Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR NEWS

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Gunplay in mining camp… Tuesday Edition

AK-47s in miners’ hands spark major investigation

April 14, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 15

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

- Businessman, others in custody

Price $80

p.

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Online readership yesterday 158,887

Guyana could

Economic effects of COVID-19...

lose US$1.4 billion

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in oil exports- IDB Allowing more Guyanese COVID-19 Hospital…P. Health Ministry 8 to come home could p.7 overwhelm healthcare considered other system - Nagamootoo institutions before Ocean View Hotel

- says owners answered immediately - Permanent Secretary Body stuffed in barrel... P.

Suspect confesses15 to killing lover then

dumping her in trench Easter Monday accident leaves p.

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As Guyana ramps up its efforts in response to COVID-19, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, situated at Homestretch Avenue in the capital city, is one of the facilities that have been converted to accommodate persons.

motorcyclist dead

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Cops ‘crack’ brazen 12 Fighting COVID-19 requires unprecedented expenditure Republic Gardens gang; recover some booty ... calls on nation to support healthcare workers - President Granger p.

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Rystad Energy says ...

Offshore drillers to lose over US$3B in contract value from 2020 to 2021 p.

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Kaieteur News

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Economic effects of COVID-19...

Guyana could lose US$1.4B in oil exports - IDB

By Kiana Wilburg

E

arlier this year, the coalition government was able to lock in a sale of one million barrels of Guyana's oil at US$55 a barrel. That sale was executed with Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited (SWSTL) which is based in Barbados.

But with four more sales to go, it is highly unlikely that the government will be able to rake in more profits, especially the kind that was projected before the market was plunged into economic turmoil because of the coronavirus.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for oil has declined to unprecedented levels and

the recently concluded oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia inflicted its fair share of damage as the latter flooded the market with its cheap oil.

Considering this, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) anticipates that the government will experience a 40 to 60 percent decline in the estimated value of its oil exports.

The financial institution specifically said, “The government is expected to make four more sales in 2020, potentially at much lower prices. Under oil price scenarios varying between US$ 20/barrel and US$ 35/barrel, the estimated value of oil exports (US$ 2.4billion ) could decline by 40% - 60%, leading to

LOCAL MASKS HIT THE STREETS

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t didn't take long for the COVID-19 pandemic to bring out the enterprising nature in Guyanese. One such individual is veteran tailor Suresh Sukhwa. Mr. Sukhwa is now making protective masks of various colours at his Twelfth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, EBD tailoring establishment.

terms - of - trade effects affecting the GDP growth estimate.� Such a decline is equivalent to a loss of US$1.4B or $288B. To u n d e r s t a n d t h e significance of this loss, one only needs to remember that Guyana's 2019 budget was US$1.5B. Further to this, the bank said that Guyana's expected oil - related revenues, some US$230 million, could decline by 15 percent to 40 percent, which would be the main impact on Guyana from the oil price fall- out between Russia and Saudi.

On the other hand, the IDB said that some of these negative impacts could be offset by improvements in the price of gold, Guyana's largest traditional export,

representing 56 percent of merchandise exports in 2018 based on Bank of Guyana statistics.

Similarly, the bank said that the oil import bill would also significantly decrease, representing approximately a fifth of expected oil exports in 2020.

The bank was also keen to point out that key sectors of Guyana's economy are susceptible to isolation and social distancing policies which the government has advised.

In this regard, the bank said that Guyana's wholesale and retail and transportation sectors make up approximately 11% and 13% of the economy, which are exposed to these risks. It said that the fall in the price of oil,

along with the uncertainties related to the coronavirus could contribute to a reduction of the GDP. Guyana began producing oil in December 2019 and variations in oil prices along with the Coronavirus pandemic are expected to have deep implications for the revenue outlook and GDP growth estimates for 2020.

The IMF originally estimated that Guyana's oil production would contribute to achieving oil exports worth US$2.4 billion, oil related government revenue of approximately US$230

million, and a GDP growth rate of 86% on an assumed price of oil of US$ 64/barrel.

As the IDB noted, these will be affected in light of the coronavirus and the effects from the oil price war.

The government of Guyana had executed a sale of one million barrels of oil in mid -February as part of its profit - sharing agreement with ExxonMobil, earning US$55 million from Shell.

That money has since been transferred to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF). It cannot be touched until a Parliament is in place to approve withdrawals.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 14, 2020

PAGE 03

COVID-19 blows to energy market...

Offshore drillers to lose over US$3B in contract value from 2020 to 2021 - Rystad Energy

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h e n o v e l coronavirus as well as the recently concluded oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia have ravaged the global energy markets during the last two months.

The effects were felt by many. But one of the most affected segments in the industry was offshore drilling says Rystad Energy.

In its most recent impact analysis, Rystad Energy said that drillers will continue to feel more blows as it estimates that they will see up to 10% of their contract volumes cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

Rystad Energy said that this represents a combined loss of revenue totaling US$3 billion.

The estimated contract value in 2020–2021 is $30 billion in total; US$20 billion in 2020 and US$10 billion in 2021. So far, Rystad said that six rig years of contracts have been cancelled, translating to approximately US$400 million in contract value.

Rystad said that these numbers will only increase

as operators continue to slash capital expenditure budgets and delay projects.

Upon noting this finding, Rystad Energy's Head of Offshore Rig Market Services, Oddmund Fore, said, “More than US$22

billion in contract value was wiped off the books as a result of contracts being cancelled between 2014 and 2017.

Now, in the infancy of a new downturn, a market that was only beginning to return

Ministry mulls “ramping up” testing for COVID-19 - CMO - Mobile unit for sample collecting being considered

T

he Ministry of Public Health is looking to “ramp up” testing for coronavirus in Guyana. This will be complemented by bringing private hospitals on board to do testing as well.

“We would like to at least test all of the persons who were in contact with positive cases or who had direct or indirect contact with those cases,” Chief Medical O f f i c e r, D r. S h a m d e o Persaud, stated during an appearance on the NCN programme, COVID-19 Conversations.

To this end, Dr. Persaud detailed that there has been an expanded protocol which would allow for wider criteria being met for testing.

“Anyone who presents to any of our hospitals with what is called SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness), once the doctors identify those persons special measures are instituted

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud i m m e d i a t e l y. We a r e encouraging the facilities both public and private to collect a sample from those persons for testing and we are going a little further than that to try to identify some community contacts,” he explained.

It was also noted that the enhancement of testing will depend on the number of test

kits available.

Guyana has had a total of 1,800 test kits and as of April 12, 193 tests have been conducted with 45 positive results. “Once we have an adequate supply of kits, I am sure we will move out to the communities,” the CMO confirmed.

Dr. Persaud also said that the Ministry is considering the establishment of a mobile unit to do sample collecting while tests will continue to be done in the laboratory.

Just recently, it was disclosed that the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory can process 48 samples on an eight-hour shift.

This coupled with the mobile unit, “might be able to access some of the hard to reach areas and some of the rural communities to provide for testing in those areas,” Dr. Persaud noted. [DPI]

to a healthy level of contracting activity, contract volumes and day-rates has seen its hopes crushed.”

If anything was learned from the previous financial crisis, Fore said it was that such struggles can be brutal and can last a long time. He added, “Alas, there are plenty of reasons to expect that the battle that lies ahead for drillers will be considerably tougher than the one fought to get through the previous down cycle.”

The Rystad Official was also keen to note that even top drillers will be at risk of failing to meet debt payments and may need restructuring.

Of the 100 listed energy service companies analyzed

by Rystad Energy across the various service segments for

this research, it was noted that more than two-thirds are unlikely to be able to meet their interest payment obligations on time this year.

According to Rystad's analysis, many offshore drillers will be living on the edge in the coming months.

Furthermore, Rystad's analysis also shows that offshore drillers and offshore vessel providers will generally be unable to pay their total outstanding debt of 2020 based on their cash flow from operating activities, unless they are able to make sufficient capital expenditure cuts. If this does not happen, Rystad said that these companies will have to turn to capital markets for refinancing.

Especially in 2021, Rystad said that there will

hardly be any contracts left to cancel while pointing out that the rig industry is particularly dependent on new contracting activity to maintain survivable levels of utilisation. Rystad added that new contracts will also be really difficult to secure in the current environment.

Rystad Energy is an independent energy research and business intelligence company providing data, tools, analytics and consultancy services to the global energy industry.

Rystad Energy's headquarters are located in Oslo, Norway with offices in L o n d o n , N e w Yo r k , Houston, Aberdeen, Stavanger, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Bangalore, Tokyo, Sydney and Dubai.

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Life changed forever

A

t the potentially worst time in Guyanese life, this nation is ill-prepared mentally to do everything at its disposal to minimize the spread of COVID19. The nation is distracted and divided, which increases its exposures. Though known, it is received and swiftly dismissed at many levels. We have bigger battles to fight, is the thinking of numerous here.

In Europe during the time of the cataclysmic Black Death, there was a brief cessation of the Continental wars that had plagued. Our political wars continue uninterrupted and unabated.

If this is not the height of folly, then we don’t know what is. When national wisdom and leadership responsibility are in the highest demand, the best that could be summoned is the paramountcy of victory at the polls.

In the face of an existential crisis, such leadership responses-both coalition and opposition-speak poorly, re prowess and fitness to pilot this society to any place, other than to those additional calamities, so characteristic of our history.

As an indication of Guyanese thoughtlessness, there are some strong beliefs that the virus does not impact a certain sizable segment of the local population. We recommend familiarity with any American newspaper, where the reports are of minorities and poorer communities experiencing more instances and more fatalities from this dreadful viral presence. We suggest some wise rethinking and immediate revising of any such misunderstandings and misplaced confidences.

We have a life-changing menace in this possible terminus of a virus, and what all too many remain primarily focused on is our politics.

There is no way, even in the best-case scenarios, that our governance visions and models will not come under the severest of unbearable stresses in the months to come.

Realistically, this virus has not really taken hold here, and this is despite the slowly rising number of confirmed cases, the small number of deaths.

We hope that it will never gain any degree of feared footing here, that we will be spared by merciful providence.

That said, there is no way that our commercial activities and our economy will emerge unscathed from the still unknown, unfinished, unassessed impacts of the scourge.

Though the local blue chips that publicly report billiondollar profits have the greater chance of coming out ahead, but with lessened profits, that means less taxes paid, and likely lower employment requirements.

On the other hand, the many small businesses and independent contractors, who are forced to close cannot work from home (some of them) but the rent and utilities still have to be paid.

The payment clock may be kindly delayed or extended, but it is not erased. And because customers would be less spending money, even for necessities, the specter of sharply compressed demand looms troublingly. In the United States, some economists and deep thinkers are weighing different outcomes, from different lengths of lockdowns and slowdowns, and the word used go beyond a great recession.

There are fears and talk about a depression, one comparable to the great one of 1929 and the long dismal years of the aftermath.

In the religious sphere, our houses of worship are closed when needed the most. Live streaming and other constructive protective steps have been implemented by religious leaders and afford some level of spiritual solace during this hour when fellowship and communion with above are limited to homes.

Though, many may be impatiently chafing at the restraints, this marooning from congregating, may push for early reopening, that could be off the table for a longer than shorter period. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a veteran epidemiologist and ranking member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, has warned that the virus could be “seasonal”.

At present, the most optimistic projection of a vaccine is the eternity of almost a year away. Lots more damage to

I reject any attempt to overthrow the constitution, for whatever reason DEAR EDITOR, In what appears to be a change of position he has taken on the March 2, 2020 elections, Kaieteur News Columnist Freddie Kissoon seems to share some sympathy with the call by Dr. David Hinds for the installation of a president outside of the constitutional and electoral process.

In his April 13 column, Kissoon did not express an opinion on Hinds’ call to destroy the ballot boxes, but invited Hinds to offer to him an explanation for Granger’s candidacy. Kissoon’s preference is for someone from outside of the PNC and the PPP to be President for the first six months, and then rotation for the top position between names submitted by those two parties.

David Hinds then is seeking to overthrow the Constitution of Guyana, while Freddie will overthrow two further constitutions: those of the PPP and the PNC. Apart from Freddie’s substantially changed position on the elections, I am intrigued at his proposal that the President will exercise all the powers conferred on him by the constitution. Quite which provisions

are to be abolished and which are to be retained is not clear, but what I do know is that the call for that overthrow of the Constitution is dangerous and criminal. In fact, I think it borders on treason.

It also encourages people like Hamilton Green, Vincent Alexander, Lincoln Lewis, David Hinds and Tacuma Ogunseye, many of whom I consider friends, regardless of our differences. Seeking to rewrite the election laws, Hamilton Green wants not a recount but an accounting, similar to Vincent Alexander, two persons very familiar with the PNC’s sordid history on elections and referendum.

From 1968 to 1985, and even to 1992 until President Carter’s intervention.

We all know of the PNC’s fraudulent elections of 1968 which became the subject of a British television documentary, and of its rigging of the count – yes, the count, as related by Peter D’Aguiar of the 1973 votes in Mackenzie. Here is D’Aguiar in his own words, speaking of an exchange with one of his Party representatives: “In many other circumstances – as for instance McKenzie, our duly ap-

pointed counting agent was present and he reported to me that the counting was absolutely ridiculous, uh … maybe he counted 200, 250 and then jumped and they counted 350 and he said, “but you called 250.” But he was alone there in the midst of a government setup, all PNC manipulated and he said, let’s have a recount”.

But when they first recounted wrongly, they add on another 50. So, in the end, he gave up.

He said, I’ve just counted key prints with it and they went on counting falsely and although I was there as your representative, I could not stop it.”

David Hinds was once a champion for free and fair elections, for which our idol Dr. Walter Rodney lost his life at the hands of the PNC. I say that with confidence, because as WPA counsel in the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, I took my instructions from the leadership of the WPA. That he is calling for the overthrow of the democratic order I find most regrettable.

Many of the architects of the 1968 – 1985 rigging are not as active as Hamilton Green

is: but some of them are still around. Even if there is such a thing, with the best will in the world, we must not reward riggers.

We must condemn rigging for what it is: a criminal act that undermines democracy. Unfortunately, it remains part of the playbook of the PNC, embedded in their DNA. Nor is that Party interested in power sharing - other than to betray its partner. We do not have to go as far back as the 1964 elections to see how it undermined its Coalition partner the United Force.

