Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_01_22_2020

WEDNESDAY 22nd January, 2020

No.105887

President David Granger

President in good health PAGE

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…. Cuban specialists say Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma still in remission

‘You need clean hands to preside over Guyana’

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…PM tells residents of home village Whim

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At APNU+AFC’s public meeting Tuesday night at Whim, Corentyne, home village of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

SHUMAN, 10 BANDHU OUT PAGE

…allegedly made false declaration to GECOM over citizenship status

Citizens Bank profits grow 11 PAGE

…records close to 60% increase in profit for 2019

A campaign 2 of lies’ …PNCR raps PPP PAGE

for alleged ‘dirty’ election campaign

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

‘A campaign of lies’ …PNCR raps PPP for alleged ‘dirty’ election campaign …says the party has resorted to lies, propaganda to sell message THE People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the largest party of the APNU+AFC coalition has accused the opposition PPP of resorting to lies and propaganda to sell its message and has called out that party’s Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali for misleading citizens.

The PNCR said it has noted “malicious” and “spurious” attempts by the opposition led by Ali regarding the President’s private residence at Pearl, East Bank Demerara. According to the PNCR the PPP has been circulating a video advertisement regarding the President’s home at Pearl and according to the PNCR “it is now clear that the PPP is

trying to run away from its 23 years of misrule, corruption and division” The PNCR said it noted that the opposition’s “record is so sordid, that they can boast about nothing; so, they have resorted to lies and empty promises in an attempt to get the electorate to forget their 23 years of chaos, confusion and corruption.”

The party said that as part of the PPP’s Campaign of lies and propaganda it continues to accuse

“After 2 years as Minister…

Irfaan Ali builds mansion with pool house.”

In that news item the newspaper quoted the cost of construction of the house which was estimated to be more than $300M. “ O n e

milk scam; the gold scam; the law books scam; the re-migrant duty-free-vehicle scam; the Cane Grove Conservancy Dam scam; the IAST scam; the wildlife scam; the export of dolphins scam; the Polar Beer scam; the GuySuCo scam and the $1.3B fibre-optic cable scam, the latter which was managed by the son of former President Ramotar.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali

President Granger of using state funds to rehabilitate his private residence located at Pearl. In the past, the opposition and its surrogates have been publicising the accusations and the PNCR has clarified once more that the house in question was built by the President’s brother. It noted that the house is “a home that does not have the fictitious amenities or exorbitant costs as alleged by the dishonest PPP and was rehabilitated

by President Granger at his own expense after his brother died in September 2017.”

The party noted that the advertisement is an attempt geared at diverting attention from the “scandalous” mansion of the PPP’s Presidential Candidate, as it noted that the PPP’s “campaign of lies” is engaging in that party’s usual distortion of the truth.

The PNCR quoted a Kaieteur News article dated January 1, 2012 captioned

contractor, using the same Government estimates, said that to fence the compound of that estate would be about $50 million. Some have actually questioned Minister Ali’s wealth bearing in mind that he came from humble beginnings and has been a Minister for just about three years,” the news article stated.

It was noted that the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) is currently investigating how oil blocks were given to companies that do not have any experience in petroleum exploration. These blocks were awarded by President Donald Ramotar just days before the May 2015 General and Regional elections. Intelligence suggests that these blocks are held by known PPP associates through offshore shell companies.

The PNCR also listed several “scandals” attributed to the PPP and those include the stone scam; the

“This is the real PPP, and we must never allow this type of lawlessness to return to government. This is their real record and they must defend it,” the PNCR says.

It noted that the PPP had its time and that party’s track record proves that “they are dishonest, unscrupulous and too incompetent to govern in the interest of all of the people of Guyana.”

It was noted that since President Granger’s election to office, Guyana has begun moving in the right direction and the party said that the President has always ensured that the Coalition government is working for all Guyanese regardless of ethnicity, geography, gender, party affiliation or class. “Together let’s keep moving forward.

At the next elections, the PNCR urges all Guyanese to vote APNU+AFC to ensure a better future for all,” the coalition partner said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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resident in good health

…. Cuban specialists say Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma still in remission

President David Granger has returned to Guyana following a scheduled medical evaluation in Cuba and doctors there have assured him that he is in good health and that the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma remains in remission.

In a release the Ministry of the Presidency said that, according to Guyana’s Embassy in Havana, the medical specialists in Cuba have confirmed that the “President has improved to the satisfaction of his doctors and that he is in good health.”

The President arrived in Havana on January 18, 2020 to undergo a scheduled medical evaluation which was completed on Monday.

Back in October last year, it was reported that President Granger’s cancer

was in remission, following a scheduled medical evaluation in Cuba. Cancer remission occurs when the signs and symptoms of cancer have lessened or are undetectable. In blood-related cancers such as leukaemia, this means you’ll have a decrease in the number of cancer cells. For solid tumours, that means that the tumour size has decreased. The decrease must last for at least one month before the cancer is considered to be in remission.

In a statement, Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, had disclosed that, following the evaluation, the medical specialists expressed complete satisfaction with the state of the President’s health. Ma-

jeed said then, that in keeping with the strict medical procedures of the Cuban health system, the Head of State was expected to return to

in June 2020.

President Granger

President David Granger

Cuba for another scheduled routine medical check in January 2020. Thereafter, the next evaluation will be

is on record as iterating his gratitude to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the Government

of Cuba, and the CIMEQ Medical Team which has been responsible for his treatment in Cuba over the past months. President Granger was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma last year after an intensive series of tests by specialist doctors at the CIMEQ. In April 2019, he completed his regime of radiotherapy in Cuba without any complication. That was done after he had successfully completed his regime of chemotherapy which formed part of his medical treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. According to the American Cancer S o c i e t y, N o n - H o d g k i n Lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just

lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in the white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.

President Granger, late last year, had expressed his profound gratitude to his Cabinet members, staff and the rest of the nation for their support, prayers and well wishes for his complete recovery, at a welcome home and prayer ceremony that was hosted at State House on November 21, 2018. “Thank you for your expressions of concern over the last three weeks… Throughout that time, I received greetings from you all and from other well-wishers and, more than the greetings, prayers and I am truly grateful,” he said then.

President Granger, former Cuban President, Raul Castro, hold talks

President David Granger and Former President of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz

PRESIDENT David Granger, on Monday afternoon, met Army General, Raul Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and former President of the Republic of Cuba, at the Palacio de las Convenciones in Havana, Cuba.

Castro was accompanied by Minister of For-

President David Granger, First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger and Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Mr. Halim Majeed, on Monday, held talks with Former President of Cuba, Raul Castro and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla

eign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. The two Leaders reminisced on a number of personal and political matters with Army General Castro mentioning that the next Cuba-CARICOM Summit will be held in Havana, at the end of this year.

On Tuesday, Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canell, hosted ambassadors resident in

Cuba for the second time, thereby recognising the role of the international community.

President Granger was accompanied by First Lady, Ms. Sandra Granger, and Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Mr. Halim Majeed. The meeting was held in a friendly and fraternal atmosphere.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Trump’s top defender locks horns with Democrats at impeachment trial U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial began in earnest in the Senate on Tuesday, with his chief legal defender attacking the case as baseless and a top Democratic lawmaker saying there was “overwhelming” evidence of wrongdoing.

Democrats have called on the Republican-controlled Senate

to remove Trump from office for pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival, and then impeding the inquiry into the matter.

Trump, who was impeached last month by the Democratic-led House of Representatives on charges of abusing power and obstructing Congress, denies any wrongdoing and describes his

impeachment as a partisan hoax to derail his 2020 re-election.

With the television cameras rolling, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts convened the proceedings and the two sides began squabbling over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposed rules for the trial.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who is leading Trump’s defense, attacked the foundation of the charges against the Republican president and said Democrats had not come close to meeting the U.S. Constitution’s standard for impeachment.

“The only conclusion will be that the president has done absolutely nothing wrong,” Cipollone said as he argued in favor of McConnell’s proposal to decide on whether to allow further witnesses or documents later in the trial.

“There is absolutely no case,” he said.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, who helped spearhead the House impeachment inquiry, summarized the charges against Trump and said the Republican president had committed a “trifecta of constitutional misconduct justifying impeachment.”

Schiff said that although the evidence against Trump was “already overwhelming,” further witness testimony was necessary to show the full scope of the misconduct by the president and those around him.

Democrats want a number of current and former Trump administration officials, including Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton to testify.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday offered an

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - 03:30hrs ~ 05:00hrs

amendment to subpoena White House documents related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and vowed to push for the further witness testimony.

“For all of the name-calling and finger-pointing from the president’s counsel, we did not hear a single argument on the merits about why there should not be the documents and witnesses we requested in this trial,” Schumer said.

McConnell unveiled a plan on Monday for what would be a potentially quick trial without new testimony or evidence. It would have given Democratic prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers 48 hours, evenly split, to present their arguments over four days.

That plan was changed to give each side three days of opening arguments over two 24hour periods. The rules also will allow the House’s record of the impeachment probe admitted as evidence in the trial, as Democrats had demanded.

“We discussed it at lunch. It was pretty much a (Republican) conference consensus that that made a lot more sense,” Republican Senator Ron Johnson said.

Democrats had accused McConnell of trying to rig a trial with proposed rules that they said would prevent witnesses from testifying and bar evidence gathered by investigators.

McConnell has repeatedly said the rules would mirror those the Senate used in the 1999 impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Republican senators have not ruled out the possibility of further witness testimony and evidence.

Under McConnell’s plan, lawyers for Trump could move early in the proceedings to ask senators to dismiss all charges, according to a senior Republican leadership aide, a motion that would likely fall short of the support needed to succeed.

Even if such a motion fails, Trump is almost certain to be acquitted by the 100-member chamber, where a two-thirds majority is needed to remove him from office.

But the impact of the trial on his re-election bid is far from clear.

TRUMP SUPPORT FIRM Democrats accuse Trump of pressuring Ukraine, a vulnerable ally, to interfere in U.S. elections at the expense of American national security and say he is a danger to American democracy.

Trump and his legal team say there was no pressure and

that the Democrats’ case is based on hearsay. Cipollone has described the Ukraine investigation as an illegal attempt to remove a democratically elected president and avert his re-election.

“They’re not here to steal one election, they’re here to steal two elections,” Cipollone said on Tuesday.

Cipollone also repeated a trope that Republicans were excluded from the secure facility where the initial depositions for the House impeachment hearings took place. In fact, Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee were not only present but questioned witnesses.

The Senate trial is expected to continue six days a week, Monday through Saturday, until at least the end of January.

Trump has sought to rally his base with the impeachment issue, fund-raising off it. At raucous election rallies he has painted himself as the victim of a witch hunt.

Televised congressional testimony from a parade of current and former officials who spoke of a coordinated effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens has done little to change support for and against Trump’s impeachment. Reuters/Ipsos polling since the inquiry began shows Democrats and Republicans responding largely along party lines.

According to a Reuters/ Ipsos opinion poll conducted Jan. 13-14, 39% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapproved.

It also found 45% of respondents said Trump should be removed from office, while 31% said the impeachment charges should be dismissed.

The impeachment drama has consumed much of Trump’s attention even as the United States faces a series of international challenges, including tensions with Iran that nearly boiled over into open war and an on-again, off-again trade war with China.

Trump is attending the annual gathering of world business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday to project an air of business as usual and tout the strength of the U.S. economy.

Asked whether Trump was planning to watch the trial from Davos, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “He has a full day here in Davos, but will be briefed by staff periodically.”

(Reuters)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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Brazil accuses journalist of cyber-crimes Brazilian authorities are seeking to bring charges against Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who published Edward Snowden’s intelligence agency leaks.

Mr Greenwald has been accused of “helping guiding and encouraging” a criminal group that hacked into the phones of Brazilian officials.

The journalist had recently published stories describing private messages between public prosecutors.

At this point, federal public prosecutors have proposed the charges.

However, a judge still needs to decide whether to formally indict him.

Six other individuals have also been accused of illegal telephone interceptions and conspiracy among other related crimes.

Brazilian prosecutors allege that, during his interactions with the group, Mr Greenwald advised its members to delete messages that they had passed on to him.

Mr Greenwald has not yet publicly responded to this particular allegation.

Last year, Mr Greenwald and colleagues published a series of ten investigative reports on news site The Intercept, which

detailed “a massive trove of previously undisclosed materials” allegedly by Brazilian prosecutors and other officials.

They quoted from messages that had been sent via Telegram, a privacy-focused app that claims to be able to keep “messages safe from hacker attacks”.

The Folha newspaper said that those whose accounts had allegedly been breached included justice minister Sergio Moro and prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, who is coordinating Operation Car Wash - a probe into the country’s biggest ever corruption scandal.

‘I’LL KEEP WORKING’ After details of the accusations against him were published, Mr Greenwald issued a statement via The Daily beast news site. In it, he noted that Brazil’s Supreme Court had ruled last year that the administration should drop its investigation into him because it violated his press freedom rights.

“Less than two months ago, the federal police, examining all the same evidence cited by the public ministry, stated explicitly that not only have I never committed any crime but that I exercised extreme caution as a journalist never even to get close to any participation,” he added.

“We will not be intimidated by these tyrannical attempts to silence journalists.

“I am working right now on new reporting and will continue to do so.”

The New York-based Freedom of the Press Foundation has described the Brazilian attorney general office’s actions as being “beyond disturbing” and an “outrageous violation of press freedom”.

Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum by Russia after he fled the United States in 2013, tweeted his reaction to the news.

“Absolute red alert: This is unbelievably naked retaliation for revealing extreme corruption at the highest levels of [Brazilian President] Bolsonaro’s administration and an existential threat to investigative journalism in Brazil,” he wrote.

Last year, President Bolsonaro commented in public that he thought Mr Greenwald could face legal repercussions in Brazil over his reporting activities.

Following news of the allegations levelled at Mr Greenwald, Eduardo Bolsonaro - the president’s son and an MP - tweeted: “Glenn Greenwald always said he loved Brazil and wanted to get to know the country in-depth. Maybe he

Butterfly activist in Mexico disappears Murder charge over Brazilian dam collapse

Concern is growing in Mexico about an environmental activist and expert on the monarch butterfly who has been missing for more than a week.

Homero Gómez manages a butterfly sanctuary in western Michoacán state, a region which is notorious for its violent criminal gangs.

January.

Many of them have fallen victim to criminal gangs which control large areas of Mexico and kill anyone who could interfere with their illegal activities, which range from drug and human trafficking to extortion, logging and mining.

Mr Gómez is a 50-year-

Monarch butterflies fly in their millions to Mexico to hibernate in the forests (BBC photo)

Rights groups fear illegal loggers may have targeted Mr Gómez for his activism to conserve the local forest which is the home of the monarch butterfly.

He was last seen on 13

old agricultural engineer who manages the El Rosario sanctuary for the monarch butterfly, one of the biggest in Mexico.

On his Twitter account he invited people to visit the sanctuary.

He is a tireless campaigner for the conservation of the monarch butterfly. Millions of the species migrate annually from Canada and the US to the conifer forests of Mexico.

The sanctuary Mr Gómez manages opened in November as part of a strategy to stop illegal logging in the area, which is a key habitat for the monarch butterfly. It was praised by the WWF’s Mexico director Jorge Rickards as a model of conservation work when it was inaugurated.

Scientists have been fascinated with the orange and black butterflies because of the vast distances they fly each year to hibernate in Mexico - the longest migration of any insect.

Researchers found that the butterflies use a kind of internal solar compass to guide them during their flight from Canada and the US to the same area on the border between Michoacán and Mexico state every year.

(BBC)

Brazilian prosecutors have filed charges including murder in relation to the collapse of a dam a year ago that killed at least 250 people.

The collapse in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, in January 2019 was Brazil’s worst industrial accident.

M i n i n g g i a n t Va l e and German auditor Tüv Süd face environmental charges, with 16 individuals who worked for the companies facing charges of murder.

The prosecutors’ charges will have to be approved by a judge.

