Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_28_08_2021

SATURDAY 28th August, 2021

No.106467

Health Minister: Unvaccinated healthcare workers to be marked absent 14 PAGE

1,000 receive houselots in La Reconnaissance - $2.75 billion being spent on infrastructure works

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Students expected to be vaccinated before re-entering classrooms

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand (third left), during a media briefing, at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development, on Friday. She was accompanied by top managers of the Ministry of Education (Delano Williams photo)

West Demerara Hospital driver who allegedly stole COVID-19 vaccination booklets remanded

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Drug Health Courts, Mental Health Courts on the cards 05 PAGE

One-off cash grants to be 'rolled out' soon

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2021

Consolidated curriculum to facilitate students_ re-entering school system

By Richard Bhainie

AS students are expected to return to school on September 6, 2021, after months of being away from face-toface learning, the Ministry of Education has designed a consolidated curriculum to enable students to catch up on work they would have missed out, and to facilitate them re-entering the classrooms.

The consolidated curriculum will be complemented and supported by a diagnostic assessment which the ministry will also be rolling out to determine how students were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, academically as well as psychosocially.

This announcement was made by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, during a press conference on Friday. Also in attendance were Chief Education Officer, Dr. Marcel Huston, and Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Quenita Walrond-Lewis, among others.

Wa l r o n d - L e w i s e x plained that the consolidated curriculum was to ensure students were on track after such a prolonged period away from schools; it was also an effort undertaken by the ministry to “reduce the stress” of teachers and support them.

“It allows for adjust-

diagnostic assessment to evaluate students’ shortcomings as schools reopen

ments to timelines and for students learning -- this is important because … we are looking at where our students left off and are trying to work our way back up to standard,” she said.

“So we are trying, in a very cohesive way, to reach back and think about where students ended their academic journey, and then try to work our way forward towards where they need to be, by grade level,” she added.

The consolidated curriculum is not a new curriculum, rather, it is a “tightening” or “streamlining” of the existing national curriculum, Walrond-Lewis said, and she explained that the content delivered to students, as well as the learning objectives, will not be watered down.

The curriculum was crafted for the four core subject areas - mathematics, language arts, science and social studies - and will be implemented in grades one to nine, as grades 10 and 11 use the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) curriculum.

TENTATIVE PERIOD It will be implemented

for a tentative period of up to four years, based on assessment of its success and the rate at which students “catch up”, the Education Minister said as she explained that the national curriculum is currently being revised to meet the current standards as that curriculum has not been revised for some 50 years.

In explaining how the curriculum was constructed, Walrond-Lewis highlighted that specific topics and learning objectives were reviewed and opportunities for logical connections were assessed, and, where appropriate, integrated.

For context, handwriting is a timetabled subject as well as composition. These two subjects were incorporated so that while students write stories, they also practise the art of handwriting. Duplication of content across subject areas was also assessed to determine what could be omitted without it detrimentally affecting students.

With this consolidated curriculum, a child entering into Grade Four, who missed Grade Three due to the pandemic and would not have had consistent educational engagement, would be able to “catch up” on the

NCERD Director, Quenita Walrond-Lewis

missed work.

Students’ shortcomings will be assessed by using a diagnostic assessment which measures empirically, what a learner knows, or can do and informs of action to be taken.

NEED TO CATCH UP “When we think in terms of lost learning and gaps, and the need to catch up, diagnostic assessment is focused

on what learners can’t do and this is the motivating re-entry point for both educators and learners,” Walrond-Lewis said.

The assessment is done in two parts and looks at the learner’s psychosocial state, and general wellbeing and attitude towards returning to the learning space, as well as the academic or cognitive knowledge that he/she is re-

turning to school with.

Part one is an information gathering conversation which will help build faster rapport between the teacher and the student and will enable the educator to create learner profiles for students.

“The learner profile gives you a look or a peek into the social life of the child, their educational engagement during the pandemic, attitudes towards school and learning; perhaps some children may carry fear about going into a clustered environment, and the child’s own self-appraisal of his or herself as the learner,” Walrond-Lewis said.

Part two will focus entirely on the academic component; it will only focus on the language arts and mathematics to assess and understand where students left off. It will be guided by the national curriculum to measure where the student left off in his/her learning journey.

Students expected to be vaccinated to re-enter classrooms

By Richard Bhainie AS some schools are set to re-open their doors for face-to-face learning on September 6, 2021, the Ministry of Education, based on advice from the Ministry of Health, is expecting adolescent students to be vaccinated to re-enter the classrooms.

“We could do only what we were advised by the Ministry of Health and at this point they are uncomfortable with social gathering or any gathering of unvaccinated persons,” Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand said at a press conference on Friday.

The vaccination campaign for adolescents, persons between the ages of 12 to 18, began on Thursday as Guyana received 146,250 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine which has been earmarked for persons of that age range.

“Our mandate at education is not to just open secondary schools, it is to open, according to the vaccination plan, how that’s rolled out,” Manickchand said as she explained that a school setting is a social gathering and she was of the impression that the Health Ministry was

“uncomfortable” opening secondary school doors without rolling out the adolescent vaccination campaign.

“Philosophically, we believe classroom doors should never be locked to any child who wants to enter a classroom; that philosophy is a foundation on which we work, but all our foundations have been seriously shaken by this virus,” the Education Minister said.

“We expect that the children who will go into schools will access this vaccine and get it,” she added, highlighting that if situations arise where students are desirous of entering the classrooms without the vaccine, those situations will be assessed on what is “healthy”.

Manickchand said that the government has acquired enough vaccines for all the students under 18 in Guyana to be protected against the deadly COVID-19 virus before they re-enter the classrooms.

“And we hope that they will access those vaccines because we will go school to school and community to community to deliver, not we, the Ministry of Health, to administer the vaccines, give the shots to the children,”

she said.

“While our philosophy is to open doors for anyone who is to come in, it will have to be tempered by how safe that is given the nature of this virus,” she added.

Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary), June-Ann Gonsalves, during the press conference disclosed that seven of the 133 secondary schools in Guyana will be reopened for every grade level while the remaining 126 will operate on a rotational basis, with online-learning being retained.

Chief Education Officer (CEO), Dr. Marcel Hutson, disclosed that 44 primary schools across Guyana will be reopened fully while 413 will be operating on a rotational basis. Given that Grade Six pupils are preparing to do their National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), they will return fully.

Assistant Chief Education Officer (Nursery), Samantha Williams highlighted that some 41 of the 348 nursery schools across Guyana will fully reopen for face-to-face classes while the remainder will operate on a rotational basis.

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1,000 receive houselots in La Reconnaissance _

GUYANA CHRONICLE, SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2021

$2.75 billion being spent on infrastructure works

Woman Police Inspector, Haldah Giles pulls her lot number from a bag held by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal

ONE thousand house lots were, on Friday, distributed at the Fifth Dream Realised 2021 Housing Drive Event held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal said the allocation of the 1,000 houselots covered the period prior to 2015.

These allottees, he said, will become proud house lot owners in the new housing scheme to be developed, La Reconnaissance, which is on the Southern side of the new Railway Embankment behind the Annandale development.

“Region Four, as you know, holds the record for the largest backlog of applicants for low income housing, so this allocation exercise will help bring relief to families who have been on the wait list for many years. And, as we have been doing for all of our housing developments in the Dream Realised Campaign, that is, ensure that we do not just allocate house lots in an area but also and perhaps more importantly, strive to create communities where our citizens can thrive.

La Reconnaissance will also boast of educational, social, health, safety and recreational facilities necessary for it to be a community by the time it is completed,” Minister Croal said.

He noted that more than 6,500 house lots and 2,000 titles were distributed since August 2020.

“And I am happy to declare that we are on track to distribute an additional 7,000 by the end of 2021, in keeping with our commitment of 50,000 allocations over this five year period,” he added.

He continued: “Only a few days ago I was present at the symbolic pouring of concrete for the first set of homes that are being built under our tenure in Region 10. I am heartened that the

project is underway. In the recent months, the Ministry of Housing and Water has worked tirelessly to make homeownership a reality for applicants who have been waiting for a significant time.”

PARTNERSHIPS Simultaneously, Minister Croal said government has, within its first year in office, introduced interventions within the housing sector designed to rapidly increase the output by way of legislations and partnerships with the private sector.

