Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_08_20_2020

THURSDAY 20th August, 2020

' No.106097

Gov’t secures US$60M to fight COVID-19 SEE PAGE 03

–– more ventilators, masks, testing machines to be available

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, signs an agreement that will see the disbursement of funds to strengthen Guyana’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as India’s High Commissioner, Dr K.J. Srinivasa, looks on

PPP/C chooses diverse representation in Parliament SEE PAGE 05

-- five Amerindians among team of youth, experience and wide skill sets

Alister Charlie

Dr. Thandika Smith

Pauline Sukhai

Lee Gendre Hakkim Williams

Yvonne Pearson

India provides US$1M for COVID-19 response –– gives 30,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to Guyana

PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

APNU says it ‘values’ small parties excluded from Parliament

THE A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) says it values the small parties, namely the Justice For All Party (JFAP) and the National Front Alliance (NFA) which have been excluded from representation in the 12th Parliament.

JFAP is led by Chandra Narine and Savitri Sharma and the NFA is led by former minister with responsibilities for labour, Keith Scott.

Jaipaul Sharma, a former APNU+AFC minister and son of the JFAP leaders, officially announced his departure from active politics, just five months after his party suffered a defeat at the polls.

On Tuesday evening, Sharma wrote on his Facebook page that: “As the mantle of leadership passes, I humbly announced my retirement from active politics and writing this was not easy, even though I know it’s been coming for a while now.”

He said that “all good

things come to an end” and that his journey in politics was one filled with pride and happiness.

After the APNU+AFC won the 2015 elections, Sharma was appointed minister within the Ministry of Finance, and in 2019, was moved to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, where he became a minister within that ministry.

“I have tried to serve our citizens diligently at all times; however, I was not always successful in getting the necessary assistance to resolve the complaints of everyone but I hope my responsiveness has weighed favourably against my failure in getting you a favourable outcome to your concerns. I wanted to say one final thank you for the honour of serving as your minister and Member of Parliament. Because all that I’ve learned in my time in office, I’ve learned from you. You made me a better person and

a better leader,” Sharma said.

Meanwhile, APNU, on Wednesday in a press release, noted that there was no discrimination or preferential treatment meted out to any partner during the selection of coalition members for the 12th Parliament.

Those selected, APNU noted, met the nomination criteria that included citizenship (proof of nationality), competence, community service, constituency representation, ethnic balance, gender balance, generational balance, geographical balance, occupational balance, and political party membership.

BIG BENAB “APNU remains committed to bringing an end to winner-takes-all politics and one-party rule in Guyana. We are convinced that in order to achieve these goals we must have a big benab where all are welcome. All partners must be guided by the partnership’s

Office of the President flags fake account THE Office of the President has noted a fake account on social media platform, Twitter, purporting to be the official account of His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

The phoney account @ DrMohamedirfaa1 is seeking to solicit funds from unsuspecting citizens for a fake United Nations fund.

“The public is therefore

advised that the twitter account is fraudulent and that they should refrain from engaging the page,” a release from the Office of the President said.

Image from fake Presidential Twitter account

APNU leader, David Granger

agreed core principles and objectives to transform the country into one that is politically, socially, economically, and culturally liberated,” the party stated.

The party stated that it is proud of the candidates that have been selected to represent the partnership in the National Assembly.

“Our list is balanced by gender, geography and generation. Candidates represent a wide cross-section of our country and a bold step forward,” APNU added.

The party emphasised that when the APNU+AFC launched its General and Regional Elections Campaign Committee on February 1,

Former APNU+AFC Minister, Jaipaul Sharma

2019, all five partners participated and agreed that each party needed to aggressively campaign to increase the coalition‘s 2015 parliamentary seat allocation.

The chairman of APNU, Brigadier (r’td) David Granger further pointed out that it would take about 7,000 votes to qualify for a single parliamentary seat and he encouraged each minor party to aim for that target.

The composition of the list of candidates extracted to represent the APNU in the 12th Parliament represents the parties that actively participated and campaigned during the 2020 General and Regional

Elections.

As such, APNU underscored that the Guyana Action Party (GAP) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) will be sending candidates to parliament.

“It is, therefore, false and regrettable, for anyone to state that small parties within the APNU are being used, abused and discarded. All parties that comprise the APNU are valued members of the partnership. We respect them and urge them to continue to work to achieve our goal of a more cohesive society,” the party stated.

APNU highlighted that it’s Statement of Principles to which all partners ascribe, clearly affirm that a positive transformation of Guyana can only be achieved by an inclusive Electoral Coalition built around the political parties, and other stakeholders.

“The coalition must be organised and committed to develop Guyana into a united, stable and prosperous nation, where the well-being of each citizen is assured, irrespective of differences in race, religion, region of residence, social rank or political persuasion. APNU has not and will not deviate from its founding principles,” the party explained.

Budget to target pressing issues in agri sector

AGRICULTURE Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, has disclosed that his ministry’s submission for the 2020 emergency budget will target pressing issues in the sector.

“We know that there was no budget for 2020 because the previous government held on to power for many months after the no-confidence motion was passed. Even after the March 2 elections, they refused to accept defeat and, as a result, Guyana suffered. Projects were either put on hold or unable to start and as such the country suffered. Now that the PPP/C is in power, we will soon table a four-month budget to get critical projects up and running,” Minister Mustapha said.

The minister further noted that agencies were tasked to revise their old budget submissions to reflect projects that are urgent.

Agencies are scheduled to submit their respective budgets this week to the minister and the permanent secretary, after which, those submissions will be made to the Ministry of Finance.

Minister Mustapha also said that the urgent needs of farmers will take precedence in the upcoming budget.

“From the ministry’s end, farmers’ critical needs will be prioritised. We will be looking to improve drainage and irrigation, infrastructure and purchase new pumps. There are also some existing pumps that we will be fixing and some cultivation dams that need rehabilitating. We also hope to rehabilitate critical structures in the MMA that have been neglected for years,” Minister Mustapha said.

The budget is also expected to strengthen the Ministry’s extension capabilities

to address pest and disease management and chemical use management.

Last week, Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo announced that extraordinary circumstances have forced government to present a budget in 21 days.

“It takes 179 days to prepare a budget from the date the circular goes out to the date of presentation in Parliament… but we want the budget prepared and we are working towards preparing a budget in 21 days,” said Dr. Jagdeo.

Last week, Minister Mustapha, during a virtual press conference, revealed that several of the Ministry’s agencies are in a terrible financial state. He pointed out that severe mismanagement was the cause and that he is working to bring order to the sector.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Gov't secures US$60M to fight COVID-19 -- more ventilators, masks, testing machines to be available

By Rabindra Rooplall GOVERNMENT is mobilising some US$60M from the World Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Islamic Development Bank, in addition to a $4.5B package it had announced earlier to bolster the national response to COVID-19.

President Irfaan Ali, on Wednesday, during an address to the nation from State House said that those sums are in addition to the US$1M grant received from the Government of India.

Those, he said, were outside of other bi-lateral support received and were in the process of being received.

The President said that he spent the last few weeks consulting with many stakeholders including the private sector, communities, trade union representatives, youths, and healthcare professionals, aimed at arriving at a national holistic plan that integrates

every aspect in response to COVID-19.

“So what we have seen is the closure of small business enterprises, our economy declined about four per cent at mid-year, contraction in business by more than 20 to 70 per cent, the loss of jobs, reduced workforce, reduced operations and output due to the implementation of work rotation work schedules,” the President said.

Further, the head of state said the loss of income has led to starvation in many communities, something which is being addressed.

He noted that a holistic plan is being looked to tackle the pandemic, while also targeting measures that would create jobs, ensure the return of income, and improve spending in the economy, while keeping the population in good health.

He said the government is focused on delivering an all-encompassing plan that will hold health and safety paramount, while balancing the need to fortify the eco-

nomic standing.

“I assure you that your concerns will be dealt with, that the concerns of the business community, parents, teachers, healthcare personnel, we will take all these concerns into consideration and find a balance in addressing this issue,” Dr. Ali said.

Noting that COVID-19 is not only a public health issue, the President said the situation is an economic, financial and social issue and government has been working to implement an approach to bring together all stakeholders.

The objective of the approach, he said, is to ensure the multifaceted aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is addressed by delivering relief to the strained health system and workers and increasing testing throughout Guyana.

Addressing public health and safety, he said there are needs for stimulus incentives and arrangements to encourage business stability, delivering relief measures to persons affected at the

President Irfaan Ali

household level and delivering education to children in a non-conventional manner in the COVID-19 environment.

He said that aspects mentioned above are outside other bilateral support that has been received and are in the process of being received.

INTERVENTIONS To tackle the ongoing challenges, President Ali said a number of interventions have been made to improve

the best turnaround time, testing capability, human resource capacity, infrastructure and equipment.

To this effect, President Ali said the government has moved from a situation to where it had less than 10,000 N95 masks in the system two weeks ago, to where there is currently 65,000 available and an additional 5,000 on order.

Testing, he said has moved from 40-60 per day to 96-140 daily. Notwithstanding the significant improvement, there is a backlog of 700 test results.

He explained that this is as a result of the manual PCR machine currently being used, in addition to the lack of medical technologists.

“Two weeks ago, we had one medical technologist working, by the end of this week, 30 new medical technologists will be trained in PCR testing from both the public and private sectors and will be available from next week,” President Ali said.

Additionally, he said two

automatic machines will be sourced to cut testing turnaround time from nine hours to two hours, which will clear the backlog and improve the capacity of mass testing which will be necessary in the eventually opening up of the economy and country.

There are four working ventilators at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation but in the new week there will be an additional 29 in the system to be used countrywide.

In addition, healthcare professionals, including doctors have been deployed to hotspots in Regions Seven and Nine.

In dealing with the issues of isolation, the President said the Health Ministry will convert the inoperable infectious disease centre to an isolation facility.

“To this end, arrangements are being made to have a facility that caters for a 150 patients requiring isolation,” the head of state added.

Coalition gov’t made CJIA expansion project a great disaster -- minister of public works MINISTER of Public Works, Juan Edghill, held few words back on Wednesday when he stated that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Expansion Project was a great disaster, brought about by poor management and administration of the previous government.

At a virtual press briefing, Edghill noted that the project should have been completed since December 2018 but the poor performance of the Chinese contractor involved and unacceptable excuses provided for such, has left Guyanese with an incomplete international airport some two

years later.

“This project has gone wrong. The Contractor has not fulfilled his obligations and the Granger Administration did not provide the necessary policy guideline to the technical people to ensure compliance with the contract,” Edghill stated.

He said that the matter is of “great concern” to the Government as Guyanese have not received the completion of the project as it was proposed to them.

Giving examples, he said that the airport’s new terminal building cannot yet accommodate eight aircraft at one time as projected; passengers must still walk

An internal photo of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport

on the tarmac to the plane or to the airport due to dysfunctional air bridges; the runway is still incomplete and the

renovated terminal building has significant defects such as leaking roofs, improper tiling, poor air conditioning,

poor lighting and more.

The Minister stated, further, that the current Project Engineer is finding it difficult to get the contractor to comply with the contract arrangements. In fact, he pointed out that the contract expired in December 2018 and though extensions were made, there are still great challenges almost two years later.