As Freddie reminds us, it shafted the AFC under the Cummingsburg Accord as early as the first Cabinet meeting in 2015.

The PNC has for most of its existence been an antidemocratic party. Granger and his cohorts intend to keep it that way.

That is why they ignored the 2018 No Confidence Motion on spurious arithmetic grounds.

They are now bent on rejecting the will of the people in the 2020 elections as well. I reject any attempt to overthrow the constitution, for whatever reason.

Christopher Ram

What is our incentive for pumping oil at a loss?

DEAR EDITOR, Many of the world’s oil producers have recently agreed to cut back oil production by 10 million barrels a day.

The world is in quarantine mode. Demand for oil has dropped significantly. If demand drops and supply stays the same, then the law of demand and supply would tell us the price of a commodity like oil must also drop.

The production cutback agreed to by the producers is to try to bring the demand/ supply equilibrium to a price point where oil producers can generate enough revenues to run their resource-dependent economies.

Brent Crude, the benchmark for Guyana’s oil, recently went below US$23/barrel - a price not seen for more than a decade. The break-even price for Liza Phase 1 is about US$35/barrel. Hence, it is puzzling why Guyana has not indicated any intention to curtail its oil production. Who benefits when we sell our oil below cost? Certainly, not the Guyanese people.

If an eddo farmer can get

GY$230/lb. for her produce, she will do a simple calculation to determine if she can make a profit. If she must pay someone to reap and sell the produce but it costs her at least GY$350/lb., then she will leave them in the ground. It is just commonsense, since selling at a loss would mean she would have to find an extra GY$120 for every pound she sells. For the humble farmer, it is money she cannot afford to throw away.

Guyana’s Liza Phase 1 project is currently ramping up to produce 120,000 barrels of oil per day, that is about 3.6 million barrels a month. If Brent Crude hovers around US$23/barrel, then that is US$12 loss per barrel. Hence, per month, we would be incurring a loss of US$43 million.Are the oil companies sharing equally in the loss like they do on the 50/50 profit split? The answer is NO. Hess has hedged 80% of its production this year. Its Brent Crude production is hedged at US$60/barrel. Guyana did not hedge, hence, we may sell at a loss while Hess will make

life and prospects are to be expected.

At individual and familial levels, money being short, bills unpaid, plus shortages and a lack of access all add to existing, extended pain, with little light in sight. In so many ways life, as we know it, is now forever changed, and not for the better.

We hope that these reality checks will help us to reprioritize and recalibrate our outlooks on what matters in this life.

a handsome profit.

Recently, Exxon’s CEO, Darren Woods, met with the US President. One of the topics discussed is using the US strategic reserve to store oil.

We don’t know the details of that discussion, but it should call into question why Exxon is not cutting production in Guyana. If Exxon can store oil when prices are low and sell when prices are higher then why stop pumping?

Guyana does not have a strategic reserve to store oil, thus it has to take the market price. Therefore it’s at a disadvantage compared to Exxon and Hess when prices are below cost.

The daily world cut in production agreed to is roughly 10%, but the virus has caused the demand for oil to drop by 35%. Hence, prices will stay low for months.

Let’s explore a scenario where for a month the price of oil is US$23. Now, since Guyana didn’t hedge oil prices and has no means to store its oil, it must take the price it receives on the market. Assuming 3.6 million barrels in a month, then Guyana’s share of the 50/50 profit share of 3.6 million barrels is 12.5% of 3.6 million barrels (0.45 million barrels) would mean we get about US$10 million at market rates.

In the case of Hess, with

its hedges it may net US$55/ barrel (assuming hedges had cost US$5/barrel). That would mean that Hess would receive about US$25 million.

Thus, when prices drop below break-even cost of US$35/barrel it’s to the oil companies benefit to keep pumping.

Additionally, let’s not forget that because of the lack of ring fencing, expenses will stretch far into the future.

Thus, although we receive US$10 million in the scenario above, we are dipping into future profits, because we are pumping at a loss and Exxon and the oil companies are fully compensated for their expenses, but at a monthly cap at 75%. Thus, at some point in the future we will have to pay for that US$10 million.

We know Guyana’s first sale of oil was for US$55 million. But how much of it has been spent to help us with the virus that has all but shut down the country? Probably none, otherwise, the Finance Minister wouldn’t be begging the World Bank for US$5 million. We have Guyanese donating money to help buy cloth masks and others buying eddoes to make soup for the homeless. If the revenue from oil is not being used to help Guyanese people, then (Continued on page 5)

Tuesday April 14, 2020

Coronavirus under-reported among Guyanese in NY DEAR EDITOR, The Guyanese-American community is facing an onslaught of coronavirus-related deaths that are impacting families and devastating the varied enclaves of Guyanese in New York City.

The official count is 34, but is certain to be much higher.

Several Guyanese-American victims are not listed as Guyanese but as Americans.

The numbers of deaths, and of others afflicted with the virus, is a wakeup call among Guyanese at home and in the diaspora and other ethnic communities, to practice social distancing in order to avoid contracting this deadly virus.

Based on my personal investigations and conversations with Guyanese in the greater New York area, it is believed the number of victims of the Coronavirus is not exactly known. It is under-reported, though not deliberately so.

In this outbreak, a researcher has to interpret fatality or inflicted rates with skepticism. When I was doing research on Molecular Cell Biology during the late 1970s and early 1980s at City College, I recall reading articles in journals and books that spoke about underreporting of pandemic deaths, including during the several plagues the world suffered, because medics were not certain of cause of deaths and counts were taken long after hundreds died.

Today, in the US and probably true in other countries as well, only the very severe cases of the pandemic come to the public’s attention and are included in the offi-

cial count.

I learnt about several deaths that are not among the names mentioned in some circles and also several deceased that may have been Coronavirus victims are simply reported as pneumonia or heart-related.

People would say their family members died and the causes given are pneumonia, diabetes, flu, or heart complications, etc. Those causes immediately raise an alarm.

People with the preceding health complications and high blood pressure are easy victims of the coronavirus. (I should note that because the virus is highly contagious, family members are prohibited from visiting their loved ones during their hospital stays.

Attendance at funerals is also limited to less than ten. However, social distancing was not practiced among some family members who opted to attend home wakes and even burials – many unnecessarily, became of victims of coronavirus ignoring warnings).

One primary reason why reported Coronavirus numbers are suspect, is that medical institutions only recently ( in March) started doing testing for Covid-19, and may have missed coronavirus-related deaths or those who got the virus in January and February. Moreover, not every deceased that died from pneumonia-like or heart or diabetic or high blood pressure complications was tested. Thus, maintaining an accurate death toll from Covid-19 has been a challenge for medical institutions, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and

government, and as such under-reporting. Lack of adequate testing resources have affected the official counts of those who had/have the virus as well as deaths. I won’t be surprised if hospitals backtrack on cause of previously reported deaths that are pneumonia- or heart- or other disease-related.

As doctors and reports note, the effects of this or any pandemic disease are very complex and death tolls are very hard to tally accurately.

The Coronavirus triggers a deadly pneumonia and it also puts a heavy strain on the heart, that can increase blood pressure and trigger a fatal heart attack. Those with severe cases of diabetes are easy victims of Covid-19 and deaths can be seen as diabetes-related.

With regards to the actual number of cases among Guyanese or the American population at large, that number for sure is also misleading. Not everyone with flu-like symptoms is tested. If someone has a mild case of flu, he or she is noted tested. The health departments and clinics and hospitals denied tests to tens of thousands.

The US was under-prepared for this pandemic.

There are not enough test kits to check everyone who displayed symptoms. So doctors vet patients at hospitals. For mild flu, some medicine (cough mixture) and antibiotics are given, and the patient sent home to rest and stay isolated for two weeks.

Some patients with milder symptoms have been turned away from hospitals since early March because of the (Continued on page 17)

Personal choices, personal sanctions DEAR EDITOR, They walk amongst us, enjoying all the benefits of a free society, all the while working assiduously to change our status from democracy to kleptocracy. Make no mistake, the attempt to subvert the will of the People is by no means over.

Despite being caught under the glare of floodlight with fowl in hand, APNU/ AFC is forging ahead with patently false narratives in the forlorn hope that someone/ anyone is gullible enough to fall for those lies.

The civilized world is promising a range of personal and national sanctions should anyone become President on the back of electoral fraud, but what are Guyanese doing to sanction the abhorrent among us? What can we peacefully do to let those monsters in sheep’s clothing

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Kaieteur News

know and feel our ire?

Guyanese have very personal choices to make; our innate politeness and warmth as a people are being tested; how do we treat with people whom we have called friend, brother or mentor when they are actively engaged in an attempt to disenfranchise our nation?

I say we must completely ostracize them, let them know that it is no longer business as usual when they enter our presence. Let us expel them from membership of organisations such as the Rotary, Lions, the Boy Scouts, sports federations, sports clubs or any other grouping that holds dear the ideals and principles of freedom and democracy.

Do not sit at the same table or bar with those who would enslave us. Walk out of the church when they walk in, let

them know! They rely on your silence, your manners and decency to accept them into your society. These are hard choices for many to make based on years of acquaintance, for surely friendship with one who would place shackles on you and yours was/is falsely premised.

It would be remiss of me if I did not mention that a path to redemption exists, it begins with an acknowledgment of sinful actions and actions of atonement. After these, then and only then should the perpetrators of this evil approach the Redeemer on their knees and beg forgiveness and salvation.

Until then, we must let them know they are not only separated from God, but also from the company of honest and decent men.

Respectfully Robin Singh

Corporate Social Responsibility?

DEAR EDITOR, On March 02, Guyana went to the polls, encouraged and full of hope and aspirations that finally our turn had come at the taste of a good life. Assured of this reality, they voted for their right to self-determination, for whom they would want to be in place to chart the way forward. On March 04, the nation woke up to a landscape of unbelievable chaos, embroidered with fraud and skullduggery.

Today with diminished dreams, an abundance of uncertainties, and on a road to nowhere, challenged with adversity and despair, they face a global pandemic of epic proportions.

In the spirit of that true Guyanese resiliency, they are rising to the occasion to address this two-headed mon-

ster with unsurpassed grit and determination, undaunted in their efforts to coordinate a comprehensive and effectual grassroots movement to ensure all are protected and provided for.

Notably absent is a government of the people, for the people, by the people, and big businesses both local and foreign.

A handful of local companies heeded the call by the CDC for assistance by way of donations. This muted response is wholly insufficient.

It begs the question of the role in our society of our own local conglomerates, foreign companies, multi-national conglomerates - some that operate on budgets of unimaginable proportions, larger than Guyana’s. Their seem-

ingly muted response, speaks volumes of their commitment to being responsible corporate citizens.

This speaks volumes of how our nation is viewed, and as such l would like to take the opportunity to remind these companies, that we are conscious of your actions or non-actions, as these would now serve as our guidelines in helping us determine your true sense of purpose for your presence in Guyana.

Are you truly partners with our nation in the growth and development of our country? Or are you predators in pursuit of our resources, putting profits over people?

Guyana will eventually rise above these challenges and we will never forget!

Respectfully Hemdutt Kumar

Average citizen goes unnoticed by to fend for ourselves. the police department left Since the incident, the DEAR EDITOR, About three weeks ago, burglars gained entry to our home and stole some electronic gadgets and appliances. The matter was reported at the Kitty Police Station and the detectives showed up about eight hours later to investigate. Since that day, there hasn’t been any update.

Mind you, my children were asleep in a room that the burglars went in to unplug one of the appliances they took, and since then my chil-

dren are traumatised; they prefer to wet the bed or wake each other up to use the washroom.

There are CCTV cameras at both ends of the street and also businesses at both ends of the street with cameras installed.What I noticed is that you only get attention when you vent your anger on social media or when people are murdered or have financial influence in this society.

Then is when the police are at their best, but average persons like my family and I are

only thing that I can take away from the situation is that we are alive, and I thank God, because later that day I realised all my knives were missing. So I’m grateful that we were asleep. Apart from that there are sleepless nights.

In conclusion, I’ll say this system is one big failure. Why is it you have to be murdered or be rich before the police department actually do their job. Doesn’t every citizen’s safety count in this country?

Disappointed citizen

Coronavirus and its origins DEAR EDITOR, The highest levels of flexibility and adaptability must be found within the military.

It ensures the continual security of the nation. To be able to move well with enemies and allies, is to be able to understand ours and their capabilities, weaknesses and intent.

Our reality is shaped not only by what is around us, but also by that which is hidden from us and beyond our direct control.

The influence of other interests more powerful and more influential, play an important role in what we experience. It is always safer for a leader to not only ponder on this, but to also shape his or her actions accordingly.

National security takes many different forms due to the variety of threats that can be posed. It is curious as to how this pandemic started and should be noted that the Pentagon did a risk assessment for such an outbreak several years ago. Why? What are the possible reasons? A recent study states that this virus is naturally occurring, while others have stated that it was created in a

lab. A similar discussion occurred at the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Is nature able to be harnessed within the confines of a laboratory or is this just the result of naturally-occurring variables?

Some may argue that man currently has the ability to recreate what occurs in nature in a laboratory.

We must also consider that all information is not readily available. What we do know is that inadequate preparations were made over an economic boom when funds were readily available in the USA. The life vs. risk continuum must not be ignored during priority setting when considering national security.

In the Guyanese context, it should be noted that such a report would most likely have still not resulted in adequate preparation, given the poor preparation for the exit of the preferential pricing agreement with Europe for our sugar.

However, today we must learn from the mistakes of those around us, while also reassessing ourselves.

When leadership is given, no one has the luxury of taking it for granted, especially when the lives of those we lead are held in the balance.

Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

What is our incentive...

From page 4 what is our incentive for pumping oil at a loss?Hedging is expensive. It is effectively insurance against price drops. After a disaster, your insurance premiums go up. Hence, if prices return to US$55/barrel, to hedge at that price will be significantly more expensive compared to last year.

It may be years before Guyana may even consider building a strategic reserve capable of holding the oil we produce.

We need to increase the levers we can pull to ensure we are not selling our oil at a loss. Before we approve Payara and Hammerhead, let’s renegotiate the contract to include control of how much oil is being pumped given market conditions.

