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K

AIETEUR Coalition hiresp. Thursday Edition US PR firm to 15 NEWS “change narrative” being peddled by PPP April 16, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 15

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Int'l sanctions could lead to Deodat economic decay, death of Indar businesses in six months warns p.

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$17.8M river ambulance to boost Cuba healthcare delivery in Region 10 develops p.

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p.

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vaccine to combat COVID-19 Prison escapee recaptured after attempting to rob man p.

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Tiger bay man GECOM conducts p. allegedly 10 field visit at 12p. kidnapped by recount venue ex-cop, others …To decide on number of - Ed. Ministry to continue offering p. lessons via internet, radio and TV 15 over stolen goods counting stations today

Public schools to remain closed for indefinite period

OAS wants GECOM to bar “partisan” - says 156 day duration officials from recount ‘unacceptable’ p. 8

- US wants process completed ASAP

Kaieteur News

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Thursday April 16, 2020

Duo remanded for Republic Gardens home invasion - one charged for receiving stolen item

By Renay Sambach

T

wo men accused in the Republic Gardens brazen home invasion were yesterday remanded to prison by Magistrate Sunil Scarce. The brother of one of the defendants was granted $75,000, bail for allegedly receiving a stolen gold chain which was among the booty taken during the invasion.

The three men made their appearance in the D i a m o n d / G r o v e Magistrate's Court.

Twenty-five-year-old Godfrey Lynch called “Follower” of 54 Fifth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown and Anthony Johnson called “Big life”, 20, of 89 Second Street, Agricola, were jointly charged for two counts of armed robbery.

Unrepresented, Lynch and Johnson denied the charges which stated that on April 9, 2020, at 335 Republic Gardens, East Bank Demerara, while in the

The bandits during the home invasion Remanded: Godfrey Lynch company of others and armed with guns, they robbed Ryan Rajmangal and Nicholas Prince.

While Gregory Boyce, 35, of 86 D'Urban and Smyth, Streets, Werk-enRust, Georgetown, the brother of Lynch, was charged for receiving stolen items. Boyce was granted bail by Magistrate Scarce after he denied the charge

which stated that between April 9, 2020 and April 12, 2020, he received a gold chain which is said to be stolen or unlawfully obtained.

Both matters were adjourned to May 15, 2020.

A c c o r d i n g t o information, on the day in question, around 07:58am, Rajmangal was at home with his four children ages five to

11 years old, along with a woman, when four men, two of whom were armed with handguns, held him at gunpoint. The man was about to head to work when the men entered the home and rounded up the children.

They then tied up Rajmangal and the woman, who were in the kitchen, and searched the house for valuables and cash. During the 40-minute ordeal,

Nicholas Prince, a relative of Rajmangal, arrived to investigate since the wife of Rajmangal informed him that some strange men were in the home.

The wife, who was not in the house at the time, was able to see this by way of a hidden camera which was connected to her phone by way of an app.

Upon hearing Prince outside, the men quickly

grabbed up some other items before making good their escape. On their way out, they robbed Prince of his cell phone and jewellery.

The matter was reported and an investigation was launched.

Acting on information, police ranks went to a location where they apprehended and charged the men after some of the stolen items were recovered.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 03

Int'l sanctions could lead to economic decay, death of businesses in six months - Deodat Indar warns I

f the Guyana E l e c t i o n s Commission (GECOM) fails to ensure the results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections are credible then the sanctions that would follow from international counterparts would be devastating to Guyana's economy. This is according to former head of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar.

In his most recent analysis on this issue, Indar examined the economic implications that would ensue should Guyana find itself under undemocratic rule. Indar noted that the sanctions would take a variety of forms.

Expounding in this regard, Indar said that sanctions could be placed on the President and his entire Cabinet, their families, and in some cases, close associates. He said, too, that sanctions would befall the staff of the Guyana Elections

Commission, all political appointees and their families, members of the Guyana Police Force directly involved and complicit in enforcing the installation of an illegal government, members of the army who were involved, members of the Judiciary who were also complicit, and all other politically affiliated persons contributing to or enabling the establishment of an illegal government.

Along with the foregoing, Indar was keen to note that Guyana, under an illegal government, will become a pariah state, subject as a country to expulsion from the international and regional community.

Indar said that such exclusion would see Guyana being excluded from accessing finance from international funding agencies such as the World

Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) and other international banks.

The businessman continued, “Needless to say that this would drastically retard national development and severely damage the way of life of the Guyanese people.”

In addition to this, Indar said that sanctions would further manifest itself with global banks being issued instructions from the US Treasury Department's enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), to bar financial transactions from being routed through the USA. He said that other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union member states would put similar arrangements in place to bar wire transfers

Former GCCI Head, Deodat Indar from being routed through their registered banks and jurisdiction(s) which they control.

Indar also said that the isolation of Guyana would essentially result in a suffocation of businesses. In this regard, he said that payments for imports would not be able to be completed, thereby starving Guyana of essential materials for plant and machinery, branded

goods, parts for manufacturers and retailers, and all other forms of imported goods.

The former GCCI President said, too, that the trading of Guyana's gold on the world market can be frozen while noting that remittances from countries such as US, Canada, UK and EU are expected to be prohibited.

Faced with these sanctions and international isolation, Indar also cautioned that Guyana could be forced to use up the little reserves left at the Central Bank, which is approximately 2.5 months of import cover based on the reserve level. Thereafter, Indar said that Guyana will find itself bereft of the kind of resource levels needed to sustain businesses and their operations.

Indar said, “Businesses in Guyana may be expected to die out within six months to one year. When this kind of shortage of goods and currency are imposed on an

economy, it results in unmanageable inflation escalating further and deeper into hyperinflation, driving the poor to the brink of mass starvation.”

He added, “The chain reaction then pushes mass migration out of Guyana, thereby weakening local demand and resulting in the ultimate destruction of the entire fabric of the Guyanese society...”

For many Guyanese who have savings and property, Indar was keen to point out that savings in Guyanese dollars will evaporate in its value as well as purchasing power due to the inflationary effects as seen in Venezuela and Zimbabwe. He said too that property value will sink as a result, as no new investment would be viable.

Taking the foregoing into consideration, among other factors, the former GCCI President said it is quite clear that there is no scenario where a positive can come about from undemocratic rule.

Prison visits suspended; inmates to video chat with family members - Cathy Hughes defends donation of iPads

P

rison authorities say that they are putting measures in place to allow inmates to video chat with relatives following the donation of more than two dozen tablets.

According to a statement issued yesterday, visits to Guyana's prisons have been

replaced with video calls amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the statement, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, disclosed that this measure would be implemented following a donation of 30 electronic tablets by the Ministry of

Public Telecommunications.

Samuels noted that visits were suspended at all prisons throughout the country to protect the staff and inmates from the spread of COVID19.

The tablets will allow prisoners to contact family members via video

Minister Cathy Hughes during the handing over ceremony with Prisons' head, Gladwin Samuels

conferencing using the free government Wi-Fi that is already in place at the penitentiaries.

“The calls will be made via the Google Hangout application through the means of a cellular phone, iPad, tablet or computer with a camera and a microphone powered by an internet connection,” Samuels stated.

Only family members and attorneys-at-law

representing inmates will be allowed to utilise this service.

They will be required to send a request by email to the location where the prisoner is housed.

This would then be processed by an officer assigned to oversee the calls.

Requests can be made to the following prisons: Lusignan Prison – lusignanprison01@gmail.co

m; Georgetown Prison 1 – georgetownprison01@gmai l.com; Georgetown Prison 2 (Holding Bay) – georgetownprison02@gmai l.com; New Amsterdam Prison (Male) – newamsterdamprison01@g mail.com; New Amsterdam Prison (Female) – newamsterdamprison02@g mail.com; Mazaruni Prison (continued on page 9)

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Thursday April 16, 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

Virus should be ‘no-politics’ zone We agree wholeheartedly: the virus should be a ‘nopolitics’ zone. This was said by New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo, while still delivering a sharp jab to his fellow New Yorker, now president of the United States. There is much blame to pass around in the political arena, especially when leaders still put politics above everything else. This, too, has been the worrying reality in Guyana.

In the US, the politization of the virus moved the man in the White House to cut funding to the World Health Organization. At this most crucial time, this most vulnerable of times, the US leader saw it fit to withhold some part of the 22% of contributions that flow from various American governmental agencies. According to a Wall Street Journal article dated April 14 and captioned, “US to cut funding to World Health Organization over coronavirus response.”

This is the cover sheltered under “while it investigates WHO’s response to the pandemic.” And this from a president whose own response to the damaging virus has its share of glaring failures.

We are at a loss as to what has to be investigated and rises to the level of urgency that it must be done now and cuts off vital funding. The Journal was frank enough to speak of discontent with giving aid money to international organizations that need to hire more Americans. It is an ancient contention with no better or more strident a flagbearer than the incumbent president to lead the charge.

What is not so old is deep US concern over China’s growing influence on the world stage and how to rein in that competing juggernaut.

World leaders have quickly contributed to a growing chorus of voices disagreeing diplomatically, on the one hand, or denouncing sharply, on the other, the action announced by the American Chief Executive. From the United Nations Secretary General “it is my belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against the COVID-19.” The UN head is unshakable, as we are, in recognizing the work of the WHO, the need for a united front behind it, and for what is unhelping and undermining to be left alone. (New York Times, April 15). A NATO partner and Western ally through the sharply critical words of Herr Heiko Mass, the German Foreign Minister, registered the same point: “It doesn’t help to blame” he wrote on Twitter. “The virus knows borders.” And the Chinese weighed in through a Foreign Ministry spokesperson to urge “the US to fulfill its obligations to the W.H.O at a critical time.”

No one, not even leaders bent on having their way and intent on recording the last word and the last licks, should be so irresponsible, so lacking in understanding, as to what it is that the world is up against, and for which it has no confirmed or persuasive medical answer. Guyanese leaders should listen.

There is not much on which to grasp, but there must be mandatory dedication to coalesce energies to fight the best fight possible against an invisible and lethal enemy. To do otherwise, such as cutting off funding in the middle of the battle, is to put blinkers on and go down the wrong road, a sabotaging road.

From all indications, the necessary learnings are occurring on the run, through looking over what has been experienced and making informed and timely judgments on where matters stand and how to proceed forward. Money is needed, strength and spirit are called for, and one voice and one combined vision forward is the only way. And this is while there are newer understandings that the virus could either remain or return, after it is declared beaten.

Nothing has been conquered in Guyana. We don’t know the full story of where we stand regarding the virus, with any story sure to be savaging. And yet, this is the time that we maintain political divisions: we are of two heads, going in different directions. The worst thing that happen to us is welcomed as what is best, given electoral circumstances.

No leader should need any exhortation that the virus must be a ‘no-politics’ zone.

The possible economic impact of sanctions on Guyana DEAR EDITOR, Further to a Joint Statement by the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and The European Union on Guyana’s failure to deliver a credible General and Regional Elections result and the country’s probable isolation, there are a variety of sanctions we can anticipate.

Here is a summary of possible economic impact on the country: Sanctions can come in the form of travel restriction and asset freeze of persons in power, especially constitutional office holders, police, army officials, politicians and other citizens guilty of criminal behaviour and the violation of human rights such as electoral fraud etc.

In Guyana’s case, the region four tabulation, verification and declaration process was ruled illegal by the Chief Justice on 11 March, 2020. The second declaration was also widely rejected, as it did not follow the rules set out in law and the CJ’s ruling.

All of the International Observers and Political Parties, except the governing party, pronounced that the process lacked transparency and was not credible.

If American sanctions target persons first, which is usually the case, the sanction is designed to effect a change in behaviour in the persons concerned to do the right thing and exercise the legal options available to them.

If the Coalition and GECOM fail to deliver a legitimate elections result, then personal sanctions are likely to follow. In the event that a swearing in occurs of an illegal President using the fraudulent declaration of Region Four, and a government is undemocratically installed against the will of the people, the following is likely to occur: 1. Sanctions will be placed on the President and his entire Cabinet, their families, and in some cases close associates.

2. Sanctions on members of the staff of the Guyana Elections Commission who were fraudulently involved in elections rigging and malpractice.

3. All political appointees

and their families 4. Members of the Guyana Police Force directly involved and complicit in enforcing the installation of an illegal government 5. Members of the Army similarly involved in enforcing the installation of an illegal government.

6. Members of the Judiciary if illegal power is facilitated using the judiciary as a means.

7. All other politically affiliated persons contributing to or enabling the establishment of an illegal government.

While personal sanctions are imposed, Guyana under an illegal government, will become a pariah state, subject as a country to, but not limited to, expulsion from the international and regional community.

Such exclusion would lockout Guyana from accessing finance from international funding agencies such as the World Bank, IMF, CDB and IADB and other international banks. Needless to say, that this would drastically retard development and severely damage, with all of its social ramifications, the way of life

of the Guyanese people.

Sanctions will further manifest themselves by global banks being issued instructions from the US Treasury Department’s enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) to bar financial transactions from being routed thru the USA. Other countries, such as CANADA, UK and the EU member states, will put similar arrangements in place to bar wire transfers of funds from being routed through their registered banks and jurisdiction (s) which they control.

The isolation of Guyana will result in a suffocation of business to their death.

Payments for imports will not be able to be completed, thereby starving Guyana of essential materials for plant and machinery, branded goods, parts for manufacturers and retailers, trucks, cars, clothing and all other forms of imported goods we use and consume as citizens.

