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Heath-London, NEWS James Bond, others for court today on fraud charges AIETEUR

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Thursday Edition April 01, 2021 - Vol. 14 No. 12 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday 99,034

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

Guyana’s second EITI report reveals …

48 companies in gold, diamond, bauxite, timber, oil industries, etc. refuse to give out tax, financial data p.

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Country’s export, production stats in disarray Govt. agencies fail to submit requested details Bicycle bandits Shortage of drugs Ex-cop arrested ‘choke and continues to impact for obtaining p.2 p. rob’ man on 18p. health facilities 14 money under Robb Street countrywide - CMO false pretense During visit to Black Bush Polder…

Murder of Berbice pensioner…

As gas-to-shore project’s price tag balloons…

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Pres. Ali instructs Relative of slain T&T expert warns contractor Henry cousins Govt. to determine to return dirt sustainability turns self of industry first sold to residents into police p.

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Guyana Police, Magistrates’ Court System corrupt - says widespread public perception implicates officials at all levels US State Dept. 2020 report finds…

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Pres. Ali continues the culture of begging by Guyanese leaders and the new Ponzi Scheme in the making. Tune in to Kaieteur Radio (99.1/99.5FM) @ 11:00hrs to find out!

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Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

Heath-London, James Bond, others for court today on fraud charges A

fter several months of investigation, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday laid charges against the Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Colvin Heath-London; People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R) member, James Bond.

Also charged are Director of A-Z Pharmaceuticals Medical Supplies and Equipment Inc., Eddie Doolal, and a principal of ARKEN Group Inc., Jermaine Richmond.

The four men were slapped with three fraud charges in relation to the giveaway of prime state lands at Plantation Peter's Hall, East Bank Demerara.

They are slated to make their first court appearance today in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

According to a source, Heath-London and Bond were implicated in all three of the joint charges.

Heath-London and Bond are jointly charged for the first charge. Doolal is implicated in the second joint charge and Richmond is

James Bond

Colvin Heath-London

Jermaine Richards

Eddie Doolal

implicated in the third joint charge.

Kaieteur News

understands that HeathLondon and Bond are involved in all the deals which saw acres of prime state lands being transferred.

According to reports, Doolal and Life 1 Pharms I n c . D i r e c t o r, Av a l o n

Jagnanadan, both leased 15 acres of prime state land from NICIL but transferred the state land at a price to a Chinese National, Jianfen Yu. However, Jagnanadan has not been charged.

It is further alleged that in

another land deal, Richmond on behalf of a company, leased from NICIL 20.3 acres of land at Peter's Hall on May 9, 2018 for a 20-year period at US$16,224 per year.

According to reports, Bond received a payment from Trinidad logistics company, Lennox Petroleum, for the sale of 10 acres of the land leased to the company that Richmond (continued on page 11)

Ex-cop arrested for obtaining money under false pretense

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n ex-cop was arrested for allegedly obtaining money under false pretense. The former policeman, Paul Watson, of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, was arrested on Tuesday.

It is alleged that Watson, who is now attached to a private security service, obtained money from an individual by pretending that he was in a position to assist the person in obtaining a firearm licence.

According to a police report, Watson was previously charged for a matter of similar nature.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is urging persons who may have been defrauded by Watson under similar circumstances to report the matter to the nearest police station.

Arrested: Paul Watson

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Thursday April 01, 2021

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As gas-to-shore project's price tag balloons…

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T&T expert warns Govt. to determine sustainability of industry first G

uyana is being sold a gas-toshore project by its administration but revelations are illustrating an increasing price tag.

Former Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Energy, Kevin Ramnarine, in a recent discussion on the project disclosed that the pipeline alone will cost the country some US$800M but “the more important facility would be the facility which is to condition the gas or to fractionate the gas.”

This, in essence refers to a refinery type facility to separate the associated gases which would land onshore—a fraction of which would be used to supply Guyana with an oversupply of electricity.

Ramnarine, during the gas to shore discussion hosted by OilNOW's Chris Chapwanya, said that the Guyana government, before forging ahead with the project, needs to determine, “what is the best way to develop industries that are sustainable and that could create jobs and so on.”

The associated gas to be landed onshore Guyana by 2024 would initially be at some 50 million cubic feet of gas daily.

A c c o r d i n g t o Ramnarine, it must be realised that a facility will have to be set up to separate the methane, “and ethane and propane and so on; more than likely, a power plant would need methane which is the simplest of the hydrocarbons. So the power plant gets what they call C1 and C2, which is methane and ethane.”

He explained that “everything else, which is C3+” which is essentially

butane is also used as a propellant.

He spoke too about the need to consider propane commonly referred to as Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Other gases that would be obtained and separated—at a conditioning facility that will have to be built before anything can be done with any of the gases—includes “pentane and hexane and so on.”

RECEIVING INFRASTRUCTURE He posited that these too are valuable liquids. “That has value from the point of view of supplying Guyana with cooking gas (one) and supplying Guyana with cooking gas at a lower cost than it is currently being supplied because you would be importing your cooking gas right now from somewhere.”

Landing gas to shore, according to the former Energy Minister, will also have to take into account the need to construct the basic 'receiving infrastructure' for the gas.

This, he noted, is also in addition to the conditioning facility that will fractionate the gas and pointed to what is referred to in the industry as a “slug catcher”.

While speculating on the uncertainty of this facility for associated gases coming from Guyana's offshore fields using pipelines, Ramnarine did point out that the piece of infrastructure is used as a type of valve to regulate the incoming flow of gas.

He explained saying, the purpose of the slug catcher is to smoothen out the flow of gas as the gas approaches the

shoreline.

“Because the gas can be coming in, what they call two-phase flow which is where you have slugs of liquid and gas; so the purpose of the slug catcher is to smoothen out that or else you're going to have uneven type of flow.”

Ramnarine pointed out that this would have to be installed ahead of the plant that will separate the varying gases emanating from the pipeline.

Expanding on his position during the webinar, the former Energy Minister was adamant that ExxonMobil at present has very few options for natural gas offshore.

He noted too that, “increasingly, as the decade progresses, I think more gas will be making its ways to the coastline. And therefore the question arises, you know; what is the best way to develop industries that are sustainable, and that could create jobs and so on.”

Speaking to potential uses for the massive quantities of gas that could land onshore Guyana, along with their accompanying infrastructure, Ramnarine pointed to liquefied gas for mining and companies such as Demerara Distillers Limited, which already imports small amounts of LNG. NATIONAL SECURITY Outlining additional expenditure that would be required for a gas to shore initiative, the former T&T Energy Minister noted that among the main concerns with the utilisation of gas from the oil and gas fields.

“I think there are some

concerns about the pipeline, and about the pipeline approach to the shoreline if possible,” he conceded.

Ramnarine qualified his position by outlining “…of course the pipeline has to make landfall somewhere and that somewhere is going to be the West Bank or the West Coast,” as he spoke to the need for capacity building at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A d d i t i o n a l l y, i n outlining some of the associated inherent cost that would be attached to landing from the Liza Field, Ramnarine pointed to the need for an effective regulator which he speculated would come under Guyana's Petroleum Management Unit.

The Former Energy Minister outlined too that the sector, if relied on to supply electricity will also become a matter of national security for the country.

“So, I just want to give the Trinidadian experience here. Therefore, given that all electricity in Trinidad comes from natural gas, it means therefore that the natural gas industry in Trinidad and Tobago is not only an economic priority, it's also a national security priority. So that is also one of the reasons why the Minster of Energy in Trinidad, sits on the National Security Council.”

He posited, “he is not there to give his opinion about bandits and criminals breaking in; he is there because of the strategic value of gas infrastructure and energy infrastructure.”

Ramnarine also pointed to the fact that in that country the army would have to be employed to patrol the oil and gas pipelines.

He suggested this activity by the military is “part of the regulatory oversight of natural gas

Former T&T Energy Minister, Kevin Ramnarine infrastructure too,” underscoring the “security of those assets.

A c c o r d i n g t o Ramnarine, “increasingly, that is going to become an issue for Guyana, the security of energy infrastructure because as the energy infrastructure grows, you will always have the risk of people who may want to interfere. That is a very big issue in Nigeria.

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Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

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

Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Exxon bringing out the brass band The management of ExxonMobil does not like where the company is in the minds of Guyanese, and it is readying to do something about that unsatisfying state of things. This is what we published on March 28 in the article captioned, “ExxonMobil seeks to give its local reputation a facelift.”

Truth be told, the company needs more than a facelift: it needs a full body bath, with the most powerful detergents utilised lavishly.

We will be frank and right from the get-go: we are suspicious and skeptical. Count us among the tiny army of the watchful, who will laud Exxon when it prioritises that which is more of substance, and less of cosmetics.

Guyanese do not need public relations propaganda, as they get more than they can swallow from local political and commercial leaders, who are suspected to be in bed with Exxon, and part of its well-oiled machinery for their own prosperity.

We take the opportunity to tell Exxon that the angry citizens of this country do not need, and have no use, for slick images and sweet feel-good stories of how well Exxon means, and all the wonderful things it is doing, which can mean so much to this country.

No! On behalf of our fellow Guyanese, we deliver this message to the executives and managers and strategic thinkers of Exxon: save that facelift (propaganda) money.

Spare the public relations (facelift) efforts. Cast aside that strategy, for it will not fool Guyanese one bit, as to how good Exxon can be for here. Not when all the riches go to Exxon.

Not when Exxon looked at our pathetic circumstances (politics, ethnics, economics, and civics) and took us to the cleaners. Not when Exxon has gored us in the gut, and stabbed us in the scrotum (like Brutus did to Julius Caesar), and laid waste to our dreams.

Not when Exxon has made the fullest use of the age-old practice of divide and conquer, of setting us even more against one another. And not when Exxon has bought out and compromised into uselessness our political and professional elites, our civil society, and significant swathes of this society.

Any facelift operation by Exxon is about smoothing over wrinkles, but leaving the cancerous skin unaddressed and unremedied. Any facelift operation to salvage its shabby reputation before Guyanese is nothing more than clipping dirty fingernails, while refusing to sanitise its clawing hands all the way past its nasty elbows and above its smelly armpits.

Exxon is bent on continuing its sordid slickness. For now, it is preparing to hire Guyanese to mislead Guyanese still more. Now it is getting Guyanese companies and Guyanese minds to figure out ways on how to undermine their fellow citizens some more. This is the power of the foreign Yankee dollar to mesmerise simple local minds first and then pauperise them further.

Guyanese will not be persuaded by any facelift that Exxon displays before them, for the company’s scars would still be visible, and they are ugly. Exxon does not need a skin graft on its deceiving face; it needs to stop grafting from the guts and groins of Guyanese.

Exxon will find out soon enough that it is in dire need of more than cosmetic surgery: the company needs, and immediately, a full-scale operation to purge it of the many financial perversities that it has placed on Guyana, and which plagues the promises of our prosperity.

This is what Exxon needs to do, and must do with the sharpest of urgencies. Exxon should concentrate on the things that matter to Guyanese.