Darshanand Khusial on behalf OGGN

PAGE 6

Tuesday April 14, 2020

Kaieteur News

Some form of power sharing is genuinely needed to break this cyclical deadlock we face every five years in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, I have been closely following the electoral impasse in Guyana, not only since March 2, 2020, but since I was old enough to understand politics way back in the 80’s.

I have also been keenly perusing the various proposals on power sharing and interim governments put forward by high profile pundits and commentators.

While some may harbour ulterior motives and other considerations dear to their own political interests, I am convinced that some form of power sharing is genuinely needed to break this cyclical deadlock we face every five years in Guyana. I see no other avenue. We cannot have one section of the population seemingly dominating the other for long periods and expect anything different from what we are seeing now in Guyana.

The level of distrust and fear of domination evidently are the primary reasons why one party seems to be holding on to power at all cost even when it is pellucid, in Guyana and around the world, they have decisively lost the recent elections.

It would have been so much easier for the losing

team to hand over power peacefully and live to fight another day. As others have pointed out, the two main political parties have not delivered to the nation the level of governance and inspired leadership that is so desperately needed to bridge the divide between the two major groups, and it would only be a matter of time for the government of the day to “screw up”.

Impatient voters will become unhappy and choose the other side, as they did in 2015. This constant turnover would have been healthy for Guyana and the Guyanese people, and encourage the government of the day to strive to fulfill their mandate at least in a better way than they have been accustomed to. They would have come to appreciate that they can no longer rely on the ethnic divide to keep them in power, forever, despite poor governance.

The present government has destroyed this dream of many well-thinking Guyanese who would have been of the mindset to give the other team a chance.

My own preference for a solution to the current impasse would be to adopt the

formula proposed by Freddie Kissoon in his April 13, 2020 column. I would go one step further though, and advocate for the appointment of an Amerindian person as interim president or someone that does not conform to either of the two major ethnic groups, and that all of the old comrades from the 60’s and 70’s from both parties be allowed to gracefully retire. This way, old grudges and distrust will at least be partially diminished and the younger generation should be allowed to chart a new course for the Guyanese people.

I am cognizant of the argument from the PPP that the other side should not be rewarded for electoral malpractice. I get that and wished it wasn’t so either. I’m also aware of the heightened tension among the supporters of both parties and have seen videos of youths running through my village with sticks and weapons and I’m harkened back to the stories I have heard from the older folks about the happenings of the 60’s.

I sincerely hope and pray that the current situation does not lead to anything close to that which transpired back then. I would implore the lead-

ership of the PPP to stand tall and be magnanimous for the sake of a better Guyana for all Guyanese, and do the right things to embrace a solution that is not only good, but necessary for the upliftment of a nation under siege. History will judge you well for your magnanimity.

I was a member of the PPP back in the 90’s and became disenchanted with the leadership after the passing of the Jagans. I embraced the AFC as a third force that I thought would have done well for Guyana in terms of bridging the divide I spoke of above.

They turned out to be a bitter disappointment.

I have earned the wrath of former comrades, friends and family for my latter embrace, but my intention was and still remains a viable path to a united Guyana. I am still not losing hope for that outcome, and pray that something good happens now, out of a tense and untenable situation.

I’m also cognizant of the lament of the Trinidadian Prime Minister that this “will not end well” for Guyana.

What does he know that we don’t?

Karamchand Ramassar Toronto, Canada

TO RECOUNT OR NOT TO RECOUNT DEAR EDITOR, PNC’s Ulita Moore had applied for and obtained a temporary injunction to stop the recount – that’s the recount deal between Messrs.

Jagdeo and Granger brokered

by PM Mia Mottley. Ulita Moore’s lawsuit reached its conclusion in the Court of Appeal (COA) with a hairsplitting ruling: Do the recount, but do not cede “supervisory” control to any outside body.

Set aside the COA’s ruling for a moment. What are we left with? PNC does not want a recount. Only one party, PPP has not opted out.

That agreement must be deemed null and void. Even though the Court has now legitimized it.

If we accept Ulita Moore as representative of the PNC, and the PNC does not want the recount, I don’t see why GECOM is engaging itself in planning for a Recount. Mr. Jagdeo should simply make it clear to the nation that the recount has all but been blown-up by Ulita Moore and the PNC. You are for something until you are no longer for it. Has the PNC changed its mind since Ulita Moore’s lawsuit seeking to stop the recount?

So, why did PNC change its mind? Of course, they now obviously see advantages in the recount. Drag the recount out for 5 months. Feeding at the trough for another 5 months.

What are the chances for obtaining a fair recount? One of the Commissioners is seeking to turn the recount into an audit.

This is becoming a whole new ballgame now. You don’t need a crystal ball to discern that the PNC is fishing and scheming to sabotage the recount. Who in Guyana will trust GECOM to do a proper recount?

A HUMBLE ATTITUDE IS REQUIRED IN ALL LEADERS DEAR EDITOR, addition, the information provided to Wood Thank you for publishing my recent letter Mackenzie was the EOI on how to bid for the in this Monday’s paper, please note that the marketing contract. current price floor in the contract is US$50 per Best regards, barrel and not per gallon.

Mr. Jamil Changlee I stand humbly corrected and embrace the Chairman opportunity to correct what was wrong. In The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

Professor David Hinds is leading the charge to nullify the elections. So, is a recount a ruse that leads to nullification?

This whole business about conducting elections in Guyana is an exercise in phantasmagoria – the more you watch, the less you see.

Whatever happened to the Tabulation of the SOPs in Region 4?

Isn’t that where the breakdown took place?

This matter went to court.

The Chief Justice ordered Mingo to redo the tabulation transparently.

And, Mingo again disregarded the Chief Justice’s order. So, exactly how was the Chief Justice’s ruling manipulated to become something else – a Recount of every ballot cast, 425,000 ballots?

Something in my mind tells me this Recount/Auditing business of 425,000 ballots is leading to a runaround the mulberry bush that leads to a dead-end.

Mike Persaud

FAREWELL, JP DEAR EDITOR, I write about our sad loss of Engineer J. P. Lewis, my fellow 1963 DEMBA scholar, to COVID-19 a few days ago.

We read that his wife Juliette had succumbed less than two weeks earlier to some pneumonia complications – in the circumstances one could not but wonder whether she might not have been also a COVID-19 victim.

I first met J P Lewis about mid-1963 when we, recent A Level graduates of Queen’s College and St. Stanislaus College respectively, and others were pursuing offers of two ALCAN/DEMBA scholarships. The offers had been published in our local newspapers within a few days of the end of our 1963 eightyday strike.

I recall a number of us meeting-up as we waited our turn at the RACS building for the final interview of the final few. At that time, a good guess would have been that about five percent (5 %) of our young people were attaining first degrees - many only possible with scholarships.

I recall the late Mike Davis (also a QC boy) remarking that without a scholarship, getting his engineering degree would be that more taxing. The panel of three was constituted of: Mr. J G Campbell, Managing Director of DEMBA; the Head of the RACS – then Mr. N E Cameron who was also deputy Principal of QC (I did wonder about a potential conflict in favour of QC boys); and Chief Justice Luckhoo.

J P Lewis and I were awarded the two DEMBA scholarships to study engineering at the St. Augustine (T&T) campus of the then UCWI – a few days later, I accepted an alternative place at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Canada, although it would have taken me a year longer.

I recall JP sharing with me his response to the question of what would he like to do for country: his response – to build a set of wooden barges to move bauxite to the Georgetown port for exporting. Over the decades later I would pull his legs saying, pay me something to keep quiet about those wooden barges you still are to deliver.

I recall as a close runnerup, Stan Ridley (also of QC) enjoyed a successful career, ending up at the top of BC Hydro (British Columbia, Canada) in the 1990s. Those were the days when our adult lives lay before us and we all wondered how they would be.

J P graduated and began working at DEMBA in McKenzie in 1966. I arrived there in 1967 and met John and wife and baby son at their residence along Riverside Drive,

a row of Staff-houses, just inside of which was perhaps the “best” of the two exclusive 18-hole golf courses – there were stories of errant golf balls sailing over the tall chain-link fence and threatening them and new son.

Those years soon after independence, were filled with great hopes and aspirations and anticipation of opportunities to show how well we could do. In DEMBA, the engineers were perhaps the largest and most active staff group leading the calls for Guyanization and later, supportive of nationalization.

Many engineers were also active in the then recently introduced American service organizations – the Jaycees and the Lions. As soon as I had first sat in my office, the late A M B Sankies (another old QC boy) had dumped a cartoon box of papers on my desk saying “you are now the Honorary Secretary of the McKenzie branch of the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) “and that I was for the following decade.

JP had been active in GAPE and I remember him and other engineering Jaycees laying out the foundations, footings, walls and roof as the St. Aidan’s Anglican Church on Burnham Drive, Wismar, was being rebuilt in an unusual oval shape.

JP early departed the bauxite company, about the time of nationalization in July 1971 (about when his four-year gentleman’s commitment to DEMBA would have ended): a civil engineer could easily find more varied and challenging work in Guyana, elsewhere.

I have memories of him doing some work for T A Fletcher and Associates from those early days. I recall him working later, the 70s to the 80s, with the Mike Brassington IDEAL venture into local assembly, with part manufacture of electric and non-electric household appliances – mainly fridges and stoves.

JP would have been working with one of our notable engineers, Bert Carter, and I visited with them at IDEAL shortly after another of our DEMBA scholars, Stanley V Lachmansingh (a chemical engineer like myself) moved there.

Towards the end of the 1980s, JP was among members of the Rupununi Trail Association (including Terry Fletcher and Peter Fraser), stopping at our place, in Richmond Hill, Linden, at 5:00 o’clock in the morning, to enjoy my wife’s breakfast on their forays hinterland, to improve the rudimentary cattle trail to the Annai area, so as (Continued on page 17)

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 14, 2020

PAGE 07

Easter Monday accident Allowing more Guyanese to come home could overwhelm leaves Corentyne motorcyclist dead healthcare system - Nagamootoo

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A

Corentyne motorcyclist is dead after he collided with a canter truck around 09:00 hrs yesterday on the No. 64 Public Road, Corentyne.

Dead is Keshwardial Hakie, 43, of lot 8 No. 63 Vi l l a g e , C o r e n t y n e , Berbice.

According to information, Hakie was riding motorcycle CH 6898, when he collided with the motor lorry GYY 4014 which was being driven by a 43 year-old resident of Albert Street, Corriverton, Berbice.

Further information revealed that the lorry was

The lorry which was involved in the accident

Dead: Keshwardial Hakie proceeding north along the western carriageway (in the direction of New Amsterdam) reportedly at a fast rate.

Hakie was reportedly proceeding south along the eastern carriageway) on his motorbike heading towards Corriverton.

Reports are that as the two approached each other, the motorcycle reportedly turned west to enter a dam on the opposite side of the road. It was reportedly at this point the front of the lorry collided with the motorcycle.

As a consequence, Hakie fell on the road and sustained injuries about his body. He was picked up and taken to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was pronounced

Keshwardial Hakie's motorbike dead on arrival.

A breathalyzer test was subsequently administered on the lorry driver, which he passed.

He has since been taken into custody. The motorcycle and lorry have been lodged at the station as investigation continues.

eader of Guyana's National COVID19 Task Force Moses Nagamootoo said that the opening of Guyana's airspace could see as much as 5,000 Guyanese in the diaspora returning home, and that could overwhelm Guyana's healthcare system.

Nagamootoo made this statement in the most recent edition of his Guyana Chronicle column, My Turn, following a Saturday press conference where he was questioned about government's consideration of Guyanese who may be stranded overseas.

“Should the restriction be lifted, as is being advocated by some, Guyana could quickly have an inflow of between 2,000 and 5,000 persons. Possibly more,” Nagamootoo stated.

As a result of measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus, Guyana has closed its airspace, with the exception of certain special cases, until early May. While the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has granted special permission in the past for Guyanese abroad to return, Government is not willing to grant any more such concessions.

Nagamootoo said that “any relaxation of the strict containment measures could see a dramatic, over-night rise in both the infection rate and the number of deaths.”

This would be especially concerning, given that many Guyanese in the diaspora are residing in the US, the nation which is emerging as the new epicenter of the virus.

“Our first case was imported from Queens in the Big Apple, where already close to 40 Guyanese nationals have died. Among them are two well-known tycoons in the airline industry – Billy Braithwaite

Leader of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Moses Nagamootoo

and Jim Bacchus,” Nagamootoo said.

He described the extent of the spread in the US in his column: “In all, over 20,000 persons have died in the United States, out of which figure some 8,000 were from New York where a mass grave has been dug in the middle of Hartland Park.

There, in make-shift boxes, would be buried the bodies of persons who have neither been identified nor claimed by their relatives. In the United States, the confirmed cases have climbed close to 600,000 of which some 160,000 are from New York.”

He cautioned that his writings on the US are not to scare Guyanese at home, but to illustrate how rapidly the virus could spread, if there aren't strict enough measures in place.

That said, Nagamootoo said that he empathises with Guyanese who want to return home, some of whom might be legitimately stranded whilst on vacation or on business.

However, the question of whether those stranded should be granted leniency to return home exposes a glaring deficiency in Guyana's preparedness infrastructure to handle an influx of thousands, i.e., Guyana's lack of capacity to

quarantine and/or isolate those persons.

Nagamootoo said, “Upon their return all of them have to be screened, placed in quarantine and tested. Some of them might possibly be hospitalized. Such inflow at this time would be enough to overwhelm and literally kill our health care system.”

An April 11 update on Guyana's response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) makes this evident. Presently, there are only four national quarantine and isolation facilities, with a collective capacity of 254. The task force is scrambling in its efforts to set up more of these facilities, with three currently in planning. The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and the National Gymnasium are being prepared as well, with a combined capacity of 550 persons. The Ocean View International Hotel is also being prepared, but the capacity has not been determined.

The most recent study on the Guyana situation by the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health had projected that Guyana could see over 20,000 cases of the novel Coronavirus by May 5.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Tuesday April 14, 2020

COVID-19 Hospital…

Health Ministry considered other institutions before Ocean View Hotel - Permanent Secretary - Says owners answered immediately

By Shikema Dey

P

e r m a n e n t Secretary of the Public Health Ministry, Collette Adams, yesterday defended Government's decision to u s e t h e O c e a n Vi e w International Hotel as a facility for the incubation, isolation and quarantine of persons infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID19).

