Guyana Post Newspapers

Keeping you updated on current events...

ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPERS

FORMER HEALTH MINISTERS APPOINTED AS ADVISORS

Pg2

Pg2

West Berbice residents protest again

Pg2

Retired nurse dies of COVID-19

Pg2

Pg2

5.2 Magnitude earthquake recorded near Trinidad Pg3

Pg3

Pg3 Pg3

Ten COVID deaths recorded in four days 1

Pg3

Pg3

FORMER HEALTH MINISTERS APPOINTED AS ADVISORS

First Lady Arya Ali Former Health Minister Dr .Bheri Ramasarran and Dr. Leslie Ramsammay

T

he People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has retained the services of

two of its former Health Ministers to serve as Advisors to the new Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony. One of its

Members of Parliament will take on the new role of Director General in the Ministry of Health.

P e r m a n e n t

Secretary, Collette Adams, announced the appointments of Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and Dr. Bheri Ramsarran as Advisors to the Minister of Health in a memo to the Directors and Heads of Department in the Ministry of Health.

Adams also announced the appointment of PPP Member of Parliament and former Regional Health Officer for Region Six, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo as Director-General in the Ministry of Health.

The position of Director-General is and will be responsible for the health services which

are being delivered at the regional level.

Dr. Ramsammy served as Minister of Health from 2001 to 2011. During that time, he was credited with Guyana’s global response to fight HIV/AIDS. He came under criticism following the discovery of a letter bearing his signature for the purchase of spy equipment.

Ramsammy denied any involvement and was later moved to the Ministry of Agriculture; he remained in that position until the 2015 elections.

Dr. Ramsarran served as the junior Health Minister

under Ramsammy and took over the portfolio in 2011 during the Donald Ramotar administration.

Ramsarran was fired from the position weeks before the 2015 elections after an audio recording surfaced with Ramsarran threatening a women’s rights activist.

The Health Ministry also announced the appointment of gynecologist, Dr. Narine Singh, as the new acting Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Karen Gordon-Boyle will continue to serve as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

West Berbice residents protest again

Berbice Protesters

R

esidents of No. 5 Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), once again protested and blocked the roadway with burning tyres while demanding

justice for the Henry cousins, whose mutilated bodies were found in the backdam at Cotton Tree, WCB almost one month ago.

The protests began as

a response to the limited information being received from police investigating the murders. Protesters also voiced concerns over the seeming delay in the ongoing investigations.

A report from police said that persons claiming to be the relatives of the late Isaiah and Joel Henry and some residents of # 5 Village, WCB began to block the # 5 Village

bridge with old tyres and debris, and set them on fire.

A Police patrol vehicle arrived at the scene and requested assistance to clear the blockage. Around 13:15 hrs. the bridge was cleared and the officers then had to immediately respond to reports of the Public Road at #3 Village being blocked.

The police have warned that such actions were illegal and noted that persons could be arrested.

They also reminded persons that ranks from the Major Crimes Unit are continuing the investigation with the assistance of a Regional

investigative team drawn from the Regional Security System (RSS) and Caricom IMPACS. The team of investigators from the RSS arrived in Guyana last week Monday.

Forensic samples and other evidence have been sent to St. Lucia for detailed analysis. Guyana is also seeking the help of Argentine investigative experts.

Police are also investigating the death of 17-year-old Haresh Singh, whose body was found in the Number Three Village backdam a few days after the Henry cousins were murdered.

CXC begins to change ungraded results The Ministry of Education announced on Friday that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has begun to rectify the issue of students receiving

ungraded results.

Twenty local schools sbmitted complaints about ungraded results; regrading has been completed for 11 of them.

Those schools are: Port

Kaituma Secondary, Patentia Secondary, Annandale Secondary, New Amsterdam Secondary, Paramakatoi Secondary, Harmony Secondary, Carmel Secondary, Central High School, The Bishops’ High School, Leguan Secondary School and

Mahaicony Secondary School.

The CSEC subjects that were initially ungraded are English A, Principles of Business, Office Administration, Economics and Human and Social Biology.

The CAPE subjects that were affected are:

2

Geography Unit 1, Caribbean Studies, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Accounting Unit 1 & 2, Law Unit 1 and Pure Mathematics Unit 1 & 2.

Two dozen schools also reported unsatisfactory performances in 20 subject areas.