These interventions, he explained range from increasing the low income thresh-hold from $8M to $10M as well as granting approval to the New Building Society-NBS to raise its loan ceiling to $15 million, thereby giving allottees more options for access to finance for the building of their homes.

“The transformation of Guyana’s housing sector is continuing apace. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has talked about the establishment of a new City along the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway -- Silica City -- which will transform the national skyline and help mitigate the impacts of climate change on Georgetown. The construction of the $2.3 billion Eccles to Mandela Highway is ongoing, and to complement this, you will see in the dailies advertisements inviting tenders for a new four lane road that that will continue from Eccles to Diamond and join the soon to be completed $500 million Diamond to Herstelling Road link,” he underscored.

The Ministry of Housing and Water/CHPA, he explained, has ongoing contracts to the tune of more than $18 billion for infrastructural works such as road networks, drainage and irrigation systems and

A section of the gathering at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre

electricity and water for 22 new and existing housing schemes in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six. “Here on the East Coast, infrastructural works to the tune of $3.7M are ongoing in Cummings Lodge 1768 and 1767, LBI, Mon Repos, Annandale, Vigilance, Bladen Hall and Strathspey. We partnered with the IDB for the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme through which low income families in difficult circumstances can enjoy an improved quality of life either by the improvement of the infrastructure in their communities or directly through grants of up to $500,000 that they can use to improve their homes.

These interventions have already started in Sophia and La Parfaite Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara. And the Home Subsidy intervention will also be extended to applicants from the East Coast area,” Minister Croal explained.

The exercise, he said is not in isolation or is it for show. The housing sector in Guyana is being transformed under the steadfast leadership and vision of the government.

WATER SECTOR In this regard, he said the water sector is also similarly undergoing accelerated development, the benefits of which will redound to the citizens of this country who deserve improvements in the supply of clean safe water.

Meanwhile, Minister Croal said GWI has begun the drilling of the new well at Lusignan which will replace the collapsed well within three months. This will help to improve service delivery to more than 12,000 users in Lusignan, Annandale and parts of Good Hope.

New wells, he said, are

slated to be drilled in Providence and Diamond, East Bank Demerara before the end of the year; and the water networks in several other areas are being upgraded.

When completed, some communities will be receiving potable water for the very first time.

Additionally, he noted that water treatment plants in Friendship, Mon Repos, Better Hope, Eccles, Covent Garden and Grove will be upgraded to increase the

this forms part of the 2022 budget for allocations done in 202,” he highlighted.

In significantly reducing the demand for affordable housing and delivering well developed communities too, Minister Croal said the cost of the lots that were handed out on Friday is heavily subsidised by the government and at a minimum of $200,000 per lot. Allottees will pay far below market prices for prime spots of land. And the cost for its

infrastructural works is $2.75 billion.

“The investments made by our government into developing these communities are significant, and so I want to encourage those of you who will receive houselots and titles to houselots today, to talk with the banks present for financial guidance so that you can start building your homes as quickly as possible,” he added.

At the event there were several financial institutions while the GMSA was also at the event to share information on local building materials. Also, Massy Gas Products has a special gas cylinder and stove promotion for allottees.

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues said government supports the most vulnerable communities and aims to transform them all in a positive manner.

“We want every Guyanese to be a part of the change and making land available to the population and reducing the backlog is essential,” she noted.

She explained that all of the banks are on board to help persons secure a loan for construction.

The 1,000 houselots were distributed at the Fifth Dream Realised 2021 Housing Drive held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre

treated water coverage and improve levels of services in and around the surrounding areas.

“And here in the East Coast, distribution mains will be installed at Vey Vey, Unity, BV, Success and Montrose to Felicity. In total, interventions by GWI for Region Four for these works are expected to cost half a billion dollars. Still on the East Coast, infrastructural works which include the upgrade of existing access roads and bridges, unsurfaced roads, pipe networks and drains and culverts are ongoing. New constructions of similar infrastructure to the tune of 4.3 billion are scheduled to come on stream by the end of the year in LBI and Annandale,

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2021

US to continue Kabul evacuations ‘until last moment’ The US says it will keep evacuating Afghans from Kabul airport until “the last moment”, despite continuing concerns about attacks from the Islamic State (IS) group.

Reports from Kabul now suggest as many as 170 people died in Thursday’s attack on crowds at a gate to the airport.

The Pentagon says there are still credible threats against the airport.

The US is still processing Afghans desperate to leave. Most NATO countries have now ended their emer-

gency flights.

France ended its evacuation effort on Friday, blaming deteriorating security at the airport. It said it had flown nearly 3,000 people out of the country.

The deadline set by the US for its forces to leave Afghanistan expires on 31 August.

The BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, who is in Kabul, has been told by sources that the US and British troops are “wrapping up” at the airport, and that the Taliban will take over in “a matter of hours”.

A spokesman for the Taliban said on Friday night they had now taken control of parts of the airport. However, the Pentagon disputed this.

According to the Pentagon, more than 5,000 people remain inside the airport, waiting to be flown out. Officials also said measures had been implemented, in conjunction with the Taliban, to improve safety.

The White House says more than 111,000 people have been evacuated since the airlift began nearly two weeks ago.

The mission, a White House official said, would prioritise the remaining American citizens who wanted to leave, with US forces “engaged in a variety of means to get them to the airport safely”.

Meanwhile, the US

Hundreds of Afghans are still desperate to leave before the Taliban take full control of the airport (BBC/Reuters photo)

Embassy in Kabul advises American citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and avoid the airport’s gates because of security threats.

The attack on Kabul airport was carried out by a suicide bomber

who walked into the crowd of families waiting outside one of the gates, according to UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

There was no second blast near an airport hotel, as originally thought, US officials said on Friday.

Dozens of Afghans were killed - a final number has yet to be established. In addition, 13 US personnel, two British nationals and the child of a British national were among the dead.

Some victims were blown into a sewage canal where Afghans were waiting to be processed, while dozens were rushed to hospital.

Hospitals in Kabul, already struggling with fewer staff since the Taliban took power nearly two weeks ago, have been overwhelmed with patients.

Wounded US personnel were flown to an American air base in Germany.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has

been warned that another terror attack in Kabul is likely in the coming days.

The next few days would be “the most dangerous period to date”, a White House official said, adding that US forces were looking at possible IS targets.

IS-K, or Islamic State Khorasan Province, is the group that claimed to be behind Thursday’s deadly airport attack.

It is the most extreme and violent of all the jihadist militant groups in Afghanistan.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US took the group “very seriously”.

“Obviously they are a serious terror threat,” he said, adding: “I think the threat is real and nobody wants to see that threat grow.

“We’re not going to allow attacks on the homeland to emanate from Afghanistan again like they did 20 years ago.” (BBC)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2021

Offender’s mental health_ prior to incarceration must be assessed

TO address the issue of overcrowding in Guyana’s prisons, an offender’s mental health and drug use should be taken into consideration when a sentence is being imposed for crimes committed by persons while they are in a State of automatism.

This was discussed by Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., and several key stakeholders during a meeting with representatives of the Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) Programme on Thursday, to solicit views and recommendations on how the programme should proceed to produce the greatest possible impact.

Present at the meeting were Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali- Hack S.C.; Commissioner of Police, Nigel Hoppie; Deputy Commissioner (Operations), Clifton Hicken; Head of the Psychiatry Guyana Public Health Corporation (GPHC), Dr. Bhiro Harry; Psychiatrist, Dr. Meena Rajkumar; Deputy Parliamentary Counsel, Joanne Bond and SCJS representatives.

The SCJS is funded by

the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and is implemented by the Ministry of Legal Affairs. It seeks to help tackle prison overcrowding by reducing pre-trial detentions and increasing the use of alternative sentencing, among other measures.

On Wednesday, the SCJS reported that significant strides have been made in the attempt to overhaul and improve Guyana’s criminal justice system through revamping the country’s archaic legal infrastructure by implementing a gamut of initiatives aimed at modernising the sector and creating an environment conducive to the efficient and effective management of same.

During the discussions, several recommendations pertaining to addressing the prisons overcrowding by addressing the mental health concerns of offenders and the manner in which mental health and drug use are addressed by the penal system and the judiciary were made.

