Kaieteur News

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Appeal Court reduces NEWS 83-year prison sentence for man who torched wife to death

Tuesday Edition

AIETEUR

August 18, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 33

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

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

PPP/C Govt. should renegotiate, investigate p.

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- Global Witness

ExxonMobil’s exploitative deal Vice President Jagdeo says...

“SARA is incapable of doing anything” p.

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- Unit to be disbanded

ExxonMobil Guyana to surpass begins drilling Venezuela’s current Kaieteur Block p.

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- to be completed by October

oil output by 2022

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GRA wins case against Grace Kennedy Remittance Services for close to $400M owed in taxes p.

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As country battles surge in COVID-19 cases…

Emergency

Medicine Specialist promotes importance of p.

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a strong immune system - says early treatment can help prevent severe form of the disease

Price $80

Online readership yesterday 154,684

ExxonMobil:

Prejudiced corporate hypocrites We look closely at Exxon's relationship and dealings with Guyana and arrive at this conclusion: ExxonMobil's attitudes and actions towards Guyana are prejudiced through and through. It cheated us with a rapacious contract and finalized terms that were full-out robberies. In their smug superiority, they dealt with us as inferior Third World natives.

In its arrogance, Exxon talks down to locals, rushes them to get on with it, brushes them aside, then keeps them in line through oppressive measures. This is done to impoverished societies, while stealing their wealth and leaving them weaker than before.

This is what Exxon has done to Guyana, with a contract that is discriminatory, no matter how charitably viewed. Exxon would not have done the same to a group of their perceived 'equals' sitting across the bargaining table.

The starting numbers would have been multiples of what Guyana received.

This was the same standard exhibited centuries ago by the agents who carried out the atrocities of the slave trade. Beads and shells and trinkets were exchanged for rich human cargoes, which yielded vastly richer returns on the plantations.

Today, Exxon does the same to Guyana.

The cruel business practices employed then, are the same being experienced in Guyana today. Fetch away the lucrative oil and give them beads for it (2%).

And when poor Indigenous communities are enslaved, ripped off, and endangered for their minerals by usually White-dominated multinationals, like Exxon, it is the continuation of what is nothing less than ceaseless exploitation. The Aztecs and Incas suffered that fate in the Americas, and so did Indians in Asia, and Blacks in Africa.

We continue to be suffocated. It is time to start calling out the overtly bigoted components involved when CEOs, Country Managers and teams of a certain hue, deal at arm's length with the natives from these parts.

It starts with that contract and its clauses; they are paying us for who they see us to be -beneath them. It continues with the pressures to close out the third well (Payara) quickly. It is time to expose and shame these pious pretenders for what they are: corporate hypocrites pretending at legitimacy while sheltering under the law.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

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PPP/C Govt. should renegotiate, investigate ExxonMobil's exploitative deal - Global Witness A

s the People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) settles into office, one of the world's foremost anticorruption bodies, Global Witness, has renewed calls for there to be an investigation as well as a renegotiation of the ExxonMobil Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) which robbed Guyana of US$55B. This significant revenue loss was highlighted in the organization's February 2020 exposé called Signed Away. That report noted, among other things, that the Stabroek Block deal has bad financial terms thanks to Exxon's aggressive negotiation tactics with inexperienced Guyanese officials.

The Global Witness investigation also showed that Guyana's lead negotiator – formerNatural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman – rushed to sign Exxon's deal despite knowing the company would soon announce new oil find results and while experts were telling him to seek more information.

During negotiations, Trotman also suffered an apparent conflict of

Vice President Jagdeo says...

interest as he was close political allies with one of Exxon's Guyanese lawyers.

The lawyer – Nigel Hughes – has denied he represented Exxon on the deal, but admitted that his firm had represented Exxon since 2009 and that he has worked for the company on other matters.

Global Witness was also keen to remind that Exxon's licence is the subject of ongoing litigation in Guyana, with civil society groups arguing that it is illegal. And in August, the UN Human Rights Committee demanded Guyana both address reports of corruption during the award of Stabroek and state how oil drilling was compatible with efforts to fight climate change.

Even though the lopsided deal sees Guyana being robbed of billions of US dollars, transparency advocates at Global Witness are of the firm conviction that Guyana still has an opportunity to turn its misfortune around. Jonathan Gant, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness, said in a statement to the press yesterday that President Irfaan Ali has a remarkable opportunity to make a new deal that

Jonathan Gant, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

President Irfaan Ali

reflects the interests of all Guyanese and not just ExxonMobil.

He said that Guyana's new Head of State is facing a golden opportunity especially when one takes into consideration that ExxonMobil is increasingly dependent upon Guyana's oil for its success.

Global Witness also holds the belief that renegotiating the Stabroek contract with Exxon is possible. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, Global Witness

pointed out that the company was highly dependent upon its Guyanese oil finds. As oil prices have crashed during the pandemic, Exxon has continued to point investors to Guyana as a reason for hope.

In addition to renegotiating the deal, Global Witness strongly advocated for President Ali's government to investigate the Stabroek deal to determine if it was properly awarded.

The non-governmental organization also noted that

“SARA is incapable of doing anything”

- Unit to be disbanded then A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration solely for the purpose of recovering State property.

The agency has received at the very least $600 million to fight corruption. In 2018, the agency had a budget of

Head of SARA, Dr. Clive Thomas

A

fter being in operation since 2017, the controversial State Asset Recovery Unit (SARA) is set to be disbanded by the new Irfaan Ali led People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration.

At a recent press conference, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, stressed that the unit is “incapable of doing anything” and have done nothing since its establishment.

SARA was created by the

Guyana's recent national elections have exacerbated the country's divisions, as such, the new government must now seek to heal the country and show the people that it is prepared to both investigate Exxon's licence and get the deal Guyana deserves.

“Now is the time for President Ali and Vice President (Bharrat) Jagdeo to not only make good on their campaign promises, but to do one better,” said Gant.

“Guyana's oil licences – including Exxon's Stabroek – should be renegotiated. Guyanese people deserve a better deal. And if the government is not prepared to give them this, then the people should call for these bad deals to be cancelled.”

$260M and in 2019, it received $285M. For its establishment in 2017, it also received another $116M. Since receiving those sums, SARA has failed to produce at least one case where State assets were recovered.

The agency had gone

after the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) back in September 2019 with claims that it had acquired a property in Kingston that houses its headquarters for $244M, less than its actual value.

The High Court, however, ruled in favour of the bank, on the grounds that

SARA lacked the legal standing for such a matter.

Further, SARA attempted to bring a case against Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. in an attempt to recover billions of dollars from the company, which bought the Sanata Complex.

According to reports, SARA was expected to

recover more than $3B in State assets from that shoddy deal but the case was halted because of a court litigation brought by Social Activist, Ramon Gaskin, challenging the legality of the SARA Act. To this end, Jagdeo relayed “We don't want an agency that uses hundreds of (continued on page 13)

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

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

President Santokhi pearls of oil wisdoms President Chandrikapersad Santokhi of Suriname hit the nail on the head during a recent press session. “The sustainable development should come from the private sector, from the small and medium enterprises”. Those words of wisdom from Mr. Santokhi were uttered in the presence of Guyana’s President Dr. Ali, who was also in attendance.

It is our hope that President Ali was listening, and that he will implement what his Surinamese counterpart termed must be the “sustainable backbone” of our economy, through “inviting” those same “small and medium private sector enterprises” to play a pivotal role in rising from a Third World economic state to nearer to that of the highly developed First World. Those small and medium enterprises either are present in both countries or are sure to mushroom and fill many sectoral voids in the days ahead.

According to Mr. Santokhi, the big multinational corporations have their roles, and they must be recognized as having what is beyond the range of local skills and expertise. But the focuses, invitations, and incentives must be directed at local content businesses, which will form the nucleus of local drives that reap local success in the expanding oil industries of Guyana and Suriname. The onus is on the Guyana government to clear the way of obstacles and facilitate a foothold for Guyanese small and medium sized businesses to function and flourish. It is encouraging that the current government has reached out to “Trinidadian local content consultant, Anthony Paul,” whose recommendations, along with the ideas of others, were ignored by the previous government (Govt. uncomfortable with unfair aspects of Exxon deal, KN August 15). The reaching out to Anthony Paul is another positive step taken, in efforts to optimize benefits for Guyanese from our oil wealth. And as another signal of warmth, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the Guyana Manufacturers’ and Service Association have shared that “they are pleased with the Government’s decision to pursue local content legislation” (Businesses welcome Govt.’s local content plans, KN August 16).

With a heavy emphasis on recruiting and partnering with local presences, the Ali Administration must hold open the door to Guyanese companies to be visibly involved in the huge array of downstream and upstream associated commerce that springs up in the wake of intensified production at the wells and pumps. The call from us is for local content to be very powerfully involved through opportunity given to operate. The government must challenge it to demonstrate the initiative and energy, and the creativity and versatility to take a fuller share of our oil patrimony.

We urge President Ali to push them through inspirational leadership. This commences with the kind of training that is necessary to make them significant performers in our oil sector, which is poised to take off, and of which there is a limitless horizon for them to excel. The country can then sit back and rake in the handsome returns. There would be profits and taxes, and there would be employment and earning and spending, which could lead to measurable increases in Guyana’s standard of living, and in such other areas, as Human Development Indices. This is where the action is; and President Ali knows what is expected of him, what he promised in his inauguration address, and what he must deliver.

It is worth repeating at this point what his Surinamese counterpart placed on the table before the public. We must create the environment that enables and empowers the presence of small and medium size enterprises from the local private sector. There must be vision and thrust, with the objective being the involvement and meaningful participation of as many Guyanese persons and entities, which are willing to seize the moment and do their part in the developing and prospering of Guyana.

The questions that we table are: was Guyana’s President Ali listening closely and was he properly moved? Will he do comprehensively what President Santokhi

What is exactly being reviewed in Payara?

Dear Editor, Thank you KN for your exposés on the oil sector.

Reference is made to the Review of the Payara project (KN several dates). When I was asked for my opinion as someone who studied oil economics, I could not give a response other than to say I welcome “a review” as indeed every Guyanese and your paper.

However, from the outset, I stated to those who solicited my opinion that it was not clear what “the review” is all about. What exactly is being reviewed? Is it auditing or verifying the contract or something else? Every aspect of the production and the agreement needs to be reviewed and the financial and development benefits for Guyana.

Do people understand the scale and magnitude of the process that needs reviewing? As a developmental economist, I am interested in the financial proceeds and safety.