Among the individuals charged is the former chief executive of Vale, Fabio Schvartsman, Reuters news agency reported.

The 16 individuals have also been charged with environmental crimes.

Vale has been accused of failing to report warning signs before the dam engulfed a canteen, offices and farms.

Last July, a Brazilian judge ordered Vale to pay compensation for the col-

lapse of the dam, saying that the company was responsible for fixing all the damage, including the economic effects.

The same month, emails emerged that showed Tüv Süd’s own analysis of the dam initially failed to meet official requirements.

Tüv Süd inspected the dam in the months before the collapse.

It was a “tailings” dam - an embankment filled with waste product - and decades of waste from the nearby mine had been piled up and grassed over.

The German firm said it was co-operating with “authorities and institutions in Brazil and Germany in the context of ongoing investi-

gations”.

It said it was “deeply saddened” by the disaster but added that the “real causes” had yet to be determined.

Vale is yet to comment on the charges. (BBC)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday January 22, 2020

The possibilities for using alternative energy are limitless THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, on Monday, symbolically turned the sod for the construction of a US$16 million Photovoltaic Power Generation System to be located at its headquarters at Turkeyen.

The project, which includes the installation of a 400-kilowatt solar photovoltaic power generator, is expected to see the facility being almost entirely powered by solar energy and moving off the grid. Extra power not utilised by the headquarters is expected to be fed into the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) grid for supply to residents. According to media reports, the system will also include a battery and power conditioning system for energy storage and power quality regulation and an advanced building energy management system to, among other things, provide air conditioning controls, track energy efficiency and indoor air quality.

Speaking at the ceremony, CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque, mentioned that over the last decade, renewable energy and energy efficiency have been on the forefront of the Region’s agenda, this is because there is global acknowledgement that the way in which we produce, deliver and use energy is important for sustainable development. La Rocque noted too that within CARICOM, buildings account for nearly 80 per cent of electricity usage due to our climatic conditions as well as design. He said the project is part of a wider initiative called ‘The Introduction of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation System in Guyana and CARICOM’, being financed by the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Solar energy should form an integral part of any country’s plan in addressing alternative energy. Where Guyana is pursuing a ‘Green Economy’, as a matter of its primary developmental thrust, whenever an institution – the likes of CARICOM, business or individual, switch to this form

of energy, such act takes the country closer to the goal.

Alternative energy, such as solar, plays a significant role in protecting the environment. This is so given that it replaces consumption of fossil fuel which gives off emissions, which has been scientifically proven to be harmful to the environment. As consumption of fossil is reduced, the air we breathe becomes healthier and will help in enhancing the health of citizens and nations.

According to the watchdog Union of Concerned Scientists in its 2011 Report (which was revised November 2014), Guyana is among the 20 per cent of the “rest of the world” where each country’s share of total carbon dioxide emission comes from energy consumption. The top emitters are China at 27 per cent, the United States 17 per cent, Russia five per cent, India five per cent and Japan four per cent. Specifically to Guyana, according to the World Resources Institute as at December 31, 2012, our Greenhouse Gas Emissions, excluding land-use change and forestry, is recorded at 3.60. When it includes land-use change and forestry, Guyana records 7.64.

As a signatory to the United Nations Climate Agreement which came into effect on January 5, coming with this is a responsibility to help meet the international timetable goals for reducing emissions. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) also has its own Energy Thrust, which Guyana has helped to shape and has a responsibility to bring to fruition. In previous national budgets, the coalition government has committed to granting concessions to those desirous of benefitting from alternative-energy technology. This opportunity not only helps in harnessing the natural energy at our disposal, but also creates a more reliable source of energy than presently obtains. Further, such pursuit would realise the reduction of overhead expenses overtime, new opportunities for employment and economic opportunities, and Guyana elevating its image as a credible nation among members-states, regional and

extra-regional.

The government has set itself a lofty goal – but not unachievable – that by 2040, the country will achieve renewable energy and energy-efficiency status. With 20 years remaining to achieve this goal, and in the midst of evident public delight with reported fossil fuel finds, such aspiration may not be taken lightly, which may require a refocusing of interests and energies. While government has targeted, for special attention, areas to be retrofitted, where businesses and private citizens are following suit, they are deserving of commendation, even as all efforts must be made to encourage others. Back in 2017, the Nand Persaud Group of Companies went fully solar when it commissioned a $110m system at its Tain, Corentyne, call centre.

The Demerara Bank Limited, Camp Street headquarters, is now fully converted.

Government also, on its own, has constructed Guyana’s first solar farm at Mabaruma in the North West District. Four acres of land had been identified for an ambitious 400-megawatt project, which, when it becomes operational, would afford an additional 17 hours of electricity to the 3,000 residents. The Demerara Bank, in addition to going ‘green’, is providing support for others to do likewise. Though in our society — where there can be little dispute — habits are hard to change and the full appreciation of alternative energy is yet to be grappled with, this bank is helping the process of changing behaviour by making funding available at reasonable cost. At the eight per cent interest rate, the impetus is there to act. Retrofitting homes and other buildings create new types of jobs and other economic opportunities, direct and indirect. For home owners, opportunities are presented to opt for going fully solar or creating a hybrid system. The possibilities for using alternative energy are limitless and Guyanese are being encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities.

Mark Phillips has begun to sound like Sam Hinds Dear Editor HOW in God’s name Odinga, can Mark Phillips look after the interests of Afro-Guyanese? Obviously the political platform you stand on is not a national one, in that they need one man to address the interest of an entire complex and energetic national group. Any party or potential government needs to have its entire peoples interests in mind, not just a culmination of delegated worker-bees scouting honey for their personal interests. A man who has been ‘invisible’ in respect of having a vocal presence, no one knows him except former soldiers he served with, and not as we say, as a

conscious African descendant. It is disrespectful that you should say this, knowing the history of the PPP from 1961 to 2010, under their stewardship of this land as colony and independent.

It does seem to me from the utterances at the opposition launch by Edghill, now you, that one of the tenets of acceptance into that political party is that you must seek to humiliate, denounce the rights and trivialise the potential of your origins, Sam Hinds and Luncheon were embarrassing experts at that. No none Afro-Guyanese human variation on the APNU+AFC side to my knowledge has ever conducted their vocabulary in that repugnant way.

When did Afro-Guyanese need the PPP

to chart their course? My grandfather came from Friendship, as you do; to buy villages, to brave the Pork-Knockers rapids, to construct drainage, develop institutions towards their betterment, farm lands and worked together to defy the plantocracy’s schemes to impoverish us, others have taken that mantle up, we know, we understand and know them.

Mark Phillips is about Mark Phillips, so be it, he’s even beginning to sound like Sam Hinds. We already have our leaders; they have not abandoned or betrayed us. We have witnessed the broad-based government we asked for, it has enhanced and broadened our understanding of each other and positively reshaped Guyana. In

any coalition, as in a brand new house, ‘Some kakaroach gon crawl in,’ but here you are on the altar of your fossilised cult insulting our resolve and intelligence, that you once defended, how are they to engage us, as they did with the blatant theft of ‘Farmer Nappy’s intellectual property?’

In our culture we have always been told, “Live yuh life suh when yuh stand befo yuh fathers, you can account to them.”

Understand well, that the obsession with wealth and social relevance have caused many to abandon all of themselves.

Regards Barrington Braithwaite

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Wednesday January 22, 2020

I call on Mark Phillips to say what his understanding is of African interests

Dear Editor,

I REFER to an article published in the DemeraraWaves edition of Jan 17, 2020, captioned, “Mark Phillips selected as the Prime Ministerial Candidate to address AfroGuyanese interests.” This statement was attributed to the former PPP/C parliamentarian Odinga Lumumba speaking at a PPP public meeting in Lodge, Georgetown. And we were told that he was addressing a predominantly African audience.

Before addressing the merits or lack of merit in Lumumba’s declaration, I wish to examine the doings of the “notorious messenger,” who is on public record describing himself as an opportunist. He was at the time on a TV show where he tries to deflect criticism of his association with the PPP: so it is within reason to conclude that his politics has been driven by political opportunism. He was employed as a presidential adviser for economic empowerment and the frontman for Jagdeo and the PPP‘s aggression in the African community.

His and the PPP’s legacy as it relates to the African community’s interest has been abysmal to say the least. Corrupting African organisations and their leadership, recruiting lumpen elements and criminals to do dirty work for the PPP. These are some of his outstanding achievements as it relates to our community. In the process, he enriches himself at the expense of the African community. I made these observations to demonstrate to readers that Lumumba’s conception of African interests has nothing to do with improvement of the African condition, but with pleasing his masters in Freedom House and

earning his “handsome profits.”

Now let me return to the merit or lack of merit that Mark Phillips has been given the prime ministerial position on the PPP‘s ticket for him to address African interests. In the Guyanese context, given our race/ polarised politics, when one of the major parties publicly states that it has appointed its PM candidate to address the interests of a particular race group, it is of significance and ought to be taken seriously, since it can be a meaningful and genuine concession to the race contradictions in this society, or a ploy intended to deceive.

Since to date no one in the PPP or the brigadier has come out to dispute Lumumba’s revelation, we can assume that the statement is correct. Here is where the thing becomes contradictory and questionable. Phillips in his first and subsequent speeches as PM candidate speaking at the party rallies has said that his decision to accept the PPP’s offer was his desire to serve all Guyanese. This can be construed to mean that he doesn’t see himself as having the responsibility to look after African interests in government and country.

Guyanese politicians generally shy away from publicly associating their politics with a particular race/ethnic interest and if Phillips agrees to his assignment given to him by the PPP, he should publicly say so.

His failure to do so immediately negates the relevance of his appointment. As we await his clarification of this matter, I wish to draw to the brigadier’s attention that the PPP/C even with Samuel Hinds as prime minister, and Lumumba as a presidential adviser for economic empowerment and point man for the African community, has failed to address African inter-

ests. And in fact, they never had any such intention. The PPP/C during its 23-year rule has consistently dismissed calls from the African community to have their concerns addressed in a profound way. Those who defy the regime and advocated for African interests were deemed racist and some like Ronald Waddel fell victims to state-sponsored death squads. In all seriousness, I call on Mark Phillips to say what is his understanding of African interests - we Africans need to know.

Given the fact that he would be judged by this assignment, I will assist Phillips to conceptualise what constitutes African interests: (a) rejection of winner-takes- all politics and constitutional reform to enshrine shared governance; (b) rejection of economic and social marginalisation which promotes racial domination; (c) the need for redressing the consequence of historical policies by the state, colonial and post-colonial, that have negatively contributed to impoverishment of the African community; (d) urgent policies to address the marked decline in African stakes/ownership in the economy which at present stands at less than 10 per cent (this situation in part due to 23 years of PPP/C’s policy of economic appetite); (e) a confession by Jagdeo and the PPP’s leadership of their involvement in state-sponsored phantom death squads responsible for the execution of hundreds of African young men.

So, Brigadier Mark Phillips, these are some of our concerns. Now you have your work cut out if you had indeed agreed to this assignment from Jagdeo and the PPP. Regards Tacuma Ogunseye

I am unaware of any racial slur emanating from my lips Dear Editor, I REFER to an article in the Kaieteur newspaper on Saturday 18th January, titled ‘ERC investigates Coalition, PPP/C for racial slurs at rallies.’ As a citizen of Guyana and a candidate to the polls on the PPP/C’s list for the March 2nd General and Regional Elections, I wish to state the following: • I am appalled and deeply distressed that a constitutional commission like the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) will inform me and the public by way of a press conference that I am under investigation for a racial slur made at the PPP/C Kitty rally and the said commission lacks the decency, ethics, or principled behaviour to even notify me formally and prior that there is an alleged infraction by me and an investigation has been launched.

• I am unaware of any racial slur emanating from my lips at anytime, anywhere whatsoever. Is the ERC announcement of an investigation of a statement by Juan Edghill a manufactured controversy that is designed to satisfy an end known only to operatives within the commission?

• As a former Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission, I believe I am well versed with a deep understanding of the Representation of the People’s Act , the Racial Hostility Act and other constitutional provisions and statutes that address the issue of inciting and exciting racial hostility among the people. It is either that the current commissioners of the ERC are ill-advised, ill-informed, misguided, or they have refused to

inform themselves that would have led to the reporting that is alleged to have come from the commission at their press conference.

• Have the commissioners of the Ethnic Relations Commission lost their independence, their impartiality or lack the moral fortitude to stand up to political pressure and they are succumbing to political direction to launch a personal attack against me. I can provide indisputable information that speaks to the deep political involvement of the Head of the Media Monitoring Unit of the ERC. I have only recently, had cause to make complaints to the chairman about the personal attack of a commissioner.

• I am prepared at any time and at any place to stand public scrutiny by an impartial body.

What has happened to the principles of natural justice? An announcement to the public that a party is under investigation when there has been no notification is tantamount to an attack on that party and an attempt to impugn character. I therefore expect a full, unequivocal apology from the ERC and a retraction of the statements made forthwith.

Once the feathers of a fowl have been plucked and blown asunder by the wind, even if it is gathered, cannot be reunited usefully with the fowl. I am not viewing this as a misstep or a mistake; this is more than likely a calculated move. Such behaviour must not be allowed to continue unchecked. Can I be advised who is really the Chairman of the ERC? Yours Truly Bishop Juan Edghill

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday January 22, 2020

Jagan urges support for Coalition

…tells New York audience PPP is bad for Guyana FORMER PPP Member of Parliament and son of that party’s founders, Dr. Joey Jagan last week urged US-based Guyanese to get on their phones and encourage their relatives here to vote for the Coalition at the upcoming elections.

Dr. Jagan was at the time addressing a rally held in Brooklyn, New York by the PNCR’s North American chapter, at which Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Karen Cummings were also slated to speak.

Dr. Jagan, a dentist by profession, said that with President David Granger at the helm, Guyana is on the right track. He noted that since the arrival of ExxonMobil on these shores, the tourism sector is on the rise. To loud cheers from those in the audience, he said tourism will bring Guyana wealth. “God is smiling on us now,” he said, “but we must follow what Mr Granger has said and embrace the concept of the private sector being the engine of growth.”

Dr. Jagan, who, from the very inception, had endorsed the Coalition for a second term in office, cautioned about having investors in the country whose interest is only in plundering Guyana’s natural resources. He singled out the Russian-owned RUSAL, which, according to him, has for 15 years been fetching out the country’s bauxite and “never gave us a cent.” Joey Jagan said, too, that under the PPP Administration, Scotland Yard, one of biggest crime-fighting agencies, was chased out of Guyana, and to compound it, there was the disrespectful behaviour where an American Ambassador was on his country’s independence day “cussed out” by Priya Manickchand the then Minister of Education.

While reminding the Guyanese-American audience that his father had formed a high-performing organisation, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), he said that that party has now become immoral. He then urged that come Elections Day, March 2, 2020, “You all should get on your phones early and encourage your respective relatives to go out and vote for the Coalition Government.”

INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC OFFICE Prime Minister Nagamootoo, for his part, told the gathering that there is need for integrity in public office, as discredited PPP Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali, who is currently facing 19 criminal charges for alleged fraud.

Noting that the future of Guyana lies in a

coalition government, the Prime Minister cautioned that decisions being made must be for the good of the country, and should be done collectively. According to the Prime Minister, the coalition government headed by President Granger believes strongly in integrity, and that as such, all Ministers of Government are subjected to a higher standard. “There must be integrity in public life, and you have to live with the laws you make. And the laws must apply to everyone… When we got into office, the first thing we did was to introduce integrity legislation; we re-constituted the integrity commission,” he said, adding: “I introduced a Code of Conduct for ministers, and those who benefitted from the public purse, and set out what those codes should be; what gifts they should receive; their relationship with persons who investing in the country.”