“There was unanimous agreement that Guyana’s archaic mental health legislation needed to be repealed and/ or amended and

Drug Health Courts, Mental Health Courts on the table

in conjunction with that, the required infrastructure and human resources to support the wide sweeping effect of the amendments,” a press statement from the Ministry of Legal Affairs said.

The implementation of Drug Health Courts and Mental Health Treatment Courts in every Magisterial District in Guyana which will exclusively manage accused persons who are afflicted with either ailment and have committed crimes, was discussed.

Noteworthy, Head of the Psychiatry Guyana Public Health Corporation (GPHC) Dr. Harry suggested that the current method for treating persons who are before the magistrates’ courts is ineffective and inefficient as those persons cannot receive the care they require.

As a result, there is expected to be a national proposal to completely overhaul Guyana’s treatment of persons suffering from mental health and drug addiction who are in Guyana’s

Criminal Justice system.

Further, the AttorneyGeneral recommended that proceeds from the programme be used to resource the police force with both equipment and personnel to type statements in criminal matters as well as to improve the system whereby witnesses are summoned in criminal trials.

The stakeholders also discussed the revision of legislations such as the PleaBargaining Act, Probation of Offenders Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act with a view of removing from these legislations certain sections that will allow State agencies and offenders to create constructive relationships and interactions outside of the realm of custodial sentences which would be mutually beneficial to the public as well as the offenders.

The SCJS programme is divided into two components: the first seeks to reduce the use of pre-trial detention, especially for individuals accused of minor offences, by providing

Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C. better legal assistance to alternative sentencing by individuals accused of non- the criminal justice system violent offences, improve in Guyana which includes the prosecutors’ ability to strengthening the country’s handle cases according to the legal drafting functions, seriousness of the offence, modernising probation serstrengthen the judiciary, and vices and implementing a design and implement a re- pilot project at the magisstorative justice programme. trate court level to apply The second component alternatives to imprisonment seeks to increase the use of to non-violent offenders.

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THE government has commenced vaccination of a new cohort of the population. It involved our adolescent population, those between ages 12 and 18.

Over 200 children were vaccinated on the first day of the roll-out of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine which was witnessed by Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony and Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, among other senior officials.

The current batch of 146,250 Pfizer doses of vaccines is donated to Guyana and forms part of a larger donation of 5.5 million doses from the US Government to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

This measure taken by the administration to vaccinate the adolescent cohort of the population is consistent with the overall goal of achieving

GUYANA CHRONICLE, SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2021

Adolescent Vaccination

herd immunity which is vital to contain and ultimately eradicate COVID-19 virus.

Guyana is ahead of several countries in the region when it comes to the number of eligible persons who have already been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Despite attempts by the political opposition to dissuade Guyanese from taking the vaccine, uptake levels continue to accelerate.

The statistics show that nearly 20 per cent of the adult population has already been fully vaccinated. Over 460,000 doses of the vaccines have already been administered and that number continues to climb with each passing day.

One cannot however, take comfort in numbers. And while there can be no perfect statistic

in terms of vaccination rates, a comparison of vaccination metrics across the region and for that matter the world as a whole can be a useful guide in terms of measuring the progress made by the Guyana Government in its ongoing efforts to reach the desired level of herd immunity.

The commencement of adolescent vaccination is yet another indication of the desire of the current administration to restore normalcy in the country.

The re-opening of schools for the new September term is yet another welcome development, even though it is not completely free of some element of risk.

This is why the administration is not taking anything for granted. And even though the vast majority of teachers, parents and guardians welcome

the reopening of schools, the government has made it abundantly clear that only children who are vaccinated and who followed the guidelines established by the Ministry of Health will be allowed into the classroom. The same is also true of teachers who are expected to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus or subject themselves to the required COVID-19 tests.

The decision to reopen schools has been welcomed by many including the UNICEF representative in Guyana, Mr. Nicolas Pron, who underscored the importance of children returning to school. He posited that school closures do impact on students’ learning, health and well-being at critical developmental stages with profound repercussions for each child,

their family and the economy.

The importance of re-opening schools cannot be overemphasised. It is an established fact that the longer children stay away from school, the more they become adversely affected not only at the cognitive level but also at the emotional and socialisation levels.

The Guyana Government must be commended for making vaccines for adolescents available, especially at a time when several countries are challenged to procure vaccines for their adult populations.

More significantly, the vaccines were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on clinical trials which found the vaccines to be remarkably safe and effec-

tive for both adults and teens.

Currently, clinical trials are underway for children as young as six months.

The battle between viral infections and man is as old as the hills. The long-standing struggle between humans and microscopic disease-bearing viruses has had a long history. Indeed, several decisive victories were scored, the most notable being the fight against smallpox, SARS and Ebola. In the end it is the ingenuity, determination and resourcefulness of man that ultimately prevailed.

The current fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. Our success in confronting the spread and eradication of the virus, however, depends to a large extent on individual, and by extension, the collective efforts of us all. In the words of our national poet Martin Carter, it is a case of ‘all are involved, all are consumed.’

Working together is the best defence against COVID-19

Dear Editor,

AT the end of 2019 the Chinese authorities announced to the world that they detected a virus that was attacking the respiratory system of people and had killed quite a few in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. The need to alert the world was because of the fact that the virus was being spread in the air and therefore, in the highly interconnected world we live in today, was likely to spread the world over.

In order to battle the spread of the disease China immediately locked down Wuhan City.

That proved to have been a very effective way of fighting the virus.

Inevitably the disease began spreading. South Korea was attacked early and shortly after the Europe began to be affected.

People began dying. The World Health Organisation (WHO) sprang into action and sought to give leadership in the world. At first the question was how this condition should be treated. Many drugs were tried and many were also discarded.

Fear and frustration stalked all lands. A big effort began in many countries to develop a vaccine to protect the masses.

In the meantime two views emerged in the United States. On the one hand the scientists were urging that the situation be taken seriously. They urged that imme-

diate preparations he made to deal with the outbreak. They warned of serious consequence of not taking immediate steps.

On the other hand the Executive, led by Donald Trump felt that the issue was being over-exaggerated. Moreover, the Trump administration and President Trump in particular expressed some overconfidence. After all the US was the most powerful country in the world and it would be able to wipe out the virus in no time should it reach the US. This was the sentiment up to early March 2020 in the US. Apart from some display of arrogance on the part of the President Trump and some in his administration that behaviour became a defence to the government due to its earlier actions in preparing or not preparing the US for such eventualities.

US experts, like experts in other developed countries, had long been talking about an event such as the COVID-19 attack. This was their summing up of the world experience and the many pandemics that had visited us throughout history.

Only a hundred years ago the “Spanish Flu” had killed millions in the world. Scientists warned that another such event was almost inevitable.

Based on that conclusion, scientists have been warning and urging governments to

take precaution and to prepare for such an eventuality. After all mankind’s actions were rapidly changing the world’s environment which was making a pandemic a most likely outcome.

The George Bush administration had taken this issue very seriously. The US government under President Bush established a task force/think tank of scientists to advise government and guide the government’s preparatory actions.

The President Obama, who replaced President Bush, maintained the organisation and ensured that it was well equipped and funded. Those Presidents took the warnings seriously and had put an organisation in place to deal with such an eventuality.

They quite rightly took guidance from the scientists.

On the assumption that he wanted to cut out unnecessary expenditure, Trump disbanded the group that was preparing for any type of pandemic. America became one of the most ill-prepared developed countries for a pandemic. This was an extremely short sighted decision.

Therefore, when COVID-19 first made its appearance President Trump began to play down and even trivialise the real dangers that it posed. He himself is on record as saying that it would just disappear, nothing to really be over-concerned about.

He was even insultive to

the WHO and the efforts it was making. He developed great hostility to that organisation and pulled the USA out of that UN body and removed America’s financial contribution to it. That was a very serious blow to the world’s response to COVID-19.

He began to show much impatience with his own scientists who were urging that this matter be taken seriously. They recommended wearing masks and even lockdown. Many of the technical personnel were removed from their posts because they showed disagreement with Trump. He was often insultive to many of the leading scientists in that field like Dr. Fauci whose position became very uncomfortable. It was only Dr. Fauci’s high sense of responsibility that kept him from resigning.