There are too many unanswered questions relating to this review. And I agree with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that it should be expedited so that production can commence earliest for financial returns.

The journalists did not ask the rights question. They have not acted like investigative or inquisitive or forensic reporters. The important end result about the ‘review’ is: “Would it change the one sided contract that was negotiated for Liza 1 and 2 or the Stabroek blocks

or is that the precedent for all oil discoveries and recovery of oil? If the country won’t get several times the 2% royalty, then what is the review about? Money is the bottom line for a destitute country like Guyana. And off course safety (oil spill) or environmental impact. If we don’t get an increase in revenue then we would have wasted more money.

Approval of Payara provides an opportunity to substantially increase royalty and profit percentages once a proper review is undertaken.

Skill of Guyanese negotiators is key for increased benefits from any review of Payara and or all other contracts.

Legitimate questions are asked by some in the media on the competence and expertise of the (Canadian) team that is doing the review.

The team may not have formal education in energy but some must have experience on legal matters pertaining to energy.

It is a legal oriented as opposed to a technical oriented team as both reviewers are lawyers rather than energy experts. That is the team that is approved by Canada, the donor country as requested by the aid recipient, Guyana government. Government does not have much choice in the approval of the reviewer.

Those of us who study economics would know that the aid giver, Canadian government, has to give approval on the selection of

the reviewer. Foreign aid has strings attached, one of which is to use the service of the donor country’s nationals or corporation. All donors have that condition.

Alison Redford, who was approved by the Canadian government, heads the review team. What is the connection between newly hired Alison Redford and the original Bayphase team hired by the coalition adminstration last December doing the review?

Why are we only now learning about Bayphase?

She is a former politician and a lawyer.

She is not an economist who would have studied oil economics.

She worked on constitutional and election reforms and on Canada’s foreign policy and has some background on drafting legislation on gas.

There is no mention of her being an oil or gas or energy expert. Another member of the team Jay Park is also not an energy specialist or economist although he served briefly as a deputy minister of energy of a provincial (not national) government.

But one does not have to be a specialist in energy to review the contract; hardly anyone in Guyana is an oil expert. It is expected both would act in the best interest of their client, the Guyana government.

A relevant question is what is the background of Bayphase that was initially hired by the coalition to do

the review? What is its specialization? What work did it do? Its website is like that of an underdeveloped village organization. There is no oil expert in that team.

They are lawyers and politicians, not even economists. Hiring that team smells fishy. Why wasn’t it announced before. Why was it secret?

It would be recalled that US $300 K was used to pay a UK firm IHS Markit for an audit of the $460M precontract cost. Chris Ram claimed it was overbilled by some US $92M. That audit has still not completed some eight months later.

I applaud the media’s focus on the oil contract.

Morally, ethically and legally, according to international standards, Guyana should get some 12% in royalty and more than half the profits of the oil proceeds.

Instead Guyana gets 2% royalty and 12.5% profit which is reduced because Guyana has to pay all of the oil companies’ expenses including for food, drinks, hotel, and taxes.

Every percent increase in royalty or profit could see an increase of up to US$10 B for Guyana. The media should get a clarification on what is being reviewed and press the case for increase in royalty for Payara. The country is losing billions in American dollars annually from bad negotiations of the previous regime.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Guyanese should demand that President Ali hire Jan Mangal Dear Editor, Now that we have had a change of regime, the nation’s attention should swiftly return to focus on that US $55 billion that the APNU/ AFC govt left on the table in negotiating that Exxon deal.

The Coalition’s refusal to reconsider renegotiation of the contract, despite the exposure of the numerous flaws exposed by KN and a host of international NGO’s reeks of collusion. But all is not lost.

There is still room for redemption by the new PPP administration.

That redemption can only come through our own patriot expert, Jan Mangal. Guyanese need to call on president Ali to get Jan Mangal as the team

leader in the evaluation of the Payara project proposal by Exxon.

The financing of a questionable expert, in the personality of Alison Redford by the Canadian High Commission to review Exxon’s Payara proposal brings into focus the stark reality of whether we are too prone to accepting gifts that are detrimental to us. Are we being penny wise and pound foolish?

Recent disclosure by Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat that, “the government is hoping to make a decision on Payara by this month-end so Exxon can make its FID”, does not augur well and should be considered as moving in the

recommended? We insist that he does so soon. Remember: small and medium enterprises from the local private sector.

They have their roles to play. But they can only do so, if the government opens the door and clears the way of the obstacles that limit their presences.

same vein as did the Coalition. Are our oil resources about to be sold for a mere pittance by successive regimes?

Dr. Jan Mangal is adamant that, “the Payara project should not be approved until there is a renegotiation of the Stabroek Block agreement which has been well ventilated as unfair and signed under suspicious circumstances.”

Granger was given Dr. Mangal as a present by the UNDP as his advisor on oil and gas and never made use of him. It would be criminal for this talent to not be given a chance by this new government to try to redeem something of essence, now that Payara presents an opportunity.

Dr. Mangal and all Guyanese are cognizant of the fact that, “there is a long list of regulatory reforms and legislative updates necessary to empower government to

prudently manage the petroleum sector. If this government signed away Payara at the beck and call of Exxon’s demand for speed, in the absence of the necessary legislative framework, it would be following in the footsteps of the Coalition. Dr. Mangal has the ability to use Payara as a bargaining chip to recover some of that US $55 billion which the Coalition left on Exxon’s table but will the supporters of the PPP demand that President Ali bring Dr. Mangal on board?

The Coalition supporters saw no evil in the contract their party signed with Exxon.

I wonder if it will be the same for the PPP supporters should the government sign away Payara swiftly, in response to Exxon’s lure that there are “weather conditions” that need to be met for Exxon to make a timely Final Investment Decision.

Yours truly, Rudolph Singh

Tuesday August 18, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Incoming government should use Kaieteur News should use its influence to bring government available data for accurate assessment of state of country’s finances to its senses on Payara Dear Editor For the past couple of days Kaieteur News has featured the opinions and comments from Melinda Janki and Jan Mangal, both experts in the petroleum business who feel that the choice of the former Premier of Alberta as a consultant is a grave error on the part of the current government.

Both Ms. Janki and Dr. Mangal in yesterday’s article, (“Appointment of Canadian Consultant has all the hallmarks of the oil curse”) clearly feel Ms. Redford lacks the qualifications, experience and integrity needed to deliver an accurate and unbiased report on the Payara Project.

It is clear from the comments, the two aforementioned experts feel her company will not provide the type of report our

government needs to make an informed decision. Dr. Mangal’s statement, “Do the Canadians take the Guyanese for fools?” is a clear indication that he feels Canada is out to cheat the Guyanese by getting involved where they clearly are not welcomed. Ms. Janki was no less harsh in her condemnation of the Canadians. She stated that the Canadians lacked the loyalty to Guyana and technical skills needed to correct ExxonMobil’s field development plan and the offer of the Canadian Government’s grant was an attempt to insert their people into Guyana’s Petroleum Sector.

I urge Kaieteur News to please convince our Government to refuse this grant from the Canadians who according to Ms. Janki and Dr. Mangal, do not have our best interest at heart and we

will only end up making a similarly bad decision as was done by the previous government.

Since Ms. Janki and Dr. Mangal have our best interest at heart, I urge the PPP/C government to engage their expertise in this Payara Evaluation and dismiss the Canadians who are only interested in getting their hands on our resources despite their vast reserve of Petroleum. I am quite surprised Ms. Janki and Dr. Mangal were not consulted when the previous government literally gave away our precious resource to ExxonMobil for little in return. If they were, I am sure we would have received a better deal. We cannot make that mistake again, KN. Please use your influence to bring our government to its senses.

Yours truly, Dennis Balgobin

The AFC did not distinguish itself within the Coalition administration Dear Editor, In probing why they lost the government, the coalition parties, separately and collectively, must not remain locked down in the cheatednot-defeated mindset or they would miss several insights that would inform them on the best way forward whatever are the true election results.

In the 2015 election, the Guyanese electorate, by ousting the PPP, expressed a desire for national political rebirth. To respond to this mood, the coalition needed to prioritize two strategies: one was not to be publicly perceived as a twin of the PPP (a separate discussion). The other was for the AFC to exhibit its autonomy often enough to be perceived as being brave and responsive to ethnic (Indo-Guyanese), occupational (agricultural) and geographic concerns. So mission-critical were these two strategies that they should have received perpetual management.

The AFC had to find

answers to a key challenge, one at the heart of coalition politics everywhere: the oneness vs distinctiveness dilemma. This dilemma challenges each party in a coalition to walk the tight rope between preserving group unity whilst, at the same time, exerting its own individuality.

On this test, the AFC failed badly. Its public posture mostly conveyed acquiescence or submissiveness. Even on controversial matters (take, for instance, the closure of sugar estates or the lease revocation for the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre), we saw no expression of its own identity. Its silence undercut both its own political viability and the electoral attractiveness of the coalition.

Paradoxically, the AFC demonstrated during the two Cummingsburg Accord negotiations that it could be openly contentious and selfassertive within the coalition.

But outside of those events that discussed the sharing of

the pie, it seemed to value groupthink over expressing differing or distinctive views.

Of note, distinctiveness need not be expressed only through public displays of disagreement among coalition partners. Another way is for individual parties to publicly champion special initiatives. The WPA cash transfer proposal was a case in point. Key segments of the electorate, however, did not see the AFC on the forefront of issues that spoke to its own self-identity, that spoke to constituency concerns, (Continued on page 6)

Dear Editor, As was the case in 2015 with the change of a new Government, we now hear expressions and opinions of an “empty treasury” and “bankrupt coffers” by both citizens and politicians of the victorious party. These utterances make the anecdotal assumption that the incoming government has no funds to spend to execute the functions of the State. Technically, after every fiscal year, a government will have (assuming budgetary funds were fully utilized) limited financial resources and hence the need for an annual budget.

Going forward, it would be wise for the incoming government to give

consideration to an audit process grounded on quantitative facts and data to give an accurate assessment of the current financial position of the State. This assessment should then be shared with the public and used as the base point for the formulation of the budget.

These data can be accessed from the consolidated financial statements of the immediate preceding year as required by the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003, in particular Sections 68 to 71 and 73. Also, data for the current year should be extracted from the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMAS) and other financial reports showing

extra-budgetary funds, deposit funds, schedule of government guarantees, outstanding public debt, and the issuances and extinguishment of government loans. These data sources will reveal current revenues, current and recurring expenditure, capital revenue and expenditure to date in the current year.

