Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 17-09-2020

THURSDAY 17th September, 2020

' No.106125

APNU+AFC damaged Guyana’s international image

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo

–– says Minister Todd, tells House coalition’s foreign operations lacked vision, competence

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A champion of democracy arrives SEE PAGE 03

–– US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on two-day visit to deepen hemispheric relations

Budget 2020 is about investment in people –– creating enabling business environment, says Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

APNU+AFC damaged Guyana’s image internationally

–– says Minister Todd, tells House coalition’s foreign operations lacked vision, competence

By Rabindra Rooplall GUYANA’s foreign affairs operations and achievements for the past five years represent a hallmark of incompetence and a lack of vision that has damaged the country’s image internationally, Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd said.

Minister Todd was, at the time, delivering his presentation, during the budget debates on Wednesday.

After assuming his post, Minister Todd said he discovered that the ministry lacked presence, efficiency, effectiveness and competencies in many areas, especially in foreign missions.

“Our job as a new government will restore the vigour in the ministry and put the ministry back on the regional and world map,” he said.

With the restoration of democracy, Minister Todd said sovereignty and territorial integrity must be preserved for the future generations.

He said that, under the Granger-led administration, many things were done for photo opportunities and lacked the capacity to negotiate, win, maintain friendships and partnerships in the region and further afield.

“Their public diplomacy was lacking; all they did was trips around the world for fun, coming back with nothing to say but attendance,” he told the House, pointing out that Guyana’s bilateral, regional and hemispheric international engagements must now be enhanced.

“Most of our foreign partners and friends would have removed themselves from association with the previous government because of the political crisis. Many felt they were illegitimate and as such most of the diplomatic engagements and international cooperation would have been put on hold,” Minister Todd said.

Currently, he said that, with a change in administration, the international

believe in democracy, good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd

community is queuing up to re-engage, because Guyana is seen as a viable partner in the development of the region and hemisphere.

BE OBJECTIVE Adding that the PPP/C is preparing for massive growth and development, Minister Todd called on the opposition to read the party’s manifesto so when they are in

Opposition parliamentarian, Haimraj Rajkumar

Parliament, objective and critical analysis can be made to move Guyana forward.

“If you remain in ignorance and in that state of mind, and if you still do not embrace democracy it will be difficult for us to lift this country. We cannot allow ourselves to be caught up in the selfish attitudes and behaviour that ensued under

the APNU+AFC. We have always stood by the people and ensured that the resources are equitably distributed and our budget is healthy and friendly,” Todd said.

Adding that the PPP/C believes in small governments, Minister Todd said the private sector is the one that makes gains to move the economy forward.

“We believe in pragmatic policies. We know that we can empower the private sector and we can have a small and lean government and we can have a budget that still works for the people,” the foreign minister said.

He called on the opposition to embrace policies that are progressive and are designed to enhance the lives of Guyanese.

The foreign affairs minister said the 2020 budget is in line with government’s manifesto of diversification and innovation.

Opposition parliamentarian, Haimraj Rajkumar, in his presentation, said that, under the APNU+AFC coalition, roads, schools, medical facilities and police stations were built or renovated along with IT hubs and Internet access for schools were provided.

“The people appreciated what we did and we are proud to have done it,” Rajkumar said.

However, Minister Todd noted that the opposition is a group of persons that do not

DESTRUCTIVE PEOPLE “We are dealing with people who are destructive to Guyana. We have been doing all of the heavy-lifting post-Independence into the era of globalisation and we are still doing the heavy lifting and it is sad that we have to endure these types of hardships in twenty-first century Guyana,” Todd said.

Rajkumar, a former business minister, said the coalition was unable to complete some projects and it is hoped that such are not left to languish under the new government.

Further, he said that the tourism sector, over the past five years, had been nurtured, developed and matured under the APNU+AFC government.

“In 2018, we received over 286,000 visitors which contributed approximately $62 billion directly in the Guyanese economy and at the same time creating 22,000 jobs. In 2019 we received 314, 000 visitors contributing significantly to our economy,” Rajkumar said.

He said Guyana won six tourism international awards in 2019 and one in 2020 while the country was placed on the map of the world.

However, Minister Todd said the PPP/C Government is preparing for massive growth and development and has a strategy in place for the next five years that aligns itself with its election manifesto, something the APNU+AFC cannot ever claim.

Todd also said that the coalition’s tenure in office only created structured violence.

“They dismantled institutions, the disparity became even worst between the haves and the have nots, which led to social ills, broken homes, suicide rate went up and we have been given a mandate to restore the country to its beauty.”

The APNU+AFC government, he noted, was categorised by ineffective national policies and strategies which culminated in failed national objectives.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

A champion of democracy arrives

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–– U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on two-day visit to deepen hemispheric relations

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo arrives in Guyana today on a two-day visit. During this time he will lead a U.S. delegation in meetings with President Dr Irfaan Ali and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Hilton Todd.

The two sides will conclude agreements aimed at strengthening the Guyana/U.S. cooperation programme.

Secretary Pompeo is also scheduled to meet with Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Guyana’s relations with the U.S. have been based over the years on mutual respect and a desire to cooperate in several areas that would be of benefit to the people of both countries.

The basis of that relationship has not changed with respect to the sovereign decisions taken by each country.

Secretary Pompeo's visit will, therefore, provide a timely boost to the further deepening of relations between the two hemispheric neighbours.

“While the United States of America has always been an important development partner of Guyana’s, Secretary Pompeo’s intended visit following the administration’s recent assumption to [sic] office, is an indication of Washington’s confidence in President’s Ali’s government.

The visit will further advance relations between Guyana and the United States, as we work to explore more exten-

sive relationships with all our friends in the international community,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

The U.S. plays a key role in promoting and strengthening democracy in Guyana and Secretary of State Pompeo was instrumental in ensuring a democratic transition of government in Guyana, following attempts by the APNU+AFC coalition to derail democracy in Guyana in the recent general and regional elections.

The U.S. is also a key partner in development. According to the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. policy toward Guyana seeks to develop robust and sustainable democratic institutions, laws, and political practices; support economic growth and development; promote an active, organised, and empowered civil society; and promote stability and security.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Guyana sought to improve relations with the U.S. as part of a decision to shift toward political non-alignment, moving from state socialism and one-party control to a market economy and greater freedom of the press and assembly. This shift, closer security cooperation, and expanding trade and investment have helped place U.S.-Guyana relations on an excellent footing. With the shift in Guyana’s economy to an oil-producing nation, the U.S. partnership is more important than ever to help Guyana become a leader in the Region on issues of security and governance, the U.S. State Department noted in a

brief on U.S. relations with Guyana.

and Guyana, along with other nations of the Caribbean, are

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo

It said the U.S. values Guyana’s partnership and cooperation on issues of mutual interest and together, the two countries promote democracy and respect for human rights; empower youth, women, the private sector, and civic/opinion leaders to formulate grassroot responses to social and economic challenges; support new initiatives to improve the health of the Guyanese people; and, through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), enhance the security and prosperity of the Region.

U.S. ASSISTANCE TO GUYANA Working together through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the U.S.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (r’td) Mark Phillips, in discussion with US Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch (centre) and Director of Caribbean Affairs, National Security Council, USA, Mariju Bofill, in the Office of the Prime Minister, Colgrain House, Camp Street, Georgetown

combating drug trafficking and other transnational crimes that threaten regional security.

The U.S. worked closely with Guyana in the fight against HIV/AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme. The Department of State also noted that U.S. agencies, including the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), administered a multimillion-dollar programme of education, prevention, and treatment for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, contributing to the country’s healthcare capacity. The Public Affairs Section develops

people-to-people ties through exchange programmes such as the Youth Ambassadors programme, the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, and by supporting meaningful discourse with civil society, the private sector, and government on issues of bilateral importance through cultural, educational, sports, and music programmes. U.S. military medical and engineering teams continue to conduct training exercises in Guyana, digging wells, building schools and clinics, and providing medical treatment.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance provides support to the Guyana Revenue Authority to strengthen auditing capacity.

BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS Guyana’s GDP in 2018 was $3.8 billion. According to the Bank of Guyana, remittances to Guyana increased in 2018 by 3.4 per cent to $327.9 million, from $317.2 million in 2017. Remittances in 2018 represented approximately 14 per cent of Guyana’s GDP. “The U.S. continues to be one of Guyana’s most significant trading partners. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Guyana recorded a $230 million merchandise trade deficit with the United States in 2018. The U.S. market remained significant for Guyana, with export earnings of $199 million at the end of

2018. Guyana’s imports from the United States amounted to $429 million at the end of 2018. Guyana’s major exports to the United States in 2018 continued to be non-monetary gold, fish and shellfish, bauxite, lumber and wood, and apparel and household goods.

The major imports from the United States in 2018 were articles of iron and steel, motor cars, machinery, foodstuffs, animal feeds, petroleum products, chemicals, computers and computer accessories, passenger vehicles, telecommunication equipment, and pharmaceuticals,” the brief from the Department of State said on relations between the two countries.

It also noted that the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that Guyana’s coastal area holds recoverable oil reserves of roughly 13.6 billion barrels and gas reserves of 32 trillion cubic feet. ExxonMobil, the majority partner in a consortium including Hess and the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company, began producing oil in December 2019. Projected production for 2020 stands at 120,000 barrels of oil per day, with the potential for production of more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Hurricane Sally: ‘Catastrophic flooding’ as storm hits US (BBC) Hurricane Sally has brought “historic and catastrophic flooding” to the southern US after making landfall.

The storm’s sluggish speed, roughly 5mph (7km/h), increases its capacity for destruction, pummelling coastal states with heavy rain.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported flooding from Tallahassee, Florida to Mobile Bay in Alabama.

It also warned of a “life-threatening” storm surge and river flooding inland as far as Georgia.

Hurricane Sally is one of

several storms in the Atlantic Ocean, with officials running out of letters to name the hurricanes as they near the end of their annual alphabetic list.

Alabama, Florida and Mississippi have all declared states of emergency. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, whose state is still recovering from Hurricane Laura last month, tweeted on Tuesday that resident should all have a “game plan in place for whatever the rest of hurricane season has in store”.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Wednesday that the administration is “fully engaged” as the storm continues to batter the Gulf Coast.

“It’s safe to say the White House has been in active contact with all of these governors,” she said on Fox News.

Thursday, September 17, 4:30hrs - 18:30hrs

the coast were also affected, with beaches and highways swamped in Mississippi and low-lying properties in Louisiana covered by the rising waters.

According to the website poweroutage.us, more than 500,000 homes and businesses in Alabama and Florida had reported power cuts by Wednesday morning.

In Pensacola, Florida, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan told US media that a section of Three Mile Bridge is missing as a result of the storm, which has turned streets into choppy rivers. It is the largest physical damage so far from Hurricane Sally.

Meanwhile, Tim Parker, manager of Gulf Coast Gator Ranch & Tours, told local TV station KITV that he was anxious about an initial predicted storm surge of up to 9ft (2.7m) in his home of Moss Point, Mississippi.

He feared a repeat of Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge in 2005, in which roughly 250 alligators escaped their enclosures.

However, as surge predictions have dropped, he has felt some relief.

“Now they’re talking

about maybe two to four feet, which won’t be bad here,” Mr Parker told KITV. “My parking lot might go under water. Our office might partially go under water, but it’s not going to be too bad.”

Hurricane Sally arrives just weeks after Hurricane Laura killed at least six people in the state of Louisiana.

Winds of up to 150mph (240km/h) caused severe damage, with power cuts to more than half a million homes and a chemical fire from an industrial plant.

But the feared 20ft (6m) storm surge was avoided as the hurricane, the state’s biggest, tracked further east.

Coronavirus: Ukraine accuses Belarus over stranded Jewish pilgrims

vice, Sergiy Deyneko, said more than 3,000 pilgrims could soon be at border points in the Chernihiv, Zhytomyr and Volyn regions.