It must give them more money. It must bring more respect in its dealings with the peoples of this country. It must cease thinking of itself as a conquering colonial master, with pitiful peons for subjects; people who will fall for the gimmicks and tricks of smoothening and soothing public relations professionals. Guyanese do not need paid nursemaids to help them to see what Exxon wants them to see, and in a way that makes the company look good to

What we need now are modern multi-purpose complexes, not just standard community centres DEAR EDITOR, Bernell Wickham, in his letter to SN on 28 March (“NDC must rescue Mahaica Community Centre”), calls for, in his words, a comprehensive plan for the beneficial use of the building as part of a wider effort to improve the lives and living conditions of the residents of the community. He adds that a rescued centre can be used for a wide range of fitting purposes.

Instinctively, regardless of where we live in Guyana, many can make a similar call within our own communities.

Such calls, however, too often fail to examine, because of the seeming self-justification of a community centre, the deeper question of what community goals could or should be achieved by having such a building. This failure mostly results in numerous renovated community centres soon becoming underused and eventually abandoned. Until the next cycle of renovation, underuse, and abandonment.

We need a wider perspective. The ideas for which a centre could be used include (as Mr. Wickham points out)

a library, an ICT hub, lectures, discussions, meetings, skills training, reception hall, concerts, games, and club events.

These and other uses split into two core purposes: (i) the centre as a convenient physical enclosure (for a library, wedding receptions, for example) and (ii) the centre as a space that facilitates the building of social connectedness and collectiveness, and community spirit. Club events, games, and village meetings, as examples, fit here.

The longevity of a community centre is assured only if demand exists within the community for the two core purposes. One suspects that many centres have fallen into underuse or disuse mostly because of the scarcity of activities aimed at building socalled social capital to which the second core purpose speaks. Rescuing community centres must fall within the broader goal of developing this social capital.

Achieving this broader goal requires social organisation within the community. Put in starker terms, events and activities such

Guyana must be allowed to play its part in moving West Indies Cricket forward DEAR EDITOR, I am a relatively young man, as is the majority of the Guyanese population. Sport runs in my blood, some more so than others. Cricket is a part of my culture, a part of my heritage and a part of my being. As much as I am critical of West Indies cricket, I find great joy and happiness in those briefest of moments of success. For many others and I, cricket is what makes us West Indian, makes us one, brings us together and unites us.

I have noticed two recent events which have great significance for myself and the entire cricketing fraternity.

The first is the election of the newest members of the executive of the Guyana Cricket Board. This is an election long overdue and such a travesty should never be allowed to reoccur. Ten years to have a democratic election is a failure as a people, as an organisation and as a nation.

Guyana is well known for its examples of failed politics and

failed leaders, why must we bring this into sports? The most recent election has still proven that not everything is well with our local cricket.

The fact than an entire county and its representatives did not present themselves for elections, whatever the reason, speaks a lot.

Elections are won by the popular vote and not in courtrooms. I am hoping that there is no litigation coming out from the most recent results of these elections. I hereby would personally like to extend the warmest of congratulations to the team of Mr. Bissoondyal Singh, Mr. Hilbert Foster, Mr. Ramnaresh Sarwan et al. I hope that you put Guyana and its youth first and foremost. I hope that with new management, we will be seeing more cricket, and cricket of a higher caliber.

On a more sombre note, there was supposed to be another election. An election of similar or even more importance. Cricket West Indies (Continued on page 5)

them.

No! Instead, Exxon must focus on what it takes to be a true partner, and not an exploiter of the rankest order. It must be more of a giver and way less of such an imbalanced and imperious taker. Exxon should leave alone that business about getting a facelift. Exxon should step forward and deliver not a facelift, but the fullness of finances that matter. That will mean much to the greatest majority of citizens in this country.

meetings, skills training, and concerts do not happen merely because a community centre exists, no matter how well-maintained. They have to be organised by individuals, groups, and organisations within the community. And for these actors to so act, they have to exist and feel the need to so act.

And for them to continue to exist and feel that need, their fellow residents have to show interest through their participation and support. Moreover, outside of organised activities, residents must feel the need to cross paths and engage.

Achieving social organisation within the community need not precede the erection of a good community centre. In fact, the centre can galvanize and catalyze this social process. But to play that role, the physical paradigm of the community centre in Guyana must be radically reconceptualised. Rescuing (to use Mr. Wickham’s word) the existing obsolete buildings would not serve.

They have long outlived their usefulness. What we need now are modern multi-pur-

pose complexes, with spaces for concurrent staging of meetings, games and recreation, education and study, village administration, etc.

These structures should be designed with an eye to using them also as evacuation and emergency centres. For community centres in tiny yards (such as the dismal BV/ Triumph community centre), let us erect a 4 to 5-storied structure. Remodeling centres at this scale is beyond the financial and other capacity of NDCs. The central government must step forward.

Creating that healthy social environment requires more than a well-functioning community centre. It would also require, for one, stronger local governance (see discussion on https:// w w w. c o m m u n i t i e s guyana.com/). The social restrictions necessitated by the COVID pandemic would also pose a challenge. Interestingly, in countries coming out of a lockdown, much attention is already being paid to restoring a vibrant community Yours truly, Sherwood Lowe

COVID and the brittle spirit of party leadership will lead to the PNCR’s defeat in 2025 DEAR EDITOR I get calls from Guyanese around the world and at home all the time. It has been most frequent over the past two weeks. I am unable to address all the questions and concerns thrown my way. There is simply no answer to some of the questions asked.

A young woman who recently graduated from the University of Guyana asked me a troubling question, yesterday. On one hand I was happy to know that young people are still concerned about politics and the direction it is going in Guyana. But I was saddened that I could not proffer a plausible answer to her question. She wanted to know when our Party will hold Congress.

My response was that because of concerns about the pandemic, the Party has not made a decision to hold Congress in the foreseeable future. Her response was sharp; a bit too sharp for my liking. It made me feel as if the decision to hold Congress was mine to make.

She asked, with a tint of sarcasm, that if the pandemic is around in 2025, if national elections will be postponed indefinitely? I politely admon-

ished her about her tone before asking her to redirect that question to PNCR’s General Secretary, Amna Ally, and Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon.

“I am asking you because to the best of my knowledge it is you who have consistently made that public call for Congress to be held in the month of April of this year.”

She replied. I explained to her that call was made because of the importance of making the Party viable to face elections in 2025.

It broke my heart to hear her utter words of disappointment and anger. “The party knows that therefore it would be a waste of time lending support to anything that is setting itself up to fail from the outset.” she stated.

I am afraid that our supporters will walk away leaving the PPP to have a landslide victory in 2025. It will be a case of Covid and the brittle spirit of our Party leadership that will be responsible for such a defeat. What is most sad is the fact that most of us remain silent in the face of this unfortunate decision or non-decision.

Yours truly, Norman K. Browne

Thursday April 01, 2021

Attitude on gas-to-shore project reminiscent of Skeldon factory and the Berbice Bridge DEAR EDITOR, Recent disclosure that Exxon is presently “in the process of selecting suitable firms to conduct four studies before moving to the construction phase” of our gas-toshore pipeline is beyond ludicrous. Why Exxon? Has Exxon taken on the mantle of government? Is the government incapable of looking after the affairs of the people in the oil and gas sector?

Our oil boss, having bypassed the project’s economic feasibility by dismissing its necessity as a “no brainer” is reminiscent of the Skeldon factory and the Berbice Bridge. As it seems now, the gas-to-shore pipeline is stalled only for four studies that can only fluctuate the cost from 500 to 800 million US dollars, depending on the design to be dictated by the

four studies.

According to our PSA, Exxon should flare only for maintenance of equipment and the bulk of associated gas produced should be reinjected into the reservoirs. So far reinjection of the gas seems to be a burdensome task, allegedly, based on complaints of equipment failure.

Presently, all the gas is now being flared by Exxon, contrary to the PSA. After the pipeline is installed, we will have to pay Exxon to transport the gas to shore for as long as there is gas to be sent ashore. Why should we pay for the pipeline which for all intent is to transport the gas and then continue to pay Exxon to transport the gas sounds ludicrous to me!

Exxon would most likely be using the said compression pumps used for reinjection to

propel the gas to shore, why pay them for that while we would be relieving them of the more arduous task of reinjecting the produced gas? How much would we be paying for transporting a cubic foot of gas relative to the market price for gas remains a secret in the VP’s “no brainer” approach.

The VP had said the “renewables are yapping at our feet” and that there is a “short window” of opportunity, in this regard rapid extraction of our oil is encouraged. Sadly this will reduce the life of the project (gas pipeline) from say 45 years to 30 years - when the oil is finished there would be no gas left. Why invest US$800 million to have a “white elephant” in 30 years, when the Amaila Falls project was (Continued on page 6)

Guyana must be allowed to play its part...

From page 4 was supposed to have their biennial meeting to elect the new executive. The current leadership was/is being challenged by others for the position. Strangely enough, the two associations from where the challengers came (Guyana and Barbados) chose to not attend the meeting resulting in CWI not having a quorum for their meeting. This is a scenario that is almost unheard of. “The hijacking of CWI” is what it is being referred to on social media.

Strangely enough, the persons challenging for the leadership position of CWI are some of the leaders of the most recent Guyana Cricket Board, a board that did not hold any elections for close to a decade. If this is not a clear example of what the future may hold, I shudder to think differently.

My million-dollar question is the following. Who is really running the GCB? Is it one man or is it an executive? The

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Kaieteur News

scathing backlash that we are currently facing because of our decision to not partake in the meeting of the CWI is unjust for all Guyanese. We are unjustly painted with a brush as troublemakers, as a society that does things our way, as persons with no regard for democratic norms.

Sadly, our recent electoral experiences as a nation seem to have rubbed off negatively on some. How can we fix it?

If there is a silver lining, it is the fact that we had a recent GCB Election. The majority of stakeholders appear to have given the new executive their blessing. Now it is time for President Singh to step up and take the first kick (in football terms) or to face the red cherry. His first act as president should be to rescind the term of our current representatives on CWI to through a transparent process appoint persons who will represent us as a nation and an association. The GCB’s representatives on CWI should reflect the views of the

nation borne through a consultative process with the entire country. The next scheduled meeting of CWI should see new representatives from the GCB. These representatives should then use their votes wisely to appoint/elect the best possible candidates to take CWI forward. West Indies cricket needs unity. We cannot have persons/boards pulling in all different directions. If the election process is democratic, then a transparent election will give us the best candidate to lead us for the next two years. Guyana must be allowed to play its part in moving West Indies Cricket forward. We all have a part to play. Let us do it together.

One West Indies. One Caribbean.

Yours truly, Dr. Mark France.

Instead of GuySuCo being turned around, it will be buried underground DEAR EDITOR, GuySuCo is turning out to be a failure. It was inevitable that GuySuCo would fail from the get go in August. There is no innovation and transformational leadership to turn around GuySuCo. Government erred in its appointees to manage GuySuCo. Since September, there is a lot of ‘abu’ (abundance and excesses in expenditure in management) and ‘dhabu’ (eating) and merry go round (fun, enjoyment and going in circles) with little skill and competence to transform the industry. Instead of GuySuCo being turned around, it will be buried underground. Resources are not concentrated on preparing the fields or rehabilitating the closed estates or raising the salary of those involved on field work but on management. GuySuCo has more consultants, bookkeepers, and accountants than larger agencies and corporations. The then opposition PPP blamed APNU for financial waste, but more money is wasted now than previously.