Her comments came in light of heavy criticisms from citizens who questioned why the incumbent administration opted to use a facility where they would have to expend millions as opposed to using a facility that already houses the needed amenities to tackle the virus. The concern was also raised that the Ocean View facility would be at risk of flooding during high tide.

On social media, it was suggested that other private health facilities could have been approached, with even the recently upgraded doctors' quarters being used.

One private citizen, Robbie Rambarran, asked about the arrangement between the owner and

government, and for details of the financial arrangement including the expenditure of works being done, and about “the real owner of the said property and what is the cost of the rental?”

Adams appeared on Kaieteur Radio's COVID-19 Wa t c h y e s t e r d a y a n d revealed that the owners of the Ocean View International Hotel responded almost immediately to their request.

She explained that when the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) initially announced that Guyana should expect an estimated 1,400 cases of the COVID-19; the Health Ministry and the National COVID-19 Task Force immediately began scouting facilities with the requisite capacity to handle this number.

“Our first move was to look at those areas which we can have those critical care people, as well as the isolation and quarantine people.”

The Permanent Secretary relayed that they examined the Georgetown, West Demerara and Diamond Hospitals to allocate sections

for treatment, isolation and quarantine of COVID-19 patients.

Added to that, the Ministry still continued to search for necessary facilities that, according to the PS, would not need additional expenses.

But even this proved a difficult task. Adams said that the Ministry eyed the Prashad Hospital located on Middle Street but got the “royal run around”.

“The first place we looked at was the Prashad Hospital, which I personally and Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, as best as we could, looked to see if we could find the owner…we were given names, we were given numbers, and I think Minister Lawrence called [PPP/C] Presidential Candidate [Irfaan] Ali for assistance, but to no avail. So what else can the Ministry do?” Adams questioned.

It was after this, that the owners of the Ocean View International Hotel were approached and they immediately lent their support. “Ocean View was

asked and they immediately had no objections to it,” the PS stated.

“We looked at the whole structure of it, with a collective resource of persons including the standard department at the Ministry, the Georgetown Hospital, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and all of the technical people within the Ministry. They came up with an idea that the place can hold up to 300 beds with an Intensive Care Unit.”

The Permanent Secretary told Kaieteur Radio that after scouting the Hotel, they sent the proposal to Cabinet to review but were only given partial approval.

However, this stance changed after PAHO/WHO released their second report that Guyana could expect 20,000 cases of COVID-19 infections instead.

According to her, “after PAHO would have made the second announcement, it was so urgent that we had to go in that direction.”

She noted that they still attempted to scout other facilities, including the

Permanent Secretary Collette Adams Prashad Hospital, but the Ministry, to date, has not received any word back.

“We made contact with the hospital and they had us waiting two days straight to examine and inspect the hospital and to date nobody responded after.”

Government will need to expend a hefty sum to make the Ocean View hotel suitable for COVID-19 patients since the facility has been closed for a while.

Repairs have already commenced at the hotel.

Among other things, the roof has been taken off and there are major works ongoing

including repairs to the bathrooms and to damaged tiles in the facility.

Concerns have been raised about the long term justification for the use of the hotel and the arrangements that government has entered with the owners.

In recent years, spring tides have been causing overtopping causing flooding to areas nearby.

Due to the hotel's close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, back in 2013, the facility took a hit after high tides resulted in significant damage amounting to millions.

Midnight quarrel over loud music results in death

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lbert 'Soldier' Raghu, 40, of 218 Hope, West Enmore, East Coast Demerara was allegedly murdered late Sunday night during a quarrel over loud music and sporting.

Police say that the investigation, still ongoing, is meant to determine just how a married couple allegedly murdered Raghu at his home.

The investigation so far revealed that it happened when the suspects were reportedly imbibing and playing loud music at their

apartment, situated atop the apartment of the victim and his spouse. Shockingly, the victim's wife and the female suspect are reported to be sisters.

On that fateful Sunday night, the victim's wife reportedly waited until Raghu came home to complain about the disturbance caused by the loud music, a police report states.

The husband is said to have armed himself with a cutlass to confront the suspects in the yard.

Kaieteur News was

informed that an argument ensued. As a result, the male suspect, armed with two knives, allegedly dealt two stabbing blows to the victim's left side chest and left shoulder, while the female suspect allegedly choked the victim.

In the midst of the tumble, Raghu left the male suspect with a wound to the left side of his abdomen, which he had to receive medical attention for.

Raghu was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for medical attention. But it was not

Dead: Albert 'Soldier' Raghu enough, for he succumbed to his injuries at 5:30 the following morning.

Man in hiding after assaulting sister

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n argument between two middle-aged siblings escalated into a fight with bloodshed. As a result, a woman is hospitalised with chop wounds about her body and her brother is on the run.

Kaieteur News was informed that police are presently hunting for Vivakan Indal of Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Reports are that the siblings got involved in an argument after the woman reportedly a ttempted to physically

assault her 82-year-old mother with a piece of wood.

Her attempts were reportedly thwarted after Indal intervened and tried to stop her. It was then that it escalated and Indal grabbed a cutlass and dealt her several

chops about her body. He reportedly also used the said piece of wood the woman had and broadsided her with it before he escaped.

The woman was transported to the Port Mourant Hospital while Indal remains in hiding.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 14, 2020

PAGE 09

Political pimping and electoral prostitution

A

d e v i o u s political game is being played by Dr. David Hinds. While his party, the Working People's Alliance (WPA), supported the call for a total recount of the votes cast at the 2020 General and Regional Elections, Dr. Hinds (no doubt, he will say in his personal capacity) is now calling for an abandonment of the elections and for the establishment of an interim government.

In so doing, he is appropriating to himself the right to decide the fate of the nation. He has arrogated to himself the wisdom of an Oracle now that he knows that his Coalition has lost, c o m p r e h e n s i v e l y, t h e elections.

Having rejected the will of the people, he now wants to dictate how they should be ruled. This is not democracy; it is demagoguery.

His position is tantamount to one in which once the Coalition does not win an election, then democracy cannot be the answer to the country's problems. In this scheme, elections are only relevant if they result in a victory for the Coalition.

By casting doubts on the value of elections, he is undermining his claim as a supporter of free and fair elections. He says he supports free and fair

elections, yet he does not respect their outcome. In other words, elections only matter if they are to his advantage.

Hinds' party, the WPA, has long touted the need for a political solution. It however had excluded the PNC from involvement in its proposed National Government of Unity and Reconstruction in 1979. Hinds now wants to exclude elections from that solution.

Hinds has selective amnesia. His party was part of the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy which was established to fight for the restoration of free and fair e l e c t i o n s . T h e W PA ' s position has always been that free and fair elections were integral to a political solution, a position which Hinds appears now to be rejecting.

How does he expect onehalf of the population to feel when having won an election, they find themselves unable to govern. Does he see this as providing any comfort for that segment of the population to support his idea of a 'political solution'?

How can he be said to truly support free and fair elections when he wants the election results to be abandoned. So what was the purpose of the elections in which he participated as a candidate?

If he truly supported free and fair elections, he has an opportunity to admit that what took place with the tabulation of the votes for District 4 constitutes a travesty – similar to the type of rigging which his party railed against under both Burnham and Hoyte.

Instead of doing this, he dishonestly dodges the issue of electoral malpractice by claiming that the narrative of rigging is being used to support one-party domination. But that shoe also fits both feet, does it not?

What if the Coalition had won the 2020 elections?

Would Hinds have called for the ballot boxes to be discarded and an interim government established?

Why have an election which only matters if the Coalition wins?

David Hinds did not advocate for an interim government after the 2015 elections which the Coalition won by a razorslim majority. He has an explanation for this failure on his part. His explanation is that he did not press for an interim government because the government, of which his party was a part, was not dictatorial.

This is both surprising and sickening coming from a man who consistently complained that his party was sidelined within the

Dem boys seh...

Nuff couple going to hospital for Hornyvirus

D

em boys seh nobady hold a gun to Lolofeel head or knife to he throat.

Whatever proposal he come up with is he own. But nah tell dat to Incense Alexander.

He seh dat Lolofeel just following wat another colleague commissioner, De Hammerman, Benn, suggest.

Dem boys know dat Mr. Incense Alexander belong to a party wah nah know how to calculate majority. Wha dem boys did not know is dat dey had prablem, too, with long division.

Dem boys nah been to dem fancy universities but dem boys know dem ABC and how to add, subtract, multiply and divide.

Dem seh de prablem is nah de number of wuk stations but de time Lolofeel seh it gon tek fuh count one ballot box.

Dem boys can count one ballot box in less than 20 minutes. Dem boys seh dat 2,339 ballot boxes multiply by 20 minutes gives 46,780 minutes. Dem boys den divide duh by 60 to get de number of hours it gon tek.

Dem boys get 779.66 hrs.

Den dem boys divide dat by the three working stations and dem boys get 259.89 hours per workstation.

Den boys seh dat since dem gon only wuk eight hours per day, it means dat dem gat to divide dat amount by eight to get de number of workdays. Dem boys get

32.5 workdays; which is far less dan Lolofeel 156 days.

Dem boys waiting to see how Sase de Gunraj, a PPP commissioner, come up with he numbers.

Dem boys also had other numbers. Dem hear about all dem other boys who forced to stay home end up going to the hospital with dem wives.

Dem wives complaining about something call Hornyvirus, for which de husband dem ain't get no cure too. Dem boys hear nuff husbands start sweating when de doctors explain de cure.

Talk half and remember we stay apart today so we can stay together tomorrow.

That's a message from dem boys.

Coalition. Hinds was quoted as saying that some of the parties in the Coalition were simply left out of the decision-making process and that everything was centrally controlled by a select group. He noted that for all of 2018, there was just a single meeting of APNU, and in three and a half years, the WPA – one of the parties in the Coalition – was never invited to a meeting with the AFC. Hinds is on record as calling on the government to apologize to the nation,

before he himself was kicked out of the op-ed pages of the Guyana Chronicle for criticizing the same nondictatorial government which did everything possible to subvert the noconfidence motion and to frustrate a consensual approach to appointing a Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission.

The way he and his party were used as doormats by the PNCR is enough reason for him to classify the APNU+AFC as 'dictatorial' in the loose manner in which

he uses the term. But he does not.

One has to ask whether he is comfortable with his party becoming the political pimp of the ruling regime.

Perhaps it is waiting on its commission for being an advocate of electoral prostitution!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Tuesday April 14, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Rowley says it will not end well; it will not

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ith every day that passes, the GECOM conspirators and the people inside the leadership of the PNC and AFC are travelling in a direction where it becomes impossible to turn back. If the election foul-up was two days old, the PNC/AFC could have backed down and said that the system was flawed and they will not recognize the resulting PPP government.

This was one way out of the mess.

If the foul-up had lasted four days, the PNC/AFC could have accepted losing and tell its supporters it is going to court. If the imbroglio was a week old, the PNC/AFC could have

conceded defeat, start street protest and give themselves an opportunity to exit with a plausible excuse.

After five weeks of using the most bizarre and macabre tools to rig the 2020 election, the leaders inside the PNC/AFC have no way out to make a graceful concession.

They have gone too far down the road of depravity to turn back. The idea of turning back does not exist in the minds of any key player that is involved in rigging the process.

We can take our cue from the Trinidadian PM, Keith Rowley. He intoned that it may not end well. It will not end well because the PNC and AFC will not concede,

and aren't going to concede under any brilliant pact no matter if drafted by an Obama or a Jesse Jackson or a P.J Patterson or a Portia Simpson or a Bill Clinton.

The refrain of APNU+AFC is; “we aren't giving up, virus or no virus, sanctions or no sanctions.”

These were the vibes Rowley picked up. He knows there will not be a concession by the APNU+AFC that they have lost. So how will it end? Even Guyanese with no interest in politics (who after this crisis is over will still not be even vaguely interested in politics) are asking themselves – how will it end? It is five weeks now and there is no end in sight so that question is being asked maybe by all Guyanese.

How it will end can be gleamed by the words of Vincent Alexander. I think Alexander has virtually given it away.

Two emanations from

him have painted the canvas.

One is his utterance that even if you recount that doesn't mean there will be a declaration of a winner. The second one is that he and others want more than recount of the 2020 election process.

So how will it work? All one needs to do is put flesh on the bones of Alexander's warnings. First, after the recount, PNC commissioners with the invisible hand of the PNC+AFC behind them will claim that the recount has shown too many flaws for there to be a declaration. It will be submitted that the recount cannot be accepted as the basis of a declaration.

One must not forget that the time frame is crucial to the conspirators.

There will not be a recount in the coming weeks.

GECOM's secretariat will prolong the agony.

Now here is the thing. The conspirators are not stupid.

There will be calls that since

there cannot be a winner and a loser then Granger and his Cabinet can no longer be the government. Enter the judicial system.

There will be lawyers who will argue that the “doctrine of necessity” should apply. For the stability of the country, there must be a government in place until there are fresh elections.

It doesn't matter if the first writ is thrown out by the High Court. There will be an appeal. It doesn't matter if the Appellate Court rules against the conspirators. There will be the resort to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Once that hearing is pending the conspirators will ask; why should they resign.

They will argue why not wait for the matter to be exhausted in the judicial system because the CCJ could very well rule in their favour.

During all this time, the APNU/AFC remains in government for months. And the hope is that there will be

Frederick Kissoon no sanctions because there is no installation of a new president. I believe the West will stay its hands during the hearing in front of the CCJ. Of course the CCJ's decision will come. What happens then?

The prediction is easy to make. The CCJ rules against the application of the “doctrine of necessity”, thus the APNU+AFC has to resign.

The conspirators will posit that the CCJ did not rule on the elections. It ruled on the doctrine of necessity.

The results of the recount will then be tested in court.

The West will then impose sanctions.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Health Ministry records two new cases of COVID-19

G

uyana has two new cases of the n o v e l coronavirus (COVID -19) disease. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) reported that as of yesterday, there are 47 confirmed cases of the disease in the country.

According information released by the Ministry, the confirmed cases are derived from a total of 213 persons who were tested for the disease. The Ministry noted that among them 33 of the positive cases remain in institutional isolation and 19 in institutional quarantine.