The trading of Guyana’s gold on the world market can be frozen and remittances from countries such as US, (Continued on page 6)

Coronavirus deaths and sagging oil revenues DEAR EDITOR, As I reported (KN April 14), the number of Coronavirus cases among Guyanese in the US was underreported. More and more deaths have been reported in Guyanese communities all over the US, in some cases multiple members of families, especially among the older folks.

New York City Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday confirmed that there were an additional 3,800 deaths that occurred at people’s homes and nursing shelters that initially were not classified as Coronavirus-related. But now, they would be included in the count of Coronavirus deaths.

Still, actual positive cases and reported deaths from Coronavirus are undercounted throughout America. The homeless and so many others who passed away have not been tested.

There aren’t enough kits to test everyone who showed flu-like symptoms and/or who died. Health authorities do not wish to use precious, scarce kits to verify if people died from Coronavirus; pneumonia or flu is enough for cause of death on certificates.

America’s health and nursing or senior centres have been overwhelmed with the disease; they are understaffed. They cannot cope with the numbers of

cases. Nursing and senior centres are not equipped to do testing or to treat people with ventilators. Thus, many quickly die.

The death rate at senior centres in America has been staggering – running at almost 50% in the greater New York area, according to media reports. Health authorities are trying to move seniors away from their shelters to safer places, but space is a serious challenge for the governments. Even funeral homes are overwhelmed, rejecting countless requests for funerals. Guyanese families (including Muslims that require immediate burials) are known to wait up to two weeks before loved ones are buried or cremated; rites are short and attendance severely restricted.

As more testing is being done, the number of positive cases keeps rising rapidly.

The death rate is also likely to peak, because there is no confirmed cure for the disease. People (including my family members) are experimenting with antibiotics, flu pills, and home-made cures; traditional home-made medicine (from fever grass, citrus peel, black pepper, etc.) seems to have a positive effect.

It would not be surprising if the actual number of Coronavirus cases in Guyana may also be underreported.

Because there has not been enforcement of strict social distancing and not enough kits to test those showing symptoms of the virus, the actual number of reported cases in Guyana could be substantially higher.

Guyana lacks the capacity to test for Coronavirus. And a month after, a request for a soft loan of US$5M from the World Bank has been ignored – probably because of the fraudulent election count.

The Coronavirus is severely impacting on oil revenues for Guyana. As Darshanand Khusial (Apr 14) explained, since the spot price for oil is hovering around $20 a barrel, Guyana will only get around $20M for its March lift of one million barrels, which is around a third of what it received for its January lift of 1 million barrels.

KN reports that China will snap up the oil for less than $10 a barrel. This means the actual revenues for March would be even much smaller than is projected. Major world economies that consume a lot of oil are now projected to open later in the year rather than in a month or two.

Oil prices will not increase substantially for another two years when demand increases to rebuild shattered economies. By then, alternative energy sources will kick in – India and China, two of the largest consumers,

are moving to solar, wind, coal, thermal, and atomic sources of power. Europe is also moving away from hydrocarbons.

Oil prices are not expected to climb significantly over the next few months. The prices are stalled around $20, even with efforts by OPEC and Russia and US to prop up the prices through cuts in production. Based on new projects of $20 a barrel, Guyana may not get US$200M from sale of its share of oil, and from 2% royalties and 12.5% profit sharing for years to come.

There is not likely to be any significant profit, since oil is selling below costs, and Guyana will have to pay for the difference in production costs and revenues collected for the sale of oil. Thus, there is nothing much to collect from profit. And the 2% royalty is given to government after all costs have been deducted; not much to collect from royalty either.

The terms of the agreement of the oil contracts on royalties and profit sharing, as well as on selling Guyana’s portion of the oil, expose how terrible a deal the government signed and the lack of negotiating skills in securing guaranteed prices (long-term contracts) for its share of oil.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

Wrong call, wrong time, wrong people DEAR EDITOR, I have been part of a school of thinking that believes only some form of different governance model will lift us out of the political and racial prisons in which we exist. But, as I observe what has long settled, and is now reinforced, by visions, passions, and events in the local environment, I am forced to recognize that there is only the coldest of receptions for such a position. For it is the wrong call to the wrong people at the wrong time at the worst of times.

When a different form of governance is called for at any time, it is always the worst time for such a thought or position, be such elections times or any other times.

I will take the easy and obvious objections to such an outlook first. A unity government of any sort is counter to fairness, and calls for such only surface when the PPP is in power, or believed to be poised to

assume power. There is history and merit in such an assertion, which comes from PPP circles, and not many other places. Thus, there is flat out rejection based on what would be violative of accepted norms relative to standing electoral and democratic processes here.

Again, I submit that a broad-based national front government arrangement is more of where any sensible mind should lead. But the heart resists. The PPP may have the numbers and economics on its side, but it lacks the supporting bolstering architecture from the ground up. That is known.

For its part, the coalition (the PNC portion, perhaps all of it), once it is within the proximity of power, listens to none but itself; it hurtles down the road that distances it and damns it before the still most sizable segment of the population.

Unlike the PPP, and

though missing the powerful component of the economic plank, the PNC persists with its confidence in the robustness of its significant presence on the ground and across other vital and sensitive sectors. And these are the irreconcilable differences and yawning gaps that both sides claim that they (and they alone) can fix. They couldn’t before; they definitely can’t now.

Both are unmoving in the vision that it alone should rule. And I again want to share what is known: that this society is not polarized around a ratio of 90:10; or 70:30; or even 65:35, which may be managed or overwhelmed with time.

Rather, it is the near dead heat and clinch of almost even weight in numbers, with those on the periphery sucked into the vortex and grinder of unmoving racial competition and confrontation.

It is too close for anyone to believe - PPP or PNC - that

they alone can make governance work and succeed, that they alone should govern. For that is what distils to pure racial governance and dominance; nothing more, nothing less.

Like never before, this is not going to work today. But with this we insist on proceeding, while pretending that this is the solution, the only remedy.

It is alright for everybody to make fools of themselves, but don’t try to make a worse fool of me.

It is why I say that, regardless of the outcome of process and count, what would result - for one side or the other - leaves this country and its segregated peoples in the most unconstructive, most hostile place. This was before oil; now it is immeasurably worse, as matters have progressed beyond the embers. It is burning, flaring racial hatreds crackling in Guyana today. But there is no listening, no accepting.

Not even now, when we know

more than ever that what we have for governance is killing us: mostly psychologically and practically, sometimes literally, too.

As proof, attempt to take the middle ground in this country and both sides swollen with racist bigots take aim; on this there is unity. I shake my head at the wastes of intellect and energies by the Indianists and Africanists here, who believe they hold winning cards. They hold the whirlwind; they have nothing but the decimating.

For those daring to take a contrarian view, there is demonizing by men who smell power, and like snarling beasts will attack any who venture to come near their food, their imagined waiting riches. At bottom: Indian must only be for the Indian position and black only for the black one; dangle something else and there is crushing.

I put all these together and my parsing confirms one thing only: nobody wants to hear of any unity government

arrangement in any shape or form. It is rejected out of hand by leaders, diehard supporters, and fevered voters. There is neither traction nor reception. It is dead in the water. That is, unless forced upon us by those same people, who have always influenced every election in this country, going all the way back to the 1960s.

I believe that the Americans are working mightily via quiet diplomacy: the big stick of State coupled with softer speaking from the plenipotentiary and company.

There is the key and they will force the cure, bitter for certainty, temporary by way of practicality.

Though vilification will come, this must be about country and not party. So I stand. To those loyalists and racial fanatics drooling for the drinking at the trough, I urge rethinking: accept half a loaf.

Better that than nothing but the ashes of the pyrrhic.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

DEAR EDITOR, Further to my letter of April 12, 2020 in which a call was made for the Chairperson of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to adopt the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’s final report for the March 2, 2020 declared election results, permit me to posit some added reasons.

A few days after the General Elections (GE), the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Republican Party (PRP) made a startling confession. Rev. Pastor Phyllis Jordan confessed before the Guyanese nation that a leading political party had furnished the PRP with a spreadsheet of the GE results that conflicted with those of original Statements of Poll (SOPs) from her party’s agents. It is widely suspected that the PRP was supplied with those conflicting totals from the PPP, since the APNU/AFC denied doing so.

Madam Jordan’s confession was a timely revelation that exposed the PPP’s crude account of results, which varied from those that supported GECOM’s official declarations obtained from original SOPs. If intelligence received after the close of polls on March 2, 2020 are anything to go by, spreadsheet results similar to those given to the PRP were also supplied to the plethora of other small parties that contested ‘in only some

regions’ of the GE, and persons associated with leading foreign Heads of Mission stationed in Guyana.

There have been numerous complaints, allegations and reports that the PPP and their surrogates have systematically reproduced conflicting SOPs and summary of total votes, in their attempt to create doubt, confusion, and besmirch the official SOPs and final declarations for each administrative region by GECOM. It is therefore not surprising that the unified attack against GECOM flowed from all those who were provided with unofficial results from PPP-

manufactured spreadsheets.

GECOM is the only authorized body that can declare election results.

GECOM needs to be wary of the much-embraced postdeclaration recounting of votes, which although made in good faith and not expected to change the winner, has already seen signs of reneging by the main opposition from what was originally agreed upon.

GECOM should seek to untangle itself from a wellorchestrated ploy by the PPP, as it constantly keeps shifting the goalposts, thereby creating deeper constitutional confusion.

Apart from the APNU/ AFC, the PPP was the only

other significant contestant of the March 2 General and Regional elections; elections that were duly won by the APNU/AFC coalition based on declared results.

The insinuation that international sanctions may be forthcoming against individuals, and the Guyanese nation as a whole, if GECOM adopts the officially declared results, is a direct usurpation and attempt to destabilize a legitimate government.

GECOM ought not to be coerced nor intimidated by innuendos, but recognize the rights of the majority of Guyanese who evidently voted to re-elect the APNU/ (Continued on page 6)

Unbelievable that my GECOM’s official results and constitutionality mobile account was supersede the opinions of skeptics suspended at this time…

DEAR EDITOR, It is unbelievable that my mobile account with the company that has the monopoly has over eleven hundred dollars, and my account was suspended for failing to recharge the account before the expiry date.

I would have thought at this time when companies are trying to bring some relief to customers, some consideration would have been offered in this regard.

I am disappointed to say the least.

Shamshun Mohamed

A salute to all our nurses DEAR EDITOR, The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated this year, 2020, as the Year of Nurse and Midwife, in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

As the world grapples with the devastating effects of Covid-19, the role of nurses becomes much more recognized and appreciated.

Nurses are the frontline in the fight against Coronavirus, risking their lives - and that of their families - in the process.

Several nurses worldwide have lost their lives in the performance of their professional duties due to Covid-19. Yet they continue to serve undaunted and with amazing loyalty to the Nightingale Pledge, which they took to provide nursing services to patients.

I think our nurses and other healthcare providers should be given a special non-taxable risk allowance for the full duration of the Covid19 outbreak. Our nurses

continue to receive modest salaries - way below the quality of services they provide to the population.

The average salary of a nurse in Guyana is below US$500; it is among the lowest in the CARICOM region. This is why the attrition rate of nurses is so high, especially among the more experienced and skilled professionals. Make no mistake. Our nurses are in high demand in North America and the United Kingdom, and unless something is done to provide higher levels of remuneration and incentives, the exodus of our nurses will continue.

I urge the authorities to substantially increase the salaries and other emoluments of nurses, which should include duty-free concessions for those who have served with distinction over a specified period.

I take this opportunity to salute all our nurses on the occasion of International Year of Nurse and Midwife.

Hydar Ally

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Thursday April 16, 2020

Kaieteur News

Caring more about power than protecting residents from the coronavirus DEAR EDITOR, It is my opinion that as each day passes, the chances of the numbers of COVID-19 cases will continue to get worse and rise in Region 10, if the leaders of aren’t fully committed to the task at hand.

The two cases identified so far in the region were infected in the same vicinity - less than ten miles from where I am living.

Like every Guyanese and everyone in the world, we began to worry about our families, especially our older folks, and their safety in the face of an unknown predator called Coronavirus. Even in the best of times, it’s hard to know how our families are doing wherever they are. Can one imagine what is happening now?

As we start wonder about our own safety, what measures are being taken, particularly by our regional leaders, to safeguard residents from the spread of this virus in the various communities?

We all have a clear understanding of what the CDC recommended to all citizens, to prevent spreading the virus.

However, as far as I know, Region 10 leaders have not outlined a comprehensive Outbreak Prevention Plan that every person in the region can adhere to.

In response to

unprecedented demand and severe disruptions to the global supply chain, the RDC should have already established a supply working group to streamline procurement of critical items such as Examination Gloves, Surgical gloves, Protective goggles, Face Shields, Particulate respirator masks and surgical masks Procurement of these critical items must be centralized, with transactions undertaken by a named group of inter-agency buyers operating at regional level in response to regional demand. The list must be subject to continual review and must be updated accordingly. Requests for supply of the abovementioned items must be consolidated at the Regional level through COVID-19 coordination mechanisms which must involve all local businesses and vendors, Priority for PPE provision must be given to health care workers treating critical and severe COVID-19 patients only, if shortages continue.

Our leaders need to establish comprehensive package of technical guidance online, with advice to all residents on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time. This guidance must be shared with the education department and teachers who are presently

sharing schoolwork to our children daily via parent chat groups. All homes in region 10 will have the same information at all times.