The Irfaan/Jagdeo team is silent on financial abuses and the neglect of sugar workers.

Two ‘turn around’ consultants were hired in September in excess of US$15K monthly (over G$3M) plus other perks. One was hyped as transforming Scotia Bank (it is closing out) and the other was introduced as the man who turned around the bauxite industry (it is being shuttered). They were the experts hired to turn around GuySuCo – we know what turn around under them meant. They seem to lack agricultural and agronomy background – one supposedly a banker and the other a fast food manager. They are integrally involved in GuySuCo’s turnaround plan. These consultants were supposed to

prepare a GuySuCo turnaround document. To date, seven months later, a document is not available for perusal, much less evaluation.

Is there a draft of the intended consultancy? Some $21M spent, but no document. Dr. N.K Gopaul led a small team of experts to prepare a GuySuCo turn around document within days of the government swearing in and it cost virtually no money. Why couldn’t that document be used as a basis for a turnaround plan instead of hiring new consultants who are not familiar with the industry to prepare a plan? Or why couldn’t Mr. Vishnu Panday, an expert in sugar production and GuySuCo, be approached to prepare or evaluate a turnaround document?

Mr. Panday served as a consultant from 2012-2014. The effects of his expertise were felt in 2015, when sugar production increased to 230K tons, a credit to the work of President Donald Ramotar and Panday.

We learn that the CEO supposedly turned around sixteen companies in America.

But we are not given any of their names to confirm the claim. It would be great if we can at least have one company’s name to verify if it was indeed turned around or if it went the way of the Scotia Bank and the bauxite company. Besides the two noted above, several other consultants have been taken on at GuySuCo to assist the inhouse staff. Are so many consultants needed? We have only three active estates. The other three are not actively

being prepared for production and have limited staff. There is enough skilled expertise within GuySuCo without a need for these many consultants.

GuySuCo management seems to be eating well. Some months ago, an Indian rights activist from New York railed that the APNU appointed board was eating out GuySuCo money. Why is he silent now on this board eating out GuySuCo workers money? He should examine how much is spent on entertainment by GuySuCo’s management.Less than 100K tons sugar is produced, but there are more consultants than when there were eight grinding estates, a few years.

Big money is spent on consultancy, management and entertainment. Is it some $6M being spent monthly to upkeep the CEO with cooks, gardeners, servants, drivers, security, but field workers can’t get a salary raise to make $100K a month. Money is not available to fast track Skeldon, Enmore and Rose Hall. The promised creation of 10K jobs at GuySuCo has not materialised –only a few hundred have been hired and their jobs are not secure because two estates are being prepared to be handed over to foreigners.

Yours truly, Boysie Mangru

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Attitude on gas-to-shore project...

From page 5 tipped at US$900 millionknowing that “renewables” are recommended to save the

planet? Why not insist that Exxon keep its contractual obligations by reinjecting the associated gas produced,

while we invest in renewables - solar, wind farm and hydro.

Rapid extraction of oil to profiteer before the renewables that are “yapping at our feet” will result in large volumes of produced gas daily. How much will be used by GPL and domestic consumption and how much can we sell?Will Exxon flare what we cannot take or simply

pump it to shore for us to do the flaring while billing us for transportation of every cubic foot that comes ashore?

Could we be forced to pay Exxon for transporting gas that we have no use for and could that cost, because of the large volume, outweigh the cost for the gas we would be using at world market price?

Yours truly, Rudolph Singh

Thursday April 01, 2021

Rather than taking praise, the Minister of Housing should correct the deficiencies at his ministry DEAR EDITOR, Kaieteur News’ editorial of March 13,”The wait for a house-lot” has revealed some of the problems that exist in Guyana’s Housing Authority. The lengthy waiting period experienced daily by the public at the Ministry of Housing to rectify simple problems is ample testimony that gross inefficiencies continue to plague the Ministry, which is bordering on being a failed system. There can be no logic as to why someone had to wait 17 years to receive the title for a house lot in Region 5!

What is even more bizarre is the Housing Minister, Colin Croal, was proudly depicted issuing the land title to Miss Archer whose long wait spanned both the PPP and the APNU+AFC governments. Instead, he should have noted that the injustice done to Miss Archer occurred prior to 2015 during his PPP administration. There can be no doubt that the citizens of Guyana continue to be at the receiving end of a dysfunctional political directorate, a disorganised, arrogant, and incompetent bureaucratic system that seems to be normalised by the government. The simple task of allocating a house lot to applicants can be performed by clerks or a senior public servant and should not take decades. So rather than taking praise, the Minister of Housing should correct the deficiencies at his ministry. He should also issue an edict to the bureaucrats at the Ministry that they are the servants of the people and not their bosses.

Studies have shown that Bangladesh with its 57,000 square miles and 160 million inhabitants has a better housing system in place

than what Guyana has, to award house lots to its citizens. It reveals how profoundly terrible the Housing authorities in Guyana have and continued to treat its citizens. With 83,000 square miles and less than 800,000 people, it is regrettable, sad, and very disgraceful how governments, past and present could have people waiting for decades before they could obtain a house lot. It shows that the Housing Authority has failed the people in facilitating a basic human necessity. So far, no administration has successfully addressed this issue, and this is true with the current PPP administration. Another suspicious undertaking by the Housing Authority is how it grants house lots and to whom. It is a well-known fact that both the APNU+AFC and PPP governments have in the past granted house lots to relatives, friends, and party members. This discriminatory practice is not only unfair but is also highly intolerant by governments that claimed they were elected to govern in the interest of all. These are some of the litanies of pitfalls choking the Housing system, which can be overcome if the powers that be aspired to formulate new housing schemes and real estate procedures. Few can dispute that Guyana Housing Authority is in disarray. Not only it does not act fairly, but it has marginalised and discriminated against most house lot applicants, who are not affiliated to the two major parties or friends or relatives of politicians. It is a sad state of affair which is still happening in our beloved Guyana.

Yours truly, Leyland Chitlall Roopnaraine

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

Even as COVID-19 continues to batter our nation, we are faced with yet another epidemic – crime.

Almost daily our newspaper has been reporting on crimes, some especially heinous, that are committed. Even the most vulnerable among us are not spared.

The activities of bicycle and motorcycle bandits have seemingly become a societal norm.

Is the Commissioner of Police paying attention?

Is there a strategy in the making to eradicate this callous behaviour?

Our people are under attack and we clearly cannot cast all the blame on COVID-19!

We need the Police Force to serve and protect as it is mandated to do!

PAGE 07

PAGE 08

Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

US State Dept. 2020 report finds…

Guyana Police, Magistrates' Court - says widespread public perception System corrupt implicates officials at all levels T

he US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Guyana has found that the ranks of the Guyana Police Force are frequently engaged in acts of corruption—a practice that also taints the country's magistracy.

The recently released report on Guyana found that the Magistrates' courts, which deals with both criminal and civil matters, was plagued with “inefficiencies, and alleged

corruption in the magistrates' c o u r t s y s t e m a ff e c t e d citizens' ability to seek timely remedies in civil matters, and there was a large backlog of civil cases.”

Pointing to the hurdles facing the country's judicial sector, although the law provides criminal detainees prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and to family members, the report noted that authorities occasionally did not fully respect this right.

It was noted too that while the state provides legal

counsel for indigent persons, this is only done when such persons are charged with a capital offence.

The report said too that lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem, due primarily to judicial inefficiency, staff shortages, and cumbersome legal procedures.

It was pointed out that the average length of pretrial detention was three years for those awaiting trial at a magistrates' court or in the High Court and this often exceeded the maximum

Killed by police: Cecil Sampat

possible sentence for the crime for which they were charged.

According to the US State Department, while the law provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality, “delays and inefficiencies undermined judicial due process.”

Additionally, “shortages of trained court personnel, postponements at the request of the defence or prosecution, occasional allegations of bribery, poor tracking of cases, and police slowness in preparing cases for trial caused delays.

Additionally, it was noted that in Guyana while the law recognises the right to legal counsel, it was limited to those who could afford to pay, except in cases involving capital crimes.

“Although there is no formal public defender system, a defendant in a murder case that reaches the High Court may receive a court-appointed attorney…The Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, with government and private support, provided advice to

Opposition Member and Chief Whip, Christopher Jones persons who could not afford a lawyer, particularly victims of domestic violence and violence against women.”

As it relates to the Guyana Police Force, the US report concluded simply that, “Corruption by police officers was frequent.”

Qualifying its position, the document cited as example “there were reports the government prosecuted members of the police force during the year” and that “in July, the government prosecuted police officer Richard Persaud for extortion. Persaud resigned from the police force in August, and the prosecution against him was underway as of October.”

As it relates to public officers holding high office, the report lamented the deficiencies of the country's Integrity Commission.

According to the report, while the country's laws requires public officials to declare their assets to an

integrity commission and sets out both criminal and administrative sanctions for non-disclosure, no publications of convictions occurred during the first nine months of the year.

It was underscored that “if a person fails to file a declaration, the daily newspapers and the official gazette can publish that fact” and that “failure to comply with the law can lead to a summary conviction, fines, and imprisonment for six to 12 months.”

If property is not disclosed as required, the magistrate convicting the defendant must order the defendant to make a full disclosure within a set time.

The report outlined, however, that although the integrity commission was reconstituted in 2018, after a 12-year hiatus, it did not appear to be fully functional since no publications or convictions occurred during the first nine months of the year.

According to the report, the law provides for criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the government generally implemented the law effectively but there were isolated reports of government corruption d u r i n g t h e y e a r, a n d administration officials investigated these reports.

The report stated, however, that there remains “a widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the police and judiciary.”

Other damning infractions highlighted in the US State Department document on Guyana were reports that the government or its agents committed (continued on page 12)

Exxon signals better first-quarter earnings as oil prices climb (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp. expects rising firstquarter results across its three major businesses, with an at least $2 billion improvement from prices for oil and gas driving profits, the company signalled in a securities filing on Wednesday.

The filing, detailing

factors that affected the business, showed higher oil prices sequentially lift its oil and gas operating results by between $1.6 billion and $2 billion over the fourth quarter.

Natural gas pricing added another up to $700 million to operating profit, it indicated.

The filing also signalled a gain of as much as $1 billion in refining from better margins and unsettled derivatives.

Exxon's chemicals business is seen recording an up to $600 million boost over fourth quarter results in its chemicals business from better margins.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 09

Voting appears to be more important than being vaccinated P

e o p l e a r e extremely strange creatures. When a child is born, they would ensure that, that child is vaccinated.

Some parents would take time off from their workplace just to ensure that they are taking their babies to the clinics to get the vaccines which are administered to children for measles, polio or chicken pox. Not a parent would refuse to immunise their child with these vaccines. No one has ever complained about the side effects. There are no fears about these vaccines killing any child.

Yet, when it comes to the one vaccine which every adult should be taking, there are high levels of vaccine resistance. The country only has vaccines for 72,000 persons. This should have been enough for persons over the age of 60 years of age.

There are approximately 80,000 persons between the ages of 50-60 years. Guyana does not have sufficient vaccines for this age-range.