The deaths as a result of COVID-19, the Health Ministry said, remains at six while eight persons who were under observation have recovered.

On Saturday, during a virtual press conference, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo assured that there are sufficient supplies to meet the dietary needs of patients in quarantine and in isolation by the Ministry of Public Health.

Nagamootoo, who heads the National COVID-19 Task Force, was responding to a question posed during

that virtual press briefing.

“A complaint of persons not being provided with the kind of food that they would normally wish to have has been brought to my attention.

I am not a doctor, but I can say this, it depends on whatever symptoms the persons hospitalized or those in institutional care are displaying. It's according to these symptoms, that treatment is administered and therefore meals would have to be supplied according to what has been prescribed by the medical personnel,” he explained.

The Prime Minister also added that some persons were allowed to have homecooked meals delivered to them.

“I have been advised that home-cooked meals have been allowed and the person has been provided with adequate food, not only in keeping with their preference as a vegetarian but on religious grounds as well.”

Health and quarantine facilities have been in preparedness since the first case of coronavirus was reported on March 11, he reminded. Moreover, the health facilities are usually stocked with dietary supplies in preparation for patients.

Furthermore, it was disclosed that five persons are now in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for developing worsened conditions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are 1,696,588 confirmed cases globally, with 105,952.

While in the Region of the Americas there are 573,940 confirmed cases of COVID19, with 21,531 deaths.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 14, 2020

PAGE 11

Guyanese get innovative to fly kites

T

he Easter weekend in Guyana is always celebrated in a big way.

From church services to back yard barbecues, the celebration is always grand. But the most anticipated part of the Easter celebration is that kite flying.

Sadly, this year families were confined to their homes as a result of the deadly coronavirus (COVID19).

When Kaieteur News visited the Botanical Gardens, the National Park and the Seawalls yesterday afternoon, there wasn't a single kite in sight. Usually, these venues are packed with people flying kites.

When contacted yesterday, mother of five, Kenisha Williams,

who resides in Charlestown, Georgetown stated, "Every child does look forward to the Easter holidays.

I have five boys and since in March month they started to make kites so I couldn't tell them don't fly their kites."

Ms. Williams further stated that since the Coronavirus guidelines are something new it will take some time adjusting to especially for the kids.

As part of the fight against COVID-19, the Public Health Ministry recently issued measures including curfew and social distancing that have been implemented countrywide.

(Anastacya Peters)

Children flying their kites from a verandah.

Inner Wheel Hat show goes virtual for 2020 n.”

One winner from each category will be selected.

The club will also share a selection of entries on its Facebook page.

In the meantime, the club extended heartfelt

Flashback: Young participants of an Inner Wheel hat show and tea party

D

ue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown's Annual Hat Show and Garden Party, scheduled for April 18, 2020, has been cancelled.

The annual hat contest usually takes place at the Promenade Gardens on the Saturday after Easter Monday.

In a release to the press, the Inner Wheel Club noted while the club will miss serving tea and providing the customary entertainment, members agree that refraining from all forms of public gathering at this time is key to everyone's wellbeing in the long run.

However, to mark its

35th Charter Anniversary (1985–2020), the club instead invites hat enthusiasts to take part in a Virtual Hat Show from the comfort of their home – all the while adhering to public health guidelines.

“People around the world are developing new ways to stay connected at this time, so we have come up with the idea of a Virtual Hat Show.”

Participants are encouraged simply use whatever materials they can find around the house to make a hat.

“Encourage your children or members of your household to join you.

Recycle, be creative, recycle, have fun!”

According to the Inner Wheel, participants can enter several categories including: topical, comical, original, elegant and environmentally aware.

Participants are urged to send a photo of them wearing t h e i r h a t t o innerwheelhatshow@gmail. com by midnight on Saturday April 18, 2020.

Each entry must include name and which category it's intended for.

“All ages are welcome to take part. Spread the word by sharing your photo on social media and tagging the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown (on Facebook), or using the hashtags: #virtualhatshow and #innerwheelclubgeorgetow

thanks to the regular sponsors of this event who responded positively to its letters of request long before it became clear that circumstances would change so drastically.

The club nonetheless

urged donors to consider making a small financial contribution instead which will allow the club to continue to provide scholarships, hampers and community work, once conditions improve.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Tuesday April 14, 2020

Cops crack brazen Republic Gardens gang; recover some booty

I

nvestigators believe that they have cracked a gang that carried out a brazen early morning home invasion last Thursday at Republic Gardens, East Bank Demerara.

Police arrested four persons, including someone they believe is the getaway driver.

It appears security cameras and citizens' tip-offs helped police detectives

hone in on members of the gang.

Police reportedly seized some of the stolen jewellery, among other things.

Senior Superintendent Kurleigh Simon, who is the Commander for the East Bank Corridor, from Eccles to the Highway, confirmed that a number of persons were arrested and that significant progress was made in the case.

He expects more

The bandits in the Republic Gardens home last Thursday. progress in the coming hours. He did not delve into details.

The case would have seen the cooperation of detectives from two districts - the city and the East Bank.

Superintendent Phillip Azore, who is the commander of Georgetown, said that a number of persons were arrested from Agricola.

Agricola is located a few villages away from Republic Gardens, an upscale gated community behind Republic Park.

It is a known hotspot for criminals.

Kaieteur News was told that one of the men in custody has been identified as the getaway driver. He would have fled the scene after a relative who was alerted came to investigate.

However, the getaway car was identified and the driver who had been parked nearby the victim's property was tracked and arrested.

The case has angered citizens as it was captured on a hidden camera. It showed children being held by the gunmen and then marched upstairs during a 40-minute stay.

According to Ryan Rajmangal, a 40-year-old businessman, he was about to leave for work on Thursday morning, shortly before 08:00hrs, when four men, two with handguns, scaled his fence and barged through his front door.

He was held at gunpoint

and his children rounded up.

The gunmen did not realise that there was a hidden camera that was capturing the shocking scenes.

The gunmen tied up the businessman and a woman, and after searching and placing items in bags, they took the occupants upstairs.

There they took jewellery and cash worth up to $2M. The frantic wife of the businessman, who was not at home at the time, was unable to reach him while the robbery was ongoing. It was when she checked her phone and saw the strange men in her home, via the security camera app, that she knew some was wrong.

She called police and a relative. The relative rushed to the scene and pressed the buzzer to the house repeatedly.

The bandits decided to cut short their stay and on barging out of the Republic Gardens home, ran into the relative. They robbed him of his phone and rings.

In the meantime, the driver of the getaway car panicked and left his passengers behind.

The men were forced to catch a taxi, it was reported.

Residents of Republic Gardens have expressed alarm.

The men were all dressed as construction workers and even wore masks to protect them from COVID-19.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 14, 2020

PAGE 13

Fire destroys D'Andrade Gunplay in mining camp…

AK-47s in miners' hands Street house

spark major investigation - businessman, others in custody

The house engulfed with flames

Homeowner, Annette Heywood

A

n early morning inferno at a D' Andrade Street in Newtown, Georgetown home yesterday morning has left several persons searching for alternative dwelling.

In an interview, Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle, told Kaieteur News that the fire was started due

to a kerosene stove that exploded at around 09:30hrs and resulted in the total destruction of the flat wooden house. At the time of the incident home owner, Annette Heywood, and her children were asleep in the house. Luckily no one was hurt.

The fire quickly spread throughout the house thus the family was unable to save anything.

Mr. Gentle said that firefighters managed to put out the flames before it reached nearby buildings. In an interview with Kaieteur News, Ms. Heywood stated that she was in her room along with her children when he was suddenly awakened by someone shouting “fire, fire”.

“I don't know what happen. I came home from work and I was sleeping. But all I hear they holler for fire and by the time I open my eyes, indeed I see fire and I run out."

Kaieteur News understands that the threebedroom house, which was home to 11 children and four adults, was blown down by winds several years ago and was slowly rotting away.

The gunmen in the mining camp

Essequibo Chambers opens food bank to assist families during lockdown Some of the supplies collected by the ECCI for the Food Bank in Essequibo

T

he Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI), through the support of its dedicated members, has created the first food bank on the Essequibo Coast to help offset food challenges of households faced with financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19.

According to the Vice President of the ECCI, Sueann Seewnarayan, the Chamber recognized the toll that the disease has taken on the vulnerable residents of Essequibo.

She said that the food bank was created to safeguard these households. The food bank will ensure that their needs are met so that residents can continue to stay at home and stop the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Seewnarayan, to date the food bank has been greatly supported by the members of the ECCI. The supporters include Barakat Timbers Bandar, Eco Atlantic International Investments, Abbi's Home Care Agency, SKM Pharmacy, Multicare Pharmacy, Shahab Ali Imports, G&P Jaigobin, Alfro Alphonso, Ramoutar Investments, Ashna Grocery Store, the COVID -19 Response Forum, Camille Beaton, Abbigale Loncke, the Benjamin Family and several anonymous donors. Loncke, an Executive member of the ECCI, explained how the food bank works. She noted that the food bank seeks weekly donations from local businesses and individuals of non-perishable goods,

which is stored and distributed to members of different communities on the Essequibo Coast each week. According to Loncke, the first week's distribution was supported by a team from the Guyana Defence Force and volunteers of the Chambers. She noted that over 70 families were given food hampers that should last two weeks.

Loncke said that the ECCI is grateful for all donations given thus far. She encouraged all businesses in Essequibo to support this food bank so that it can continue to help those in need.

Food supplies can be dropped off at Camille Beaton's residence in Reliance or persons can call 648-4302 for more information on how you can support.

S

everal persons, including a gold exporter, Rylon Adolphus, were arrested in connection with a video that surfaced on Friday last showing gunmen invading a mining camp in the Upper Berbice area.

Death threats were issued during the incident last week. Kaieteur News had reported that the video was posted online showing an apparent standoff between two groups and in that video the men were seen brandishing AK-47 rifles.

Commander of the Region 10 division, Superintendent Hugh Winter, confirmed that a number of men were in custody.

It was later disclosed that the guns seen in the video were not recovered by police.

When the video surfaced online, security officials immediately became alarmed and expressed their concerns which sparked a major investigation to ascertain where the men acquired the weapons.

In fact, warning bells were reportedly sounded at the levels of the hierarchy of the police force.

It should be noted that high-powered automatic weapons, like AR rifles, are issued to large scale miners and persons operating security companies.

However, AK-47 assault rifles are not among them. These are only issued to the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

During the invasion at the Iron Mountain camp, an area off the Unamco road near the Demerara Timbers concession, there were shots fired in what workers said was a clear attempt to bully them to remove from the area.

According to a camp manager, the operation was a prospecting one with about 17 workers. The camp was being managed by a businessman known as 'Sunna'. It was explained that the mining block was (continued on page 17)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday April 14, 2020

Berbice Chamber of Commerce distributes masks to aid COVID-19 fight

The BCCDA has initiated a mask distribution exercise to help combat COVID-19

T

he Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) has joined with other local organisations to help stem the spread of the novel COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chamber has begun distributing thousands of face masks to the public. On Saturday, over 1000 masks were distributed.

The Guyana Police Force received 200. The donation to the police force was done by

members of the Chamber who also took time out of their busy schedules to visit the New Amsterdam Market, various supermarkets and stores.

They also distributed to passersby on the road and at other places.

The effort was being led by Ryan Alexander. According to Alexander, the exercise will be continuous and the BCCDA plans to touch communities such as Angoy's Avenue, Rosignol Community, Port Mourant Market, Rose Hall

Market, and Skeldon Market with the facemask distribution by weekend.

Meanwhile, the BCCDA is soliciting the collaborative efforts of the business community, both locally and in the Diaspora, to have more

done in the Berbice area.

According to a release from the BCCD, contact can be made with its secretariat by calling (592) 680-0000 or using WhatsApp and e m a i l i n g : ryanyikes@yahoo.com.

Tuesday April 14, 2020

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

Body stuffed in barrel...

Suspect confesses to killing lover then dumping her in trench SERVICES Visa Forms Preparer.

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By Malisa Playter-Harry After being in police custody for several hours, the suspect held in the ‘body stuffed in barrel’ case in Berbice confessed to the crime. This was last evening confirmed by police ranks.

This publication understands that the man confessed to attacking the woman and then tying her neck with a bed sheet which he strapped to a rafter of the house they shared. This he said happened around 3pm Wednesday.

It was revealed that the man told detectives that he waited until he believed that the woman had suffocated before untying her body and stuffing it into a blue barrel.

The man said that he carried out the deadly act because the woman had threatened to leave him.

Kaieteur News was told too that the man attempted to dispose of the woman’s body inside the barrel by transporting it on his bicycle. However, his plans changed when one of his bicycle wheels got punctured. As a result, he decided to throw the barrel in the trench where the woman’s body was later found.

Prior to his confession,

The house which the couple shared.

investigators on the Corentyne were working around the clock on the case which was then an alleged murder of a woman said to be a Venezuelan.

When her body was found stuffed, head first, in the barrel dumped in a trench situated alongside R&S Street, Belvedere, Corentyne, it was in a state of decomposition and riddled with marks of violence.

The woman has since been identified as 23-year-old Devika ‘Vanessa’ Vickram of Lot 361 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo. She along with her partner, Suraj Veerasammy, who moved into the community a few months ago were

Suraj Veerasammy and Vanessa in happier times

Fighting COVID-19 requires unprecedented ... calls on nation to support healthcare expenditure workers -President Granger The effort to fight COVID19 requires unprecedented expenditure and outlay of resources.This is according to President David Granger in his most recent message to the nation regarding the disease. According to the President, these resources will help enable identification and testing, isolation, protection and treatment of persons affected by the disease.

He sought to highlight too that “We are becoming better prepared to provide proper personal protective equipment for the medical staff doing the testing and treatment tests and the materials and equipment such as beds, respirators and ventilators for those who become critically afflicted.”

The President said too that “the capacity for infrastructural and institutional accommodation is being expanded. Persons who become ill should have access to the best care in the shortest possible time, to ensure their recovery and rehabilitation. The national focus, understandably, is on those who have been infected and afflicted.”

President Granger also echoed the appeal to the public to exercise caution in their day- to -day activities as the nation strives to eradicate the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.

One month since the disease claimed the life of the first Guyanese, the President in message to the masses appealed for citizens and residents to show their support to the health sector in tackling the disease.