Presentational white space The office of Mr Lukashenko accused Ukraine of “shutting its borders” and stranding hundreds.

On Tuesday he said there should be a “green corridor” so pilgrims could get to Uman on buses and then be ferried back to Belarus.

Ukrainian authorities said water and kosher food was being supplied but the Belarus Red Cross Society said the pilgrims did not have “enough resources to ensure their basic needs”.

What are the pilgrims saying?

One stuck at the border, Haim Weitshandler, told Agence France-Presse it was a “humanitarian catastrophe”, with “sick and hungry people” left out for days in the rain and cold.

“We are stuck here with no money, no roof, no food or drink,” the 40-year-old said.

Pilgrims were resting at the side of the road, blocked off by border guards.

Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are reportedly without power

What’s the latest?

Wednesday morning’s NHC update said Hurricane Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama at 0445 local time (0945 GMT).

The centre has downgraded the storm from a Category 2 hurricane to a Category 1, but cautioned that the threat from heavy rain and “catastrophic” flooding remained. A hurricane advisory is currently in place from the Alabama and Mississippi border to northwestern Florida.

The hurricane has winds of 80mph (130km/h) and is moving north-northeast at 5mph (7km/h), up from 3mph (5km/h) earlier on Wednesday.

(BBC) Ukraine has accused Belarus of stoking tension over hundreds of Hasidic Jewish pilgrims stranded at their border.

The office of Ukraine’s president said Belarus was spreading false hope that the pilgrims could cross.

Belarus wants a corridor to be opened for them.

The pilgrims are trying to travel to the town of Uman for the Jewish New Year, to pay respects at the tomb of the founder of a Hasidic movement.

Ukraine has closed its borders to foreigners to limit Covid-19.

The restrictions apply from 28 August to 28 September.

Ukraine-Belarus relations soured after Ukraine joined the EU in refusing to recognise the re-election of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko last month.

Israel, meanwhile, is the first country to impose a second nationwide Covid-19 lockdown - set to start on Friday - after a large spike in

Sally’s pace may be linked to climate change, according to experts. A 2018 study in Nature magazine found that the speed at which hurricanes and tropical storms move over an area had decreased by 10% between 1949 and 2016, a drop that was linked to an increase in total rainfall.

“Sally has a characteristic that isn’t often seen, and that’s a slow forward speed and that’s going to exacerbate the flooding,” NHC deputy director Ed Rappaport told the Associated Press.

Rain appeared to fall sideways in Alabama, which led to submerged roads as the storm inched ashore. Other areas along

The pilgrims hope that Ukraine will relent and allow them in

infections.

How did the situation arise?

Every year thousands of pilgrims, many of them from Israel, make the journey to Uman on Jewish New Year, which in 2020 runs from 18 to 20 September. They visit the tomb of Rabbi Nahman, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.

The pilgrims set off despite calls from both the Ukrainian and Israeli governments for them not to travel this year because of coronavirus concerns.

Thousands are reported to be already in Uman.

But others travelling mostly via Minsk have

been stopped at the Belarus-Ukraine border by Ukrainian guards. The numbers vary but some estimates put the figure at over 2,000 at various border points.

What have Ukraine and Belarus said?

The office of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We call on the Belarusian authorities to stop creating additional tension on the border with our country and not make false encouraging announcements for pilgrims, which could give them the impression that Ukraine’s border could still be open to foreigners.”

The head of the Ukrainian border guard ser-

More storms on the horizon In addition to Sally, there are four other tropical cyclones - Paulette, Rene, Teddy and Vicky - swirling in the Atlantic Ocean basin.

If only one more storm is officially named - Wilfred has already been chosen - meteorologists will run out of preselected names for the rest of the year and so will begin naming new storms after the Greek alphabet.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

T&T: Cops rescue Venezuela: UN investigators accuse authorities of crimes against humanity baby Sofia in Curepe

(BBC) United Nations (UN) investigators say Venezuela’s government has “committed egregious violations” amounting to crimes against humanity.

Cases of killings, torture, violence and disappearances were investigated in a fact-finding mission for the UN Human Rights Council.

The UN team said President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials were implicated.

Venezuela’s UN ambassador has described the mission as a “hostile initiative”.

Ambassador Jorge Valero said last year that the UN action was part of a US-led campaign. The UN team was blocked from travelling into the country.

Venezuela is suffering a severe economic and political crisis. Millions have fled in recent years.

What did the UN team say?

In the report of its findings on Wednesday, the UN team said Venezuela’s security services had been engaged in a pattern of systematic violence since 2014,

aimed at suppressing political opposition and generally terrorising the population.

Mr Maduro and the ministers of interior and defence were not only aware of the crimes, but gave orders, co-ordinated operations and supplied resources, the report said.

“The mission found the government, state agents, and groups working with them had committed egregious violations,” it said.

It called on Venezuela to hold those responsible to account and to prevent further violations from taking place.

“The mission found reasonable grounds to believe that Venezuelan authorities and security forces have since 2014 planned and executed serious human rights violations, some of which - including arbitrary killings and the systematic use of torture - amount to crimes against humanity,” the mission’s chairperson, Marta Valiñas, said in a statement.

Investigators said violence was used to suppress the opposition

“Far from being isolated acts, these crimes were coordinated and committed pursuant to state policies, with the knowledge or direct support of commanding officers and senior government officials.”

A typical operation might involve weapons being planted in an area thought to be loyal to the opposition, with security services then entering the area and shooting people at point blank range, or detaining them, torturing them, and killing them.

The report also looked

into the violent response to opposition protests and the torture of people detained at them.

El Helicoide: From an icon to an infamous Venezuelan jail Investigators made their conclusions after looking into 223 cases. They said almost 3,000 others corroborated “patterns of violations and crimes”.

The report will be presented to UN Human Rights Council member states next week, when Venezuela will have a chance to respond.

(TRINIDAD GUARDIAN) Police officers from the Central Division and Anti-Kidnapping Squad have rescued baby Sofia Rivas in Curepe.

According to police reports, after receiving intelligence, officers went to an apartment at Mc Inroy Street in Curepe just after 11 pm, where they recovered the nine-month-old baby girl, who had been abducted from her mother Valentina Hernandez earlier on Tuesday.

Baby Sofia was still in the hands of the woman who had reportedly abducted her earlier.

Baby Sofia was said to be in good health but was taken to the nearby Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex for a medical check before being taken to her mother.

The woman was arrested and is now assisting officers with their investigations.

Earlier in the day, officers had been searching for an East Indian woman and the driver of a silver-grey station wagon, whom they said could have assisted in the alleged abduction of the child.

Sofia’s mother, Valentina

Hernandez, who is a Venezuelan national, had her worst nightmare on Tuesday, when her baby was taken from her by a woman who approached her under the pretense that she was “taking her (Sofia) for a walk to the supermarket to purchase a juice for her.”

However, while the woman did go to the supermarket, which is on the same property as the apartment complex in which Hernandez lives, she soon got into the vehicle with the baby and was never seen again.

The distraught mother told police that at about 7.30 am, she was at the apartment complex at Pokhor Road, Longdenville, Chagauanas, when she was approached by the woman, whom she knew as a tenant from the said building.

Police said after conversing with the mother, the woman asked her if she could carry the baby with her for a walk to the nearby 6to9 Convenience Store and Ice Cream shop, which is located in an annex of the three-storey apartment building.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

The Pompeo Factor L

AW-ABIDING Guyanese dread with great trepidation the onset of each electoral season, especially when the PPP -- or the PPP jointly with its partners in civil society the PPP/C-- achieves victory at the polls. This is because the sore losers have no qualms in creating unease if it cannot wrest power, by fair means or foul – mainly foul -through proven pro-PNC GECOM manipulation of the electoral process.

The March 2020 elections proved no different.

All foreign and local observers; all GECOM officials -- including Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, Chairperson Justice (R’td) Claudette Singh and leaders of all the contesting political parties, with no exceptions – not even the caretaker president and leader of the PNC, David Granger, declared that the elections were conducted fairly and transparently. The statements of polls (SoPs) were posted outside every polling station, with copies supplied to GECOM and the various political parties.

All the political parties knew that the PPP/C had won the elections within hours after closing of the polls; but, as per constitutional diktat, they waited on

GECOM for the declaration, which was not forthcoming until after five months.

Dr. Irfaan Ali was sworn in as Executive President of the Republic of Guyana on August 2, 2020; but within that interim period the citizens – of every divide, endured great agony, despair and an ever-increasing erosion of hope and faith – until the intervention of U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, factored into the equation.

Over the five months preluding the declaration of the PPP/C’s victory, the losing coalition partners held two victory rallies, consequent upon the Region Four Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent declarations – twice, based on false configurations of Region Four results, which were signed by two PNC officials, once by the PNC Chairperson, Volda Lawrence, and the other reportedly by a Region Five PNC official, Carol Joseph, which constituted electoral fraud. These events were all witnessed by national, regional and international observers, envoys of the USA, Canada, the UK, the EU; and representatives of the various political parties; and they were widely

circulated in local and social media, with the world witnessing the fracas.

A BBC report published on March 6, stated, inter alia: “Guyana election: U.S. concerned over ‘electoral fraud.’ Granger had said he was ready to serve for five more years It continued, “The U.S. and other countries say they are concerned by ‘credible allegations’ of fraud in Guyana’s election. U.S. Western Hemisphere affairs official Michael Kozak said no candidate should declare victory or be sworn in ‘while serious questions remain.’

“In their joint statement on Friday, U.S., British, Canadian and EU officials said they were worried about alleged electoral fraud influencing the results of the 2 March vote.

“We call on President Granger to avoid a transition of government which we believe would be unconstitutional, as it would be based on a vote tabulation process that lacked credibility and transparency, the statement had said.

“International observers earlier expressed concerns, saying vote counting for Region Four - the most populous electoral district - was ‘interrupted and remains incomplete’.”

Although GECOM and the coalition parties claimed victory for the APNU+AFC, both refused to release their SoPs to authenticate their assertions.

“Nearshore Americas” reported “Guyana to recount votes amid growing outcry over alleged electoral fraud.”

“Guyana has begun counting votes for the second time, with both the ruling party and opposition agreeing to a complete recount under the supervision of a team representing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

“Nevertheless, tension is still running high, as the ruling party supporters are celebrating on the streets of [the] capital Georgetown after the Friday announcement by the country’s Elections Commission that President David Granger had won the second five-year term.

“A team from the CARICOM has promised that it would determine the real winner and help restore peace in the country.

“The ruling party in Guyana apparently agreed to recount the votes after several foreign countries indicated that they would impose economic sanctions if David Granger is sworn in without a valid recount.

“I’ve spoken directly to

both the President and Leader of the Opposition, and they have both committed to abiding by the results of a fair and transparent recount of each and every ballot, as supervised by the CARICOM team,” stated Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Chairman of CARICOM, in a statement.”

Man of the hour, former and current Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall and his legal team won a series of legal challenges brought

by PNC litigants in attempts to truncate the electoral process that would eventuate in a PPP/C victory; and they even successfully challenged undemocratic actions by the coalition partners and GECOM, up to the CCJ, to restore a democratic transition of government, to no avail – until Big Brother stepped in.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a “quick and credible conclusion” to the final recount of the votes cast on March 2 at Guyana’s General and Regional Elections.

A video of Pompeo’s comments was tweeted by Michael Kozak, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, who had

been commenting on the election process in Guyana and had summoned Guyana’s ambassador in Washington, Riyad Insanally to a meeting expressing America’s dissatisfaction with the Guyana government’s then apparent preparations to proceed with an inauguration of incumbent David Granger based on the (fraudulent) declaration

by Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.

Along with stakeholders and the indefatigable efforts of the “defenders of democracy”; as well many other friends of Guyana – nationally, regionally and internationally -- three powerful women stood resolutely in defence of Guyana’s democracy: U.S. and Canada’s envoys, Sarah Ann Lynch, Lilian Chatterjee, and CARICOM’s Mia Mottley: Guyana will never forget.

