects the terms agreed to in the “original contract.”

Following the declaration of the elections result in August this year, President Irfaan Ali had visited the project site and made several public observations and statements.

Glaring inefficiencies and shortcomings in the project

An artist's impression of the completed airport expansion project, as was outlined in the initial agreement between the Government and CHEC

Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill

had forced President Ali to say that Guyana will only accept work as was outlined in the original 2011 contract signed by CHEC and the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration. President Ali made it clear that he will not accept the unsatisfactory work done so far.

It is for this reason that the company was asked to submit a revised work plan; a request which Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, said the company did not comply with.

“The Chinese company submitted ‘a’ revised work plan, not a work plan that speaks to the right air bridges and terminal building to facilitate that with aprons and taxiways…they have submitted a work plan, not a plan to get completed what was supposed to be done,” said Minister Edghill in an invited comment, on Monday.

According to a recent press release from CHEC, the initial contract for the project, which was signed on November 11, 2011, for US$138 million between Guyana and CHEC, had a specific scope of works to be included in the price and officially started on January 16, 2013.

The contract established that the contractor’s submission of the price had certain conditions, and it excluded the handling of equipment and the removal of the existing terminal, among other things, and specifically established government’s responsibility to supply the

equipment for eight bridges and other handling equipment.

During the period January 2013 to May 2015, budget allocations for the project were not approved by Parliament, which prevented the contractor from executing the works as planned.

“Works restarted on the project in May 2015, but were halted when the new administration (APNU+AFC) requested a review of the project and notified the contractor to suspend construction during the review period,” said CHEC. The revised scope of work derived by the former administration replaced the new terminal building, parking aprons, and eight boarding bridges – to be supplied by government – with a renovation of and new construction area in the existing terminal building, parking aprons and four boarding bridges, two of which were to be supplied by the contractor and the two by the employer.

The company had committed to working with the new government to complete the project in line with the revised scope of work, but Minister Edghill has again said the authorities will only accept a project which is compliant with the terms in the original contract.

“We continue to request and insist that we must have eight bridges with taxiway and aprons to accommodate eight standing aircraft at a time,” said Minister Edghill.

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Three young cricketers ...

From page 32

hear people say he (Green) isn't ready," an exasperated Chappell explained, "I ask them if they were ready. No one is ready until they play ten, 15, 20 Tests, but then you work it out if you are good enough."

India's Prithvi Shaw burst onto the scene with a Test century on debut as an 18-year-old, but has since exuded signs he's yet to "work it out".

Having missed out on valuable experience on the last tour of Australia because of an untimely ankle injury, he then displayed signs in New Zealand that he's now closer to working it out and this Australian tour could well further that progression.

One of the more exciting aspects of a Test series is witnessing young players evolve into really good cricketers. If the Australian and Indian selectors react positively then the upcoming series could be a rewarding one for those who like to closely follow the impact of good young cricketers.

(ESPN Cricinfo)

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guyana CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Three young cricketers to watch in the 2020-21 Australia v India series

By Ian Chappell - Former Australia captain

THERE was a time when Australia led the way in blooding young cricketers at international level. Their peak period was between 1928 and 1930 when they selected Don Bradman aged 20 and then two 19-year-olds in Archie Jackson and Stan McCabe.

This incredibly talented trio was part of one of Australia's best ever batting line-ups on the 1930 tour of England.

Australia reached their pinnacle when Ian Craig was selected for the 1953 tour of England at the tender age of

17. I remember my grandfather Vic Richardson berating the selectors when recalling his experience as Australia's captain in 1935-36.

"What if Craig experiences a bad trot," lamented Vic. "Will the captain take him out and buy him an ice cream?"

Vic's attitude was understandable, considering his reputation as a captain who also led the off-field socialising. However, the concept of an ice cream improving your batting seemed like a very good proposition to a nine-year old me.

More recently Australia have often resorted to what used to be a very English

Cameron Green acknowledges his 150 (Getty Images)

solution of picking mature cricketers with loads of firstclass experience to make

their international debut.

Michael Hussey is a prime example, having played his first Test in 2005 at age 30.

In recent times it's more likely Pakistan, Bangladesh or India will choose a teenager to make a Test debut.