Trump himself refused to wear a mask and even organised many public meetings. Most people at those meetings were not wearing masks and social distancing proposed by the experts were disregarded.

This situation, led to political consequences. Trump began to lose popularity at the time when the US was going towards a Presidential Election. He therefore had to find another scape goat to blame.

He began pointing accusing fingers at China. In this exercise he had the full support of the US media. The media in the US seems to be programmed against

some countries, China being the foremost. The chorus was that China was to be blamed. To use the situation to politically attack China they began to accuse China of manufacturing the virus. All of this was to divert the public’s attention from the great folly of disbanding the organisation that was established to deal with the issue.

In the meantime the WHO organised a high-level team to investigate the origin of the virus. This group, made up of highly respected scientists, spent twenty eight days in China working intensely on the matter.

Their conclusion was that it was very unlikely that the virus could have been created in a lab.

The technical challenges for that appears to have been too great a challenge. The very strong evidence was that it was transmitted from animal to human.

Most likely from bats which are known to be carriers of COVID virus.

With the change of government in the United States one would have thought that the matter would have come to an end.

After all Joe Biden advocated taking the advice of the scientists during the elections campaign.

He strongly attacked Trump handling of the COVID crisis and his blatant disregard for science. He did make considerable political mileage on Trump’s anti-science stance and that was probably the main reason that

Mr. Biden got elected.

On taking power, President Biden did a great job in getting the vaccines, which appearance coincided with the victory of the Democratic Party, into the arms of its citizens. His aggressive actions helped to slow down the spread of the virus considerably.

He rightly listened to the experts and was guided by them.

However, President Biden has also shown his anti-China attitude on assuming office.

The need for global co-operation has never been stronger than now. The US have shown that it has great possibilities in defeating the pandemic as we see since the new administration took power. At the same time China’s contribution to this cause has been second to none.

Its approach has helped it to recover quickly from the effects of COVID-19 and is having positive economic growth.

Instead of making the COVID-19 an international political football, we should seek total co-operation to end this deadly disease. If China and America work together and take the lead in fighting COVID-19 together the whole world would be better for it and the sooner we would be free of the pandemic.

Yo u r s sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President of Guyana

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2021

Janmashtmi is a commemoration of good over evil and the reestablishment of righteousness over unrighteousness

Dear Editor,

BORN to Devaki on the Ashtami Tithi (eighth day), Krishna Paksha (waning phase of the Moon) in the month of Bhadrapada when Rohini Nakshatra prevailed, this year, devotees shall observe the 5248th birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. A frequently worshipped deity in Hinduism, He is the hero of various legends, particularly the Kansa-vadha and Mahabharata and embodies several qualities such as love, duty, compassion, and playfulness. Shri Krishna’s birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar.

Prabhu Krishna is usually depicted with a flute in his hand and is also a central character in the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Purana and the Bhagavad Gita.

Guyanese and the rest of the world, will celebrate Shri Krishna Janmashtmi or Gokulashtmi on Sunday August 29 and 30, being a midnight celebration, the time when the Lord manifested on Mother Earth in Mathura, as Shri Krishna (the dark complexioned Lord) and fondly referred to as Gopal (one who plays the cowherds), or Govinda (one who pleases the cows, land and nature) or Mohan (all attractive God) or Vasudeva (all prevailing Lord) or Yogi (the supreme master) or any of the remaining 108 names. But due to the COVID-19 curfew, mandirs will not be allowed to indulge in this late-night celebration and will have to abide with the law and conclude services early, so that devotees can get home before 22:30 hours.

Perhaps, devotees will choose to continue their vigil at home and complete their prayers until midnight.

At the time of Mohan’s incarnation, Mother nature was at peace with Dharti Ma and provided a cool, calm and fragrant environment to welcome the Lord. The minds of virtuous people, injured by asuras, rejoiced. Kettledrums were sounded in the sky. The kinnaras and gandharvas sang.

The Siddhas and charanas uttered words of praise. A well narrated story, our scripture teaches us that Shri Krishna came into the imprisoned abode of His earthly parents, Devaki and Vasudeva and immediately afterwards, Vasudeva took him across the Yamuna River to his foster parents, Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul.

Shri Krishna took the 8th Avatar (Incarnation) of Vishnu, the Preserver (One of the Trilogy of Brahma, Vishnu, MaheshCreator, Sustainer, Annihilator) at a time when it was a dark era, freedom was curtailed, evil was rampant and there was a threat to his life by his Uncle, King Kansa. Eventually, good triumphed over evil, light replaced darkness and truth conquered lies when Gopal demolished Kansa and righteousness again prevailed over unrighteousness. Some 1.25 billion followers of Hinduism will participate in different

customs and traditions as is culturally practiced globally but curtailed and limited this year in restricted and controlled COVID-19 protocols. The large conglomerate gathering of devotees will be disallowed by only a percentage of attendees in the mandirs, but, there are various virtual programmes for participation and Hindus will perform personal home services.

Hinduism is more than just a religion and traditionally and significantly, a “way of life” that embraces religious, philosophical and cultural ideals and practices that originated thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Hinduism is called the world’s oldest religion and many practitioners refer to this religion as “Sanatan Dharma,”, “the eternal way,” which makes reference to its origins stretching beyond human history as revealed in the Hindu texts.

One of the most powerful books gifted to mankind is the Hindu Text, “The Bhagavad Gita”, simply referred to as “The Gita”. President Barack Obama is a prolific reader of this text and he once reflected that the Gita was one of the books that molded his character and helped to influence his work towards the nation.

The Bhagavad Gita is an 18-chapter, 700-verse Hindu Scripture that is part of the Hindu Text, “The Mahabharata,” (Chapters 23-40 of Bhishma Parva). It means “The Divine Song of Bhagwan” and was written by Maharishi Veda Vyasa in the mother of all languages, Sanskrit, in the 1st millennium BCE. Analysed in three parts, the first six chapters centre on “You’ (Tam) and talk about the components of prioritising one’s life adopting to “Karma Yoga”. The second six chapters discuss “That” (Tat), the elements of being emotionally mature to be engrossed in “Bhakti Yoga”. The third set of six chapters highlight “Are” (Asi), the factors of developing a spontaneous ability to reflect on the global picture consumed with “Jnana Yoga.” The Gita ascribes that, in order to know the Lord in full, the devotee has to listen, learn, gain the requisite knowledge, perform selfless action and practice love and devotion in order to understand Lord Krishna’s six attributes; infinite greatness, strength, power, grace, knowledge and detachment.

The essence of the Bhagwat Gita radiates the function of the universe and man’s ultimate objective on earth. This knowledge is revealed communicatively by Shri Krishna to Arjuna, by expounding meticulously on five fundamental subjects: Isvara (God), Jiva (living entity), Prakriti (Material Nature), Kala (Time) and Karma (Action). It is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Arjuna, the Pandava prince and his guide and charioteer Shri Krishna.

On the brink of a great war on the battlefield of Kurushetra between two sets of cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, over the throne of Hastinapur, Arjuna is suddenly

overwhelmed with misgivings about the justice of fighting his brothers, uncles, friends and teacher on the opposite side. Shri Krishna’s reply to him forms the themes of the Gita, teaching him and the world the mind-body dualism, self-consciousness, the immortality of the soul, transmigration of the soul into another body at death, the purpose of life, Nirvana/Moksha (God Realisation), performing one’s duty, in-action is impossible, bravery from fear, freedom from the cycle of birth and death through Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge), Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion) and Karma Yoga (the path of selfless action). Two main principles are expounded, one is, of every action carries an equal or opposite reaction and the source of evil is not in actions but in the passions and desires, i.e. “The intentions behind the actions.”

Two American philosophers, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau considered the Gita to be the pivotal Hindu text. There are eight basic and fundamental concepts today’s society can adopt, digest and practice in the applications of our lives from the teachings of Lord Krishna: (1) Attachment -Because nothing is permanent and will perish, man should quickly detach himself from material attachments -- attachment breeds misery and detachment ferments happiness, (2) False pride -- Inaction is misapprehension and trying to escape responsibilities by failing to perform your worldly duties is being delusive. Not shunning your humanitarian commitments allows true liberation, (3) Renunciation – Give as much of yourself as long as you can and don’t be concerned with the result and reward, (4) Lust – Conquer desire for a want is not always a need. Have a stable mind to understand the nature and structure of desires so that we can exercise control, (5) Covetousness – Selfishness blinds wisdom and when put aside, then clarity of the mind steps in. A clouded mind with selfishness is a mirror covered with mist or dust, (6) Greed – Avoid extremities and embrace moderation. Too much or too little creates imbalance in life and it can be food, sleep, physical pleasures, money and even knowledge.