He said that the contractor has performed so badly that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) had stopped granting duty-free concessions and was exploring the possibility of garnishment because of what is owed by the contractor to the GRA. Even so, Edghill promised: “Very shortly, the Ministry of Public Works, having been briefed by our

representatives in the person of the Project Engineer and the Consultant who is supervising the works, will be engaging the contractor on the way forward…over 700 days have elapsed and I don’t even think there is sufficient monies in the remaining contract, based upon the calculations, to really benefit from liquidated damages.”

Even so, he assured that the government is committed towards the completion and modernisation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and every effort is being made to ensure the contractor complies with the elements of his contract.

In January, the former Administration reported that the expansion project was 93 per cent completed.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Apple first US company to be valued at $2tn

(BBC) Tech giant Apple has become the first US company to be valued at $2tn (£1.5tn) on the stock market.

It reached the milestone just two years after becoming the world's first trillion-dollar company in 2018.

Its share price hit $467.77 in mid-morning trading in the US on Wednesday to push it over the $2tn mark.

The only other company to reach the $2tn level was state-backed Saudi Aramco after it listed its shares last December.

But the oil giant's value has slipped back to $1.8tn since then and Apple surpassed it to become the world's most valuable traded company at the end of July.

Strong sales The iPhone-maker's shares have leapt more than 50% this year, despite the coronavirus crisis forcing it to shut retail stores and political pressure over its links China.

In fact, its share price has doubled since its low point in March, when panic about the coronavirus pandemic swept the markets.

Tech firms, which have been viewed as winners despite lockdowns, have seen their stock surge in recent weeks, even though the US is in recession.

Apple posted strong third quarter figures towards the end of July, including $59.7bn of revenue and double-digit growth in its products and services segments.

The next most valuable US company is Amazon which is worth around $1.7tn.

Apple's rapid share price rise is "an impressive feat within a short period of time", said Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst at PP Foresight.

"The last few months have underlined the importance of users and households alike to own better

Apple boss Tim Cook

quality devices, connections and services and with Apple's strong broad portfolio of devices and a growing

services offering, there are plentiful opportunities for future growth."

He said the arrival of

gigabit connectivity broadband would offer Apple "endless possibilities".

"All eyes are now on

the eagerly anticipated 5G iPhone which will fuel further consumer demand," he added.

California fires: Bay Area hit by blazes forcing thousands to evacuate (BBC) Thousands of people have had to flee their homes in areas near San Francisco after several quick-moving wildfires swept into the region.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as authorities

Thursday, August 20, 2020 –––05:00 HRS

battle hundreds of fires burning around the state.

Most at risk is the city of Vacaville, home to about 100,000, which lies between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Officials went door-todoor overnight in a frantic

effort to clear homes.

According to fire officials, 50 structures have burned down in Vacaville, with another 50 damaged by the fire.

The blaze is thought to have been sparked by lightning and a heatwave on the US West Coast. Earlier this week, one of the highest ever temperatures on Earth was recorded in California's Death Valley.

Across the US western states on Wednesday, nearly 45 million people were living in areas under some form of excessive heat warning or heat advisory.

The group of fires in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is being called the LNU Lightning Complex, was driven by winds throughout Tuesday night and has now grown to 46,000 uncontained acres.

The fire, which is larger than city of Washington DC, has injured four people and

threatens about 2,000 buildings in Vacaville, authorities say.

Video on social media shows flames burning through people's front yards in California's famed wine-producing Napa and Sonoma counties.

Smoke also blanketed the city of San Francisco, about 60 miles (95km) south of Vacaville, on Wednesday morning.

Fires are also burning in the southern part of the state, where officials described "extreme fire conditions" amid the heatwave.

Meanwhile, the state's energy provider has pleaded with residents to use less electricity or otherwise face blackouts that would leave millions of people without power for hours at a time.

On Tuesday night more than 37,000 customers across California lost power, officials told CNN.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

PPP/C chooses diverse representation in Parliament -- five Amerindians among team of youth, experience and wide skill sets

The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), on Wednesday, submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) names of candidates, extracted from its List of Candidates, to be Members of the National Assembly.

The party also submitted the lists of names of candidates extracted to be members of the 10 Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs).

According to a release, the 33 Members of Parliament include 12 from the Geographic List and 21 from the National Top Up List.

The PPP Members of Parliament are Prime Minister, Brigadier (r’td) Mark Anthony Phillips; Vice- President, Bharrat Jagdeo; Mohabir Anil Nandlall; Gail Teixeira; Dr. Frank Christopher Stanislaus Anthony; Vickram Outar Bharrat; Zufikar Mustapha; Colin Croal; Nigel Dharamlall; Sonia Savitri Parag; Joseph Linden Fitzclarence Hamilton; Deodat Indar; Charles Shiva Ramson; Pauline Rose Ann Sukhai; Priya Manickchand; Dr. Vindhya Vasini Harshkumari Persaud; Juan Anthony Edghill; Hugh Todd; Susan Rodrigues; Warren Kwame Eusi Mc Coy; Alister Charlie; Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo; Yvonne Pearson Fredericks; Faizal M. Jaffarally; Sanjeev Jaichandra Datadin; Seepaul Narine; Anand Persaud ; Dr. Bheri

New PPP/C MP, Sanjeev Jaichandra Datadin

New PPP/C MP, Susan Rodrigues

Sygmond Ramsaran; Dharamkumar Seeraj; Bhagmattie Veerasammy; Dr. Jennifer Reginalda Ann Westford; Dr. Tandika Smith; and Lee Gendre Hakkim Williams.

“Our 2020 parliamentary team demonstrates that the PPP/C is truly a national party representing the diversity of Guyana, with all ethnic groups, geographic regions and a broad range of skills and knowledge of our country represented. Included in the list of the 33 Members of Parliaments (MPs) are six medical doctors, four attorneys at law, economists, administrators, as well as activists from the labour movement, practitioners in broadcasting and the media, and the business community,” the party said.

The PPP also noted that there are 13 new Members of Parliament, comprising of young women and men, as well as those who will bring more extensive experience with them.

“The interior regions are well presented with five strong leaders from the Amerindian communities. As provided for in the Constitution, the President has appointed Mrs. Oneidge Walrond and Mr. Robeson Benn as technocratic ministers as neither were on the PPP/C List of Candidates to the National Assembly. The PPP/C also intends to name parliamentary secretaries to sit in the National Assembly, in keeping with the Constitutional provisions, in the near future,” the release said.

New PPP/C MP, Hugh Todd

The PPP/C lists of persons to sit as councillors in the 10 Regional Democratic Councils also reflect a diverse combination of new, young and seasoned women, youth, farmers, teachers, technicians, businessmen and religious leaders.

$500M to equip schools, provide COVID-19 support services PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has expressed deep concern over the academic challenges faced by children due to COVID-19 and has tasked Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, with finding solutions to these issues.

During an address to the nation from State House, President Ali said children have not been academically engaged in the traditional way since March, 2020, and the impact of non-traditional school structures is challenging.

He noted that the unavailability of resources and infrastructure for children, especially in the hinterland, children with disabilities and children without access to data or the Internet have to be addressed.

“I have directed Minister Manickchand to develop a plan to address the delivery of education to our children in a COVID-19 environ-

ment. After consultation with various stakeholders, it was decided that schools were not in a position, from a public health, infrastructure and facilities standpoint, to facilitate a re-opening in September,” the President said.

He said the education minister has been asked to implement a comprehensive plan aimed at ensuring children and teachers remain engaged in learning while $500M will be made available to equip schools and provide support services and facilities for children and teachers.

“The ultimate goal is to have our schools in a state of readiness at the earliest.

In the interim, the ministry has been tasked to put infrastructure in place for the delivery of the curriculum via the learning channel, state radio broadcasting and privately-owned media houses,” President Ali noted.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Responding to COVID-19 THE escalation of the coronavirus pandemic is having a toll on families, with seemingly no end in sight of the deadly virus, which seems to be increasing in ferocity, especially in third-world nations. Guyana is no exception.

Prior to the advent of the PPP/C Government, there were scant governmental interventions and support for the afflicted, in particular; and the wider society, which had been forced into a lockdown, in general.

The pressing needs of Guyanese from every community, for protection from infection by the COVID-19 virus; as well as nutritional sustenance – the latter need of which ensued from lack of employment and job opportunities, seriously exacerbated by the deadly pandemic, saw President-elect, Dr. Irfaan Ali, mobilising teams countrywide in mask and food distribution exercises. This was appreciated by even coalition-supporting communities, especially in light of the fact that the de facto coalition government was ignoring their pressing needs, while simultaneously illegally expending billions from already-depleted national coffers on an unnecessary vote re-count and fruitless legal challenges on nebulous and execrable charges of unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud committed by the PPP/C, which party both SOPs and SORs had proven to have won elections 2020.

With worldwide infections having surpassed 22,522,168, fatalities exceeding 789,036; while those recovered are numbering 15,198,263 and active cases are listed at 6,534,869, with currently infected patients numbering 6,472,833 (99 per cent) - those in mild condition,

Guyana’s below a million population has been hard-hit, with a Worldometer update listing current figures at 737 cases, with 25 deaths and 365 recovered.

A 32-year-old miner has been recorded as Guyana‘s 25th COVID-19 related death. A release from the Ministry of Health revealed that the patient, a resident of Region One, was working in a mining community in the Cuyuni River, Region Seven, when he became ill with suspected malaria.

However, after he was rushed to the Bartica Hospital, tests discovered that he had contracted the dreaded coronavirus, to which he succumbed, making his the third coronavirus-related death within three days.

Guyana has received US$1 million from the Government of India for COVID-19 Response. This allocation of US$1M is from the “Quick Impact Development Project” that is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) to support Guyana’s response to COVID-19.

Additionally, HE President Irfaan Ali, in an address to the nation yesterday afternoon, announced that government is in the process of securing US$60M to fund various aspects of its response to the deadly pandemic.

These funds, informed President Ali, are being sourced from various international development partners, including the World Bank, IDB and the Islamic Development Bank.

There has also been rapid response assistance from bilateral partners.

According to the President, the government has consulted with stakeholders nationwide to address the COVID-19 pandemic in a holistic manner.

He enumerated a menu of measures planned to bring relief to families and businesses; stating that the PPP/C administration would take holistic approaches to problem-resolution that would benefit all Guyanese, in every sphere of life.

Apart from COVID-19 responses, President Ali promises to facilitate and implement “… measures to recreate jobs, ensure income goes back to the people, and improve spending in the economy, whilst at the same time securing our population with the implementation of good health scenarios.”

He continued, “I assure you that your concerns will be dealt with, that the concerns of the businesses community, parents, teachers, healthcare personnel…we will find the balance in addressing this issue… ensure a multifaceted aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic is addressed by delivering relief to a strained health system and workers, increasing testing throughout Guyana, delivering relief measures and delivering education to our children.”

Among the relief initiative government plans, is through the health authorities, cutting testing time - from nine hours to two hours, simultaneously testing backlog cases, with the imminent arrival, within two weeks, of 29 ventilators.

It is also good to learn that the Ocean View facility will be converted into an isolation centre to house COVID-19 patients.