Australia now have an opportunity to buck their recent trend with youngsters Will Pucovski and Cameron Green pushing their case for selection against India in the upcoming Test series.

Both Pucovski, a 22-year-old batsman, and Green, a 21-year-old all-rounder, have more than just heavy run-scoring to back their cause. Pucovski started the Shield season with his second double-century, in his first innings as an opener. Given the ongoing search for a suitable partner for the ebullient David Warner, this was a timely move to the top of the order.

In Green's case, he followed a 197 against a strong New South Wales attack by taking a wicket in each innings of the clash with Tasmania. While a wicket per innings might not sound like much of an achievement, it signalled Green's first bowling stint since suffering back stress fractures.

Although the selectors will be loath to burden Green with too much bowling, Mitchell Marsh's recurring injury history and his failure to cement the all-rounder's spot in the Test side, makes Green's return to bowling welcome news.

While he's no teenager, Queensland's Mitchell Swepson is the other player close to an Australian debut. At 27, Swepson is at an age where wrists-pinners - other than Shane Warne - tend to mature.

His ten-wicket haul against NSW is a sign that he's ready, and a debut, in tandem with Nathan Lyon at the spin friendly Sydney Cricket Ground, could be in order. Swepson's selection is more likely to occur if Australia have an all-rounder capable of batting at six and acting as a third seamer in that Test.

On the subject of being ready, former Australian selector Greg Chappell came out very strongly in Green's favour. "When I See Page 31

Mumbai Indians beat ...

From Backpage ceding only 20 runs off the last three overs.

Rohit batted majestically, hitting five fours and four sixes in his trademark, classical style. His first six, over long-on off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, came from the third ball of the chase. Rohit fell with the end in sight but so comfortable was the win that Mumbai's bench were able to shake hands in celebration before the winning runs were hit.

Delhi fall short as big names fail Delhi were appearing in their first IPL final and had lost all three previous meetings with Mumbai this season. They were underdogs before the showpiece began and suffered as their key players failed.

Australia all-rounder Stoinis edged Boult behind to fall for a first-ball duck and fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan, Delhi's highest run-scorer in the tournament, made only 15. He was bowled playing an ill-advised sweep to off-spinner Jayant Yadav in the fourth

over. Defending a low total, South Africa pace bowler Kagiso Rabada - the tournament's leading wicket-taker - could not prevent the Mumbai openers' onslaught and conceded 18 from his first over.

He returned again when Mumbai lost their second wicket - Suryakumar Yadav was run-out for 19 after a mix-up with Rohit - and was hit for 11 as Rohit ensured Delhi were unable to come back into the game.

'Mumbai the best team' - what they said Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting: "You've got to give credit where credit's due. Mumbai have been the best team throughout the IPL. "I am proud of this team.

It is a great group of players and a great franchise.

Mumbai Indians thoroughly deserved their win."

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma: "I'm pretty happy with how things went.

"We said at the beginning we want to make winning a habit for us and guys were excellent throughout the tournament. We couldn't have asked for much more. We never looked back." (BBC Sport)

GCB welcomes return ...

From Backpage tournaments for 2020. This tournament has been given favourable sponsorship in the past by different private entities.

The GCB trusts that the National Over-40 tournament will continue to realise its objective of bringing former experienced players back to the cricket environment, and thereby serve as an impetus for their involvement in relevant facets of the administration of the game, inclusive of coaching and mentorship.

This Over-40 tournament will be followed by the hosting of the GCB Hand-inHand Under-19 Inter-county Three-day and One-day 50 Overs Tournaments, which will target those players who were eligible to play the Under-19 Inter-county tournament earlier this year.

The GCB is also arranging to have a selected group of these players benefit from the incentive to represent Guyana against one of our sister territories during the early part of 2021.

This is viewed as essential to the GCB, since the 2020 holding of the CWI Regional Under-19 Tournament was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the GCB policy mandates the executives to examine ways to provide a safe, fair and impartial system in the administration, development and promotion of the game.

Meanwhile, GCB trusts that with the approval from the Ministry of Health and favourable weather conditions, the Under-19 players will be able to showcase their talents and expertise during the hosting of this scheduled Under-19 tournament.