But because vaccine hesitancy is high, the authorities have been forced to begin inoculating persons 40 years and over.

Every time there is a national registration campaign, thousands of persons refuse to uplift their identification card. The authorities go to great lengths to urge persons to uplift the cards but many of them refuse to do so.

Dem

boys seh...

I

t had to tek a private university fuh set up a platform fuh help we local CSEC students.

Dem boys wan know what de Ministry of Education bin doing for de past year.

Oh yes, dem boys forget.

De Ministry been sharing out worksheets and offering online course offered by foreign universities. How come dem could not set up an online platform like wah Texila do? It put de ministry to shame even though it trying fuh seize some credit fuh de initiative.

They register but refuse to uplift their identification card. There is just hesitancy in uplifting voter identification card.

However, this is far less than the hesitancy to be vaccinated for the coronavirus.

There are many persons in Guyana who shy away from talking politics.

Whenever the conversations get around to political issues, people would complain how they want nothing to do with politics.

They complain how the politicians are only for themselves and not for the people. They show total disinterest in attending political meetings at street corners outside of the election campaign season.

But on Election Day, these same persons who profess disinterest in local politics are first in line to vote. It is an amazing spectacle. Persons, who previously, wanted nothing to do with politics are transformed overnight into political zealots.

Guyana has a high voter turnout relative to the number of persons in Guyana. The real turnout relative to those persons present and living in Guyana is among the highest in the world. Yet, the majority of Guyanese would express sentiments, which amount to voter apathy outside of the election season.

Voters are prepared to line up for more than an hour to be able to vote.

Nevertheless, many of them will complain if they have to wait 15 minutes to be able to receive their COVID-19 vaccine. In fact, some of them are more interested in voting than in being vaccinated.

On Election Day, persons will phone their friends and neighbours and insist that they go out and vote. Persons would have their vehicles shuttle shut-ins and the elderly to the polling stations to vote. Political activists would go house-to-house in order to ensure that all eligible persons turn out to vote.

This same level of mobilisation is needed for the vaccination campaign.

Persons should be going house-to-house to determine who is vaccinated and who is not and encourage persons to be vaccinated. Political activists should be shuttling the elderly to the vaccination centres.

But this is not happening because of the conspiracy theories which are being pedalled. People believe all manner of stories about the vaccines, which are being administered. Moreover, this is not limited to Guyana.

Some people are expressing reservations about taking the Sputnik V vaccine, never mind that it has the highest reported efficacy of all vaccines on the market. The drama, which is playing out in Europe, and now Canada, about the AstraZeneca vaccine, is also leading to

Like de MOE fall asleep!

By now, every single lesson wah does teach from kindergarten to high school should have been online so dat dem children wah deh home coulda do dem wuk themselves.

Dem boys wan know why in dis day and age, de ministry still building schools. All dem billions wah gan spend fuh build and repair schools coulda use to give dem children laptop so dat dem can stay home and still learn.

Online learning is here to stay. Distance learning is not

a passing trend. Is de wave of de future. But it look like de MOE want build MORE schools. Dat is why dem boys seh is time fuh change de way we teaching we children.

Is time fuh go fully digital. Children nah gat fuh go back to school. Dem can stay home and learn just as good as in school. But den if dah happen, how de MOE can get to share out all dem cash grant and uniform allowance.

Talk half and hope fuh a feral blast in education.

Guyanese being circumspect about being vaccinated.

Vaccine hesitancy also exists in the developed world. In Canada, which has an acute shortage of vaccines, the Prime Minister has commented on vaccine hesitancy. In America, about eight percent of those polled indicated hesitancy towards taking the vaccine. If an approximate calculation is used across the population of the United States, this would add up to more than 30 million Americans.

It is no coincidence that

California, which is recording the highest number of deaths and the highest number of new deaths in the USA, also has the highest rate of vaccine hesitancy.

In the face of high levels of vaccine hesitancy in Guyana, the government is doing the next best thing: administering the vaccine to the next risk group so that as many persons as possible can be vaccinated.

But even with 200,000 Sputnik V vaccines due over the next month that will not

be enough to crush the local coronavirus epidemic. Cases are rising each day.

And over the past week, an average of 12 persons is in the COVID-19 ICU. There are more than 900 active cases and given that the majority of these cases is concentrated in one Region, this is a frightening development.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Thursday April 01, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

This is how I see my role as a columnist in 2021 I

t is not that I am going to stop doing analysis on people, places and events as they occur. Of course not! People look for meaning behind the stories and they want the media and university academics to explain these happenings. So I will not stop writing on current issues.

However, there are literally untold hidden historical facts that unless we write about them, the

present and forthcoming generations will never know what took place in their country long before they were born. History is the foundation, along with science of any society.

Knowledge about your country's history makes you understand how your fore parents lived and the circumstances under which you were able to survive.

Simply put, knowing your history is a priceless artifact. Here is a good

example. Recently I mentioned in one of my columns that Georgetown's water supply originated in what now stands as the Indian Monument Garden that is situated between Camp, Church and Thomas Streets and North Road.

Thousands of Guyanese pass that site each day and may not know the water their grandparents drank when living in Georgetown came from that place where the garden now sits. The garden

is right opposite what used to be St. Roses High School.

How many students knew right opposite their school was the location where Georgetowners got their drinking water?

What I plan to do on this page as much as possible is to write about things, yes things that need to be highlighted so the young people (70 percent of them are under 40 years) could know what Guyana was like and be informed about things that are equally shocking and pleasing.

It is important too that we reply to Guyanese who write fictions in the print media and on social media and pass them on as historical facts. A perfect example is Vincent Alexander. We have to reject what Alexander wrote about compulsory National Service because he offered downright fiction. It should not be allowed to go uncontested because young people may believe Alexander.

Here are the words of Alexander in a letter in this newspaper of November 1, 2020, “That Burnham made National Service compulsory is another of Freddie's untruths. National S e r v i c e w a s unapologetically compulsory for those benefitting from free university education.”

This is a shameless, disgraceful, depraved, cancerous distortion of contemporary Guyanese history and a fetid attempt to embellish the rotten dictatorship of President Burnham. Here are the facts

of history that we need to relentlessly make public. No one was receiving free education at UG in 1976 when National Service (NS) was made compulsory. In 1976 UG was a fee-paying institution of which this columnist was a student paying for his tuition.

President Burnham scrapped fee-paying and instead introduced compulsory NS. You had no choice – do NS or leave. I

Frederick Kissoon refused to serve and was expelled from UG. Women r i g h t s a c t i v i s t , Va n d a Radzik, refused to do NS and left UG. Burnham made NS compulsory for scholarship holders of all types in the public sector and trainee nurses.

This is just one egregious example of historical distortion that will fill the media as the fallout from the failed rigged election continues to haunt those who cannot re-enact the violent theatre of the era of the PNC's domination of Guyana through permanent power.

I see my role as a columnist as confronting these distortions and

publishing hidden depravities that need to be made public. Let me repeat what I published recently on this page and if I didn't do that, the culprits who invented these unpalatable things will not be exposed.

The AFC and PNC signed the renewed Cummingsburg Accord in February 2020, literally two weeks before the March 2020 general election, and in the document there is a terrible clause. It stipulates that should the presidency become vacant, the incumbent Prime Minister (which would have been from the AFC, if APNU+AFC had won in 2020) would not succeed to the presidency but will agree for the position to be filled from within the PNC. AFC and PNC chose not to make the document public because they knew they would have been ostracised by the Guyanese people. When PPP leader, Cheddi Jagan, as president died in 1997, he was succeeded by Sam Hinds, the leader of the other half of the coalition team, the Civic Component.

I plan as much as possible to write about these hidden, political sarcomas and to expose as much as possible the expanding fictions that people like Alexander and so many of his ilk attempt to foist on the young generation of Guyana.

Expect much more in these columns in 2021.

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

Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

During visit to Black Bush Polder…

President Ali instructs contractor to return dirt sold to residents

By Malisa Playter Harry

A

contractor tasked with executing emergency works on the Yakasari stretch of road at Black Bush Polder (BBP), Berbice was yesterday put in the hot seat when President Irfaan Ali paid a visit to the a r e a y e s t e r d a y. T h e President had a brief meeting with residents of Yakasari during which time they got the opportunity to raise burning issues that have been affecting them for some time.

Taking advantage of the moment, Bibi Faroozadeen, a councillor from the BBP Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), revealed that the contractor of the road works at Yakasari was in fact selling the dirt removed from the road.

The councillor informed that the dirt was being sold to the tune of some $3,000 per load to random persons who expressed interest in acquiring same.

"I saw something that they are doing and that is not right. I am the councillor for the area and I think this is bad. They fixing the road and

the materials and the foundation that they dig out from the road, they put it in the corner and the next thing, I was making an arrangement with the NDC that we gonna take that stuff and fix potholes in the streets but what they did is sell it out," the councillor complained.

The contractor responsible for the ongoing works on the Yakasari road is Rafeek Kassim of R. Kassim Construction Service.

The President, seemingly taken aback by the complaint, immediately instructed that the contractor be summoned to the meeting to explain himself. Upon the contractor's arrival, the President informed him of the allegation levelled against him, adding, "Don't lie to me; if you lie, you will make it worse."

In response, the contractor informed the President that the majority of the dirt was set aside to build up the road shoulders. Not satisfied with this explanation, the President added, "if any materials sell; if you don't tell me the truth now and we investigate and find the truth, you 'gonna' be

Guyana Police, Magistrates'...

From page 8 arbitrary or unlawful killing.

It stated for instance that, “in July, police shot and killed Cecil Sampat, an unarmed civilian.”

It said, according to police, Sampat was one of three passengers in a car who opened fire on the police but no gun was found in Sampat's vehicle, nor was there gunshot residue on Sampat or the other passengers.

In August, the government charged the police officers who allegedly shot and killed Sampat.

Speaking to the matter of arbitrary arrests, the US report noted that in August 2020, police arrested Christopher Jones, a senior member of the opposition, and searched his home, although Jones had a courtissued injunction preventing the search.

President Ali, Agri. Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Public Works; Juan Edghill, and Vice Chairman, Zamal Hussain

Yakasari residents who came out to meet with the President

in the problem."

It was then that a Georgetown-based supervisor of the works was asked to conduct an investigation and submit a report of the findings.

President Ali then went on to ask the residents present if they had purchased dirt. One man, who came forward, said he bought two loads of dirt from one of the road workers at $2000 per load.

President Ali then turned his attention to the contractor and asked, "bossman you

lying to me?" The contractor responded in the negative and went on to theorise that it might have been the handiwork of his workers since he is not on site every d a y. H i s e x p l a n a t i o n , however, only made matters worse.

An infuriated President Ali asked, "So you are the contractor and you are not on the road? Where are you building the road from? Your house!" He then ordered the contractor to "go and find out which one (of the workers) sell it...you have to go and get back the dirt back."

During his visit to BBP yesterday, the President was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Public Works, Hon. Juan Edghill, and regional officials including: David Armogan, Narindra Persaud and Zamal Hussain.

President Ali stated that his visit was prompted by several comments made on his social media page requesting that he visit Yakasari to deal with some specific issues. He noted that

A Yakasari resident raising an issue he wanted to "come out here to listen to you; to listen to some of the issues which you have from the grassroots level and to see how we can resolve it."