But it was the Mike Pompeo factor – sanctions he began imposing against the malefactors of the elections -- that engendered the capitulation of GECOM into declaring the PPP/C as winners of the March 2020 elections and the swearing in of Dr. Irfaan Ali as President of Guyana.

Protector of our democracy, Mike Pompeo, Guyana welcomes you!

The knight in shining armour is here!

AS Guyana recorded its 58th COVID-19 death on Tuesday, American billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, the third richest person in the world, has an idea about what the best-case timeline looks like for Americans, saying, “In the very best case, two years from now, you would be, for some of the health things in particular, ideally back at where you

were at the beginning of 2020.” We are bordering on the 2,000th registered confirmed case. The mismanagement from the previous COVID-19 team caused this pandemic to spread rapidly. Their lack of proper care and genuine concern paved the way for negligence and disaster. The APNU+AFC’s selfishness for prioritising an interest for financial and politi-

cal power sidetracked that administration from fully concentrating and grabbing the bull by its horns. Brace yourself Guyana for a long haul; this is no “short-time” affair!

Yuri Kothiyama wrote, “People are not united because of three glaring frailties: Racism, Injustices, Inequities.” Since the Henry cousins tragedy, a few Afro-Guyanese organisations

in Guyana have been clamouring for “Justice” with a frenzied intonation based on questionable substances because of being clouded from the truth that was eroded by lies. The “Black Lives Matter” group is barking up the wrong tree. So many are “jumping the gun” on the wrong footing. The President and other government ministers were originally denounced and blocked from

reaching the Henry families by defenders of “No Justice No Peace,” while political agitators from the other aisle were welcomed and embraced with their racial insinuations. Only one man championed the cause of neutrality, nobility and humility, the father of Isaiah Henry-- Mr. Gladston Henry.

He did not identify with the senseless crowd and their dictates, on the contrary, he

obscured himself from their diabolic agenda. At the end of the day, the police have confirmed that there was no political motive involved and the point of location where the bodies were found is not the primary crime scene, but the secondary one. How pathetic that the cream of the crop, Granger and Harmon, should mislead the people See page 7

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

U.S. was instrumental in restoring democracy in Guyana Dear editor, I CONCUR with your front-page headline of September 16 that Secretary of State Pompeo’s trip is “a celebration of our democracy.” The secretary played a key role in the defeated coalition’s decision to accept the outcome of the results of the March 2 elections and Guyanese ought to welcome his endorsement of our democracy that he rescued in 2020 and that America restored in 1992.

It is internationally known that for five months, the then incumbent APNU+AFC coalition defied the will of voters and international pressure to accept the outcome of the democratic elections. Only when Pompeo cancelled visas and applied other sanctions to some of the riggers did they decide to cave in. They thought the secretary was bluffing. Some would have been placed on that special list of gangsters and terrorists prepared by the U.S. State Department and could have been extradited to face trial in America as happened to some dictators and election-riggers.

Had it not been for U.S.

assistance in 1992, demanding from Hoyte that he restore democracy and open the economy, Guyana would have remained a dictatorship till this day. And had it not been for U.S. intervention from March 3 through August 1, 2020, Guyana would have become a dictatorship and there might have been a civil war; or we would still be determining who won the elections.

In the 1980s, after installing Burnham in office in December 1964 and after Burnham betrayed them with a blend of communism and fascism, “Uncle Sam” came down hard on the Burnham and later Hoyte dictatorships, triggering economic collapse and forcing Hoyte to undertake economic and political reforms. A handful of individuals who included Baytoram Ramharack, Vassan Ramracha, Ravi Dev, and myself, among others, lobbied Washington to promote democracy in Guyana.

The U.S. agreed to spread democracy in Guyana after the collapse of the Soviet Union that no longer posed a threat to America’s interests in Guyana, resulting in the return of PPP governance.

After 23 years of PPP rule and blunders by Donald Ramotar in relations with the U.S., the Obama administration engineered his ouster, replacing him with David Granger. And afterthe errors of Granger, the U.S. insisted that Guyana hold free and fair elections, resulting in the Irfaan Ali presidency.

We should be honoured with the presence of Secretary Pompeo to celebrate the triumph of democracy over rigging. Guyanese Americans want a cementing of ties; I penned such a report from a survey two years ago. Almost every supporter of the PPP in the USA and those I spoke with in Guyana are in favour of closer relations with America and are pleased that Secretary Pompeo is coming to Guyana. They feel that the PPP-led government should attempt to forge some sort of practical security cooperation arrangements with America, including in the greater Caribbean Region; support America’s policy to democratise the Region and combat international crimes. Supporters of APNU are not very enthused about Pompeo’s visit, feeling it

The knight in shining... of Berbice and set off the domino effect of mayhem, murder and monstrosities.

How stupid, silly and shameful those cabals must have felt and suffered silently, subsequently surveying the scene that revealed the many heart-warming stories that emanated, showing how Afro Guyanese rendered help to safeguard, secure and rescue so many Indo Guyanese from further brutality, massacre and exploitation.

The nation salutes those brave Afro Guyanese who risked their lives to do what is right and to stand up for truth. Aren’t Granger, Harmon and the rest of the “protesters” ashamed of their acts and themselves?

Back in the days of the

1960s and 70s, there was an elderly, big, tall, burly European guy who was always lurking around “Big Market,” dressed in an old, soiled, black suit, wearing riding booths, a long, flowing, black raincoat and always sporting a black cowboy hat. His hair was long and blonde, a face with a moustache and beard and he was accompanied by an obnoxious smell. He bore a rancour, trudged along with a swaying gait, a black, bulging attaché in one hand and always wore a stern look, his eyes piercing from left to right. He was a silent, slow walker, did brandish a scary but not threatening look and was known as “Django.”

Then, there was a short, slim,

would help to consolidate relations between the PPP and U.S. administrations.

Suddenly, there are many U.S. foreign policy experts among Guyanese, including those who never studied foreign policy. U.S. foreign policy is a course taught in American politics that is a mandatory sub-field (for PhD students) in Political Science. I taught the topic in American government courses for over two decades. The U.S. Secretary of State conducts foreign policy on behalf of the President who is Chief Diplomat. The secretary is the counter equivalent of Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister. The secretary carries out the policies of the U.S. government.

He travels regularly all over the globe on behalf of the President, promoting U.S. interests and helping to secure international peace and security. His visit to Guyana and hours before that to Suriname is a reward for staying the democratic course.

The secretary’s trip will help to deepen the U.S.’ relationship with Guyana and the Region, something that a large majority of Guya-

nese-Americans and over half the population in Guyana support. One must not forget that the U.S. provided sanctuary to Guyanese from the 1960s onwards especially during the 28 years of dictatorship; there are more Guyanese and their descendants in America than in Guyana. Also, the U.S. provided over a billion dollars in foreign assistance between 1965 and 1992.

The U.S. fed starving Guyanese under the PL 480 programme that shipped flour to Guyana; flour that was banned by Burnham. Tens of thousands of Guyanese obtained tertiary education and employment in America, sending over US$400M annually in remittances from the 1980s to now. From the U.S., there were tens of millions of visits to Guyana over the last years, pumping billions of U.S. dollars into the economy.

Discussions with the secretary and his team should address mutual interests pertaining to national security: military assistance to counter border threats and oil exploration; cooperation against drug trafficking, human trafficking, and money

laundering; trade expansion; increased cultural and educational exchanges; the presence of a base in Guyana; widening sanctions (and visa cancellations) against riggers to include those who were involved in racial violence in West Berbice; greater support for democracy; forensic assistance to investigate the three killings in Cotton Tree; grants for economic recovery; combating hightech crimes, including cyber security; modernising Guyana’s security forces and their collaboration with the USA; diaspora linkage in America; sharing of appropriate technology to combat cross-border crime; establishing a DEA office in Guyana; joint U.S.-Guyana defence patrols on the border and on the coast.

The Ali presidency should use the secretary’s presence to deepen relations with America, including protection of our fragile democracy and combating international crimes.

every election time and was harvested by his vicious predators. A lot of big guys got slapped around and had to swallow more than their saliva. The knee was always on the Indo-Guyanese community and the cry for “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” was a strangled voice that was chastised with vindictive discrimination, ignored by the affluent and encouraged by abusers. The current estranged, melodramatic Granger, an ardent enthusiast, believer and admirer, remained emotionally obsessed with a burning desire to replicate a dream, but folded as a disillusioned protégé, lacking the spine for transformation, operation and execution.

The British Army once

hit the soil, they are not coming, but, this time, the American boots will tread the dirt, again, having established a base before.

The ground will shake, not from the roar of the mighty American jumbo plane, but from the physical trembling of the many thwarters of democracy and the continued obstructers who are still trying to resist the legally elected legitimacy of the popular will of the people.

Here comes “The Knight in Shining Armour,” to further cement, fence, protect and reinforce Guyana’s sovereignty from external forces and internal forces!

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram (Pol Scientist)

From page 6

hump-back Portuguese guy, probably in his 60s, who was also always roaming the aisles in the vey market and around the streets of Georgetown in the same era.

He always wore a white, short-sleeved shirt tucked in a black pants that fitted around his thin waist and tightly drawn by a black belt, the end part hanging loose by the right side of his trousers.

He wore a menacing look, was always clean shaved, but he always carried a brick in his hand. He was regarded as mentally challenged; people stayed far from him and he was known as “British” because he would raise his hand in the air with the brick while shaking it and shouting, “British, British,

the British are coming.”

Well, most of the Brits, Portuguese and many of the “well to do” others departed to the UK and then to the U.S., Canada, the neighbouring countries and the Caribbean, shortly after Guyana gained independence and Burnham began nationalisation. In the early colonial days, many Guyanese behaved as if they were the “Brits” and there was a class distinction that separated the “who” from the “who wants to know who,” and yes, the “junior staff” from the “senior staff.” Burnham tried to recreate the “massa days” by alluding to “white man days done, now is we time!” He planted the seed of racism that blossomed

Respectfully, Jai Lall

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Budget 2020 is about investment in people –– creating enabling business environment, says Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo

By Rabindra Rooplall EMPLOYMENT is key to the wellbeing of any country and the APNU+AFC deeming the 2020 budget a private sector budget is disingenuous and can be passed off as political banter, Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo, has contended.

He said incentives were given for private sector growth and development as well as to put more disposable income into the pockets, especially of low income earners.

Acknowledging that the

last occasion a budget was passed was in November 2018, Jagdeo said that, since then, over $300 billion was spent without any parliamentary oversight Noting that the current budget is a $330 Billion budget, he said a significant amount has already been spent, either through roll-over projects from 2019 or through unauthorised spending for 2020.

There is another group of expenditure, he said that is not included in the budget that has to be cleared, and that relates to the Contingency Fund.

“So there has been a ‘drawdown’ on the Contingency Fund for 2019 and I have just discovered that it runs into billions of dollars too, outside of the spending of the Consolidated Fund,” he said.

Much of those spending, he said have gone into areas which are not transparent, pointing out that this does not come out much in the budget debates because of the technicalities.

“When people listen they must always remember that this budget is a budget made up of expenditure for the re-

maining part of the year, but money already spent and money that is rolled over from 2019,” he said, explaining, “So when Winston Jordon claims that the fiscal deficit went up, it did largely because of the unauthorised spending that they had and it is not because the PPP/C came in and put a budget that suddenly cause the fiscal deficit to go up.”

He said the current government had to put things in place to cover the unauthorised spending that was done under APNU+AFC administration for the past two years.

Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Highlighting that the coalition parliamentarians have been clamouring that the budget is a private sector budget, Jagdeo said the budget has to follow an analysis of the situation.

This analysis, he related, revealed that there was growth in the oil sector but the non-oil economy was in a disastrous state.