The year 2020 is scheduled to conclude with exciting T20 cricket involving the CGI Franchise league teams. These eight teams will compete for an attractive winning purse, and with floodlight arrangements being put in place at the LBI facility, the T20 final is likely to be played under floodlights of international standards.

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guyana CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Babar Azam replaces Azhar as Pakistan Test skipper THE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced yesterday Babar Azam will replace the under-pressure Azhar Ali as Test captain in the two-match series in New Zealand starting next month.

Azhar was criticised following Pakistan's three-wicket defeat in England in August this year, losing the three-match series 1-0.

PCB said Azam will now be the three-format skipper after assuming the Twenty20 role last year and one-day captaincy in May this year.

"Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain which now makes him the captain across all three formats. His first assignment will be to captain Pakistan

nine Tests, winning two, losing four and drawing the other three.

Pakistan's three Twenty20 internationals in New

Babar Azam

on New Zealand tour," said a PCB release. Azam becomes the third Pakistan Test captain in 13 months after Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked in October last year.

Pakistan will play three Twenty20 internationals and two Tests against the Black Caps, a squad for which is expected to be announced today.

Azam, who led Pakistan to a 3-0 whitewash of Zimbabwe in the Twenty20 international series yesterday, said he was ready to take charge.

"I feel truly honoured to have been appointed Test captain," Azam said in the PCB's statement. "I am ready and prepared to take up the additional responsibility."

Azhar led Pakistan in

Leggie Usman Qadir stars as Pakistan sweep T20 series

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Leg-spinner Usman Qadir grabbed four wickets to guide Pakistan to a 3-0 whitewash of Zimbabwe with an eight-wicket victory in the third Twenty20 in Rawalpindi yesterday.

The 27-year-old Qadir son of the late star spinner Abdul Qadir - finished with 4-13 from four mesmerising overs to restrict Zimbabwe to a paltry 129-9 in 20 overs.

That proved a walk in the park for the home team, who cruised to victory in 15.2 overs losing just two wickets.

Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman (21) and Haider Ali (27) but debutant Abdullah Shafique top-scored with 41 and saw Pakistan home with Khushdil Shah (36 not out).

Khushdil hit a six off Faraz Akram to bring up the victory.

This was Pakistan's 14th win in as many T20 interna-

Leg-spinner Usman Qadir (right) grabbed four wickets, to guide Pakistan to a 3-0 whitewash of Zimbabwe. (AFP photo)

tionals, against Zimbabwe, and are now fourth in the international T20 rankings.

Zimbabwe all-rounder Elton Chigumbura was accorded a warm farewell by his teammates, but he scored just two runs in his last international match.

Earlier, the visitors, who won the toss and batted, were derailed by Qadir, who re-

corded the third-best figures by a Pakistani bowler against Zimbabwe in T20s.

Qadir started the slide with the wicket of skipper Chamu Chibhabha (31), before dismissing Wesley Madhevere (nine), Milton Shumba (11), and Elton Chigumbura (two) to finish behind Mohammad Hafeez (4-11 at Harare in 2011) and Imad Wasim (4-13 at Harare in 2015).

The home team won the first match by six wickets and the second by eight.

Chibhabha hit three boundaries and a six in his 28-ball knock, the highest of the innings.

Number eight Donald Tiripano scored a 22-ball 28 to help Zimbabwe cross the 100-run mark. Pakistani left-arm spinner Imad Wasim finished with 2-27.

(Times of India)

NBA 2020-21 season to commence on December 22

THE NBA season will begin on December 22 after an agreement was reached with players over scheduling, salary figures and free agency dates.

The usual season-start date in October was pushed back because the coronavirus pandemic caused delays to the 2019-20 campaign.

But NBA and its players' union have agreed a new date and a 72-game season - a reduction on a usual campaign.

The agreement is yet to be approved by the league's board members.

But the league and its players have a deal in principle that also includes a November 20 date for when free agents can start negotiating with teams.

The 2020-21 salary cap has also been set at $109.1M (ÂŁ82.8M).

The 2019-20 season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March and concluded in a 'bubble' environment in Orlando on October 11, four months later than the season typically ends.

Los Angeles Lakers ended a 10-year wait for their 17th NBA title, with LeBron James leading his team to a 4-2 Finals win over Miami Heat.