GUYANA CHAIR G77 Minister Cummings, in her remarks, took the opportunity to inform the audience of Guyana’s assumption of the chairmanship of the G77 and Guyana’s responsibility. She told the gathering that Guyana received the full and unequivocal support of CARICOM, and the vast majority of the countries in Latin America, Asia and America. Of Guyana’s chairmanship, she said it represents a rare alignment of global observances and opportunities, as well as it coincides with, among others things, the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations; the convening of the Third South-South Summit; the Golden Jubilee ( 50th Anniversary) of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana; the 10-year push for acceleration of the implementation of the UN-led Sustainable Development Goals and the critical meeting of climate change, trade and reforms to the global development system.

Chairman of PNCR’s North America Region (NAR) Errol Lewis told the gathering that hosting the rally was necessary to demonstrate the group’s support for the Coalition government. He said that from his new home in the United States, he “watched the struggles of my people, and more importantly the people of Linden, as they were ostracised, victimised and demonised on every front. An entire community; their crime was being a PNC stronghold.”

Continuing, he spoke of the corruption within the Guyana Police Force (GPF) under the PPP, and wondered aloud how any gov-

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo congratulates Dr. Joey Jagan. At left is Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings (Errol Lewis photo)

A section of the audience at the Coalition rally in Brooklyn, New York (Errol Lewis photo)

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings, along with political activist Rickford Burke and Chairman of the North America Region (NAR) PNCR, Errol Lewis (partly hidden at the back), acknowledge supporters at the rally by waving the coalition flags (Errol Lewis photo)

ernment could have allowed such to occur in a law-enforcement organisation. “My advice to all of you here this evening is that we must not go back,” Lewis said.

Meanwhile, Political Activist Rickford Burke, in publicly saluting the prime minister for his decades of dedicated service to the people of Guyana, reminded the gathering that the PM was formerly a member of the PPP but has put people above politics, and joined the Coalition to ensure that the people of Guyana have a good life. Noting that the Coalition is united and is a family,

even though it has had some challenges, Burke, too alluded to the achievements made since 2015. “In the last four years, the Government had made education a priority; it has been rehabilitating schools throughout the country. The President initiated the 5Bs Initiative, which saw more children going to school, and Guyana having performed the best in the Caribbean at CXC,” Burke said, adding that in the last budget, $52B was plugged into the education sector, the highest amount ever.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

9

Gov’t developing new strategic plan to tackle HIV/AIDS THE Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the UNAIDS, on Tuesday, initiated the process of developing a new HIV National Strategic Plan (2021-2025), even as it placed under review HIVISION 2020, which spanned from 2013-2020.

The new strategic plan, which is intended to pave the way for the elimination of AIDS in Guyana by 2030, is being developed by the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) with support from local, regional and international partners within the field of health. During a ceremony to mark the launch of the review and the development of the new plan at the Ocean View Hotel, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence said Guyana has made significant strides in reducing the prevalence of HIV/ AIDS and in the provision of testing and treatment services to affected persons. But, she acknowledged that there was more work to be done.

In 2019, there were approximately 500 new Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) cases recorded. Overall, the Health Ministry estimates that there are approximately 8,200 persons living with HIV and the Acquired immune-deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the country.

Minister Lawrence said Guyana, like other countries within the region, is committed to bring an end to AIDS by 2030. To demonstrate its commitment, Guyana aligned its HIVISION 2020 Strategic Plan to that of UNAIDS 90–90–90 target by 2020. The UNAIDS 90-90-90 target aims to diagnose 90 per cent of all HIV positive people; provide Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) for 90 per cent of those diagnosed and achieve viral suppression for 90 per cent of those treated.

Guyana, Minister Lawrence reminded, was the first country in the Region to diagnose 90 per cent of all of the persons estimated to be positive with HIV. Though the country has been successful in achieving the first 90 per cent, it still faces challenges with respect to having those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS remain on treatment to allow for viral suppression.

“Approximately 20 per cent of the persons aware of their status have not accessed treatment, which can enable them to live a long and healthy lives and reduce the spread of HIV. Further, new infections are increasing among our young people – ages 20 through 29-year-old. Our men are not accessing the testing sites, and therefore we will need to take the services to them, and while testing coverage for our mothers is greater than 95 per cent, the challenge still exists in having 100 per cent of them linked to treatment services to reduce the transmission of

A number of stakeholders who participated in the launch of the review of HIVISION 2020 and the development of the HIV National Strategic Plan (2021-2025) (Photo by Adrian Narine)

Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence (centre) makes a point during the ceremony to mark the launch of the review and the development of the new HIV National Strategic Plan at the Ocean View Hotel. Also seated at the head table are: (L-R) PANCAP Representative, Dr. Shanti Singh; Director of Communicable Diseases, Dr. Nadia Liu; PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr. William Adu-Krow and UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Michael Gboun

HIV from mother to child,” the Health Minister explained.

In 2019, she said, the Health Ministry observed an increase in new infections among women when compared to men. Among factors contributing to these trends, is that of Stigma and Discrimination.

“Some of the major barriers that continue to hinder progress in this area include stigma and discrimination, lack of family support, limited community involvement, reduced number of active stakeholders, supply-chain management as well as system hurdles that we continue to address,” Minister Lawrence told those present.

Despite these challenges, Guyana achieved several milestones within the last seven years, including the adoption of combination prevention, the introduction of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), the provision of HIV treatment through a Private-Public Partnership and universal testing among pregnant mothers among others. Added to that, in 2021, Guyana will take up a seat on the UNAIDS Board.

As a result of these achievements, Minister Lawrence reported that there have been changes in the funding landscape to HIV response, including significant reduction in donor funding and gradual increase in domestic resources.

“The reduction in donor funding has significantly affected the community’s level response which was heavily funded by international donors. Additionally, with the discovery of oil,

Guyana was elevated from a lower-middle-income country to upper-middle-income [country] even before we had one

barrel [of crude] on the ship, which means that, over the next five to 10 years, we could see donor funding to our nation for

the HIV response diminished even further,” the Health Minister said as she painted a vivid picture of the situation.

In light of the reality, Minister Lawrence said the new national strategic plan should include provisions for increase partnerships locally with greater involvement of the private sector. Importantly, she said, youths should be given a seat at the decision-making table, and prevention programme aimed at persons who are at higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually- transmitted disease.

PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr. William Adu-Krow, while acknowledging Guyana’s achievements, as alluded to by the Public Health Minister, said in drafting the HIV National Strategic Plan (2021-2025), Guyana should place greater emphasis on case-finding, persons who are diagnosed but are not on ART, and those who are on ART. He explained that, in the case of case-finding, there is need for increased testing notwithstanding the country’s achievement of the first 90 per cent. In this regard, Dr. Adu-Krow made a case for self-testing. “I think self-testing is a major, major issue.

There are some people who travel…outside of the country to have their HIV test done because they didn’t want anybody to know their status, and therefore, implementing self-testing goes a long way

but we need to ensure that we have what it takes to make it a success,” the PAHO/WHO Representative reasoned.

Greater focus on men is also required, he said. In addressing the failure to capitalise on ART, Dr. Adu-Krow said the Public Health Ministry, with support from all stakeholders, must do all in its power to bring persons living with HIV/ AIDS to care, and ensure that they remain on treatment.

Meanwhile, Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Representative, Dr. Shanti Singh, who also took stock of Guyana’s achievements, said, in moving forward, the country must place greater emphasis on the youth population. Added to that, she said Guyana must embrace, even further, Science and Innovation in its fight to bring down the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The Public Health Ministry’s Director of Communicable Diseases, Dr. Nadia Liu, provided an overview of the HIVISION 2020 Performance Evaluation and the groundwork done for the drafting of the new strategic plan. The Public Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Colette Adams; Programme Manager of NAPS, Dr. Rhonda Moore; UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Michael Gboun; and Civil Society Representative, Desiree Edghill were among the other speakers during Tuesday’s launch.

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

GECOM throws out Shuman, Bandhu over dual citizenship ―facing possible civil action for false declarations

By Lisa Hamilton THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has taken the decision to remove candidates of the United Republican Party (URP); the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and the People’s Republic Party (PRP) from their respective party’s lists because of their dual citizenship while being signatories to a statutory declaration .

These individuals are presidential candidate of the URP, Dr. Vishnu Bandhu; presidential candidate of the PRP, Dr Valerie Leung and Candidate/Leader of the LJP, Lennox Shuman. “The lists were gazette, but the commission’s decision was that Dr. Bandhu, Mr. Shuman and Mrs. Leung, their names have to be taken off those lists because when they put their names there they were all dual citizens,” Commissioner Bibi Shadick told media operatives following Tuesday’s statutory meeting of the electoral body.

She explained that while the lists were gazetted, corrections will be made to reflect the decision. The same was confirmed by Commissioner Robeson Benn who said that the police have now been notified about the matter. “The police were written or should have been written with respect to these persons who have made false declarations in respect of their dual-citizen status. Mr. Bandhu of the URP did send to the commission through its

secretariat information saying that he had renounced his United States citizenship but, unfortunately, that information came to the commission

adherence to a foreign power or state.”

The statutory form also requested that they “solemnly and sincerely declare”

Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman

after Nomination Day, so it is not valid for the purposes of the elections as far as we understand,” Benn said, adding: “We have notified the police and it’s for them to take what action they deem as appropriate in the circumstance.”

The Statutory Declaration form signed by Dr. Bandhu and Dr. Leung for presidential candidates first confirms that they are aware of the provisions of articles 53 and 155 of the Constitution with respect to the qualifications for election as a Member of the National Assembly. Article 155 of the Constitution states: “(1) No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who – (a) is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or

that they are citizens of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana; citizens of Guyana by birth or parentage; residents of Guyana on the date of nomination for election; continuously residing in Guyana for a period of seven years immediately before

…police called in

ment of Housing, confirmed the firing of the staff. According to CH&PA, the accused is currently assisting police in their investigation.

“The agency was made aware of some discrepancies which were tied to the said former staff member. Immediate steps were taken to have the staff relieved of duties to facilitate the investigation,” CH&PA said, while making it clear that it had a zero-tolerance policy on any form of corruption and misuse of public funds.

The housing authority declined to give further information on the basis that it did not want to prejudice the investigation. However, in the interim, it is making available all necessary information requested by the Guyana Police Force, to ensure that justice is served.

Shortly after issuing the statement, CH&PA published a notice, on its social media platform – Facebook - to inform the public that Thom is no longer within its employ.

While Dr. Bandhu is contending that he relinquished his foreign status as of January 16, 2020, Commissioner Vincent Alexander said on

Presidential candidate of the People’s Republic Party (PRP), Dr. Valerie Leung

Presidential candidate of the United Republican Party (URP), Dr. Vishnu Bandhu

CH&PA staff fired for allegedly forging cheques, documents THE Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), on Tuesday, fired one of its staff members over allegations of fraud and forgery.

According to a reliable source, the staff member, identified as Aaliyah Thom, forged a number of cheques and documents. It is unclear at this stage, the value of the cheques forged. However, the matter is engaging the attention of the Guyana Police Force.

In a statement, the Ministry of Communities, Depart-

Election Day and qualified to be elected as a Member of the National Assembly.

According to the Statutory Declaration Act, Chapter

5:09: “Everyone who makes a declaration according to this Act containing any statement false in fact, which he knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable to imprisonment for one year.”

Tuesday that the same does not count, as he had signed the Statutory Declaration form on Nominations Day, January 10, 2020. “The situation is that if someone had not made a proper, correct and authentic declaration and at the time of the date for that declaration is in default, then that person is not eligible to be on the list. That’s the principle,” Commissioner Alexander said.

“That application requires a declaration. I would assume that at the time of that declaration you have to be in compliance and the fact of the matter is that all of the evidence show that when signing the declaration Dr. Bandhu was not in compliance.”

However, the URP head is the only one who would had written the commission

stating that he was a dual citizen and was in the process of relinquishing same. On the other hand, Shuman, when pressed by the media before handing in his party’s lists on Nomination Day— on which he signed a Statutory Declaration form as candidate — said that he had surrendered all of his documents to the Canadian Government and it was now “for them to deicide.” He claimed that his “citizenship has been renounced,” although he was yet to receive correspondence from the Canadian Government at the time and would therefore remain a citizen of Canada until then.

Shuman, a Guyanese by birth, has had dual citizenship for approximately 28 years. On the Statutory Declaration form signed he would have confirmed that he is aware of the provisions of articles 53 and 155 of the Constitution with respect to the qualifications for election as a Member of the National Assembly.

With regards to Dr. Leung, for the most part the media was unaware that she held dual-citizenship status. The PRP – dubbed the ‘pastors party’– was launched in December 2019 and is known for its Christian views on homosexuality, abortion and moral living. Even with the leaders now out of the race, Alexander confirmed that none of the party’s lists have just the exact number of candidates and therefore a single party is not out of the race.

Accused drug trafficker granted bail

ACTING Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, on January 21, 2020, granted $10,000 bail to a 37-year-old pork-knocker charged with ‘possession of narcotics’.

Desmond Rigby, of Sophia, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and denied the charge, when it was read to him.

Particulars of the charge stated that, on Jan-

uary 20, 2020, at Bartica Police Station, he had, in his possession, 22 grams of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

“They search me and found a set of weed in my pocket I don’t know how it reach there, is them put it in there,” Rigby said as he cried in court.

Police prosecutor made no objections to bail being granted to Rigby and told the court that Rigby was taken to the police station,

a search was conducted and a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems were found in his pants pocket.

Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus released Rigby on $10,000 bail and ordered that he report to the Bartica police station every fortnight, on a Friday, until the completion of the matter.

The matter was adjourned until January 29, 2020, at the Bartica Magistrates’ Court.

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Wednesday January 22, 2020

Citizens Bank profits grow

…records close to 60% increase in profit for 2019 …Bartica, Thirst Park branches to be relocated to state-of-the-art buildings

By Navendra Seoraj CITIZENS Bank Guyana Inc., in capitalising on Guyana’s buoyant economy, was able to earn a profit after tax of $955.2 million for 2019.

The profit earned last year, reflected an increase of 58.6 per cent when compared to the $602.3 million which was recorded in 2018, said Chairman of Citizens Bank Guyana Inc., Clifford Reis, during his remarks at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), on Tuesday.

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, in congratulating the bank on its achievement, said Guyana is going through a period of growth and it is important that the financial institution capitalises on the growth and even seek to command a greater share in the local market.

“It [the market] is ripe for the picking and the bank has to right size and manage the growing environment that is coming. We are in for good things…we just shipped our first million barrels of oil and money should start rolling…this is not a time for regrets, it is time to think how to manage the fortune and how the bank can offer a different type of service,” said the minister in his brief remarks to officials and other stakeholders of the bank.

In speaking about the bank’s success, Reis said: “this result was noteworthy given the existing market factors including, but not limited to, high liquidity and intense competition among leading institutions with a resultant decline in interest rates.”

He added that the results were attained mainly through the growth and improvement of the overall quality of the company’s loan portfolio and through prudent manage-

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan addressing officials of Citizens Bank Guyana Inc. (Carl Croker photo)

ment of expenses. A growth of 8.3 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent were recorded for deposits, assets and revenue respectively.

In addition, the bank’s loan portfolio remained sound and performed relatively well during the financial year, said Reis, noting that the financial institution worked closely with customers to minimise any negative impact on the portfolio, that may have arisen due to varying challenges some borrowers may have encountered.

The chairman said non-performing loans, at September 30, 2019, represented 8.9 per cent of total the bank’s loan portfolio compared to 11.6 per cent at September 30, 2018. Total banking sector loans and advances, however, grew by 7.8 per cent to $245 billion in 2019, with private sector credit increasing by 6.9 per cent to $237.9 billion.

“Deposits at the commercial banks increased by 7.2 per cent to $425.3 billion at September 30,

2019, with private sector deposits growing by 7.0 per cent to $350.6 billion, representing 82.4 per cent of total banking sector deposits,” said Reis.

He was confident that those figures will continue to improve as 2020 progresses, and in expressing this confidence, Reis said: “in the fiscal year 2020, the Guyana economy is expected to record an improved performance with the commencement of oil production which will undoubtedly result in significant growth in this subsector and other major sectors.