It therefore means that they were deficit in sectors such as mining, agriculture, fisheries, bauxite, manufacturing and the services sector, among others.

“Those are the sectors that generate jobs for our people, and, along with COVID-19, the situation in those sectors were even worse, more people lost jobs. A key part of the budget had to give stimulus to those areas to ensure that we resume activities in mining, accommodation, forestry, agriculture so more Guyanese can be employed,” VP Jagdeo said.

Focusing on other incentives, Jagdeo said: “the mere fact that we removed VAT on medicine that they had put there, we reversed it, and we even extended it to medication used in the private sector, so when people now go to a private pharmacy, they don’t have to pay VAT.” He noted that the corporate tax was also removed from medical institutions in the private sector. Such will result in the investments in better equipment and private healthcare will expand, which will bring the cost down due to competition.

Adding that the same was done for private education, Jagdeo said that, hopefully, the fees will come down for parents sending their children to private schools while public schools will be upgraded.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE “They took away the cash grant which was $1.6 billion

from children. We brought it back and increased it to $15,000, so now that will put $2.5 billion back in the pockets of parents countrywide,” Jagdeo said.

Further, he said from January 2021 pensioners will get an increase of $5,000 on their pensions, and over the fiveyear period it will be greater.

This increase will place $4.5 billion in the pockets of pensioners.

Adding that doubling the school uniform vouchers will also put hundreds of millions of dollars in the pockets of parents. Jagdeo said, further, that free water for pensioners will also place another huge amount back into the pockets of citizens.

“Winston Jordon always claimed he didn’t have fiscal room to do this, but taking away incentives from poor people; but we have shown there is room in the budget,” he said.

Pointing out that the thousands of sugar workers laid off will now be earning, Jagdeo said that the industry will resume and closed estates will be reopened.

“The money spent there goes across our country. Our country is heavily integrated, every cent spent in the economy impacts all of our people,” he said.

In addition, the vice-president said taxes were also removed from machinery and equipment.

“People don’t eat these things. When people buy a piece of equipment, APNU+AFC put on taxes on it. A bulldozer, for example, under the PPP/C was zero taxed; under APNU you had to pay over $5M in taxes. Now it’s back to zero,” Jagdeo disclosed.

These savings, Jagdeo said can be re-invested into businesses to employ more people and stimulate development.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

‘Nation will starve no more!’

–– affirms Dr Persaud, defends allocation for social services and other programmes

–– upbraids opposition for ‘irresponsible’ utterances

By Navendra Seoraj THE depths of poverty in Guyana -- the renowned breadbasket of the Caribbean -- was made known over the past few months, as the country toiled with the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and a protracted electoral process.

People were suffering, said Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, as she called out the former APNU+AFC administration for ignoring the plight of the people while pursuing their “selfish” intentions of trying to “steal an election.”

“People were suffering, and when I got into the ministry it was emphasised more to me… women came and all they were asking for is food… never again will we allow people to threaten the fabric of democracy and remove the dignity of women folk and their families, especially where there has been an exposure of poverty,” said Dr. Persaud in her vibrant presentation during day three of the Budget 2020 debates.

For anyone to deny what had obtained, they were not being true to themselves, said Dr. Persaud, adding that COVID-19 and its effects on the economy are real.

“To trivialise major occurrences and dismiss the harrowing period of five months, when people had to cope with the economic hardships because of mismanagement, is ludicrous,” the minister said, as she called out the members of the opposition for what she called “irresponsible” utterances, especially about government’s proposed $329.5 billion budget.

Prior to Dr. Persaud’s presentation, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Dr. Karen Cummings had said government’s budget fails to address the needs of the Guyanese people, as it has nothing to offer.

But contrary to Dr Cummings claims, Dr. Persaud argued that Budget 2020 offers much to Guyanese, as there are a number of good measures and allocations to address critical areas and issues in Guyana.

For the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security alone, government has budgeted over $9 billion. Of this sum, $9,055,856,000 has been allocated for social services and $293,449,000 for child care and protection.

This, Dr. Persaud contended, shows vision. And, she believes that the people of Guyana are impatient and have high expectations, especially because they would like to see the reversal of the “misfortune” that they faced for the past five years and

a return of the “prosperous opportunities for all Guyanese”.

At the same time, she said Guyanese expect maturity, political will

saying: “We just got here, you (APNU+AFC) were here for five years… so what you did was to tell us what your inadequacies are, and

immediate needs. Among the areas of focus are the provision of food; feminine and dignity care; and the creation of opportunities for women

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, was energetic in her presentation to the National Assembly (Elvin Crocker photo)

Opposition MP, Dr. Karen Cummings, persisted with her presentation on Wednesday (Elvin Croker photo)

and desire to support any initiative that will benefit people, something which is said to be absent in the opposition side of the House.

DISSERVICE “If we move away from what people of this country expect then we would have failed…when you bring acrimony and irresponsible statements to this house, it does your constituency a disservice; you need to instead think about what you can do to move them upwards and elevate their lives,” said Dr. Persaud, as she challenged the opposition to be mature.

The minister continued by

showed us the gaps and told us how you failed the people of Guyana.”

Work has already commenced to fill those gaps, said Dr. Persaud, adding that there are many ‘ground-breaking’ programmes in the budget, targetting the most vulnerable persons in society.

One particular area of focus is women, as there has been no movement on the Guyana Women’s Leadership Initiative over the past five years.

Minister Persaud said her immediate plan, through this initiative, is to introduce two programmes which will benefit over 200 women, and will focus on dealing with their

to be part of the working world and have financial independence.

Members on the opposition side heckled as the minister laid out this aspect of her plan, but Dr. Persaud again criticised them for treating serious issues that deal with vulnerabilities with a cavalier manner.

Despite the interruptions, she said government will be rolling initiatives which benefit supporters of every political party and persons from all walks of life.

Unlike the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme, which provided persons with large sums of money without an application,

the new government will have system-based governance which ensures that people have equal access and opportunities, said Dr. Persaud.

EMPOWERMENT Instead of creating a system which has persons waiting on a handout, the minister plans to teach, train and empower people.

Reorganisation and restructuring of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has already started, and Minister Persaud assured that she was being guided by studies done by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Prior to the new government’s election to office, those vital studies were resting on a shelf, said the minister, adding that they were ignored although they focused on social expenditure, poverty, and the strengthening of institutions and organisations.

“We will act on them…heads of my programmes also have a number of programmes waiting for approval,” said Dr. Persaud.

In the area of child care, there will be more child advocacy centres; one-stop-shops for children; and even a virtual rally to engage children amidst COVID-19.

Government has also budgeted $22 million to provide essential child care services to essential workers. This will be offered to both the public and private sector workers.

Government will also be investing in the area of training, re-training and scholarships so that technical vacancies in Dr. Persaud’s ministry can be filled.

At the same time, money has been allocated for the rehabilitation of night shelters. These facilities have been neglected for years, said Dr. Persaud.

This is all part of the minister’s vision of creating an equal environment for all, as she believes that no community should be oppressed or suppressed.

From young to old will benefit, said the minister, noting that old age pension will be increased from January 2021, and pensioners will benefit from free water.

Considering these and other measures, Minister Persaud, in a direct message to the opposition, said: “instead of being disparaging, instead of treating budget like it has nothing to offer, walk with us and let us make people’s lives better.”

She believes that the movement from 2020 to 2021 should be seen as a journey of healing, and not division.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

GPF rejects 'no bank account' claim –– says all facilities were provided to Ponzi schemers

By Clestine Juan THE Guyana Police Force on Wednesday said that it had made every effort to assist alleged Ponzi schemer Yuri Garcia-Dominguez with access to a local bank account and other facilities, to transfer the necessary funds needed to initiate reimbursement to the persons he and his wife are accused of duping.

The force made this revelation in a press statement in response to claims made by one of the man’s lawyers, Dexter Todd.

Todd, among other things, had told the media during a press conference on Tuesday that his client, a Cuban, was never provided with a bank account.

“The GPF notes Mr. Todd’s statement that a bank account was never provided for Mr. Garcia-Dominguez

for the transfer of funds to initiate reimbursements to persons who signed contracts with Accelerated Capital Firm Inc (ACFI), and hereby categorically rejects this false contention,” the police said.

In fact, the police stated that on September 4, 2020, an account was opened at a local bank, Demerara Bank Ltd., under the name Accelerated Capital Firm Inc., with both Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, Ateeka Ishmael listed as signatories. Ishmael, a Guyanese by birth, is jointly charged with her husband. The couple, both of whom are associated with Accelerated Capital Firm Inc. (ACFI), have been accused of duping some 17, 000 persons.

On Monday they approached the High Court seeking a judicial review of the more that 70 fraud charges which were laid against them by the police.

ACFI Financial Adviser Yuri Garcia-Dominguez

Further, the force in its statement said every effort was made to provide the accused with the necessary facilities to facilitate the transfer of money to that bank account and the lead member of his legal team was aware of this.

“On September 5, 2020, Garcia-Dominguez requested

that a computer with internet connection be provided to facilitate him for use while in

While there, the statement said Garcia-Dominguez was given access to a computer and internet to conduct the transactions necessary to transfer monies into the Demerara Bank account.

According to the police, the accused again claimed he was unable to conduct the transactions and requested the use of his cellular phone which was being kept in police custody while he was in prison.

“Mr. Garcia-Dominguez was given the use of his cellphone under close police supervision. It was at this stage that Mr. Garcia-Dominguez informed the police that he

room at Criminal Investigation Department headquarters, Eve Leary, over three days, but was not given the opportunity to use any of the systems.

The couple has so far made a total of nine court appearances at the Georgetown, Sparendaam and Vigilance Magistrate’s Courts and on each occasion they were asked to post varying amounts of bail, which to date stands at a whopping $29.4M. The last set of charges – seven in total – were read to the couple on Monday at the

Dominguez and his wife, ACFI Director, Ateeka Ishmae

prison to process the transfer of funds to the Demerara Bank account. In conjunction with prison authorities, the police facilitated the use of a computer with internet connection for Mr. Garcia-Dominguez. At the said time, Mr. Glen Hanoman, the senior and lead attorney among those lawyers representing the couple, was made aware of this arrangement. Mr. Hanoman was also made aware of the local bank account which was opened to facilitate the transfer of funds,” the police said.

It was explained that when the accused was given a computer with internet access in prison, he claimed that it was not convenient to conduct his transactions in the environment of the prison. He then requested access to a computer with internet in a more convenient location.

The police said that in order to facilitate this request during the period September 7-11, 2020, the force in collaboration with prison authorities, transported the accused to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown, where he interacted with members of the Fraud and Cyber Crime Units.

was instructed by counsel Mr. Todd not to conduct any transactions unless the police promised to withdraw the current charges he is facing,” the statement said.

The police then informed Garcia-Dominguez that such action could not be taken and that such a decision can be made only by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The police said too that it notes that separate bail applications, one for Garcia-Dominguez and another for Ms. Ishmael, were made by counsel representing the couple to the High Court before Justice Sandil Kissoon and Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, on September 14, 2020, and bail was refused.

The police are still actively investigating the couple.

Todd had told the media that his client was not provided access to an account which the government had opened at a local commercial bank, so as to enable his client to transfer money.

According to the attorney, his client was not provided with any computer while in prison. It was explained that last week he was transported to the computer

Georgetown Magistrate’s Court by Magistrate Sherdel Issacs-Marcus.They were not required to plead to the joint charges and were granted $2.1M bail each. Those matters were adjourned to October 5.

Based on the information provided, thousands of Guyanese have collectively invested approximately US$20 million in the company, but never saw any returns as was promised.

The duo was first held by the police in early August following an investigation into widespread rumours that they were running a “Ponzi Scheme.”

The couple are alleged to have been operating their investment company here in Guyana from as far back as 2017 without the required licence from the Guyana Securities Council (GSC).