Since we are already close to three quarters into the year because of the protracted elections, it would be prudent for the current government to adopt a course of action as outlined here so as to inform its decision making when formulating the 2020 national budget.

Yours truly, Clinton Urling

The new government should reduce the import duties on cars Please allow me to highlight an issue that is of great concern to many Guyanese.

With access to the Internet, the world has become a small global village.

As such, many Guyanese could sit in the comfort of their homes and purchase a vehicle from Japan or elsewhere. In doing so, they have been avoiding paying the ridiculous markup by some local auto dealers.

The problems however, are as follows: 1. The import duties on used vehicles are extremely high. It is almost the same as the price one pays for a vehicle in Japan. So in effect, a person is buying one vehicle for the price of two.

2. The restriction introduced by the previous government whereby cars older than eight years cannot be imported in the country was poorly thought out.

My understanding is that this measure was put in place to prevent old cars from entering the country. Well I have news for them – the small man who cannot afford to buy one of the later model cars is now repairing and patching up his old car. Thus, there are now more old cars on the roadways.

Without the restriction, the same small man would have been able to replace his old car with a decent 2010 or 2011 model at a reasonable cost.

3.

The previous administration also passed legislation stating that all cars entering the country must

have new tires. Some companies in Japan sell the cars ‘as is’. Hence, when those cars arrive a fine has to be paid to GRA, as much as $15,000 per tire. This is very oppressive since the same money could have been used to outfit the car with new tires locally.

In view of the foregoing, I am hereby calling on our new government to reduce the import duties on motor vehicles significantly, and also to review and remove the nonsensical restrictions stated above at numbers two and three. These burdens have been around the necks of Guyanese for too long, strangling them.

Yours truly, Janaknauth Panchu

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Payara required an engineering rocket scientist; we got a politically connected regulator Dear Editor, I break my peace to share that, in the choice of Ms. Alison Redford, QC, fallen expremier, perennial regulator, and current World Bank Advisor, the PPP government continued the insulting of Guyanese by political governors. For when the government agrees (kowtows) to such a presence, it sells citizens out.

In fact, Guyanese are sold a pig in a bag, and pushed to accept a political player when what it needs is the equivalent of an engineering rocket scientist. I elaborate.

The Payara project review is pivotal to placing Guyana in a knowledgeable and powerful position to dictate the management and control of its oil endowment, and to carve out its rightful destiny.

Country and citizens need the

best; political leaders need the best possible guidance that money can buy, and which must come in the form of a world class authority, and not some political regular, who knows the right people and is recognized by them as a golden child. In effect, in Ms. Redford’s presence, I see not a performer, but a player.

I say this because I take issue with the Canadians paying for the Payara review services of one of their own. I do not regard such well; and though we need the financial hand, I would insist that we foot the bill, on this one, even if we are forced to borrow. It buys some level of independence and confidence that what we get is what we paid for, what we oversee closely and wisely. I offer the latter because of what we have been through with

The AFC did not...

From page 5 such as racial equality and the welfare of displaced sugar workers.

It is tempting to assume that oneness or unity in a coalition is always a virtue as it guarantees its stability and longevity. In excess, it is actually a political liability. To understand why, one need only consider that the strength of most coalitions depends on their ability to attract a broad and diverse public. Sustaining party distinctiveness, whether genuine or choreographed, promotes that attractiveness.

Conversely, the more the identities of coalition partners merge, the smaller the sum of the parts.

Given what we know of the AFC’s support base from the 2011 and 2015 elections,

and given the presence of the PNCR as the dominant partner in the coalition, the AFC’s apparent non-effort to keep its distinctiveness is hard to explain.

Political miscalculation or ineptitude?

Agenda overload? Fear of being accused of fostering disunity? If fostering disunity was the concern, then several dispute resolution mechanisms could have been set up to minimize the risk of a break up. Should the coalition partners assess the reasons why they lost the government, they should not succumb to self-denial and overlook a wider analysis.

Retaking the government first requires confronting all truths.

Yours truly, Sherwood Lowe

ExxonMobil, and on which I share something else.

The consultant is reported to have had difficulty with CDN$45,000 in expenses related to attending Nelson Mandela’s funeral, which caused her political downfall. There were other concerns. This can be problematic for Guyana, which has its many struggles with such issues with government not trusted and watched like a hawk; while anything related to our oil assumes automatically the worst misgivings, especially when the answers expected are not forthcoming. It is why I say only the immaculate will pass muster. And in this regard, rather regrettably, Ms. Redford falls short.

Like the tobacco industry, Exxon has expended much resources to influence academics, institutions, think tanks, and a host of others to proselytize on its behalf and to generate authoritative positions on controversial and clashing circumstances to its satisfaction climate

realities is but one example.

From Exxon’s perspective, Guyana is no exception and, given what is involved and where things could lead, the company would leave no stone unturned to get its way.

It has a history of moving mountains that stand in its way. I fear danger.

On the separate issue of big power interests, I present this unwelcome reminder. The advanced countries are about their own interests first, with America in front, and Canada a part of the club, even if its role is that of proxy. In the gift of Ms. Redford, I sense not a hobbyhorse, but a lame duck. So, when an Alison Redford is foisted upon the Guyana government, what surfaces is not the friendship of democratic partnership in elections, but the quid pro quo (marker cashed) of this reportedly tainted ex-premier, who I am almost certain knows less of petroleum technical and engineering than me. It is why I think there was the ready acquiescence (“kowtow” mentioned earlier)

of the PPP government to the recommendation of Ms. Redford. She is of no use to us; I have none for her. We need a thoroughbred to sift through the oil fields; we got a turtle that is a nonstarter.

Yes, I appreciate that she will be buttressed by a team of experts, but she has to understand completely the scope of the review, the intricacies of it, and the jargons and conclusions of it, to be in a position to make recommendations to the Guyana government. Because her political history stands, anything that she delivers is doubly doubted and secondguessed, as to credibility, authenticity, and reliability.

We cannot afford this risk.

This is disappointing coming so soon from the new people. To hark back to pre2015, in Ms. Redford, there are shades of one Fip Motilal and Amaila Falls (which coincidentally just got reincarnated). This country is fighting an uphill battle to get its fair share from its oil wealth. That has not been

forthcoming, with harsh prices paid and painful lessons learned. The new people were in the forefront to rail against the huge financial defeats inflicted.

Now they must deliver and not walk back all that hard talk (Chris Ram, hope you are reading) to continue the litany of political surrenders.

If the new political leaders are serious about extracting the most from our oil, then Payara is the moment of test.

If they are honest about maximizing benefits for all citizens, then Ms. Redford is the poorest choice. And if the same political commanders are genuine about, and to be trusted with, prudent management of Guyana’s oil blessing, then the sole option is to recognize the wrong road taken with this compromised Canadian consultant and start over with someone else.

Someone who is of impeccable and more persuasive pedigree. That I can support.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Freddie’s attacks on Eusi Kwayana have been abusive and disrespectful Dear Editor.

We, the former students of Country High School (renamed Republic Cooperative High School) of Buxton Village, East Coast Demerara have had enough of Freddie Kissoon and his continued abusive, disrespectful and untruthful rhetoric that he boldly puts in his columns about Eusi Kwayana.

Mr. Kissoon, from what is expressed in your writings about Mr. Kwayana, your insensitive ignorance of the virtues and moral qualities of this well-liked Buxton Sage and role model has to end.

You probably do not realize that your writings, belittling Mr. Eusi Kwayana and attempting to strip him of his dignity, will eventually have an impressionable effect on your readers.

Be it known to you, Mr. Kissoon, that people who will

verbally and insensitively attack other persons are those who possess low self-esteem.

We want to simply point out that some people have their own map of the world in their thoughts about others.

It is very obvious from some written comments of Mr. Kissoon’s readers that they are in agreement with his hateful and undignified scripts about Mr. Kwayana.

On reviewing many of Freddie Kissoon’s narratives about Mr. Kwayana, we clearly note that this man uses false analysis and nasty terminologies, including attacks on Mr. Kwayana’s age, to paint an evil picture of our former high school founder and principal. Mr. Kissoon’s focus is seemingly stuck on Mr. Kwayana’s political activities of the 1960s, but he intentionally fails to mention this hero’s historical and valued

contributions to Guyana, dating as far back as the 1940s.

Mr. Kissoon uses a fancy word, “atavism” in some of his attacks on Mr. Kwayana.

The online dictionary definition of “atavism” gives it as “a tendency to revert to something ancient or ancestral”. Mr. Kissoon, by this logic, should also be looking at Mr. Kwayana’s contributions to Guyana from the 1940s and 1950s and not deliberately restrict himself to the 1960s, for his convenience.

What is your goal, Mr. Kissoon? Are you tirelessly trying to strip Mr. Eusi Kwayana of his dignity and humanitarian and humble contributions to Guyana?

You are certainly on the wrong road for admiration from people who promote and celebrate the good and virtues that they find in their

fellow men and women.

Further, Mr. Kissoon, we do realize your constant pursuit of insults and personal attacks, demonstrating your tremendous lack of knowledge of the true attributes of this gentleman, Mr. Eusi Kwayana, who we all call the SAGE of Buxton. As ‘Former students of Mr. Eusi Kwayana’, our names are too many to be listed, but we are open to supplying same if there is any doubt about the source and/or intent of this letter.

Finally, Mr. Kissoon, we are reminding you that we have had enough of your abuse of Mr. Eusi Kwayana.

We now state here a famous quote from the man himself, “this confounded nonsense must stop”.

Yours truly, Former Students of Eusi Kwayana

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

PAGE 07

GRA wins case against Grace Kennedy Remittance Services for close to $400M owed in taxes T

he Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has secured a court judgment against Grace Kennedy Remittance Services (Guyana) Limited in a matter relating to the company owing back taxes amounting to close to $400M. The ruling, which was handed down late last month, has since been appealed by the money transfer agency.

Court documents seen by this newspaper outlined that the issue stems from a dispute between the revenue authority and the money transfer and bill payment agency over remittances of corporation taxes dating back to 2011.

The document outlined that GRA through its lawyer, Judy Stuart-Adonis, contended that Grace Kennedy is a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act; CAP 89:01 of the laws of Guyana which conducts the businesses of money transfer and bill payment services in Guyana.

According to the claim, GRA contended that the company was assessed for corporation tax at a non-commercial rate having been classified as a non-commercial company from 1994 up until May 2018.