Moderation is the control key, (7) Anger – Rage deludes and confuses us when we fall in a fit and actions performed are futile. We cannot apply logic or reason and anger can be the reason for the downfall of even the greatest man who will later regret this mood, (8) Realisation – God is seated within. God is omniscient (all knower) omnipresent (here, there and everywhere) and omnipotent (all powerful). A human being is only a small piece of the whole and most of the circumstances are a play of a bigger entity, whole or force i.e. an unmanifested source.

It is thought that the theory of relativity discovered by Albert Einstein owed its exis-

tence to the wisdom contained in the Bhagavad Gita. Einstein seriously indulged in the teachings of the Gita in his later life, believing in the efficacy of the Gita from initial stages of life.

Philosophy and politics are blood related and inseparable and is influential in its “rubbing effect.” This day is a day of reflection as the celebration of Janmashtmi is a commemoration of good over evil and the

reestablishment of righteousness over unrighteousness. Many lessons can be learnt from the past 12 months in Guyana and one of them is that truth will always ultimately prevail and people will always seek the blessings of happiness and blissfulness.

Gandhi had remarked that every time a problem appears as an obstacle, he turned to the pages of the Gita for its answer.

Janamdin Mubarak ho. On

this grand occasion, may Prabhu Shri Krishna bless all of Guyana and protect all its people under His shelter through his grace, mercy and bliss. May Guyanese, the government and all the officers in governance in all private and public offices be guided by His influence. Happy Janmashtmi.

Yours respectfully, Jai Lall

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Guyana to attend global climate conference in November

G U YA N A w i l l b e among hundreds of countries attending the landmark 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) set to open in November.

Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, will be leading a high-level delegation to Glasgow, Scotland, the host country of COP26.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said Guyana has been doing its part to counter climate change and will be making its representation at the conference.

“We can definitely see the effects of climate change taking place today

from the effects of emissions. We know that we are a small country but we have been contributing towards keeping down emissions. A high-level delegation that will be headed by the Vice President will be attending COP26.”

COP (Conference of the Parties) are the 197 Parties (196 countries and the EU) that are signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty agreed to in 1994.

UN climate change conferences are among the largest international meetings in the world. The

negotiations between governments are complex and involve officials from every country in the world, as well as representatives from civil society and the global news media.

Activity at a COP takes place in two different zones – the Blue Zone and the Green Zone.

The Blue Zone is for people registered with the UN body tasked with co-ordinating the global response to the threat of climate change. In the Blue Zone, delegates from countries meet for both formal negotiations and informal consultations.

Participants may also take part in meetings with

Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

other delegations to clarify their positions and interests with the aim of reaching agreement or overcoming a negotiating deadlock. The UNFCCC will also host a range of

events, including technical briefings, to support the negotiations. The Green Zone is for the general public. There will be a wide range of events, including workshops, art ex-

hibitions and installations, as well as presentations, demonstrations of technology and musical performances for participants to attend. (DPI)

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More Region Two women, girls being financially empowered

Minister Persaud delivering remarks during her outreach to Region Two MORE than 160 women and girls of Region Two this week signed on to the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.

Several persons of Anna Regina and Charity expressed their appreciation and gratitude for subject minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud’s efforts to take the ministry’s services to them in their own communities.

WIIN, which seeks to empower women and girls, helping them become financially independent, was launched last May and piloted in Baramita. So far, over 4,000 applications have been received, with Minister Persaud promising that everyone should be trained by the end of this year.

“Keep on signing up because WIIN will be continuously rolled out,” the minister urged residents of Region Two during her outreach there on Wednesday.

She took the opportunity to educate persons on how the WIIN programme works and encouraged them not to let age, academic background or any other factor

deter them from signing on to it.

“It’s always good to be receptive to opportunities for learning and make much of it,” Minister Persaud advised, adding, “Don’t only commit to starting the programme but cross the finish line and ‘WIIN’. Everyone who applies will get through.”

Minister Persaud has been conducting outreaches across all regions of Guyana and in the case of Region Two this time; it was a follow-up visit to distribute spectacles after a significant number of persons were tested on the previous occasion under the ministry’s eye care programme.

The spectacles programme, for which over 1,000 pairs of glasses have been distributed in partnership with several eye care centres, was offered to every region across the country except for Region Five which will be done in September.

Staff of the ministry was on hand last Wednesday to fix any problems with the spectacles on the spot so that the residents could’ve benefitted from a perfect fit.

Minister Persaud listens as this resident makes a point

Dr. Persaud also used the visit to distribute hampers to senior citizens and those living with disabilities. She announced to the pensioners that this year, they will be able to get their 2022 pension books

by October.

“So you don’t have to go anywhere special, you don’t have to line up for any

Ministry staff assisting residents to sign up for WIIN of the vouchers because as you’re collecting your pension, you’ll collect the book for next year same time. Through the ministry, we’ve been working hard to ensure that our senior citizens are being cared for,” Minister Persaud offered.

The ministry has also placed

several measures in place to simplify processes and make the access to service easier and in less time.

Rosealine Thompson, a resident, was very happy to have received her spectacles during the outreach. “I had to pay thousands of dollars for my last spectacles and

I am a pensioner. I do sewing so it will help a lot,” she remarked. Premnauth Ramcharran and Yougmattie Boodhoo are other residents of Region Two who were grateful for their spectacles, calling attention to how expensive it was to get them otherwise.

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One-off cash grants to be ‘rolled out’ soon _ Finance Minister

THE roll out of the $25,000 cash grants and electricity subsidy specifically targeting vulnerable groups such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, and those who rely on public assistance is expected to commence soon, said Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.

Speaking on the sidelines of a recent event, Minister Singh said that the government has already commenced discussions on what mechanisms will be used to roll out

the initiative.

The minister further explained that in the case of the elderly, the government will be adapting and following the same mechanism used to distribute the monthly oldage pension books.

“In the case of the old age pensioners, we already have a database of old age pensioners and we already have system in which pension books are distributed… and that is a well-developed system there and we are planning to essentially use that mechanism to deliver

this additional voucher,” the minister said.

Similarly, he said persons with disabilities will be able to received their grants via their usual distribution system.

“For the disabled persons and the public assistance recipients here again we already have a well-developed mechanism for public assistance so we are going to be using that mechanism to deliver the additional support,” he added.

Meanwhile, the government is working closely with the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated, on how the

electricity subsidy will be distributed using the data that is already available from the electricity company.

“On the electricity, consumers, GPL has, again, a very comprehensive database of all their customers.

They already have data on how many households consume less than 75 kilowatts.

So, we are having an engagement with them.”

While not giving an exact date as to when the distributions of the cash grants will begin, the Finance Minister reassured that following the instructions given by the Head-of State, President Irfaan Ali, the initiatives will be rolled as soon as possible.

“We expect to be implementing very shortly, the President’s instructions

Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh

are to distribute those in the shortest possible time and we have conveyed that message to the relevant agencies,” he said, adding: “I will stop short of necessarily committing to next month, there is a cycle and I’m not sure what the cycle is, I would stop

short to say next month …I am pushing for it be rolled as soon as possible.”

President, Dr Irfaan Ali had announced that some 6,500 elderly persons will benefit from a $25,000 oneoff cash grant. Additionally, a similar grant also valued at $25,000 will be distributed to all recipients of public assistance, and persons living with disabilities.

The Head-of-State also announced that an electricity credit will be paid to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) on behalf of all households consuming not more than 75 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. The credit to each household will be equivalent to one month of their electricity bill, and will inject more than $200 million of disposable income into more than 40,000 households.