With such a short time between the conclusion of the play-offs and the start of next season, there have been reports that some players - such as James - could miss the start of the new campaign in order to have more rest.

Zealand are scheduled for Auckland on December 18, Hamilton two days later and a third at Napier on December 22.

The first Test is at Mount Maunganui from December 26 to 30 and the second at Christchurch from January 3 to 7.(AFP)

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Where to from here? …Are the West Indies caught between a rock and a hard place?

Asks David Windram FRESH off “saving English cricket” earlier this year, West Indies now travel from the land of overcast skies and swinging Dukes ball, to the green seaming pitches of New Zealand. It certainly feels like going out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire.

The fact that there is cricket going ahead given the current pandemic is something that should be celebrated. Even more so as there will be fans permitted, without restriction, to all matches on the tour.

However, for West Indies, it is difficult to feel that much can be gleaned from the outcome of this series and more pertinently, how good this West Indies Test side actually are.

A couple of years ago the West Indies excellent YouTube channel released a number of short videos featuring various national players extolling the virtues of Test cricket, explaining why it is their favourite format to play - Jason Holder, Shane Dowrich and Kemar Roach, to name a few, all took part.

It was real affirmation for any lovers of the red ball game.

However, since that point the Test team has played an accompanying role to white ball matches, reflecting the wider trend across international cricket.

An away win against Afghanistan was treated as an afterthought.

Doubly frustrating is who has provided the opposition when Test cricket has been on the agenda.

West Indies have played 25 Test matches since August 2017. Of those, arguably only three have been against a nation of comparative ability and resources, when Sri Lanka visited the Caribbean in 2018.

The remaining Tests have either been against countries ranked in the upper echelons of the ICC Test Rankings - England (9 Tests), India (4 Tests), New Zealand (4 Tests) - or countries well below West Indies in both rankings and ability - Bangladesh (4 Tests), Zimbabwe (2 Tests) and Afghanistan (1 Test).

This leaves no Tests in that time period against Paki-

stan or South Africa - the two countries directly above West Indies in the ICC Rankings - although two scheduled Tests against South Africa this year were wiped out by COVID-19. These countries, along with Sri Lanka, should be the West Indies benchmark. The lack of matches against these countries makes it very difficult to ascertain where the Test team actually are.

Good results against England at home raised expectations to unrealistic levels against India (home) and England (away), where subsequent defeats were met with the usual disparaging remarks.

Similarly, convincing wins against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan were pegged as routine and

Clarke resigns as FA Chairman after referring to BAME players as 'coloured' LONDON, UK (Reuters) Greg Clarke has resigned as English Football Association chairman hours after referring to players from the BAME community as “coloured” during questions from members of parliament yesterday.

"We can confirm that Greg Clarke has stepped down from his role as our chairman," the FA said here in a statement.

“Peter McCormick will step into the role as interim FA Chairman with immediate effect and the FA Board will begin the process of identifying and appointing a new chair in due course.”

Clarke, speaking in front

FA chairman Greg Clarke

of a Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee, was discussing issues around inclusion and diversity in grassroots football when he made the comment.

Asked about the possibil-

ity of a social media backlash for gay players ‘coming out’, Clarke said: “If I look at what happens to high-profile female footballers, to high-profile coloured footballers, and the abuse they take on social media ... social media is a free-for-all.”

The FA issued a statement soon after saying: “Greg Clarke is deeply apologetic for the language he used to reference members of the ethnic minority community during the select committee hearing today.

“He acknowledged that using the term ‘coloured’ is not appropriate and wholeheartedly apologised during the hearing.”

expected. Very much leaving a “no win” situation where punching up by winning against better opposition is a one off, and winning when expected doesn’t prove anything more than achieving the bare minimum.

The odd win against an England, India or New Zealand will undoubted-

ly provide headlines and invite plenty of nostalgic reminiscing to West Indies teams of the past. However, where we will see real development in players and the team as a cohesive unit is competitive fixtures against teams of similar abilities. Test series where outcomes are in the balance at the start and not skewed massively in favour of one team have been all too rare.

It is an exciting proposition to think of tuning in to the West Indies touring Pakistan, or a series against South Africa in the Caribbean, where every ball is worth watching at the prospect of being decisive in the wider outcome of the series.