As it is right now, the region is all over the place with regards to COVID-19 information and updates.

Based on experience with SARS and MERS and known modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, infection and prevention control guidance were published to protect health workers recommending droplet and contact precautions when caring for patients, and airborne precautions for aerosolgenerating procedures conducted by health workers.

Every establishment that you visit has different procedures and guidelines as it relates to the Coronavirus. The precaution and prevention measures put in place vary from place to place and store to store.

We must establish consistent practices across the regions.

I am deeply concerned, both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction by persons daily in the streets and stores in region 10. I know we live in a globalized, urbanized and connected world where people and goods are constantly on the move. These movements amplify the threats to our very health from infectious hazards such as the Coronavirus

Greater enforcement of the curfew is needed and/or education DEAR EDITOR, From the inception of its institution, it has been observed the incidence of non-compliance with the curfew order by some members of the populace.

The curfew is effective 18:00h to 06:00h daily. It means at 18:00h residents, except for personnel of essential services, should be off the roadways and streets.

If the need arises for one to be out between the curfew hours, permission and approval should be sought

from the relevant authorities.

Of course emergency situations might attract a different consideration.

Invariably vehicles can be heard and seen traversing the roadways all hours of the night and even before the official end of the curfew period.

The recent fatal hit-andrun accident in the Corentyne area which occurred during the curfew period is a case in point. There was another fatal accident recently where the victim was returning home

from a birthday party also during the curfew period.

Regrettably it does not seem we are fully cognizant of the curfew measures, its meaning and the consequences for violating or not adhering to the terms and conditions of this lawful order.

Greater enforcement is needed and or education.

Maybe the suddenness of the implementation of the curfew might be responsible for this recalcitrant attitude.

Shamshun Mohamed

GECOM’s official results and...

From page 5 AFC government based on the officially declared results. More disastrous may be the outcome should GECOM not do so by allowing itself to be hoodwinked by those who seek to undermine the integrity of that august body and our electoral processes. GECOM must comply with all legal provisions, which are pellucid under the Representation of the People Act. Our laws are unequivocal regarding challenges to declared election results by aggrieved parties – Laws of Guyana, Cap. 1:03 Sec 61 (2)(b) b. There is also precedence by which GECOM may be guided, exemplified by the December 1997 GE election petition. Those laws must be respected and upheld by GECOM, since vitiating already declared results is a premise of illegality and may lead

to a total breakdown of law and order.

While a group of enthusiasts aligned with the PPP clamour for democracy, they should understand it in a universal context, and not mere fantasies of those with personal ambitions and ulterior motives. Our Democracy has permitted multiparty participation in the electoral process, the secrecy of polling, freedom of expression and the right to judicial review, to name a few.

In closing, due recognition is given to the APNU/AFC government for completing an even sixty (60) months in office, from May 11, 2015 to April 11, 2020 notwithstanding numerous hostile attempts to discredit its accomplished tenure.

Yours faithfully, Orette Cutting

We all know that the coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illnesses ranging from common cold to more severe diseases Region 10 residents are every bit as exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic side effects as Guyanese across this country.

Many small businesses, contractors, vendors are forced to close, but are unable to work from home. There are those who operate business at night who are going through unbearable stress.

The APNU+AFC caretaker leadership’s conservatism is undermining not only their response to COVID-19 economic consequences, but also the public health crisis itself, as hospitals, health care facilities and health workers are suffering from the shortage of basic PPE items.

Our health care workers are also left stranded on many occasions to and from work, because our transportation sector is not educated enough on the COVID -19 pandemic. Even though a

regional plan is not established for all to see and follow, our Health Ministry and services have issued advice on how to help keep ourselves and loved ones healthy, including committing to practicing good handwashing techniques and following social distancing rules.

Even in our own homes we must sanitize high touch surfaces such as door handles, knobs, telephones, remote controls, light switches. There are others that have to be done twice daily such as bed rails, washrooms, and toilet flush handles.

As an individual, you can contribute to helping stop the spread of the coronavirus by staying at home if you’re unwell and working from home if you can. Action starts with learning the facts about the virus, and the health measures we can take to keep ourselves safe. We can all better protect ourselves and those around us.

You can test your knowledge on the virus and learn how we can all be safe

and responsible, I encourage all parents to get your children involved and create your own Outbreak Prevention Plan at home Our health as individuals is only as strong as our health care system. Only by investing in more doctors, nurses, hospitals, and health care centres can we reduce the risk of viruses like COVID19 causing harm to all in the future. The risk is particularly high for people living in our low income communities. A lack of strong health care puts more lives at risk.

At this time, I would like to thank some of the local suppliers and vendors who heeded the call of giving back to the communities, by donating valuable PPE equipment to residents We have a life-changing and dreadful virus to deal with, and our caretaker leadership is focused on power rather than the people’s welfare. Let’s stand together and beat this coronavirus.

Sincerely, David Adams

The possible economic impact of...

From page 4 Canada, UK and EU expected to be prohibited.

Faced with these sanctions and international isolation, Guyana will be forced to use up the little reserves we have at the Central Bank, which is approximately 2.5 months of import cover, based on the reserve level at the Bank of Guyana. Thereafter Guyana will find itself bereft of the kind of resource levels to sustain the needs of businesses and their operations. Businesses in Guyana may be expected to die out within six months to one year.

When this kind of shortages of goods and currency are imposed on an economy, it results in unmanageable inflation, escalating further and deeper into hyperinflation, driving the poor to the brink of mass starvation.

The chain reaction then pushes mass migration out of Guyana, thereby weakening local demand and resulting in the ultimate destruction of the entire fabric of the Guyanese society.

A frightening scenario exists where government starts to nationalize private institutions, at this point the decay of the economy starts to accelerate.

This acceleration, in most cases, leads to rationing of goods and services. We saw this in Guyana in the early days of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Other countries, such as

Germany in 1923, experienced a loaf of bread costing 10 billion German marks due to hyperinflation.

American companies, UK, Canadian and European companies may not be allowed to operate here in Guyana. Currently, there are a number of companies from these countries which are presently operating in all aspects of Guyana’s economy, they are present in many economic sectors, this is likely to come to a grinding halt.

When mass poverty and isolation grip the land, social ailments arise in the form of crime, in the villages and communities, towns etc.

History tells us that, at this point the police and army end up controlling the small resources net of the country to feed the state apparatus.

We are seeing this happening in Venezuela.

For many Guyanese who have savings and property, savings in Guyanese dollars will evaporate in its value and purchasing power due to the inflationary effects as seen in Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Property value will sink as a result, as no new investment will be viable. Cost to operate a business and the ease of doing business will end up a nightmare scenario for any sane businessman or investor.

Nevertheless, the national debt has to be repaid, government apparatus and budget agencies will have to provide some services to

citizens, this is expected to be paid for through taxes. Taxes will then strangle businesses, as there will be a sharp reduction in business without the corresponding reduction in costs.

Tourism will be an early casualty, as travellers are not likely to choose countries with a collapsing economy and military dictatorship as a destination for pleasure.

Construction and retail and wholesale business will follow, as demand dries up and spending is halted.

Other sectors of the economy will also dry up fast as the suffocation takes hold.

Other sectors that are offshoots will suffer the same fate, as spending is expected to be halted and nothing new coming from foreign investments.

Further joblessness will follow as businesses windup.

People will take to the streets in desperation, put down by politically directed police and military serving an illegal government. The sum of all of this will be an economically and politically bankrupted Guyana. No one will be spared. There is no future scenario to contemplate where a positive can come about from undemocratic rule.

Deodat Indar Financial Expert Former President Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry Former Vice Chairman Private Sector Commission of Guyana

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 07

EPA slaps Rubis with $1M fine for role in fuel spill at Karouni Mine T

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has slapped Rubis Guyana Inc. with a $1,066,000 fine for its role in a fuel spill that took place at the Karouni which is operated by Troy Resources Guyana Inc. This was confirmed yesterday by EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams.

During an interview with Kaieteur News, Dr. Adams said, “Troy Resources as you know, was fined for $1M for the fuel spill, but in a subsequent report they submitted, they threw some of the blame on Rubis, and showed how they were at fault too. So the law allows us to hold both parties liable.”

The official said too that just recently, he received a report of a slope collapsing at the Troy operations but noted that there was no fatality. Be that as it may, Dr. Adams said he remains terribly concerned about the state of affairs at the operations while noting that he does not get the impression that the Australian company is serious about safety.

“Even though there was no fatality, we are very concerned and will do a detailed inspection of the site as soon as is practical because these things do raise a lot of red flags with us. I am getting the impression that safety is not of the highest priority,” the official said.

In a previous interview, the EPA Head said that the fuel spill at the Karouni Mine was a sheer case of recklessness.

In explaining the chain of events that took place, Dr. Adams said, “It was supposed to be a transfer of fuel into a storage tank. The fuel comes in for them to use and they put it into a tank and when the tank gets full, there is an actuator which shuts off the flow into the tank when it is full but that was not operational and it overflowed.”

The EPA head added, “Then there is a pipe for emergency that leads out of the secondary containment area that they have to

paid advertisement in November last, that it would make every effort to improve its worker's safety practices. The company said too that all employees would be retrained in the basics of safety before returning to the pit.

Considering this, Dr. Adams had said, “So imagine my dismay after hearing that they were not sure when one of the valves went

EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams receive the fuel. That pipe was supposed to have a valve on it but it was missing.”

Dr. Adams had said that based on telephone conversations with company officials, they were not even aware that the valve went missing. Further to this, Dr. Adams had said that there is normally supposed to be an experienced person overseeing such operations. “But there was no one overlooking and it had to be running for hours for 5000 litres to escape. It means nobody was paying attention. These are the things that could cause fires, explosions and even death. So it was a case of sheer recklessness,” the EPA official had said.

Dr. Adams had also expressed concern that Troy Resources' operations was being conducted in this manner when just a few months ago, it was forced to suspend works following the death of its geologist, Ryan Taylor.

When Taylor passed away, Troy Resources told the Guyanese public, via a

Ministry confirms 7 new cases of COVID-19; 5 in ICU

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s of April 15, seven more individuals have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Guyana, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 55. Up to press time, the number of deaths remains six. In an update to the nation yesterday, Chief Medical O f f i c e r ( C M O ) , D r.

Shamdeo Persaud, said that between February 26 and April 15, 250 individuals were evaluated for coronavirus of which 195 came back negative.

In the Ministry's quarantine and isolation facilities, the numbers are 25 and 41, respectively. Five individuals who have developed worsened conditions are now patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud The CMO stated too that of the 55 COVID-19 cases, four are known to have a travel history, while the other 51 persons contracted the virus within Guyana.

The number of confirmed cases in Region Four represents more than 80% of the total cases, the

CMO revealed. He said too that most of those who tested positive are males. In the over 50 age group, males and females are almost equally affected. However, in the 3049 years age group, most of those who tested positive, the majority are males.

The Public Health Ministry's COVID-19 hotline continues to receive calls from concerned citizens, which total 1, 966.

Commenting on this, the CMO said that, “We are extremely happy, and I wish to remind you to use the COVID-19 app, as well as the hotline in your regions to seek information on this disease.”

Globally, according to t h e Wo r l d H e a l t h Organization (WHO), there are 2, 882,372, cases, with 123,010 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, (continued on page 15)

missing.

They said it could have been missing during the time it had shut down operations following Taylor's death.

Now how you can start up and not check to ensure everything is in place? It leaves one to question what else is not there that could cause a higher safety risk.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Thursday April 16, 2020

OAS wants GECOM to bar “partisan” officials - says 156 day duration - US wants process from recount ‘unacceptable’ completed ASAP

By Shikema Dey

The Organization of American States (OAS)

Observer Mission has proposed the Guyana Elections Commission exclude “partisan” elements

from the National Recount of Ballots from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Chief of the (OAS) Observation Mission, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, in a statement yesterday conveyed his concerns that after more than six weeks, “an accurate and credible result” has not been determined to allow a duly elected government to assume office.

Golding relayed that this fact was “especially regrettable” in light of the COVID-19 pandemic “that requires every government to take decisive actions and to be able to command the confidence of its people in order to mobilize them in thwarting the spread of the virus.” The Former Prime Minister opined that the current political crisis is not “intractable.”

“As the Mission had previously noted, the casting and counting of ballots on March 2 was conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner,” the statement highlighted.

What was needed was for the count from each polling station to be accurately tabulated and declared.

H o w e v e r, t h e O A S statement pointed out that “there is an abundance of evidence that this was not done in the case of Region 4 and this has led to the

Head of the OAS Mission, Bruce Golding

Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael G. Kozak

decision for the ballots in all ten regions to be recounted.”

Further, the OAS heavily criticized the proposal made by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM')s Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, where he estimated that the recount would last 156 days.

According to the statement, “the proposal that would have required five months to recount less than 500,000 ballots is unheard of in any democracy and would be unacceptable under any circumstances.”

Noting that GECOM has

ordered that a revised timetable is prepared, the OAS urged the elections body to ensure that the procedures for the recount are “transparent and consistent.”

Further, the OAS has urged that the instructions to election officials conducting the recount are unambiguous and based on the provisions of the relevant laws, and called for the public to be “fully informed of the methodology to be used” for the recount.

Most notably, the OAS (continued on page 16)

Two remanded for murder of Timehri man

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wenty-two-yearold Winston Long, a farmer, and Jeremy Small, 19, a labourer, both of Base Road Timehri, East Bank Demerara, were yesterday remanded to prison for the murder of 24-year-old Lawrence Benjamin.