“However, while the growth in the oil and energy sector will bring with it, opportunities for the financial and other sectors, the local financial environment will continue to be characterised by intense competition amongst commercial banks and other financial institutions for the relatively limited lending and investing opportunities and the resultant decline in interest rates.”

With the commencement of oil production, the medium and long-term outlook for Guyana will improve as revenue becomes available to support additional fiscal spending, which will help to meet social infrastructure needs and reduce both public debt and the current account deficit.

In that regard, Reis said an enabling environment remains critical for the continued growth of the economy. In ensuring that the bank stays on track, the chairman said the company will continue utilise all presented opportunities and focus on areas that they (the bank) anticipates will ensure growth and stability.

In 2020, the bank will continue its efforts to prudently manage its expenses through improved operating efficiencies and the strict ad-

Chairman of Citizens Bank Guyana, Clifford Reis (Carl Croker)

herence to robust risk management policies and practices to assure the growth and stability of the company, while remaining competitive.

“The sales and marketing of our commercial and retail banking products, including commercial mortgages, consumer loans and mortgages will intensify during 2020 as well as the continuance of our customer service strategies,” said Reis.

MODERN FACILITIES As part of its renewed commitment to focus on customers’ convenience, the bank will be relocating its Thirst Park and Bartica Branches to “state-of-the-art buildings.”

In stressing the use and focus on technological advancements within the institution, Reis said: “technology continues to be a key driver of our financial and operational performances and during 2020, we will continue to invest in and utilise new technology to upgrade existing services and

introduce a number of technology-driven services, which will not only improve our customers experience and convenience, but will ensure that our core and other banking systems are protected, safe and secure.”

The potential improvements are geared at ensuring that the bank is in a position to capitalise on the expected expansion of the economy. The local economy grew by four per cent during the first six months of 2019, reflecting economic activities which were bolstering by the emerging oil and gas sector. Increases in the output of the financial and insurance sectors, construction, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and other services, also contributed to the growth recorded.

The local economy was projected to grow by 4.5 per cent during the fiscal year 2019, fuelled by anticipated growth in all the major productive sectors, including the emerging oil and gas sector.

And, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by approximately 86 per cent in 2020. A report from Bloomberg had stated that Guyana’s GDP will grow 14 times as fast as China’s next year.

The country’s $4 billion annual GDP is also expected to expand to about $15 billion by 2024, said the IMF. “We remain confident that the year 2020 shall see the continuation of a buoyant economy. Citizens Bank Guyana remains firm in its commitment to and intends to play a pivotal role in the development of the banking sector and the Guyana economy and will continue to invest here,” said Reis.

Major drainage work ongoing in Alexander Village -- with $4M Communities Ministry grant WITH massive drainage and irrigation works being carried out in Alexander Village, Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, on Tuesday, paid a visit to the area, meeting and interacting with residents.

A contract valued $4M was recently signed between the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and contractor Kwesi Hamilton for the works to be done.

Minister Ronald Bulkan had, months ago, paid a visit to Alexander Village and had promised residents that he would arrange through the City Council to have some work done there.

“He (Bulkan) stood to his word. I’m here to let you know that we care for Alexander Village,” Narine said on site Tuesday, as he reflected on how the area has been neglected for years.

Apart from the desilting and other works ongoing, Narine told reporters that more money will be allocated to this constituency. In fact, work is also supposed to start in other constituencies soon.

Noting that the work in Alexander Village is not being done to gain political mileage,

Narine explained that the work was due for several months now.

“These works were scheduled to start for a very long time. Mr. Dookie from the private sector had called me about this area three months ago and I said to him I had money to do work in Alexander Village, but that it will take some time.”

Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, and others meeting and interacting with residents of Alexander Village on Tuesday

Massive drainage works are currently ongoing in the village

In addition, the mayor said whenever money is forwarded to the municipality from the ministry; he takes his time to go through the process before any contract is signed. “I go through the contracts fine, fine and that takes time. A lot of work has

to be done at the council. I have to see the right mechanism is in place so I can be able to give an account for the money the ministry sends over.”

Meanwhile, former captain of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Daniel Seeram, now a candidate for the coalition, said

Tuesday’s initiative was a result of continuous work. The council dug the drains three months ago, he said, and they are trying to keep digging them for the upcoming rainy season.

Seeram said now is an especially ideal time for the work in view of the coming rains and that the adjoining alleys in the village will also be done so as to have a free flow of water. “So this will alleviate the flooding in this area. After the last digging of the drains, we saw a significant decrease in flooding in the area,” he said.

Seeram noted that other nearby communities also stand ready to benefit from the work. “Everything from South Georgetown coming straight down is coming through all of these drainage systems here.

So this is the point where we have the most clogging, most of the debris. If we keep cleaning here, everything will flow out naturally.”

Citizens Bank profits grow

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Wednesday January 22, 2020

…records close to 60% increase in profit for 2019 …Bartica, Thirst Park branches to be relocated to state-of-the-art buildings

By Navendra Seoraj CITIZENS Bank Guyana Inc., in capitalising on Guyana’s buoyant economy, was able to earn a profit after tax of $955.2 million for 2019.

The profit earned last year, reflected an increase of 58.6 per cent when compared to the $602.3 million which was recorded in 2018, said Chairman of Citizens Bank Guyana Inc., Clifford Reis, during his remarks at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), on Tuesday.

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, in congratulating the bank on its achievement, said Guyana is going through a period of growth and it is important that the financial institution capitalises on the growth and even seek to command a greater share in the local market.

“It [the market] is ripe for the picking and the bank has to right size and manage the growing environment that is coming. We are in for good things…we just shipped our first million barrels of oil and money should start rolling…this is not a time for regrets, it is time to think how to manage the fortune and how the bank can offer a different type of service,” said the minister in his brief remarks to officials and other stakeholders of the bank.

In speaking about the bank’s success, Reis said: “this result was noteworthy given the existing market factors including, but not limited to, high liquidity and intense competition among leading institutions with a resultant decline in interest rates.”

He added that the results were attained mainly through the growth and improvement of the overall quality of the company’s loan portfolio and through prudent manage-

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan addressing officials of Citizens Bank Guyana Inc. (Carl Croker photo)

ment of expenses. A growth of 8.3 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent were recorded for deposits, assets and revenue respectively.

In addition, the bank’s loan portfolio remained sound and performed relatively well during the financial year, said Reis, noting that the financial institution worked closely with customers to minimise any negative impact on the portfolio, that may have arisen due to varying challenges some borrowers may have encountered.

The chairman said non-performing loans, at September 30, 2019, represented 8.9 per cent of total the bank’s loan portfolio compared to 11.6 per cent at September 30, 2018. Total banking sector loans and advances, however, grew by 7.8 per cent to $245 billion in 2019, with private sector credit increasing by 6.9 per cent to $237.9 billion.

“Deposits at the commercial banks increased by 7.2 per cent to $425.3 billion at September 30,

2019, with private sector deposits growing by 7.0 per cent to $350.6 billion, representing 82.4 per cent of total banking sector deposits,” said Reis.

He was confident that those figures will continue to improve as 2020 progresses, and in expressing this confidence, Reis said: “in the fiscal year 2020, the Guyana economy is expected to record an improved performance with the commencement of oil production which will undoubtedly result in significant growth in this subsector and other major sectors.

“However, while the growth in the oil and energy sector will bring with it, opportunities for the financial and other sectors, the local financial environment will continue to be characterised by intense competition amongst commercial banks and other financial institutions for the relatively limited lending and investing opportunities and the resultant decline in interest rates.”

With the commencement of oil production, the medium and long-term outlook for Guyana will improve as revenue becomes available to support additional fiscal spending, which will help to meet social infrastructure needs and reduce both public debt and the current account deficit.

In that regard, Reis said an enabling environment remains critical for the continued growth of the economy. In ensuring that the bank stays on track, the chairman said the company will continue utilise all presented opportunities and focus on areas that they (the bank) anticipates will ensure growth and stability.

In 2020, the bank will continue its efforts to prudently manage its expenses through improved operating efficiencies and the strict ad-

Chairman of Citizens Bank Guyana, Clifford Reis (Carl Croker)

herence to robust risk management policies and practices to assure the growth and stability of the company, while remaining competitive.

“The sales and marketing of our commercial and retail banking products, including commercial mortgages, consumer loans and mortgages will intensify during 2020 as well as the continuance of our customer service strategies,” said Reis.

MODERN FACILITIES As part of its renewed commitment to focus on customers’ convenience, the bank will be relocating its Thirst Park and Bartica Branches to “state-of-the-art buildings.”

In stressing the use and focus on technological advancements within the institution, Reis said: “technology continues to be a key driver of our financial and operational performances and during 2020, we will continue to invest in and utilise new technology to upgrade existing services and

introduce a number of technology-driven services, which will not only improve our customers experience and convenience, but will ensure that our core and other banking systems are protected, safe and secure.”

The potential improvements are geared at ensuring that the bank is in a position to capitalise on the expected expansion of the economy. The local economy grew by four per cent during the first six months of 2019, reflecting economic activities which were bolstering by the emerging oil and gas sector. Increases in the output of the financial and insurance sectors, construction, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and other services, also contributed to the growth recorded.

The local economy was projected to grow by 4.5 per cent during the fiscal year 2019, fuelled by anticipated growth in all the major productive sectors, including the emerging oil and gas sector.

And, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by approximately 86 per cent in 2020. A report from Bloomberg had stated that Guyana’s GDP will grow 14 times as fast as China’s next year.

The country’s $4 billion annual GDP is also expected to expand to about $15 billion by 2024, said the IMF. “We remain confident that the year 2020 shall see the continuation of a buoyant economy. Citizens Bank Guyana remains firm in its commitment to and intends to play a pivotal role in the development of the banking sector and the Guyana economy and will continue to invest here,” said Reis.

Major drainage work ongoing in Alexander Village -- with $4M Communities Ministry grant WITH massive drainage and irrigation works being carried out in Alexander Village, Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, on Tuesday, paid a visit to the area, meeting and interacting with residents.

A contract valued $4M was recently signed between the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and contractor Kwesi Hamilton for the works to be done.

Minister Ronald Bulkan had, months ago, paid a visit to Alexander Village and had promised residents that he would arrange through the City Council to have some work done there.

“He (Bulkan) stood to his word. I’m here to let you know that we care for Alexander Village,” Narine said on site Tuesday, as he reflected on how the area has been neglected for years.

Apart from the desilting and other works ongoing, Narine told reporters that more money will be allocated to this constituency. In fact, work is also supposed to start in other constituencies soon.

Noting that the work in Alexander Village is not being done to gain political mileage,

Narine explained that the work was due for several months now.

“These works were scheduled to start for a very long time. Mr. Dookie from the private sector had called me about this area three months ago and I said to him I had money to do work in Alexander Village, but that it will take some time.”

Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, and others meeting and interacting with residents of Alexander Village on Tuesday

Massive drainage works are currently ongoing in the village

In addition, the mayor said whenever money is forwarded to the municipality from the ministry; he takes his time to go through the process before any contract is signed. “I go through the contracts fine, fine and that takes time. A lot of work has

to be done at the council. I have to see the right mechanism is in place so I can be able to give an account for the money the ministry sends over.”

Meanwhile, former captain of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Daniel Seeram, now a candidate for the coalition, said

Tuesday’s initiative was a result of continuous work. The council dug the drains three months ago, he said, and they are trying to keep digging them for the upcoming rainy season.

Seeram said now is an especially ideal time for the work in view of the coming rains and that the adjoining alleys in the village will also be done so as to have a free flow of water. “So this will alleviate the flooding in this area. After the last digging of the drains, we saw a significant decrease in flooding in the area,” he said.

Seeram noted that other nearby communities also stand ready to benefit from the work. “Everything from South Georgetown coming straight down is coming through all of these drainage systems here.

So this is the point where we have the most clogging, most of the debris. If we keep cleaning here, everything will flow out naturally.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Small parties defend merger of lists …TNM says allocation of possible seats, sharing of campaign resources settled

By Lisa Hamilton THE New Movement (TNM) is challenging the position of The Citizens Initiative (TCI) that its joinder-of-lists agreement was not “strongly thought out,” stating that the parties have discussed how they will deal with the allocation of possible seats, the sharing of campaign resources and conflicting views.

Even so, the TCI maintains that while it supports small parties, in any such agreement it is critical that all snags are ironed out prior to a signing and the timeframe in which the parties signed their agreement was not feasible for the TCI’s executive.

As guests on the Guyana Chronicle’s Vantage Point on separate occasions, the only two female presidential candidates contesting the 2020 General and Regional Elections, TNM’s Dr Asha Kissoon and TCI’s Rhonda-Ann Lam spoke on the matter.

On January 18, the TNM, the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and A New and United Guyana (ANUG) announced to the public that they have entered into a joinder of lists, which would see their votes being counted collectively after the elections. While the parties also approached TCI, it refused the offer stating that the agreement to be signed was not “strongly thought-out” and

lacked equity with regard to decision-making.

Responding to the same, Kissoon acknowledged that although the parties attempted to explain to TCI that it would retain its independence with a joinder-of-lists agreement, this was not enough to seal the deal.

Presidential candidate of the Citizens Initiative, Rhonda-Ann Lam

“We did approach other parties. There were conversations with Change Guyana, but they weren’t really available.

We were hoping to work with The Citizens Initiative, but the response wasn’t very positive. First, I was told that they couldn’t get their team together and then I was told that it was too last-minute for them,” she

stated. The TNM head assured the public that every effort was made to let TCI know that it would have equity and independence.

LIMITED TIME However, Lam later said on the programme that while this was an issue, there were several others stemming from the party’s “coalition principles,” which hadn’t enough time to be ironed out. “[Given] Nomination Day to the date you had to sit down and work out another agreement to cover which party is going into parliament, how you’re going to merge and those kinds of things, time was always a factor for us and --- whilst we are very much on board in supporting the other small parties --- because of that time factor and we’re looking at certain decisions that would have had to be made, our executive said ‘you know what? We already decided on Nomination Day we’re going it alone, let’s just continue along that path,” she said.

“It sounds good in theory, but when you sit down and you have to sit down and work out the nitty-gritty to meet a deadline and so many factors are at play, that’s the challenge.”

When it comes to any form of collaboration, even in the case of a coalition with other parties, TCI says that consid-

eration must be given to its principles which cover youth and gender representation in the National Assembly. Even with these, there are other concerns with regard to transparency that the party does not intend to bargain on.

At its launching on Satur-

Presidential candidate of The New Movement, Dr. Asha Kissoon

day, the party committed that at the end of February, it will reveal to the public a detailed breakdown of the donations the party has received thus far and how they were spent.

Lam stated: “TCI has opted for radical transparency in terms of presenting not only where we get our money from, but also how it’s spent --- cam-

paign finance reform --- so that was a big thing for us. If we were out there saying that we’re going to tell you exactly how much money we got and how we spent it and then we joined with a partner who wasn’t willing to do that [there’s a problem].”

With the time for a joinder of lists already passed, Lam said that the party is “not afraid to face the electorate alone” and will continue on its own towards polling day.

‘WE HAVE A PLAN’ Meanwhile, TNM, ANUG and LJP have decided that the selection of which representative from which party will enter the National Assembly --should the parties accumulate the necessary votes --- would be based on the number of votes acquired by individual parties.

“Basically, whichever party in the three has the most votes has their seat and the extra votes will be put together for another seat,” Kissoon explained.

The Guyana Chronicle also questioned how the parties plan to ensure that their plans are vocalised in the National Assembly should just one seat be acquired from an amalgamation of votes from the three, represented by a leader from the party with the most votes.

It was asked, too, whether there was concern about the

alignment of the individual views of the three parties on crucial matters such as constitutional reform.

Kissoon said that the parties have agreed to put aside zeroing in on their differences and will work towards the greater good for all Guyanese.

She also stated that each party brings something unique to the table that is useful.