The Ministry has said that CXC will provide an update on the process for the remaining nine schools as soon as possible.

Guyana is one of several Caribbean countries to lodge complaints over the CSEC and CAPE results following their release in September.

5.2 Magnitude earthquake Retired nurse dies recorded near Trinidad of COVID-19

A

the quake struck around 3:12 pm local time. Its Automatic Earthquake Location detected the seismic event at latitude recorded 11.10 North, longitude afternoon.

According to the UWI 61.25 West at a depth of Seismic Research Centre, 10 km. magnitude 5 .

2 earthquake w a s on Sunday

The quake was located 51 km North of Arima, 56 km North-East of Port of Spain, and 57 km West of Scarborough.

The UWI SRC said, however, that this is a preliminary result as the

event was automatically located by a seismological computational system and has not been reviewed by an analyst.

The result may vary when new additional data are processed.

A

retired nurse, formerly attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital, is Guyana’s latest COVID-19 fatality.

Dead is 55-year-old Mark King who had been in the COVID-19

Intensive Care Unit for over a week. He passed just after 5 a.m. today.

King retired from GPHC on July 31, last.

He is the 91st COVID-19 related death and the 11th death to be recorded in Octobe

Ten COVID deaths recorded in four days

The Ministry of Health recorded 125 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend. 37 cases were recorded on Saturday, October 3, and 88 on Sunday, October 4. The number of recorded cases in Guyana is now 3,093.

The death toll has risen to 90 with two deaths recorded on Saturday– a 74-year-old woman from Region Four and a 68-year-old man from

Region Seven; and three deaths recorded on Sunday; Two 56-year-old men from Region One and a 53-year-old man from Region 8.

There have been 10 recorded deaths over the last four days.

As of October 4, there have been 14,815 persons tested for the virus. 1,920 have recovered leaving the number of active cases in the country 1,083.

The government has given the squatters at Success, East Coast of Demerara until Monday to remove themselves from the land.

Chairman of the Region Four Regional Democratic Council, Daniel Seeram, headed a regional team that met with Government officials including the Minister of Housing, the Minister of Home Affairs and the CEO of Guysuco, on Friday.

The Chairman said he

hoped the government would delay its plan to remove the squatters but there has been no movement on the position that he lands are owned by GuySuCo and the government holding company, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

“Myself and team did our best to represent the cause of the people of Success, who are occupying that plot

Squatters on Guysuco land given until Monday to remove of land. We raised the questions being asked by the people, but the Government maintains the land belongs to NICIL and they must vacate the land,” Seeram said.

The meeting ended with the Government side indicating that the squatters will be allowed access to the lands over the weekend to remove their belongings.

The Regional Chairman added that while the Housing Ministry has

said they would assist the squatters in the process to legal land ownership, no timeline has been set for the allocation of any land to them.

3

Earlier this week, Police had a stand-off with squatters after they were called in by Guysuco to remove the squatters from the land.

Guysuco wants the squatters off of the land so that it can continue the process of reopening sugar operations along the East Coast of Demerara.

Min

New York State puts Turks and Caicos on COVID-19 quarantine order PROVIDENCIALES, TCI – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ostensibly blacklisted Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) on Monday, omitting to put the country on a list of countries that do not require quarantine when re-entering the state directly from those countries.

With an estimated 80 percent of visitors to TCI during the winter coming from New York, this puts the Turks and Caicos tourism industry in jeopardy since most persons will opt out of the trip it is believed.

One hotelier who was slated to open in November said bookings have now dried up for the winter season saying cancellations are mostly the reason the phone lines are still functioning.

The executive order was signed by Governor Cuomo on Monday, September 28.

The Democrat signed the executive order mandating the rules since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has continued to roll back screening measures at airports accepting

international flights.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decision to end enhanced screening at airports, coupled with alarming case increases in countries around the world, presents an increased threat to New York’s progress in the war against COVID-19,” Governor Cuomo said.

“Today’s Executive Order will require the Department of Health to alert all travelers from any Level 2 or Level 3 country of mandatory quarantine requirements, as well

as require international travelers to complete the DOH Traveler Health Form to aid in the state’s robust contact tracing efforts and further prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

There are currently 31 countries that are not subjected to the governor’s executive order.