However, the court document said that GRA the entity tasked with enforcing compliance with Guyana's tax, customs and related laws, informed Grace Kennedy in a letter dated May 17, 2018 that it had been reclassified as a commercial company and therefore additional assessments were raised with respect to the liability for corporation tax for the years of assessment 2011 – 2017.

This resulted in the company owing the sum of $377,135,184.00 for those years.

Grace Kennedy Remittance Services' Georgetown Main Office

GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia

Further the letter informed Grace Kennedy that it is a "commercial company" as defined in Section 2(1) of the Corporation Tax Act; CAP 81:03 of the laws of Guyana and therefore it was previously incorrectly classified as a non-commercial company.

Having been reclassified as a commercial company, additional assessments were raised under Section 72 of the Income Tax Act; CAP 81:01 of the laws of Guyana resulting in the afore-stated corporation tax liability.

The company in turn wrote to GRA raising objections to the reclassification and the additional assessments but the revenue authority stood its ground on the issue.

As a consequence, the

document stated that Grace Kennedy through its lawyer Stephen Fraser challenged the decision to a Judge in Chambers of the High Court.

Justice Nareshwar Harnanan ruled on July 5, 2019 that the money transfer service provider was not a commission agency and therefore not a "commercial company" as defined in Section 2(1) of the Corporation Tax Act. The ruling was appealed to the Full Court where presiding Justices, Diana Insanally and Navindra Singh, handed down a decision in favour of GRA on July 20 last.

Among other things, the Full Court considered in its ruling the meaning of “commercial company" as outlined by Section

2(1) of the Corporation Tax. In its judgment, the Court outlined that commercial company means a company at least 75 per cent of the gross income of which is derived from trading in goods not manufactured which includes any c o m m i s s i o n a g e n c y, a n y telecommunication company, any body corporate licensed or otherwise authorised by law to canyon banking businesses in Guyana, and any company carrying on in Guyana, insurance business, other than long-term insurance business, as defined in Section 2 of the Insurance Act. As such, the Full Court agreed that all types of commission agencies are "commercial companies" as defined in Section 2(1) of the Corporation Tax Act, as

Special Constable charged for causing pensioner's death

S

pecial Constable Michael Lewis was yesterday released on $200,000 bail for causing the death of 61-year-old Bibi Zalima Subrattie, a housewife of Pigeon Island Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara, by dangerous driving.

Lewis was arraigned before Magistrate Rushel Liverpool in the Sparendaam Magistrate's Court when the charge was read to him.

The 29-year-old defendant was not required to plead to the indictable charge which alleges that on May 24, 2020 at Chateau Margot Public Road, he drove motorcar PKK 9991 in a manner dangerous to the public thereby causing the death of Subrattie.

According to the facts of the charge, on

the day in question about 18:15hrs, the woman was attempting to cross the road when Lewis, who was allegedly driving at a fast rate along the East Coast highway, suddenly changed lanes to overtake another vehicle but instead he came into contact with the pedestrian.

As a result of the impact, Subrattie fell on to the roadway where she sustained severe head and bodily injuries. The woman was pronounced dead by medical personnel when an ambulance arrived at the scene. Her body was later picked up and taken to the Lyken's Funeral Home. An investigation was launched and the defendant was later arrested and charged for the offence.

Lewis is expected to make his next appearance on October 12, 2020 for report.

Dead: Bibi Zalima Subrattie

found by the trial Judge.

Further, the Court noted that the evidence is unchallenged that the Grace Kennedy derives 75 per cent or more of its income through being a commission agency.

In the ruling, the Court noted further that the company was in the year 2003, similarly re-assessed after being re-classified as a "commercial company" by the Appellant.

The Court said, “The appellant subsequently reconsidered the reclassification and discharged the additional assessments…The reason/s for the discharge of the additional assessments in 2003 is not known and really is irrelevant since the finding of an officer of the Appellant in 2003 cannot bind the Appellant in the execution of its mandate in accordance with law.

As a result, the Full Court held that this should not have stopped GRA from re-classifying the agency as a commercial company since the re-classification was done in accordance with the law.

Further in the circumstances, the Court held that Grace Kennedy has not stated any facts or advances or any argument in support of that contention. As such, the Court reversed and set aside the ruling of Justice Harnanan in its entirety and further dismissed the High Court action based on its merits.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Tuesday August 18, 2020

District Council opposes resumption of mining in Regions 7, 8, & 9 T

h e S o u t h R u p u n u n i District Council (SRDC) is maintaining its firm position that mining should not be an essential service and should be suspended in Indigenous communities, especially those that are COVID-19 hotpots.

This stance was taken after mining operations in Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine were given approval to resume.

According to the new g a z e t t e o r d e r, m i n i n g activities within the specified Regions are permitted and miners will be expected to adhere to recommendations made by the authorities as well as the other COVID-19 regulations.

This newspaper contacted the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miner's Association (GGDMA) to a s c e r t a i n w h a t recommendations were made for miners in the named Regions. However, the response from an official was that the information is currently unavailable.

The SRDC stated that mining operations still pose an increased risk of the COVID-19 virus entering t h e I n d i g e n o u s communities, especially parts of Region Nine. The

body has emphasized too that many of the recorded COVID-19 cases within Region Seven were “miningrelated”.

The Council further noted that it has received reports of persons flouting COVID-19 regulations within mining areas and there is no proper supervision to ensure that all guidelines are followed.

Based on the reports received, nightspots are being opened into the wee hours of the morning and miners working in these mining areas are not following the necessary protocols mandated by the order.

The Council has also noted that its members have been working very hard to decrease the spread of the virus and to educate Indigenous communities within Region Nine. But these efforts, the Council noted, are being completely disregarded by the mining community.

The Council had previously highlighted that Wapishana tribes in Region Nine are faced with a great risk due to miners passing through their communities.

Language barrier was also recognized as another issue in the 21 Wapishana communities since the COVID-19 regulations are

being published in English.

To address this, the SRDC has since recorded audios in the Wapishana language that will soon be distributed amongst villages and will also be broadcasted via radio stations in the Region.

The Council has called on government and other relevant authorities to halt

mining activities over 10 times including by way of letters and regional meetings/discussions to no avail.

The SRDC said that it has been putting measures in place to battle COVID-19 since Guyana's very first case was recorded in March.

The Council members believe despite their best

efforts, the situation can spiral out of control if caution isn't exercised.

Some of the measures that have been implemented include the blocking of border crossings between Guyana and Brazil; setting up of proper screening checkpoints; ensuring accurate information relating to COVID-19 is

circulated within communities, and constructing gates to block e n t r y i n t o Wa p i s h a n a communities.

According to the Council, small villages like Potarinau and Quiko were quickly affected by the virus; a development it hopes doesn't extend to other villages in the Region.

Broomes, bodyguard hauled before Magistrate F

o r m e r Yo u t h Affairs Minister within the Ministry of the Presidency, Simona Broomes, and her bodyguard, Dexter Austin, were yesterday hauled before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts where a series of charges were read to them.

Broomes and Austin were slapped with three joint charges and two individual charges. The first joint charge stated that on August 3, 2020, at South Sophia, they used threatening language towards Dion Younge, a People's Progressive Party/Civic Councillor.

The latter charge alleges that on the same date and at the same location, Broomes and Austin caused public terror. The last joint charge stated that on the same date

- both released on self bail

Former Minister, Simona Broomes and at the same location, Broomes and Austin unlawfully restrained Younge. While Broomes was also charged for assaulting Younge so as to cause him grievous bodily harm and

Bodyguard/Driver, Dexter Austin

Austin was charged for discharging a loaded firearm within 100 yards of public space.

Broomes and Austin denied the charges that were read to them and were granted self-bail by Magistrate Daly.

They are expected to make their next court appearance on August 31, 2020.

Kaieteur News had reported from a live video posted by Broomes on her Facebook fan page at around 08:00hrs on August 3, 2020, that she and others were seen assaulting Younge and another man. Broomes detailed in the video that she had just finished her morning exercise when she spotted a man with a flap-hat dismantling some signs with

a hammer.

Broomes alleged that the signs were planted on the government reserve in front of her house and that she confronted the man for taking down the signs that she had spent money to erect. She also claimed that the man responded by saying, “We want to show you who in power now and who running the country now.”

The ex-minister also made claims that the man threatened to shoot her before entering a waiting car and driving off.

Broomes then entered her vehicle and instructed Austin to follow the car, which they trailed to A-Field, South Sophia where it stopped at a bridge. Two men exited and

walked over into Plum Park.

Broomes too stepped out of her vehicle, along with Austin, and ran behind the men. As they got closer, Austin took out his firearm and began firing shots in the air.

Younge and the other man were assaulted. During the assault, Young received a cut to his hand and lacerations to his arms and feet while the worker sustained injuries to the head and feet as well. A report was later lodged at the Turkeyen Police Station by both parties.

Broomes and Austin were later arrested and an investigation was launched.

They were later charged and put before the court for the offences.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

PAGE 09

The APNU+AFC will be outclassed in the National Assembly

I

t is perhaps too early and there is too little information available to pronounce precisely on what exactly is taking place within the PNC/R. When the dust settles on the fallout from the elections, a better assessment of the party's internal dynamics can be made.

Yesterday, however, the PNC/R dropped a political bombshell. A number of its leaders are not going to be part of the next parliament and this includes most of the Executive of the party. This is unprecedented in the history of the PNC/R and can affect how the Opposition holds the government accountable.

Parliamentary participation is one means through which the Opposition can interrogate the government policies and demand answers to issues.

And this is all the more reason why, in constituting the Opposition benches, it is important that the best group be assembled. It would be difficult to convince the party's die-hard supporters that the group selected represent the best that the PNC/R and the AFC can muster.

As of now, the situation is befuddling. Why would so many of the top leaders of the party not be returning as parliamentarians? The PNC/R cannot hope to hold

the PPP/C accountable with such inexperience.

The PPP/C will run roughshod over the newcomers. Even though the PPP/C itself has a number of newcomers, it now has the benefit of incumbency and with it all the data and information to outclass the APNU+AFC in the parliamentary debates.

The PPP/C is going to have it easy in the National Assembly. And it is likely also that the number of sittings is going to be far less and that some sittings will have to be virtual. The National Assembly will not escape the new reality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There must be something amiss within the PNC/R. While this may only be a preliminary observation, the party's parliamentary choices are extremely surprising.

True to form, the PNC/R backpedalled slightly on its decision not to have cardboard parties represented on the APNU ticket. The APNU has dumped three of its coalition partners and mysteriously one of the biggest cardboard parties in the country, the Working People's Alliance managed to scrape a seat.