ACFI has been attributing its failure to remit refunds to clients to the absence of a bank account.

The company has claimed that several local commercial banks had closed whatever accounts they had held with them.

11

Don’t major in minors

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

–– Minister Sukhai urges opposition colleagues

TWO women, experts on the issues that challenge the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana, clashed in the National Assembly on Wednesday as they expressed their thoughts on budget 2020 in the ongoing debates.

Making presentations one after the other was Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Campbell-Sukhai and Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Dawn Hastings-Williams.

Digging into the budget 2020, the Opposition MP questioned the government on how pensioners in Guyana’s remote regions where there is no access to the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) or the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) will benefit from the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from water and electricity.

“I am speaking about pensioners in Chinoweng, Mr. Speaker; pensioners in Kaikan, pensioners in Phillipi, in Kanashen, in Itabak, Kurukubaru, just to name a few of our Indigenous communities. How exactly will they benefit from this reversal of VAT?” she questioned. She suggested that they be given an allowance to their pension to cater for their exclusion.

She also recommended that alternative measures be established for Indigenous Peoples of low-income to access loans.

In her presentation, Hastings-Williams criticised the management of the spread of COVID-19 at border regions, telling the House that Budget 2020 does not cater enough to the protection of those who live there.

She compared the People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPP/Cs) budget to that of the David Granger-led Administration’s ‘Decade of Development’. She said that she is pleased that several projects were initiated by the APNU+AFC. One of the projects she highlighted, was the Regional Disaster Risk Management Centre in Lethem, which she said is 95 per cent completed.

“We have improved the capacity of our people at the community and regional level so that they can better deal with whatever disaster comes in their community,”

said the MP. Added to this, she pointed to over 170 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hubs which have helped to connect schools and break down the barriers to equal access to education.

“I’m asking the government to be an inclusive government for the people of Guyana. Serve the people in humility, serve the people with love and serve your country, our beautiful country Guyana, with dignity and integrity,” urged Hastings-Williams.

She said that the former government took a perennial time to solicit just US$5 million from the World Bank even as the former minister of health “held testing kits in her personal space.”

In a short period, Minister Campbell-Sukhai said the PPP/C was able to attain donations, testing kits and other materials to fight the virus.

She explained that while it may appear as if the number of COVID-19 cases is rising, the figures represent an increase in testing which is useful in containing the virus.

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT Minister of Amerindian Affairs, speaking after Hastings-Williams, said her opposition colleagues have nothing to worry about as PPP/C Government is committed to ensuring that Guyana returns to its prosperous state, beginning with the 2020 Budget.

She said the PPP/C’s track record shows that it is capable of doing this and of correcting the “disastrous” five years of the APNU+AFC. Responding to the Opposition MP, she said: “I want to assure the honourable member that the PPP/Civic Government is the one that have built social cohesion in this country. It is the People’s Progressive Party Civic that has ensured that harmony lasted for a while until the APNU took over in 2015.

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the honourable member that it was in 2018 that the entire country began to slide because they showed their true colours after the no-confidence motion was passed and they were expected, as a responsible government… to have done the right thing.”

Campbell-Sukhai layered the opposition with criticisms for disregarding the rule of law in Guyana following the December 21, 2018 no-confidence motion, which she said is responsible for the slide in Guyana’s democracy and economy.

Though Hastings-Williams criticised the PPP/C’s COVID-19 management in the hinterland, the minister said that it was the APNU+AFC, from March to August 2020 that failed to effectively contain the virus.

WITH THE PEOPLE On the other matters highlighted by the opposition MP, the minister said that even while the PPP/C was out of power it was also out in the fields to address the needs and concerns of Guyanese and will now utilise the 2020 Budget to assist them tangibly.

“I can tell you that all the projects that they are claiming credit for were projects initiated by the PPP/Civic government, including securing and committing funds to those projects… many of the projects that they took over that were in progress, it took them five years to even reach a 50 to 70 per cent completion,” she said.

Listing a few, Campbell-Sukhai pointed to the East Coast road project, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), and the West Demerara Road Project.

On the matter of the renaming of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, which has been submitted as a motion to Parliament, Campbell-Sukhai said the Amerindian Act does not limit what Guyana’s first peoples can call themselves.

She told the House that the opposition seems to be fighting over terminology instead of representing the people and fighting to eradicate their challenges faced. “Don’t make a petty matter, a national matter,” she cautioned.

In its entirety, Minister Campbell-Sukhai said that Budget 2020 is a breath of fresh air to the Guyanese public and asked that it be provided with the full support of the House.

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Dawn Hastings-Williams

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Campbell-Sukhai

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Region Two frontline workers get hampers

Frontline workers who received hampers

REGION Two Regional Executive Officer (REO) Devanand Ramdatt said frontline workers will be receiving food hampers from the Region Two administration. He was at the time speaking at a handing-over ceremony held recently at

the Regional State House.

Ramdatt said during the pandemic, many workers attached to the regional health team have been risking their lives to conduct screening.

He said the regional administration would therefore like to appreciate their efforts by a

gift of food hampers. He particularly singled out the environmental health officers who are currently at various ports conducting regular screening.

On Tuesday, the environmental health staff received their food hampers. The hampers were distributed by new-

Dr Ranjeev speaking with frontline workers during the handing over

ly appointed Regional Health Officer Dr Ranjeev Singh. Dr Singh during the presentation commended the efforts of the environmental health officers in ensuring that every person entering the region is screened.

Environmental health

officers who received the hampers were very thankful for the recognition and commended the regional administration and the Regional Health Emergency Committee for the assistance. The officers are at the Supenaam, Good Hope,

and Charity ports of entry screening passengers. Thus far, only three persons are in isolation at the Suddie Public Hospital. The region has recorded 25 positive cases with 22 already recovered.

Woman survives push from man of unsound mind

THE life of an East Bank Berbice housewife almost ended, after a man of un-

sound mind nearly pushed her off the Edinburgh Bridge which she was cross-

ing, on her way home.

The bridge which interconnects Heathburn and Ed-

The Edinburgh Bridge under construction, with protruding steel rods which Samuels grabbed, preventing her from falling in the waterway which leads to the Berbice River

inburgh villages is currently under construction and is devoid of rails.

Earlier, Rosamund Samuels had visited relatives and was walking along the main East Bank thoroughfare when she heard the sound of an approaching car coming from behind her.

‘I stood aside to avoid the traffic. Within seconds, I felt a hard push from someone behind me. At the time, I was carrying two bags.

One was on my shoulder and the other was in my hand. Because of the sudden

push, the bag in my hand fell overboard and I fell too but grabbed for my life on the protruding steel rods on the incomplete bridge,” the woman related.

She added: “At that instance, I recognised the individual who was over me and was trying to push me over. But I wrestled with him, even sustaining injuries about the body. I tried to get off the ground. By then, a car approached and the driver exited his vehicle. However, the guy ran away, but was apprehended by two onlookers

a short distance away.”

The man of unsound mind has been identified as Surdat Williams.

Williams was taken to Central Police Station before being escorted to the National Psychiatric Hospital for an assessment. On November 17, 2017, Williams set ablaze a two-storey house at Lot 945 Glasgow, New Housing Scheme, leaving his parents, Jean and Eze Benjamin, who are pensioners, along with a niece, homeless.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Teen, elderly man among six charged with Hargobin's murder

By Nafeeza Yahya-Sakur SIX persons were, on Wednesday, remanded to prison, after they were charged with the murder of Prettipaul Hargobin, who was beaten to death, after allegedly opening fire on a group of protesters, at Bath Settlement, WCB. Those charged were Devan Karran called Rickey, 22; Ricardo Shiwlall called Rico, 27; Jagdat Khaloo called One Eye, 60; Satahul Shivchand called Cheto, 40 and Marlon Dharamdai called Bully. A teenaged boy was charged separately.

They were not required to plead to the indictable charge which alleged that they beat Hargobin to death, on September 9, on the Bath Public Road.

The charges were read to the accused by Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s court. The five adult men were remanded to prison, while the teen was remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre.

The matter was adjourned to September 23 when the accused will make their second appearance.

Karran , Khaloo, Dharamdai and Shivchand are all labourers and residents of Bath Settlement, WCB, while Shiwlall is a truck driver of Lot 155 # 10 Village, WCB. Meanwhile, Harilall Motilall called Fowl Cock, 45 years, a labourer of Block D (1) Bath Settlement West Coast Berbice also appeared before Magistrate Singh, on

Three of the accused, following their court appearance

Two of the accused making their way out of court on Wednesday

Wednesday, charged with malicious damage to property.

He was placed on $300,000 bail after it was alleged that he damaged a pick-up truck that belonged to the deceased (Hargobin).

His matter was adjourned to October 2, 2020.

During the protest actions on September 9, 2020, Hargobin exited his pickup truck and allegedly opened fire with a shotgun on a group of protesters. The protesters, it is alleged had earlier assaulted the deceased while he was inquiring about the

whereabouts of a man on a motorcycle.

Police reports indicated that Hargobin fired one shot in the air and three directed towards the protesters who then charged in his direction. He was allegedly beaten by the 6 men who were charged, and his pickup was allegedly destroyed

by Motilall. The injured man was picked up by police and rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Alleged carjacking thwarted –– Police rescue injured taxi driver, rank assaulted

Police ranks at the scene

The damaged Toyota fielder wagon after the accident

By Nafeeza Yahya-Sakur ALERT policemen, on Wednesday, managed to rescue a 64-year-old taxi driver, who was badly beaten and forcefully thrown into the backseat of his car, during a carjacking at Maida Village, East Berbice-Corentyne.

A high-speed chase ended when the car became involved in an accident at Bush Lot Village.

While details are sketchy, the Guyana Chronicle understands that two traffic ranks were alerted to an incident where a taxi driver was beaten, tied up and forcefully placed into the backseat of his white Toyota Fielder motor car, HC 5998, at Maida Village. The carjackers drove off with him in the vehicle.

The ranks, who were in the vicinity, having been alerted, gave chase on a motor cycle. At some point during the chase the Fielder Wagon slammed into the back of a Toyota Allion at Bush Lot Village.

When the ranks stopped and approached the Fielder wagon, the occupants became aggressive. The one in the front passenger seat whipped out a knife and attacked one of the ranks.

According to eyewitnesses, the man dealt the rank several blows about the body and eventually escaped.

Meanwhile, at the acci-

dent scene the elderly taxi driver was found with serious injuries to the face and was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital. Reports are that he sustained a broken jaw and other injuries to the face.

The beating of the taxi driver was caught on camera. In the video which was seen by this publication, two males were observed punching the elderly man in his face. He was later pulled from his driver seat and stomped several more times in the face.

The carjackers tied his shirt around his face and threw him into the back seat of the car and drove off.

The driver of the Toyota Allion, Vickram Seepaul, was visibly shaken when Guyana Chronicle arrived at the scene.

He recalled that he was driving to Rose Hall Town when he felt an impact from behind.

“When I get hit I feel a sting from my head and then the vehicle start spin. Same time two trucks were coming and I try pull the vehicle in the corner. One person in the backseat was injured and had to go to the hospital,” he said.

The police have since arrested one person and is in search of another in connection with the carjacking, assault and abduction.

Investigations are ongoing.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Millions $$$ allocated for training, scholarships

Minister of the Public Service, Sonia Parag

OVER 90 per cent of the $1.081 billion allocated to Ministry of the Public Service (MoPS) will cater for academic scholarship grants and training, Public Service Minister Sonia Parag said on Wednesday.

The ministry has already received over 700 scholarship applications over the past three weeks since notices were advertised inviting applications.

Minister Parag, who was speaking during the 2020 budget debate, also pointed out that while nothing has yet been said about salary increases for public servants, that is by no means an indication that future discussions will not be done.

She was at the time responding to comments made by former Minister of the Public Service, and current Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, who was the first speaker of the day.