Long and Small were arraigned before Magistrate Sunil Scarce in the D i a m o n d / G r o v e Magistrate's Court, when the indictable charge was read to them.

The charge stated that on April 5, 2020, at Timehri East Bank Demerara, Winston and Jeremy killed Lawrence Raymond Benjamin of Ice House Road, Timehri.

A c c o r d i n g t o information, on the day in question, Benjamin and the defendants had a misunderstanding.

However, later that day Benjamin was found covered in blood in a sitting

Dead: Lawrence Benjamin position in a chair at a shed in Timehri with stab wounds to his neck.

It was reported that Wi n s t o n a n d J e r e m y allegedly confessed to killing Benjamin.

Benjamin was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

An investigation was launched and the defendants were later arrested and subsequently charged with

Remanded: Winston Long murder.

They are expected to make their next court appearance on May 27, 2020, where they will receive the statements in the matter.

Long was previously charged for armed robbery and even served jail time. On July 24, 2017, he was among 13 prisoners who escaped from the Lusignan Prison.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 09

The APNU+AFC does not believe its own discredited narrative

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he APNU+AFC is wasting its time in pedalling the fake narrative that it won the 2020 General and Regional Elections. Not even its most zealous supporters are of that view. They know that what may be afoot is another barefaced attempt at stealing the elections.

The Coalition, however, may have a different target audience. It may be playing to the gallery of simpletons who usually fall for any fake narrative. If this is the audience to which the new APNU+AFC narrative is directed, one has to question the Coalition's motives and its methods.

The APNU+AFC had little problems with the results in the nine electoral districts which were declared, prior to District Four, but once a problem

emerged with the tabulations of the District Four's results, it asked for a recount in District Five, a request which it subsequently recalled.

Its contention that the results of District Four, as declared by Mingo, are in keeping with past voting trends and consistent with statistical probability, has been debunked. Such a contention has no merit. The Coalition is engaged in speculation rather than credible statistical analysis.

The APNU+AFC has failed to convince itself that it won the elections. It may still, however, be able to sway some simpletons who may be manipulated to cause trouble or to question how the actual recount differs from what the Coalition has been telling them. It is hoped that APNU+AFC is

not setting the stage for this type of mischief.

If the APNU+AFC believes it won the elections, it can do one of three things.

The first is to make public its Statements of Poll (SOPs) for District Four which would show the number of votes it received vis- a-vis the other parties. It has those SOPs but it has refused to make them public.

The second thing which the Coalition can do is to ask the Chief Elections Officer to make public his SOPs for District Four. Every polling agent, at each polling station, is supposed to send a copy of his or her SOP to the Chief Elections Officer. But the APNU+AFC has refrained from making such a call.

The third thing which the APNU+AFC can do is take action to halt the prevarication over the

Dem boys seh...

De Waterfalls bossman want shy he net too

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ne of dem boys lef the Waterfalls paper. No sooner he lef, he call dem other boys and seh how de grass greener on de outside. He seh how he get nuff and better offers.

Dis is de same man who did write wan nice letter to de bossman of de Waterfalls paper. He seh how he getting down in age and is time he lef the profession to de young people. Dem boys nah bin feel he had an axe to grind.

De bossman bin sorry that he lef. Two a dem used to be like batty and poe. Dem had a quarrel one minute and deh drinking rum de next. Dem was like husband and wife, dem odder boys and gyals at de Waterfalls believe. De bossman prepare a special retirement package fuh de

man wah lef. He even been planning a big retirement party fuh de man he call he friend.

But de man now tell dem boys how he nah wan money, how things bright pon de outside. Dis mek dem boys wan shy dem cast net to see if dem too can get some of dem nice offer wah outside.

Even de bossman of de Waterfalls paper seh he and all might shy he net.

De man who seh money is nah a problem sit down with de national toilet paper – the Kranicle. When he don talk, de Kranicle put in dem own thing in de story and seh how the Waterfalls paper change.

Dem boys wan de Kranicle fuh know that de Waterfall paper nah gat no Mingo hay.

And it ain't want no Mingo.

Dem boys seh de Waterfalls paper is nah GECOM wah does see X and put Y. De Waterfalls paper does call it as it sees it. Even dem boys wuking at de Waterfalls paper don't get spare. Is dah mek dem used to call it de Cochore paper – is because it cochore pon every Tom, Dick and Harry without exception.

Dem boys seh the Waterfall paper cochore pon the Pee Pee Pee, the Pee En See, the HAPNU, the Hay Eff See and all dem other See. Dem boys seh the Kranicle no different from Mingo. It been like Mingo all de time, regardless who in power.

Talk half and lef the retirement package fuh add to dem boys Christmas bonus!

Prison visits suspended; inmates...

From page 3 mazaruniprison01@gmail.c om Sibley Hall Prison – sibleyhallprison@gmail.co m and Timehri Prison – timehriprison01@gmail.co m. The donation earlier this week sparked debate, with questions whether it could not have gone to more needy persons or organizations.

However, according to Minister of Public

Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, the inmates are not the ones receiving the donation.

“There are more than 2,000 prisoners…how far will 30 tablets go? It just assists the Prison Service in a l l o w i n g b a s i c communication between prisoners and their families.

Folks, we have bigger challenges to fight than this,” she said in a Facebook post.

She stated, “…what's sad is clearly some have forgotten the thousands of tablets I distributed in the last 18 months to schools, co mmu n ity I C T h u b s , STEM groups, children that did well in school, the blind, deaf, children in orphanages, women in shelters, Indigenous community groups, women's groups, nurses, teachers...oh boy. We are a truly damaged society.”

recount of the ballots. The recount has been agreed upon by the President and the Leader of the Opposition and neither has said that they are no longer interested in a recount of all the ballots.

Why is there this new narrative being pedalled, including the reproduction of discredited analyses which purport to show that past voting trends would confirm the Mingo results.

The APNU+AFC must not believe that they can kerfuffle the recount process, having planted in their supporters minds that they have won the elections, in the hope that when they are deemed to have lost, their supporters will get angry.

Why is the APNU+AFC going to extreme ends, including claiming that there was Russian interference in the elections, to show that it

won the elections? It knows better than that.

The last time that same narrative was pedalled was in 1997 when the PNC made out that it was cheated of the elections. The Caricom Audit Team came and went through every single ballot b o x . We k n o w w h a t happened.

Some of the agitators, from that period, are back and peddling the line that the PPPC does not want a recount and that the APNU+AFC won the elections. Discredited persons are at it again.

There may also be a motive of self-interest in the spreading of these false narratives. It is a means of protecting the agitators from the wrath of their supporters.

When the people realize that they have been deceived they tend to turn against their

leaders. What better way to deflect that wrath than to make the Opposition the target.

There are bound to be implosions within the PNCR and the AFC as a result of the third successive defeat to the PPPC – the first two at local government elections and now at the general and regional elections.

There are bound to be calls for a new leadership within the PNCR and the AFC. What better way to prevent this from happening and to maintain the status quo ante than to claim that you were cheated not defeated.

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

Despite increase purchases from Venezuela, local market has enough rice - GRBD Head

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he Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is confident of excellent rice production this year despite the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, GRDB's General Manager, Nizam Hassan, disclosed that all quality assurance services continue to operate as usual since rice exportation is ongoing.

Speaking to DPI, Hassan said with the expected production his agency is confident that there will be adequate supplies for local, regional, and extra-regional markets.

“We don't expect that there will be any fallbacks from our projections, and for this year, just as we had done last year, we expect that we will get over one million tonnes of paddy, which will be equivalent to approximately 700,000 tonnes rice. We have already harvested over 50 percent of the crop, and the yields are just over 6 tonnes per hectare, a point one percent more than Guyana's national average in 2019,” Hassan said.

However, he noted that due to the current disease outbreak globally, there have been setbacks in exporting

GRDB's head, Nizam Hassan

rice to some European countries including Italy and France.

But that has been offset by a 40 percent increase in exports to Latin American countries.

“This was primarily because of the jump in our exports to Venezuela.”

“While there have been fallouts in some of the markets and some of it is linked to COVID-19, other markets are relatively stable,” the General Manager stated.

Now that most agencies are working remotely and fewer hours daily, rice millers and exporters are encouraged to inform GRDB a few days in advance about the processing of their documents.

GRDB has implemented several measures to help in

stopping the spread of the virus.

Hassan explained that experiments at the Burma Rice Research Station are closing off since the crop is at the harvesting stage and most of the work currently ongoing is data gathered to be analysed.

The agency's extension services continue to operate strictly on an on-call and rotational basis.

Extension officers liaise with farmers as the need arises, to obtain harvesting data, monitor for paddy bugs and advise farmers accordingly.

Hand sanitisers have also been placed at entry points of the GRDB office, and the World Health Organization's advisories are up at strategic locations where staff and visitors could see them.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Thursday April 16, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The election conspirators are going to make thousands die from COVID-19

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ll the warnings for Guyana are dire. The latest are from Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey, Director of Medical Services at the Georgetown Public

Hospital Corporation. He said that the hospital can be overwhelmed with an influx of victims. He looked at the availability of beds and ventilators.

PAHO has warned that the Caribbean could be in for a full blast in the coming weeks. If any country will be hit hard, it is Guyana for one commonsensical reason –

the election conspirators in GECOM and APNU+AFC cannot abide by COVID-19 restrictions because of the ongoing mechanisms being used to rig the 2020 national election. To continue to use subterfuge to stop the declaration of the PPP as the winner, the conspirators will have to expose people. Here how it is commonsensical and here are the types of people who are going to die.

A word on what took place during the court cases. I saw clips of APNU+AFC supporters in their dozens chanting support for the APNU+AFC and they were all without masks and actually within touching distance of each other. The police did not disperse them.

Is it possible that some of those persons became victims? They were brought to court by APNU+AFC activists.

Here is what is really bestial about these political organizers. One of the second-tier leaders of the PNC was talking to the chanters with his face mask on but none of the demonstrators had masks.

Now interestingly, the opposition parties have their supporters watching the containers with the ballot boxes. But they are all wearing masks and they are not huddled together.

One of the watchers is Brian McIntosh who lives a few yards from me in our compound. Each afternoon while walking my dog in the compound, I would see three cars bring him home and all the occupants have face masks. Who are these people that are going to die for COVID-19 compliments of

the power-crazy riggers?

When the recounting starts, whether in April or May, the APNU+AFC is going to go to low income enclaves in Georgetown and bring out those chanters. These people are going to die from COVID-19. They know they are going to die, the leaders in APNU+AFC know these poor folks are going to die but this is what heartless leaders do to people when they are power-drunk.

State security personnel will be at risk. Remember when the GECOM conspirators decided to remove the containers from the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), police had to accompany the vehicles to Kingston. Police had to be in the streets regulating traffic. Party supporters were out there too and the police were mingling with them trying to stop both types of supporters – APNU+AFC and opposition parties – from interacting.

GECOM is bringing back the containers to the ACCC. Again people's lives would be endangered. Personnel from GECOM, police and party supporters are going to be in touching distance. We come to the disaster point. After t h e c o u n t i n g i s o v e r, APNU/AFC isn't going to accept a PPP victory. Here is where the coronavirus will devastate this country.

APNU/AFC will marshal their troops to picket and demonstrate. APNU/AFC will go to court to claim the process was flawed and they are going to put hundreds of supporters outside the court.

Those mini-bus drivers who transport them, the people who share out the food for

Frederick Kissoon them, will all be vulnerable to COVID-19. My honest opinion is that a large number of people will be infected.

A large number of people will die. What is so sad about these deaths is that those who are paid to demonstrate and those party fanatics who will die without anyone even blinking an eye at their demise. But even sadder are the lives of police men and women who are going to die.

It is so simple to predict the death toll from COVID19 in the coming weeks in Guyana. If PAHO is saying that the Caribbean can expect a blast and you have a country with political instability in which security personnel, election officials, party supporters and police officials are in the streets touching each other, mask or no mask, you are going to get huge cases of infection.

Can this death train be stopped? I doubt it. There are beasts, bestial creatures and sadistic humans that can stop it but they will not. They want power and they feel if they remain in power without accepting the results of the 2020 election, they will survive the crisis and COVID-19 and live to enjoy their power. I hope when the blast comes, that PAHO predicts, life will not be unfair and the blast will not kill innocent people.

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

Tiger bay man allegedly kidnapped by ex-cop, others over stolen goods A 26-year-old Rosemary Tiger Bay resident was allegedly abducted from his home by an ex-policeman, a businessman and others, over allegations that he stole a number of items from the Waterchris Hotel on Waterloo and Quamina Streets.

The suspects were later arrested and police have sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions awaiting advice on the matter. It was reported that the young man, Chris Etwaroo was at his Queen Street, South Cummingsburg home when he was abducted on Saturday last at around 17:30hrs. Kaieteur News was informed that the suspects accused him of stealing several items from the Waterchris Hotel. He was taken from his home in a pickup truck and reportedly transported to the hotel where he was

shackled and tortured for several hours.

Shortly after, the young man was reportedly placed into the truck of a car and transported to an unknown location. The victim took a leap of faith to freedom after the trunk was opened and made his way home where he was subsequently taken to the hospital to receive medical attention.

An official police report was later filed and the suspects were arrested.

Kaieteur News understands that one of the men in police custody is said to be expoliceman Franz Paul who back in 2014 was thrown before the court for shooting then 15year-old Alex Griffith in his mouth.