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October 11 set for full disclosure of evidence against GECOM fraud accused conduct in public office which were all reportedly committed during the course of the March 2, 2020 elections. They are all accused of inflating the results of Region Four, the country’s largest voting district, to give the APNU+AFC Co-

PNC/R activist, Carol Joseph; former minister, Volda Lawrence, and former Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo

CHIEF Magistrate Ann McLennan has set October 11 for full disclosure of the statements and evidence which will be used in the trial against former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo; PNC/R Chairperson, Volda Lawrence; Coalition political activist, Carol Joseph-Smith and four others for electoral fraud.

Mingo, Lawrence, and Joseph are before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, along with Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) employees Sherfern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Bobb-Cummings and Michelle Miller for defrauding the electors of Guyana by declaring a false account of votes for the elections.

Holding for the State in this matter is a team of special prosecutors, namely, Attorneys-at-law Darshan Ramdhani, QC, Glenn Hanoman, Mark Conway, Ganesh Hira, Arudranauth Gossai, and George Thomas. The defendants are represented by attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes, Eusi Anderson, Roynald Daniles and Konyo Sandiford.

During his address to the court, Ramdhani said he had three out of the nine

bundles of Statements of Polls (SoPs) and Statements of Recount (SoRs), along with video evidence at hand for disclosure. He explained that some of the pages in the remaining six bundles which comprised thousands of photocopied pages were indecipherable.

“We do not wish to give anyone any documents that are indecipherable,” Ramdhani said as he asked the court for more time to get the said documents in order.

The Chief Magistrate granted Ramdhani’s request and asked that the voluminous documents be filed in proper index method since it would aid in less hiccups and a speedy trial.

Mingo, Lawrence and Joseph are before the court on two counts of fraud, the first of which alleged that on March 5, 2020, with intent to defraud, Lawrence and Mingo uttered a report purporting to be a true declaration of all votes cast in District Four (Demerara-Mahaica) for the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, knowing the same to be forged.

It is further alleged that on March 13, 2020, Mingo and Joseph uttered a forged document purporting to be

GECOM staffers, Shefern February and Enrique Livan

a true report of all votes cast in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, knowing that said report was forged. It is also alleged that on the said date, Joseph conspired with Mingo and others to declare a fraudulent count of votes for District Four.

Just recently, Mingo, along with Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield and his deputy, Roxanne Myers, had their employment terminated by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The trio is each on $100,000 bail for allegedly conspiring with one another to defraud electors during the course of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. It is alleged that the trio, between March 2 and August 2, 2020, at Georgetown, conspired with each other, together with Volda Lawrence, Carol Smith-Joseph, Sherfern February, Enrique Livan, Denise BobbCummings, Michelle Miller and others to defraud the electors of Guyana by declaring a false account of votes for the elections.

They and their alleged co-conspirators are currently before the court on several other charges pertaining to electoral fraud, and mis-

alition a majority win at the polls when, in fact, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) had won by 15,000 votes.

This dispute resulted in several legal challenges which ended up before the Caribbean Court of Justice

(CCJ), Guyana’s highest appeal court, and a five-month delay in the declaration of the results. A lengthy recount of the votes eventually declared victory in favour of the PPP/C, and Dr. Irfaan Ali was sworn in as the President of Guyana.

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Unvaccinated healthcare workers _Minister Anthony to be marked absent

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony

U N VA C C I N AT E D healthcare workers who fail to produce negative PCR tests and stay away from work will be marked ‘absent’.

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said healthcare workers should seriously consider their actions when refusing the vaccines.

“The only way that you can protect yourself is really to get vaccinated. I do hope

that good sense prevails and that they would go and get vaccinated and if they don’t get vaccinated then the option would be that you can present your PCR results and come to work.”

The minister said it is important for the healthcare workers to understand that they are putting themselves and patients at risk by refusing the vaccines.

“Because if they have a

mild form of the infection, then unknowingly they can transmit that to patients. So, this is something that we have to consider in many other countries it is the policy of those countries to make sure that healthcare workers are protected by being vaccinated.”

Dr. Anthony said while

healthcare workers have the right to protest, their refusal to take the vaccines and their absence from work could see some of the services at the various health institutions being affected. The ministry will be closely examining all shifts and make the necessary decisions as time progresses.

(DPI)

West Dem Hospital driver remanded for stealing COVID-19 vaccination booklets

Avinash Ramaherwar

A 27-year-old driver who was employed at the West Demerara Regional Hospital was, on Friday, remanded to prison by Magistrate Zamilla Ali-Seepaul for stealing 12 Covid-19 vaccination booklets from the Ministry Of Health and forging them.

Avinash Ramaherwar of Goed Intent, West Bank Demerara appeared before Leonora Magistrate’s Court and was not required to plead to the simple larceny and forgery charges. He was remanded to prison until September 20.

According to reports, Ramaherwar would uplift the booklets from the Ministry of Health in Georgetown and take them to the West Demerara Hospital. During the process of the delivery he allegedly took out the 12 booklets. He was busted on August 24, along with two others at the Vreed-en-Hoop Health Centre attempting to have four stolen booklets stamped.

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, on Wednesday, said that unvaccinated persons caught with forged COVID-19 vaccination cards will face the full force of the law.

“If you steal one of those cards then you can be charged for larceny, and there are specific penalties for that,

jail terms and of course fines and so forth. And then if you change the information that is on the card, that is considered to be forgery…we have had a number of cases that have been reported to us and we have called in the police to investigate those cases,” Minister Anthony said.

The minister said that the ministry is working to have the issue addressed. He said there can be a lot of problems if unvaccinated persons become ill, since they are not protected.

“We are very serious about this because if somebody is unvaccinated and they pay for a card, then that can lead to separate problems because if they get sick, and they present that card, we’ll have to go back and check to see whether or not they were actually vaccinated… now if you are not vaccinated, why would you want to get a card? You’re only fooling yourself because you’re not going to be protected,” Dr. Anthony related.

He added: “We can’t tolerate this kind of behaviour– forgery and stealing of cards and so forth. They’ll be dealt with by the police and the courts.” The minister urged unvaccinated persons to desist from purchasing forged cards as they have a choice to be vaccinated.

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14 complete GDF drill course

From left: Corporal Rondel Dean, Sergeant Arthur Scipio who received the prize for Best Graduating Student and Corporal Eon Wilson FOURTEEN ranks drawn from various units across the Force graduated recently following their completion of Drill Course 2021-02.

According to a release, the course was conducted over a period of six weeks and aimed to improve the students’ personal drills and enable them to confidently drill a squad using the correct word of command.

Directing Staff, Colo-

nel Desmond Roberts Skill School, Major Jaime Castello, in his remarks to the course, assured the students that their sacrifices did not go unnoticed. “Continue to share the knowledge gleaned thus achieving the course objective when you go back to your units,” he urged.

Base Commander Base Camp Ayanganna, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Chichester, in his featured

address, acknowledged the achievement of the students and reminded them of the word discipline of which he had charged them one month ago when he spoke to them during their course opening ceremony.

“Another word that goes with discipline is commitment and it is based solely on you. Only you can achieve your goals and you have to decide how much work you

Students of Drill Course 2021-02 will do to achieve it,” he posited. Lieutenant Colonel Chichester also charged the graduates to continue their pursuits of success. “Your goals and all your achievements are totally up to you.

Put in the work. Remain disciplined and committed in your military career and your life,” he charged.

Sergeant Arthur Scipio received the prize for Best

Graduating Student while his colleague Corporal Eon Wilson was adjudged Runner-up Best Graduating Student.

Corporal Rondell Dean was adjudged Best Drill.

Sergeant Scipio shared his experience on the course.

“The course was not exceedingly challenging for me because I have previous knowledge of skill courses having served as a Skill-at-Arms in-

structor. However, this is my first course in which I am the most senior student. This has caused me to push myself and not accept mediocrity.

It was a great experience learning from my juniors and improving my personal drill and drill knowledge. I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned on the course with the members of my unit,” he recounted.

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CWI rising stars panel names 18 for England england ‘Youth ODI’ series The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Selection Panel today announced an 18-member West Indies U19 squad for the upcoming tour of England. The squad will be led Ackeem Auguste with Giovonte Depeiza as vice-captain. Auguste is a left-handed top-order batsman while Depeiza is a right-handed middle-order batsman and left-arm spinner.