The downgraded representation is all the more bizarre considering that the PPP/C has a slender one-seat majority. There is always

going to be the chance of slipping-in a no-confidence motion against the PPP/C. But this task will be made all the more difficult if there are inexperienced persons on the Opposition benches.

The PPP/C's injection of youth into its Cabinet must have been responsible for the dramatic turn of events in the APNU+AFC representation in the National Assembly. It is understandable that with the PPP/C presenting younger and fresher faces in government, and consequently in the National Assembly, that the Coalition would not have wanted to return with a team whose average age is as high as those who had made up the APNU+AFC Cabinet.

A youthful membership of the National Assembly is not necessarily a wise move unless there are seniors to mentor them. And since most of these seniors will not be returning, a situation can arise where a few members will have to shoulder much of the workload in the National Assembly.

The PNC/R is operating like a defeated and deflated force. It is sending a secondstring team into the National Assembly. While some of the seasoned AFC leaders will be returning, the number of new faces places the APNU+AFC Coalition – or what is left of it – in a most disadvantaged position. It is difficult to see how some of

..........................................................

Dem boys seh...

Lil Sharma nah deh pon de list!

D

e Rig-adier legacy gone international.

Dem boys remember how de Rig-adier bin spread de virus wah does cause rigging, recounting and recanting.

De Bingo tried fuh rig with a spreadsheet and den with a bed sheet.

De virus cause GEECUM fuh had to do a recount. But no sooner de recount start, de virus cause de Coal-a-shun fuh recant dem story how dem bin win de elections.

Was dah same virus – wah does cause rigging, recounting and recanting – dat cause de death of Owen de Arthur. De man bin afraid dat de virus would ah spread to dem small island Caribbean states.

De man nah live fuh see

he fears come to past. But de Rig-adier see how he legacy spread to de Trinidad.

Nobody bin expect Kam-la fuh stand up and tek she licks like a man. After all, she is not a man.

But dem nah bin expect she fuh call fuh recount. De recount tekking place and is showing how de Row-Lee chap win de same areas wah gat fuh recount. So dem boys hear how Kam-La party cause disturbance during the recount. Is de Rig-adier party dem learn dah from.

De Rig-adier virus spread to Eastern Europe.

Dem had elections in Belarus and de man wah lose de election nah wan give up.

Like de Rig-adier, he calling fuh power sharing. But de real winners nah accepting dat.

Some people gat to accept and bless wah dem get. Some of dem nah gat to ride bicycle no more. Dem going into parliament. De WPA get in.

Dem boys know dat de APNU nah good with counting but dem boys still nah understand how Tabee Ta Ta get wan seat when de party wah she head can't get 70 votes, much less 7,000 wah dem bin seh is necessary fug get a seat in parliament.

Dem boys sorry fuh Lil Sharma. He bin seh dat he shall serve only Soulja Bai and Soulja Bai alone... Well Soulja Bai lef he alone. He either get lef off de list or he nah bin interested.

Talk half and rememba some pension mo important dan others!

the newer faces will fare when faced with the PPP/C during the forthcoming Budget debates.

Granger's nonparticipation in the Assembly was expected. He is clearly paving the way for some other persons to eventually replace him and while he says that he will be

active in rebuilding the party, his non-return to parliament is a choice, which ultimately sends him out to pasture.

But if his fading into the political sunset was not unexpected, what was extremely surprising was the non-return of some of the bigwigs in the party.

Perhaps, they are shrunken

by the loss of the elections and want a respite from political work.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Tuesday August 18, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

PNC should reject the AFC's selections for parliament

L

ast Sunday, the AFC selected its n i n e parliamentarians and it is a sordid violation of the constitution, elections criteria and moral laws. The selection is amorphous and illogical. This country will now see if David Granger has even an ounce of leadership qualities in him.

By compelling moral laws, he has to reject those choices First, five of them are from Georgetown, not the wide territory of Region Four but the city of Georgetown. They are Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, Sherod Duncan, Cathy Hughes and David Patterson. All five have lived in Georgetown the past 30 years, registered to vote in Georgetown the

past 30 years, and do not belong to any AFC group in any part of the entire country except Georgetown.

Ramjattan does not belong to the Region Four Regional Management Committee (RMC) since the birth of the AFC. He never belonged to the Region Six RCM. In 2015, it was Charrandass Persaud, and not Moses Nagamootoo and Ramjattan, who represented Berbice in the House.

Secondly, the group's shape constitutes a violation of the constitution. It should contain 30 percent of women. There are only two women – Juretha Fernandes and Cathy Hughes. Two founding members of the party who are executive members were not chosen – Nicola Trotman and

Beverley Alert.

Thirdly, Region Four has six selectees out of nine – the five named above and Ricky Ramsaroop from the East Coast. This has serious implications for the analysis of politics. If the AFC has chosen five politicians from Georgetown to be in the House, then, since your MPs are drawn from where your votes come from, it means that in the 2020 poll, the AFC received significant ballots from urban constituencies which traditionally vote for the PNC. It is possible then, that the PNC lost heavily to the AFC in Georgetown?

Fourthly, if out of the 10 Regions in Guyana, the AFC designates six of its nine names from Region Four, then this is an admission that the AFC is virtually dead in

the other Regions in Guyana.

In 2011, it got substantial votes in Regions Two, Three, Five and Six. Now since the PNC's electoral strength is in Region Four and the AFC chose six out of its nines MPs from Region Four, the AFC is simply arguing that its strength lies in Region Four.

So, the possibility is that in the 2020 election, the PNC endured severe losses not to the PPP but the AFC. Fifthly, the designations contain one representative from Region Two – Haimraj Rajkumar; one from Region 10, Devon Sears; one from Region Seven – Juretha Fernandes. There is no AFC politician going into parliament from Regions One, Three, Five, Six, Eight and Nine. If the AFC is entering parliament without an MP from Regions Five and Six or from the total Berbice area, then the AFC is openly conceding that it has no support from areas that propelled it into the limelight

from 2006. It would be political masturbation of the worst kind if Ramjattan says that his presence in the House symbolizes the Berbice presence.

Sixthly, in the last parliament, the AFC had two members who were from the Indigenous community – Valerie Garrido Lowe and Michael Carrington. There is none with Fernandes being Portuguese. Seventhly, with six parliamentarians, no one was selected to cover the East Bank of Demerara.

We come now to the gang of five. The five were the people who had complete control over the AFC. All decisions emanated from them. They were Dominic Gaskin, Ramjattan, Tr o t m a n , H u g h e s a n d Patterson. Gaskin is gone.

There are now four left.

These four have to justify to the Guyanese people why they should return to Parliament where they have been since 2006.

Frederick Kissoon If the PNC adheres to Granger's 10 criteria for obtaining a seat in parliament, the AFC falls down badly. The 10 criteria include youth, gender and demography. How can the gang of four justify all of them going into the House?

Ramjattan will say he is leader. Trotman will say he is Chairman. Patterson will say he is General Secretary.

Hughes will justify herself by the gender criterion.

But Hughes was there since 2006. Why not give another woman a chance?

Why must the Leader, Chairman and General Secretary all go to parliament when all three were there since 2006? Why not rotate the slate to include representation from Regions Three, Five and Six. And why not adhere to the constitutional rule of 30 percent for women. By next week, the AFC will hand in its submission to the Leader of the List – Granger. Will Granger at last show testicular valour in political leadership?

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

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Tuesday August 18, 2020

As countr y battles surge in COVID-19 cases…

Emergency Medicine Specialist promotes importance of a strong immune system - says early treatment can help “ prevent severe form of the disease

The stronger our immune system, the better are our chances of overcoming COVID-19.”

This is the advice proffered

by Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Zulfikar Bux. Dr. Bux, since the outbreak of COVID here, has outlined a series of measures that once adhered to, can help to mitigate the spread of the disease.

Sadly, a number of persons have not been paying heed and the consequence has been a surge in cases.

Guyana has thus far recorded more than 700 cases with 24 fatalities.

Fearing that the situation could become a national disaster if left unchecked, Dr. Bux has compiled what he describes as “the best evidence available thus far” with the aim of helping persons to make wise decisions that can help reduce the spread of the disease.

High on the agenda in this

Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Zulfikar Bux

regard, he noted, is the need to “prepare our immune system for battle by arming it ahead of time.” To do this, he added, can be as simple as ensuring that the immune system is well boosted with zinc, vitamin C and vitamin B, and the benefit of sufficient r e s t c a n n o t b e underestimated.

Dr. Bux has continuously emphasized too that among the tactical moves that can help to counter the spread of COVID-19 is the wearing of face mask while in public.

“If all of us wear our mask when we are out and about, we will break this surge and rid ourselves of this menace.

While everyone is not compliant with mask wearing, those that comply and wear mask are at a lower

risk of catching the disease,” the medical practitioner noted.

Addressing the surge in cases in his most recently weekly column in this newspaper, Dr. Bux said, “We are having a surge in COVID19 infections in Region Four and the hinterland regions.”

And because of this development, he insists that, “We all need to be strategic, responsible and keep ourselves informed so that each of us can contribute in a greater way to help mitigate this surge.”

In taking note of an evident increase in social activities, Dr. Bux asserted that in order to win the fight against COVID-19, social distancing is still a very important measure to

adhere to.

According to Dr. Bux, “There are too many myths about COVID-19 and too many persons who do not believe in the disease in Guyana. As a result, there is lesser adherence to guidelines, which increase the risk of this disease spreading.”

For this reason, he stressed the need to “keep ourselves informed about it so that we can make the correct decisions. Try to know the hotspots and avoid visiting those areas as much as possible. Ensure you get your information from reliable sources and educate others about this disease.”

He also noted that if persons suspect that they might have been exposed to someone with the disease, they should visit a testing facility.

“The stigma about the disease and the fear of being isolated should not deter you from getting tested if you

have symptoms suggestive of the disease.

The earlier you get tested, the faster you can be placed on treatment which can help save your life,” said Dr. Bux. Being aware of your COVID-19 status, the doctor noted, could by extension “help you to protect your loved ones by avoiding them and getting them tested so that they can also get early care.

The option of you getting isolated at home is being implemented so you do not have to fear that you will be taken away from home.”

One of the most effective ways to curb the spread of the disease, Dr. Bux added, is for health authorities to know who has the disease and those who were exposed to it.