Filling seats in the National Assembly Dear Editor, THE recent selections of persons to occupy seats in the National Assembly of Guyana, following the declaration of results of the March 2 Elections, have given rise to many posts, discussions, etc on the composition of the new National Assembly, i.e. who should occupy those seats and why. There have been arguments made for youth and for women, for ensuring diversity, for honouring party loyalty and even for recognising current popularity. Each of these may have their own merit, some more so than others.

But, before we take a stance on any of these, shouldn’t we first consider the purpose of the jobs that are being discussed?

I say jobs because, essentially, a seat in the National Assembly makes one a (working) member of The Legislature, which is one Arm or Branch of Government, the others being The Executive and The Judiciary. The primary purpose of the legislative arm is ‘to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Guyana’ (Article 65 of our Constitution). A selected or appointed member of the National Assembly, or Member of Parliament (MP) (Parliament consists of the

President and the National Assembly as stated in Article 51) , is therefore employed under the Constitution of Guyana to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Guyana. This is of immense importance as it effectively gives them the power to determine how our society should function and is thus something that ought not to be taken lightly.

How does one get a seat in the National Assembly of Guyana? As it stands, our Constitution provides for an election of MPs pursuant primarily to Articles 60 and 160.

However, when we cast our ballots, we do so only for a particular party and not for a specific Member of Parliament. Though we are essentially casting a vote in favour of a List of Candidates when we vote for a party, we do not get to question that list or pick and choose which members we prefer.

Only after the election is over, and successful parties are allocated numbers of seats in the National Assembly, will we know who will occupy those seats and, essentially, represent us in Parliament. This is generally done by the Representative of the List (Section 98, Representation of the People Act), who is required to extract names from the List to fill

the number of seats allocated to that List. No voter gets a say in which names are extracted.

And, as has been seen in the recent public outbursts, even prominent members of the party itself may strongly disagree with the names extracted. However, that is the process by which persons become members of the National Assembly.

With that in mind, I would just like to note two things for consideration at this point: 1. Being a member of the National Assembly is no joke. It should not be a popularity contest or even a reward for loyalty to a party over the years. A person who occupies a seat in the National Assembly should do so to serve the people of Guyana and to represent the views of the people who voted to make that occupation possible. Those who are best able to represent those people are the persons who should be chosen to occupy those seats.

Someone who is young should be chosen not because they are young, but because they represent the voice of the youth who elected them, and this should apply to all other demographics we may want to see represented.

2. The people of Guyana should have a greater say in who will represent us in the

National Assembly. This may only happen following significant constitutional changes that permit us to be able to choose specific individuals whom we can then hold personally accountable. Until then, our votes will result in Members of Parliament who are more interested in, or even compelled to serve, the interests of those who are responsible for extracting their names than the interests of the people whose votes made their election possible.

If we want to have a greater say in who gets to represent us, we need to keep pressing whoever occupies those seats to enable those changes to be made. This is not something that is just a peripheral concern. If the people who are elected do not represent us and see themselves as accountable to us, we may continue to find that all of our other concerns will not be addressed.

Change Is Possible, but we have to begin to understand where the primary changes need to occur, and we need to change our mindset in relation to who we want to elect and why.

Yours sincerely, Kurt Da Silva

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

The $300 million City Hall Restoration Fund I have noticed that, over the last 48 hours, certain sections of the media have reported statements attributed to the newly-appointed Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Honourable Nigel Dharamlall. One such statement which has attracted my attention is “$300 Million City Hall Restoration Fund Unaccounted for – Dharamlall,” (Guyana Times, August 19, 2020).

Had it not been for the implicit and explicit implications of this statement, I would have ignored it; I refuse to participate in what now appears to be a “blame game” because it can benefit no one, and it is a sorry demonstration of poor leadership. However, that particular statement (“$300 Million City

Hall Restoration Fund Unaccounted for…”) has serious potential to hinder a good work relationship between the government and the City Council going forward. It is in this context, I wish to make the following comments: During my Mayoralty, the Mayor and City Council received neither cash nor kind in support for the restoration of City Hall building. The statement by the Honourable Minister is grossly inaccurate.

In 2015 to 2017, as part of a very serious governmental effort, to restore the nation’s Capital, the Ministry of Communities allotted the sum of $300 Million for Georgetown restoration initiatives for environmental improvement and the improved health and well-

being of the nation’s Capital.

However, of that amount $6.200M was expended by the Ministry of Communities, to purchase a double cab pick-up for the City Police, and $52.163M was paid by the Ministry for the debushing of the Le Repentir Cemetery. In real terms, then, the City Council collected $241,636,860, (not 300 Million) cheques: numbers: 711988, 711955, 711987 and 737113. The remaining balance of that subvention was used, by the council, for its intended purpose in local communities across the entire city as per Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Communities and the Georgetown City Council. The substance of that Memorandum was to: facilitate

the implementation of infrastructural and institutional work programme to assist in the restoration of Georgetown to its pristine state of beauty, cleanliness and pride.

Can I gently and respectfully remind the Hounourable Minister of Local Government that people, who occupy high public office owe it to themselves and to citizens to ensure that they disseminate accurate information on the subject that they set out to comment on or discuss, in the public sphere. Indeed, information, if it’s not carefully and properly managed, can impugn the characters of individuals connected with it, and, in fact, hurt the image of entire institutions and organisations.

Finally, as a former Mayor of the City of Georgetown, the

current Chairperson of the Social Development Committee (one of the three Standing Committees) of Council, and the Councillor for Constituency 12, I am ready and willing to work with the Ministry of Local Government to improve physical state of communities, in my constituency 12, and the city as a whole. I take this opportunity to wish the Minister of Local Government well and every success in his new position. You can be assured, Sir, of my full support, in any effort, to make Georgetown a better place for all.

Patricia Chase-Green Former Mayor – City of Georgetown

Reminiscing about 2015 campaign and 2020 fraud Dear Editor, DURING the struggle for the accurate count of ballots, there were reminisces from 2015 about fears of election rigging. I interacted with individuals who were PPP-ites and crossed over to the coalition (AFC really) to help bring about a change in administration. They vouched that the PNC (renamed APNU) would never rig elections again, would not discriminate against Indians and Amerindians, ban basic goods, and close sugar estates and would honor commitment on rice price made to farmers, among other commitments; none of which were kept.

In polling throughout the country, some never thought that the PNC (APNU) would return to electoral fraud or that the AFC would support and condone fraud.

A friend, former Central Committee member of PPP/C, welcomed the change in administration in May 2015. During the campaign, when I raised the issue of trust in the coalition to hold free and fair elections and not ban foods, he described both as propagandistic.

He said the PNC learned lessons and lost government “because of

misrule, rigging, food bans, among other blunders. He said: “Rigging is a thing of the past” and “The PNC can’t ban goods again as it led to too much suffering even among its own supporters.” In recent conversations, I reminded him about his views of Granger, who he had described as a changed person who would cleanse his thought of ever implementing the Burnhamite ideology. My friend was disappointed in the coalition’s mode of governance and racist ideology that was even worse than Burnhamism.

“I can’t understand why they had to be so racist and vindictive and when they were given a chance to transform Guyana. Indians supported them and then they discriminated against those very supporters. .

They made too many unforced errors or faux pas.” Such a sentiment was expressed all over the country by eminent personalities who supported the coalition in 2015.

I was polling in Charity in April 2015 when I interviewed a voter who, afterwards, I saw distributing coalition campaign literature; he was an AFC activist. One of the questions was whether he feared that rigging would return were the coalition to form the government.

He stated, “rigging was a thing of

the past and that PNC had learned its lessons and that AFC would not allow rigging.” As we experienced from last March, AFC supported rigging.

The respondent was asked whether he was concerned that a PNC-led government would re-impose the ban on basic foods like flour, potatoes, dhal, etc. His response echoed the answer to the earlier question. He stated that the PNC learned the lesson on banned goods. He said that was a different era of socialism and that foods could not be banned again because the PNC needed Indian support and would not risk a ban on basic foods or items that are critical to the Indian diet or their religious practices.

Right after the coalition won the elections, in June 2015, there was a debate on restoration of the food ban. There was no rationale for the PNC to raise the issue as the PNC would not gain political advantage in banning goods. Carl Greendige suggested that the ban be revisited.

For some strange reason, he was obsessed with dhal and sought to ‘educate’ Indians about the different kinds of dhals in India. He was sarcastic saying Indians only know about yellow dhal but in India there was a dozen different dhals. The

purpose of that sarcasm was not clear to anyone because Greenidge was not talking of banning only yellow dhal but all dhal. So what did it matter whether there were 10 different types of dhals in India. I grew up on urad dhal, lentil dhal, white whole dhal, and yellow dal (the latter being the most known among Guyanese). When dhal was banned, during Greenidge tenure as Finance Minister, Indians turned to bora dhal (blackeye) which was almost impossible to cook as a dhal.

Yellow dhal was smuggled in from Suriname for religious services and weddings in coffins. When the food police visited wedding houses or poojas or Koran Shariefs, or Christian Services, the dhal was dumped in latrines to avoid fine and jail. Same with the serving of roti and alou at religious functions.

Worshippers were even fearful of being caught eating mohanbhog or parsad that they may be hauled off to prison by the food police.

On closing sugar estates, the AFC-affiliated respondent said his party would not permit it as sugar workers would vote for the coalition because of the commitment made by the AFC to retain their jobs and give increase in

pay. On the question of the commitment to rice growers, he said the AFC would guarantee price support to them and provide insurance payments if crops were destroyed because of inclement weather. On the question of discrimination against non-PNC supporters, he said there would be equity and that the coalition would treat all races fairly and no one would be victimised from their government jobs.

Those responses were repeated all over the country by those who abandoned PPP/C to vote for coalition. All of them expressed disappointment in AFC after it got into government. Their hopes were shattered when none of the promises were kept. Thousands of sugar workers lost their jobs.

Hundreds of Amerindians were sent home. Thousands more were put on the bread line. Indians and Amerindians began a return trek to the PPP/C. They have learned a hard lesson about the history of the PNC and rigging.

As they said, a reptile only changes its skin, not its intent. Its inner character remains the same.

Yours truly Dr. Vishnu Bisram

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

India provides US$1M for COVID-19 response -- gives 30,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to Guyana

UNDER the “Quick Impact Development Project”, the Government of India has allocated US$ 1,000,000 which will be utilised jointly by the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support Guyana’s response to COVID-19.

Present at Tuesday’s signing of the tripartite agreement were the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony; India’s High Commissioner, Dr K.J. Srinivasa; PAHO/ WHO Country Representative, Dr William Adu Krow

and Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme, Maikiko Tanaka.

At the signing, Dr Frank Anthony thanked the Government of India for its partnership and donation to the healthcare system of Guyana, during this global pandemic.

“The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) purchased under this fund will assist in preventing our frontline workers from becoming ill,” the minister said.

He disclosed that Guyana will soon receive 29 ventilators as part of the donation.

During his brief remarks, Dr. Srinivasa said that India

and Guyana have always partnered for development and progress over the years.

He further explained that the Government of India has been assisting many countries across the world as part of Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi efforts to coordinate the COVID-19 worldwide response.

He also highlighted that, thus far, a total of 100 countries have benefitted from medical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), emergency room medicines, and monetary aid.

Meanwhile, both Dr William Adu Krow and Maikiko Tanaka expressed their ap-

preciation to the Government of Indian for its support to Guyana’s COVID-19 response.