It was then the President gave the residents the opportunity to raise their individual issues.

A resident complained about the well at Yakasari,

which has been broken for several months and has resulted in minimal water flow in the community.

President Ali then made a telephone call to Shaik Baksh, the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Inc., who explained to the President that the residents were told that the well collapsed and that there was an obstruction several feet below.

He revealed that extraction works will start next week but in the meantime "we were able to get water running from Johanna to Yakasari and everybody agreed that they will get 8-10 hours every day rather than a continuous flow of water for 24 hours as they are accustomed to."

Baksh said that this will be done until the well becomes operational.

Other issues that were raised were related to proper drainage, construction of a bridge (which the army has been tasked to build by the President), youths engaging in illicit drugs and other private issues.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 13

Guyana's second EITI report reveals...

48 companies in gold, diamond, bauxite, timber, oil industries, etc. refuse to give out tax, financial data - Country's export, production stats. in disarray - Govt. agencies fail to submit requested details

By Kiana Wilburg

W

hen countries sign up to be members of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), they agree to follow a set of international standards which seek to ensure all financial transactions between governments and companies in the forestry, fisheries, mining, and oil and gas sectors are in the open.

This way, citizens have a clear idea of how much money should be in the national purse and can therefore question how it is being spent to improve their livelihoods.

When Guyana joined this good governance club in 2017, it was the hope of many that the foregoing would be achieved. But for the last three years, local authorities have started to understand just how difficult it is to remove the extractive sector from the cloak of darkness and into the light of transparency.

For the second time, Guyana has failed in its attempt at producing a report which accurately captures the transactions between State and companies.

According to the 2018 report, which is on the website of the local EITI chapter, the extractives industries pumped $27.6B

Chart taken from the EITI 2018 Report shows a mismatch in export data held by Guyana Gold Board and the Guyana Revenue Authority. into the economy in 2018.

But 39 percent of that could not be verified. The report, totalling 178 pages, notes that there are three reasons for this.

The first is that companies operating in the sector have refused to give up details on their payments to the State; the second is that government agencies such as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) are prohibited by law from giving out tax data without written waivers. The third reason is that the country's export and production data is in total disarray.

According to the report, auditors were unable to

reconcile discrepancies totalling close to $7B. The document said, “This unreconciled difference relates mainly to GRA that was

that the National Insurance Scheme and the Ministry of Finance did not submit reporting templates for more than 40 companies.

unable to submit its reporting templates for forty-eight (48) extractive entities because of the lack of signed waivers.” In light of this, the report noted that GRA's total receipts from the mining, oil and gas sector could not be estimated.

It was highlighted as well

Along with the fact that these government agencies were unable to provide the information requested by GY-EITI, it was noted that 41 extractive entities out of the 59 selected for review did not submit their reporting templates.

“Given the lack of reporting templates from both Government Agencies and extractive entities as set out in Section 1.4 of this report, it was not possible to e n s u r e t h e comprehensiveness of the revenues collected from the extractive entities retained in the reconciliation scope,” the document outlined.

In the longer term, the 2018 report said that a review of the mining regulations should be carried out to include provisions with regards to EITI reporting such as: reporting obligations for extractive entities while specifying the level of disaggregation of the

Juvenile offender freed of rape

A

juvenile offender was yesterday acquitted of rape after he was found not guilty of the offence by a mixed 12member jury. The case was heard at the Georgetown High Court before Justice, Joann Barlow, and the mixed 12-member jury.

The former accused, now 17 years old, was represented by defence attorney, Leslie Sobers. State Counsels, Sarah Martin and Nafeeza Baig presented the

indictment, which stated that between January 1, 2017 and July 31, 2017, he engaged in sexual penetration with a child.

According to the facts, the complainant resides at Lot 2827 Recht-Door-Zee with her parents and siblings.

She was six years old at the time of the act, while the perpetrator was 13 years old.

The victim claimed that on the day in question, she came home half day from school; she fell asleep next door to the accused house,

when he came in and held down her hands to the bed and climbed on top of her. He removed her clothing and was moving up and down on top of her; his penis inside her vagina.

She stated that he held his hand over her mouth and when he saw her mother coming, he told her to put on her clothing. She added that her vagina was hurting and the accused did it to her two times after that incident. She also claimed the accused had touched her sister.

data to be submitted; and sanctions which could be imposed against extractive entities in the event of noncompliance or false declarations. In the short term, the EITI report recommended that application and renewal forms for mining licences and permits explicitly include a declaration of consent to disclosure of information required for compliance with EITI reporting and that such information be made available in a disaggregated, project by project, format.

With respect to the export data for the fiscal year covered by the EITI Report, including total export volumes and the value of exports by commodity, and when relevant, by state/region of origin, it was noted that Government Agencies' records were different from one another as well as from the companies' records.

It was found for example that the Guyana Gold Board does not systematically crosscheck exports data against GRA's records to identify the potential discrepancies, hence they both carry different data.

(See Chart One attached to article which shows the difference in the export data

held by GGB and GRA).

Going forward, it was recommended that GRA and GGB implement automated controls to ensure the comprehensiveness of export data reported by mining entities and to develop analysis tools to ensure consistency of exports data.

Kaieteur News understands that this may include: putting in place a computerised system allowing the update and oversee of this data; collecting data from mining companies on a common and accessible IT platform for the relevant Government Agencies; and performing monthly control of exports data collected from Government Agencies to prevent discrepancies.

As for the disclosure of production data, including the volumes and the value by commodity, it was noted that the Guyana Gold Board and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) are the Government Agencies responsible for collecting reliable data to assess the companies' liabilities in terms of royalties on production and the subsequent monitoring of their payments. The report highlighted, however, that (continued on page 17)

PAGE 14

Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

Shortage of drugs continues Businessman sues GRA over to impact health facilities wrongful classification of vehicle countrywide - CMO

T

he shortage of drugs and medications has been continuously affecting health facilities countrywide, and this has resulted in numerous complaints being raised by patients. This state of affairs was acknowledged yesterday by Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Narine Singh.Speaking with Kaieteur News on the issue, the CMO said there is no denying that there is a shortage of drugs.

He stated that it has been an ongoing problem in the health system.

But of recently, because of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic, the shipment of drugs and medications that were ordered by the Government was delayed. He noted that prior to this, on most occasions; drugs would have reached these shores within two to three weeks.

However, some drugs are now taking as long as two to three months to arrive in the country, the CMO quipped.

Another factor that he highlighted that would have

contributed to the shortage was that most of the medications, which the Government found when it assumed office were expired and these had to be disposed. Nevertheless, CMO Narine assured that the Government is doing its best to address the shortage dilemma affecting health facilities across the country.

Meanwhile, the CMO in commenting on reports of a shortage of doctors at specific health facilities, said that this is not a case of an acute shortage of doctors but it is something that has been occurring in the health system and in certain specialties.

Just recently, Opposition Member of Parliament, Mr. Ganesh Mahipaul, took to his Facebook page to highlight that the West Demerara Regional Hospital is facing shortages of doctors, drugs and medications for its patients. He added too that several doctors had resigned from the health institution, while some were faced with double workload.

But according to Dr. Narine, some of the junior

B

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Narine Singh doctors at the different facilities are choosing not to renew their contracts with the government and instead have chosen to go into private practice.

He further explained that as of recent, the Government has been looking to expand the health sector. This, he said, will result in some health centres that never had a doctor before, being provided with one or two permanent doctors. He said too that the majority of the health posts in the interior currently have at least one doctor working there.

usinessman and cattle farmer, Mohamed Shaw Jahan is suing the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) over an alleged wrongful classification of vehicle which was imported to transport goods.

In a statement to the Press, Jahan explained that since the arrival of his Toyota Land Cruiser van on December 20, 2020, he has been unable to clear it due to the nearly $14M in duties and taxes that the GRA would require as a result of their incorrect classification.

According to the businessman, the vehicle has since been kept at the John Fernandes terminal and facilities incurring storage costs for months.

Jahan who also sells vehicle parts and spares on the East Coast of Demerara explained that on October 30, 2020, he bought the land cruiser from the United Kingdom where it was classified as a 'light goods vehicle'. However, the GRA insists that the vehicle is a passenger vehicle and has

The land cruiser being held

by GRA

Businessman Mohamed Shaw Jahan held the vehicle claiming the duties and taxes.

As such, Jahan has moved

to the Supreme Court suing the GRA and its Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, over the wrongful classification.

Through his attorney-atlaw, Siand Dhurjon, the businessman contends in the Fixed Date Application (FDA) that the vehicle ought to be categorised and registered as a goods vehicle whereby he should only have to pay around $1.8M in taxes and duties to the government.

Dhurjon has made it clear that because the land cruiser is a special model which only has two seats, two doors, two ventilating windows, a (continued on page 16)

Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

PAGE 16

Thursday April 01, 2021

Kaieteur News

Businessman sues GRA over wrongful classification of...

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From page 14 flatbed cargo area to the rear and a barrier between the cargo area and the driver area, it is 'exclusively qualified to be a goods vehicle'. Dhurjon states that any classification of the vehicle as a passenger vehicle would be an erroneous misclassification and a misapprehension of the Common External Tariff found in Schedule 1 of the Customs Act, the Harmonised System Classification Codes and the World Customs Organisation's Explanatory Notes on the issue.

The matter is fixed for hearing before Justice Damon Yonge on 22nd April, 2021.

By then, the Commissioner General of the GRA will have to justify the classification of the land cruiser as a passenger vehicle and why the vehicle ought not be classified as a goods vehicle.

According to paragraph 15 of Jahan's affidavit in the lawsuit filed “when a vehicle is permitted to be registered as a goods vehicle, it is granted a very favourable tax treatment - in this case, if the vehicle is classified as a goods vehicle, Jahan should only have to pay $1,871,457 in total duties and taxes to clear the vehicle.

However, if classified as a normal passenger vehicle, Jahan would have to pay about $13,890,384 in total.”

Jahan explained in his affidavit that he sought to meet Statia over the wrong classification of the enclosed 2,800cc diesel van as a “vehicle principally designed for the transport of persons.”

But this meeting was never permitted instead Jahan was referred to another officer of the GRA who maintained the erroneous position that the vehicle is a passenger vehicle.

A 'classification committee' of the GRA later sustained such a ruling in a vague letter sent to Jahan.

Jahan's lawsuit explains to the court that the GRA “has no written policy, guidelines or information available from their office on what features/ criteria, which they would accept or deny classifying a vehicle as a goods vehicle.

The officers, employees and agents of the GRA would often say what the criteria are, but would give contradictory information.”