Robert Haynes, Lead Se-

lector for U19 Rising Stars said: “This trip to England is part of the preparation for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup next year and will prove valuable experience for these young men. We have a very good combination, and it is really pleasing to see we have quality all-round cricketers in the group, which gives us more options. The conditions in England will be challenging, and they know that, but they have fantastic management

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Saturday August 28, 2021)

COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Lendl Simmons (TKR) (2) Kieron Pollard (TKR) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who scored most runs in CPL 2020?

(2) What was the highest individual score made in CPL 2020?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

support in the set-up, including Sir Curtly Ambrose whose experience and knowledge will be an asset.”

Haynes added: “We started the selection process four weeks ago, with 60 very talented youngsters from all across the region. It wasn’t easy cutting the squad down. But if you look at the balance in the bowling attack we have now selected, with six fast bowlers and three specialist spinners, you can see we have selected a quality attack. We also have some talented batsmen who we expect to perform well.

The work that everyone has put in to get these guys here to this level has been exceptional.”

Rohan Nurse will lead the coaching staff as the Acting Head Coach, as Floyd Reifer is unavailable due to prior contractual arrangements with the Caribbean Premier League.

The tour will feature six Youth One-Day Internationals at The County Ground, Beckenham and The Polo Farm, Canterbury from Saturday, September 4 to Friday, September 17.

The West Indies Rising

Stars U19s squad was selected following an eight-match trials series with 60 players. From there the squad was reduced to

26 players who were then involved in more intensive targeted high performance coaching and simulation sessions.

West Indies U19 ‘Rising Stars’ Squad CAPTAIN: Ackeem Auguste Age: 17 (Lefthand bat/right-arm leg-spin) VICE CAPTAIN: Giovonte Depeiza Age: 18 (Right-hand bat/left-arm spin) Onaje Amory Age: 17 (Right-hand bat/rightarm off-spin) Anderson Amurdan Age: 18 (Right-hand opening bat) Justin Beckford Age: 17 (Right-hand bat/ right-arm off-spin) Teddy Bishop Age: 18 (Right-hand opening bat) Carlon Bowen-Tuckett Age: 17 (Right-hand bat/wicket-keeper) McKenny Clarke Age: 18 (Right-hand bat/ right-arm fast) Rivaldo Clarke Age: 18 (Right-hand bat/ wicket-keeper) Nathan Edward Age: 16 (Left-hand bat/leftarm fast-medium) Andel Gordon Age: 18 (Right-hand bat/leftarm medium-pace) Sion Hackett Age: 18 (Right-hand bat/rightarm medium-fast) Justin Jagessar Age: 16 (Right-hand bat) Johann Layne Age: 17 (Right-hand bat/rightarm fast-medium) Anderson Mahase Age: 18 (Left-hand bat/ left-arm spin)

The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by Cricket West Indies from January 4 to February 3, 2022.

Matthew Nandu Age:18 (Left-hand bat/rightarm off-spin) Isai Thorne Age: 16 (Right-hand bat/rightarm fast) Vasant Singh Age: 17 (Right-hand bat/rightarm leg-spin) Team Management Rohan Nurse (Acting Head Coach) Sir Curtly Ambrose (Assistant Coach) Steve Liburd (Assistant Coach) Junie Mitcham (Team Manager) Avenesh Seetaram (Analyst) Alex Forde (Strength & Conditioning Coach) Lyndon Knights (Physiotherapist) Match schedule Saturday, September 4: 1st Youth ODI – Beckenham Monday, September 6: 2nd Youth – Beckenham Wednesday, September 8: 3rd Youth ODI – Beckenham Friday, September 10: 4th Youth ODI – Canterbury Tuesday, September 14: 5th Youth ODI – Canterbury Friday, September 17: 6th Youth ODI – Canterbury

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Manchester United reach agreement to sign Ronaldo (BBC) - Manchester United have confirmed they have reached an agreement to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus.

United have agreed to pay £12.8m for the 36-yearold, with the deal subject to personal terms, a visa and a medical.

Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games in his first spell at Old Trafford before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009.

"Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester," said a United statement.

United's announcement came after a dramatic 24 hours. Neighbours Manchester City had looked to be one

of the favourites to land the forward and some reports suggested personal terms had already been agreed between the two.

However, Ronaldo has opted to return to United where he spent six years and won three Premier League titles, one Champions League, two League Cups and one FA Cup - as well as the Fifa Club World Cup and Community Shield - under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Initially, Ronaldo thought there was no chance of a deal with his former club, but United have decided to make it happen, while City have missed out on another striker option after main tar-

get Harry Kane committed to Tottenham.

Speaking before City face Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola said: "Cristiano is a Juventus player. I cannot add anything else.

"In these three or four days left until the transfer window shuts, anything can happen but, in my view, there are few players - Cristiano Ronaldo included, Messi is another - they decide where they are going to play.

"Right now, my feeling is I am more than delighted with the squad we have and we will stay the same."

'He knows that we're here' - Solskjaer on Ronaldo

Verstappen leads Belgium free practice two despite crash

Max Verstappen ended Friday practice with a crash

(BBC) -Red Bull's Max Verstappen ended Friday practice at the Belgian Grand Prix with a crash after setting the fastest time ahead of both Mercedes drivers.

The Dutchman, eight points behind Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in the championship, lost control at the Malmedy right-hander.

Verstappen backed into the wall, causing a premature end to the session.

He said: "I just lost the rear, a bit too much oversteer to correct and unfortunately hit the wall."

Verstappen was 0.039 seconds quicker than Valtteri Bottas, with Hamilton third.

Hamilton was just 0.031secs behind his teammate, but the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers used different tyres to set their times.

Verstappen's quickest time was on the soft-com-

pound tyre, theoretically the quickest, whereas the Mercedes drivers' best laps were on the medium.

Both Bottas and Hamilton failed to improve when they tried the soft tyres.

Mercedes used a lower-power engine mode for their runs on the soft tyre compared with the medium, and neither driver was satisfied with the car's balance on the softer tyre.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc also had a crash, his at the Les Combes chicane just one corner before Verstappen's incident. That ended Leclerc's session midway through, causing a brief redflag period while the car was removed.

Leclerc carried a little too much speed into the chicane, managed to negotiate the initial right-hander, but the car ran a little wide through the following left. He lost control

as he tried to moved to the other side of the track for the quick Malmedy right-hander that follows.

Leclerc said: "It has been a very tricky day overall, for everyone because of the conditions. But we have one night to work on the car and come back stronger.

"I would have preferred not to end the day in the wall, but it is part of free practice and I will try not to do these mistakes later.

"It felt quite good [in the first session] but P2 didn't feel great. We need to understand it because we did not change too much on the car."

In addition, both Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen and Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda spun at the La Source hairpin early in the first session, in which the Finn later also crashed into the pit wall on his way into the pits.

United only appeared to become an option when manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer held a news conference on Friday afternoon and said their former star "knows that we're here".

Solskjaer added United's Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes has been talking to his compatriot Ronaldo.

A few hours later the club announced they had reached an agreement for what will be their third major signing of the summer transfer window following the arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

Cristiano Ronaldo

30

Tallawahs record largest win in CPL history Records tumbled at Warner Park as the Jamaica Tallawahs destroyed the Saint Lucia Kings by 120 runs, the biggest win in Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) history.

The Tallawahs had contributions throughout their side, but it was Andre Russell who was the most brutal, scoring fifty from just 14 balls, another Hero CPL record.

The Kings were given a mammoth target of 256 runs to win the game and they never really found partnerships that would see them get close to the Tallawahs efforts.

The Tallawahs were put into bat by the Kings and were given a lightning start thanks to Kennar Lewis who smashed 48 runs from just

22 balls in an innings that include five massive sixes that soared out of Warner Park.

Lewis was well supported

by Chadwick Walton who was measured while his opening partner was scoring so freely but he opened his shoulders soon after Lewis was dismissed by Roston Chase.

The Tallawahs lost Walton for 47 but that did not slow them down with fast runs coming from Haider Ali and Rovman Powell.

The finishing touches to a fantastic Jamaica batting performance come from Russell who scored at a strike rate of 357.14. The power with which Russell struck the ball was nothing short of remarkable with the Kings bowlers unable to find any answer to

his brutal hitting.