“We were looking for parties that we have synergy with, that we share common views.

ANUG has always been the most similar to us when it came along to the goals that we set out. Mr. Shuman also has his [plan] and there’s nothing there that we, as an executive in The New Movement, was [sic] opposed to,” she said.

“The three parties that signed the agreement said one basic thing and, I’ll let it out: as long as it benefits the people of Guyana, we agree. If LJP makes a proposal or if ANUG makes a proposal, as long as it benefits the Guyanese people, that’s our only concern.”

The parties have agreed to share resources where needed leading up to the elections but will retain their individuality in campaigning.

Kissoon told this newspaper at the time of the interview, that there has been no issue raised on which the parties will not support each other.

inhibits the pests.”

Nandwani further explained that botanical pesticides are the major alternatives to the conventional synthetic chemical pesticides due to various advantages over conventional pesticides.

Partners of the Americas believes that the knowledge shared through this programme will change the landscape of farming, since one of the biggest challenges in food production is pest and disease control. The

increase of synthetic pesticides came on the market as a means of combating that, so there is a major benefit to the farmers moving to a more natural process.

The organisation held workshops with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Permaculture, and several other agriculture-based organisations as a way to train and build capacity throughout Guyana.

Partners of the Americas hosts lecture on natural pesticides

THE Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Partners of the Americas on Tuesday, held a lecture pertaining to natural pesticides at the Kuru Kuru Cooperative College, D’Urban Backlands. Partners of the Americas farmer-to-farmer programme has the main aim of providing famers in Guyana with resources on various farming techniques from the united States.

Field Officer of Partners of the Americas, Jermaine Joseph, said: “We bring experts from the United States of America who volunteer their services in specialised areas in farming.” He explained that the organisation employs a needs-analysis system to determine for which specific area they would require a specialist .

“Coming out of the last needs analysis, the focus was on natural pesticides production, since we all know today a lot more persons are interested in healthy lifestyles and

healthy eating and they want to do away with the synthetic fertilisers; things like synthetic pesticides and so on, so we requested to have someone

Field Officer, Partners of the Americas, Jermaine Joseph – (Adrian Narine Photos)

who specialises in natural pesticide production and Dr. Dilip Nandwani volunteered to share his expertise with us,” said Joseph.

Specialist in Organic/Natural Pesticide Production, Dr. Dilip Nandwani during his session at the Kuru Kuru

College, spoke about locally available plants such as the neem plants that possess pesticidal properties, how they can be harnessed, prepared and turned into natural pesticides.

natural insecticides,” said Nandwani.

He noted garlic extract, Compost tea, Neemastra or “neem” as some natural pesticides. He explained one

Specialist in Organic/Natural Pesticide Production, Dr. Dilip Nandwani, speaking to students at Tuesday’s lecture session

“Many plants and minerals have insecticidal properties; that is, they are toxic to insects. Botanical insecticides are naturally occurring chemicals (insect toxins) extracted or derived from plants or minerals. They are also called

of the uses of “neem,” saying, “Neem is quite effective against armyworm, one of the most devastating pests of food crops in the western hemisphere. Azadirachtin in extremely low concentrations – a mere 10 mg per hectare –

A section of the students at Tuesday’s lecture session

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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‘You need clean hands to preside over Guyana’ …PM tells home village Whim

PRIME MINISTER Moses Nagamootoo, in a public meeting that looked more like a rally with its crowd, in his hometown of Whim Village, in East Berbice Corentyne, called on residents to return the coalition to office for another term, so that the transformation of Guyana could continue.

The Prime Minister rubbished the opposition’s claims of the coalition not having done anything for Guyana by listing some of the numerous projects and developments undertaken and completed over the past four years. Special mention was made of the reduction in the Berbice Bridge tolls, the East Bank Berbice new road as well as street lights for almost the entire East Berbice.

Highway; we have completed the West Bank Highway; we have completed the East Bank Berbice brand new road; we have built roads in the interior; we have built new passport offices; we have built new NIS offices; we have built new revenue authority offices; we have built new magistrate courts; we have repaired every single school in this country,…” he mentioned to thunderous applause from the crowd.

The elder statesman of the Alliance For Change continued by reminding the residents of Whim that despite their PPP elected councilors lacking in their duties, the coalition government came to their rescue and gave them street lights in the community, fixed their roads and even

A section of the crowd

Supporters at the meeting at Whim in East Berbice Corentyne

“Return the coalition to office; we need to conclude what we have started. No government in the Caribbean has done so much in such a short time,” Prime Minister Nagamootoo told the gathering to thunderous applause.

He said in the five years in government “we have brought the economy afloat with a GDP of 5% growth; we have improved wages for public servants; we have completed an airport that was going nowhere; we have completed the East Bank

cleaned their garbage. He further reminded them that the elections were National and Regional so they needed to get those who are in the regional offices out so that real progress can be seen.

“This election you are voting twice, you will vote APNU +AFC to return the leader President David Granger back to office and then we will vote to change Armogan and company and we will put our own councillors there. They were given billions and billions of dol-

lars to do works in the Region and they are not doing the work because they want to make the government look bad.” Prime Minister Nagamootoo noted that, with the coalition in office, VAT was reduced by two percent and will be further reduced once the government had a stable revenue base. The Prime Minister wrapped up by making a plea from the heart, asking

residents to come out and vote on March 2nd to return the coalition to office so that the progress can continue “with a decent and honest government that will manage the affairs of the country’s wealth so that all Guyanese can benefit.”

He added: “We need clean hands to preside over the wealth of Guyana and that is what our government promises you.”

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo makes his way into the meeting

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

GECOM to make changes to 90,000 addresses …after reconciliation of house-to-house data

By Lisa Hamilton

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is catering to some 90,000 changes of address coming from persons who participated in the houseto-house registration exercise.

This was announced to the media on Tuesday following the commission’s statutory meeting. “In the

house-to-house exercise, they would have been registering over 370,000 persons. Of those 370,000, it is now evident that 90,000 of those persons would have changed their address at which they would have previously been registered at,” Commissioner Vincent Alexander stated.

Opposition-nominated commissioners have requested a listing of these

changes even though Alexander believes that having the data would serve them no purpose. “These persons have been duly registered in a legitimate registration exercise and the opposition keeps calling for information that cannot be acted upon because there’s no basis to act on that information,” he said.

“It is the same question with the 6,000 persons that

were not found [from the list of new registrants].

Why were they not found?

What would you do if you didn’t find them? They were duly registered in a legitimate registration exercise and there’s no one to say that they haven’t travelled overseas, that they weren’t absent from the home. What will you do if you didn’t find them?”

Opposition-nominated

Commissioner, Bibi Shadick, expressed the concern that this list of 90,000 persons has not yet been made public and time is running out for such changes to be verified. “The full list is over 91,000 and they haven’t given us yet. An RLE has to close on the 25th [of January] for the OLE to be up; when are people going to know whether they are making changes that will affect them and their ability to vote,” she questioned.

“They’ve promised that they’re going to give us tomorrow at noon; hopefully we will get it.”

The 2019 house-tohouse registration exercise was a legitimate process, according to the High Court. The GECOM Chairman said, in keeping with the National Registration (Residents) Regulations, the Commissioner of National Registration embarked on an administrative process to ensure that electors are placed within their correct divisions for voting.

“The Commissioner of National Registration has that power under the law to correct any omission,” Justice Singh underscored,

Commissioner Vincent Alexander

Commissioner Robeson Benn added: “We do not have, as yet, a complete listing of those names; it’s still a work in progress we’re told.” In a recent online publication, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) alleged that “adjustments” were being made to data on the National Register of Registrants Data Base (NRRDB) using unverified information generated from the truncated house-to-house registration exercise.

H o w e v e r, G E C O M Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Singh, in a recent exclusive interview with Guyana Chronicle, said the contention lacks merit. It was explained that with the publication of the RLE it was recognised that a number of eligible electors whose addresses and other information were updated during the house-to-house exercise were not reflected on the RLE.

while pointing out that provisions are made for such acts in the National Registration (Residents) Regulations, which form part of Chapter 19:08 National Registration Act. According to Regulations 37, “If within the period of twenty-one days after he had certified the revised lists, the commissioner is satisfied that any entry or omission in any list as revised pursuant to regulation 35 is incorrect through inadvertence in the course of such revision, he shall make or cause to be made the requisite correction to that list…” Justice Singh explained that if the omissions are not addressed, it could result in electors being displaced and unable to vote at a polling station in their area. Such could result in confusion on Elections Day, the Elections Chairman warned.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

‘I don’t believe in join now and talk later’ ―Badal says he was never officially engaged by three parties that joined lists

Presidential Candidate of Change of Guyana, Robert Badal

PRESIDENTIAL Candidate of Change Guyana, Robert Badal, has said he was never officially engaged by the three parties that joined their Lists of Candidates ahead of the March 2, 2020 elections.

A New and United Guyana (ANUG), the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM) had joined their list so that the votes they secure could be counted collectively and improve their chances of gaining a seat in the National Assembly.

The parties have since said their “collaboration” is not a “coalition” and as such, they will contest the elections as individual parties. Representatives of the three parties said they had initially engaged Change Guyana and The Citizenship Initiative to be part of the arrangement, but Badal said he was not officially engaged.

“I don’t know what discussions were held, but certainly if a party has value to bring to us we will look at it…the fact is, somebody called me and I was campaigning in Essequibo and they said tomorrow is deadline why we don’t join the list, sign then discuss later.

“I said I will be back and we could hold a meeting…I do not believe in join now and talk later, we got to talk first…none of my deals has been done like that because people hold you to ransom after,” said Badal during a press briefing at Pegasus, on Tuesday.

The presidential candidate, while not closed to the possibility of a coalition, said his party needs to see what others have to bring to the table and the value they could add before a decision is made. “We would not do something to create news…our motive is to increase coverage of the country, meet people on the ground and so forth…I believe we have a lot of traction across the country,” said Badal, adding that his party has been well-received across the country, and coalescing would possibly reduce that traction.

Despite moving ahead “swiftly,” Badal is yet to announce a new prime ministerial candidate for his party.

The position was made vacant, after the party’s initial prime ministerial candidate, Nigel Hinds, dropped out of the race because of his dual citizenship status. “We are still in discussion as it regards to the prime ministerial candidate, but we will announce it soon, we are close,” said Badal.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Over 200 students found loitering ―during truancy campaign around Stabroek Market area

By Naomi Marshall MORE than 200 school children were found loitering in the vicinity of Stabroek Market during school hours by the Schools Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education on Tuesday.

They were picked up during a truancy campaign which started at around 09:30 hours. The primary and secondary school students were gathered, placed in minibuses and taken to their respective schools.

school every day and on time because education is the key to success. Without education you cannot move forward in life,” the officer stated.

According to the CSWO, students who are found loitering will be transferred to schools closer to their homes.

The public was overly satisfied with the measures being taken by the Welfare Department to get the children in uniform off the streets.

Odell Simon, a tout

Guyana’s Chief Schools Welfare Officer (CSWO), Gillian Vyphuis

The campaign was led

by Chief Schools Welfare Officer (CSWO), Gillian Vyphuis, who stated that the welfare department, overtime, has observed a large number of students were going to school late and loitering during school hours.

“The loitering is a norm and based on feedback that we got from members of the community, we find that some children are not interested so we are here to see that they go to school,” the CSWO said.

Vyphuis indicated that among the issues which fall under the scope of the department are attendance and punctuality, which is why the exercise will be done on a daily basis.

She said since the campaign began on the first day of school of this year, the department has noticed a decrease in loitering by students.

Vyphuis is pleading with parents to ensure their children take their education seriously.

“What I would like to say to parents is to encourage your children to attend

on 41 South Park, said he would see school children loitering at the park every day waiting on “flashy buses”.

“What I saw the ministry doing today is something that makes sense. The ministry is clamping down so that the children could continue to get their education,” he said While persons may hold the view that touts, conductors and drivers would influence the students to loiter, Simon disagreed.

“The touts, conductors, bus drivers don’t influence them. The children like to catch these flashy buses and that is what they does be waiting on. When we the touts or conductors sending them in the bus to get their education they does say no, they waiting on this bus and that bus.”

Senior citizen, Gail Atkinson, also praised the initiative.

She wants the government to ban obscene music from being played in the minibuses and introduce special big buses to take students to school.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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Mechanic accused of larceny granted bail

ACTING Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, granted an 18-year-old mechanic $200,000 bail on three larceny charges.

Leon Speede of Fifth Avenue, Bartica, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and denied the charges, when they were read to him.

Particulars of the first

charge stated that, on January 15, 2020, at Third Avenue, Bartica, he stole two truck batteries valued at $72,000, property of Kevin Ramnarine.

The second charge stated that, on January 15, 2020, at Bartica, he stole two batteries valued at $78,000, property of Selwyn Cameron.

The third charge stated that, on January 15, 2020, at

Telecoms, Bartica, he stole two batteries valued at $160,000, property of Rodwyn DeSouza.

Police prosecutor strongly objected to bail being granted to Speede based on the seriousness of the offence and the penalty it attracted. The prosecutor also told the court that, in relation to the last charge, DeSouza parked his truck and secured it in front of Tele-

coms and, on January 16, 2020, when he was checking his truck, he observed the battery was missing. The matter was reported and Speede was con-

tacted and arrested.

Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus ordered that the probation officer speaks to Speede. The Magistrate re-

leased Speede on $200,000 bail.

The matter was adjourned until January 24, 2020, and transferred to the Bartica Magistrates’ Court.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Interview: WEF president praises China’s poverty reduction progress, urges multilateralism

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AV O S , J a n . 2 1 (Xinhua) -- China’s progress toward eradicating poverty is unprecedented and its effort to promote multilateralism should be embraced by all members of the global community for the sake of common development, the president of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the WEF, also known as the Davos Forum, which has brought together politicians, business people and representatives from social and cultural circles to find solutions to the world’s problems.

At the heart of the ongoing WEF gathering are Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

“The goals are very ambitious. The overall aim then is to eradicate all extreme poverty by 2030,” on which China has an impressive

record, Borge Brende, an experienced Norwegian politician and diplomat, told Xinhua in an interview.

In decades, “we have seen more people lifted out of extreme poverty in China, maybe 800 million people. We have never seen that number of people lifted out of extreme poverty ever before in the history of mankind,” so this is “a great achievement of China,” Brende said.

Brende said although China has been developing very fast, there are still some poor regions in the country, which makes the country’s economic growth more complex. “So China has to continue to grow ... the growth now needs to take more care of clean water, clean air. It also has to create jobs further up in the value chain,” Brende said.

“It will be very interesting to follow China moving forward, how it will continue

to prosper its population but balancing it with nature and inclusiveness,” he added.

To ensure the world

challenges, multilateralism and collaboration are the way to go.

“The prerequisite for

thy neighbor” doesn’t work.

Brende noted “what works is you should prosper thy neighbor, and this is

Borge Brende, Norwegian politician and diplomat

meets the Sustainable Development Goals, Brende said he agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks in Davos three years ago that in face of common

China contributes to sustainable global development, says Chinese vice premier

economic growth, also strongly underlined by President Xi in Davos in 2017, is that we have to continue to trade with each other,” Brende said, adding that “beggar

what we have done through globalization, through trading with each other.”

The multilateral system has to renew itself because the world has changed. This

year will be the first year ever where Asia accounts for more than 50 percent of the global GDP, he said.

According to the WEF, in 2020, Asia’s GDP will overtake the GDP of the rest of the world combined. By 2030, the region is expected to contribute roughly 60 percent of global growth.

The way forward for the world should be multilateralism and working together, not the so-called “de-coupling” between China and the United States, he stressed.

“Here we hope for no de-coupling ... I hope that China and the U.S. can be inspired by the trade deal that was signed in Washington DC last week, and continue to work together.

Competing a bit is fine, but also like in sports, you have to collaborate with those that you are competing with in a nice sports spirit.”