Rather than going from Jasprit Bumrah ending a Test before it has even really begun to a joyless battering of Afghanistan in the next, for any sporting team to develop they need regular competitive game

time.

In the capitalist society we live in today money rules all. For Cricket West Indies (CWI) this means the most financially lucrative tours India and England - hold the greatest sway. Music to the ears of a financially stricken CWI) but unfortunate on a sporting level for West Indies cricket.

It leaves the West Indies between a rock and a hard place. In desperate need of matches against similarly competitive teams to provide engaging cricket for players and spectators, but the inviting dollar signs provided by cricket’s self coined “big three” being of much greater attraction to administrators.

Gideon Haigh may have made his comments nine years ago but the gravitas of them remain ever prescient vis-a-vis the have-nots in the modern game. (Caribbean Cricket News)

Ground capacities confirmed for Australia-India matches CROWD capacities for India's visit to Australia have been confirmed, ranging from 75% at the Gabba which will stage the final Test to 25% at the MCG for Boxing Day, as fans return to men's international cricket in both Australia and New Zealand for the first time since COVID-19 took hold in March.

The SCG and Canberra, which will share the limited-overs matches at the start of the tour with Sydney then hosting the New Year's Test on January 7, will both operate at 50% of their full capacity although Cricket Australia (CA) will stagger the release of tickets to enable them to adapt to any changes. It had previously been announced that the aim was for a crowd of 25 000 at the MCG after Melbourne came out of its long COVID-19 lockdown. The exact figures for other stadiums remain to be confirmed, but it is likely to be a similar figure at the SCG, Adelaide Oval and the Gabba. Manuka Oval in Canberra will be able to host around 6 000 for the final ODI and first T20I. The same day as the Aus-

Players are set to be able to celebrate landmarks with a crowd.

(Getty Images)

tralia-India tour begins - November 27 - is also set to see crowds return to stadiums across the Tasman when New Zealand play West Indies, beginning with T20I series. Both Australia and New Zealand hosted winter sports with crowds since July.

The first international cricket to have spectators return was the Australia-New Zealand women's series staged in Brisbane from late September. To date, all men's internationals since the sport resumed have been played behind closed doors - the England home season and the Pakistan-Zimbabwe series while IPL and CPL have also been staged without crowds.

Spectators have returned in the small numbers to Australian and New Zealand domestic cricket in recent weeks. There were trials

during the English season with a view to getting crowds back, but they were curtailed by rising COVID-19 numbers. It was announced by BCCI late on Monday that Virat Kohli will leave the Australia tour following the first Test in Adelaide for paternity leave. It has yet to be confirmed whether he will return, but the need to quarantine in Australia means that would be unlikely.

The India squad and the Australia players who have been at the IPL are due to arrive tomorrow following the IPL final. They will quarantine at a hotel at Sydney's Olympic Park and train with a bubble at Blacktown for two weeks, a period that finishes on the eve of the ODI series which begins at the SCG on November 27.

(ESPN Cricinfo).

35

guyana CHRONICLE Wednesday, November 11, 2020

West Indies tour of New Zealand 2020

Estwick wants more ferocity, discipline from Windies pacers … urges Guyanese Romario Shepherd to make use of opportunities

By Clifton Ross RODDY Estwick, West Indies assistant coach has thrown full support behind his team's elite pack of fast-bowlers, hinting at possibly a far more aggressive approach by his speedsters ahead of the upcoming T20 series.

Estwick highlighted that the boys were highly driven to compete, given their intensity showing over the last few days of training in Christchurch.

However, with much focus revolving around the batting recently, Estwick, also the bowling coach, said during his recent virtual press conference, that he was rooting for his star-studded pack of pace bowlers.

"If you look over the last few years, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder were our leading wicket-takers and we expect them again to lead the attack. Obviously there is Alzzari Joseph from whom I have high expectations on this tour, because he's been around quite a while now and I want him to realise that it's time now he should really stand up and put in big performances," said Estwick.

Not shying away from the potential workload the bowlers will face in the days to come, he stressed that the four-pronged pace attack will need to apply a ruthless approach against the New Zealand batsmen.

"Those 4 will be very important to us because as you know the pitches in New Zealand are not spin-friendly so the spinners will have to do a more containing role while the fast-bowlers will need to be more aggressive and be our chief wicket-takers". he pointed out.