In the circumstances, Dhurjon has applied to the Supreme Court on behalf of Jahan for several orders including a declaration that the vehicle is “a motor vehicle

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used for the transport of goods; a declaration that the classification of the GRA/ Commissioner General that the vehicle is a passenger vehicle is arbitrary, ultra vires, unreasonable, irrational, unfair, an abuse of power, unconstitutional, whimsical, capricious, against the Revenue Authority's own policy and without any legal foundation or authority; an order to quash the classification of the vehicle as a passenger vehicle; an order of prohibition to forbid any computation of taxes under the drastically higher taxation scheme applicable to a passenger vehicle; an order to compel the Commissioner General to take all steps necessary to recognise, classify and accept the vehicle as a goods vehicle; an order of certiorari to compel the Commissioner General to take all steps necessary to accept the sum of $1,871,457 in total duties and taxes al-

ready paid and to clear and release the vehicle to Jahan forthwith; an order that the Commissioner General compensate Jahan for the storage costs owed by him to John Fernandes Ltd. due to the

GRA's unlawful actions; an order that the Commissioner General pay damages; and an order that the Commissioner General pay Jahan's costs of the proceedings.”

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

Qatar says it will not renew gas deal with ExxonMobil, Total www.rigzone.com : Qatar Petroleum has announced that it will not be renewing the Qatargas Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (QG1) joint venture upon the expiry of the relevant agreements on December 31.As a result, QP will become the sole owner of 100 percent of the QG1 assets and facilities on January 1, 2022, with affiliates of Total, ExxonMobil, Marubeni, and Mitsui exiting the project. Established in 1984, QG1 was the pioneering LNG project developed in Qatar, whose success paved the way for the development of Qatar’s LNG industry, Qatar Petroleum high-

lighted.

“The takeover by Qatar Petroleum will conclude more than 25 years of successful operations of QG1, from which the first ever Qatari LNG cargo was exported,” Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs, and the president and chief executive officer of Qatar Petroleum, said in a company statement.

“This is a momentous event that highlights Qatar Petroleum’s efforts to further enhance the utilization of our natural resources for the benefit of our country and its current and future generations as well as to continue serving the

world’s need for cleaner energy,” he added.

“I would like to thank our valued partners, Total, ExxonMobil, Marubeni, and Mitsui for their efforts in the development and operation of QG1 over the past three decades. Each one of them has played an instrumental role in the success of QG1,” AlKaabi went on to say.

QG1 facilities, which are said to have a production capacity of approximately 10 million tons per annum of LNG, will continue to be operated

by Qatargas on behalf of Qatar Petroleum, the company outlined, adding that the asset

48 companies in gold, diamond, bauxite...

From page 13 GGB and GGMC do not have their own procedures to collect and control production data reported by mining companies. As a result, the report stated that the minerals production data declared by GGB does not match production values and quantities declared by extractives companies.

Kaieteur News understands that the foregoing prevented auditors from achieving the accuracy and comprehensiveness that are expected in such a document.

ABOUT GY-EITI EITI is an international body that was established in 2003 with the aim of making it harder for governments and companies to hide the truth about the proceeds garnered from the extractive industries.

The companies in the extractive sector re-

port on what they are paying the government and the government reports separately on what it received from the companies in the sector.A report is then prepared by a MultiStakeholder Group. The document, among other things, highlights whether the data collected from the two add up or if there is an irregularity.It was in August 2017 that Guyana submitted its application to the EITI International Secretariat and on October 25, 2017, it was officially accepted as an EITI-implementing country.The country's first report was completed in April 2019. It was not submitted for review by the EITI given the number of issues it contained regarding the accuracy of data. It was agreed by the former coalition regime that Guyana would take the lessons learnt from the first exercise and use same to improve in the second report.

“will play an important role in supplying LNG to the world’s markets in a safe and reliable manner”.Qatar Petroleum, which was created in 1974, describes itself as an integrated national oil corporation re-

sponsible for the sustainable development of the oil and gas industry in the State of Qatar and beyond. The company’s activities are said to encompass the entire spectrum of the oil and gas value chain and

include the exploration, production, processing, marketing, and sales of oil and gas, LNG, natural gas liquids, gas to liquids products, refined products, petrochemicals, fertilizers, steel, and aluminum.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

Fatal accident at Prospect…

Video shows that motorcyclist had crashed into reversing bus - Driver charged with causing death Video footage of last’s Friday’s crash which claimed the life of a motorcyclist, Calvin Pitt, showed that he had crashed into a reversing minibus.

The driver of that bus, Rohan Katwaroo, was charged yesterday at the Providence Magistrate’s Court with causing Pitt’s death due to dangerous driving.

Katwaroo pleaded not guilty to the charge read to him by Magistrate Judy Latchman and he was released on $500,000 bail. The matter has been adjourned to April 21, 2021 for the filing of statements.

Pitt, a resident of Werk-en-Rust, had slammed into the rear end of a passenger minibus while riding along the western lane at the Prospect, East Bank Demerara Public Road.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) had stated that he crashed around 15:30hrs on Friday.

Pitt was reportedly heading home at the time.

A CCTV camera footage, which captured exactly how the accident happened, revealed that the minibus was reversing along the public road. A senior police official pointed out that in Guyana, it is against the law for any vehicle to do that.

The footage showed that the bus stopped

in the corner of the road. It appeared as if a passenger had stopped him. Shortly after stopping, the bus began reversing south, presumably to pick that passenger.

However, while in the process of doing so, it collided with Pitt, who was riding north at a fast rate.

Kaieteur News had reported that the bus driver told police that he felt a hard impact to the rear of his vehicle and stopped right away.

Eyewitnesses recalled that the impact flung Pitt into the air and sent him flying through the back windscreen into the bus. A video recorded by one of the eyewitnesses’ cell phone showed the horrific aftermath.

The lower half of Pitt’s body was seen hanging out of the bus while the upper half was slumped over the back seat.

He was still conscious at the time and groaning in pain. Public-spirited citizens assisted in removing him from the position, which he was in and rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).Although doctors tried to save his life, Pitt died while receiving treatment. He had sustained severe head injuries, a broken rib cage and right leg.

Two bicycle bandits were caught on camera choking and robbing a man on Robb Street, Georgetown.

Georgetown Police Commander, Simon McBean, said that he has seen the footage and has instructed his detectives to investigate the matter.The video showed the bandits circling the street twice, in the vicinity of NP Electronics on a bicycle before zeroing on their victim. Both of the delinquents were slim and had on short pants. One of them was dressed in a red jersey while the other had on a striped pattern, multi-coloured one (blue, yellow, black and white)After circling, they rode onto the pavement and waited there for a few seconds. Subsequently, a man opened a gate besides NP Electronics and exited an alley way with a filled black garbage bag in his hand. It is assumed that the man was probably disposing trash. However, before he could step any further, he was attacked by the preying

bandits. He tried to open back the gate and re-enter the ally but the bandit dressed in the red jersey grabbed him from behind and placed him in a “vice grip”.

The man dropped the garbage bag and tried to free himself from the bandit’s arm, which was apparently squeezing tightly around his neck. As he struggled, the other bandit dealt him some blows to his abdomen and searched through his pockets.

The man, the footage revealed, was relieved of a cell phone. The bandit then placed the booty into his pocket as the other continued choking the victim until he was flat on the ground.The victim remained still on the ground (or as some assumed had lost consciousness) as the bandits made good their escape on their bicycle (one sitting on the handle bars and the other riding).

Soon after they left, the man quickly stood to his feet.

Bandits snatch $2M in cash from Superbet owner A businessman, who owns two Superbet outlets and manages several others on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), was on Tuesday evening terrorised by two armed bandits, who approached him in his driveway and robbed him of over $2M in cash.

According to police, the robbery occurred sometime around 22:25 hrs. in front of his WBD residence.

Kaieteur News understands that the man had just pulled up in his driveway, after visiting all of his outlets, and had in his possession the money, when he was attacked by the gunmen.

He reported to police that as he was about to exit his motorcar, the two identifiable suspects, both clad in dark coloured clothing ap-

proached him and held him at gunpoint. The businessman recalled that one of the suspects placed a gun to his abdomen and the other placed a gun to his head, and said, “Don’t say anything, where is the money?”

It was reported that one of the perpetrators entered the man’s car and collected the two bags containing the money and a bunch of keys, while the other robbed him of his cellular phone, along with his car and house keys.

After committing the robbery the men reportedly escaped in a black wagon (car) and headed in an unknown direction.

According to police, checks were made in the area for the men and any car fitting the description, but they came up empty handed.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 19

Murder of Berbice pensioner…

Relative of slain Henry cousins turns self into police M ark Anthony Henry, 24, the brother of one of the slain Henry boys yesterday turned himself into police for the murder of a pensioner at Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB).

Police had issued a wanted bulletin for him hours after the pensioner, Surojdeo Deochand, was found dead in his home around 17:30hrs on Tuesday.

According to a police report, Mark accompanied by his lawyer turned himself into the Criminal Investigation Department's (CID) headquarters located at Eve Leary, Georgetown.

He remains in custody there as detectives question him about Deochand's death.

Deochand was reportedly found butchered with chop wounds to his face, tummy and arms.

Kaieteur News had

reported that his relatives had received a call that afternoon informing them that Deochand was chopped up in the home.

“Somebody call and seh how somebody chop up uncle and then we call the police and when they go, they see he chop up,” a grieving relative had said.

A nephew who wished to remain anonymous had related that his uncle's body was taken to the Fort

Heath-London, James Bond...

From page 2 leased the land for.

The same company also sold the other 10 acres to local logistics company GLASS Holdings Inc. on October 10, 2019.

K aieteur News had reported that the government of the People's Progressive Party/Civic, which came to office in August after a five-month impasse following the March 2 elections, had insisted that it found a significant number of

irregular land transactions involving state properties, including former sugar lands worth billions of dollars.

A number of companies have already returned lands, which were supposed to be developed.

I n these instances, investigators found that NICIL, as the representative of the people of Guyana for the transactions, did not even collect all the money when it transferred lands into the recipients' names.

T he police and its

Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) are involved in the investigations.

S OCU's role may involve investigating whether crimes relating to money laundering were committed.

The land transactions, which spans from Wales, Peter's Hall and Ogle, have seen attention coming down on a number of former ministers within the Coalition Government of David Granger, now in Opposition.

Health Ministry reports 57 new COVID-19 infections

T

he Ministry of Health yesterday reported 57 new COVID-19 infections via its daily dashboard update, increasing the case toll to 10,249.

The dashboard also shows that 12 patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care

Unit, another 13 in institutional quarantine, 59 in institutional isolation and 849 in home isolation.

Additionally, a total of 9,098 persons have recovered to date, with 100 new recoveries recorded yesterday.

In police custody: Mark Anthony Henry

Wellington Hospital. That relative added that when he arrived, he saw his uncle's body wrapped in a sheet on a stretcher.

He had recounted that he had unwrapped the sheet and saw that Deochand's hand was severed off.

“His stomach had chop wounds and his face was also brutally disfigured with chops,” the relative had related.

It is unclear as to how police were able to link Mark Anthony to the crime.

Nonetheless, Kaieteur News understands that Mark Anthony lived next door to the murdered pensioner.

This newspaper was able to confirm with police that Deochand was a former suspect in connection with the murder of the Henry cousins, Joel and Isaiah. He was reportedly arrested during the early stages of the Henry boys' murder investigation but was released after detectives found enough evidence to prove that he was innocent.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

MVP Award for Narayan Ramdhani Guyana’s Badminton Champion Narayan Ramdhani received the MVP award for the third year in a row at the Kings University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where he is studying and competing in the sport.

Narayan even in the Covid-19 pandemic is trying to keep up with his training as a Badminton hopeful for the Tokyo Olympics. The award was presented to the young player by Head Coach Naeem Haque recently.