China remains second largest FDI recipient in 2019: UNCTAD

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AVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng said here on Tuesday that China is a beneficiary of economic globalization, and more importantly, a contributor to sustainable global development.

Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in a speech at the 2020 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that China has become a main anchor and leading engine of the world economy, contributing around 30 percent to global growth in recent years.

China has actively implemented the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and played a leading role in international cooperation on climate change, which has made global development more inclusive and sustainable, Han said.

By honoring its WTO accession commitments on all fronts and promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, China has provided an important driving force for building an open world economy, he said.

From 2001 to 2018, China’s import of goods increased at an annual rate of 13.6 percent, 6.8 percentage points higher than the global average. Also, its huge market has offered tremendous opportunities for the development of other countries, he said.

From 1978 to 2018, China has attracted over 2 trillion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment in non-financial sectors. Around 490 out of the world’s top 500 companies have business operations in China, he said.

All these have contributed to the sustained and sound growth of the Chinese economy, improved the global supply, industrial and value chains, and provided strong support to the world economy, he added.

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 27, 2019 shows cargo ships at a wharf of Wenfeng port in north China’s Hebei Province.(Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

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EIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China remained the world’s second-largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2019 with FDI inflow up 5.8 percent year on year to 941.5 billion yuan (137.24 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

More than 40,000 new foreign-funded enterprises were established last year, said Qian Keming, vice minister of commerce, at a press conference.

The number of projects receiving FDI above 100 million U.S. dollars stood at 834 in 2019, up 15.8 percent from a year earlier.

The structure of FDI has been optimizing as 266 billion yuan of FDI went to the high-tech sector in 2019, up 25.6 percent year on year, accounting for 28.3 percent of the total FDI. Investment from Singapore climbed 51.1 percent year on year in 2019, that from the Netherlands expanded 43.1 percent and that from the Republic of Korea rose 21.7 percent.

Pilot free trade zones (FTZs) have played a larger role in attracting investment.

All of the 18 pilot FTZs saw 6,242 new foreign-funded enterprises set up in 2019. FDI inflows into the pilot FTZs reach 143.6 billion yuan, accounting for 15 percent of the total.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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Guyana begins process to re-submit realistic NDCs to UNFCCC ―as global warming continues to accelerate

THE Office of Climate Change (OCC), with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, on Tuesday, commenced the process of revising Guyana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The revision is in keeping with the global call for parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, to increase their climate change mitigation ambitions in accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2018 Special Report on 1.5 0C to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

To this end, all countries are required to submit new or revised NDCs with increased ambitions by December 2020. To initiate the process, OCC, on Tuesday, launched a four-day capacity-building workshop to update key stakeholders on the new requirements for the NDCs. These requirements are aligned with the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement Work Programme.

Head of the OCC, Janelle Christian, in her remarks, said the first NDC started in 2014 and was concluded and submitted in 2015, in time for the Paris Agreement.

However, since then, Guyana has elaborated several new national development priorities and strategies including the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), and has started petroleum production.

Christian noted that these recent developments would have identified the need for a revision of the NDC. Other sectors including the agriculture and transport sectors, would also have to be included in this revised NDC, she said.

“As part of the revision of our NDCs, which is in keeping with the commitment for all countries to increase our ambitions by 2020, we will now be including additional sectors to ensure that we achieve those ambitions,” the OCC head said, while disclosing that the sectors include the agriculture and the trans-

portation sectors. Christian noted that under the Paris Agreement, the expectation is that countries would have progressively ambitious NDCs and as such, the aim is to ensure all sectors are included this time around.

“We would like to have all of our sectors included so that we would truly have a national document…This requires the participation of all stakeholders, especially those who will be required to implement tangible actions,” she said.

While the capacity building workshop is for a period of four days, the OCC will continue to facilitate consultative sessions throughout the year. It is expected that the revised NDC would be ready for submission in September ahead of the Conference of Parties in November.

“We would like to have a document that is realistic, one that has clear targets and baseline and indicators for measurement and monitoring,” Christian said.

FAO Resident Representative in Guyana, Gillian Smith, in her remarks, said the FAO is pleased to collaborate with the OCC on this important work that Guyana is doing to develop its next NDC. She noted that Guyana has already signalled its strong intent to answer that call, but it is a task that requires a lot of planning, investment and cooperation between national counterparts and stakeholders at every level.

Smith noted that the agriculture sector is an important one in the fight against climate change and as such, the FAO is supporting countries such as Guyana in its efforts through the formulation of its revised NDCs. “Climate related disasters are becoming more frequent; floods, hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, and rising sea levels all affect the dimensions of food security.

This is going to require that we work together and come up with programmes and investments that holistically address the reduction of greenhouse gases and the enhancing of the removal of greenhouse gases from the environment. In doing this, we can create, complement and contribute to more inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems that consider

economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change,” she posited. Smith noted that the agriculture sector has been selected as a priority sector by most countries for adaptation to climate change and FAO is working on opportunities to support the countries in their efforts to include agriculture in the NCDs. Meanwhile, Lead Facili-

tator of the Workshop, Leon Charles, in his remarks, said the preparation and communication of NDCs are a mandatory, legally binding obligation under the Paris Agreement and Guyana is leading the way in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Region in the inclusive approach it is taking to develop its NDCs. “I am pleased to note

that your NDC is not being developed in a vacuum but comes as a part of climate change policy and legislative development that you have undertaken over the last few years, including the National Climate Change Policy and Action Plan; the REDD Plus strategies and the Renewable Energy Roadmap, all within the framework of the GSDS. These provide a coherent

framework to address the challenges brought on by climate change. Our work here today then is to ensure that Guyana’s NDCs meet the requirements set out in the Paris Agreement,” he said.

Following this initial workshop, consultations will be held over the next few months before the draft NDC is produced for submission.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Minister Ferguson files $10M lawsuit against Guyana Times MINISTER within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Annette Ferguson, has filed a $10 mil-

lion-dollar lawsuit against the Guyana Times and its editors for libel over an article published in the daily newspaper in December

2019.

The application was filed

by Minister Ferguson’s attorneys Lyndon Amsterdam and Latoya Roberts, and

listed the respondents and

defendants as the privately owned Guyana Times Inc., its Editors Tusika Martin and Dwijendra Rooplall.

In a statement of claim, Minster Ferguson is claiming damages in excess of $10 million for libel committed by the three respondents in the publication of an article in the Guyana Times newspaper dated Wednesday, December 11, 2019, at page 13 under the heading: ‘OPPOSITION CALLS OUT MINISTER F O R LY I N G A B O U T HOUSE LOTS ALLOCATION’ and subheading ‘as multimillion-dollar house goes up on large plot of land.’

The minister is also seeking an injunction restraining the respondents from further publishing, disseminating and circulating to the public by newsprint and/or electronically on the World Wide Web any similar words as those posted on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, whereby they published or caused to be published the following words: i. “Hours after Junior Communities Minister Annette Ferguson denied that she was not the holder of three house lots, the Opposition – People’s Progressive Party (PPP) - has called her out for lying on the issue. In photos and videos shared on social media, the minister’s sprawling mansion sits on a huge plot of land. This also led to questions about her meteoric rise in wealth in just a couple of years as a minister. ii. “We urge you to look at the video yourselves which depicts the size of Ferguson’s property and

land and compare it to the surrounding lots. Ferguson also owns the adjoining lot, which represents the entire semi-circular section,” the party said in its statement. iii. “Ferguson insisted in July she only received a “regular lot” of ¼ acre or equivalent to 10,000 square feet; however, the photos of the minister’s residence suggested otherwise, with vast yard space on the massive plot.”

The minister is also asking the court to grant an order that the three respondents publish in the Guyana Times newspaper a retraction and an apology to her retracting the false statements imputing her character and reputation.

In her court documents, Minister Ferguson stated that on March 8, 2014, she applied to the Central Housing and Planning Authority for a piece of land and after her interview, she was told that she was eligible for a middle-income house lot.

Eventually, she was allocated a parcel of land in Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and paid the sum of $900,000.00 for the said house lot, which she received the title for Parcel 842, Block: I, Zone: E.B.D, Plantation Eccles and held under Certificate of Title No. 2016/3410-H. In 2015, Ferguson stated that with the aid of her husband, she began the construction of a four-bedroom, two-storeyed concrete house with the money they had saved from my various sources of income along with her husband.

Nevertheless, she subseTURN TO PAGE 23

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

African envoys in Cuba pay courtesy call on President Granger

Right to left: Ambassador Samuel Hendrik Goagoseb of Namibia; Ambassador Ignatius Graham Mudzimba of Zimbabwe; President David Granger; Ambassador Kujejatou Manneh of Gambia; Ambassador Napoleon Abdulai of Ghana; and Ambassador Halim Majeed of Guyana

PRESIDENT David Granger, on Monday, received the ambassadors of the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of Gambia and the Republic of Zimbabwe, who are based in Havana, Cuba.

He took the opportunity to brief them on the present political and economic situation in Guyana and outlined his Decade of Development Program for 2020-2029, explaining that it was based on four pillars: The Green State, the Petroleum State, the Digital State and the Education Nation.

In a release by Guyana’s Embassy in Cuba, it was noted that the African Ambassadors enquired about the prospects of deepening of bilateral relations with Guyana and President Granger pointed that there was great scope for the development of trade and economic relations. The expansion of Guyana’s rice exports to the African continent and the sale of Guyana’s rum was an area of interest to the Ambassadors.

President Granger also updated them on his medical condition and the ambassadors congratulated him on his good state of health as they prayed for his full and complete recovery.

Teen found dead at Craig RELATIVES of 18-year-old Wayne Anthony George Jr., of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, who was found dead in a trench at Craig sideline dam, on Tuesday, believe that the young man might have been killed by members of a gang who attacked him on several occasions in the past.

According to reports, the teen’s mother, Emmette George, noted that she was at home, on Tuesday morning, when her husband informed her that their son’s lifeless body was found in a trench.

The teen, of Burial Ground Road, Kaneville, was preparing to write the entrance examination to enter the Guyana Police Force.

Reports are that the teen informed his mother, on Monday night, that he was attacked by persons with whom he had a previous altercation. The child’s mother was forced to visit the police on several occasions following attacks on her son by a member of the gang.

Police are investigating the incident.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Minister Ferguson files ... quently applied to Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited for a mortgage to complete the construction of the house on the land and was granted a mortgage of $20 million.

However, the building is still under construction.

On December 5, 2019, the Leader of the Opposition, People’s Progressive Party, Bharrat Jagdeo held a press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and which was broadcasted by audio and electronically on television, whereby he made the following statements about me:“I see they are busy sharing out letters, letters of allocation for house lots, they have not put in any infrastructure.

“I see Ferguson, the one who took three lots on the East Bank and wouldn’t say a word about it. ” The corrupt Ferguson, I am calling her out on this, she can sue me on this if she wants to.”

Minster Ferguson in her court document, said that “After I became aware of the press conference held

by Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo and what he said about me, I held a press conference at my office on the 10th December, 2019 and invited members of the media and provided the evidence that I only have one house lot by producing my Title for Parcel 842.”

H o w e v e r, F e rg u s o n claimed that on December 11, 2019, she observed the article in question in the Guyana Times newspaper.

“Although the article quoted extracts from a press conference I held at my office, in which I refuted claims made by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and produced the Title for the Parcel of land I own, yet the tenor and language in the article was written to portray me as a liar and dishonest person,” the minister said in her document.

Additionally, the minister is contesting that the contents and tenor of the article also insinuated that as a minister in government, she

acquired unexplained wealth and wealth by dishonest means when the defendants published the words “This also led to questions about her meteoric rise in wealth in just a couple of years as a minister” in the newspaper.

Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Annette Ferguson

She also claimed that the contents of the article were deliberately written and circulated as aforesaid by the newspaper to tarnish her reputation as a minister of government and cause right-thinking persons to think that she is engaged in corrupt practices and is also a dishonest person.

Also, the newspaper attempted to bolster and support the article with a picture that tried to show that the minister owned more than one parcel of land, which is false.

“That, I believe that the newspaper produced by the first-named defendant has an agenda to support the views of the members of the opposition People’s Progressive Party with a clear plan to portray myself and other government officials as being corrupt and dishonest so as to influence the views of members of the Guyanese population to not vote for ruling a Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Government in the upcoming General Elections to be held sometime in 2020,” Minster Ferguson said.

The minister is citing that the actions of the defendants caused her to suffer irreparable harm, distress, and humiliation and caused right-thinking persons to believe that she is corrupt, dishonest, and untrustworthy and a person not fit to hold the office of a minister of the government.

A similar lawsuit was filed against the Guyana Times Inc. and its Editor-in-Chief Tusika Martin

by Director of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Kirk Hollingsworth who is claiming damages in excess of $50M for libel.

In that statement of claim, Hollingsworth, through his attorneys, stated that Martin and the Guyana Times on November 11, 2019 published or caused

to be published, an article titled, “Over 3000 acres of prime land allocated to GPL Director,” in which Hollingsworth was portrayed as having been awarded over 3000 acres of prime property located on the East Bank of Demerara, as a result of a seemingly corrupt and clandestine transaction.

Another $50M is being claimed by Hollingsworth on the basis that the article was published on Guyana

Time’s online platform. In this case he is also seeking a mandatory injunction compelling both Martin and the Guyana Times to permanently remove the defamatory article from the Guyana Times newspaper edition of the November 11, 2019, available at https:// www.guyanatimesgy.com.

In December, a High Court awarded judgement in default against Guyana Times Inc and Tusika Mar-

23 FROM PAGE 20

tin in relation to a $200M lawsuit levelled against them by Managing-Director of Ground Structure Engineering Consultants (GSEC) and his wife Ndibi Schwiers for defamation of character.

The newspaper had published an article based on Jagdeo’s claims, that the couple had obtained the said lands by immoral, improper, illegal and criminal means.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Wednesday January 22, 2020

Windies set to tour Sri Lanka for white-ball series COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CMC) – West Indies will clash with Sri Lanka in a white-ball series for the first time in nearly 4-½ years when they arrive here next month for five limited overs matches.

The Caribbean side take on the hosts in three One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals, from February 22 to March 6.

West Indies will play one-day warm-up matches in Colombo and Katunayake before the series gets underway with the opening ODI at the Singhalese Sports Club here.

The two teams will meet in the second ODI in Hambantota on February 26, with the final match carded for Kandy on March 1.

Both T20 Internationals will be also played in Kandy on March 4 and 6.

Sri Lanka dominated the last ODI series here in a 3-0 whitewash while the two-match T20 series ended in a 1-1 tie.

When the two teams last met during last year’s ICC 50-over World Cup in England, Sri Lanka came away with a 23-run victory at Chester-le-Street.

Both West Indies and Sri Lanka are closely wedded in the ICC ODI rankings. While the Asian side are eighth, West Indies languish in ninth.

The positions reflect their recent form, West Indies having won just 10 of their 28 matches last year and Sri Lanka, seven of their 21 matches during the same period.

Both teams have also fallen upon hard times in the T20 format, with Sri Lanka ranked eighth and West Indies 10th.

TOUR SCHEDULE: February 17 – warm-up at P Sara Oval February 20 – warm-up vs SLC President’s XI at CMCG, Katunayake February 22 – 1st ODI at Singhalese Sports Club, Colombo February 26 – 2nd ODI at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota March 1 – 3rd ODI at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy March 4 – 1st T20I at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy Match 6 – 2nd T20I at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

Angoy returns as president as nine women elected to Diamond United FC executive HISTORY was created on Monday evening last when the Diamond United Football Club elected nine women in an 11-member executive committee that will govern the affairs of the club for the next two years.

Returning as president was Orein Angoy with the other position being occupied by a male being Committee Member, Rockwell Adams.

The full executive committee reads: Orein Angoy (president), Vianne Stanislaus (vice-president), Marcel Pinder (treasurer), Charlene Da Costa-Cameron (secretary), Nicole McKenzie (Assistant secretary/ treasurer), Atoya Shepherd (Public Relations Officer).Committee Members: Rockwell Adams, Tobika Wright, Amanda King, Threcia Williams, Yerina Carvahal.