The President noted that, as at last weekend, Guyana recorded six fatalities; 45 positive cases of which 31 are in isolation, 13 in quarantine and eight persons have recovered.

“I am happy to learn of the recovery of those eight persons and I wish the others a speedy recovery,” Granger said.

However, he said that the public health system and medical staff cannot overcome this disease on their own. They need the support of the entire population.

“The public has been instructed to ‘stay at home’, in physical isolation, but our health professionals are re-

quired to leave their homes and families, daily, to work in the health centres, hospitals quarantine stations and other institutions do their part to combat the disease,” he said.

Even as he implored all Guyanese and residents to adhere to the emergency measures published in the Official Gazette, the President urged the public to think tenderly of the public health professionals and service providers.“I ask also that people of faith join me in prayer, from the comfort of their homes, at this sacred Easter Festival for the safety and well-being of our unsung doctors and nurses and other health workers...Every day, they report for duty to work in conditions that could be dangerous to their own health and safety. Let us all think about these public servants and employees in private institutions who are putting their lives on the line,” he said.

“The Public health practitioners are on the frontline of protecting those stricken by the disease. They have been working tirelessly through this very difficult situation to

President David Granger provide quality healthcare to those who have been infected and afflicted.

Everyone in the public health system has played a vital part in the fight against this disease,” the President emphasized. As he impressed on all Guyanese to continue to support frontline workers, the President said, “They are the sinews of our health services. We must protect and respect them. We are eternally grateful for their exertions during these trying times. Their dedication is valued.”

The President was also keen to note that the path ahead for the local public health sector may be a difficult one before the nation defeats the disease.

not seen since Wednesday and police, who were on the hunt for him, found him at the Dharm Shala located at Fort Canje under the Canje Bridge (home for abandoned persons) based on information provided to them.

Veerasammy had denied then that he killed the woman.

He’d insisted that he found Vanessa hanging from a bed sheet Wednesday night in the home which they shared and that he took her down and decided to put her body in the barrel and “roll it out somewhere to discard it”.

According to police sources, the suspect said that after rolling it out from the street, he became tired and decided to roll it in the trench.

The body was discovered by a cane harvester who lives nearby.

Kaieteur News was told that Veerasammy ahead of confessing, too, admitted that they had an argument Wednesday night with the woman but he said he left the house and when he returned, he saw her hanging.

But police ranks did not buy this version of what took place since there were visible marks of violence on the body.

The face was battered beyond recognition.

Veersammy told police that he was released from prison in (Continued on page 17)

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 14, 2020

Tuesday April 14, 2020

FAREWELL, JP From page 6 to provide better transportation for the peanut farmers of the area.

It was perhaps only a matter of natural progression that I would next learn of him working with the Mekdeci Mining Company (MMC), with their main operation then on the Konawaruk not far from Mahdia. Andrew Mekdeci had taken some tremendous steps for local small and medium scale miners, to provide a minibus trail to his camp and to greatly upgrade the living conditions in the camp.

Many miners and other residents of Mahdia were urging the construction of a branch into Mahdia and I soon found good reason to have GGMC commission the construction of that branch.

JP oversaw the extension of the trail from Sucre Junction into Mahdia, and that laid the basis for the development of the daily minibus runs between Mahdia and Georgetown. And JP was still with MMC about 2006 when MMC made the Lethem trail a continuous drive of less than 12 hours between Lethem and Georgetown. As a Minister responsible at the time, I acknowledge JP’s contribution in realizing the Mahdia and Lethem roads.

I mentioned earlier that a good guess would be that about 5% of our generation had the opportunity to make it through high school and go on to earn a first degree. A further guess would be that of the 5% doing so, less than 20% of us returned to and stayed on in Guyana through our working career.

JP had stayed on, and in a varied civil engineering career, sadly and suddenly cut short, he had contributed many

times over the equivalent of those wooden barges he had promised that 1963 scholarship panel. As for me, J G Campbell had voiced the concern that with such good grades, he wondered why I was not seeking a career in computers or in rockets: he was concerned that their mundane, foot-in-the-mud-inthe-bauxite mines jobs would not provide me enough intellectual challenge and satisfaction.

Fearing that a scholarship could be easily drifting out of my hands (and hence no university) I hastened to assure the panel that I would give my all to those very, mundane, foot-in-the-mud jobs.

And so, when in the later 1970s and earlier 1980s people wondered why I was staying on in Guyana, I would reply that I couldn’t get together that scholarship panel again to relieve me of that great swear I had sworn.

Both JP and his wife were very athletic persons and others have been recalling JP’s decades of continuous service in our GDF reserve and in sports, particularly Rugby.

I found JP to be always cheerful and of good spirits, getting on with the work at hand, and I can’t recall ever hearing him express a political partisan view.

I salute JP as a great example of a true contributing Guyanese of my generation, always trying to make things better; one who persevered and stayed on through some very difficult years, and who would have continued contributing for another decade or more.

Farewell JP. Samuel A A Hinds Former Prime Minister and Former President

Coronavirus under-reported...

From page 5 strain on resources. Others, including family members, have opted to self-isolate and use traditional home cures (Breathing in steam from water, orange or citrus fruit skin and spices seem to be working to break up pneumonia cold, clearing up the lungs to allow for normal breathing, though not scientifically monitored as a cure.

Guyanese swear it helps them recover from flu-like symptoms. I too tried it, and it seems to be working so far, though I can’t say I have the virus).

What people are learning is that hospital should be a last resort if you suspect you

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

have mild flu-like symptoms – try traditional home cure (oranges, Vicks, steam, fever grass and other hot tea throughout the day). Hospital does not have enough beds or ventilators for everyone with the flu, but are doing their level best. The governments (local, state, federal) are doing everything to contain the disease and are complimented for effort.

I urge Guyanese to practice social distancing and stay home unless they really need to go out for basic foods and medicine, or else they could become a victim of the virus, reported or under-reported.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Venezuelan women handcuffed to bed after allegedly attempting to walk out of isolation Health authorities are reviewing their COVID-19 protocols after four Venezuelan women attempted to forcibly leave an isolation facility over weekend.

Health authorities are reportedly reviewing protocols after four Spanish women suspected to be positive for the COVID-19 virus, attempted to forcibly leave an isolation area on the West Bank of Demerara.

The incident reportedly happened on Saturday at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.The women, from Venezuela, were reportedly picked up from a city hotel where they worked as “ e n t e r t a i n e r s ” .

They were displaying symptoms of COVID-19 including high fever.

At the hospital, where they were taken, doctors escorted them to the isolation room where other persons were being kept.

However, it appeared that the women were not happy.

They attempted to leave.

They allegedly forced their way pass nurses and eventually ran into the security at the gate.

According to persons who witnessed the incident, the police and doctors finally managed to bring the women back to the isolation area.

A number of Guyanese persons who were being monitored were removed from the room and the women placed there.

“The women were refusing to stay in the room and behaving disorderly. The police were forced to handcuff them to the bed.

One police pulled his gun. A little girl in isolation saw what unfolded,” a source told Kaieteur News.

The women were sent to be tested.

There was deep worry about the women and the likely contact between them and other persons.

In the adult entertainment business, it was made clear that the risks are high for COVID-19.

According to Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, Collette Adams, during an interview on Kaieteur Radio yesterday, she is aware of the incident and there are a number of reviews of the system going on.Recently, Dr. Veronica Griffith, Deputy Director of the Regional Health Services, made it clear that there will be

AK-47s in miners' hands ...

From page 13 controlled by a man named 'Benson' who acquired it through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

Permission was apparently granted to 'Sunna' and another man called 'Adolphus' and 'Isaacs' to work in separate areas. “These guys say they own the land. They don't care about Mr. Benson,” one of the workers explained.

Then, on Saturday, heavily armed men came with someone and attempted to remove 'Sunna' and his prospecting operations.

About 4pm, workers in the camp heard rapid gunfire and on racing out towards the sound, they were told by another worker that gunmen

were coming.

In minutes, a group, of six men, heavily armed with AR rifles and other big guns, were in the camp. The men are said to be miners.According to a worker, the men had taken away an AR rifle from their security guard and had it.

In 2016, Adolphus name surfaced after it was disclosed that the Guyana Gold Board had issued its approval of an export licence for Adolphus Mining Inc. There were questions then about the due diligence conducted.One of the two directors of Adolphus Mining is Travis Chase, a television reporter.There are only about eight or nine gold exporters in Guyana.

zero tolerance for noncompliance.

She said, in a circular, that persons who did not adhere to measures of COVID-19 will be placed in quarantine.

“I hereby wish to inform you that all non-compliant contacts should be placed in institutional quarantine to reduce the spread of COVID19. This directive is coming

from Honourable Minister (Volda Lawrence),” she said.

Dr. Griffith urged health workers to monitor all contacts carefully to ensure that they are complying with what is required from them if they are placed in home quarantine “…and if not, please transfer them to institutional quarantine immediately.”

Armed men invade home of Blairmont family A family of Lot 35 Zorgenhoop, Blairmont, West Coast Berbice are still in a traumatized state after three men barged into their home Sunday night.

According to Sunita Ramotar, she was at home with four others including a 5-year-old when the incident occurred.

The woman said she had just stepped out of the bath around 19:30 hrs when she was confronted by a masked gunman.

Kaieteur News understands that there were two other men armed with cutlasses who held the family hostage and demanded that they hand over cash and jewellery. Ramotar stated that she told the men she does not have anything and the gun-toting man pointed his firearm at the 5-year-old while the other two ventured to the upper flat. Within a few minutes, they returned and said they got what they wanted and left. Ramotar revealed than when checks were made to see what the men had taken, it was found that her brother’s wallet that contained $25,000, his ID card and other documents were missing.

Police ranks arrived shortly after being summoned and launched an investigation. No one has since been arrested.

Just recently a business place was also robbed by three armed men, one brandishing a gun and two others with cutlasses.

Suspect confesses to...

From page 15 November and he sought refuge at the Dharm Shala and it was there that he met “Vanessa” who was also staying there. They struck up a relationship and decided to leave the shelter and try to make it on their own. It was after they left that he took “Vanessa” and introduced her to his mother, Sattie Veerasammy.

They then found a place to rent in Belvedere soon af-

ter. While he admitted that they argued a lot as a couple, he blamed it on her “nagging a lot”.

Police were expected to take him back to the house he shared with the woman yesterday afternoon as part of an investigation into the matter.

It is believed that the man decided to confess afterwards. The badly decomposed and battered body of the woman was discovered on Saturday. It was clad in a green and white strap dress.

The body is presently at the Bailey’s Funeral Home awaiting a post mortem.

This publication understands that a post mortem is scheduled for today after which legal advice will be sought.

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Tuesday April 14, 2020

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Kaieteur News

Larson indefinitely suspended by NASCAR after using racial slur NASCAR indefinitely suspended driver Kyle Larson after he used a racial slur in a livestream broadcast of an iRacing event on Sunday night.

The behavioral penalty NASCAR issued yesterday cited Sections 12.1 (General Procedures) and 12.8 (NASCAR Member Conduct Guidelines) of the official Rule Book. Larson must also attend sensitivity training as directed by NASCAR. “NASCAR has made diversity and inclusion a priority and will not tolerate the type of language used by Kyle Larson during Sunday’s iRacing event,” NASCAR said in a statement. “Our Member Conduct Guidelines are clear in this regard, and we will enforce these guidelines to maintain an inclusive

environment for our entire industry and fan base.”

Chip Ganassi Racing released a statement earlier yesterday announcing that it had suspended Larson without pay.“We are extremely disappointed by what Kyle said last night during an iRacing Event. The words that he chose to use are offensive and unacceptable. As of this moment we are suspending Kyle without pay while we work through this situation with all appropriate parties,” Ganassi Racing said in a statement.NASCAR bylaws stipulate such actions may result in “fine and/or suspension termination or termination,” including disparaging remarks based on “race, color, creed or national origin.”

Larson, whose sponsors include McDonald’s, was

participating in the exhibition virtual race and had problems with headset communication with his spotter. In one microphone check, Larson could be heard using the n-word. The entire communication was broadcast to followers on the streaming service Twitch and eNASCAR.com.

The other 61 drivers in the race were also on the audio session and could hear Larson’s words.“You can’t hear me?” he said on the livestream. “Hey, (expletive).”

“Kyle, you’re talking to everyone, bud,” one driver replied.A second voice on the stream, though it’s unclear if it was a driver or spotter, said, “No way did that just happen.”Sunday’s race simulated Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy but was not part of the NASCAR official

Tuesday April 14, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) It's hard to imagine a world without computers, Aries.

Technology has been key to your professional life, and it's likely to be even more important in the future.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today could have you itching for a change, Libra. The difficulty is figuring out what you really want to do with your life. A good first step would be to talk to people.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You might want to straighten up the house this morning, Taurus. Some unexpected visitors could drop by. With no warning, you could be serving lunch or dinner to a group of ten!

Don't panic.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You're going to be busy but happy today, Scorpio. It's likely that a project you've been working on for a long time suddenly yields positive results.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Friends or work colleagues could introduce you to a field of study that captures your interest, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Travel is in store today, Cancer. It could be a spurof-the-moment trip with a friend. More likely, it will be a series of short trips closer to home.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You're likely to receive news today that brightens your future outlook, Leo. It could be that your boss calls you at home and hints at a pending promotion, or your partner could receive a raise or unusually large bonus.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You can expect your life to change in a fairly dramatic way today, Virgo. The change could be subtle at first, but with time and distance you're likely to look back on this day as pivotal.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You could be invited on a last-minute adventure today, Sagittarius. By all means, seize the chance! You're certainly ready for a change, and this opportunity could turn out to be just what you've been hoping for.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) If you've been thinking about making a career change, Capricorn, today is a good day to do some research on professions that interest you.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Technology is going to play a big role in your life today and in the immediate future, Aquarius. It could be that your office is upgrading its systems and you're in charge of getting everyone up to speed on the new equipment.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You might find yourself unexpectedly busy today, Pisces. It could be that you'd planned to spend the day tidying up and reorganizing your home. after another.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson during the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

iRacing series. The event on Easter Sunday was held after Bubba Wallace “rage quit” last week’s race.

Larson graduated to NASCAR through a program called “Drive for Diversity.”