When the Kings innings got underway there were some lusty blows from Rahkeem Cornwall but then wickets began to fall regularly.

The Kings lost Cornwall and Faf du Plessis in the first over and by the end of the PowerPlay they were 66/6 and all chances of an improbable win were gone.

It was Hero CPL debutant Migael Pretorius who was the star with the ball for the Tallawahs, returning figures of 4/32.

The only standout batsman for the Kings was the inform Tim David who made 56 from 28. He was sadly lacking for support as the Saint Lucia team stumbled to 135 all out.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, August 28, 2021

Royals dumped as Patriots record opening CPL win St Kitts & Nevis Patriots got their 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign off to a winning start with a comprehensive 21 run win over the Barbados Royals.

Barbados Royals won the toss and put the Patriots in to bat but despite a flurry of early wickets, a fantastic 115 run partnership between DJ Bravo and Sherfane Rutherford ensured the Patriots set the highest total of the tournament so far with 175/5.

In reply the Patriots were never under threat as they produced an excellent bowling display to keep the shackles on the Royals throughout.

The Royals took full advantage of their decision to field first by removing both openers, Evin Lewis and Devon Thomas, in the first three overs before Oshane

Thomas bowled Chris Gayle to leave the Patriots teetering at 38/3 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Bowling with real zip, Oshane Thomas was to strike once more removing Asif Ali in the eighth over as his hostile spell resulted in exemplary figures of 3/22 from his four overs.

Patriots captain Bravo entered at the fall of the fourth wicket and along with Rutherford they consolidated the innings before exploding into life in the final seven overs.

Their 115 run partnership in 70 balls ensured the Patriots laid a platform for Fabian Allen to add late fireworks at the death to power the Patriots to a very imposing 175/5 Much like the Royals, the Patriots made early inroads with their bowling dismissing both openers inside the

Pujara stalls England quicks (BBC) - England's push for victory in the third Test was met by stubborn resistance from India on day three at Headingley.

Needing 354 to make England bat again, India rebounded from being bowled out for 78 in the first innings by working to 215-2.

They were led by Cheteshwar Pujara's stoic 91 not out, while Rohit Sharma made a stylish 59.

After their second-wicket stand of 82 was ended, captain Virat Kohli looked in good order for his unbeaten 45.

England, who lost their last two wickets for nine runs in the morning to be dismissed for 432, largely bowled well without rewards.

Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton were particularly impressive on an unresponsive pitch, claiming a wicket apiece.

While England are not yet in serious danger of being on the wrong end of another famous Headingley comeback, they are being made to battle hard to level the series at 1-1.

No thoughts of another Headingley miracle - yet While this storied ground has given England some of their most remarkable victories - Ian Botham in 1981 and Ben Stokes in 2019 - it

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has also dished out its share of unlikely defeats. Sri Lanka in 2014 and West Indies in 2017 both won from pretty hopeless positions.

India joining those ranks still seems highly fanciful, especially when it is considered that no team has ever overturned such a large first-innings deficit to win a Test.

However, the fight they have shown - a complete contrast to the soft way their batting folded on Wednesday

- has at least added intrigue to a weekend that might not otherwise have seen any play.

The action on Friday was slower than the opening two days, but it was no less intriguing. Rarely did it feel like the India batsmen had control of the threat posed by England's attack.

There were also some bizarre moments. A plane flew overhead trailing a banner saying 'Sack the ECB and save Test cricket', while

pitch invader 'Jarvo', who appeared during the second Test Lord's, made another idiotic entry to the field, this time padded up.

There was also the charade of England having to bowl their spinners in the late gloom, allowing India to score more freely than at any other point, only for play to be called off four overs early when Joe Root wanted his pace bowlers to take the new ball.

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first three overs. Although they needed a calamitous run-out to get them on their way when Johnson Charles found himself at the same end as Glenn Phillips.

Through the middle phase overs the Patriots put a stranglehold on the game forcing the run-rate up and putting pressure on the Royals batsmen to play high-risk shots.

Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers fell without making a significant indent on the scorecard and although Shai Hope anchored the innings with a well-constructed 44 his dismissal with six overs to go left too much to do for the remaining batsmen.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, August 28, 2021

Singh and Rikhi in USA 14-man squad

Several US-based Guyanese clubs in today’s NYNCL quarter-final clashes

Meten-Meer-Zorg is one of five pro-Guyanese teams in action today.

US-based Guyanese cricketers will make up the majority of the cricketers competing in today’s quarter-finals of the New York National Cricket League, 30-over playoffs Saturday tournament.

Of the eight teams, five are pre-dominantly Guyanese sides. In an all-Guyanese clash, Everest/ACS will meet Meten-Meer-

Gajanand Singh represented the NY based club Meten-Meer-Zorg this season in the Caribbean Fest 40-over tournament.

Dominique Rikhi scored over 2200 runs in all formats of the game in 2019.

FORMER West Indies U19 cricketer and Senior Guyanese cricketer Gajanand Singh and former youth national cricketer Dominique Rikhi were selected on Thursday in a 14-man squad for next month’s ICC Cricket World Cup League Two tri-series in the capital city of Muscat in Oman.

Both Guyanese, now living in the US, have been making an impact with the bat, which resulted in them participating in the US National Cricket Camp in Texas earlier this year.

The Berbicians have also produced for their clubs in the New York National Cricket League.

The former Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) batsman Rikhi, who scored over 2200 runs in all formats of the game in 2019 has been a mainstay of the Richmond Hill Liberty Cricket Club team. This season, he competed for the New Jersey Stallions in the Minor League.

Singh, who played club cricket in Guyana for the Young Warriors CC, also had some solid performances

with the bat for NY based club Meten-Meer-Zorg in the Caribbean Fest 40-over tournament in 2021.

The two Guyanese will get a chance to play against host Oman and Nepal in the tri-series from September 13 to September 20. Before the start of the series, on September 6 and September 9, the US team would also play two One Day Internationals against Papua New Guinea.

Meanwhile, fellow Guyanese and former club mate of Rikhi, Akshay Homraj was dropped from the US National team. The 25-yearold made his debut for the US against the United Arab Emirates in December of 2019.

MAKE US PROUD In their congratulatory message on Friday, the Management of the RHTYSC wished former player Rikhi “success on the tour” and indicated that they were “confident that you would make us proud”.

Numerous local cricketers, US-based cricketers and their clubs also extended congratulatory messages to the pair.

Zorg CC at the Lido Beach, while another pro-Guyanese team Richmond Hill Liberty will challenge Game Changer’z at the Cage.

Another Guyanese dominant side New York XI is set to meet Punjab 11 at Drew Park, while the Liberty Lions (Guyanese) will face Meeri Peeri at Kissena.

All matches are scheduled for a 13:00h start.

The top four clubs in Group A and B made the playoffs. Everest finished first in Group B and as the regular season best performers with 13 wins in their 14 games (26 points). Fellow Group B teams Meeri Peeri and the Lions ended on 22 points each, while Meten-Meer-

Zorg finished fourth on 21 points.

Richmond Hill Liberty (better run rate) and New York XI won 12 of their 14 games for a top score of 24 points each in Group A, Punjab 11 placed third on 21 points and Game Changers fourth on 20 points.

A total of 20 teams competed in the Group Stages of the Tournament.

Sharmarh Brooks (L), Carlos Brathwaite (2L), Migael Pretorius (C) and Chris Green (R) of Jamaica Tallawahs celebrates the dismissal of Rahkeem Cornwall of Saint Lucia Kings during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League match 3 between Jamaica Tallawahs and Saint Lucia Kings at Warner Park Sporting Complex on August 27, 2021 in Basseterre, St Kitts, Saint Kitts and Nevis. (Photo by Randy Brooks - CPL T20/Getty Images)

Tallawahs record largest win in CPL history

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CWI rising stars panel names 18 for England england ‘Youth ODI’ series PAGE

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Royals dumped as Patriots record opening CPL win 30 PAGE

Dwayne Bravo (R) of St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots celebrates the dismissal of Johnson Charles of Barbados Royals during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League match 2 between Barbados Royals and St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Warner Park Sporting Complex on August 26, 2021 in Basseterre, St Kitts, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

(Photo by Randy Brooks - CPL T20/Getty Images)

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