“Budget 2020 will serve the people of Guyana and more importantly the public service and public servants of Guyana, and to ensure that they are safe and secure and their welfare will also be taken care of as well,” Minister Parag established.

She added that: “An increase in salary for public servants is not included in the budget [because] there is something called collective bargaining and that is what you do and then it is put in there. Let us get our facts straight before we criticise,” Parag asserted.

ALL PRODUCTIVE SECTORS The minister said the training and scholarship grants are expected to cover all productive sectors in the country, including the oil-

and-gas sector.

“No area that is a developing area will be left behind in training and scholarships,” the minister pledged.

For current scholarship students stuck overseas, the minister noted that arrangements are also being made to have aid sent to them.

Speaking immediately before Parag, Sarabo-Halley during her 30 minutes before the National Assembly called the budget “anti-working class” and “anti-public service.”

“I must ask why they have chosen to neglect the public servants in this budget? There is nothing of substance in the budget for public servants; what we have instead is a clear indication that the government intends to significantly reduce the human resources in the public service,” Sarabo-Halley accused.

Parag noted that under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) there are many plans to develop and advance the public sector.

“We are committed to reforming and modernising the public service in a holistic manner,” Parag established, adding that: “Modernisation does not only speak to software advancement, but to change of mentality to conform to the rest of the Region and world. The budget will also cater for modernisation and professionalisation of the public service. Discussions are already underway, and consultations with relevant stakeholders to modernise the public service rules which have not been looked at all over the last five years,” she said.

INADEQUATE Parag highlighted that plans are in the pipeline to

develop the ministry’s website, as the one left behind by the APNU+AFC administration has been deemed inadequate.

“We had a website created under the guise of modernisation, I am appraised by the IT specialist that the website is inadequate and we are creating a website more user-friendly and geared towards allowing for better application analysis reporting and management of scholarships what we have not seen in the last five years,” Parag related.

Parag and Sarabo-Halley also traded words on claims pertaining to scholarship distribution over the past five years under the former APNU+AFC government, revisiting claims made last month by the minister that the vetting for scholarships over the past few years was “heavily flawed.”

It was during a press conference last month that Minister Parag explained that the vetting of scholarships was skewed to one demographic and geographic area in Guyana, and that had been going on for the last five years.

On Wednesday in the National Assembly, the minister came armed with statistics to back her claims.

The minister said that for last year, in the overseas scholarships awarded across the country, none were awarded to anyone from Regions Seven, Eight or Nine, while for the remaining regions one was awarded to Region One; five to Region Two; five to Region Three; 36 to Region Four; a mere two to Region Five; 12 to Region Six; and five to Region 10.

For the local scholarships, according to the minister’s statistics, a total of 228 were distributed with Region

Opposition MP Tabitha Sarabo-Halley

Eight once again receiving none; of the other regions the distribution was three for Region One; eight for Region Two; 25 for Region three; 122 for Region Four; 11 for Region Five; 23 for Region Six; four for Region Seven and Nine, each; and 28 to

Region 10.

“The hinterland and indigenous people that they are fighting so much for have been left behind for the last five years. Those were for year 2019 and that has been the pattern for [the] past five years regarding scholar-

ships,” Parag said.

Speaking on the issue during her address, Sarabo-Halley’s defence was that the scholarships awarded under the previous administration were consistent with the applications received.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

14 Parliament staffers test positive for COVID-19

Samples were taken from Parliament staff last week, to test for COVID-19, after a number of members of the National Assembly had tested positive for the virus (Parliament of Guyana photo)

SPEAKER of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, on Wednesday, announced that 14 members of the Parliament Office had tested positive for COVID-19 and measures were being taken to ensure proper protocols were followed.

The 14 positive results were among the 126 samples that were taken from the staff last Thursday.

Speaking with Guyana Chronicle, some of the staff members of the Parliament Office said they would prefer to work from home or work remotely.

The Speaker, who himself tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and is currently presiding over the house virtually from a remote location, said that testing of the Parliament staff was deemed necessary, after several members of the National Assembly, who had tested positive, were present for sittings when Parliament re-

opened on September 2.

“The Clerk has taken the necessary action, since the test, to ensure our staff are provided with supplements and necessary protocols.

Of the 14 who are positive, he is currently making arrangements to ensure we can look after the good health of our parliamentary staff.

Please bear with us as the COVID-19 is beginning to take its toll on the members of the staff of Parliament,” Nadir said.

Earlier this month, Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony had described as “reckless and irresponsible” the behaviour of Opposition Members of Parliament (MP) Christopher Jones and Sherod Duncan.

They had attended the first sitting of the 12th Parliament, after testing positive for the virus, but not having entirely completed their isolation periods.

IAC welcomes Secretary of State, Pompeo THE Indian Action Committee (IAC) has welcomed the visit to Guyana by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, contending that it would not only assist in raising Guyana’s international profile, but will serve as a significant endorsement of the prevailing of democracy following the March 2, General and Regional Elections.

The IAC, in a release, said the events that unfolded following the said elections and which lasted for five months, not only threatened Guyana’s hard-fought democracy, but brought unnecessary suffering to citizens and negatively impacted the country’s image.

“The IAC is cognisant that had it not been for the valiant efforts of the then People’s Progressive Party Civic Opposition, the majority of the Guyanese people,

through various civil society organisations, the diplomatic corps and regional and international stakeholders, our democracy could have been strangled.

“Integral to helping to preserve our democracy was the sustained effort and support of the Government of the United States and its Secretary of State, Mr. Pompeo.

The IAC, therefore, wishes to take this opportunity to thank Secretary Pompeo, the Government of the United States and its Ambassador to Guyana, H.E. Sarah-Ann Lynch, for their invaluable support to Guyana and Guyanese during the time of need,” the release said.

The IAC is confident that Secretary Pompeo’s visit will further strengthen relations between Guyana and the US and which will further benefit all Guyanese.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Two persons succumb to COVID-19

THE novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has claimed the lives of two more persons, taking the death toll to 60.

Authorities said the latest victims were two women, 63 years old and 80 years old respectively, both from Region One (Barima-Waini), a region which has so far recorded 286 cases of COVID-19.

According to authorities, both persons were admitted to a local health facility and were tested after showing signs of the disease. They subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 but despite receiving medical care, both patients succumbed.

The Ministry of Health expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, and committed to making every effort to provide all the necessary support during this difficult time.

Officials of the ministry have since contacted all relatives and persons to facilitate contact tracing and rapid assistance to everyone who might have been exposed to the victims.

Guyana has so far recorded 1,984 cases of COVID-19 with 26 of those cases being recorded in the past 24 hours.

But 1,302 persons have since recovered, while 60 persons have lost their lives. Of the remaining cases, 52 persons are in institutional isolation and 555 are in home isolation, while 16 persons are being treated in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The emergence of asymptomatic cases had prompted authorities to distribute more sample kits across the country, especially to regions where the infection rate is high. Most of the cases have so far been recorded in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Increased sample-taking had resulted in a backlog which authorities sought to al-

leviate by sending 500 samples to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). The results of some of those samples have already been received, and the country has sent an additional 138 samples for testing, said Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly-discovered coronavirus.

Most people, who fall sick with COVID-19, will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment.

The WHO had said that 81 per cent of persons, who contract COVID-19, will have mild symptoms, while 14 per cent will have severe symptoms and five per cent will need intensive care.

But the COVID-19 disease has proven to be a “real killer”, especially in cases involving persons who have co-morbidities such as diabetes and hypertension, among other things.

Persons were encouraged to take extra precaution because there is no approved cure or specific treatment for the disease. Guyanese were also reminded to observe the protocols established in the COVID-19 emergency measures.

Anyone, who displays any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or needs any additional information, can contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231 1166, 226 7480 or 624 6674 immediately, or visit the ministry’s website at www.health. gov.gy.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

Lusignan prisoners stage protest over COVID-19 infections

Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels

THE news of COVID-19 cases at the Lusignan Prison was met with protest from prisoners on Wednesday, Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels has confirmed.

“They protested by refusing meals this (Wednesday ) morning, vociferously expressing their concern about the presence of the coronavirus in the prison, and by hurling bricks and other objects at members of the Joint Services. Prisoners also aggressively spoke about the need for speedier trials and reduction and granting of bail for some categories of prisoners with minor offences,” Samuels said.

The situation was later quelled by the officer-in-charge of the facility, Senior Superintendent (ag) Deoraj Gyandat, supported by members of the Prison Directorate, other senior staff of the Prison Service, Senior Superintendent, Khali Parsaram, Regional Commander (4C), as well as other senior and junior ranks of the Joint services.

The director of prisons said the inmates were assured that, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, testing will be done starting with persons who have been identified as contact persons

to those who tested positive.

Testing has commenced systematically, he said, noting that the rest of the prison population, including staffers, will be tested.

Samuels explained that the Health Ministry had also come onboard to aid with the daily sanitisation of the facility which will be done using chemicals prescribed by the Health Ministry.

This sanitisation, he said, will be done thrice daily.

Another quarantine facility has been established so that persons who test positive for the coronavirus can be separated and treated away from the rest of the prison population.

The Ministry of Health has also deployed a team of doctors and nurses to complement the medical team of the GPS. They are also going to facilitate further training of prison personnel so that greater efficiency can be achieved with the daily sanitisation exercises.

“The Guyana Prison Service wishes to thank the prisoners for their cooperation and the service will continue to work with other agencies, especially the judiciary, to address the overcrowding situation,” the director noted.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 17, 2020

New Haitian Ambassador accredited to CARICOM

Ambassador Beausoleil Sam (CARICOM photo)

CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque expressed his desire to have Haiti increase its participation in the regional Single Market and Economy as he accredited the country’s new ambassador to CARICOM in an on-line ceremony on Tuesday.

Ambassador Beausoleil Sam presented his credentials in a ceremony witnessed by members of CARICOM’s Committee of Ambassadors, government officials in Haiti and representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat.

“I’m sure you would agree that the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, CSME, is a key element in strengthening our integration process,” Secretary-General LaRocque told the new Haitian Ambassador.

“It also has the potential to provide opportunities for Haiti with your comparative advantage in the cultural industries, as an example,” he added.

The secretary-general however noted that while significant efforts have been made towards the full integration of Haiti into the CSME, the task is not yet completed.

“I recall Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CSME and I visited Haiti and had fruitful discussions with his Excellency President Moïse on advancing Haiti’s compliance with the measures under the CSME. An implementation plan, in that

regard, was agreed upon and approved by the heads of government at a special session in Port-of-Spain in December 2018. It is my hope that during your tenure we can work together to advance the plan,” the secretary-general told Ambassador Sam. The new ambassador in his remarks reaffirmed his country’s strong commitment to the regional integration process.

“Mr secretary-general, despite COVID-19, I believe we can continue furthering the work geared at achieving the objectives set out in the Community Strategic Plan.

“I know my job as ambassador also entails serving as a link through which national stakeholders would engage in regional processes and vice-versa and I intend to deliver in that regard. With your help, I think I’ll be able to succeed despite challenges of all sorts,” Ambassador Sam said.

Secretary-General LaRocque also used the ceremony to again express condolences to the government and people of Haiti and particularly the relatives of those who lost their lives during the recent passage of Tropical Storm Laura. At least nine deaths were reported during Laura’s passage in late August.

“This new normal of frequent and more intense storms continues to pose a challenge to our Community,” the secretary-general said. (CARICOM)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday September 17, 2020

WNBA star marries man after wrongful

conviction overturned

Irons and Moore, pictured after his release from prison in July this year (BBC) - WNBA star Maya Moore has married Jonathan Irons - the man she

helped free from prison following his wrongful conviction for assault and burglary.

Irons was released in July after 23 years in prison, his conviction having been overturned in March.

Moore had paused her WNBA career in 2019 to focus on getting him free.

“We got married a couple of months ago and we’re excited to continue this new chapter of life together,” Moore, 31, told Good Morning America.