Larson is half Japanese. His grandparents spent time in an internment camp in California during World War II. Larson, 27, is in his seventh season on the NASCAR circuit. He drives the No. 42 Camaro and is in the final year of his contract with Ganassi Racing.He has six career Cup wins and was sixth in the final standings in 2019.

(Field Level Media)

KL Rahul the ‘apt replacement’...

From page 21 Cup. If they tell Dhoni that they want him to play the World Cup, then there is a chance he could return,”Chopra said. “Otherwise, in my opinion, Dhoni has made up his mind that ‘I am not going to play, I don’t need a farewell match. I came quietly, I will leave quietly’.

He doesn’t need grandstanding. He is not that kind of player. He doesn’t want any noise. If the T20 World Cup gets pushed, then I don’t think you will see Dhoni in India’s blue jersey.”

Whether Dhoni plays for India again or not, former India batsman VVS Laxman believes Dhoni will continue to play and perform for Chennai Super Kings for “the next couple of IPLs”.

“I think playing for CSK will keep him going because he’s supremely fit and age is just a number, and especially when someone like MS Dhoni is not only physically fit, but mentally very astute as a captain, as a leader he enjoys leading the CSK franchise,” Laxman said in the same show. “He’s been very successful doing that and as far as Dhoni’s cricket is concerned, I’m sure you’re looking forward to watch him play in the IPL. Not only this IPL, he will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer.

“But I think MS Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I’m sure he must have communicated that with [India captain] Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England. The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned.

But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK.”

Spurs reverse ...

From page 18 Premier League ground to be used for testing, following on from other sporting venues around the world,” the club added.

The stadium has also been fitted out to house the North Middlesex Hospital’s Women’s Outpatient Services, freeing up capacity at the hospital to treat patients with COVID-19 symptoms.

Professional football in England had been suspended until April 30. The Premier League has said the season will only resume when the situation stabilises.

Tuesday April 14, 2020

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KL Rahul the ‘apt replacement’ for MS Dhoni - Gautam Gambhir

KL Rahul has slotted in well behind the stumps in white-ball cricket. (BCCI) ESPNcricinfo - Gautam Gambhir has liked what he has seen of KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper-batsman in white-ball cricket. The former India opener reckons Rahul is the “apt replacement” for MS Dhoni in the shorter formats, particularly in T20 cricket, going forward.

Dhoni, 38, hasn’t played any serious cricket since India’s semi-final exit from the ODI World Cup in July 2019, following which Rishabh Pant and then Rahul have taken over keeping duties in

white-ball cricket. IPL 2020 was widely seen as the one opportunity Dhoni had to make a bid for an international comeback before the T20 World Cup - scheduled for October-November 2020 in Australia - with India coach Ravi Shastri saying as much on more than one occasion.

With the Covid-19 pandemic potentially ruling out any IPL action this year, the door might just be shutting on Dhoni. Gambhir certainly thinks so.

“If the IPL does not hap-

pen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback,” Gambhir said, speaking on Star Sports Cricket Connected. “On what basis can he be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half years.

“The apt replacement for Dhoni could be KL Rahul.

Ever since he has donned the keeper’s gloves in white-ball cricket, I’ve seen his performance, both batting and keeping. Obviously his keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul’s a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4.

“If the IPL does not happen, then MS Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim. Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team. As far as his retirement plans go by, that’s his personal choice.”

Since taking over as India’s white-ball keeper temporarily at first, filling in for a concussed Pant, and then on a regular basis Rahul’s returns have been phenomenal. In ODIs, he’s scored 303 runs in five innings at an average of 75.75

More than 1,000 fans shrug off virus concerns to attend match in Belarus

Fans during the match some wearing protective face masks despite most sport being cancelled around the world as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID19) continues. (REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko) BREST, Belarus (Reuters) - More than 1,000 soccer fans cheered, chanted and hugged each other as they attended a Belarusian top-flight league match on Sunday despite calls from a growing number of supporters to boycott games due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Belarus is the only country in Europe still playing a national soccer league, making it an unlikely draw for fans overseas who are starved of matches in their own countries.

In choosing to stay open, the league took its cue from President Alexander Lukashenko, who has resisted imposing strict lockdown measures and variously prescribed remedies like drinking vodka or driving tractors to fight the pandemic.Many fans have chosen to stay away, but more than 1,000 attended the clash between FC Dynamo Brest and Isloch Minsk,

one of three games played in the top-flight Vysshaya Liga on Sunday. Only a relatively small number were seen wearing masks.

Defending champions Brest won 3-1 to go third in the standings after four matches.

The club earlier launched an innovative solution to dwindling match attendance numbers — putting mannequins with cut-out photographs of fans into the stands.

Belarus currently has 2,919 reported cases with 29 deaths from the new coronavirus.

The World Health Organisation has urged the Belarus authorities to introduce tighter measures to contain the coronavirus, saying on Saturday that the pandemic was entering a “concerning” new phase in the country.

Lukashenko dismissed fears about the virus as a “psychosis” and said it was more important to keep the economy going.

and a strike rate of 114.77, while batting mostly at No. 5.

Opening the batting in T20Is, he’s scored 224 runs at an average of 56.00 and a strike rate of 144.51.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra, meanwhile, has suggested that Dhoni, who has been near-invisible in the media for a while now, might have unofficially retired from international cricket.

Rather than being dropped after the 50-over World Cup, Chopra feels Dhoni made himself unavailable for selection.

“MS Dhoni has not told anyone anything,” Chopra said on his YouTube show Cricket Aakash. “He has a different story. What almost everyone think is that he might return to the Indian team if he performs well in the IPL. But I personally feel he played his final match for India at Manchester against New Zealand.

“Since then, he has not made himself available to the team. He has not been dropped. I feel he has made up his mind that he is no

longer going to play for India.”

Rather than go out with an official announcement or a farewell game, Chopra believes Dhoni simply decided to walk away without a fuss, and will only play for India again if he’s persuaded to by India’s team management or the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.”Unless, of course, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli or Ravi Shastri pick up the phone and tell Dhoni to help the team out in the T20 World (Continued on page 20)

Rossi names his best MotoGP wins and rivals in his career

Autosport - Seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has named the three race victories he considers his “best”, and reveals the rivals which spurred him on most in his career.

Should the 2020 MotoGP season get underway, it will his 21st in the premier class and mark his 24th year of grand prix racing, having made his full-time debut in the 125cc class in 1996.

Rossi hold the record for most premier class (500cc/ MotoGP) wins of any rider in history on 89, and has tallied up a total of 115 across all classes - ranking him second on the all-time winners’ list behind Giacomo Agostini’s 122.

As part of BT Sport’s ‘Greatest Race’ series, Rossi revealed which of his 89 MotoGP wins stands out as his best.

“In my personal ranking of the victories of my career, I have three victories [that I rank as the best],” the factory Yamaha rider said.

“They are Welkom [in South Africa] 2004, which was the first victory with the Yamaha; Laguna 2008, the battle with [Casey] Stoner; and Barcelona 2009, the battle in the last corner with Jorge Lorenzo.

“Those are my best three.”

One of Rossi’s most remembered wins was his battle with then-Ducati rider and reigning world champion Stoner at Laguna Seca in ’08 which featured the famous Corkscrew overtake from Rossi on the Australian, when he took to the gravel to complete the pass.

Reflecting on that race, Rossi added: “That race was a special victory. [It] was very important because in that moment Stoner was really, really strong and Stoner beat me in 2007 and won the champi-

Rossi names his best MotoGP wins and rivals.

Seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi in action.

onship with Ducati.

“When we arrived at Laguna Seca, that weekend was crucial for the rest of the championship because Stoner was incredibly fast in that track with the Ducati.

“I thought that the key was to try to stay in front and set my on rhythm on the race because Laguna Seca is very difficult to overtake at because it’s very narrow.

“The battle was furious from the beginning to the end, but I was able to arrive in front.”

Rossi would go onto seal the ’08 title, winning his seventh and so far final championship the following season.

Stoner proved to be one

of several rivals who pushed Rossi hard in his career, as well as the likes of Lorenzo, Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau.

Commenting on his rivalries, Rossi says “for sure” those riders helped him to improve as a racer.

“I had great, great battles with Max Biaggi, Sete Gibernau and later with Jorge Lorenzo, and when you have a rivalry like this, it is the fuel to increase the performance of everybody, to raise the level.

“Because the fight starts, and after it becomes something a little personal.

“So, this means that it can give you more to arrive in front and the level is raised.

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Kaieteur News

Spurs reverse decision to furlough Barcelona in ‘danger of economic bankruptcy and moral non-playing staff after fan opposition General view inside the stadium before the Chamdecay’ - President candidate Font pions League Quarter Final First Leg match Goal.com - Barcelona are in danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay, according to presidential candidate Victor Font.

In an open letter to Barca members and the media, Font – the leader of the Si al futur group seeking to take control of the Camp Nou boardroom - offered a scathing assessment of the current behindthe-scenes turmoil at the La Liga champions.

The unvarnished criticism arrives at the end of a turbulent week, with six of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board resigning from their posts.

Outgoing vice-president Emili Rousaud then made the explosive claim that “someone had the hand in the till” at the club – an accusation strongly rebuffed by Barcelona.

Rousaud also suggested possible impropriety regarding Barca’s alleged agreement with 13 Ventures, a PR company claimed by a report on Spanish radio programme Que t’hi jugues in February to have been hired to clean up Bartomeu’s image on social media and disparage current and former players critical of his regime.

Both Barcelona and 13 Ventures denied the allegations but that episode, along with the controversial signing of Neymar in 2013, were both referenced by Font in his critique.

The letter read: “For some time now the project Si al futur has been warning Barca members that the club was heading towards the ‘perfect storm’ – it had to replace the best generation of footballers in history, build and finance the Espai Barca development project and compete against corporations with almost unlimited financial resources.

“And all this had to be done while preserving the ownership of the club in the hands of the members and its competitive capacity both in football and in all sections.

“If the risks were great, they have now become gigan-

Lionel Messi has been in clashes with the Barca president in recent times.

tic. We are in the midst of a pandemic that has brought the planet to a halt and will have effects in all walks of life, also in sport, that today we cannot yet foresee.

“Likewise, for months we have witnessed a shameful escalation of chapters in the club’s institutional behaviour in which the latest event hides the seriousness of the previous one, a process that culminated in recent days with accusations and serious reproaches among board members, and six abrupt resignations.

“And just as the only priority should be to get the club out of the crisis, the presidency announces a new remodelling of the board of directors in order to stay in power. What is at risk now is Barca as a whole.

“This is not a recent problem – we have experienced the sentencing of the club in the Neymar case, the disagreements made public between employees and players with executives and managers, and the audit of the case on social networks, which seems will confirm the scandal.

“Let’s add an erratic sports policy, the breaking up of the board of directors and

the significant reduction in income due to the pandemic, and the result is the danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay in which the club has settled. Game over.”

Font reiterated his assertion from earlier this month that Si al futur had put themselves at Bartomeu’s disposal to assist during the COVID19 crisis and build a “common front”, only to be frustrated in those efforts.

Before laying out his group’s vision, Font made three demands of the Barca board - transparency over the club’s level of debt; delays to making non-essential structural decisions at this time, including Espai Barca; and “maximum prudence and transparency” on player purchases and sales.

Bartomeu is not obliged to call elections until 2021, when he will not be able to stand, although there is a growing demand for him to bring the date forward.

The Barca president’s standing has been weakened over recent months over apparent clashes with Lionel Messi over the star player’s future at the club and the handling of pay cuts given to the squad in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

between Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City.

(Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo)

(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur have reversed their decision to furlough staff during the coronavirus pandemic amid criticism from supporters, the Premier League club said in a statement yesterday.

Spurs had imposed a 20% pay cut on 550 non-playing staff in April and May to protect jobs.

But the club said yesterday that only board members would see salary reductions and all other employees whether full-time, casual, or furloughed - would be paid 100% of their wages for April and May. “The criticism the club has received over the last week has been felt all the more keenly because of our track record of good works and our huge sense of responsibility to care for those that rely on us, particularly locally,” club

chairman Daniel Levy said.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) had said the club’s decision to use the government scheme where employers can claim for 80% of furloughed staff’s monthly wages up to 2,500 pounds ($3,126) per month was harming its reputation.

It added on Monday that the club’s latest decision showed “maturity and humility.”

“We’re pleased that, rather than doubling down, the club’s board has listened to the fans on this occasion and ultimately done the right thing,” THST added in a statement here “...no organisation is going to get everything right in these unprecedented circumstances and the eventual outcome is what matters... This is the first step, but a big step,

in restoring relations between fans and the club.”

Levy added that Spurs’ earlier move had only intended to put measures in place to protect jobs while they sought to continue to operate in a self-sufficient manner.

“We regret any concern caused during an anxious time and hope the work our supporters will see us doing in the coming weeks, as our stadium takes on a whole new purpose, will make them proud of their club,” he added.

Spurs said medical equipment had been installed in their stadium to operate drivethrough COVID-19 testing and swabbing for NHS staff, families and their dependents.

“Our Tottenham Hotspur Stadium becomes the first (Continued on page 18)

Baseball, soccer seasons get underway in Taiwan TAIPEI (Reuters) - The baseball and soccer seasons got underway behind closed doors in Taiwan at the weekend, providing rare live action for fans at home at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down most professional sport around the globe.

Taiwan has been comparatively successful in containing the spread of the virus, reporting to date 388 cases and six deaths in a population of around 24 million.

Globally, more than 110,000 people have died from the virus.

The Chinese Professional Baseball League’s much delayed start was pushed back by a further 24 hours after rain swept across the island, forcing the postponement of the traditional season-opener on Saturday.

It therefore fell to Cuban lefthander Ariel Miranda, formerly of the Seattle Mariners, to throw the first pitch of the season for the Chinatrust Brothers against the UniPresident Lions at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on Sunday.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen posted a picture on her Facebook page on Sunday of her watching the baseball match at home, accompanied by one of her cats, and calling on everyone else to join her and watch from home.

“What’s more important is once the epidemic is over, we’ll see each other at the baseball pitch!” she wrote.

No fans were allowed in the 20,000-seater stadium to watch the Lions win 4-1, with health concerns limiting attendees to a total of 200 play-

ers, coaches, umpires, cheerleaders and journalists, local media reported.