They are: American Samoa, Anguilla, Bonaire, Brunei, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Guernsey, Greenland, Grenada, Isle of Man, Laos, Macau SAR, Marshall

Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

The executive order builds on the travel advisory that is already in place for states with a significant number of coronavirus cases. That list currently includes 29 states and U.S. territories.

The advisory requires individuals who have

traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days.

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

Extract from Albany (WCBS 880) by ERICA BROSNAN originally published on September 28, 2020.

Government approves US$9B Payara Project

From left: Anand Gohil, CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited; Alistair Routledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana; Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and Timothy Christian, Director, Vice President of Hess Guyana Exploration.

The Government of Guyana has granted ExxonMobil approval to commence its US$9 billion Payara Development Project, offshore Guyana. The licence for the project was officially issued by the Government and signed by both parties on Wednesday.

The project is expected to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day after

start-up in 2024, using the Prosperity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

It will target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels.

Ten drill centers are planned, along with up to 41 wells, including 20 production and 21 injection wells.

A review of the Payara Development Project had

been conducted by the Bay phase Oil and Gas Consultants contracted by the Department of Energy (DoE) under the previous administration.

The People’s Progressive Party also decided to review the work done DoE to ensure that Guyanese interests were protected and are in keeping with international transparency and accountability standards.

The current review is

BREAKING News

being done by a team of international experts, headed by Canadian Queen’s Counsel, Alison Redford.

The Government wanted to create a contract that would ensure that the country gets more for local content, brings natural gas to shore, protects the environment and improves the lives of all Guyanese.

In their discussions with ExxonMobil, the government insisted flaring would not be allowed without the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ExxonMobil would also have to pay the government for the cost of gas wasted during flaring and will also be subject to fines under the EPA related to emissions from flaring.

ExxonMobil is also required to update its base design for the project to include ‘tie-in points’ and space for produced water injection equipment.

A study detailing the costs, benefits and feasibility of implementing a system for the re-injection of produced water is expected to be submitted to the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, and the EPA for approval Minister Bharrat will also supervise a study conducted by the company to examine the safe and efficient re-injection of produced water, including the effects on the reservoir.

This process is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2021.

Additionally, the company will have to submit a local content plan

detailing its objectives two months before the beginning of the New Year. It will also have to submit to annual audits of safety-critical drilling and production operations, including waste management and compliance, conducted by a chief inspector.

The company will have to pay US$400,000 to be used by the government for the procurement of the third-party auditors to supplement the chief inspector’s resources and develop institutional capacity to conduct audits.

Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo, has also said that the government will aggressively pursue the costs that have been incurred by the company as its expenditures and operations are still yet to be fully audited.

Come REPORT with ADAM HARRIS

Tel: 592-623-9971 or 641-2501 4

Email or text your letters to us we would be happy to published them ExxonMobil Oil Rig

adameharris@yahoo.com lendellnurse6995@gmail.com 5

HOROSCOPE

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

It might be challenging dealing with those who are closest to you today. Best to ask yourself if what you are doing is useful. Go slowly and stick to practical tasks. If you work carefully, you won’t have to do the same job again. As the wise carpenter said, “Measure twice, cut once.”

Whatever you do today, proceed slowly, carefully and cautiously. If you try to rush anything, you will regret it. Furthermore, if you are hasty about pushing something through, authority types might try to block you. Easy does it – steady Eddie.

Whatever you do at work today (or for whatever task you’re doing) might be a bit of a slog. The secret is to slow down and be observant. Do things bit by bit. Do each task carefully. Don’t let others discourage you. Expect small gains but proceed in a slow, steady way.

You might be frustrated today because whatever you try to do (likely from behind the scenes) you will meet with opposition. It might be in the form of rules and regulations. It might be in the form of a strong opinion from social media? Be careful.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

If you try to coordinate the efforts of others today, it will be like herding cats.

Expect some opposition. Others might object because of financial reasons or because they think you’re moving too fast. Any advance will have to be slow and steady.

Parents might find it frustrating dealing with their kids today. There’s no point in throwing your weight around. Accept the fact that you can only make small advances and achieve small results.

It’s easy for people to feel discouraged.

Respect that and don’t be demanding.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Expect opposition to whatever you try to do today, especially from authority figures and possibly from a partner or close friend. It’s as if you’re trying to do the impossible? Two steps forward, one step back. In fact, it feels more like one step forward and two steps back! Go gently.