Dr Adu Krow indicated that a quantity of medical supplies and PPE have already been procured and are expected to arrive in Guyana shortly.

Further, High Commissioner of India, Srinivasa, noted that the Government of India is providing 30,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to the Government of Guyana as a gesture of goodwill in support of its fight against COVID-19.

The minister of health

while appreciating the goodwill gestures and assistance from the Government of India expressed keen interest to continue the bilateral collaboration with India, in the medical and healthcare sector.

The minister sought India’s collaboration in upgrading three regional hospitals in West Demerara, Suddie and Bartica at a cost of USD$17.5 million; developing a patient record-keeping system, private sector investments in the health sector, and the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, to name a few.

Guyana’s interest in procuring a COVID-19 vaccine

from India, when same is available, was also indicated.

The High Commissioner offered assistance and collaboration of the Government of India in all possible sectors.

High Commissioner, Dr K J Srinivasa also paid courtesy calls on Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn; Minister for Culture, Youth Affairs & Sports, Charles Ramson; Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony and Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud.

Four COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours

GUYANA recorded a whopping four COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday, sending chills among the Guyanese public and leading to louder calls by the local health authority for persons to take the virus seriously.

At 9:00 hours on August 19, 2020, the Ministry of Health (MoH) regrettably announced the

country’s 26th COVID-19 related death. The de ceased was a 43- year-old woman and a patient of the transitional ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Then, at 14:00 hours on the same day, the MoH announced the 27th COVID-19 related death. The deceased was a 72-year-old man who died in the COVID-19

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after receiving medical care for five days. The Guyana Chronicle was later informed that the name of the deceased man was Cyril France.

Then, only four hours later, at 18:00 hours, the MoH announced two additional deaths, bringing the total, since March 2020, to 29 COVID-related deaths.

Both patients died at the

Bartica Hospital in Region Seven and were identified as a male and a female, age 55 and 41 respectively.

In all four cases the Ministry of Health indicated that is in contact with all relatives and other contacts to facilitate contact tracing and rapid assistance to everyone who may have been exposed.

The ministry encour-

aged members of the public to observe the COVID-19 Emergency measures put in place; to practice physical distancing ofat least six feet apart; to use a facemask correctly and consistently when leaving their homes, and practice good hand washing hygiene to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“The Health Ministry expresses sincerest con-

dolences to the family of these… persons and will make every effort to provide all the necessary support during this difficult time to assist the families to deal with the situation,” the ministry stated.

Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers 231 1166, 226 7480 or 180/181 for assistance.

New traffic chief, SOCU head appointed

FORMER Regional Commander of Region Eight, Senior Superintendent, Ramesh Ashram, has been reassigned and will be the new traffic chief, while the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) will be headed

by Superintendent, Fazil Karimbaksh.

As the Guyana Police Force (GPF) undergoes restructuring, the superintendents commenced duties on Wednesday, at their respective offices.

The new SOCU head was previously seconded to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). Former Commander of Region Four ‘A’ Division, Phillip Azore, is expected to be his replacement.

Earlier this month, Com-

missioner of Police, Leslie James, and Deputy Police Commissioner, Maxine Graham, were sent on pre-retirement leave.

The former traffic chief, Senior Superintendent Linden Isles is now the commander of Region Six, while the former Region six commander, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus, will be heading to the Force’s Headquarters, where he will take over from Deputy Commissioner, Paul Williams.

Last week, Senior Superintendent Wendell Blanhum returned as crime chief – replacing Senior Superintendent, Michael Kingston.

Blanhum was previously serving as police commander of Region One.

Head of SOCU, Superintendent Fazil Karimbaksh

Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent, Ramesh Ashram

Also, Senior Superinten-

quarters, where he will be

be heading the Immigration

dent, Ewart Wray, head of the

assisting Senior Superinten-

Office.

GPF’s Immigration Office,

dent Brutus. Superintendent

Further, Superintendent

will be sent to Force head-

Dennis Stephens will now

Boodnarine Persaud is now

deputy commander of Region Three.

On Monday, the Guyana Police Force announced that Deputy Commissioner of Police, Paul Williams, was sent on his outstanding 192 days’ annual leave.

Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent, Phillip Azore has taken up a post at the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Tuesday.

Azore was the acting Commander of the Police Regional Division 4-A, and was replaced by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Simon Mc Bean, who now overlooks from Cummings Lodge on the East Coast to Agricola on the East Bank of Demerara (ECD).

9

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Sudden flood due to koker problems wreaks havoc at Grove/Diamond --only quick response by NDIA, other key gov’t agencies helps stave off near disaster

Radha Krishna Sharma appointed interim NICIL CEO

NICIL CEO, Radha Krishna Sharma

The damaged Koker at Market Street, Grove that’s at the centre of all the confusion

Newly-wedded Renita is still at a loss for words

What’s left of Renita’s belongings when the flood was done

Inside Hardi Jagdeo’s shop after the water had pulled off (Photos by Adrian Narine)

By Clestine Juan IT was sheer pandemonium on Wednesday evening after a koker at Market Street, Grove, East Bank Demerara broke away, causing flooding to nearby homes in the communities.

According to reports, around 17:00hrs hours, the door of the koker which services the communities of the north-east end of Grove and Diamond, caved in under the pressure of the rising tide, which caused water levels to rise to around approximately eight inches.

However, due to quick response from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), and with the aid of a contractor, staff from the Neighbouring Democratic Councils (NDCs) were able to have the koker back up and running, and almost immediately the water started to recede.

By press-time, emergency works had already been slated to commence at low tide, expected to be around 23:00hrs late Wednesday night, be-

fore the 03:00hrs high tide early this morning.

Among government officials on the scene late Wednesday were Prime Minister, Brigadier (Rt’d) Mark Phillips; Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill; Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Mr. Deodat Indar; and Agriculture Minister, Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha.

Minister Edghill, while speaking to residents in the area, explained that the purpose of his being there was so that his Ministry could be mobilised to lend the NDIA a helping hand.

Minster Mustapha also explained that measures will also have to be put in place to make sure that better care is taken of key infrastructure.

The Prime Minister, who lives in Diamond, assured his fellow villagers that work will commence almost immediately to fix the problems they’re having with the koker and other D&I matters in the neighbourhood.

Director-General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig was also at the

scene assessing the situation. The Diamond Secondary School has been identified as a temporary shelter for those families affected by the breach at the koker.

According to NDC officials, over 400 residents were affected by the flooding, which also left many businesses and farmers in the area counting their losses.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited the scene around 19:30hours, residents in the area were busy cleaning up their homes, while others were busy assessing the damage.

Speaking with this newspaper was Renita, who only three months ago got married and moved into their Market Street, Grove home.

According to the her, around 17:17 hours she was alerted by her neighbours about the rising water outside.

The woman explained that she and her husband immediately sprang into action, trying to move some of their furniture and refrigerator to higher ground, but by then the water had

already seeped into the house.

The distressed housewife explained that all of her and her husband’s clothes were damaged by the flood, as well as some of their home appliances.

Also lost in the flood were several pigs and piglets she and her husband were rearing.

Ann, who also lives in the neighbourhood, said she has a special needs eight-year-old daughter, and was forced to send her away with some relatives due to the flooding.

She, too, has been left counting her numerous losses, since all her furniture and appliances were damaged.

Hardi Jagdeo, a shopkeeper in the area, explained that she and her husband were lucky to have been able to save a few items in her shop, including their refrigerators.

There was also the case where an 80-year-old woman was bitten by a snake right in her home, and had to be rushed to the Diamond Hospital.

THE board of directors of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has announced the appointment of Radha Krishna Sharma as the interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.

According to a release, the board noted that NICIL has been without a substantive CEO since October 25, 2018, with the passing of Horace James. The former acting CEO has reverted to his substantive position as head of the Special Purpose Unit.

“Given the importance of NICIL’s operations as the government’s privatization arm and the controversy surrounding many transactions conducted by NICIL over the past few years, the board considered it urgent and necessary to immediately appoint an interim CEO of NICIL for a period of three months, after which the post will be filled following an advertisement inviting suitably qualified candidates to apply,” the release said.

Sharma is no stranger to the corporate world. He has a substantial breadth of experience in the commercial sector, having worked in the capacity of CEO of Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company from March 2013 to December 2015, and as CEO of Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry from July 2000 to November 2009.

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Guyana readying for recommencement of commercial travel

By Lisa Hamilton IN approximately two weeks, Guyana’s international airports will be ready to accommodate commercial travel, marking phase two of the reopening of international airports but there is no surety yet on whether certain airlines will be ready to fly the Guy-

ana route.

This was relayed by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, at a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

“We believe that [in] two weeks, based upon what I’m being told, everything on our side would be ready but we are not sure that the commercial airlines would be ready,” he told reporters. The

restrictions in flights are due to the advent of COVID-19.

He explained that commercial airlines have not yet indicated that they are ready for commercial operations in Guyana and the government has only received applications for chartered flights.

Since the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) took office, the Guyana Civil

Aviation Authority (GCAA) was able to immediately address the issues of late or delayed flight approvals.

Minister Edghill announced that charter flights have been approved for September and October for Eastern Airlines. These flights are outbound from New York and Miami to Guyana, and these dates will soon be published by the GCAA. West Jet and Caribbean Airlines are being engaged regarding possible incoming flights from Toronto, Canada.

However, as it regards commercial flights, the minster gave the example that Caribbean Airlines in Port of Spain, Trinidad is not open which prevents passage of Guyanese from the United States to Guyana via Caribbean Airlines.

He stated: “The GCAA is in talks, so the engagement of West Jet and others is to get that kind of an operation going.”

Back in July 2020, representatives of the GCAA had noted that phase two of Guyana’s air travel re-opening plan was tentatively estimated for August 28, 2020.

However, due to a spike in

COVID-19 cases and other concerns as the new administration transitioned, this was pushed back.

STRICT MEASURES IN PLACE In reopening airports and resuming aircraft operations, the GCAA must focus on regulating aviation safety and security; advocating safety and hygiene practices; promoting safe aviation environments and safer travel; and facilitating tourism in Guyana.

During the month of June and into July, as part of phase one of its reopening plan, the GCAA and former Ministry of Public Health conducted several walk-throughs at the airports, and conducted extensive research on international best practices in dealing with COVID-19.

The authority has mapped the processing of passengers from the time they check-in to departure, or from the time they arrive, and has developed a set of Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) that are already being used during the repatriation of Guyanese.

The SOPs apply to both the airports and aircraft op-

erators; airport and airline personnel; port health workers; and customs and immigration. Ultimately, they establish safety and hygiene practices for passengers and employees.

INCREASED HEALTH PRECAUTIONS Furthermore, at the press briefing, the public works minister indicated that the GCAA will continue to provide advice and regulatory guidance to ensure that Guyana best manages its aviation sector during the pandemic.

"We are currently exploring the possibility of the acquisition of mist tunnels that will allow for sanitisation on arrival and departure where needs be," he said.

It was noted that the government hopes to provide this equipment to Guyana's two international airports which will prove even more useful upon the reopening of Guyana's airports. Arrangements are also being made with the private sector for the possibility of rapid testing upon arrival at Guyana’s airports.