Rakuten Monkeys had placed cardboard cut-outs of fans replete with face masks in the stands for the washedout game on Saturday, while anyone entering the baseball stadiums had their temperatures checked.The fourth season of the Taiwan Football Premier League also got underway on Sunday with Tapei-based champions Tatung City FC 3-2 losing to their rivals from the southern city of Kaohsiung, Taipower, on the opening day.

Tatung have won the championship in all three seasons of the Taiwan Football Premier League, which runs from April to October, with Taipower runners-up each year.

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Mikey Holding kicks out the stumps after another appeal was turned down on the 1980 tour to New Zealand.

What West Indies Cricket means to West Indians

The four-pronged pace attack is born After the 5-1 loss to Australia, Lloyd was ready to fight fire with fire and introduced a four-prong pace attack which soon became the feared weapon that the Windies used to dominate world cricket on all types of pitches.

Andy Roberts, Bernard Julien, Vanburn Holder and Wayne Daniel comprised the pace quartet with a young Michael Holding waiting in the wings for the 1976 tour to England.

Smarting from their Australia defeat, West Indies were keen to do well. Before the series began England Captain, South African born Tony Greg said he would make the West Indies grovel.

The word grovel means ‘to crawl on the ground, especially in a show of fear or humility’ and reminded West Indians of the days of slavery when the slaves groveled at the feet of white plantation owners who beat them to work. Greg’s comment ignited the passion to prove that West Indian people no longer suffered from inferiority complex when they came up against their old masters.

England were soundly beaten 3-nill as the specialist spinners, Albert Padmore and Rafik Jumadeen were just given one match each as Lloyd relied on pace, his new weapon of destruction.

Holding’s 8-92 and 6-57 on a placid Oval track was a magnificent performance and to this day remains the

best match figures in a test by a West Indian. Roberts was also devastating on that English tour, while Richards emphasized his class with 829 runs in four tests including double centuries at TrentBridge and the Oval.

Greenidge was also in sublime form scoring two of his three hundreds on a difficult track at Old Trafford.

In the end it was Greig and his English team who had to ‘grovel’ as West Indies won the last three tests in emphatic fashion.

Richards was simply magnificent and finished the year 1976 with 1,710 runs from 11 matches.

PACKER SERIES MARRED 50TH YEAR OF WI CRICKET It was 1978 and the 50th year of West Indies cricket.

Everyone was anticipating the visit of Bobby Simpson’s Australians.

Australia did not select the players who had signed for the World Series Cricket (WSC) but the West Indies Board selected a full strength team claiming that none of the WSC players had refused to play.

Although the express pace of Jeff Thompson was available to the visitors, West Indies won the first two tests with Alvin Kallicharran getting a hundred in the first test and Desmond Haynes, who made his debut in this series to replace Fredricks who had retired, getting halfcenturies in his first three

Roberts, Holding, Croft & Garner were West Indies’ weapons of destruction.

innings.Haynes, who had also signed for the Kerry P a c k e r Wo r l d s e r i e s organized by the Australian millionaire, was dropped by the West Indies Board for the third test in Guyana.

Lloyd resigned the captaincy in protest and the rest of the Packer contracted players decided not to play in solidarity for their skipper.

Kallicharran took over as skipper.

Larry Gomes, a reliable left-hander from Trinidad, got his chance to enter test cricket, and the West Indies, although weakened, won the fourth test to win the series 3-1.

Kallicharran, who had initially signed with Paker but subsequently changed his mind, was given the captaincy as West Indies toured India in 1979 and without the Packer players, lost the six-test series 1-nil.

A different, but in many ways similar situation, a quarter of a century later, s a w K a l l i c h a r r a n ’s countryman Chanderpaul accept leadership of a depleted team to Sri Lanka when Lara and almost the entire team had refused to tour unless their contractual dispute with the Board was sorted out.

Barbadian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall made his debut on the India tour, while Faoud Bacchus made 250 in the final test before being out hit wicket.

Bacchus, a highly flamboyant but inconsistent right-hander who just managed one century in his 19 tests, fell just six runs short of fellow Guyanese Kanhai’s 256, which is still the highest score by a West Indian against India.

PACKER PLAYERS REINSTATED; The 1979 World Cup was just around the corner and the West Indies were the defending champions.

Winning was important.

The Paker players were reinstated; Lloyd was back at the helm and West Indies retained the World Cup. They then went to Australia where they beat the home team 2-0. This was the series which saw the pace quartet of Roberts, Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner being formed.

West Indies toured New

Zealand in 1980 and suffered from some very poor umpiring to lose the three test series 1-nil despite two hundreds from the solid Haynes.

Tempers flared on that tour as Croft ran into umpire Fred Gooddall and Holding kicked out the stumps in frustration.

After tea on the third day of the second test West Indies refused to take the field if Goodall was not removed. They were persuaded to carry on and it took intense negotiations between the country’s cricket boards to prevent a premature end to the series.

Croft, who maintained that he accidentally ran into Goodall, later said that he did not feel the umpires were cheating for the home team but were just not good enough to be standing in matches at that level. It was also rumored that the umpires lamented that the West Indian bowlers were

bowling too quickly for them to properly analyze edges to the keeper.

This was to be the last series defeat for the West Indies in 15 years as they

proved almost invincible with aggressive batting, hostile fast bowling, brilliant fielding and great team spirit and commitment. (Sean Devers)

Viv Richards ‘the Master Blaster’ destroyed the World’s top bowlers at will.

Zenit use drone to deliver award during lockdown Brazilian Malcom (Reuters) - Social distancing may have thanks his fans for stopped players and club officials from his Player of the meeting in person but Zenit St Petersburg had Month award a novel idea when they delivered their Player which was of the Month award using a drone. delivered using Brazilian Malcom won nearly 30% of the a drone in fan vote to pick up the award for March after this video grab.

Zenit build a nine-point lead at the top of the Russian Premier League standings before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Russia is in lockdown until April 30 while the league is suspended until May 31, but the club managed to deliver the trophy without the former Barcelona winger having to step out of his apartment.

“I’ve just received a message that I need to open a window,” Malcom said in a video he recorded while a drone hovered outside his apartment.

The drone then swooped in through the window, sending a frightened cat scurrying away, before landing on the floor for Malcom to pick up his trophy. infected by the novel coronavirus globally Malcom thanked the fans and ended the and more than 100,000 have died. Russia has video saying: “Stay at home, it’s important.” over 13,500 confirmed cases and 106 deaths.

More than 1.6 million people have been

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Tuesday April 14, 2020

Kaieteur News

Cycling faces economic ‘meltdown’ if Tour de France cancelled Paris (AFP) - The Tour de France is not only a French monument, but also the economic heartbeat of professional cycling itself and analysts fear heavy consequences if the coronavirus crisis forces its cancellation.

An announcement is expected this week on either a postponement or an outright cancellation of the 21-day extravaganza that is currently scheduled to start in Nice on June 27.

The “Grande Boucle”, as the Tour is known in France, is the central economic pillar which supports the 22 professional teams on the roster for 2020.

“Cancellation opens the door to a possible economic meltdown in the cycling sector,” says Jean-Francois Mignot of the French National Centre for Scientific Research., who has written the book “A History of the

Tour de France”.

Maintaining the original dates looks unlikely with France under lockdown since March 17. More than 14,000 people have died from coronavirus in France.

Usually, up to 12 million fans line the roads as the Tour makes its way through the French countryside and towns and cities for three weeks every summer.

“It’s as simple as this. If the Tour does not take place, teams could disappear, riders and staff alike would find themselves unemployed,” said Marc Madiot, the chief of top French outfit Groupama-FDJ. His team budget is estimated at 20 million euros ($21.8 million) per year and is bankrolled by the state lottery and an insurance company.

- Tour rolls on advertising revenue Tour de France organisers

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) paid 2.3 million euros in total prize money on the 2019 edition, won by Ineos’ Colombian rider Egan Bernal who picked up a cheque for 500,000 euros.

The Tour rakes in revenue but the giant cost of staging the event, featuring logistics that are as spectacular as any mountainside showdown on two wheels, eat into the margins of all road races.

Sponsors are paying hard cash for the daily hours-long television coverage and even the smallest teams can get involved in a breakaway and hence command screen time.

There are ceremonies every day on the Tour de France for all kinds of prizes — sprinting, climbing, attacking, young riders — where sponsors’ names are prominent.

“Most sponsors are in cycling for this reason alone, the whole thing is centred

Bravo keeping fit during COVID-19 Indies shutdown West batsman

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A decision to invest in cricket nets at his home has paid dividends for West Indies marquee lefthander, Darren Bravo, especially with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic having halted competitive cricket in the Caribbean.

The 31-year-old, who recently returned to the West Indies side for the one-day tour of Sri Lanka, said he had been able to stay fit during the break so as to be ready for whenever domestic or international cricket resumed.

“A couple months ago I decided to build my own cricket nets at my home. I invested in a bowling machine and stuff like that,” Bravo said.

“So I’ve been training.

My brother (Dwayne Bravo) comes across from time to time and we do some physical training as well but more so I tend to spend a lot of time in the nets with the bowling machine …

“So things have been working out. I’m just trying to stay as fit as possible and trying to improve on my skills as much as possible. Hopefully we can be back out pretty soon.”

Cricket West Indies has put a pause on its domestic itinerary because of the outbreak and maybe forced to cancel some international series if the pandemic continues to impact the region.

Bravo remains one of

Darren Bravo.

The Champs-Elysees, seen here deserted during the lockdown, marks the finish point of the Tour de France (AFP Photo/Joel Saget) around the Tour de France,” Mignot claimed.

“If these sponsors invest money it is because television viewers recognise the team jerseys, it is the only cycling race watched by such a vast audience.”

“There are very few other sports with so much riding on one event,” explains Bruno Bianzina, the general manager of the agency Sport Market.

Mignot estimated that ASO’s Tour revenue has climbed from five million euros in the mid-80s to 50 million today.

Another group, Sporsora, put the turnover for the 2019 Tour de France at 130 million euros.

Some 40-50 percent comes from sponsors, television rights make up around half, and host regions of the race also contribute around five percent.

This would make up more than half the turnover ASO declared in 2018, which according to Infogreffe.fr was 233.5 million euros.

ASO did not reply to questions from AFP. - ‘Props up cycling’ -

“The Tour de France props up the whole of cycling, but the Tour needs the rest of the cycling calendar too,” says Madiot, a two-time winner of the Paris-Roubaix one-day race.

Even the smallest sponsor pays 250,000 euros to ASO while it is estimated that the yellow jersey sponsor, the LCL bank, pay 10 million euros.

“But it goes much deeper than that because the Tour de France is also a huge advert for France and French tourism,” Bianzina says.

ITTF chief mulls scrapping individual world championships West Indies’ most experienced batsman with 54 Tests and 113 One-Day Internationals under his belt.

However, he was dropped last October for tours of Afghanistan and India following a poor run of form, resulting from a protracted layoff owing to a public spat with former Cricket West Indies president, Dave Cameron.

He scored heavily in both the recent Super50 Cup and the first class championship and though he never got going in the three-match series against the Sri Lankans, an 88-ball hundred in a warm-up against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI was enough to convince many of his return to form.

“I had the opportunity to go back and play in the Super50 and I think I did well,”

Bravo said.

“I think the opportunity to come back play more cricket and spend more time out in the middle, that did a lot for me and gave me a lot of confidence to move forward.”

He added: “[There were] not ideal performances [in Sri Lanka] but I think the camaraderie and the way we went about playing Sri Lanka, I think [captain] Kieron Pollard and [coach] Phil Simmons are doing a fantastic job.

“All in all, the team is coming along nicely. Obviously the people in the team is our strong point but having said that, the team is gelling nicely and I’m sure in the not too distant future as long as we continue playing as a team and keep believing in ourselves, things can change for us.”

SYDNEY (Reuters) - International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) chief Steve Dainton has suggested the sport’s annual individual world championships be scrapped, with champions instead decided by the winners of the new “Grand Smash” mega tournaments.

The world championships were held for the first time in 1926 and individual titles have been decided every year since the team events were hived off into a separate tournament in 2003.

In a wide-ranging open letter, largely addressing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport, Dainton suggested keeping the team championships and Olympic tournaments as they were but doing away with the individuals.

“The idea is simply that ... we plan to eventually have three to four ‘Grand Smashes’ per year,” he wrote.

“These events will be equal to or larger than a world individual championships (so) we would be overstretching and confusing the calendar and market if we also have a world individual championships.

“The three to four major events held on the international stage throughout each year will reach a larger audience and will perform much better than once every two years.“From these events, we would also be able to define an individual world champion.”

The “Grand Smash” tournaments, with top class fields playing for purses of up to $3 million at dedicated venues, are part of the World Table Tennis initiative to make the sport more commercially successful.

Dainton said the pause to sport caused by the coronavirus crisis was an opportunity to “reflect and work

on all the areas that we know have been underperforming, needed to change and adapt but were not tackled because priorities lay elsewhere”.

Table tennis, as with all professional sports, has taken a big hit financially from the COVID-19 shutdown and despite ITTF staff agreeing to salary cuts Dainton said more savings would be needed to keep the sport going.

“Despite some tough sacrifices needed, we will ensure that the ITTF survives this difficult period,” he added.

The Australian said that with the Tokyo Olympics now moved back to 2021 and the postponement of a raft of tournaments, it would probably be a couple of years before everything on the table tennis circuit settled down again.

“At this stage, we expect that only by 2022 will we see some normality return to our calendars,” he wrote.

Bravo keeping S fit during COVID-19 shutdown

Cycling faces economic ‘meltdown’ if Tour de France cancelled

port

Darren Bravo shapes to sweep © AFP

Egan Bernal won 500,000 euros for his 2019 Tour de France triumph (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)

Pele FC Alumni Corp. cancels 2020 Youth Development Seminar Re-doubling of efforts for Pele FC 50th Anniversary in 2021

Showing off their backpacks, participatory certificates and $3000 gift vouchers in the presence of Pele Alumni Directors..

Ms. Dawn Braithwaite, Director of Training at Camex Restaurants during her presentation on Non-Violent Communication and Transition to Adult Life, at the 2019 programme.

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