The DPP is expected to return the file today with advice on the way forward.

Investigations are ongoing.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

CSEC, CAPE Accident examination at Kairuni dates problematic - GTU President

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he dates set aside for the sitting of this year's Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) has proven to be contentious.

This is according to President of the Guyana's Teacher Union (GTU), Mark Lyte.

The GTU President noted that taking into consideration the impact of COVID-19 on the local education system and the preparation of students who are scheduled to write the exams, the June 29 – July 24, 2020 dates for the sitting of CSEC and CAPE should be deemed premature.

“The current situation as it relates to COVID-19 is fluid, so to set the abovementioned dates is not taking into consideration our learners plight with preparation.

We also believe that the strategy put forward by the administration of the exams will be disadvantageous to everyone apart from CXC,” Lyte said.

He asserted that this perspective is not one shared by the GTU alone but by several other Caribbean territories.

According to Lyte, at a meeting held at National Centre for Educational Research Development (NCERD) in March, a few optional dates were put forward to the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) to consider.

“Guyana and most of the other territories agreed that a September date would be feasible for the exam but CXC moved away from that suggestion.”

Lyte said the Council's decision is selfish and inconsiderate to the learners.

“As it stands, the only party that will benefit is CXC itself, the learners will not have adequate time to prepare and CXC will be removing the paper two from the exams. Most parents already paid full price for their children to sit the full e x a m s . Wi l l C X C b e refunding their money?”

Lyte questioned.

The GTU Head said he will be lodging a formal objection to the Council's proposal with the Ministry of Education.

“I am aware that the

An accident at Kairuni on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway last night caused this pick-up to topple before coming to a halt in a mangled state. Reports suggest that the driver suffered minor injuries. It is not clear if anyone else was injured.

GTU President, Mark Lyte Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) will be taking a similar course of action as well as many individual islands preparing learners for CSEC.” The teachers' union head said too he will be appealing to the government to make representation via the Ministry of Education in no uncertain terms that “We cannot support a June 29 –July 24, 2020 since there is no certainty as to when we will be able to return to school, we will need time to prepare our students.”

Further highlighting the plight of students, Lyte said that the current structure of the exams put forward by the Council will prove problematic for the students in the long run.

“The current structure of the exams indicates that CXC intends to do a multiple choice paper. We don't know exactly how many questions the multiple choice part will consist and then there is the School Based Assessment (SBA) component of the exam which will be combined to give each student the final Grade.

We are also of the view that not enough clarity has been shed as it relates to score the exam.”

“For example, many SBAs, in times past, are usually between 20-25 percent of the final score.

Given that paper two has been taken out the equation we want to know what would be the marks for SBAs and what would be the marks for multiple choice papers?”

Added to that, Lyte said that CXC's intention to use E- exams would prove to be virtually impossible for some students to access.

The GTU President stressed that education (continued on page 12)

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Thursday April 16, 2020

GECOM conducts field visit at recount venue

By Kemol King

T

he Guyana E l e c t i o n s Commission (GECOM) has expired yet another day without making a decision on the number of counting stations to be utilized for the national recount that all of Guyana waits for.

Commissioners nominated by the Government and the Opposition both said that they had expected there to be a decision yesterday, seeing as there was a field visit to the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the venue for the execution of the recount.

That visit was pivotal in determining how many counting stations could be reasonably accommodated there.

But discussions following that noon visit prolonged so much that the C h a i r, ( r e t ' d ) J u s t i c e Claudette Singh, opted to adjourn the meeting for another meeting this morning. Though she reportedly hoped to discuss matters with finality and set a conclusive start date for the commencement of the

recount, she decided it would be best to let staffers go home early to adhere to the Ministry of Public Health's curfew.

Commissioners hope a decision could be ironed out today, as the number of counting stations to be used is the most pivotal factor informing the duration of the recount.

Commissioner Sase Gunraj said, following his inspection of the premises, that the proposal he made for 20 counting stations is easily achievable.

He revealed that the modified plan from Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, proposed five workstations, but Gunraj said that such a proposal is ordinate as it would not decrease the originally proposed 156-day duration of the recount enough. He noted that the modified proposal omitted to pose a new timeframe, an omission Gunraj views as deliberate.

Commissioner Vincent Alexander said that Lowenfield was probably considering the logistics of the previously contemplated CARICOM-supervised recount when he suggested five workstations, as there

… To decide on number of counting stations today Members of the GECOM Secretariat

would have been five supervisors.

Alexander said that he made a proposal for eight workstations, following the visit to the centre. With his proposal, there would be two stations in the eastern wing of the auditorium, two in the western wing, one in the dining hall, one in the western half of the courtyard, and consideration for two on the eastern and

After 100 years, 'Cousin Rachel' passes on

A

fter a fulfilling 100 years of existence, Rachael Isabella Michael, who was fondly called 'Cousin Rachel', 'Cousin Rach' or 'Neighbour Rach', has passed away.

The centenarian, who lived in East Canje, Berbice for most of her life, died peacefully at her Lot 25 Betsy Ground home just after midday on Good Friday.

She was born on October 23, 1919 at the New Amsterdam Hospital. According to family members, Cousin Rachel had a twin sister who lived for a few months. She had three other siblings.

Although she never married, she gave birth to five children – Ivor, Winslow, Claville, Barbara and Patrick. She was grandmother to 13 and had over 30 great grandchildren and 19 great-great grandchildren.

Apart from her immediate family, residents of the village and her Church, St. Patrick's Anglican, many others are mourning her demise.

Adding to the grief is the fact that many people, including some family members and friends in the diaspora, will not be able to attend a wake for the woman due to restrictions implemented to prevent the continued spread of the contagious novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Many are disappointed that Cousin Rachel will not be afforded a grand home sending she deserves.

They are however taking solace in the fact that she was able to live to the ripe old age of 100. Her passing on Good Friday has also given them peace of mind.

western patios. He also suggested dining be done in the eastern half of the courtyard.

Alexander did not endorse Gunraj's proposal for 20 workstations, explaining that, such a proposal would include working outside of the building on the grounds of the centre. He is not comfortable with such a proposal.

He said that the proposal included working in tents, and that that would pose a security problem. On the other hand, if rooms are used there would be better control of the operations and less of a likelihood for confusion as it had ensued at the Hadfield Street office weeks ago, he posited.

To ensure GECOM maximizes its operations for a speedy recount, Alexander

said that there is a proposition for the recount to go from 9 am to 5 pm, but that he wants to discuss with the relevant authorities the opportunity for permission to go beyond 5 pm.

To e n s u r e s o c i a l distancing is maximized, GECOM has agreed to reduce the number of GECOM officials present at each workstation from six to four, as tabulation has been moved away from the workstations, Alexander told reporters.

He said that one representative from each party would be allowed at each workstation, with one local observer and one foreign observer. As there are quite a few foreign observer missions, Alexander explained that the missions will have to deliberate amongst

themselves and decide who will be present at each workstation.

Gunraj said that CARICOM will have to determine just how it is fitting its operatives into the process.

GECOM has also decided that the procedures for the recount will be rooted in certain statutes of several sections of the Representation of the People Act, namely Sections 83, 84, 87 and 89. These statutes describe the exact nature of the recount.

If any irregularities arise during the process, both Commissioners indicated agreement that GECOM would address those at the level of the Commission after a final report on the process is prepared, instead of interjecting during the execution of the recount.

CSEC, CAPE examination...

Cousin Rachel never wore glasses but was an ardent Bible reader up to the time of her death.

Considered as the village matriarch, Cousin Rachel lived her life embracing the importance of simplicity, discipline and belief in the Creator. (Samuel Whyte)

From page 11 should be equitable, every learner should have the same opportunities irrespective of where he/she lives or their economic or other status.

“I wish to point as well, we will have serious problems as it relates to the online platforms where our students, especially those who live in the hinterland and riverain communities, do not have access to adequate internet and electricity, if any at all.”

He emphasized that we believe that students as well would need adequate time to prepare.

“The proposed date places limited preparation time on students since currently in Guyana, like many other Caribbean territories, students are unable to access information or interact with their teachers

for the completion of syllabus because they are unreachable due lack of access to internet or electricity.

This means the students should be given enough time to meet face-to-face with their teachers or finish the syllabus,” he proposed insisting, “A June examination date is simply not feasible!”

Judging from what comes out of the discussion with CUT, Lyte said our students, parents and governments are all going to be losing out with the exception of CXC which will be making millions as a result of this venture.

“I wish to point out that CXC will not be spending any resources to mark scripts since multiple choice papers are usually marked electronically and SBAs

were already marked by school teachers for free.

Additionally, there is no cost for printing paper two which is usually a component of the exam and which parents have already paid the full cost per child,” the GTU President reiterated.

He continued, “CXC is only looking at it on the side of profitability but their decisions will have an impact on students' future.

The validity of the examination will also be questioned since students certificate in 2020 will be viewed in a different light than the other years.”

“For example, an employer examining the certificate of a student from 2020 might consider the component of the certificate in comparison to a student who graduated in 2019, 2018 or 2010,” he said.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 13

$17.8M River Ambulance to boost healthcare delivery in Region 10 - as Region Seven gets donation of boats The donated River Ambulance that will service the Demerara River

T

he Regional H e a l t h Department of Region 10 has been endowed with yet another river ambulance. The $17.8 M river vehicle was handed over to the Region by former Member of Parliament and Ministry of Public Health official, John Adams, on behalf of Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence.

At a simple ceremony, which also saw Region Seven collecting boats, Adams told an evidently pleased Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr. Pansy Armstrong, that the ambulance is geared towards enhancing the delivery of effective and efficient healthcare. The river ambulance, which is the second to be donated to

L-R: Boat Captain for the River Ambulance, Orin Masceedo; Region 10 RHO, Dr. Pansy Armstrong; DREO Maylene Stephens and Environmental Health Officer, Rhonda Howell

Region 10 in less than a year, will service several communities up the Demerara River, while the previous ambulance is currently serving communities up the Berbice River.

Adams reminded the RHO that the Ministry of Public Health remains cognizant of the critical importance of such facilities and resources to aid in the continued delivery of healthcare. He added that the M i n i s t r y, t h r o u g h t h e excellent leadership of Minister Lawrence, will continue in that regard. “The Ministry of Public Health, in its continued efforts and mandate to deliver a high level of health care, continues to reach out to various communities

through the respective Regions in ensuring that such facilities are provided to them. As such, this river ambulance comes at a time when the people of the Berbice River would be able to better access improved and enhanced healthcare as we as a Ministry reach out to them. I therefore would like to urge the RHO and team to continue their work, while ensuring that this ambulance can better serve the people that it is intended for,�

Adams said.

The Ministry official (continued on page 16)

Region Seven REO, Kurwin Ward, stands besides the donated boats

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday April 16, 2020

4-year-old in need of heart surgery overseas, continues to battle for life

By Anastayca Peters

B

eing told by a doctor that there is nothing that can be done locally to save your child's life is probably the most difficult thing a mother could ever hear. But in the case of 22-yearold Rewinna David, she has been given this devastating news countless times by several local doctors who have exhausted all their resources in helping to treat her ailing fouryear-old son, Junior Kentolall.

The toddler was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease, a condition in which the heart valves are permanently damaged by rheumatic fever. This condition also causes internal damage to other organs.

Based on a medical assessment, the woman said that she was told that her child has to undergo surgery to replace the damaged heart valves. With each passing day, the child's condition worsens.

According to a physician, GPHC does not

have the expertise or medications to help the child. Since her son's diagnosis two years ago, Ms. David, who has two other children, said she has been experiencing sleepless nights.

Due to the diagnosis he currently hospitalised at the Paediatric Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. He is receiving medications to ease severe abdominal pain, respiratory issues and headaches he is experiencing.

However, the medications do not do much for him. On March 16, 2020, the child's organs started to swell and this resulted in him suffering severe pains that the medications did not ease.

According to doctors, the corrective surgery for the child can be done in Colombia. But the surgery cost a whopping USD$42,800. Travelling and hotel accommodation will push this cost up.

As of last month, two international children hospitals, namely the Caribbean

Children Foundation and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, have volunteered to do the corrective surgery for the lad. However, due to the global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the surgery was put off. A recent heart scan done by local doctors showed that Kentolall is in need of a new heart because the current one is so severely damaged.

"I does can't look at my child without crying; everyday he got to take over seven injections because of what is happening to him. As a mother, I don't want anything to happen to my child,� the woman related even as she shared her optimism, he eventually get the needed medical attention.

This is despite the advice from doctors to prepare for the worse. According to David, "yesterday a doctor told me that he will not make it back out from the hospital alive but I am a Christian and I know that there is a God and that same God will heal my child," she prophesied.

The ailing four-year-old, Junior Kentolall

GPL worker remanded on two counts of attempted murder

A

Linesman attached to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) was on Tuesday remanded to prison on two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder his girlfriend and her daughter.

Junior Benn, 32, of Courtland Village, Corentyne, Berbice appeared at the New Amsterdam

Magistrate Court and stood before Magistrate Peter Hugh to hear the charges.

Benn, it was reported on Wednesday 8th April, 2020 at Courtland Village inflicted grievous bodily harm on Sojourner Johnson and Sheveika Cameron with intent to commit murder. He was not required to plead and is set

to return to court next Tuesday.

According to the facts of the case, 32-year-old Cameron and 8y e a r- o l d J o h n s o n , b o t h o f Scottsburgh, Upper Corentyne, Berbice were both assaulted by Benn.