BoG extends moratorium to December 2020

THE Bank of Guyana will extend the moratorium to December 2020 to allow banks to further defer customers’ payments to the end of 2020, President Irfaan Ali announced, during a televised address to the nation on Wednesday.

The President noted that COVID-19 has posed a serious financial threat and government is examining a number of measures.

He said that to cope with the low revenue generation, Bank of Guyana Governor, Dr Gobind Ganga, in consultation with the Bankers Association, came to an agreement to deal with the low revenue generation and the needs of customers.

President Ali said this has resulted in loans not being classified as “non-performing” and will not require loan-loss provisioning.

“The Bank of Guyana will relax Section 14 and 15 of the supervision guideline number five to December 2020. Additionally, a waiver is being given to Section 13 of supervision guideline number five, the relation of stringent statutory measures is intended to result in direct benefits of customers of banks by giving the financial

institution the ability to operate with more flexibility,” President Ali said.

He said that the Bank of Guyana will reduce liquidity requirements by lowering of the reserves requirement from 12 per cent to 10 per cent and by lowering the liquid asset requirements for demand and deposit from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, along with saving and time deposit from 10 to 15 per cent.

This, the head of state said will result in overall increase liquidity in the financial sector. The reduction in reserve requirement will result in the injection of $9.4 billion and the reduction in the liquid asset requirements will immediately release an estimated $23.3 billion into the economy.

Further, the President said commercial banks agreed to continue supporting businesses with short-term working capital needs to meet payroll and other short term funding requirements at concessional rates between five to six per cent.

“This is to encourage businesses to remain open.

The current average shortterm financing rate ranges from eight to 11 per cent, making this reduction a sig-

nificant step towards promoting business continuity,” the President said.

Additionally, the President said commercial banks will offer general concessional interest rate of one per cent and up to two per cent on customer loans below $10M until December, 30, 2020.

The existing lending ranges from 6.5 to 16 per cent.

“Some commercial banks agreed to apply special treatment to the interest accrued during the moratorium period, including but not limited to, no capitalisation, term extension and foregoing of interest in special circumstances to a loan with an outstanding balance of $10M and below,” he said.

Nevertheless, President Ali said commercial banks have agreed to waive all bank charges, especially at the ATM, local merchant charges to encourage more out of bank transactions, as well as no charges of transactions by senior citizens.

He noted that the measures will not affect the soundness of the bank system and financial architecture, as the measures outlined are not the answer to all the potential consequences of COVID-19.

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

UNICEF joins fight against COVID-19

THE United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), on Monday, handed over a quantity of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Health Ministry to support the national response to COVID-19.

A symbolic handover was done by acting UNICEF Country Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Irfan Akhtar, to Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, at the minister’s office on Brickdam.

According to a release, the PPE included 1,600 N95 face masks; 12,300 disposable face masks; 1,920 goggles; 1,390 coveralls; and 1,250 surgical gowns for health workers to protect themselves and to protect children and families.

The supplies are part of the wider UNICEF response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana which has, over the past few months, seen support provided to various governmental and other agencies.

UNICEF Country Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Irfan Akhtar, in a symbolic handing over of the items to Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony at the minister’s office on Brickdam

40 new COVID-19 cases recorded GUYANA recorded 40 additional COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, August 19, 2020 and four additional deaths.

The ages of the individuals who died on Wednesday are 41, 43, 55 and 72. There were two females and two males. Two of the individuals died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) while two others died at the Bartica Hospital in Region Seven.

The total number of cases recorded to date is 776. Meanwhile, out of the number of cases recorded, there has been 381 recoveries. Region Four is still the region

with the highest recorded cases, pinnacling at 222. Close behind are Regions Seven, Nine and One with 169, 164 and 114 cases respectively.

Region 10 has recorded 43 cases; Region Three has recorded 39 cases, while Regions Eight, Two, Six and Five have recorded nine, eight, seven and one case respectively.

There are 298 persons in home isolation and 55 persons in institutional quarantine. The recorded cases are as a result of the 6,297 tests conducted.

Man stabbed after complaining about noise nuisance BUS driver, Gordon Sam, was repeatedly stabbed and is in a critical condition at the New Amsterdam Hospital after he complained about continuous loud music, which disturbed his family from sleeping at his Sister’s Village, East Bank Berbice residence on Tuesday.

According to an eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, a party was held at the home of the Ramkarrans, at Back street, Sisters Village, and the director of music was an off-duty

Gordon Sam

policeman.

Scores of persons reportedly attended the event which started on Tuesday afternoon and continued until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

As result of the continuous noise, the victim left his home at 01:30 hours, went over to his neighbour, to warn them of the noise.

However, the patrons became annoyed and a heated exchange of words began which graduated into a fight.

During the fight, Sam was repeatedly stabbed about the body. He was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was admitted at a patient.

Police are investigating the incident.

The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) handed over to the Health Ministry to support the national response to COVID-19 (UNICEF Guyana photo)

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Rooster Investment donates $1M to aid in COVID-19 fight

-As Essequibo COVID-19 cases increase to 9

Members of the Regional Health Emergency Committee

AS the COVID-19 cases increase in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region, businessman Rupan Ramotar, popularly known as Fowl Cock, on Friday, presented a cheque in the sum of one million Guyana dollars to the Regional Health Emergency Committee, in an effort to help in the fight of the virus. The region currently has nine active cases which include a mother and her two children and a healthcare provider.

The cheque was presented in the presence of Region Two Chairman, Devanand Ramdatt; Regional Vice Chairman, Nandranie Coonjah; Regional Health Officer, AFarah Khan; and Programme head managers of the Region Two Administration.

At the handing-over ceremony, Regional Chairman,

Devanand Ramdatt, said that he was happy to have learned about the timely donation. He said that the region lacked enough resources to fight the pandemic but [he] admired the commitment of the healthcare providers. He noted that the new Government, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), had already acquired a number of medical supplies.

Rupan Ramotar said he was happy to make the donation on behalf of his companies, Rooster water coconut water and Rupan Ramotar Investment.

He said that COVID-19 was everyone’s concern and as such people needed to take necessary precautions into consideration.

He encouraged persons to continue to wear their masks and practise social distancing.

President Ali congratulated by Saint Lucia Prime Minister

President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali

SAINT LUCIA Prime Minister, Allen M. Chastanet, has congratulated Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on becoming the 9th Executive President of Guyana and expressed confidence that, under President Ali’s leadership, the two nations will continue to enjoy fertile relations.

The Saint Lucia Prime Minister, in a congratulatory letter, said: “I am confident that, under your leadership, the existing relations of friendship and good cooperation between Saint Lucia and Guyana as fellow CARICOM member states will be further strengthened and developed in years to come.”

Prime Minister Chastanet also commended the Guyanese people for their patience during the electoral

Saint Lucia Prime Minister, Allen M. Chastanet

process.

“I take this opportunity to commend the people of Guyana for their patience in this electoral process. I am indeed delighted that the impasse emanating from disputes over the election process and results, has come to an end and the rule of law has prevailed. I trust that the transition to the new administration will be peaceful and all citizens will unite in the singular purpose of achieving further prosperity for Guyana,” he said.

The prime minister also expressed his “best wishes of good health, happiness and success” to President Ali in his “noble mission” and assured him of his “highest consideration”.

13

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Massive mid-afternoon fire guts DeSinco’s

--flattens neighbouring ‘Associated Packers’, leaves $$M in losses in its wake A MASSIVE mid-afternoon blaze has left the owners of Associated Packers Industry and DeSinco Trading reeling, leaving in its wake millions of dollars in losses.

CEO of ‘Associated Packers’ Mahindra Jaikarran said he distinctly recalled receiving a call a little after 13:30hrs saying that a fire was in progress. He said that at the time, the store was open, and members of staff were in the building. Thankfully, they were all able to make it out of the building to safety, before the fire engulfed the building.

At the time of talking to the media, he said it was a bit too early to say where the fire really started; all he knows is that the loss is immense.

When pressed into giving an estimate of his losses, Jaikarran politely declined, saying: “No! There’s stock inside the building, such as flour, rice, and other commodity items. But an estimate of losses, that I don’t know yet.”

Of the two buildings involved in the fire, one has been destroyed in its entirety, while the other, though it is still standing, has been gut-

ted. Both are located at the corner of John and Sheriff Streets, Campbellville, and at this time, it is unclear to the Guyana Chronicle whether

have the hydrants working, so I’m surprised that they are going to a trench down there to bring water here.”

Minister of Home Affairs

CEO of ‘Associated Packers’, Mahindra Jaikarran and his son (Photos by Adrian Narine)

either was insured. Word is that of the three fire tenders which raced to the scene, only one had water, which caused the fire to spread rapidly to the adjoining three-story building.

Spectators at the scene of the fire called out the Guyana Fire Servcie (GFS) for what they felt was a very poor performance. Businessman, Ricky Sawh, was especially vocal, saying: “This is a tremendous embarrassment for the administration of the Fire Service… They have spent millions of dollars to

Robeson Benn, who’d also made his way to the scene of the fire, after reportedly seeing “this dark cloud of smoke for over an hour” from his office way down on Brickdam, said that after realising that the blaze had not yet been under control, he decided to go take a closer look.

Minister Benn said he has grave concerns after seeing the way in which the fire was handled, as in his opinion, there were way too many firemen on the ground, and no one in direct control. He

World Bank congratulates President Ali

President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali

World Bank Latin America and Caribbean Vice-President, C. Felipe Jaramillo

PRESIDENT, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has received a congratulatory letter from the World Bank - Latin America and the Caribbean Region Vice President, C. Felipe Jaramillo, who expressed a desire to further strengthen the partnership between Guyana and the bank, under President Ali’s leadership.

In his letter, Vice-President Jaramillo said: “We look forward to working with you and your government, and to further strengthening our partnership under your leadership.”

The vice-president further conveyed to President Ali the “World Bank's support as you tackle the immediate socio-economic

impacts from the COVID- 19 pandemic and address the development challenges of the country”.

He also expressed the hope to meet soon with President Ali “to advance discussions on World Bank's engagement in support of the country's critical priorities”.

Vice-President Jaramillo also wished President Ali success in his new mandate and assured him of “the World Bank's continued commitment to contributing towards progress and prosperity for the people of Guyana.”

Firemen valiantly trying to keep the fire from spreading on Wednesday

stated, however, that going forward, he would want to see businesses that keep in stock such essentials as food and oil, implementing and installing fire sprinkler systems.

Minister Benn, who was himself vocal about the way the fire was handled, said many of the firemen were claiming that a major setback was the intermittent

supply of water they were receiving from the main, which was compounded by their concern about the highly flammable materials in the buildings.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Focus returns to Tiger Bay -- Deputy Commissioner Hicken distributes masks, talks to residents about COVID-19

Photo and story by Rabindra Rooplall IN order to re-establish the relationship the police once had with residents of the ‘inner-city’ community of Tiger Bay in downtown Georgetown, and talk about the COVID-19 guidelines, Deputy Commissioner ‘Operations’ (ag), Clifton Hicken on Tuesday paid them a visit, where he used the opportunity to gift them a few face-masks.

Among other police ‘Top Brass’ paying the Rosemary Lane community a visit that day were Commander of Region Four’s ‘A’ Division, Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean; and Police Public Relations and Press Officer, Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor. With them also was one

Dr. Kissoon of the Ministry of Health.