Moore was a first-round draft pick for the Minnesota Lynx in 2011, helping them win four championships and being named MVP in the 2014 season.

The 31-year-old, one of the best players in WNBA history, also has two Olympic and two World Championship gold medals.

But she gave up her career early in 2019 to help Irons, whom she had met 12 years before and who was serving a 50-year term.

Overturning the conviction, Judge Daniel Green called the case “very weak and circumstantial at best”.

Moore fell to her knees when she greeted Irons, 40, as he walked out of Jefferson City Correctional Center - a maximum security prison in rural Missouri - as a free man.

Asked whether she would go back to her playing career, Moore said: “I’m hoping sometime in the spring we’ll be able to have a next step moving forward.

“Right now I am trying to really just breathe from this long, long battle and enjoy and rest.

“There are a lot of unknowns for a lot of us right now so I’m still in that camp.”

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Bale closer than ever to leaving Real Madrid

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday September 17, 2020

Bale scored on his last Tottenham appearance, giving him 26 goals for 2012-13 and 55 in 203 games in total for Spurs.

(BBC) - Gareth Bale is closer to leaving Real Madrid now than at any time during his seven years at the Spanish club, according to his agent.

Jonathan Barnett told BBC Wales Sport talks over a move back to Tottenham are “slowly progressing”.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho refused to speculate on the talks yesterday.

Bale, 31, left Spurs to join Real for a then-world record £85M in 2013 and has since scored more than 100 goals and won four Champions League titles.

In July 2019, Real cancelled a deal for Bale to join Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning, and he played 20 times for the Bernabeu club last season.

Barnett said yesterday: “Gareth is closer to leaving Madrid than at any time in the last seven years.

“We are still negotiating. We shall see how it goes.”

It remains to be seen whether the potential deal will be a loan or a permanent move.

Asked about the Wales captain, Mourinho replied: “He is a Real Madrid play-

er and I don’t comment on players from other clubs.

I have to respect that. It’s better not to speak.

“I tried to sign him for Real Madrid, which was not possible to do during my time there. But the president followed my instinct and my knowledge and the season I left he brought Gareth to the club. It’s not a secret, even Gareth knows that.”

Mourinho, who was in charge of Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, added: “A squad is a puzzle and when a new signing completes the puzzle it’s great for the team.

“There are three more weeks; the market is open both ways. I think in football you have to always be waiting for something to happen. Let’s see what happens to us.”

The Portuguese previously told Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that he “needs a striker” before October 5.

Tottenham were beaten 1-0 at home by Everton in their first game of the new Premier League season on Sunday. He carried the Wales team, he carried the Tottenham team” F ormer Tottenham winger Darren Anderton

says Bale is “exactly what Spurs need”.

“After watching the game on Sunday, oh boy, do Spurs need it - someone who can go and win a game with a bit of magic, creativity and flair,” said Anderton.

“It has to be great for all parties. To come back to somewhere you are loved really does make sense.

“He carried the Wales team; he carried the Tottenham team when he was here, winning games on his own. He is exactly what Spurs need. For me it is a no-brainer to come and play for us and prove what he is all about.”

Spurs midfielder Eric Dier said it is “exciting” for Tottenham fans “when you are linked with a player of that level”, but does not feel the Spurs squad needs a fresh impetus.

“I would disagree to be honest,” he said.

“Since I have been back for pre-season there is new blood. “(Steven) Bergwijn’s been here six months, and Gedson Fernandes.

Pierre-Emile (Hojbjerg) and Matt (Doherty) have just arrived. There’s a different dynamic to the dressing room.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday September 17, 2020

Former IAAF boss jailed over corruption

(BBC) - Lamine Diack, the exhead of athletics’ governing body, has been jailed after being found guilty of corruption.

The Senegalese, 87, faced corruption and money-laundering charges linked to the Russian doping scandal.

Diack was convicted of accepting bribes from athletes suspected of doping to cover up test results and letting them continue competing, including in the 2012 London Olympics.

He was sentenced to four years

in prison, two of them suspended.

Diack’s lawyers said he would be appealing against the judgement, which they called “unfair and inhumane”.

Diack, who was also given a maximum fine of 500 000 euros (£456 928), was investigated by French authorities for four years over claims he took payments of more than 3M euros to cover up cheating.

The judge said his actions had “undermined the values of athletics

and the fight against doping”.

Diack has been under house arrest in Paris since November 2015.

Previously one of the most influential figures in world sport, Diack was president of the International Association of Athletics’ Federations - now World Athletics - for 16 years until he was replaced by Britain’s Lord Coe in August 2015.

Diack’s son Papa Massata Diack - who was banned for life from athletics in 2016 - was sentenced to five years in prison and a given a 1M euros fine (£913 850).

After the ruling, World Athletics released a statement in which it said it was “disappointed this happened in our sport” but “grateful for the strong and clear decisions that have been taken against the individuals involved”.

Athletics’ governing body added that it would like to “reassure everyone that the reforms our congress approved in 2016 will ensure that similar actions by individuals can never happen again in our sport”.

“We are grateful for the damages awarded by the Paris Criminal

Court totalling 16M euros for embezzled funds and for reputational damage suffered as a direct consequence of these crimes and the resulting media coverage,” it added.

“As the court acknowledged, this damage has impacted World Athletics’ finances and had a negative impact on World Athletics’ image and reputation in a deep and lasting way. We will do everything we can to recover the monies awarded, and return them to the organisation for the development of athletics globally.”

Lopez wins Tour de France stage 17 as Roglic extends lead

(BBC) - Miguel Angel Lopez won stage 17 of the Tour de France as Primoz Roglic extended his lead in the race.

Astana’s Lopez pulled clear of the other general classification contenders on the final climb of the day, beating Roglic into second by 15 seconds.

The stage victory took Lopez into third overall, while Roglic moved almost a minute clear as his fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar came home third.

Rigoberto Uran, who went into the stage in third, was almost two minutes back.

Yesterday’s stage had begun without defending champion Egan Bernal, with the Ineos Grenadiers rider announcing his withdrawal after struggling through stages 15 and 16.

However, his compatriot

Lopez produced a superb ride to accelerate away from Sepp Kuss on the Col de la Loze, which is the third-highest finish location of a Tour de France stage.

The Colombian, who is riding in his first Tour de France, is now one minute 26 seconds down on Roglic in the race for the yellow jersey.

“I’m very emotional because of the work done at home with my family, my wife, my son. I dedicate this victory to them,” Lopez said.

“We were confident. I was on my terrain. At 2,000 metres of altitude, I feel like at home.”

Richard Carapaz had looked as though he may cling on for Ineos’ first stage win at the Tour after being part of a five-man break that went clear as the peloton splintered on the Col de la Madeleine.

But the Giro d’Italia

champion was reeled in with under 3km left on the final climb after going solo with 9km remaining.

Roglic and Pogacar battle for yellow While Lopez was riding to his first Tour stage win, all eyes were on the race behind, as Roglic and Pogacar went toe-to-toe on sections of the climb that reared up to a gradient of 24%.

And while Pogacar ended the day leading the King of the Mountains competition, he could not match his fellow Slovenian when it mattered.

Roglic eased his way back to the wheel of Jumbo-Visma team-mate Kuss before distancing the UAE Team Emirates rider in the final 2km.

“I don’t think the job is done,” said Roglic. “There are still some hard stages to come and Tadej Pogacar is a great

climber. I felt really good on the climb, but you can’t compare these last four to five kilometres to anything else.

“I’m glad this stage is behind us. I was happy with the position I was in before the stage, and now I’m even happier.”

Britain’s Adam Yates was dropped about 4km from the summit but remains in fifth place overall behind Australia’s Richie Porte in fourth.

“Tough day, but I hung in there as long as I could so we can be happy with that,” said the Mitchelton-Scott rider.

“We’ve got a big stage tomorrow, a lot of altitude metres then all we’ve got after that is the time trial, one day all by myself. So we’ll keep going. Hopefully tomorrow I’ve got good legs and we’ll keep trying.”

Stage 18 tomorrow sees the riders tackle another

4 000m of climbing on the 168km mountain stage from Meribel to La Roche-surForon.

Stage 17 results 1. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col/Astana) 4hrs 49mins 08secs 2. Primoz Roglic (Slo/ Jumbo-Visma) +15secs 3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/ UAE Team Emirates) +30secs 4. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) +56secs 5. Richie Porte (Aus/ Trek-Segafredo) +1mins 01secs 6. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +1mins 12secs 7. Mikel Landa (Spa/Bahrain McLaren) +1mins 20secs 8. Adam Yates (GB/ Mitchelton-Scott) Same time 9. Rigoberto Uran (Col/ EF Pro Cycling) 1mins 59 secs 10. Tom Dumoulin (Ned/ Jumbo-Visma) +2mins 13secs

General classification after stage 17 1. Primoz Roglic (Slo/ Jumbo-Visma) 74hrs 56mins 04secs 2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/ UAE Team Emirates) +57secs 3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col/Astana) +1mins 26secs 4. Richie Porte (Aus/ Trek-Segafredo) +3mins 05secs 5. Adam Yates (GB/ Mitchelton-Scott) +3mins 14secs 6. Rigoberto Uran (Col/ EF Pro Cycling) +3mins 24secs 7. Mikel Landa (Spa/Bahrain McLaren) +3mins 27secs 8. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 18secs 9. Tom Dumoulin (Ned/ Jumbo-Visma) +7mins 23secs 10. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +9mins 31secs

US--based golfers make massive US donation of gear to GGA

THE Guyana Golf Association (GGA) announced that several hundred golf clubs and other equipment were part of a contribution to the development of the sport in Guyana from Bob Maibusch, owner of Pine Grove Springs Golf Course in New Hampshire, USA. Maibusch was contacted by GGA president Aleem Hussain. According to the president, the foreign pro golfer readily agreed to assist in the growth of the game; especially in light of the recent attention being given by women and children since the opening of the Nexgen Golf Academy & Driving Range.

Bob and his daughter are heavily involved in the teaching, designing and operations of Golf courses around the

United States and instantly agreed to partner with the GGA in his words “for the love of the game”.

Recently a number of clubs, balls, and other pieces of equipment were collected and shipped through the sterling efforts of Aleena and Bill Knight of New York and is expected to arrive in Guyana by month-end.

Hussain said that the equipment was much needed and would supplement the previous sets contributed by Danny Ramnarain and Anwar ‘Buddy’ Shaffie, Colin Ming, and the Shafura Hussain Foundation over the past few months.

“With the help of so many people, we are now in a strong position to provide equipment, balls and training for hundreds of students and newcomers to

the sport,” said Hussain.

Hussain said that the move also plays a role in golf development as recent talks with Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr were fruitful. According to Hussain the minister acknowledged that golf is one of the sports which allow for social distancing, but at the same time still creates a fun outdoor atmosphere, especially for children who have their extracurricular lives halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Academy & Driving Range on Woolford Avenue is open from 08:00hrs to 17:00hrs daily with accommodation being provided for up to 20 persons per hour in accordance with social-distancing requirements.

(Clifton Ross)

US-based golfer Bill Knight getting the equipment together

Pro golfer and owner of Pine Grove Springs Golf Course in New Hampshire, USA, Bob Maibusch

26

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday September 17, 2020

England name sixteen for West Indies Women T20 series

(BBC) - England Women have named a 16-player squad for their T20 series against West Indies, which begins on Monday.

Batter Georgia Elwiss is the only player missing from the squad that reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Australia in March.

Elwiss is absent with a back injury, with all-rounder Sophia Dunkley and fast bowler Katie George included.

England will host West Indies in five matches be-

hind closed doors at the Incora County Ground, Derby.

The third T20 of the series will be shown live on BBC TV. “We are privileged to be in a position to play an international series, and to get the chance to showcase the women’s game,” said England head coach Lisa Keightley.