Cameron who shared a relationship with Benn for over a year would regularly visit his home with her daughter. They reportedly ventured to Benn's residence and while spending time, an argument erupted after Benn accused Cameron of cheating on him. It was reported that Benn reportedly got up and dealt her several cuffs to her face and body and slammed her to the floor.

This was done in the presence of the child. In an attempt to stop the man from hitting her mother, the child grabbed Benn and screamed for him to stop.

Instead of adhering, Benn dealt the child a cuff to her face causing her to collapse to the floor in an unconscious state.

The enraged Benn, according to reports, did not stop there, he then allegedly took a green liquid

Sheveika Cameron substance in a bottle believed to be poisonous and poured it on Cameron's face and mouth. By that time neighbours who overheard the commotion rushed over and intervened.

The mother and daughter were immediately rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital where Cameron was admitted and her daughter was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

When Benn was arrested, he claimed that Cameron had poisoned his tea. He told the police that after he consumed the tea his stomach began to burn.

He was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital for a medical

Eight-year-old, Sojourner Johnson assessment but was found to have no poisonous substance in his system. The mother and daughter are recovering.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 15

Prison escapee Coalition Govt. hires US PR firm to recaptured after “change narrative” about 2020 elections attempting to rob T man Captured: Christopher Punch

O

ne month after he escaped from the Mazaruni Prison, 29-year-old Christopher Punch of 28 El Dorado Village, West Coast Berbice was on Monday night captured by police ranks at D'Urban and John Streets, Georgetown.

A c c o r d i n g t o information, Punch attempted to rob a man and moments later, police ranks on patrol saw him acting in a suspicious manner.

Punch ran and the ranks chased after him. He was later apprehended and taken into custody and it was then that they were informed that Punch is a prison escapee.

It was reported that Punch was a trustee at the correctional facility and that he escaped on February 29,

2020 around 14:00hrs.

Punch had escaped while attending to the livestock at the back of the prison. Punch and six other inmates were taken to the dairy farm to tend to the livestock.

While attending to the livestock, Punch reportedly asked a prison warden to urinate in some nearby bushes. However, hours later when the prison warden was rounding up the other inmates, he realised that Punch was missing.

Punch is serving a nineyear sentence for simple larceny and attempted larceny of a motorcycle in Linden. He was charged in April 2019 for the theft of four motorcycles between February 28, and March 1, 2019.

(Renay Sambach)

Ministry confirms 7 new cases of COVID-19; 5 in ICU From page 7 there are more than 600,000 confirmed cases, with 27,000 plus deaths.

The CMO took the opportunity to remind listeners that persons with underlying health conditions are more at risk for contracting the disease. He listed some of those conditions as chronic lung disease such as asthma and bronchitis, as well as those associated with smoking, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, high blood sugar in some persons and diseases associated with immuno-compromised conditions such as

HIV/AIDS and cancer.

“In Guyana, large proportions of adults in their mid 20s are affected by these conditions, and are at high risk for the development of the more serious form of COVID-19, which results in hospitalization, ICU care and even death,” he emphasized.

He made it clear that no one has been proven immune, the CMO said, “Let me remind you that there is no vaccine for this disease, nor has the WHO approved any medication. The medical personnel will treat you according to the symptoms you have.”

he incumbent government, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), has contracted a US Lobbying Firm, JJ&B LLC with public funds in an attempt to defend its image to the international community.

The Coalition said that its reputation is being tarnished by the opposition People's Progressive Party (PPP) through its public relations agent, Mercury Public Affairs.

The government has relentlessly insisted that condemnation from the international community of the controversial Region Four results tabulation has been orchestrated by the PPP and its public relations firm.

A series of documents were yesterday seen online detailing the agreement between government and the firm entered into on March 31, 2020.

In one of the documents, filed under the US Foreign Agents Restriction Act, the Washington-based JJ&B LLC outlined that the firm will be “seeking to facilitate

resolution of disputes regarding the recent presidential election in Guyana, and to improve relations between Guyana and the United States.”

The applicant was listed as Michael Granger, an US Investment Advisor.

Further, the document stated that, “in doing this, we will be contacting officials in the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. Government, as well as providing information to news media.”

The agreement outlined that the company was hired on a part-time basis and has been paid an initial retainer fee of US$40,000.

Additionally, government also submitted a 147 page Dossier “Guyana Elections 2020” to the firm which detailed its account of events that transpired from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections onwards.

In that document, a selective chronology of events surrounding Guyana's 2020 Elections was given and other forms of information the party saw pertinent to be included.

Kaieteur News understands that the decision to hire the lobbying firm was reportedly taken after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections fiasco which led to an intense call for international sanctions and the ex-communication of Guyana by the US, Britain, Canada, the Carter Centre, Organisation of American S t a t e s a n d t h e Commonwealth.

The statements issued by the international community all urged the authorities to ensure that a government is not sworn into office on the basis of flawed results.

Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Retired Lt. Col. Joseph Harmon, defended the hire and relayed to this publication that “as a government, we have a duty to ensure our country is not portrayed as the PPP was trying to do.”

Harmon told Kaieteur News that “we are an independent democratic country and our government respects the Constitution, lives by the rule of law and abides by the decisions of our courts.”

T h e C o a l i t i o n also posted on its Facebook page, that it would be “irresponsible” for President David Granger to allow misinformation to be peddled, which led to a “false narrative to be perpetuated.”

Kaieteur News had reported that the opposition hired Mercury Public Affairs last year to represent its interests with the international community ahead of elections.

O p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r, Bharrat Jagdeo, had stated that the lobbyist firm will provide strategic consulting and management services to issues facing the client in the areas of government relations and issues management.

The expected services for that arrangement were the facilitation of meetings between the party's executive branch and the Congress of the United States, the Organisation of American States, which links in connection with issues relating to the General and Regional Elections, which took place. The contract had since been renewed several times.

Public schools to remain closed for indefinite period - Education Ministry to continue offering lessons via internet, radio and TV

W

ith closure of s c h o o l s extended beyond April 20, the Ministry of Education is planning strategies to keep children actively engaged in the academic learning process.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) (Ag), Ingrid Trotman, told Kaieteur News yesterday that the top brass of the Education Ministry had a meeting to plan the way forward.

She said, however, that the Ministry has not decided on setting up virtual classrooms as yet.

“Given the situation with COVID -19, we know for sure that schools will remain closed for a period extended beyond April 20. The Ministry is at present meeting on the way forward since the period that we anticipated will soon expire,” the acting CEO said.

She continued, “The Ministry has been offering students lessons via the internet, radio and television to keep them academically occupied while they're away

from school. There is information on our website, past papers that parents can use to work with their children.”

According to Trotman, the Ministry will continue issuing advisories to ensure that all parents, teachers and students have accurate information regarding the Ministry's response to the virus.

Additionally, she noted that the Ministry has considered that the information available online will only be useful to students along the coastland or those with internet access.

“For those students who live in areas where the internet access is not readily available, we are looking at having print outs of the work forwarded to the Regional Education Officers of places like Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine to deliver them to the parents,” Trotman explained.

She said that the plan will apply to all students but especially those in Grades two, four and six.

Further, the CEO said that

the Ministry is encouraging teachers to stay in touch with the students.

“In some instances, students or even parents can contact the teacher if they do not understand a particular topic/subject. So we are encouraging the teachers to continue to engage their students via WhatsApp or whatever means, while they are away from school,” she said.

The idea, she emphasized, is to ensure students remain safe and continue learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, the Education Ministry has been actively working to ensure the readiness of all training and learning facilities under its purview for sanitation and continued hygienic practices.

This, the Ministry said, will create a safe environment for students and educators when they return to school.

The Ministry has also been in discussions with the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) to facilitate the

Acting Chief Education Officer, Ingrid Trotman smooth rescheduling of the National Grande Six Assessment (NGSA) which was initially set for April 8 and 9 and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations usually held in May/June annually.

NGSA practice test papers are available on the Ministry's website. Radio broadcasts of the Interactive Radio Instruction continue daily on NCN Radio and Radio Mahdia, Bartica, Essequibo, Mabaruma, Lethem and Radio Paiwomak.

PAGE 16

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Kaieteur News

Young entrepreneur looking to introduce 'drone delivery' service

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Worried about going out to make your daily purchases?

Well the proprietor of Foodmonkey Guyana, Nigel Carter, is saying don't.

Carter introduced the Foodmonkey venture in 2018 with the intention of providing a fast food delivery service.

The service is accessed via the Foodmonkey app or the Foodmonkey website and the orders made are picked up by a delivery agent. Many people have been accessing the delivery service.

But with the recent call for social distancing and appeals for persons to stay home to

Foodmonkey proprietor, Nigel Carter inclusion of drone delivery, a service he envisions will be

complemented by payment by way of money transfers.

$17.8M River Ambulance to boost healthcare...

From page 13 also urged the RHO to ensure White German Shepherd that proper care is taken of the pups.Ruimzeight Gardens river ambulance.

W.C.D.269-0671.Whatsapp In response, Dr. 688-1656.

Armstrong said that the river ambulance will be used primaNOTICE rily for healthcare delivery and Boodhoo’s General Store will to transport medical emergenbe closed until further notice. cies to hospitals.

She said that the boat will Order via Telephone & delivery will be done. be placed at Malali where it is Contact# 260-4124/4018/4115 expected to service the nearby communities better. “It will be / 650-0402/ 603-1402. stationed at the Malali area, which is the farthest point in WANTED the Demerara River. This will Tailor/Cutter & Upholsterer. help us to make health care Call#231-6750/618-0845. more accessible and affordable for all,” Dr. Armstrong We buy land & pay cash.We said. can help you pay off She stated that the river housing.Call 617-9930/627- ambulance will ensure that 0753. they are better equipped to manage the delivery of VEHICLE FOR SALE healthcare within the Region.

1 Suzuki Escudo.Excellent The RHO said too that decondition, Low Mileage spite the evident challenges (50,000Km).$3.4M Neg.Call in delivering effective and efficient healthcare, the region #649-0956.

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OAS wants GECOM to bar “partisan” officials from recount

Farm (East Bank) $3.6M ,Schoonard (100ftX50ft) with 20ft reserve $5M.Herstelling (2nd bridge) $4M.Tel611-7223/ From page 8 651-1969. requested that GECOM ensures that the officials to be engaged in the recount are selected based on their impartiality and “those who have displayed partisan behaviour are excluded.”

Along with that, the OAS called for the duly authorized CAR RENTAL representatives of political PROGRESSIVE CAR parties and accredited observRENTAL: CARS & ers to be allowed to see (but SUV'SCALL:643-5122./ not handle) each ballot.

The OAS Mission further 656-0087 WEB: WWW wants the legal provisions for .PROGRESSIVEAUTORENTA challenging the determination L.COM of ballots to be fully respected AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL & an ascertainment is made as T O W T R U C K to whether the number of balSERVICE:PICKUP,9-11 lots cast corresponds with the SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD number of persons recorded FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY as having voted.

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effectively combat COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, Carter is hoping to soon offer his clients another shopping alternative in conformity with the social distancing advisory.

However, this will require clearance from the relevant authorities. Carter explained "we are hoping to introduce a service whereby drones instead of people will make the delivery."

But there are currently some restrictions as it relates to the use of drones. However, Carter is optimistic that given the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the authorities will swiftly give clearance for his

station to be compared with the Statements of Poll signed by the Presiding Officer.

Meanwhile, acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael G. Kozak, is calling on GECOM to urgently commence the recount of ballots used in the March 2 elections.

Kozak specifically stated that, “It has been six week since elections were held in Guyana with no result.

The U.S stands with the Organization of American States (OAS) in urging GECOM to conduct a recount as soon as possible.”

He emphasized that Guyanese citizens need a government elected based on a credible count of their votes now more than ever.

continues to do a remarkable job in this regard.

“We have our challenges but I am happy to say that we are able to deliver healthcare at a high standard, thus the handing over of this boat today will continue to propel us in Region 10 to take healthcare to another level within the

Demerara River as we seek to ensure that healthcare is accessed by all,” the RHO said.

Meanwhile, Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Seven, Kurwin Ward, in receiving a donation of boats, described the endowment as timely and very important to his Region. He said that it will

aid the Region in significantly getting work done. “The donation of these two boats is very important to the Region and we are truly appreciative of it. Presently, we are expanding at the Kamarang Hospital and these boats will help us to get into several communities,” REO Ward said.

Thursday April 16, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Clarke slammed for suggesting Aussies ‘suck up’ to India

Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman has scoffed at suggestions that Australian players “went soft” on their Indian opponents in order to secure lucrative IPL contracts. (AFP/File / Manjunath Kiran)

AFP - Michael Clarke’s claims that Australian players “sucked up” to India and Virat Kohli to secure lucrative deals in the country’s premier league are ridiculous, say former top Indian cricketers.

Clarke said last week that Australians were “too scared to sledge” skipper Kohli or other Indian players because of the influence of the world’s wealthiest Twenty20 tournament.

This year’s Indian Premier League has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic and may not be held at all.

“Just by being nice to someone doesn’t get you a place in IPL,” VVS Laxman, an advisor to the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, told Indian

Thursday April 16, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You may have some trouble getting out of bed today due to a desire to let the world carry on without your help for a while.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) The day ahead should be excellent. You tend to work with an energy unparalleled by the other signs, and today you reap some rewards for your diligence.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You've been lucky for the last two months, there's no doubt about it. Lately it seems like your luck is changing. It's hard to pinpoint, but something isn't quite right in your daily life.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) This is going to be a good time to get a global view of things. Take full advantage of the current planetary aspects by reading some books on spirituality or travel.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) It's true that having to earn a living isn't always the most agreeable thing in life, Leo. However, we all know that it's necessary. Have you thought about adding more balance to your life?