“The more information you give to authorities, the better are your chances of getting help and helping authorities to help others who may be at risk. Once they are aware of everyone who are at risk, authorities may be able to prevent them from getting infected and avoid those that were not exposed from becoming exposed,” he noted.

Early testing and treatment is important since, according to Dr. Bux, “there is strong evidence from studies showing patients who used Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine early have better outcomes from the disease.”

While there are other treatment options available for hospitalized patients, Dr. Bux said that studies suggest that the early use of these drugs help to prevent the virus from entering the cells and therefore prevent the progression of the disease to the severe form of the disease.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

PAGE 13

Mechanic injured as boat explodes at New Amsterdam Stelling The submerged boat shortly after the explosion

The New Amsterdam Stelling

A

man is now nursing second degree burns about his body after a fibre glass boat that was moored at the New Amsterdam Stelling caught on fire yesterday and subsequently exploded.

According to reports, Fizul Adams, a mechanic, is

hospitalized at the New Amsterdam Hospital in a stable condition.

Reports are that Adams was fuelling up the “Grady White” vessel, which was moored at the Stelling using a built-in pump.

Police stated that it was during the process of

“SARA is incapable of...

From page 3 millions of dollars per year to recover $10. We don't want that and we can't afford that as a country. And therefore, that was, like I said, a sinecure unit.”

Pointing to the composition of SARA, Jagdeo stated that the agency was “political” thus making the members unfit to tackle its mandate. SARA is headed by Working People's Alliance (WPA) member, Dr. Clive Thomas, who in turn,

appointed persons whose major qualification appeared to have been their association with the APNU+AFC faction.

He later brought on board Aubrey Heath-Retemyer who is closely aligned with the coalition along with Desmond Trotman.

According to the Vice President, they will have to be advised by the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, to determine whether they will bring in an agency, the police or conduct an audit into SARA.

refuelling, the tank of the vessel overflowed causing fuel to spill. Shortly after, the boat was engulfed in flames.

It was revealed that within minutes the boat exploded causing Adams to be thrown overboard. The entire vessel was consumed with flames and was

eventually submerged.

The fire service office, located minutes away, was summoned and the badly injured Adams was rushed to the hospital.

Calvin Brutus, Commander in charge of Region Six, confirmed that contact was made with, Errol

Kertzious, the owner of the vessel and statements were taken.

He also noted that despite it being reported in sections of the media that the boat is a police vessel, this is not the case.

Meanwhile, Kertzious stated that he received a call

informing him that his vessel was on fire and he immediately rushed to the Stelling. He mentioned that the boat was used by RUSAL. Kertzious refused to provide any further comment in relation to the incident. A probe is underway.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Guyana to surpass Venezuela's current oil output by 2022 provider IHS Markit said recently that Venezuela's crude oil production is currently around 100,000 to 200,000 barrels a day, and that it could eventually fall even lower.

M e a n w h i l e ,

ExxonMobil's second project in the Guyanese Stabroek Block, Liza Phase Two is set to startup in 2022, taking Guyana's daily production as high as 340,000 barrels a day. Yet, that is only the beginning for

VENEZUELA

GUYAN A

G

uyana is set to produce by 2022 more than the current output of Venezuela, which was once a giant in the oil industry.

UK-based global business information

Guyana, as ExxonMobil and other oil companies operating offshore here are eager to discover and produce, while investors c o n t i n u e t o b e disincentivised the situation in Venezuela.

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on the planet, with over 300 billion proven barrels of crude oil to pump, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). IHS said that Venezuela's output was at 650,000 barrels a day last year, and was as high as two million in 2017.

Yet, Vice President and

Head of oil markets at IHS Markit, Jim Burkhard said, “Never before has a former major oil producing country seen output fall so low for so long. In Venezuela's case, if there is any surprise, it is that the disintegration did not happen faster.”

The firm said that the Bolivarian Republic, despite being a founding member of OPEC, is now the third smallest producer in OPEC, behind Equatorial Guinea, with reserves 300 times less, and Libya which is torn by war and strife.

Venezuela is about to be overtaken by Guyana, a country that began to

produce oil for the first time less than a year ago.

How did such a global powerhouse fall so far? IHS attributes the situation to US sanctions, limited domestic storage and exacerbation by the obliterating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on oil prices.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e posturing of the country's ruling military elite, IHS indicated, is making little progress.

Venezuela's oil ministry as well as Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the State oil company, are reported to have employed erratic (continued on page 15)

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Paul Williams, proceeds on leave - as rumours surface that he was sent home

D

e p u t y Commissioner of Police and former Crime Chief, Paul Williams, was yesterday sent on 192 days annual vacation leave.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Royston Andries-Junor, confirmed

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Paul Williams

this latest development. He also told Kaieteur News that it is unclear whether Williams had requested the leave or if it was a decision taken by the relevant authorities.

Attempts to contact Williams by phone were futile.

Nevertheless, some sources have hinted that a decision might have been taken to send Williams home.

Williams was appointed Deputy Commissioner in 2019 by former President David Granger under the previous administration.

He had served as a

Commander for Police Division ‘B’ before Granger appointed him Crime Chief in 2018. Williams was considered a replacement at the time for the current Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, who was removed from that position by the Granger administration in 2017.

H o w e v e r, G r a n g e r recognized that Williams was well credited for solving a number of cold cases. As a result, he was removed from being Crime Chief and reassigned to the Force’s Administration where he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

PAGE 15

Appeal Court reduces 83-year 87 year-old is Guyana's latest prison sentence for man COVID-19 fatality who torched wife to death A

T

he Court of Appeal has reduced the 83 year old prison sentence for Delon Gordon, who was convicted for torching his wife to death.

The Appellate Court bench which comprised Justices of Appeal Rishi Persaud, Dawn Gregory and Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire, on Friday reduced Gordon's sentence replacing it with a 21 year prison term instead.

I n d et er min i n g th e appeal, the three Justices held that the 83-year's sentence imposed by High Court Justice, Navindra Singh, was too excessive and severe having considered all the circumstances of the case.

Gordon had challenged the decision of the jury at the Court of Appeal in Kingston, Georgetown after a jury convicted him of murdering h i s p a r t n e r, N a t a s h a Johnson, by setting her afire in their Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home.

The incident occurred on July 4, 2011.

Attorney-at-law, Dexter To d d , a p p e a l e d t h e conviction and 83-year sentence of which a minimum of 50 years has to be served before Gordon could become eligible for parole.

According to reports, Gordon set the house on fire with Johnson, himself and three children inside.

Johnson was burnt extensively and had to be taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she later succumbed to her

Sentenced: Delon Gordon injuries.

A post mortem examination revealed that Johnson had suffered from a dislocated nasogastric tube, brain haemorrhage and congested kidneys with heavy lungs that oozed a bloody liquid.

These injuries led to Johnson suffering from Adult Distress Respiratory Syndrome (ADRS), which was brought on as a result of trauma from the burns, eventually leading to her death.

Among several grounds, To d d c h a l l e n g e d t h e evidence of prosecution witness, fire investigator Gregory Wickham.

Todd contended that the verdict of the jury was unreasonable, in that, it cannot be supported by the evidence adduced at the trial.

Further in questioning the testimony of the lone eyewitness, Todd noted that the lighting conditions in

Dead: Natasha Johnson the couple's home and how he could have allegedly seen Gordon pouring out kerosene from a stove, since another witness had testified that the area in which the couple lived did not have electricity.

Furthermore, the lawyer contended that there was no evidence to support that his client intentionally burnt the woman.

This, he said, was one of the weaknesses in the prosecution's case that Gordon's lawyer, at the time, failed to challenge.

In making its determination, the Appeal Court only allowed Gordon to appeal against his sentence.

The Court sustained the decision that Gordon is guilty of murder but reduced the sentence by 62 years.

Further, the Court ordered that time spent in custody from his conviction in 2014, be deducted from Gordon's new sentence.

Guyana to surpass Venezuela's current oil output by 2022 From page 14 schemes to incentivise foreign companies, such as tax exemptions. This includes a production licence signed in 2017 with Russia's Rosneft for some gas fields, for which the Russian company boasts favourable tax terms.

The country also threatened to compel foreign companies to stay in joint ventures with the State oil c o m p a n y, P D V S A , according to IHS. The firm said that Venezuela is likely to continue trying to offer expanded fiscal and

contractual incentives to companies in exchange for sustained participation in the country's failing oil industry.

It also raised the possibility that Venezuela could look to seize foreign investors' assets in its aggressive bid to keep the industry running.

IHS said that the shifts in world oil demand and supply caused by the pandemic will mean that Venezuela's milestone downfall in the industry will have little to no impact on the stability of world markets. “There is ample production capacity around

the world to satisfy the recovery in world oil demand that has been underway since May,� IHS's Burkhard said.

While the firm is of the view that the country's large reserves make bouncing back possible, IHS said that the poor state of Venezuela's infrastructure, US sanctions and lower global demand make it unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, Guyana is on track to be a powerhouse in the global industry, with a likelihood of producing more than a million barrels of oil by 2026.

n 87-year-old man is Guyana's latest COVID19 fatality. According to information obtained by this publication, the man succumbed to COVID-19 related complications while hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday.

The 87- year-old, whose details were not released to the media up to press time, has brought the country's COVID-19 death toll to 24.

The death is recorded closely behind that of 73year-old Wilfred James.

James of Kuru Kururu on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway had also succumbed to the disease at the GPHC. Meanwhile, the newly publicized bulletin released by the Ministry of Health yesterday pointed to no new cases of the disease.

According to the Ministry, Guyana's COVID-19 cases stands at 709.

Of that number, there have been 349 recoveries.

There are currently three persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 59 active cases in institutional quarantine, 275

persons in home isolation, and 79 persons in institutional quarantine.

L a s t S u n d a y, t h e Ministry recorded 35 new cases of the disease. Out of that number, two are in Region One; Five are in Region Three; Six are in Region Four; one is in Region Five; 11 are in Region Seven; six are in Region Nine while four are in Region 10.

Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) also recorded its very first COVID-19 case on Sunday.

PAGE 16

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Kaieteur News

US claims Guyana joins democratic countries in support of change in Venezuela

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(CMC) – The United States says Guyana has joined “many democratic countries in support of democratic change in Venezuela,” but there has so far been no official response from the new administration in Georgetown to that position.Prior to President Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) coming into office earlier this month, Guyana, which has a territorial border dispute with Venezuela, has adopted the position of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in non-interference in the internal affairs of any country.

But in a statement posted on the US Embassy in Guyana, Washington said “Guyana joins many democratic countries in support of democratic change in Venezuela.”