Despite being on their rivals’ home turf, Estwick remained firm on his players having to bring their A-Games regardless of venue or opposition.

"Wherever you play you've got to execute and assess the pitch as early as possible. The pitch will give you the informa-

tion. If you assess it early you will know what line and length to bowl, then you work out which batsmen you're bowling at and try to work out their strengths and weaknesses," he continued, "So it's all about assessing things early and sticking to your game plans. I find that you've got to be very patient because the outfield is very quick and all your bad balls are being punished so it's about being patient and aggressive."

Although some big players like Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine along with an injured Dwayne Bravo will be missed, Estwick believed that with the players knowing their own West Indies assistant roles, it will make things easier coach Roddy Estwick for the team when they go out is throwing full support in the middle. Also with the behind his fast-bowlers likes of Shimron Hetmyer, ahead of the T20 series.

Nicholas Pooran and skipper Kieron Pollard in the mix, he's more than confident of a good batting exhibition.

"I think T20 is about team effort because everyone has a role to play and we're trying ro get everyone to understand his role then go out and execute. Obviously Hetmyer, Pollard and Pooran are very important but the bowlers as well play a very big role.

“They know they have to get their death-bowling and the

Chase elevated to Test vice-captain for NZ Tour BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) - Roston Chase has been appointed West Indies Test vice-captain for the Tour of New Zealand, the Daily Nation newspaper reported yesterday.

The newspaper reported that Chase had replaced compatriot and long-serving opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite in the position for the Test series against the Black Caps.

“When I got the call from head coach Phil Simmons, he told me that he had a chat with the selectors and the board, and they agreed that I was the player for the vice-captaincy role for the tour,” he told the newspaper.

“At first, I was a bit shocked because I was never in that vice-captaincy capacity. Not even in a Barbados team, I was never a vice-captain, and I thought there were players in the team that have held those positions.

“I captained West Indies

‘A’ in a One-day series previously, so I guess they took it from there to nominate me for the position.”

Chase, a 28-year-old batsman and part-time off-spinner, has played 35 Tests for the Windies over the last four years, scoring 1 852 runs at an average of 30.86 and taking 69 wickets at 41.15 apiece.

He said he was looking forward to working closer with compatriot and Test captain Jason Holder, and head coach Phil Simmons on the tour in an effort to help the Windies end their winless streak in Tests in New Zealand.

The Caribbean side have not won a Test, let alone a Test series, in New Zealand, since Courtney Walsh’s side brushed aside Ken Rutherford’s men 25 years ago at the Basin Reserve.

“I am happy about getting the position,” Chase said. “It is a real honour to be in a position like this, where there

have been many greats that have held this position before. It is for me to carry on that legacy - what the legends have done before - and see if I can achieve what they have done or even greater heights.

“Jason and I have a good relationship, as well as coach Phil, so I do not think it will be a problem for me to come in and be accepted in the leadership group by those two. It is just for me to support Jason and work with the best strategies going forward.”

The newspaper also reported that left-hander Nicholas Pooran will continue to be the deputy to compatriot Kieron Pollard for the Twenty20 International squad, a role to which he was elevated on the tour to Sri Lanka in March this year.

The Windies will play three T20Is and two Tests on the Tour, which also includes matches against New Zealand ‘A’ for the Test team reserves.

Guyana Jaguars/West Indies pacer Romario Shepherd has earned praise from his coach.

middle overs right plus you've got to field well, so it's all about a team effort," stated the assistant coach.

Going back to Bravo, who picked up another injury, his second in succession, Guyanese Romario Shepherd was named as his replacement for the T20Is. But with Bravo already past his prime and the road to the World T20 Cup in sight; Estwick called on the likes of Shepherd and players like Kesrick Williams to make full use of these golden opportunities.

"For someone like a Romario Shepherd, it's time for him to stake a claim before the next T20 world cup so it's all about opportunities. So if Dwyane's (Bravo) not here it gives people like Kesrick Williams a chance to grab an opportunity and give the selectors a bit of headache". He ended.

Meanwhile, Windies continued their training and quarantine in Kiwi land as they further await more tests as part of their preparation for the series which bowls off on November 27.