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) If you've had some problems in your sentimental life during the last few m o n t h s , Vi rg o , they're probably behind you now.

It's a sure bet that you've learned something.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) If you aren't the most selfassured p e r s o n i n t h e world, take a look around and see all that you've done. True, you still have many unattained dreams.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You may meet some new people in the next few days, Scorpio. Someone in your professional life may help you launch some unusual experiments that have never been done before.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) It seems as though you're trying to live down some criticism, Sagittarius. For weeks you've taken special care to look over your work to catch any mistakes.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Smile, because the forecast is bright today. You'll be in a curious mood, just right for new encounters.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) The Rolling Stones said it best, "I can't get no satisfaction," and that's how you've been feeling lately, Aquarius.

Indeed, looking back on your recent activities, you may feel a bit like a character in Wonderland PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You're often preoccupied by other people's lives. Your devotion to others will be appreciated today. For example, in the family circle, you may have to bandage everyone's little physical or psychological wounds.

broadcaster Star Sports.

Teams look at a “player’s calibre and value” to win matches, he said.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, a former India captain and chief selector, said “you do not win matches just by sledging”, referring to the on-field banter between players.

“His statement was ridiculous I would say,” he added.

“If you ask Nasser Hussain or Sir Vivian Richards — who are experienced players — you can never score runs or get wickets through sledging.”

Australia captain Tim Paine has also rejected his predecessor’s assertion that some Australians went soft on Kohli during their 2018-19 encounters.

“I certainly didn’t notice too many people being that nice to Virat or not trying to get him out or anything like that,” Paine told ESPNcricinfo.

“I thought everyone who had the ball in their hand or when we were batting were trying their absolute best to win the game for Australia.”

Australian players have attracted big money since the IPL started in 2008.

Paceman Pat Cummins is the most expensive overseas star this year, with Kolkata Knight Riders scheduled to pay $2.17 million for his services.

Clarke, who played for the now-defunct Pune Warriors in 2012, said Australian players were desperate for Indian riches.

“The players were like: ‘I’m not going to sledge Kohli, I want him to pick me for Bangalore so I can make my $1 million for my six weeks”, Clarke said on Sky Racing television.

Blatter suggests 2022...

From page 21 regarding the upcoming tournament host where years of speculation and conjecture could not.

In an interview with German publication Sport Bild, Blatter inferred that change is still possible and laid out a short list of countries who would be capable of hosting on short notice. Referencing the joint-bid for the United States to host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico beginning an expanded field, Blatter suggested that could be formally moved forward.

“Germany could do it.

But this would mean the World Cup being staged in Europe again after 2018,” Blatter said. “Europe therefore would not be first choice. The United States could do it instead of 2026.

They are capable, it’s not rocket science! Japan could also do it. They also bid to host the 2022 World Cup.” “Fortunately, the 2022 World Cup will only have 32 teams and not 48 as [FIFA president Gianni Infantino] had planned.

The organisational effort would not be bigger than 2018.”

There would still be massive logistical roadblocks to this. As Blatter mentioned, the upcoming 2022 tournament is not yet

featuring an expanded field, so filling out a scheduled also playing games in Mexico and Canada could be troublesome with fewer games. If only the United States hosted in 2022 and the 2026 bid was reopened, Mexico and Canada could be left out in the cold, which would clearly not go over well.

Qatar’s denial of the latest allegations was forceful, although their defense continues to shift from “we didn’t do anything wrong” to “you can’t prove it.”

“Despite years of false claims, evidence has never been produced to demonstrate that Qatar won the rights to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 unethically or by means that contravened FIFA’s strict bidding rules,” said the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in a statement. “The SC maintains that it strictly adhered to all rules and regulations for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process and any claim to the contrary is baseless and will be fiercely contested.”

Still, the pressure is mounting on Qatar to prove its innocence, and the murmurs continue about whether they will actually prove a viable host.

PAGE 20

Thursday April 16, 2020

Kaieteur News

No avenue for famed trio to contribute, says Yorke PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Legendary striker Dwight Yorke says he is “concerned” that outstanding Trinidadians like himself, Brian Lara and Russell Latapy, have not been given the opportunity to contribute to the region’s sports development.

The 48-year-old former Aston Villa and Manchester United star, a member of the historic Trinidad and Tobago side which qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, said he remained available to lend his expertise in the football fraternity but said he has never been approached to do so.

“I’ve been very fortunate.

Football has given me everything beyond my imagination as a young boy growing up,” Yorke told i95FM here.

“I would always love to contribute to my country the experience that I’ve gained at the level I’ve played at for so many years. You would’ve thought I would’ve been involved in Trinidad and Tobago football certainly in the future to come.

“For everyone who’s

Trinidad and Tobago legend, Dwight Yorke. listening, I’ve always wanted to contribute to my country, I always want to help. I feel with the experience and knowledge I’ve got I could certainly help out in some capacity.

However that hasn’t happened, I haven’t been approached.”

Yorke, who scored 26 times in 72 appearances for T&T, said Lara and Latapy also had not been allowed to give of their vast expertise and experience after having contributed so much during their careers.

Lara, a former West Indies

captain, is considered the finest player of his era, and still holds world records for the highest Test and first class score.

Latapy, meanwhile, became the first-ever Trinidadian to play in the Champions League when he turned out for Porto, before going on to represent Scottish giants Rangers.

“It does make me feel a little bit concerned that someone like Brian Lara who is the most accomplished cricketer in West Indies and he hasn’t got a role in West

Austria to allow tennis, golf and other social-distancing-friendly sports VIENNA (Reuters) Austria, which has started loosening its coronavirus lockdown, said yesterday it would allow some sports compatible with social distancing like tennis and golf to resume from May 1.

The Alpine republic acted early in its outbreak to close restaurants, bars, theatres, schools, non-essential shops and other gathering places roughly four weeks ago. The public have been told to stay at home and work from there if possible.

Unlike in some other countries, however, members of the public have remained relatively free to do exercise like jogging or cycling, provided they respect social distancing rules. There is no need for a note as in France nor is there a limit of one outing per day as in Britain.

“Of course, individual sports where there is no immediate contact will be given priority more quickly over team sports where contact is generally unavoidable, or contact

sports,” Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, who is also sports minister, told a news conference.

Outdoor facilities that will no longer be off-limits to the public include athletics tracks, tennis courts, golf courses, equestrian centres, shooting ranges and archery ranges, he added.

He said dangerous outdoor sports like ski touring, which is often conducted away from ski resorts, would be allowed but he urged those doing them to stick to “something easy” to avoid accidents.

Austria has reported 393 coronavirus deaths in total so far, fewer than some larger European countries have been reporting daily. It has had more than 14,000 confirmed cases.

There was frustration in Vienna that some of the capital’s biggest parks, like the grounds of the former imperial palace at Schoenbrunn, were closed, but those reopened on

Tuesday, the day that Austria first loosened its lockdown by letting DIY stores, garden centres and smaller shops reopen.

Roughly 600 top athletes will be allowed to resume training, including indoors with stricter limits on distancing, next week.

Plans are also being made to restart Austria’s top soccer league, with strict testing requirements and matches being played in empty stadiums.

As for how sports like tennis should be practiced safely, Kogler said that was best left to federations.

“It is hard to believe some of the questions that come up - what about the ball? What about handling in the literal sense?” he said.

Initial consultations with tennis federations had produced 10 recommendations, such as marking players’ balls so their opponent does not touch them and different “behaviour at the net”, Kogler said.

Indies cricket,” Yorke pointed out.

“Why would you not want to pick his brain, his knowledge of why he’s been such a success.

I find that really baffling to me with people trying to undermine someone like him because of what he has done over the years and it’s probably the same for Russell Latapy who’s been out there for a number of years.

“People will say we’re friends but the reality is there is no greater accomplishment than Lara, myself and Latapy.

Why would you not use that to your benefit and I find that very, very strange when other countries would love to use our expertise in trying to find

out what it takes, what it means … to be out there.

“We have all this experience and knowledge and nobody has been able to put it to use.”

Yorke scored 97 goals in nearly appearances for Aston Villa to become a club favourite before joining Manchester United in 1998 for a then record fee of 12.6 million pounds sterling.

He formed part of a famed strike partnership with Andy Cole, netting 65 goals in 147 outings for the English giants, helping them win the storied treble in 1999.

Yorke, now based in Dubai, has involved himself mostly in media punditry following his playing career but said he was currently

trying to break into the world of football management.

“I’m actually trying to get into coaching here which is another challenging part of my career. It’s a different challenge now,” he explained.

“The challenge was to break in as a black player in the UK. I managed to do that and now I have to fight extremely hard and … it’s the same thing coming to management. You have to fight extremely hard to get a look-in to it.

“You just have to look around the world; it’s very challenging. I’m not ashamed to say it – the black aspiring managers are not getting a look-in. You look in the Premier League and you look around globally.”

Tour de France to go ahead at end of August after coronavirus delay BBC Sport - The postponed 2020 Tour de France will now start on 29 August, following the French government’s extension of a ban on mass gatherings to mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cycling’s biggest event, won by Team Ineos’ Egan Bernal last year, was originally scheduled to run from 27 June to 19 July.

“Holding this event in the best conditions possible is judged essential given its central place in cycling’s economy,” said the UCI, the sport’s governing body.

Many large-scale sporting events scheduled to take place this summer have either been called off, such as Wimbledon, or pushed back by a year, such as football’s European Championship and the summer Olympics.

Four-time winner Chris Froome is set to return at this year’s Tour, which is set to start in Nice, after he missed the 2019 race following a high-speed accident in which he broke his neck, femur, elbow, hip and ribs.

He tweeted: “The news many of us have been waiting for. Some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Cycling’s two other threeweek Grand Tour races have also been rescheduled for later this year, as part of a plan by the UCI to stage all major cycling races this season.

The Giro d’Italia - which was scheduled to take place in May - and the Vuelta a Espana, originally set for September, will now be raced after September ’s World Championships.

The championships, which will be held in

Switzerland, remain in their 2027 September slot, which means the Tour de France will finish on the same day the week-long championships begin.

That means the men’s World Championship road race will take place one week after the final day of the Tour.

The postponed ‘monument’ one-day races Milan-San Remo, LiegeBastonge-Liege, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix “will all take place this season, at dates still to be defined”, added the statement.

The UCI cautioned that the calendar will remain dependant on the “world health situation”, with the body’s president David Lappartient saying “we still have work to do to finalise the establishment of an entirely revised calendar”.

On 10 April, the UCI furloughed staff and cut the salaries of senior employees as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The women’s version of the Tour, La Course by le Tour de France, was initially scheduled to take place over one day on 19 July on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

But Tour organiser ASO said it will also be postponed and instead take place

“during the Tour de France 2020”.

Analysis - Matt Warwick, BBC Sport As determined as the UCI is, it is hard to see how cycling’s governing body is going to fit all these races into this season.

It appears officials believe the financial implications for cancelling races in 2020 could be so detrimental - to teams and organisers - that they will instead try to push all major events back as far as they can.

But what is realistic in such an unpredictable situation as the coronavirus crisis evolves? Cycling could yet benefit commercially from being one of the few major sports not to call off much of its 2020 schedule until next year. However, if those events - having been moved - are then cancelled at a later date, there must be further financial implications.

And there is already much to sort out on the calendar, so when does the UCI think it can fit in a further six weeks of Grand Tour competition and five ‘monument’ one-day races around October and November, when most of Europe gets seriously cold and wet?

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Fruta Conquerors doing their part to flatten covid-19 curve

Coach Sampson Gilbert lifting the elite league championship trophy.

Head coach of the twotime defending Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite league Champions, Fruta Conquerors Football Club (FCFC); Sampson Gilbert, during an interview with Kaieteur Sport, shared that he believes that his club plays a big role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic locally.

“We called off all our sessions based on the recommendations of FIFA, Concacaf and the GFF. We are the elite league champions and if we continue to train, other clubs may follow us because competition will be

Coach Sampson Gilbert (extreme right) poses with Fruta Conquerors senior team. at the back of their heads.

Early on, I thought that we should desist but that wasn’t the general consensus with the staff at the club but the decision was made nevertheless,” Coach Gilbert noted.

The Tucville based club’s boss added that, “Conquerors alone won’t be affected, it’s the entire world and as a leading club we have a social responsibility to set examples for everyone, especially the youths. I have heard that persons are still gathering and playing, we need to stop that immediately.

We will get back to the game,

it won’t be like this forever but we first need to survive.

“I have been connecting with my football family through social media to share useful information and to encourage them to keep the fight against this horrible disease going.

I have been urging them to practice social distancing and keep sanitizers with them always, as has been advised by health officials.”

Following the triumph over coronavirus, things will go back to normal, including regular football competitions and the coach’s advice for all players is do physical training

exercises to maintain a certain level of fitness, “You can jog but it’s important to not gang up, social distancing is ideal.

Calisthenics and Plyometric exercises, abdominals, wall passes and drills are all useful things that can be done on your own.”

The coach stressed the importance of calisthenics since it helps to maintain aerobic fitness and it can be done in a confined area.