The Embassy has posted a statement from Michael G. Kozak, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who says

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, yesterday announced several appointments within his Ministry.

Todd said that the appointments are meant to bolster the Ministry's foreign relations, technical

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US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch cal tendencies and party affiliations, whether civilian or military, to put the interests of Venezuela above politics and engage urgently in support of a process shaped and driven by Venezuelans to establish an inclusive transitional government that will lead the country into free and fair presidential elections,

sooner not later.

“National Assembly elections alone do not present a political solution and instead may further polarize an already divided society,” they said, adding “we call upon all institutions of the Venezuelan State to participate in such a process.

“Venezuelans and the international community have put proposals on the table towards this goal. Such a process should include the ability of the National Assembly to fully carry out its functions and the restoration of the independence and of the Supreme Court and National Electoral Council. The discussions and progress made in the Norwegian-led talks in Barbados should also inform the way forward.

“We reiterate the willingness of all those countries maintaining economic sanctions to discuss sanctions relief in the context of political progress,” the statement added.

Foreign Minister appoints Greenidge as Advisor, several others

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“great to see Guyana add its voice for the call to restore a democracy in Venezuela.

“The US encourages all democratic countries to commit to helping the Venezuelan people achieve a peaceful, prosperous and democratic future,” he wrote in a Twitter message.

Washington and most Western countries have been seeking to remove President Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn into office for a second consecutive term in January last year, while he has the support of Russia, China and Cuba.

The Western countries have placed their support behind the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó.

The US Embassy here also released the text of a declaration “by several members of the Lima Group, the International Contact Group, the European Union, the United States, and other,” indicating that they were calling on all Venezuelans, “of all ideologi-

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and administrative capacity and strengthen his ministerial mandate.

Most notably, Former Coalition Minister of Foreign Aff a i r s , Carl Greenidge, was appointed as Advisor on Borders.

Greenidge had been forced to resign his Ministerial post in 2019 after developments of the No Confidence Motion revealed that several dual citizens were unlawfully holding office.

Greenidge briefly served as Foreign Secretary at the Ministry after his resignation.

He has been instrumental in the litigation between Guyana and Venezuela at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the Essequibo region, so much that the PPP/C administration announced early on that it would retain his services.

M i n i s t e r To d d a n nounced that another former Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn RodriguesBirkett will serve in the post of Ambassador to the United Nations, and that she is consequently expected to take up the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 (G77) and China, a coalition of over 130 developing countries.

Former Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, has been appointed to serve as Foreign Secretary, the post previously held by Greenidge.

Advisor on Borders, Carl Greenidge

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Audrey Waddell Finally, Audrey Waddell was appointed as Permanent Secretary. Waddell

Ambassador to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud previously served as Director General at that Ministry, but was removed from the post by the previous government.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

PAGE 17

ExxonMobil begins drilling Kaieteur Block - to be completed by October E

ven as it pursues development and exploratory activities in the Stabroek Block, American oil giant, ExxonMobil, is wasting no time in trying to understand just how much oil and gas resources it has in the Kaieteur Block.

In fact, an advertisement by the Maritime Administration disclosed that the Stena Carron drillship has arrived at the Kaieteur Block with drilling activities expected to conclude in October.

This newspaper would have reported that the Tanager-1 well is being drilled first and is estimated to hold 256.2 million barrels of prospective resource according to Competent Persons Report (CPR) conducted by the Netherland, Sewell and Associates Inc. ('NSAI').

The report also noted that the co-venturers have a 72 percent chance of success.

During his company's second quarter earnings call this year, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hess Corporation, John Hess, said that he is encouraged by the geology of the block. He highlighted that the majority of the discoveries in the Stabroek Block, which borders the Kaieteur Block, are found in the Campanian and Santonian layers.

They are 15,000 feet and 18,000 feet deep, respectively. Hess said that the partners see a lot of the oilrich sand channels flowing from the Stabroek into the Kaieteur.

“So it is highly prospective but you have to drill to see what you have,” the CEO noted.

Further to this, the CEO said he is confident about the possibilities for success given the technology that is available to the operator for deep water drilling.

While ExxonMobil holds a 35 percent working interest in the block, Ratio Petroleum and Cataleya

Energy Corporation (CEC) each holds a 25% participating interest, with Hess holding the remaining 15% – Westmount Energy, a UK based firm has a 0.7% interest in Ratio Petroleum and a 5.4% interest in CEC. The Kaieteur Block is located

approximately 155 miles (250 kilometers) offshore and covers 3.3 million acres (13,535 square kilometers).Three-D seismic survey was completed in 2017 on this block.

Results showed that it holds a gross estimated prospective resource of 2.1 billion barrels for nine prospects.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Tuesday August 18, 2020

“It is a slap in the face” - James Bond on Volda Lawrence not making APNU+AFC parliamentary list

P

eople's National Congress Reform ( P N C / R ) member, James Bond, has e x p r e s s e d h i s disappointment that the name of the party's Chairman, Volda Lawrence, is noticeably absent from t h e A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) list of parliamentary candidates.

“It is a slap in the face of women who worked hard for this party,” Bond said, noting that the former Health Minister raked in the most votes for the March 2020 Elections.

While no official list has been published by the party, an article by the online news outfit News Source, carried a purported list of candidates with the names of a number of PNC/R big wigs absent.

To this, Bond took to Facebook to air his thoughts on the issue.

In an invited comment to Kaieteur News, Bond said, “This is someone who won the Chairmanship of the party and this is an immensely popular person in the party; this is no fly by night (person), and then you're gonna leave her out of Parliament?”

A f o r m e r Parliamentarian himself, Bond said the move is essentially “a slap in the face of the entire membership of the PNCR.” Explaining his stance, he said, Lawrence holds many hats including Chair of the PNC, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and he also added that the former Minister is the holder of a Master's Degree in Accounting.

The move to exclude

James Bond

PNCR Chairman, Volda Lawrence

Joe Harmon

Cathy Hughes

Khemraj Ramjattan

Sherod Duncan

Raphael Trotman

Coretta McDonald

Ganesh Mahipaul

Lawrence, according to Bond, shows that there is no longer a system of “meritocracy” where you get rewarded for your hard work.

He continued, “…we are looking for strong leadership and we end up with inept, ineffectual, out of touch and aloof persons. I don't think…if we are looking to rebuild, you can start by breaking up the party,” he added.

On August 4 last, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had dispatched a letter to the respective political parties for the submission of names for Guyana's 12 Parliament.

Wi t h t h e e l e c t i o n s seeing the People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) having majority 33 seating, the APNU+AFC has to split up its 31 seats between APNU and AFC representatives.

So far, as per the article, APNU has selected Executive Roysdale Forde, Geeta Edmonds, Amanza Walton, Ganesh Mahipaul, Ronald Cox, Vincenroy Jordan along with Vincent Henry and Coretta McDonald.

PNC top members such as former State Minister, Joseph Harmon; former Education M inis ter, Nicolette Henry; former Foreign Minister, Dr. Karen Cummings and former Minister of Communities, Annette Ferguson, are also included on the list.

Further, Christopher Jones, Jermaine Figueira and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley are also included.

So far, the party has been tight-lipped on who would function as Opposition Leader.

AFC's pick Meanwhile, in a statement late last evening, AFC confirmed their top candidates for Parliament, citing that they represent “a balance of experience and youth.”

As per the revised Cummingsburg Agreement, the party announced that after a rigorous process undertaken by its National Executive Council, nine candidates were selected.

The AFC's list sees former Telecommunication Minister, Catherine Hughes, along with former Infrastructure, Minister David Patterson; former Business Minister, Haimraj Rajkumar; APNU+AFC's Prime Ministerial Candidate; Khemraj Ramjattan; along with former Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, making a comeback.

A number of new faces including Deonarine Ramsaroop, Devin Sears and Juretha Fernandes were selected. Sherod Duncan was also selected.

Also, the AFC noted that Executive member Valerie Garrido-Lowe has expressed a desire to serve in the Party's rebuilding process and not in Parliament.

According to the party, it is committed to the rotation of seats where, midterm, “deserving members” will be considered to replace seated Parliamentarians from the initial list.

The remaining seat goes to the tripartite Joinder, which has selected Presidential Candidate for The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lennox Shuman, as their pick for parliament.

More than dozen U.S. states expected to sue Trump administration over postal cuts (Reuters) - More than a dozen states as early as this week are expected to sue the Trump administration over cuts at the United States Postal Service they say could delay mail-in ballots in the November elections, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said yesterday.

Frosh said anywhere between 15 to 20 Democratic attorneys general are reviewing legal arguments, and he expects that the states involved will join in one, or possibly several, lawsuits.

“We are talking with other AG offices and expecting to take action soon,” Frosh said.

Republican Trump, who is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in opinion polls, said last week he was against Democratic efforts to include funds for the Postal Service and election infrastructure in coronavirus relief legislation because he wanted to limit mail-in voting during the pandemic. Twice as many people could vote by mail as did so in 2016 because of the pandemic, according

to some estimates.

Democrats have cited reductions in overtime, restrictions on extra mail transportation trips and new mail sorting and delivery policies as changes that threaten to slow mail delivery of ballots and other critical mail such as medicines.

Trump on Monday denied that he was attempting to undermine the Postal Service’s ability to handle mail-in ballots.

“No, we’re not tampering,” Trump said in an interview with

Fox News. “We want to make it run for less money, much better, always taking care of our postal workers.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, has asked Trump to postpone the operational changes until after the Nov. 3 elections. The post office is a “perennial drain on the Treasury,” he said in a letter. “But making the radical changes only weeks before early voting begins - however fiscally well founded - would place the solvency of the Post Office above the legitimacy of the

government itself.”

It’s unclear whether Yost would join any legal action.

Frosh said that in Maryland, the service has pulled six sorting machines.

“They pulled four out in one location,” in the Democratic stronghold of Baltimore City, he said.Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in an interview that it would be unconstitutional to physically bar someone from voting or block the roads so people could not get to polling stations.

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Tuesday August 18, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Magic first up as Bucks begin title run Giannis Antetokounmpo slightly raised his eyebrows when asked how he is handling entering the NBA playoffs with his Milwaukee Bucks as the favorites to win the championship.

“We’re the favorites to win?” Antetokounmpo asked.

“I’m not following media as much.”

Yes, the Bucks are the favorites. They are the top seed in the Eastern Conference and posted the NBA’s best record during the regular season.