While the team was in Tiger Bay, they advised residents there of ways in which they can protect themselves and their loved ones, by adhering to such safety measures as: Social Distancing; washing of hands; and wearing a mask whenever in public.

After having their little talk, Commissioner Hicken, who is an ardent supporter of the community, took his team on a ‘walkabout’ of the area, and promised their ‘gracious’ hosts to try his best to look into whatever issues may be affecting them.

The visiting team also informed Tiger Bay residents that they, along with other ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), will be back in the area on Saturday to participate in a planned

Seen here having a little ‘talk’ on Tuesday with a few residents of Tiger Bay are, from right: Dr. Kissoon of the Ministry of Health; Commander Simon McBean; and Deputy Commissioner Clifton Hicken

‘cleanup’ of the community, which is scheduled to commence at 10:00 hours.

As was only to be expected, given that Commissioner Hicken has always had their best interest at heart, the initiative was warmly received by the residents, who said they will be looking forward to regular visits from the GPF ‘high command’.

RETURN OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH Commissioner Hicken told the media that as part of its strategic plan for 20192021, one of the Force’s primary goals is to focus heavily on partnership, as they have been doing all along, by working with the communities before the coronavirus struck and caused everything to come to a temporary standstill. The one proviso, however, is that those communities must first reach out to them, either physically, or via social media.

Acknowledging that the community is the largest stakeholder in the business of policing, Hicken said the Guyana Police Force cannot work in isolation, and that from now on, commanders of the various divisions will be involved in regular ‘walkabouts’ and interactions within the communities under their supervision. He explained that part of the

plan has to do with organising regular recreational and vocational skills training for youths, combined with teaching sessions on moral grounding as the leaders of the future.

Noting that Assistant Commissioner McBean is a proactive commander, Commissioner Hicken reported that work in that direction has already begun in Tiger Bay, and will eventually fan out into other communities incrementally.

Commander McBean too, noted the importance of forging a partnership between the police and the community, as it is difficult to effectively manage crime without the efforts and input of a community.

“Coming to the community and finding out what are the issues, and how we can proactively deal with issues, not only from a proactive point of view but also from the community’s point of view and how we can sit together as a team with other stakeholders and find solutions,” Commander McBean said, “will enhance our crime fighting.”

According to Doctor Kissoon, his reason for being involved in Tuesday’s outreach was so as to let persons within the Tiger Bay community understand the importance of the wearing of masks, washing of hands and practising of social distanc-

ing to stopping the spread of COVID-19.

His advice to the few residents he met with was: “If you have any signs of fever, cough, cold or symptoms related to COVID-19, just go to the hospital, and they would direct where free testing is done for the coronavirus.”

He was roundly supported by public relations man, Assistant Commissioner Andries-Junor, who spoke on the role of his department, as the ‘go-between’ for stakeholders and Law Enforcement.

“We want to build and establish trust between the police and the communities, and the public in general, so that they can come to us, and we can channel their concerns to their respective commanders; something which also is being done through our Facebook Page, where a lot of people inbox us,” the Assistant Commissioner said, adding: “We will come into your community, and you can talk to us, and we can channel those issues to the respective commanders, and ensure a feedback is given.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Key road projects back on agenda

By Lisa Hamilton SEVERAL key road projects such as the Sheriff/ Mandela Road Expansion, the Linden to Lethem Road and the East Coast to East Bank Bypass Road which have been stalled are now back on the agenda, less than two weeks after the new administration assumed office.

Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, was pleased to give this report on Wednesday to the media. Addressing first the Sheriff/Mandela Road Expansion Project, he highlighted that it had been stalled for some time, not solely due to the pandemic but as a result of mismanagement. He said the observations of mismanagement were similar among the majority of projects the new administration was briefed on, since assuming office.

“Almost every project you go into, there are issues, there are problems, unresolved matters and while the project is being stalled, the road is deteriorating and there are issues,” he stressed.

To remedy these issues, Minister Edghill has requested that the supervisory consultant and contractors recommence the Sheriff/ Mandela Road Expansion Project guided by a new work plan.

SHERIFF/MANDELA ROAD In November 2019, the funding agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had suspended the disbursement of funds for the ongoing US$31 million project owing to health and safety violations by the contractor, Sinohydro Corporation Limited. The road expansion contract is subject to performance audits by the IDB. Moving forward, Minister Edghill said the IDB has been engaged by the government on the environmental issues that caused the project to be stalled. He revealed that some of the money from the IDB loan was diverted to address housing issues in Guyana and other matters but what was allocated for the road was not being properly disbursed and the contract was not properly implemented.

The IDB-funded Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue Road Expansion Project was contracted to the company in December 2017 but work commenced in August 2018 following surveying work.

The project was intended to improve road safety; simplify traffic movements; provide adequate drainage for the road corridor and interdependent communities; and extend the design life of the pavement and all roadway structures to a minimum of 20

years from the expected end of construction.

This stretch of road will see the construction of a twolane roadway with a concrete median portioning the two lanes along Sheriff Street while Mandela Avenue will involve expansion of the roadway from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with a central concrete median and shareduse paths.

A roundabout will be constructed at the junction of Sheriff Street and David Street/Railway Embankment Road, while the completed roadway will also be outfitted with the requisite road safety amenities, including sidewalks, bicycle lanes and adequate parking spaces. Bridges will also be upgraded, while in the vicinity of East Ruimveldt and North Ruimveldt Secondary schools, there will be a pedestrian overpass.

LINDEN TO LETHEM ROAD Advancing into the hinterland Region, the Public Works Minister also highlighted the challenges with the Linden – Lethem Road and the Kurupukara Crossing.

He said that the former administration went multiple times to Parliament for financing to facilitate the development of the two infrastructures but all that became of that were designs.

However, the PPP/C Ad-

17 ‘bar goers’ arrested for breaching COVID-19 guidelines LAW enforcement officers, on Tuesday, arrested 17 persons for breaching gazette COVID-19 guidelines, after they were discovered imbibing at Khan’s Hideout Bar, located at lot 100 Second Street Montrose, East Coast Demerara.

According to police, ranks from Regional Division 4 ‘C’, led by a senior officer, acting on information received, between 17:15h and 17:45h, conducted an operation at the bar where they found the persons imbibing.

When police arrived at the venue, no one was wearing a mask, and, as a result, all 17 persons were taken into custody and placed on bail. They are to attend court.

Bars have been ordered to remain closed

The bar where the 17 persons were arrested

since March. As of Wednesday, Guyana re-

corded 26 COVID-19 related deaths.

ministration, since taking up office, has engaged the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and others to come to a final decision on the use of the funds under the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) for works to commence on the road. The Fund is being administered by the CDB. “This road is a priority and we expect that the indecision and the lack of movement which obtained over the last several years will be resolved in a matter of weeks and we’ll be getting on with Linden to Lethem road,” Edghill said.

THE EAST COAST – EAST BANK BYPASS Before the PPP/C left office in 2015, former President Donald Ramotar paid a visit to India on which occasion the possibility of funding for a bypass road from the East Coast to the East Bank was

expressed. Minister Edghill said that five years have since passed and no such road has been constructed.

However, he said that President Irfaan Ali; Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and the two Ministers of Public Works were a part of a team that met with India’s High Commissioner recently, and, “very shortly”, an announcement will be made on the final arrangements for this road.

“In less than10 days of an Irfaan Ali Administration, a matter that was lying for years, not resolved, is being resolved,” Minister Edghill said. Added to this, out of this line of credit, $18M was made available for the construction of a new ferry for Region One and this, too, was ignored.

The new administration has arranged for this construction to commence within 18 months.

The minster of works did not hesitate to speak, too, on the East Coast of Demerara

Road Widening and Improvement Project which the former administration had presented as completed. He said that while the APNU+AFC would have shared appealing pictures of the project celebrating its completion, it had not even reached “practical completion”. He surmised that this was done before its time merely as an election gimmick.

Edghill explained that the road is still to comply with contractual obligations such as signs and traffic lights which the ministry is now working to complete.

Apart from these major projects, he also noted that a plan for the development of interior roads and bridges is continuing even as the ministry has already engaged the engineers for urban, rural and hinterland roads and these upgrades will be catered for in the PPP/C’s 2020 budget.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Ali helps Tallawahs...

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

launched Sandeep Lamichhane onto the grass bank, and another boundary from Chase off Russell took the Zouks to 86/3 at halfway.

Lamichhane kept Najibullah quiet with a series of googlies, and while Chase relieved the pressure with a pull off Carlos Brathwaite and a cover drive off Lamichhane, the Nepalese spinner came back beautifully to almost have Chase out twice in two balls.

Big hitters Darren Sammy and Mohammad Nabi were kept waiting as Chase and Najibullah were forced to run hard to keep the scoreboard ticking. Four twos in a row might have taken it out of Najibullah as a flat-bat found only Powell at long-off, the catch held despite a collision with Permaul.

Nabi took Mujeeb for a huge Hero Maximum and a deft four, but his countryman took revenge with a simple return catch. Chase brought up his first-ever T20 fifty off 39 balls, but Mujeeb beat him in the flight to give Thomas a simple catch at point.

With Russell accurate at the death, Sammy was forced to risk a tight second run and Powell’s hard throw found him short. Despite the slow finish, the Zouks’ 158/7 was the highest total of Hero CPL 2020 so far.

The Tallawahs struggled early, and a frustrated Walton skied Obed McCoy to Sammy at mid-off. The Zouks used a different bowler for each of the first four overs, and none of them went for even a single boundary.

Nicholas Kirton tried to break free, but Deyal pulled off the Republic Bank Classic Catch of the tournament so far, leaping almost behind him to pluck a pull shot from the sky and reduce the Tallawahs to 13/2 in the 5th over.

Powell began the rescue mission off his first two balls, hitting Scott Kuggeleijn for four and then a powerful flat Hero Maximum. Phillips lofted Zahir Khan or a four-and-six pair of his own, but at 36/2 Tallawahs

were behind the game after the Powerplay.

But it was a different story in the middle overs. Phillips meted out brutal treatment to Kesrick Williams, and Powell clubbed a pull followed by a straight six off Zahir. All of a sudden, the Tallawahs were ahead of the required run rate.

Sammy sensed the danger and brought back McCoy, and Phillips had to wait till the last ball of the over for a boundary.

Powell tried to take on Cornwall but found only deep midwicket, and at the Angostura LLB drinks break, the Tallawahs were 78/3, needing a further 83, and the game was finely balanced.

But Asif Ali blasted his third ball over the ropes and was unfazed by the loss of Phillips. A four off Nabi kept things ticking, and a free hit and a brutal Russell cut shot meant the 13th over went for double figures. Russell pulled the last ball of the fourth for four and Tallawahs entered the last six overs needing 50.

The 15th over went boundary-less, and Russell and Asif had to take a chance off Zahir’s last. They responded in style, with Asif dancing down the track for a Hero Maximum and Russell easing a short ball for four.

The Zouks had a chance when a Williams slower ball drew a thin edge from Russell, and thus Brathwaite joined Asif with the required run rate above 9. But an Asif dink and two Brathwaite bludgeons, plus a dropped catch by Sammy, meant Kuggeleijn’s last over went for 16 and the game was as good as won.