Calisthenics are body mastering exercises that are done to develop strength, Balance, control, flexibility and mobility inclusive of squats, frog hops, push and

SL whitewash a boost for Pollard ahead of T20 title defence BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Captain Kieron Pollard says West Indies’ aggression in their series win over Sri Lanka last month was an encouraging sign of development ahead of this October’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.

However, with upcoming series against New Zealand and South Africa under threat because of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Pollard believes it has cost the Caribbean side the chance to further enhance its team building and overall preparations.

“The way that we played and the power we had in our lineup with that pace and aggression, our athleticism in the field, it brought a smile to my face the way we performed in those last two

games,” Pollard said.

“And I think we’re getting there and it’s just unfortunate that what has taken place now in terms of the pandemic all around the world because we had a couple series coming up against New Zealand and South Africa that would have helped tighten the grip a bit more.

“Again, those things are [out of our control], we can’t think about that but it excites me thinking about the World Cup. Hopefully we can continue to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”

West Indies produced two dominant performances in Pallekele to whitewash Sri Lanka 2-0 in the T20 International series.

They won the opening game by 25 runs courtesy of a Lendl Simmons half-century and shot-filled cameos from

Pollard and Andre Russell, while fast bowler Oshane Thomas blitzed the opposition with an aggressive five-wicket haul.

The tourists won the second game by seven wickets with three overs to spare, thanks again to Russell’s brutal hitting.

Pollard said the return of Russell and veteran allrounder Dwayne Bravo had been a definite boost for the side.

“I thought the guys that we had – Russell coming back in, Brav coming back in [was a plus], and still there are a couple guys around the setup that we’d love to have with us to make that complete 22-man squad that we can pick from,” he noted.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to run from October 18 to November 15, though the COVID-19 outbreak has also threatened to put the showpiece in

doubt.

West Indies will arrive as defending champions following their sensational win four years ago in India but Pollard said teambuilding and planning needed to be the immediate focus.

“I think the immediate goal for us would have been trying to put some wins on the board and getting a consistent group of guys to play together and understand their roles and their responsibilities,” he stressed.

“I think that’s the major thing before you go into a tournament so that’s the immediate goal right now.

“The goal is there: yes you want to go participate in the World Cup but you want to go there winning and so you need to plan how you’re going to do that, so we’re in that stage right now.”

pull-ups and short sprints.

Meanwhile, Plyometric exercises can also be used for fitness in small spaces. Those exercises include jumping, skipping, hopping, bounds and leaps.

The coach divulged that wall passes could be used to maintain and/sharpen techniques i.e. Passing and receiving a ball against a wall in your yard or confined space.

The coach believes that Fruta Conquerors will still be competitive following the pandemic based primarily on the large pool of players both youth and senior with impressive numbers from the grassroots level right up in

both male and female divisions.

The coach concluded that, “We don’t only play football at Conquerors, we look at the holistic development of players by imparting life skills as a major part of their development, counseling, etiquette, leadership skills, conflict resolution and useful life skills to help you be a rounded individual.

“A youngster may not turn out to be a good footballer but just being in this environment he should be able to benefit with some of the mentioned skills, that is part of our aim.” (Calvin Chapman)

Blatter suggests 2022 World Cup could be moved to U.S., other countries

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

NBC Sports - Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who is serving a six-year ban from football, has stated that the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to the United States or other well-developed countries is still a possibility after fresh corruption charges

were brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Last week, Russia and Qatar both released statements denying the charges, but formal proceedings could potentially push through change (Continued on page 19)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 22

Thursday April 16, 2020

What cricket means to West Indians (Part 7)

Lloyd talks about leading the invincibles

I

n 2006 Lloyd spoke about the challenges of leading an almost invincible team.

“Many of the guys came to play with me for the first time but we managed to get them to understand what they represented and the importance of being professionals. We worked together as a team and it paid off.

As a captain you look for talent in a player, the way he approaches things, you look for his attitude. If you want to gain altitude you have to have the right attitude. A player has to have some skill or talent to get to the test level, you look for how he approaches the game and life in general because cricket is not only a sport,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd, who won 36 of his 76 tests as captain explained that his team did by themselves what the analysts are doing today.

“We studied the batsmen, how they played, how they got their runs. We sort of noted it down and worked in our mind exactly how to bowl and position our fielders. So we were doing what the computers do now and we did one to 11, not one to seven,” Lloyd added.

The former skipper said that in the 70s and 80s his fast bowlers had to also operate on slow tracks at times but said his bowlers were all tall and had the ability to exploit any condition. “That is why they were great; they could bowl on all types of pitches.”

Lloyd informed that a lot

of his team’s success had to do with the pride of the people they represented.

“The pride is important.

When you go to a firm to apply for a job, the most important question is what do you want to join this for?

The people who went before us created something for us, so we were joining a very elite band of people who made all West Indians proud and we wanted to do the same thing. Once you know where you came from you knew where you were going,” Lloyd stressed.

The bespectacled lefthander explained how he got great players to become even greater.

“They gradually got to that stage… they started out as ordinary players then gradually increased things because they became very professional.

They played in England.

As a professional in England you needed to be disciplined as you could be playing 17 days straight. So your attitude to life needed to be good,” said Lloyd.

When asked how he handled a player like Viv Richards, Lloyd responded by saying “He realized that we were all professionals too and that some of the guys were just as good. We had guys out there who just wanted to win and they were disciplined and professional enough to do it. Everybody was quite happy to play and we were all good friends, we were like a family.”

THE GLORY DAYS: Determined to prove that

The Clive Lloyd led West Indies celebrate during the glory days. the 1980 demise in New Zealand was more due to sub-standard umpiring than lack of ability of his team, Lloyd led from the front and, along with the young Haynes and Richards, scored centuries in the three-test 1980 series against England which his team won 1-nil to start their reign as heavyweight champions of the cricketing world. They did not lose a single series u n t i l M a r k Ta y l o r ’ s Australians won 2-1 in the 1995 series in the West Indies.

With Greenidge and Haynes firmly established as the game’s premier opening pair and Roberts, Holding, Marshall, Garner and Croft giving opposing batsmen countless nightmares, the rampaging West Indies were unbeatable during the 1980’s; winning a record 11

consecutive tests in 1984.

Australia broke that record by winning 16 successive tests in 2000/2001.

The only blemish for the West Indies in the 1980’s was the shocking loss to India in the low scoring 1983 World Cup Final at Lords.

West Indies were however unbeaten in 16 test series in the 1980s.

Another reason for the West Indies success apart from their magnificent fielding and hectic fitness programmes conducted by Australian trainer Dennis Waite was the batting of their Wicket Keeper Jeff Dujon.

Dujon made his debut as a batsman (replacing Faoud Bacchus) in the 1981/82 tour to Australia and scored 41, 43, 44 and 48 in his first two test matches. He then made 51 and 0 not out in the next test when he took over the

gloves from Barbadian David Murray.

The West Indies, now with a specialist batsman who was acrobatically efficient to the fast bowlers as wicketkeeper, white washed England 5-nill in the 1984 series in England and beat Australia 3-1 down under as the career of Lloyd (110 matches, 7,515 runs, H/S 242*, Ave.46.67, 100’s 19, 50’s 39) came to an end and Richards took over as captain.

Rebel West Indians embark on shocking tour to apartheid ruled South Africa After promising much with his imperial stroke play, Rowe’s career faded and finally he decided to captain a rebel West Indies team to Apartheid ruled South Africa in 1983, effectively ending his test career.

West Indies Team in the 1980s.

Trainer Dennis Waite is at left.

Others like Alvin Kallicharran, Colin Croft, Collis King, Faoud Bacchus and Sylvester Clarke were also on the team to South Africa. The WICB banned the players (whom received gigantic sums of money for their participation) for life but this was later revoked.

Most of the players on the original rebel team were among those who embarked on another tour to South Africa the next year. Despite the loss of talent the official West Indies side continued their dominance.

The players from Sri Lanka who went to South Africa were banned for life, while those from England received a three-year band.

In South Africa, the West Indians were afforded ‘honorary whites’ status and it is reported that they received as much US$30,000 to play cricket for a six-week period per year.

The Honorary white status gave sportsmen a licence to be white for the time they were engaged in sporting activities but reduces them to a lower status as soon as they leave the club’s premises.

The 16 players who went on the first rebel tour to South Africa were; Lawrence Rowe, Richard Austin, Everton Mattis, Herbert Chang, Ray Wynter, Alvin Greenidge, Emerson Trotman, Collis King, Franklyn Stephenson, Sylvester Clarke, David Murray, Ezra Moseley, Alvin Kallicharran, Colin Croft, Bernard Julien and Derek Parry. (Sean Devers)

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 16, 2020

PAGE 23

Barcelona to take legal action against ex-vice president Rousaud

O

mnisport Barcelona are planning to take legal action against former director Emili Rousaud over his claims “someone had their hand in the till” at the club and have announced a restructuring of the board.

Rousaud stood down his position as vice president along with five other directors Enrique Tombas, Silvio Elias, Josep Pont, Jordi Calsamiglia and Maria Texidor amid reports of months of internal disputes ahead of presidential elections due to take place next year.

Speaking after his resignation, Rousaud spoke out about the split among the senior management and told RAC1: “I think someone has had their hand in the till, although I don’t know who.”

Barca issued a swift and strong rebuttal of the claims in a club statement last week and have now announced their intention to begin legal proceedings.

“In the face of grave and unfounded allegations made

by Mr Emili Rousaud, the club’s former vice president, in a number of media

interviews, the board of directors categorically denies any action that could be described as corruption and have agreed to bring the corresponding legal action accordingly,” a statement read “FC Barcelona cannot tolerate allegations that seriously damage the institution’s image. The legal action to be taken is in defence of the honour of the club and its employees.”

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 premiership. Both Barcelona and 13 Ventures strongly denied entering into any such agreement.

Barca’s statement added: “In this regard, the board wishes to emphasise that in the light of these allegations, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the company in charge of conducting the audit on the monitoring

Barcelona to take legal action against ex-vice president Rousaud.

services of social networks contracted by the club, have reiterated that its work is still ongoing and, therefore, is without any provisional or definitive conclusions.

“The board of directors have agreed that, once the audit is completed, it will analyse the content and conclusions derived from it, publish them, and will make their decisions and take

Austrian government not opposed to Grand Prix without fans General view during the Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.

(REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo)

appropriate measures based on their final result.”

The exits of the six board members came two days after ESPN reported president Josep Maria Bartomeu wanted four board members to step down in a bid to strengthen his position as he seeks reelection.

The planned reshuffle was later referenced by

Barca in their response to Rousaud’s claims and the result of the reorganisation was confirmed on Monday.

“At the proposal of the president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, the board of directors have approved the appointment of Jordi Moix, as vice president for economic and equity; Pau Vilanova, as institutional vice president; Oriol Tomas,

as vice president of the commercial area; Marta Plana, as secretary of the board of directors; and David Bellver, as treasurer,” Barca said.

“Javier Bordas will be the manager responsible for the football first team, while Xavier Vilajoana will be in charge of Barca B, the youth t e a m s a n d w o m e n ’s football.”

Arsenal to continue paying staff, casual workers until end of May A woman wearing a mask walks by the Emirates Stadium.

(Action Images via Reuters/ John Sibley/File Photo)

VIENNA (Reuters) - The Austrian government is not opposed to this year’s Formula One Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring taking place without spectators, Sports Minister and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said yesterday.

The first nine rounds of the Formula One season — up to and including the Canadian Grand Prix on June 14 — have been called off due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

That leaves the Austrian race at Spielberg on July 5 as the second still on the schedule after the French Grand Prix on June 28.

“We don’t want to get in the way,” Kogler told reporters when asked if the government would allow the race to take place.

However, he said it was different to staging a football match without fans because

of the number of technical staff involved.

The 10 Formula One teams each have around 60 people in the paddock on race weekends while Formula One staff, plus technical and safety officials as well as media and broadcast personnel, would bring the total attending the race to more than 1,000.

The number would increase further if the usual support races, such as Formula Two, are also run.

Kogler added that travel restrictions could be a bigger hurdle than social distancing rules.

“This must then be considered within the framework of the existing restrictions on entry and exit (into the country),” he said. “I don’t want to anticipate if an exemption will be needed here or there.”

(Reuters) - Arsenal will not use the government’s furlough scheme and will continue paying employees and casual workers their full salaries until the end of May, the Premier League club said yesterday.

The top-flight season has been suspended until at least April 30 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the north London club had initially committed to paying employees’ salaries until the end of this month.

“All our employees are receiving their full salaries and we plan to continue this. We are not currently intending to use the government’s furlough scheme,” Arsenal said in a statement. ”In addition to our employees, we are extending our commitment to pay casual workers on our payroll from the end of April to the end of May.

“For our matchday casual workers this means they will be paid for all four Premier League games that have been postponed and will be paid again should they work at these games once re-arranged.”

A few Premier League clubs had initially opted to use the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to temporarily help pay staff during the stoppage.

However, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth reversed their decisions amid a backlash from the fans.

Arsenal said they were in talks with their players regarding “potential financial challenges” in future but had not reached an agreement with them yet on how to move forward. Last week, West Ham United and Southampton announced wage deferrals for their players to cope with the financial impact of the pandemic.

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Coach Gilbert conducting a female training session.

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West Indies captain Kieron Pollard.

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The 107th edition of the Tour will start in Nice and finish in Paris. (Getty Images)

No avenue for famed trio to contribute

says Yorke

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