President of the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Kevin Anthony who performed duties as Returning Officer charged the new executive to continue the good work of the club which has been improving its pedigree with every competition played in the EBFA. He also congratulated the club for electing so many women to the executive and encouraged them to be the trailblazers in charting a new course for the club.

President Angoy thanked the club for reposing confidence in him and encouraged colleagues to work as a team to take the club to another level.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday January 22, 2020

BCB/STAG Beers 50 Overs Cricket final

Sinclair leads Rose Hall to 58-run win over Tucber Park to lift title

VETERAN wicketkeeper/batsman Jason Sinclair stroked a half-century, piloting Rose Hall Town (RHT) NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour to a 58-run win over Tucber Park as they clinched the 2019 Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)/ STAG Beer 50 Overs title.

Played in memory of legendary West Indies Test player Basil Butcher, who was buried last Friday at the St Joseph Anglican Church in his home village, the final which was pushed back before Christmas last year due to rain, saw attendees at the Port Mourant cricket observe a minute of silence for Butcher prior to the match.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Rose Hall ended on 192 for 8 after Sinclair, the former Jaguars academy player showed his class with a match-winning 67.

Sinclair found support from Khemraj Mahadeo 27, Keith Simpson 18 and Delbert Hick 22 as the experienced arm of off-spinner Devon Clements reaped 6-36 to lead the Tucber

Park bowling.

Needing to score 193 from 50 overs, Tucber Park CC were at one point reduced to 3 for 3 before crashing to 134 all out in 36 overs. Damion Vantull hit 36, while Kwesi Mickle resisted with an even unbeaten 50 which proved futile, as pacer Sylus Tyndall (3-31), all-rounder Johnathan Rampersaud (3-20) and skipper Eon Hooper (3-29), rattled the batting order to help their team lift another 1st division title.

Following the match, BCB president Hilbert Foster expressed gratitude to Ansa McAl Managing Director, Troy Cadogan, for his support of Berbice cricket and described the tournament as highly successful. Foster called on clubs in Berbice to be grateful for the progress made and to assist the BCB. Also, BCB announced that over $7M in sponsorship has been raised in just two weeks in 2020 as Berbice Cricket continues to expand.

Back-to-back wins for UG in second-division cricket

THE University of Guyana (UG) Trojans cricket team had a fruitful weekend with back-to-back wins in the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) New Building Society (NBS) second division 40-overs cricket competition at the Queen’s College ground.

On Saturday, they edged out the Diplomats Sports Club by seven runs in an exciting, low-scoring fixture, while on Sunday they whipped Third Class by a whopping 137 runs.

Against Diplomats, UG batted first, but were bowled out for 135 in 19.1 overs.

Only Yogendra Singh troubled the bowlers. He led the attack with 56 runs. Shane Browne and Rayson Gill did the damage for Diplomats with figures of 5-22 and 4-55.

In their time in the middle, Diplomats batsmen were routed for 128 after off-spinner Pavindra Persaud and medium pacer Yekini Favourite took four wickets each.

Nigel Simpson showed the most resistance with a top score of 38.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, it was left-arm spinner Oswald Benn, who did the damage for UG. In their clash against Third Class, UG won the toss and opted to take first strike. Led by Keon Roberts (45) and Melroy Stephenson Jr (36), the eventual winners were able to reach 205. Sunil Tulsidas led Third Class with 5-28.

In reply, Third Class were restricted to 68 as Benn took 5-15 from six overs. Favourite was again in the thick of things with 3-17 from seven overs.

Left-arm spinner Oswald Benn took 5-15 on Sunday in UG’s victory against Third Class.

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Man-ofthe-match in the BCB STAG Beer 40-Over Final, Jason Sinclair, receives his Award from a representative of the company.

South/Central E/bo T20 League

Cotton Field Strikers and Reliance Hustlers secure wins RELIANCE Hustlers forced their way to the top of the points standing in Group ‘B’ following their emphatic win against New Opportunity Corps (NOC) on Sunday at the Reliance ground.

Batting first after winning the toss, the hosts enjoyed a solid batting display with former Essequibo senior inter-county batsman Narendra Mandolall spearheading the assault with an exquisite half-century.

The elegant left-hander smashed a belligerent score of 69 (10x4, 2x6). He was admirably supported by former national Under-17 all-rounder Rovindra Parasram who hit a destructive 45, including four fours and three sixes, as the Hustlers amassed 209-8 from their 20 overs.

Medium fast bowler Ryan Heyliger took 2-24 from 2 overs to be his side’s best bowler. Seemingly daunted by the target, NOC never showed intent and meekly surrendered and ended on 85-8 when the overs expired.

Ryan Heyliger returned with the bat to top-score with 16 while national opener Kevon Boodie made 14. Consistent bowling saw Narendra Mandolall, Rovindra Parasram and Pavindra Persaud each grabbing 3 wickets and securing a massive 124-run triumph.

In the next encounter at the Imam Bacchus ground in Affiance, Cotton Field Strikers gained a 3-wicket win against Aurora Knight Riders.

Batting first, Aurora KR posted 148-7 from their 20 overs with solid contributions from Divendra Dindyal 43 (5x4) and

Narendra Mandolall

Derrick Paul 33 (4x4) propping up the total. Impressive off-spin from Avinash Persaud earned him 5-31 from his 4 overs.

The reply was then led by a brilliant halfcentury from Jamal Wilson who stroked 9 fours and 3 sixes in his 67, and with Carlos Yapp 20 (3x4) saw their team to 149-7 in the 19th over for a much-deserved win and a chance to reach the playoffs.

The competition will continue on Sunday with the penultimate round. Reliance Hustlers and Bacchus Bulls are in the lead at this stage. Four teams from each group will qualify for the knock-out stages.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Wednesday January 22, 2020

Mathews, Kusal give Sri Lanka edge after day three HALF-centuries from Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis put Sri Lanka on top in the first Test and Zimbabwe debutant Kevin Kasuza suffered a nasty blow on the head on day three at Harare Sports Club.

Kusal made 80 and Mathews was unbeaten on 92 when the tourists closed on 295-4 in reply to Zimbabwe’s 358 all out yesterday, trailing by only 63 runs.

Victor Nyauchi (2-38) claimed his first two international wickets but it was not such a memorable day for another man making his Zimbabwe bow.

Kasuza was struck on the helmet by a pull from Kusal and sustained soft tissue injury to the skull, but the batsman’s concussion test showed up as negative and a CT scan ruled out any internal damage.

Dimuth Karunaratne (37) was caught by Ainsley Ndlovu at midwicket off Nyauchi and that was the only wicket to fall in a

morning session that ended with Sri Lanka 124-2, with Kasuza absent after being struck in the last over before lunch.

Kusal brought up an 11th Test half-century before dispatching Sikandar Raza for three consecutive fours as Mathews dug in at the other end.

Nyauchi had Kusal caught by Brendan Taylor at first slip to end a third-wicket stand of 92 and Sri Lanka were 227-4 when Dinesh Chandimal was caught and bowled by Sean Williams.

They were unable to dislodge Mathews, though, and the former captain was rewarded for his patience with a sixth Test half-century after slapping Ndlovu over midwicket for six before launching Williams over the rope.

Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva (42 not out) had put on 68 for the sixth wicket to put Sri Lanka in a promising position when stumps were drawn.

SCOREBOARD

ZIMBABWE 1st innings Prince Masvaure c Dimuth Karunaratne b Lasith Embuldeniya 55 Kevin Kasuza lbw Lahiru Kumara 63 Craig Ervine b Suranga Lakmal 85 Brendan Taylor lbw Suranga Lakmal 21 Sean Williams c Niroshan Dickwella b Lasith Embuldeniya 18 Sikandar Raza stp. Niroshan Dickwella b Lasith Embuldeniya 41 Regis Chakabva c Angelo Mathews b Lasith Embuldeniya 8 Donald Tiripano not out 44 Kyle Jarvis b Lasith Embuldeniya 1 Ainsley Ndlovu c Kusal Mendis b Lahiru Kumara 5 Victor Nyauchi c (sub.) b Suranga Lakmal 11 Extras: (lb-4, nb-2) 6 Total: (all out, 148.0 overs) 358 Fall of wickets: 1-96, 2-164, 3-208, 4-247, 5-247, 6-266, 7-307, 8-309, 9-328.

Bowling: Suranga Lakmal 27-10-53-3, Kasun Rajitha 29-9-55-0. Lasith Embuldeniya 42-12-114-5, Lahiru Kumara 29-8-82-2, Dhananjaya de Silva 21-8-50-0 (nb-2).

SRI LANKA 1st innings Dimuth Karunaratne c Ainsley Ndlovu b Victor Nyauchi 37 Oshada Fernando b Donald Tiripano 21 Kusal Mendis c Brendan Taylor b Victor Nyauchi 80 Angelo Mathews not out 92 Dinesh Chandimal c & b Sean Williams 12 Dhananjaya de Silva not out 42 Extras: (b-2, lb-5, nb-4) 11 Total: (four wkts, 106.0 overs) 295 Fall of wickets: 1-32 Fernando, 2-92 Karunaratne, 3-184 Mendis, 4-227 Chandimal.

Bowling: Kyle Jarvis 25-10-52-0 (nb-1), Victor Nyauchi 22-6-38-2, Donald Tiripano 20-3-51-1 (nb-2), Ainsley Ndlovu 14-2-52-0, Sean Williams 20-2-67 -1.

Quinton de Kock named new South Africa ODI captain CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) Quinton de Kock has been named as the new captain of South Africa One-Day International side, taking over from Faf du Plessis, who is dropped altogether for the three-match series against England next month. du Plessis led South Africa in their disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign and has hinted at international retirement from all formats following the Twenty20 global finals in Australia later this year.

“We all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become,” CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith said in a statement yesterday.

“Over the years we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world. He has a

unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart.” de Kock leads a 15-man squad with five uncapped players in seamers Lutho Sipamla and Sisanda Magala, spinning all-rounder Bjorn Fortuin, opening batsman Janneman Malan and wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne.

Magala, leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, seamer Lungi Ngidi and hard-hitting opening batsman Jon Jon Smuts must pass fitness tests before they can join the squad.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be rested for the series, while all-rounders Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius have also not been able to

force their way in.

“The road towards the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts now and we want players doing well in our domestic structures to see the rewards of the hard work that they have put in,” CSA Independent Selector Linda Zondi added.

The first ODI will be staged in Cape Town on February 4, with the second in Durban three days later and the final match of the series to be held in Johannesburg on February 9.

Squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS

Nadal through; Kyrgios, Fognini also win

Rafael Nadal has reached the Australian Open final five times but won only once, in 2009

WORLD number one Rafael Nadal cruised into the Australian Open second round with a straightforward victory over Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien.

Nadal, champion in Melbourne in 2009, dropped just five games in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 win over his 72nd-ranked opponent.

The Spaniard, runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year, is bidding to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles.

“For me personally, it has been a very positive start,” the 33-year-old said. What you want is to win in the first round and, if you can do it in straight sets, even better.”

Nadal, who will play Federico Delbonis of Argentina next, has reached the Australian Open final five times but won it only once, beating Federer in a fiveset epic 11 years ago.

He dropped serve twice against Dellien but barely looked troubled, hitting 38 winners to his opponent’s 15.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev came through a testing first-round match against American Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours 36 minutes.

Russian Medvedev, beaten in five sets by Nadal in last year’s US Open final, plays Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez in the second round.

He said: “Many moments in the match, I felt like I had got the momentum and straight away he was coming back. For the first round, it’s a big win and I’m really happy.”

Kyrgios pledged before the tournament to donate 200 Australian dollars (£105, $137) for each ace he hits to the bushfire appeal and he hit 14 during his victory.

Former world number one John McEnroe told Kyrgios on court afterwards that he would donate A$1,000 for each set Kyrgios won during the rest of the tournament.

Kyrgios has been criticised in the past for his oncourt behaviour but he said the bushfires that have devastated large parts of Australia had given him perspective on his game.

“Why am I really getting mad on the tennis court with everything going on?” he said.

“Every match I’ve played this year, I’ve been pretty good. It’s probably because of everything going on.”

The 24-year-old dedicated his victory to Australian men’s number one Alex de Minaur, who withdrew before the tournament with an abdominal injury.

Kyrgios slipped during his match but told McEnroe it was nothing serious, adding: “I move like a giraffe sometimes. I’m pretty dramatic sometimes - but you know all about that.”

He will face 35-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon in the second round and could meet Nadal in the last 16. (BBC Sport)

34

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday January 22, 2020

nt

e m a n r u o T 0 2 / 0 2 l adray Memoria

BCB/Ivan M

y a r d a M n a v I d d a l l a H ROSE r e t f a n o i t c e l l o c o t e l t i t T20 s n u r 5 y b n o i b l A g n i t a e b

ROSE Hall Town NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour wrapped up last weekend as double-champs, after winning both STAG Beer 40-Overs and Ivan Madray T20 first-division titles.

After beating Tucber Park in Saturday’s STAG Beer 40-Over final, Rose Hall continued their winning ways as they won the toss and elected to bat first in Sunday’s game.

Former national players Royston Crandon (18) and Delbert Hicks (42) added 47 for the 3rd

wicket while Troy Mathieson (16), Keith Simpson (15) made useful contributions as the team made 130-9 after 20 overs.

Bowling for Albion, left-arm spinner Gourav Ramesh bagged 4-36 and Mahendra Chaitnarine 2-7. Albion were then kept to 125 in their pursuit of 130 thanks mainly to spinner and opposition captain Eon Hooper with 3-26 and Keith Simpson 3-29 while pacer Sylus Tyndall and Royston Crandon supported with a wicket each.

Jaguars batsman and Albion opener Kandasammy Surujnarine continued his form but failed to make a significant score as he made 22 while former U-19 player Sharaz Ramcharran (31) and Steve Latchana (27) got going but failed to carry on.

The game provided much heat during the latter stages of the innings as Albion entered the last over requiring 10 runs for vic-

Rose Hall NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour team pose with the Chintamani Family following their title win. tory. Left-arm spinner Simpson only conceded four runs as Kevin Umroa was run-out for 06 off the second ball of the over.

Simpson then dismissed Mahendra Chaitnarine and Gourav Ramesh off successive balls to wrap up a nail-biting win at the No. 69 ground last Sunday.

BCB president Hilbert Foster congratulated both teams for entertaining the large crowd with great

ICC Under-19 World Cup

India thrash Japan inside 30 overs, Scotland lose again INDIA took under two hours to bowl Japan out for 41, the joint-second-lowest total in the history of the Under-19 World Cup, and then took just 29 balls to chase the target down and secure their second win in Group A and virtually confirm their place in the quarter-finals.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who was recently bought by Kings XI Punjab for IPL 2020, took 4 for 5, including two wickets in his first two deliveries, to wreck Japan’s middle order.

Right-arm seamer Kartik Tyagi also took three wickets, of which two came with the new ball. Left-arm

pacer Akash Singh collected two lower-order wickets while Vidyadhar Patil, playing his first game of the tournament, had one as the Indians were all over Japan.

The highest contribution to Japan’s total - 19 - came from extras, of which 12 were wides as India’s new-ball bowlers looked for the yorker but erred in line, making wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, the birthday boy, to dive and scramble time and again.

Opener Shu Noguchi and No. 8 Kento Dobell top-scored for Japan with seven apiece while five batsmen were out for ducks.

Bishnoi was clearly the pick of the Indian bowlers, using his wrong’uns frequently and clean-bowling two top-order Japanese batsmen in similar fashion.

(Scores: India Under-19s 42 for 0 (Jaiswal 29*) beat Japan Under-19s 41 (Bishnoi 4-5, Tyagi 3-10) by ten wickets Kumar Kushagra, who also played his first game of the tournament, opened the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal during the reply. Jaiswal struck five fours and the game’s only six in his 18-ball 29 while Kushagra chipped in with 13 in 11 deliveries. Shashwat

Rawat, the other India player appearing in his first game, ended up playing no major part in the match.