The Zouks will feel they left a few runs out there, and Sammy underused himself and Nabi, but the day belonged to Tallawahs’ power-hitters. A good measure of how comfortable they were in the end, despite Andre Russell scoring at under a run a ball, was that they won the game with an over to spare.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2020) COMPLIMENTS OF XTRA ENERGY DRINK - STABROEK BAZAAR (Tel: 683-9500) &CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz (1) Sohail Tanvir-49 wickets (2) Lendl Simmons-1029 runs Today’s Quiz: (1) How many players have now captained the

Warriors in CPL cricket?

(2)Who has led the Warriors in most CPL matches

to date?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Hetmyer saves misfiring Warriors batting again Guyana Amazon Warriors 131/7 (Hetmyer 71, Hemraj 19, King 10, Rutherford 10; Emrit 3/31, Cottrell 1/24, Drakes 1/28) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 127/8 (Lewis 30, Dunk 29, Emrit 17, Lynn 16; Paul 4/19, Tahir 2/18, Green 1/24) by 3 wickets.

Keemo Paul and the spinners handsomely repaid Guyana Amazon Warriors’ decision to go with an unchanged XI from their

opening day loss, and Shimron Hetmyer’s brilliance meant even a misfiring batting line-up won with time to spare, consigning the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to the bottom of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table.

The Patriots started shakily, with Evin Lewis dropped off the bowling of captain Chris Green by the usually safe Ross Taylor at slip and Chris Lynn dragging

a Naveen-ul-Haq slower ball just past his stumps.

Imran Tahir’s early introduction paid off first ball, the skipper holding a skier to dismiss Lynn. Tahir again acknowledged Black Lives Matter, dropping the knee and raising the fist.

Lewis started to find his range, sending Tahir over the cover boundary, and taking Naveen’s second over for 18. But smart

bowling from Green and even better keeping from Nicholas Pooran saw Lewis stumped for 30 as his back foot lifted for just a moment.

The Patriots ended the powerplay at 54/2.

Joshua Da Silva’s exclusion was an eye-opener pre-game, and his replacement Nick Kelly fell early, carving Keemo Paul to point where Shimron Hetmyer held a sharp chance.

Paul’s celebration was neatly topical, involving a face mask and strictly enforced social distancing.

Ben Dunk picked up Shepherd over midwicket to break an 18ball spell without a boundary, but Green put the squeeze right back on.

The pressure told, as first Ramdin was strangled down the leg-side off Paul and then Jahmar Hamilton fell to the googly as he did yesterday, Tahir his tormentor tonight.

With his team stuttering at 83/5, Patriots captain Rayad Emrit broke another lengthy boundary-less period, 26 balls this time.

But Green finished his spell well, Naveen was equally accurate, and Tahir was unlucky not to finish with Emrit’s wicket.

Emrit broke a third long

boundary drought, of 22 balls, off Paul, but the latter had his revenge immediately as a hurried pull looped to Taylor at mid-on.

The Amazon Warriors kept Dunk quiet, and when he tried to run a desperate two, Paul and Pooran combined to run him out by a yard.

Paul picked up another in the last over with Dominic Drakes, in for the injured Sohail Tanvir, holing out to square leg.

Only four boundaries after the Powerplay told the story of the Patriots’ innings.

Early in the chase, Brandon King broke his Hero CPL 2020 duck with a crisp straight drive and rasping square cut. Jon-Russ Jaggesar, in for Alzarri Joseph, asked questions with his left-arm spin but it was Sheldon Cottrell who made the breakthrough - King drilled a cut to cover, and out came the familiar salute. A wicket-maiden was a consolation birthday present for the former JDF man.

Hetmyer showed his class with a flurry of early boundaries, including a Hero Maximum that nearly took out the scoreboard.

Chandrapaul Hemraj hit one of his own off Jaggesar, his first

boundary of the tournament, and the Amazon Warriors cruised to 54/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Hemraj failed to realise the danger of a powerful throw from Drakes and was sloppily run out, but by now the chase was well under control. An opportunity to dismiss Hetmyer went begging when sub fielder Kieran Powell failed to hold a powerful drive at cover, and the straight hit for four next ball rubbed salt into the wound.

A Hero Maximum walloped over Ish Sodhi’s head brought up Hetmyer’s second fifty in two games, this one off just 31 balls. A mix-up saw Taylor run out by most of the 22 yards, and Pooran fell to Emrit first ball, but by then the required run rate was well under five an over.

Emrit caused some late nerves with two wickets in two balls, including Pooran for a golden duck, and when Dunk held on inches off the rope to end Hetmyer’s charge, the Patriots entertained thoughts of a burglary.

But the Amazon Warriors eventually stumbled over the line, and three overs left told the story far more than three wickets.

Ali helps Tallawahs destroy Zouks

Asif Ali (L) and Carlos Brathwaite (R) of Jamaica Tallawahs celebrate winning the Hero CPL match 3 against St Lucia Zouks at Brian Lara Cricket Academy yesterday in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago. (Photo by Randy Brooks - CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images) ASIF Ali finished the game in style as the Jamaica Tallawahs middle-order put the rest of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on notice, recovering from a top-order collapse to make light work of a tricky target against the St Lucia Zouks.

Rakheem Cornwall battered Oshane Thomas for two fours in the game’s first over, and Andre Russell dropped Andre Fletcher on just 4, but captain Rovman Powell made no mistake when Cornwall hit it to him at cover when the batsman was on 9.

Mark Deyal cut Mujeeb-ur-Rahman for four and

SCOREBOARD

Jamaica Tallawahs 160/5 (Asif Ali 47*, Phillips 44, Powell 26, Brathwaite 18*; Williams 2/32, Cornwall 1/9, McCoy 1/28, Nabi 0/13) beat St Lucia Zouks 158/7 (Chase 52, Najibullah 25, Fletcher 22, Deyal 17; Mujeeb 2/25, Permaul 2/34, Lamichhane 1/23, Russell 1/32) by 5 wickets

lofted Permaul for consecutive Hero Maximums, but Permaul had his revenge, with keeper Chadwick Walton taking a neat catch. Fletcher struggled against Mujeeb but sent Permaul into the stands over long-on, and the Zouks closed the GuardianLife

Powerplay at 52/2.

Thomas sent down four wides and was pulled for four by Chase, and while Russell’s bouncer was too hot for Fletcher to handle, Chase was quickly onto a hook for his first six. Najibullah Zadran SEE PAGE 19

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Bayern demolish Lyon (BBC) - Bayern Munich’s relentless march through this season’s Champions League continued as they brushed aside Lyon to book an 11th appearance in the final of the competition and a showdown with Paris St-Germain.

The German champions have barely had a glove laid on them in Europe this season, with this their 10th straight Champions League win - equalling the record for winning streaks in the competition set by Real Madrid in 2015 and Bayern themselves in 2013 - as part of a 28-game unbeaten run stretching back to December.

And Lyon simply did not have the ability or the approach over the 90 minutes to buck that trend.

The French side will be left to rue two missed opportunities in the opening quarter, though, with Memphis Depay shooting wide after running clear before Karl Toko Ekambi struck the upright from close range after cutting in from the right.

Moments after the latter effort, Serge Gnabry moved infield and fired a stunning opener for Bayern, who never looked back.

Gnabry also scored the second, with a much simpler finish, following up to tap in after Anthony Lopes had blocked Robert Lewandowski’s scuffed effort from point-blank range.

Ekambi could have made matters interesting had he been able to find a way past Manuel Neuer after being set up by Houssem Aouar, but the chance went a-begging and Lyon’s belief with it.

Serge Gnabry has scored eight goals in his last eight Champions League games.

Philippe Coutinho saw a finish ruled out for offside before Lewandowski had the final word, scoring for the ninth European game on the bounce with a header - his 15th in the competition this season.

Bayern’s win ends their run of having lost the previous four Champions League semi-finals in which they had appeared. It also keeps them on course for a treble of trophies in Hansi Flick’s stellar debut campaign as coach.

Sunday’s final promises to be a thriller, pitting arguably the best side in world football against one of the planet’s finest forward lines.

Bayern’s remarkable 2020 continues It is hard to come up with any

fresh superlatives for this Bayern side.

After the stunning 8-2 demolition of Barcelona in the last eight - which had pundits and fans alike purring and sent the Spanish club seemingly into meltdown today’s game was always going to feel somewhat anticlimactic, despite it being at a later stage of the competition.

The German giants rode their luck a bit early on but once they got their noses in front the tie was only going one way.

Against Barca it was Thomas Muller and Coutinho scoring doubles, here it was Gnabry with polar opposite finishes - one a solo screamer, the other an unmissable tap-in.

Gnabry’s goals mean he now

has nine Champions League goals this season, has eight in his last eight matches in the competition and has been directly involved in six goals in his last four.

He is second in the scoring charts only to Lewandowski, who has 55 goals in 46 games this season and becomes only the second player to score 15 or more Champions League goals in a single campaign after Cristiano Ronaldo (who has managed it on three occasions).

Lyon made to pay for missed chances Lyon finished seventh in the curtailed Ligue 1 and were expected by many to last just one more Champions League game when the tournament resumed on August 7.

But through a mixture of stub-

Kieran Powell joins St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

KIERAN Powell has joined St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for the remainder of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Powell replaced Fabian Allen in the Patriots squad and was available for their match against the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) yesterday.

As a St Kitts & Nevis national Powell was invited to join the Patriots squad as a training player but he was eligible to play for the franchise. Powell has played 40 Tests and 46 ODIs as well as one T20 International.

Powell has played for the Patriots before, most recently during the 2016 Hero CPL. Powell was the leading scorer in last year’s Regional Super 50 competition, making 524 runs for the Leeward Islands.

He travelled to Trinidad & Tobago on August 2 and went through the rigorous quarantine and testing process that Hero CPL and the Ministry of Health put in place.

This year’s CPL is taking place behind closed doors at two venues in Trinidad & Tobago with the final taking place at Brian Lara Cricket Academy on September 10, 2020. bornness, quick, ruthless counter-attacking and possibly some underestimation from their opponents, they were able to shock Italian champions Juventus and Premier League runners-up Manchester City.

Bayern, though, are not as fallible as the French side’s previous victims.

If Lyon were to stand a chance then scoring first was imperative, and with a bit more composure from Depay and Ekambi - making

the most of the space in behind Bayern’s high defensive line - they would have done just that.

It was a particularly tough night for Ekambi, who also missed a glorious chance to redeem himself and restore his side’s hope in the second half.

Lyon have still have not reached the final of a major European competition in their 70-year history, but they have at least reminded people that there isn’t only one club in France.

Guyana to open Qatar WC qualifiers against Trinidad on October 8

By Rawle Toney

GUYANA will kick off their 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifier campaign against rivals Trinidad and Tobago on October 8.

The Golden Jaguars were drawn in Group F in the CONCACAF zone of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifier alongside the Twin Island Republic, St Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.

After their clash with the ‘Trinis’, the Golden Jaguars will return home to roar against The Bahamas on Tuesday October 13.

On November 13, Guyana will travel to St Kitts and Nevis for their third game and then host Puerto Rico.