Narayan’s major achievements to date: Guyana Current National Ranking No.1 Guyana’s Junior Sportsman of the Year 2016 Highest British Colombia (Canada) Ranking No.3 (2017) Highest Pan Am Junior Ranking No.3 (2016) Highest World Junior Ranking No.53 (2016) AB Canada Current Kings University Ranking No.1 AB Canada Current

ACAC Ranking No.2 Canada Current CCAA National Ranking No.4 4-Times Athlete of the Week Kings University (Canada) 2019 & 2020 2-Times ACAC All Conference Award (Canada) 2019 & 2020 3-Times MVP Kings University (Canada) 2019. 2020 & 2021 Athlete of the Year Kings University (Canada) 2018-19 ACAC Championship Gold Medalist (Canada) 2019 CCAA Championships Bronze Medalist (Canada) 2019 Yonex Alberta Series #1 Gold Medalist (Canada) 2019 VCR Jack Under-Hill Tournament Gold Medalist (Canada) 2018 VCR Remembrance Day U-23 Tournament Gold Medalist (Canada) 2017 Caribbean International Bronze Medalist (Suriname) 2018 Caribbean Regional Jun-

iors Gold Medalist ((Aruba) 2016 Caribbean Regional Juniors Bronze Medalist (Dominican Republic) 2015 Caribbean Regional Juniors Silver Medalist (Jamaica) 2014 Caribbean Regional Juniors Bronze Medalist (Puerto Rico) 2013 Caribbean Regional Juniors Bronze Medalist (Dominican Republic) 2012 Caribbean Regional Juniors Silver Medalist (Barbados) 2011 Caribbean Regional Junior Gold Medalist (Suriname) 2007 Peru International Bronze Medalist (2016) Suriname Easter International Gold Medalist (Triple Champion) 2016 South American Youth Games Bronze Medalist (Peru) 2013 Inter Guiana Games Team Silver Medalist (Suriname) 2014

Thursday April 01, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Even though you feel most comfortable when things are organized and meticulous, Aries, you're going to need to be flexible TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Finding balance in your world will be no sweat once you get into the groove, Taurus. Waking up is likely to be the most difficult part of the day, but once you conquer that incredible feat, you should be fine.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You may feel like the smallest issue is suddenly a life or death situation, Gemini. Depending on your mood, you may think you're on the brink of complete disast er, but the next

minute be soaring high in the clouds.

CANCER(June21–July22) Things may come to you more easily than usual today, Cancer. This is a sign that you're on the right path and doing things correctly. Life shouldn't have to be full of stress and heartache.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Check your messages often, Leo. Someone is trying to contact you and you may keep missing each other by minutes. It's important to connect with this person to take care of some matters.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You will get much farther than you think today, even with minimal effort, Virgo. There are plenty of avenues to take now, so even if one is jammed, there's always another that you can reach easily.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Don't get too caught up in the emotional side of life today, Libra. Keep things light and keep them moving.

A rolling stone gathers no moss. Unfortunately, you may have quite a bit of that green stuff growing on you now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Try not to be overwhelmed by the frenzied activity around you, Scorpio.

Unexpected variables are popping up everywhere, and your first reaction may be to flip out.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) It's time to bring more fire into your life, Sagittarius.

Consider calling up an old flame or friend from the past who stirs the passion within you.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) This is one of those days in which you may ask for five minutes to complete a certain task and an hour later finally finish whatever you set out to do.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Don't be afraid of the fire today, Aquarius. Instead, embrace it and incorporate more of it into your life.

Certain people may intimidate you at first, but that doesn't mean you should run away from the scene.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Tackle things that require high energy today, Pisces.

This is your day to make short work of chores, errands, or any sort of physical activity.

Moriah-Welsh on ‘perfect...

Narayan Ramdhani with Head Coach Naeem Haque.

Participated at the CAC Games (Mexico/Colombia) 2014 & 2018 Participated at the Pan Am Games (Canada/Peru) 2015 & 2019 Participated at the Pan Am Olympic Festival Games (Mexico) 2015 Participated at the Commonwealth Games (Australia) 2018 Participated at the South American Games (Bolivia) 2018 Guyana’s Team Captain at the World Juniors (Peru) 2015

From page 22 than the squad due to being involved in the FA Cup and I travelled with Terence Vancooten who plays for Stevenage. He’s a very good ball-playing centre-back. He’s helped me get settled in well.

“The training hasn’t been too different to at Bournemouth – the only thing different is the heat! I’m used to training at a high intensity, but the heat took me by surprise slightly.

But everyone seems sharp and there’s a real eagerness to push each other in training.”

The first match of the double header didn’t go to plan, however, the side losing 3-0 to neighbours Trinidad, with Moriah-Welsh giving his view from the sidelines as he made the squad but didn’t get on for his debut.“It was a really disappointing game from a team perspective,” he said. “It was a derby, a matter of national pride and we let the nation

down.”

“It’s something we’ll learn from and when we get the chance to play Trinidad again I’m sure we’ll give them a bit.“On a personal level it was good to hear the national anthem and stand with my brothers as we prepared to play our rivals.

“I would’ve liked to get on but there’s plenty of other opportunities and I have faith in the manager as he’s explained that myself and a batch of Guyanese players are the future and we have to be patient.”

The focus for the squad switched to Tuesday’s match with Bahamas and, for Moriah-Welsh, a chance to show his team-mates and his country what he can do if given the chance to get minutes.He said: “Hopefully I’ll continue to train well and apply myself in the right way before then and hopefully get a chance to play.” And that chance he did get making his debut for Guyana.

Bolisetty’s unbeaten 52 spurs NY Tri State...

From page 25 pushed forward tentatively to Gainda and was bowled at 66-4 before Saharsh Shwethan (3) was bowled by Romeo Deonarine at 69-5.

Mathura was introduced, had Mihir Patwardhan stumped before he had scored at 72-6 before he quickly removed Arya Gorg and Aryan Singh and when Matadin held a catch off her own bowling at 105-9 to end Virk’s brief counter-attack, the local lads were in the driver’s

seat.However,13-year-old Bolisetty, who pulled Jerimiah Williams for four to reach his half century from 74 balls with six boundaries and found a useful ally in last man Rai and the pair carried the score 161 with their frustrating last wicket partnership.When the local team began their runchase in sweltering heat on a slow track and fairly fast outfield they lost both of their openers with Joshua Persaud (2) departing at 9-1, while Raul Prashad took 56 balls to

score five be he was dismissed at 39.Deonarine and Skipper Mathura carried to score to 48 before Deonarine (13) was trapped LBW in overcast conditions. But despite a couple of catches going down of Rai’s bowling, only John Persaud of the others reached double figures as the visitors, who lost in Berbice and their game against GCC and their second ended in a no result, recorded a win.The New York Tri State U-15s will play their fourth game tomorrow when they face Transport Sports Club at Bourda.At the conclusion of the game Trophies were presented by Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall. The Manof-the-Match was Bolisetty and he collected a trophy, while there was also a one for the winning team.

West Indies lead ...

From page 23 full delivery which just missed off stump. He then tested Chameera with a short ball which forced the batsman onto tip-toe to defend. Another short ball had Chameera defending before a length ball again beat him outside offstump.

The fifth ball of the over was on a length and angled into off stump; Chameera defended but the ball took the edge and carried to Da Silva.

Rain had the final say and the day was ended by a heavy shower and by darkening skies just after 5 p.m. The shower was fleeting but left damp patches close to the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium and the umpires called off play for the day about 45 minutes later.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 22

Thursday April 01, 2021

Moriah-Welsh on ‘perfect situation’ linking up with Guyana M o r i a h - We l s h o n ‘perfect situation’ linking up with GuyanaAFC Bournemouth Club News Nathan Moriah-Welsh has been crossing boundaries in recent weeks, literally over the current international break as he’s joined up with the senior Guyana national side for the first time far afield in the Caribbean.

Before leaving the UK to meet up with the squad, the 1 9 - y e a r- o l d m a d e t h e Cherries matchday squad for the first time in the Emirates

FA Cup quarter-final with Southampton last weekend, as the London-born midfielder edges his way towards a first-team debut.

Moriah-Welsh joined AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2018 after spells with Brentford and Reading, and was part of the Cherries under-18s side that made it to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup in his first season on the south coast.

The teenager is now pushing for a debut on two fronts, and spoke to

afcb.co.uk directly from the Dominican Republic after Guyana played Trinidad & To b a g o i n t h e i r f i r s t qualifying match for the 2 0 2 2 Wo r l d C u p o n Thursday evening.

He started off by talking about how the opportunity to represent the country came about: “It was when the Bournemouth under-23s played QPR and one of their players was a Guyana international.

“He messaged me after the game to ask if I’d ever

thought about playing for Guyana, which at the time I hadn’t – but he got me in touch with the head scout Faizal Khan who gave me more information.

“He told me about where the football federation was heading and what their vision was. I had two choices: Grenada on my father’s side or Guyana on m y m o t h e r ’s , a n d I ultimately chose Guyana.”

Moriah-Welsh visited Guyana as a child and got to know the country, with his grandparents currently in the South American nation – the only country in the continent to speak English as a first language – throughout the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

“I’ve been to Guyana when I was younger,” he said, “it’s a lovely place.

“My grandparents go on a four-to-six month holiday there every few years.

Actually, they went at the start of 2020 and due to the pandemic they’ve had about a year or so out there as they can’t get back to England.”

The midfielder was first called up by Guyana late last year but was unable to travel, with a similar set of circumstances seeming

Nathan Moriah-Welsh

Nathan Moriah-Welsh during training with his club.

likely before the nation’s two qualifiers over the current break were switched to neutral Dominican Republic, allowing the UKbased players to travel to the Caribbean and represent their side.

Moriah-Welsh continued: “I wasn’t originally allowed to go as the games were in Guyana which is a red zone and Bournemouth weren’t happy with me going to a red zone and having to quarantine.

“Then they got changed to the Dominican which suited everyone in England better. I was really happy when I heard they were being played here, it’s a beautiful warm country and the two things I like to do is play football and travel so it’s a perfect situation for

me.“This is actually my second call up, but my first official trip. My first was in November last year when we were due to play Suriname, but the pandemic stopped that.“This time the team’s operations manager rang me and asked if I’d like to come out and represent Guyana which I agreed to very q u i c k l y. “ I t h i n k I ’ v e integrated into the squad well. There’s a mix of foreign-based players and Guyana-based players who were born in Guyana.

“It feels like a real family, I understand the accent of the Guyana-born lads and I’ve gelled with most of them over the past few days.“I know a few of the foreign-based players, I flew later (Continued on page 21)

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 23

West Indies lead Sri Lanka by 104 runs after rain interrupted Day 3 of 2nd test NORTH POINT, Antigua (AP) — Sri Lanka trailed the West Indies by 104 runs with only two second-innings wickets in hand yesterday after the rain-affected third day of the second cricket test.

Only 40.3 overs were on a day which saw four rain interruptions. Sri Lanka took its score from 136-3 overnight to 250-8 in reply to the West Indies’ 354 before a final, heavy shower ended play.