Whatever you attempt to do at home or within your family might meet with resistance and opposition. Don’t overreact.

Be calm. Today is full frustrating little moments that can be overcome with quiet perseverance. Do not engage in angry confrontations. (Definitely!)

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Travel plans might be blocked today.

Likewise, your efforts to explore opportunities in publishing, the media, higher education, medicine and the law will be discouraging. Be satisfied with small successes. Everything is relative.

It will not be easy for you to get your way today so the sooner you can grasp this, the easier this day will be for you. Remember the game where you say please take a giant step? Or please take a baby step?

Today is full of baby steps – at best.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Do not try to force financial matters today or purchases. There might be a reason that you meet with obstacles and objections from others. Maybe you need to take a moment and listen? If something is important, you will still be able to do it later.

Disputes about shared property, inheritances or anything that you own jointly with others (including debt) might be tough to deal with today. It’s hard to get cooperation. Whatever you do today, you will have to do carefully and pay attention to detail. One step at a time.

6

Patrol attacked along Guyana/Venezuela border

A

joint patrol being done yesterday by ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force came under fire from the Venezuelan shore while patrolling the Cuyuni River.

A release from the GDF said it is believed that the gunfire came from Syndicato gang members.

The ranks returned fire and none of them were injured.

The GDF said that “aggressive” joint patrols by the Guyanese security forces have since been

intensified in the Cuyuni River area. The Guyana/ Venezuela border is more than 1,000 kilometres long and patrols are conducted on a routine basis.

This is not the first time that such an incident has occurred and several new measures are being Guyana’s Border Patrol explored by the GDF.

47 new case of COVID-19 over the weekend FOLLOW US ON https://www.facebook.com/Guyana-Post

7

8

Amerindian & Foods GUYANA’S AMERINDIAN Guyana’s Amerindian population consists of several tribes, including the Caribs, Wapisianas, Arawaks, and Warraus.

Anthropologists believe that Amerindian tribes were Guyana’s first inhabitants, arriving around 11,000 years ago. They settled lowlying coastal regions of the country, where they fished, hunted, and used a variety of plant species to produce fibers, oils, dyes, and a variety of different dishes.

Over the centuries, Guyana’s Amerindian population migrated inland, penetrating the dense jungle via the country’s extensive river system, constructing temporary and permanent settlements. While Amerindians dwelling in coastal regions lived on turtles, fish, crabs, and snails, those inhabiting the savannahs hunted various types of mammal, including deer, monkey, and sloth, as well as various types of waterfowl. Guyana’s indigenous eetay palm is an important source of flour in Amerindian cuisine, while the country’s interior is also rich in cashews and wild honey.

CASSAVA BREAD

Amerindian cuisine remains incredibly popular in Guyana, both within traditional indigenous villages and in towns and cities. In 2014 Tuma Sálâ opened in Georgetown, establishing itself as the country’s first Amerindian restaurant.

PEPPERPOT – TASTY TRADITIONAL GUYANESE DISH

Image courtesy International Institute of Tropical Agriculture | Flick Next, the fully dried cassava root, resembling off-white flour, is poured into circular forms to cook over a fire. It is hung to dry and is soon ready to eat.

While cassava bread is one of Guyana’s best known and loved foods, its preparation can require days of travel to obtain the right ingredients.

Made from just cassava and salt, farine can be mixed with sugar and milk, creating a nutritious drink. It can safely be stored over long periods, and it is an effective thickening agent for stews and soups. Farine can also be used as a stuffing for chicken or fish, and it forms a key component in several sweet dishes, such as white pudding, coconut rock buns, and black cake.

PEPPERPOT – TASTY TRADITIONAL GUYANESE DISH G u y a n e s e Pepperpot is an Amerindian dish popular in Guyana and sometimes called pepper pot stew by the locals. It is traditionally served at Christmas and other special events; it is also Guyana’s national dish. Pepper pot is typically a stewed meat dish, strongly flavored with cinnamon, hot peppers, and Cassareep – a special sauce made from the Cassava root. Beef, mutton, and pork are the most popular meats used, though some have been known to use chicken. Pepperpot is popularly served with dense bread and butter, though it is equally as good with rice or roti

9

10