The first round will be played in a single round-robin format, meaning each team will play four matches; two home and two away, during the FIFA International match window.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, joined president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde and his staff at their secretariat to witness the Draw which was done live at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, conducted by FIFA’s Director of Tourna-

ments and Interim Competitions, Jaime Yarza, with the assistance of CONCACAF Legends Shaun Goater (Bermuda) and David Suazo (Honduras).

Asked about the draw, Forde said Guyana are in a competitive group, while calling for corporate and governmental support.

“We know this will not be an easy campaign but we’re up to this task.

We have a few weeks; if the October window remains open, we have a few weeks to prepare. We’re trusting that the COVID-19 situation will be brought under control and we can get our national team back into training. We take this opportunity to ask our stakeholders, corporate Guyana, Government of Guyana – once we complete our preparation plan – to come on board and give us all the support that they can,” Forde added.

Meanwhile, Minister Ramson said Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government of Guyana wants “to be able to promote football in Guyana as part of the Government’s programme, working in a collaborative way.”

“Sport is important to the President of Guyana, sport is important to me and we don’t only want to say it, we want to show it and that’s why I wanted to make

the time to be here with you when Guyana is being drawn and to know where they are going to play,” Ramson said.

The Sport Minister told the GFF, “You can expect hearing from me just as much as I expect to hear from you and, as much as we can do; you can expect that as well. There are a lot of things we’re facing at the moment but we are willing to explore innovative ways for partnership; we will work in a collaborative way, once the objective is to showcase Guyanese

talent and develop Guyanese talent.”

The Golden Jaguars’ best run in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers came during the run-up to the 2014 tournament in Brazil, where they had reached the penultimate round of the CONCACAF zone.

It was during that run they had a memorable showing against Trinidad and Tobago on November 11, 2011 at the Guyana National Stadium where Guyana had won 2-1, thanks to goals from Ricky Shakes and former English Premier

League player Leon Cort.

Guyana only played Puerto Rico twice at the senior level internationally, with the US territory winning 2-0 in 1993, and Golden Jaguars, with a goal from defender King Solomon Austin,, winning 1-0.

The clash against St Kitts and Nevis will mark the third meeting for Guyana, but it will also be the first time the two countries are meeting during a World Cup qualification tournament.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

New ‘rookie’ contracts when Jaguars Academy reopens - Sanasie

By Clifton Ross

CRICKET Guyana Inc. (CGI) executive Anand Sanasie said the next batch of Jaguars Academy players will be issued their contracts as soon as the conservatory is reopened, following the lifting of the current phase of lockdown.

The CGI executive added that the new LBI facility is near to completion.

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) director told Chronicle Sport yesterday that the annual issuing of contracts for the next generation of Jags players will happen when the Academy is able to reopen its

doors in order to facilitate weekly full-time training and practice sessions.

Some 15 contracts were awarded to the senior members of the Jaguars franchise team a few months ago. However, with the Academy’s heart and soul basically being able to train 5 days a week and putting in a number of practice simulations among other aspects of grooming for the big stage, the inability to do any of these activities has curtailed months of progress for the local fraternity.

While Sanasie did not go into details about the next tier of players, he did confirm that some 8 to 10 rookie contracts will be award-

ed possibly as early as next month - should lockdown rules ease.

Despite the hurdles the Academy has been forced to jump over the last 6 months, the CGI managerial earmarked August month-end as the next possible date to resume some semblance of cricket. He stated that these plans to restart live action will all be guided by the protocols of the Ministry of Public Health and its COVID-19 Task Force.

As for now, both senior and junior players have been conducting their daily ZOOM fitness sessions, which have been an integral part of staying fit and keeping the camaraderie as they honour the

social-distancing movement.

All this, according to Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) secretary is being done to prepare the standards and pave the way for an emphatic return to live action on the local circuit whenever Guyana gets back up and running.

Regarding the Academy’s new home of training, the LBI Indoor/ Outdoor facility, Sanasie hinted that the venue’s first phase has already been completed. Phase 2, which is currently in progress could be finished within the next month and when finalised will allow for some live cricket under lights.

From a positive perspective,

should the pandemic ease over the next few weeks, September could be a great month for local cricket, as the highly-exciting/important Jaguars Franchise League 50 Overs and 3-Day tournaments have been tipped to bowl off, but under strict guidelines.

With new contracts on the horizon, a new multi-purpose facility nearly completed and a number of refreshed, hungry players raring to get back to training; all hopes lie in the next phase of Guyana’s COVID-19 guidelines.

Live sports will then return with the permission to reopen various facilities and grounds across the country.

No grudges against Sharma – Sammy (ESPNCRICINFO) - Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has said he has spoken to Ishant Sharma, one of his former team-mates at Sunrisers Hyderabad, and cleared the air with him over Sharma’s use of a derogatory nickname.

Sammy played for Sunrisers during the 2013 and 2014 IPL seasons. In a video in June, Sammy asked his teammates from that time what they meant when they referred to him as “kalu”, a Hindi word with a racist connotation that he only later came to know about.

He called on them to explain if they had meant it in “any way, shape or form” that was degrading, and if so to apologise.

Social-media posts from some of the Sunrisers players of the time have indicated that they did refer to Sammy by that nickname. One of these was an

Instagram post from Ishant Sharma in May 2014.

Speaking to PTI from Trinidad, where he is set to captain St Lucia Zouks in CPL 2020, Sammy revealed that he has spoken to Ishant about this issue.

“I don’t hold grudges. I have spoken to Ishant Sharma,” Sammy said. “I consider him a brother like I did back in 2014 and ‘15 when playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad.”

Sammy, however, said he would speak out once again if racist slurs are directed at him in the future. Several other cricketers, including Sammy’s 2016 T20 World Cup-winning teammate Carlos Brathwaite, have taken a strong stance against racism in the wake of the custodial killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white policeman in Minneapolis.

Floyd died on May 25 after the police officer held him down with his knee on his neck for over eight minutes while he was handcuffed. The incident has sparked widespread global outrage and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“But again if I find out that a possible racial slur is being used to describe me, no matter what time I find out, I will ask questions about it and that’s what I did,” Sammy said. “I have spoken and voiced my opinion and I am moving on.

All these issues started a conversation in the cricket fraternity. I have no regrets talking about that.

“George Floyd was the straw that broke the camel’s back. People had to raise their voice against the systemic injustice, police brutality against people of colour.”

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy

Hero CPL 2020 Match 5 Preview…

Tridents looking to keep streak going after opening win

By Clifton Ross IT WILL be a tussle at Tarouba part two for Barbados Tridents, who will look to go two up when they battle the St Lucia Zouks in today’s first of two headliners in the Hero CPL. The defending champs pulled off a daring heist against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots after posting 153-9 batting first. It was a dismal first outing in the bubble for the champs, compliments of some skilful bowling by the veteran seamers.

Pakistani Sohail Tanvir (2-22) along with the Windies pair of Sheldon Cottrell (2-12) and skipper Rayad Emrit (2-16) strangled the Tridents batsmen. Tridents captain Jason

Holder launched a counterpunch along with Kyle Mayers. Holder smashed 38 off 22 balls with 2 fours and 3 massive sixes.

Mayers, who continued from the Regional 4-Day Tournament where he ended as the second leading run-scorer, also smacked a pair of fours along with three thumping blows which sailed over the ropes; ending with 37 off 20.

Man-of the-Match, New Zealand all-rounder and Tridents overseas import, Mitchell Santner hit 20 off 18 with two fours and bagged 2-18 to set up a good win for his team later.

St Kitts’ batting was the total opposite to that of the Tridents, with their top 4 batsmen all reaching double figures. Opener Chris Lynn, the Aussie T20 specialist, blasted 3

fours in his 19 while his partner Evin Lewis made 12.

Another Australian and T20 gun-for-hire, Ben Dunk thumped a few deliveries around as he too scored with 34 off 21 balls - three fours and 1 maximum.

Joshua DaSilva, who made his name really known recently after stroking a ton on tour against England in the warm-ups, prior to the Test series; switched to T20 mode against Tridents.

The West Indies Emerging Player (WIEP) hit a run-a-ball 41 with 3 fours and remained not out, almost taking his team over the line.

Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan bagged 2-20, lending ideal support to Santner as the champs wrapped up their first test by 6 runs.

Today’s match against Zouks will be another opportunity for Tridents talented top-order - Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, New Zealander Corey Anderson, Johnathan Carter and Raymon Reifer - to all make amends for failing in the first attempt.

Their frontline spinners, West Indies’ Hayden Walsh Jr. and Ashley Nurse went wicket-less in the first game but could have a better assessment of the conditions ahead of today’s match.

Action between Tridents and Zouks bowls off at 10:00hrs; followed by the highly-anticipated battle between former respective champions Trinbago Knight Riders and Jamaica Tallawahs, which gets underway from 17:30hrs.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, August 20, 2020

Lewis Hamilton has won four of the six races held in the 2020 season so far.

All teams sign F1 Concorde Agreement

(BBC) - All 10 teams have signed up to the new Concorde Agreement which will govern Formula 1 from 2021 to 2025.

The contract, which sets out the commercial terms of the sport, was first introduced in 1981.

Ferrari, McLaren and Williams announced their support of the revised terms of racing on Tuesday, with the other seven constructors now following suit.

World champions Mercedes had reached an impasse with F1 over the new proposals, but they have now been resolved.

The new deal is designed to end what many consider to be an unfair revenue system, whereby the top teams earn disproportionately

more prize money, a system that has created a disparity in competitiveness down the grid and locked in an advantage for Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

“This year has been unprecedented for the world and we are proud that Formula 1 has come together in recent months to return to racing in a safe way,” F1 chairman Chase Carey said in a statement.

“We said earlier in the year that due to the fluid nature of the pandemic, the Concorde Agreement would take additional time to agree and we are pleased that by August we have been able to achieve agreement from all 10 teams on the plans for the long-term future of our sport.”

Carey added that the new agreement would “create an environment that is both financially fairer and closes the gaps between teams on the race track”.

Jean Todt, president of motorsport’s governing body FIA, said the announcement marked “an exciting new chapter” for the sport.

“The conclusion of the new Concorde Agreement between FIA, Formula 1 and all 10 of the current teams assures a stable future for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship,” he added.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had previously stated that the German manufacturer would be “the biggest victim in terms of

revenue loss” but recent talks with Carey produced a breakthrough on “the clarifications that we wanted to achieve”.

Speaking on Tuesday, Ferrari chief executive Louis Camilleri said the new deal was “an important step to ensure the stability and growth of the sport”, while McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said it was “the right deal at the right time”.

Claire Williams, deputy team principal of Williams, added: “This next era will be characterised by closer and more exciting racing as a result of the new platform of regulations, which include more equitable revenue distribution and a first-ever cost cap for our sport.”

Hetmyer saves misfiring Warriors batting again

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Shimron Hetmyer (L) of Guyana Amazon Warriors plays the cut shot as Denesh Ramdin (R) St Kitts & Nevis Patriots watches on (Photo by Randy Brooks - CPL T20/ CPL T20 via Getty Images)

CGI Executive Anand Sanasie

New ‘rookie’ contracts when Jaguars Academy reopens - Sanasie PAGE

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Guyana to open Qatar WC qualifiers against Trinidad on October 8 …. Minister Ramson pledges government support

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr (L) joined GFF president Wayne Forde to witness the live draw for the 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifiers.

THURSDAY,AUGUST 20, 2020