First test century-maker Pathum Nissanka was left 49 not out and Lasith Embuldeniya had yet to score. Nissanka had faced 119 balls and provided a solid anchor in the late stages of Sri Lanka’s innings.

Sri Lanka resumed its first innings yesterday at 1363 in reply to the West Indies’ first innings of 354, with Dinesh Chandimal 34 not out and Dhananjaya de Silva 23.

Chandimal was dropped

by Rhakeem Cornwall from the bowling of Shannon Gabriel in the first over of the day, a lapse that wasn’t too

Alzarri Joseph celebrates Dimuth Karunartne’s wicket, West Indies vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, 2nd Day, North Sound, March 30, 2021 © Randy Brooks/AFP/Getty Images costly as Chandimal was caught by the substitute fielder Hayden Walsh off Gabriel when he was 44 and Sri Lanka was 152-4.

The first rain break of the day came at 11:10 a.m. but lasted only 10 minutes.

Dhananjaya fell lbw to part-time off-spinner Jermaine Blackwood in the 80th over, six overs after the

SCOREBOARD West Indies 1st Innings 354 Sri Lanka 1st Innings (136-3 overnight) Dimuth Karunaratne (c) c Bonner b Joseph Lahiru Thirimanne b Roach Oshada Fernando lbw b Mayers Dinesh Chandimal c sub (HR Walsh) b Gabriel Dhananjaya de Silva lbw b Blackwood Pathum Nissanka not out Niroshan Dickwella †c †Da Silva b Holder Suranga Lakmal c Brathwaite b Joseph Dushmantha Chameera c †Da Silva b Holder Lasith Embuldeniya not out Extras(b 4, lb 5, nb 6, w 1) TOTAL (103.1 Ov, RR: 2.42) for 8wkts

1 55 18 44 39 49 20 6 2 0 16 250

Yet to bat: Vishwa Fernando Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Dimuth Karunaratne, 8.1 ov), 2-64 (Oshada Fernando, 29.4 ov), 3-77 (Lahiru Thirimanne, 35.3 ov), 4-152 (Dinesh Chandimal, 65.5 ov), 5-177 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 79.1 ov), 6-203 (Niroshan Dickwella, 87.4 ov), 7-214 (Suranga Lakmal, 90.2 ov), 8-231 (Dushmantha Chameera, 97.5 ov) BOWLING OMRW Kemar Roach 164541 Shannon Gabriel14.13331 Alzarri Joseph 224642 Jason Holder 213392 Kyle Mayers 117101 Rahkeem Cornwall155250 Jermaine Blackwood40161 Match Details Venue: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua Toss: Sri Lanka, elected to field first Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite, Joel Wilson TV Umpire: Nigel Duguid Reserve Umpire: Leslie Reifer Match Referee: Richie Richardson

resumption. He was slow to get his bat down on a shorter, flatter delivery from Blackwood which pitched on the line of middle and off.

Dhananjaya made no attempt to review the umpire’s verdict of out, a serious oversight when replays showed the ball was turning and missing leg.

The rain returned less than an hour later, harder and more persistent. The umpires called for an early lunch and the players eventually were able to return to the field at 1:25 p.m, but there was another 2 1-2-hour rain delay not long after.

Wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella made 21 from 25 deliveries astride the rain break before falling to Jason Holder, who was the most threatening of the West Indies’ bowlers in the last two sessions. Shannon Gabriel was impressive in the first session.

The ball passed between Dickwella’s bat and pad and the West Indies’ appeal for a catch behind by wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva was turned down. The subsequent review showed the all had taken an inside edge before hitting the pad and going on to the keeper.

Suranga Lakmal was 6 when he mistimed a delivery from Alzarri Joseph in the 91st over and lobbed a gentle catch to West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, standing next to the non-striker. Sri Lanka was 214-7.

Dushmantha Chameera faced a testing time, especially from Holder who mixed short and full deliveries, once striking Chameera on the shoulder.

Holder set up Chameera for the dismissal in the 98th over, first beating him with a (Continued on page 21)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Thursday April 01, 2021

Boston is new GDA President Lyndon Boston was elected President of the Georgetown Dominoes Association when the body held its Annual General Meeting recently.

Hasim Hakh was elected Vi c e P r e s i d e n t , A n n Thompson is the Secretary, Earl Mars will serve as the Treasurer, the Assistant Secretary Treasurer is Rodwell Phillips, Mark Wiltshire is the Senior Organising Secretary, the Organising Secretaries are Barbara Marshall and

The newly elected executive of the GDA.

Chrisanthony Parsram, while the Public Relations Officer is Rodrick Harry.

The Committee Members are Colin Boyce, William Boston, Andrea Mars and D y h a n C a r t e r. B o s t o n thanked the members of giving him an opportunity to serve, while President of the Guyana National Dominoes Federation Faye Joseph welcomed him onboard.

Joseph urged the newly elected executive to work collectively for the development of the game.

Moe and James brothers arrive in Guyana

T

he Guyana A m a t e u r Basketball Federation (GABF) has received a shot in the arm with the arrival of three professional players in co captain Anthony Moe, and brothers Delroy and Gordon James, who will be part of the National senior men’s team that will contest in the first round of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) America World Cup (WC) qualifiers next month.

Initially, the GABF were set on having the vastly experienced Delroy James arriving yesterday but to have three of the better players along with Skipper Stanton Rose training together for two weeks

ahead of the qualifiers from April 16-18 in El Salvador, is a major boost for Coach Junior Hercules, who will be in charge of the squad as they create history in participating in their first FIBA WC qualifiers.

In an invited comment from head of the GABF, Mike Singh, he explained that, “From a Federation point of view, we’re happy to have the James brothers and Moe, who has a lot of experience in the central and Latin America basketball arena. We will be looking to ensure that our players are conditioned and are gelling.”

Singh further noted that, “Delory left Guyana since he was six years old and never returned so his arrival was a bit euphoric and he was

welcomed with a huge entourage.”

Singh divulged that the GABF will be looking to get the guys into the gymnasium as soon as possible after they are settled in and everyone is excited to work with them.

Guyana will enter the qualifiers as the highest ranked team in the group and will be pitted alongside Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The top three teams of the group that will be contested of one-off round-robin matches will move on to the next round of qualification.

In terms of funding, the GABF and the team are still yet to reach their $15million budget to be fully equipped to participate in the qualifiers.

Kaieteur News

Thursday April 01, 2021

PAGE 25

Bolisetty’s unbeaten 52 spurs NY Tri State U-15s to 91-run win

By Sean Devers One of three grounds to host First-Class cricket in the City, Everest was blessed with brilliant sunshine yesterday when the touring New York Tri State U-15 side defeated a Georgetown combined U-15 line up by 91 runs.

Led by a rear guard unbeaten 52 from 77 balls and decorated with six boundaries by man-of-thematch, fast bowler Anirudh Bolisetty who shared in an unfinished last wicket stand of 56 with left-arm spinner Ansh Rai, who made 13 not out, rallied the tourists from 105-9 to 161-9.

Tannish Dongre who smashed four fours in a shotfilled 19, Ali Virk (17), Utkavsh Srivastava 14 and Mukund Rao (13) were the

Anirudh Bolisetty on drives during his unbeaten 52 yesterday at Everest. (Sean Devers photo)

The winning visitors collect their prize from Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall. others to reach double figures.Everest’s 14-yearold leg-spinner Nityanand Mathura had 3-27, 11-yearold Transport Sports Club’s leggie Reyaz Latif 2-25 and Bel Air Rubis’s off-spinner Arun Gainda 2-19 were the main wicket-takers.

Mukund Rao is bowled by Arun Gandia yesterday Everest. (Sean Devers photo)

National U-19 female off-spinner Omadive Matadin was the only girl in the game and she had Virk caught and bowled to end with 1-4 from three overs.

The combined unit fell for 80 with only Romeo Deonarine (13) and John

Persaud (11) reaching double figures as Elamurugan and Srivastava had two wickets each.

The GT Combined U-15s asked the NY Tri State to bat and Dongre began in explosive fashion spanking John Persuad for three

Utkavash Srivastava pulls a Gainda ‘free hit’ for the only six in the visitors’ innings at Everest yesterday. (Sean Devers photo)

consecutive boundaries in the day’s third over before he was beaten in the flight and bowled as the pint size Latif made the break through at 22-1.Skipper Nayan Elamurugan (1) was bowled by the impressive Latif who was not afraid to flight the

ball and the Americans had lost their best batsman at 342.Srivastava counterattacked and clobbered a free-hit for the game’s only six but Gainda had the last laugh when he trapped him LBW for 14 at 56-3.Rao then (Continued on page 21)

Leggie Reyaz Latif bowls to Ali Virk to finish with 2 wickets.

(Sean Devers photo)

Faye Joseph Khan carts off Survival Supermarket Phagwah title Last Saturday was another good day of competitive golf at handicap of 13 to register a net of 71 and Vijay Deo round off the Lusignan Golf Club. The 30 contestants challenged each the top four with a gross of 82 from a handicap of 11 with a net Dominoes other on a windy afternoon while observing all covid of 71.The sponsor, Survival Supermarket chain, is one of the leading modern supermarkets in Guyana and has agreed to set for April 3 protocols.

This was the third consecutive year of the Phagwah Golf continue to support the game of golf in Guyana.

Tournament sponsored by Survival Supermarket.

The winning golfer was Kasim Khan who kept a cool head throughout the overcast afternoon to shoot gross 74 net 67, playing off handicap 7. In second place was Guyana’s current number one female golfer Shanella London gross 80, handicap 10 with a net of 70, while Hilbert Shields finished in third position after a recount with gross 84 playing off a

Next week promises to be another sweet treat with the inaugural Bruster’s Ice Cream Challenge. The sponsor has also committed to an annual endorsement.

At the trophy ceremony, representatives of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) congratulated all the participation for their support of the sport and also thanked Survival Group of Business.

Faye Joseph President of the Guyana National Dominoes Federation, Faye Joseph, in collaboration with Colin Mc Ewan will be hosting a dominoes competition starting on April 3 at Turning Point.Entrance fee is $15,000 and the winning team will take home a trophy and $150,000, runner up a

trophy and $75,000 and third place a trophy and $35,000.

All covid guidelines will b e i n e ff e c t a n d t h e competition will conclude on April 4.Double-six time is 14:00 hrs and teams can contact Joseph on 625-9941, Mc Ewan on 642-7502 or Mark Wiltshire on 659-5672 for registration.

The The champion, champion, Kassim Kassim Khan Khan receives receives his his winning winning trophy trophy from from Secretary Secretary of of Lusignan Lusignan Golf Golf Club Club Chet Chet Bowling.

Bowling.

Survival golf Group - In winners row; Vijay Deo, Kasim Khan, Hilbert Shields and George Paton standing in for Shanella London.

Shannon Gabriel celebrates dismissing Dinesh Chandimal. (Getty Images)

West Indies lead Sri Lanka by 104 runs after rain interrupted Day 3 of 2nd test rt o p S

Moriah-Welsh on ‘perfect situation’ linking up with Guyana Nathan Moriah-Welsh made his debut.

From left, Delroy James, Anthony Moe and Gordon James at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport yesterday after arriving.

Moe and James brothers arrive in Guyana Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.