Match Schedule: November 27: 1st T20I at Eden Park, Auckland November 29: 2nd T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui November 30: 3rd T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui December 3-7: 1st Test at Seddon Park, Hamilton December 11-15: 2nd Test at Basin Reserve, Wellington

Minister Persaud throws support behind nationwide HALEDINO Sports initiative THE HALEDINO Sports Initiative garnered further support from the government, this time from Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud who endorsed the schematics of the project.

Project coordinators Cadet Klalifa Hale and Mohamed Reiaz Shariek met with the Minister of Human Services yesterday to further seek guidance and input while bringing the minister up to date with progress.

The meeting focussed on the development of the sports Initiative, which is using sports as a platform to create employment and business development through franchising.

With a number of private entities, local athletes and investors already on board since the project's birth a few months ago, Minister Persaud said she was impressed with the

From left - Project coordinator Cadet Klalifa Hale, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud (centre) and Mohamed Reiaz Shariek.

(Clifton Ross photo)

concept of the move.

With support from the likes of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, and the blessing from Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, the project has gained overwhelming support and momentum.

The interaction was one that was very productive, according to Hale, who added

that future ideas and methods for growth and development were also among areas discussed.

The initiative overall was one that was applauded and welcomed by Minister Persaud, who said the future of the project will have her support as the transitioning process continues.

(Clifton Ross)

Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals to win fifth IPL title … Jofra Archer named MVP of the tournament

The 2020 champions celebrate. Mumbai Indians have won the IPL five times in eight years. (IPL photo)

M

By Matthew Henry

UMBAI Indians secured a fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title, with a five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in the final.

Mumbai, the most successful team in IPL history, chased 157 with eight balls to spare as captain Rohit Sharma hit 68.

Trent Boult took 3-30 for Mumbai, including Marcus Stoinis with the first ball of the match in Dubai.

Delhi were 22-3 before captain Shreyas Iyer made 65 not out - he added 96 with Rishabh Pant - but Mumbai ensured their total was never enough.

The defending champions were always in control of their

chase after Rohit and Quinton de Kock plundered 45 from the first four overs.

Rohit was caught at deep mid-wicket with 20 needed from 23 balls and, although Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya soon followed, Ishan Kishan's unbeaten 33 off 19 balls took Mumbai to victory.

It follows their IPL wins in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 and means they have won the world's premier domestic Twenty20 competition at least twice more than any other team.

This year's tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) without fans and delayed from the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.

England pace bowler Jofra Archer was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). He took 20 wickets and scored 113 runs, including 10 sixes, for Rajasthan Royals.

Mumbai too good again A comprehensive win for Mumbai was a fitting end to a tournament in which they have been the outstanding team.

New Zealand seamer Boult, who starred throughout with 25 wickets, bowled a brilliant new-ball spell to put the game in their favour.

Delhi rallied through Iyer and Pant, who made 56 off 38 balls, but Mumbai finished See page 32 the innings impressively, con-

GCB welcomes return of cricket after months of inactivity … Local T20 franchise tourney set to cap off 2020

By Clifton Ross`

The Guyana Jaguars have officially restarted their live schedule of activities.

THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has officially restarted its cricket to-do list, with a number of activities set to resume under COVID-19 regulations.

Among the areas of resumption are training and competition aspects of cricket development, along with four major tournaments to follow the Guyana Jaguars recent return to outdoor training.

The Guyana Jaguars would have spent an unexpected protracted period of

training via zoom, which at the time of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared to be the most suited alternative form of training.

The zoom training which initially focussed on strength and conditioning would have been initiated by GCB’s and Windies Physiotherapist and Strength and Conditioning coach, Neil Barry.

However, the zoom activities would have later shifted to integrate players and team reviews/planning exercises under the tutorship of the head coach Esaun Crandon and his management team.

The Guyana Jaguars are currently utilising the GCB’s LBI facilities for outdoor training. This is a welcome initiative for the administrators of GCB, who are working diligently to create the first GCB-controlled firstclass facility.

The four tournaments that are being scheduled for the latter part of 2020 are all of significance and will commence with the National Over-40 Competition, which is one of the listed GCB’s approved See page 32

Chase elevated to Test vice-captain for NZ Tour See Story on page 35

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WEDNESDAY, nOVEMBER 11, 2020