Meanwhile, another poor batting performance meant another heavy defeat for Scotland in Group C of the Under-19 World Cup, as they lost by seven wickets to Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, the same margin as their loss to Pakistan earlier.

Batting first after winning the toss, like they had against Pakistan, Scotland again got off to a wobbly start, losing four wickets for just 21

Ramdhani siblings show form in 2020 ACAC tourney THE Ramdhani siblings got 2020 off to a great start as they continued to show good form which started last year, following the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Badminton tourney which ended on January 19.

The Guyanese pair of Badminton aces, brother Narayan and sister Priyanna, continued their 2019 form, as they put on a good showing at the Kings University in Edmonton Alberta, Canada where the event was hosted.

Narayan, playing for the Kings University secured a pair of 3rd places in the Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles.

Ramdhani defeated John Li of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), 21-16, 22-20 in the Quarter-Finals.

He then suffered a loss to Raymond Kim also of NAIT

21-18, 21-17 in the Semi-Finals before beating Smit Patel two sets; 21-13, 21-16 to win the 3rd honours. Priyanna also bagged a 3rd place spot representing Olds College in the Women’s Singles event.

In the Ladies’ Singles event, Priyanna gained a bye in the opening round before beating NAIT’s Kaitlyn Gee: 21-4, 21-7 in the Quarter-Finals. She lost to Johnna Rymes of Concordia, two sets 21-9, 21-4 in the semis but then fell at the hands of Cecilia Wolski 21-11, 21-13.

President of the Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) and father of the stalwarts, Gokarn Ramdhani, in a quote said “We (GBA) are happy with them maintaining their continuous consistency to stay on top and especially playing with outside temperatures of

cricket. He thanked Chandradat Chintamani for sponsoring the tournament in memory of his late uncle, Ivan Samuel Madray.

Chintamani, in response, expressed thanks to the BCB for organising a highly successful tournament and stated that the final was one of the best cricket matches he has ever saw. He committed to sponsoring the tournament for as long as he can afford.

The Laparkan Senior vice-president further congratulated the Rose Hall Town NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour team for winning the title. Hicks was named Man-of-the-Final for his 26-ball 42. He carried home a financial reward along with a trophy.

Albion received $50 000 while the champions bagged the $100 000 purse along with trophies.

Ravi Bishnoi and Priyam Garg celebrate a wicket. (ICC via Getty Images)

runs before fighting back a bit through Uzzair Shah and Daniel Cairns. Uzzair was the dominant partner in the 31-run stand, with Cairns contributing just 7 runs in 37 balls, but it helped Scotland hold Bangladesh off for a while.

Uzzair continued till the 28th over before becoming the ninth man out for 28, but by then left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan, the Player-ofthe-Match, had started to weave his magic, tying the batsmen up in knots and running through the lower order.

Jamie Cairns did hit a quick 17, but there was no stopping Hasan as he returned 4 for 20 in just five-and-ahalf overs.

The reply from Bangladesh

wasn’t all smooth, as they lost Tanzid Hasan off the first ball of the innings, caught behind off Sean Fischer-Keogh, who went on to pick up all three wickets to fall in the chase. But there wasn’t a lot of penetration from the rest of the bowlers, and Parvez Hossain (25 in 15 balls) and Mahmudul Hasan (35* in 48) made sure Bangladesh earned full points, finishing the job in 16.4 overs.

(Scores: Bangladesh Under-19s 91 for 3 (Mahmudul 35*, Fischer-Keogh 3-27) beat Scotland Under-19s 89 (Uzzair 28, Rakibul 4-20, Shoriful 2-13) by seven wickets).

(ESPN Cricinfo)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Wednesday January 22, 2020)

From left, Narayan Ramdhani, GBA president Gokarn Ramdhani and Priyanna Ramdhani -25oC.” He continued, “They are holding up expectations to keep their standards high

for both of their respective learning institutions and more so for Badminton in Guyana,” he ended.

COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) 7 centuries (2) 209* (vs ENG, Nottingham, 1966) Today’s Quiz: (1) How many wickets Basil Butcher took in Tests?

(2) What were his best innings figures in a Test?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue Answers in tomorrow’s issue

35

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Wednesday January 22, 2020

BCB hosts emotional Evening of Reflection for Basil Butcher

… Foster pledges to continue tradition of excellence in legend’s memory.

THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) last Thursday and Friday paid emotional tributes to the late Basil Fitzherbert Butcher, AA, as his ashes were interred at the St Joseph Anglican Church ground in the home village of Port Mourant.

On Thursday hundreds turned out to an Evening of Reflection in honour of Butcher at the Port Mourant ground while BCB president Hilbert Foster gave a heartfelt tribute during a funeral service at the St. Joseph Anglican Church in Portuguese Quarters, Port Mourant.

Foster and Butcher’s former team mate Sydney Jackman both hailed the Guyana and West Indies batsman as a Berbice Cricketing Hero, who laid the foundation for others to follow. Foster, who was a close friend of the batting maestro disclosed that Butcher was one of the first persons to encourage him to run for the presidency of the BCB and always provided words

of encouragement and advice.

Foster urged his attractive audience of young cricketers to follow Butcher’s formula of being humble, hardworking, disciplined and dedicated, if they want to follow his path to success. Despite, his legendary status, Butcher was a very simple and humble individual who strongly believed in assisting others to succeed. Jackman in his half hour reflection on Butcher’s career stated that most bowlers rated him as one of the most difficult batsmen to dismiss as he cherished his wicket very highly.

The former Guyana and Berbice wicketkeeper stated that Butcher was very supportive of his junior teammates and remembered him being the first Guyanese to offer words of encouragement when he mis-stumped the great Sir Garfield Sobers. Pastor Rajin Dipoo of the CCI Church also spoke at the event.

Ms Blossom Butcher carries the ashes of her father as cricketers honour the legendary Basil Butcher with a Bat Salute.

The Evening of Reflection featured numerous well-received Cultural items from the Fyrish Steelband Group, Guysuco Training Centre and the CCI Church Williamsburg.

The large gathering of cricketers, cricket officials, umpires and special guests were also able to view a pictorial review of Butcher’s career via an exhibition hosted by the vibrant cricket board.

Mrs Pamela Butcher carrie the ashes and family pose with Hall Namilcowho Thunderbolt are the young Rose Berbice cricketers honoured Flour her husband. the BCB 50-over first division champs.

Refreshments for the evening also organise an annual Basil were provided by Banks DIH Butcher Memorial Cricket tournaLtd, CIDI, Spready’s Snackette, ment and the Basil Butcher Trust Guyana Beverage Company BCB Fund. Under the fund, less fortuand RHTYSC, MS. nate youth cricketers would benAt the funeral service on Fri- efit from cricket gear while clubs day, Foster unveiled several plans would get items such as cricket of the BCB to honour the memory balls, stumps and scorebooks. of Butcher and the other four legAnother pictorial exhibition ends, John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, was hosted during the funeral serJoe Soloman and Ivan Madray. vice while 24 cricketers honoured They were the first five Ber- Butcher’s memory by giving him bicians to play Test cricket and a bat salute as his urn was taken in Foster stated that GUYSUCO and out of the church. would be approached to name The cricketers were attired the pavilion at the Port Mourant in a special Basil Butcher Tribground after the legends while a ute T-shirts, souvenir banners, billboard would be constructed to booklets while mourners were honour them at the ground. provided with liquid refreshRHTYSC and BCB would ments.

Dhawan ruled out of NZ tour with shoulder injury as India name ODI squad SANJU Samson will replace opener Dhawan for the T20I series, while Prithvi Shaw has been named in his place for the ODI squad.

Dhawan picked up the injury during the third ODI against Australia, landing awkwardly on his shoulder in the process of fielding the ball.

An MRI scan was conducted to assess the full extent of the damage before it was announced he would not be available for the ODI leg of India’s tour to New Zealand.

No date for his return has yet been set but he is expected to begin active rehabilitation in the first week of February.

The injury makes it likely that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will open together for the duration of the five-match T20I series, which will give the pair ample opportunity to put forward their case for opening up at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October this year.

Samson had been included in India’s squad against Sri Lanka earlier this month, making his first T20I appearance in four and a half years when he was picked for the final match of the series. But he had initially missed out on selection for the New Zealand tour.

Shaw meanwhile has not appeared for

India since making his debut in a pair of Tests against West Indies in 2018 with great success - he scored 237 runs while being dismissed only twice. Since then injury and form issues have prevented the 20-year-old’s selection, but now looks set to possibly make his ODI debut in New Zealand.

The squads are largely identical, with India seeming to be looking to maintain consistency of selection across white-ball cricket where possible. The only other difference between the squads will be Kedar Jadhav replacing Washington Sundar once the teams move into the ODI series.

Super sub Aguero gets winner for City at Sheffield United SHEFFIELD, England (Reuters) - Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero came off the bench to grab a 73rd-minute winner as they solidified their grip on second place in the Premier League with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Sheffield United yesterday.

City’s Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus had a first-half penalty saved by Dean Henderson and the keeper, on loan from Manchester United, also produced a fine save to keep out a Raheem Sterling effort.

Aguero was sent on to replace Jesus in the 67th minute and it did not take long for him to make an impact as his perfectly-timed run into the box was picked out immaculately

by Kevin De Bruyne, leaving the Argentine with a simple tap-in.

It was the sixth goal in

three games for City’s alltime top scorer and came moments after United had gone close to taking the lead with Oli McBurnie just unable to reach a low ball with his slide at the back post.

“Sergio is on fire right now. Strikers need momentum. It’s good for us to have strikers in this form,” said City manager Pep Guardiola.

“I am so happy with the team. I know what it’s like to play here; it is a tough, tough place. We controlled it well and in the end we created chances to win,” he said.

“It was an incredibly good victory for us to take a step towards securing Champions League football next season,” added the Spaniard, whose side are on 51 points, 13 behind leaders Liverpool, who have

two games in hand.

LAPORTE RETURNS City are six points ahead of third-placed Leicester City, who host West Ham United today and 17 clear of fifth-placed local rivals Manchester United, who welcome Burnley.

Guardiola had defender Aymeric Laporte back in his lineup for the first time since he suffered a knee injury in August. The Frenchman was replaced 12 minutes from time.

“We knew that Aymeric couldn’t play for 90 minutes, that’s why we played five at the back to protect him a little bit. He’s a crucial player for us, we’ve missed him, it’s good for us to have him back,” said Guardiola.

Sheffield United once again showed their quality with a determined and

positive display and despite the loss the promoted side remain in seventh place on 33 points.

“Kevin de Bruyne has found an amazing pass and the movement of Sergio Aguero, he’s done that to everyone in Europe and the world. It’s a great finish. After that we’re behind and it’s double difficult for us,” said United manager Chris Wilder.

“I’ve got nothing but an enormous amount of pride for my team. We went toe-to-toe with them. When opportunities arise you have to show a little bit of quality and we didn’t do that sadly.

“Games like this are what we’re here for. We’ve worked really hard to get here, we want no regrets and I don’t think there were tonight.”

ODI Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur.

T20I Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Kedar Jadhav. (ICC.Com)

Sanju Samson

Ricks & Sari 11-race cycling programme set for Saturday THE cycling season will begin with the 27th Ricks and Sari 11-race programme this Saturday in the National Park’s inner circuit.

The National Cycling coach, Hassan Mohamed-organised event, pedals off at 09.00hrs.

Last year’s 35-lap featured Schoolboys and Invitational was won by Balram Narine in one hour 14 minutes and 62 seconds. The 10-lap Juveniles category was won by Ajay Gopilall in 27.22.28 while Junior Niles won the Veterans Under-50 five-lap in 12.47.70. The three-lap 12-14 years BMX saw Steve Bhimsen lift the title in 10.05.26 with Neshaun Rigby and Jose Rodrigues winning the 9-12 and 6-9 years categories. Ozia McAully won the five-lap Mountain Bike race.

In contention will be Jamaul John and Briton John, Alonzo Ambrose, Andre Green, Andrew Hicks, Christopher Griffith and others.

Mohamed thanked the sponsors for their continued investment and predicted an exciting race to kick-start the year.

Farah happy for WADA to re-test his samples

Windies set to tour Sri Lanka for white-ball series

West Indies and Sri Lanka set to clash in white-ball series.

Great Britain’s Mo Farah during the press conference at The Tower Hotel, London.

(Action Images via Reuters/ Matthew Childs/File photo)

PAGE

31

Angoy returns as president as nine women elected to Diamond United FC executive 31 PAGE

Front row: Six of the nine women elected to the Diamond United FC executive.

2020 PCL Regional 4-Day Round 2

LONDON, England (Reuters) - Four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah said he would gladly have any of his previous blood or urine samples re-tested as part of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) investigation into the Nike Oregon Project.

WADA wants to investigate all athletes who trained with banned coach Alberto Salazar at the Oregon Project, one of which was Britain’s Farah, the 5 000m and 10 000m champion at both the London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games.

“I’ve seen reports of my name in connection to UKAD (UK Anti-Doping) and WADA about sample retesting,” Farah said in a post on Twitter yesterday.

“Just to be clear, I was not consulted about this and as I’ve said many times, I am happy for any anti-doping body to test any of my previous samples any time.”

Farah’s comments come after UKAD was criticised for saying it would need “credible evidence” that a sample given by a British athlete contained a banned substance before handing it over as part of an investigation.

UKAD, which says it has worked closely with its American counterparts, declined a request for Farah’s historic samples from USADA in 2017, saying it was concerned such samples can degrade if retested or sent to a different location.

Salazar stopped coaching Farah in 2017 when the runner decided to move back to England from the United States.

Farah said at the time that the doping investigation surrounding Salazar was not the reason they parted ways. He has never failed an anti-doping test and denies any wrongdoing.

Earlier this month he said he would have been the “first one out” had he known Salazar faced a ban for doping violations.

He will return to track action this year to defend his Olympic 10 000m title at the Tokyo Games.

Salazar, who was found guilty of doping violations by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), has denied wrongdoing and has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against his four-year ban.

Jaguars midfielder Marsh-Brown joins US club on free transfer MEMPHIS, Tennessee, CMC – Guyana midfielder Keanu Marsh-Brown, who had his contract with Welsh side Newport County terminated by mutual consent last month, has joined United Soccer League club Memphis 901 FC on a free transfer.

Keanu Marsh-Brown.

The 27-year-old London-born Marsh-Brown had been out of favour with Newport manager Michael Flynn’s and had said he needed a “new adventure”.

Memphis, which is part-owned by former Manchester United and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, have signed Marsh-Brown pending league and federation approval.

“Keanu will bring a wealth of experience with a high-level pedigree and proven goal-scoring record,” Memphis head coach Tim Mulqueen said.

“He will be instrumental on the field in our attack, as well as

in the locker room and in our community.

“Keanu is dynamic and can create goal-scoring chances for himself as well as his team-mates.”

Marsh-Brown represented England at junior level, receiving caps at Under-16 and Under-17 level, but chose to represent Guyana, where he has scored once in 11 appearances for the Jaguars.

Marsh-Brown joined Newport on a two-year deal after leaving another English League Two side Forest Green Rovers in the summer of 2018, having spent three years at the Gloucestershire outfit, playing 68 times and scoring 20 goals.

Marsh-Brown joined Dover Athletic, who play in the National League – the fifth tier of English football – on loan at the start of 2018 and at the end of the 2017/18 season, Forest Green decided against offering him a new deal at the club, which led to his departure to rivals Newport.

Keanu MarshBrown.

He made just 16 appearances for Newport, scoring one goal in a victory at Yeovil Town last March.

But, after representing Guyana at last summer’s Gold Cup, the midfielder did not feature in manager Flynn’s plans at all during this campaign.

Newport, who narrowly missed out on promotion last season, currently lie 11th in the table, but have games in hand on all the teams above them.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020