“We have worked hard since the group came back together in preparation for this series and we’re in a

great place.”

England beat West Indies by 46 runs in March, in what was both teams’ last competitive outing.

England squad for West Indies series: Heather Knight (capt.), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Katie George, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wkp.), Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wil-

son, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt.

Natalie Sciver made 57 when England beat West Indies in March at the T20 World Cup.

Schedule All matches to be played at the Incora County Ground, Derby Monday, September 21 - First T20 Wednesday, September 23 - Second T20 Saturday, September 26 - Third T20 Monday, September 28 - Fourth T20 Wednesday, September 30 - Fifth T20

Sinclair declares self self--belief belief,, support from team as key elements in CPL success GUYANA Amazon Warriors all-rounder Kevin Sinclair praised his teammates and coach for playing an enormous role in his exceptional Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season, adding that the experience gained will be essential for his career going forward.

Sinclair, the man with arguably the best celebration in CPL, during an exclusive with Chronicle Sport yesterday, was in high spirits following his return home from the ‘bubble’ after a successful stint with the Warriors; who despite being knocked out in the semis, played like their moniker states.

Playing just 5 games before being entrusted with some responsibility during the crunch stages of the tournament, the 20-year-old

Guyana Jaguars player returned 1-9, 1-6, 2-13, 1-16 and 1-23 ending with 5 wickets. Sinclair was used as a makeshift opener for a few games but found more success in the department in which he has been excelling lately.

With a number of talented players, local, regional and international in the side, the dynamic all-rounder praised his teammates for their support and confidence in him, something he said played a huge role in his accomplishments this season.

“Basically, I learnt a lot from coach (Johan) Botha, our captain Chris Green and Imran Tahir. I also learnt some batting tips from Ross Taylor and I even had chats during breakfast at times with Pravin Tambe (KKR spinner). So

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Thursday September 17, 2020)

COMPLIMENTS OF XTRA ENERGY DRINK

– STABROEK BAZAAR (Tel: 683-9500) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD- 83 Garnett street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Andre Fletcher-15 (14 catches; 1 stumpingZouks) (2) Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (Tallawahs) & Mohammed Nabi (Zouks) :8 catches each

Today’s Quiz: (1) Who has now played most matches in all CPL cricket?

(2) Who has captained in most matches in CPL cricket?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

I learnt a lot this year and now I just have to add that to my game going forward.” said Sinclair.

Not shying away from the fact that more could have been done in both departments, the Berbician, who ended as the Warriors bowler with the best economy rate (4.35) and average (12.20) of the tournament, admitted that the experience gained recently will help to unlock other dimensions to his cricket in the future.

“There’s always room for improvement in cricket because I never really liked settling in terms of how my batting and bowling go. You don’t want to be the same cricketer every year so I think it was important to add to my game. I had a lot of positives coming out of the tournament because they didn’t know me that well”.

Sinclair pulling off his traditional, acrobatic celebratory tricks He continued, “When I started to perform they (my team) realised that I had some talent and potential and they didn’t try to change anything about my game; they just gave me some advice on stuff like working on my variations and so on which was great,” pointed out the right-arm spinner.

Despite a late start to the season, Sinclair who was a part of the history-making West Indies Emerging Players (WIEP), who won the 2020 Regional Super50, explained that it was his hunger to get back on the field after months away due

to the pandemic, coupled with his desire to prove his worth as a key player in the franchise; which led to his making the most of his chances in the middle.

“I started a bit late, but I was hungry for success or should I say I was waiting on my opportunity to make the best out of it and I did that. I must say it was pretty enjoyable to be playing around those senior guys as well as the international stars”.

Wrapping up his interview, Sinclair who had big scalps like Mitchell Santner, Shai Hope, Andre

Fletcher, Johnson Charles and Evin Lewis to name a few in his collection this season, noted that it was the overall support from his team and self-confidence in his ability which allowed him to overcome his biggest challenges this year.

“My biggest challenge was to contain batsmen, I mean contain, as in ‘don’t look to go for too many boundaries’. I had the guys backing me all the way, I myself was very confident in my abilities so that was my biggest challenge of the tournament and I did it absolutely right.” Sinclair ended.

West Indies Women T20 tour of England

Kirby’s knock helps Dottin Kirby’ Dottin’’s team secure warm warm--up win

(BBC) - An unbeaten 85 not out from Lee-Ann Kirby helped Team Dottin secure a 26-run victory over Team Selman in the West Indies Women’s second practice match at the Incora County Ground.

Kirby, along with her captain Deandra Dottin, posted 55 runs in 9.2 overs before Dottin fell to Shabika Gajnabi for 29. The remaining batters looked on as Kirby smashed the bowlers around for 7 fours and 3 sixes, as Team Dottin posted

132-5 from their 20 overs. Hayley Matthews was the pick of the bowlers for Team Selman, finishing with figures of 2-31 from her four overs.

In their chase, 27 seemed to be the figure for Team Selman, as Hayley Matthews, Chinelle Henry and Shabika Gajnabi all registered the same score with the bat. Team Dottin’s bowlers stifled the scoring of Team Selman.

Shamilia Connell was the best bowler for Team Dottin, finishing with figures

of 2-18 from her four overs.

After the match Dottin said, “These 2 practice matches felt good to be back out in the middle playing competitive cricket. Personally, it was nice spending some time at the crease after such a long layoff.

Generally, we are all looking and feeling good, after the last couple weeks of training. So we’re just looking forward now to start the series on Monday and put all that hard work into action.”

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday September 17, 2020

Proposed Sports franchise initiative to create thousands of jobs

… GPS Cadet Officer says project will help reduce crime significantly

By Clifton Ross GUYANA Prison Service (GPS) Sports Coordinator Cadet Khalifa Hale says there is a proposed plan for local investors to further impact sports by virtue of owning teams.

Cadet Hale, who is in charge of the local prison’s sports reform programme as well as on board the joint services sports committee, told Chronicle Sport during an exclusive conversation that Phase 1 of the project is currently ongoing.

He said more athletes will have a better financial basis to help with their careers, adding that the project will set a foundation for reducing crime over time in Guyana.

According to Hale, the first phase is covering the logistics of first getting the required permission from the government under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. The plan is to turn regular sponsors into full-fledged owners of any sport team they might have interest in within a specific region or community of Guyana.

While regular sponsors are more inclined to support a specific team or sport, based on an event, Hale’s plan is geared towards turning interested investors/ sponsors into a kind of mini-franchise owner.

For example, should a sponsor or stockholder feel inclined to own a football team in his community, that potential team owner will then signal his intentions to the project coordinators and the ministry, who will give the green light for that

new owner to now have full access to his or her new franchise.

Also, with support coming from the government once the project gets underway, teams will benefit from having access to venues in their communities while owners can utilise venues to further generate more income to sustain their franchise and venue.

From a monetary perspective, such a plan, according to Hale, will help to tremendously reduce crime in Guyana while opening newer avenues for youths to put their time and effort into making an honest dollar while creating a crime-free society by using sports as its main tool.

With Phase 1 almost completed, Hale noted that his recent talks with Sport Minister Charles Ramson has now prompted him to further wrap up the second phase of planning.

He noted that the minister has promised support at his end once the planning party ticked all of their boxes with regard to the project’s blueprint. Upon checking all the boxes, Hale noted that only then the government’s support will come into effect, something the sports coordinator said had given them the encouragement to further complete their initial stages of the venture.

One driving force behind the planned move comes from Hales’ everyday encounter with youths who have lost their lives to the judicial system. He said being involved in the prison as a person who places much emphasis on reforming those incarcerated, especially by means

GPS Sports Coordinator Cadet Khalifa Hale said the project will help keep more youths, athletes and non-athletes out of prison while providing a solid basis for them to provide for families.

(Clifton Ross photo)

of sports and staying fit; has only boosted his efforts to use sports as the primary weapon which will help keep youths out of prison.

He noted that over the years, he has seen a number of inmates turn to sports as a way to pass the time behind bars.

Hales said the relaxation and joy which sports bring can be used beforehand in a major capacity to further prevent more and more youths from losing their way in the streets.

Also, should the project become a reality soon, the Cadet said he was confident that the crime will lessen across the country especially those areas which are in dire need of assistance. Having a community team franchise will help more persons to become involved in community restoration activities both in sports and entertainment.

With support from the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), the Allied Arts which is responsible for School sports programmes and a few others local entities have so far shown interest to be a part of the project.

Hales said once a significant number of association and sponsors come on board in the days to come, project planners will commence rolling out Phase 2 which will focus on legalising the process and getting the government’s full support.

Meanwhile, Cadet Hale can be contacted at Klalifahale1988@gmail. com or on cell 610-7886 for more information regarding the potential sports plans.

Maxwell,, Carey provide series win for Aussies Maxwell (ESPNCricinfo) - Twin tons to Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey carried Australia past a precarious start to ensure a match and series victory against England in the final ODI at Emirates Old Trafford.

Their 212-run partnership rescued the tourists from 73 for 5 and resigned England to their first bilateral ODI series defeat at home since 2015 Both fell in the dying stages, leaving it to Mitchell Starc to bring up the winning runs with a cool head and a swinging bat.

The result overturned Jonny Bairstow’s powerful century, which had lifted England to a

commanding total from their own troubled beginning.

Early wickets to Chris Woakes and an inspired turn by part-time spinner Joe Root had Australia in dire trouble in their pursuit of 303 before Maxwell’s 108 off 90 balls and Carey’s 106 sealed the series 2-1.

Going into the last international men’s fixture of a belated English summer, the hosts teetered on 2 for 0 within the first two balls of the match.

But Bairstow’s authoritative 112 from 126 balls, combined with half-centuries to Sam Billings - with whom he shared an innings-saving 114-run stand for the

fifth wicket - and Woakes, allowed England to reach 302 for 7.

Woakes backed up his fine unbeaten 53 from 39 balls with two quick wickets to put Australia in trouble at 31 for 2.

Root’s introduction looked on the surface to be a masterstroke by master captain Eoin Morgan, but had been foretold by the eventual dismissal of Bairstow earlier, beaten between bat and pad by a ball from seamer Pat Cummins which turned sharply into the batsman and clattered into the top of off stump.

Australia wobbled when Woakes had Finch and Marcus Stoinis out cheaply, the latter

holding his place in the side after Steven Smith was left out again still feeling the effects of the blow to the head he took in training six days prior.

The tourists visibly slumped when Root dismissed David Warner with his fifth ball, which ripped off a middle-and-leg line to clip the top of off stump. Root then had Mitch Marsh out in his next over to a deflection onto his knee-roll which looped up and landed safely in the gloves of Jos Buttler.

Australia were 73 for 5 after Carey dabbed a Root delivery to the off-side and dashed off for a quick single, leaving Marnus Labuschagne exposed to Billings’

sharp throw to Jos Buttler.

Australia should have been six down when Carey, on 9, holed out to Adil Rashid at third man, but it turned out that Jofra Archer had over-stepped and Carey was reprieved. Maxwell was also let off on 44 when he edged Rashid to Buttler, who failed to gather behind the stumps.

Carey and Maxwell brought up their 100-partnership off as many balls. By the end of the 35th over, Australia were 186 for 5 compared to England’s 184 for 4 and Maxwell did his best to up the tempo when he thumped Rashid for a huge six into the second tier wide of long-on.

Guyana Amazon Warriors all-rounder Kevin Sinclair said support from his teammates played a big part in his success.

PAGE 26

Sinclair declares self-belief, support from team as key elements in CPL success Maxwell, Carey provide series win for Aussies

PAGE 27

West Indies Women T20 tour of England

Alex Carey celebrates with fellow centurion and match-winner Glenn Maxwell. (Getty Images)

Kirby’s knock Kirby’ helps Dottin Dottin’’s team secure warm--up win warm

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85 not out from Lee-Ann Kirby helped Team Dottin secure a 26-run victory.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020