Antetokounmpo is the frontrunner to repeat as the league’s MVP and also a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Milwaukee’s quest for a title begins today, with Game

1 of its first-round, best-ofseven series against eighthseeded Orlando.

“Certainly, there’s very high expectations for our group,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “... It’s just keeping us being aware of who we are and playing the way to put us in a position to be considered one of the better teams. You can’t get ahead. You can’t skip steps.”

The Bucks weren’t exactly their dominant selves during the first part of the NBA’s restart, finishing 3-5 in the seeding games held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando.

Antetokounmpo said their defence, which was the NBA’s best in efficiency (102.5 points allowed per 100

possessions) during the regular season, lacked intensity. Ball movement was not as swift for a Bucks style that requires spacing, pace and “randomness,” as Budenholzer described.

Antetokounmpo also was suspended for the final seeding game for headbutting Washington’s Moe Wagner during Milwaukee’s Aug. 11 win over the Wizards.

Still, this series against the Magic appears to be a major mismatch.

Milwaukee swept the regular-season series 4-0. The Magic also were 3-5 during seeding play and are shorthanded.

Promising forward Jonathan Isaac suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament

Tuesday August 18, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Get into doing things today.

Activities that require focus or creativity are supported.

Your physical strength and energy will compel you to do something active.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your active side may really show today. While you can be extremely focused on "thinking" work, you can also love keeping active and enjoy physical work.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) If you feel tired, you may need to close your eyes and listen to soothing music. You work hard most of the time, so do your body and mind some good and just relax and listen to your favorite music.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) If you've been feeling tired or sick lately, this will probably turn around for you today, Scorpio. Bouts of moodiness can be a real drain. Your emotional state has a pronounced effect on the way your body feels.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today could bring some strong feelings. This may not be new, as you generally tend to feel things deeply. Finding a way to express this could sometimes be tough for you.

CANCER(June21–July22) Consider that artistic expression can happen in many ways.

It isn't always about drawing a picture, singing a song, playing music, or acting.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You may find that today brings great physical strength and energy. You may want to do some really challenging, physical work. This is the day for it, so why not go to it?Do some yard work or clean out closets, cupboards, drawers, and filing cabinets.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Get into doing things today, Virgo. Activities that require focus or creativity are supported. Your physical strength and energy will compel you to do something active.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You'll probably be busy today, and this may suit you just fine. This can really work in favor if you have some tasks to catch up on.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Today,your ability to stand up for your decisions and not let others sway you may be enhanced. This will be especially strong if you've solved a problem.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You may feel a need to get moving today. Almost everyone at times prefers quiet activities, books, art, and even just sitting around to physical activity.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Pisces, you'll probably find that you have a ton of energy to put into all kinds of activities. Finish any work that still needs completion, consider doing some cleaning and organizing, or see about getting out for a little warm weather fun.

in his left knee on Aug. 2. Big man Mo Bamba recently left the “bubble” for a postcoronavirus health evaluation. Starting forward Aaron Gordon (hamstring) is listed as questionable to play in Game 1 per Monday’s injury report, while guard Michael Carter-Williams (foot) is doubtful. Evan Fournier (non-COVID-19 illness) and Terrence Ross (non-COVID-19 medical tests) also missed time in recent days but are expected to play today.

Orlando coach Steve Clifford said his team must limit turnovers, convert fastbreak opportunities and have the rebounding advantage in order “to have a chance” against the Bucks. Creating and making 3-pointers— a Magic weakness during the regular season — also will be important against a Bucks defense that focuses on protecting the rim.

“We are the underdogs,” Fournier said. “It’s just the truth. It doesn’t mean we’re not going to fight as hard as we can to win and do damage, but we all know that Milwaukee’s a great team.”

The Bucks, meanwhile, have long awaited this playoff return.

Point guard Eric Bledsoe said he feels more motivation than pressure after his team

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo attends the Paris Ring basketball tournament ahead of the NBA Paris Game 2020 in Paris, France January 22, 2020.

(REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo) blew a 2-0 lead against eventual champion Toronto in the Eastern Conference finals last season. While revisiting film from that series, Bledsoe said Budenholzer still brings up the “hustle plays” such as grabbing 50/50 balls that the Bucks missed.

Antetokounmpo added he is not focused on accumulating the 16 wins

required to complete a championship run. He is focused on the daily task for his team.

“We’ve got to compete,” Antetokounmpo said.

“We’ve got to play hard.

We’ve got to take pride in what we’re doing. Hopefully, we can leave this place with a smile on our face.”

(Field Level Media)

PAGE 22

Halep withdraws from U.S. Open over COVID-19 concerns

Romania’s Simona Halep in action during the Dubai Tennis Championships final against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah) (Reuters) - World number two Simona Halep of Romania will not travel to New York to play in the U.S. Open due to COVID-19 concerns, she said yesterday, leaving the women’s draw at the Grand Slam tournament without six of the world’s top-10 players.

Romanian Halep joined world number one Ash Barty, defending champion Bianca Andreescu, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens and Belinda Bencic in skipping the event at Flushing Meadows.

“After weighing up all the factors involved and with the exceptional circumstances in which we are living, I have decided that I will not travel to New York to play the U.S. Open,” Halep, the reigning Wimbledon champion, wrote on Twitter.

“I always said I would put my health at the heart of my decision and I therefore prefer to stay and train in Europe. I know the USTA and WTA have worked tirelessly to put on a safe event and I wish everyone there a successful tournament.” Halep, 28, won

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Kaieteur News

the Prague Open over the weekend — her first event since COVID-19 pandemic shut down tennis in March — and said she would announce her decision about playing in the U.S. Open yesterday.

The U.S. has become the world’s biggest hotspot for the novel coronavirus, recording over 5.4 million cases and more than 170,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

The U.S. Open, due to start on Aug. 31, will be played behind closed doors and Halep’s absence is another blow to organisers following a spate of withdrawals.

World number two and defending men’s champion Rafa Nadal decided to skip the tournament while five-times winner Roger Federer is taking the rest of the year off to recover from knee surgery.

Former world number four Kei Nishikori of Japan said on Sunday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and had pulled out of the Western & Southern Open, a warm-up tournament for the U.S. Open.

Zak Crawley makes most of chance as second Test ends in predictable draw ESPNcricinfo -Zak Crawley made the most of his chance - when it finally came - scoring a half-century on the final afternoon of a second Test severely affected by bad weather throughout.

With only 91.2 overs bowled up to the final resumption and the draw a fait accompli, the evening session was consigned to batting and bowling practice.

But it was by no means wasted on the players or the viewing public who had been starved of action for frustrating stretches of the match in Southampton.

The opportunity was not lost on Crawley, who came into the side for Ben Stokes and returned to the ground where he made a career-high 76 in the first installment of England’s series against West Indies in early July.

Crawley’s frustration that he couldn’t go on further after reaching his third Test fifty was palpable when he swung his bat furiously through the air while trudging off, having fallen lbw to Mohammad Abbas for 53.

Up to that point Crawley, who is just 22 years old and seven Tests into his career, had acquitted himself well.

Play recommenced at 3.20pm local time for the first time since all but the first hour of the fourth day was lost to rain and after a severe thunderstorm lashed the Ageas Bowl in the early hours of the fifth day, requiring lengthy mopping up and drying efforts.

It was a cruel irony that when play resumed it was in

Zak Crawley cuts past backward point. (Stu Forster/Getty Images) blazing sunshine and it stayed that way until stumps, when England declared their first innings on 110 for 4 and the sides shook hands on a draw shortly after 6pm. That ended a run of six consecutive Test wins in charge for Joe Root, but ensured England go into the third and final Test starting at the same venue on Friday with a 1-0 series lead.

The sun also changed the complexion of the match, albeit too late to have any effect on the result.

The movement and bounce that had so troubled England on the fourth morning, when they lost opener Rory Burns for a fourball duck, were far more tame on the final afternoon and Crawley and Dom Sibley bedded in for a 91-run second-wicket stand.

Abbas, largely unplayable during his

opening spell on the fourth day, dropped a couple short in his second over and was duly punished by Crawley, who pulled nonchalantly to the boundary at backward square leg and crunched another through cover point.

Crawley ended up with seven fours, including one through cow corner off a Yasir Shah long hop to bring up his half-century.

Crawley had been keen to face Yasir, having travelled to India a couple of years ago to develop his batting against spin.

But Yasir would have had him stumped in his third over had it not been for a fumble by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, who has been otherwise tidy behind the stumps. Crawley skipped down the wicket to Yasir, effectivley yorking himself,

but Rizwan failed to grab the ball as it skidded through.

It was Abbas, who ultimately did for Crawley, starting a new spell and immediately pinning him back with a length ball on middle stump which moved away off the seam, beating the bat and striking the back pad. Crawley reviewed, probably in the hope that it had hit him too high, but he was confirmed out on umpire’s call and sent on his way.

Sibley, too, played well for his 32 but, slightly worryingly for him, he was caught behind down the leg side in Abbas’ next over, a style of dismissal which has become familiar.

Yasir was amongst the wickets when he had Ollie Pope out cheaply lbw, and Root pulled the pin after one ball from his counterpart Azhar Ali, as the teams reached the final hour and shook hands on a draw.

Rizwan was named Player of the Match after topscoring in Pakistan’s innings with 72.

While the match ended brightly enough in terms of play resuming in glorious conditions and Crawley taking another step in his development, the positives were overshadowed by debate over the lack of action due to the weather and questions over how the game can evolve to avoid such frustration.

Scores: England 110 for 4 declared (Crawley 53, Abbas 2-28) drew with Pakistan 236 (Rizwan 72, Abid 60, Broad 4-56).

CWI President Skerritt commits to enacting Wehby Report recommendations SportsMax - Cricket West Indies President Ricky Skerritt said he is committing to effect the changes to the board’s governance structure as recommended by the Wehby Report that has now been shared with stakeholders. The report that was submitted to the board just over a week ago contained some far-reaching changes that would significantly change the way the board now operates.

The report highlighted the “need to foster the rebuilding of trust and a common purpose between CWI and the other stakeholders, especially with regional governments”.

The recommendations included comprehensive

reform of the governance structure using key principles of modern governance to provide greater accountability and transparency and that the membership of the Board of Directors to reflect a wide cross-section of skills and competencies. The report also recommended a shift to a smaller and more balanced Board of 12 in the immediate instance, with an eventual reducing to nine including at least two women. The CWI board is currently comprised of 18 members.

The roles of the president and vice president are to be redesigned to be more board specific and non-executive. The report also recommended the establishment of a Nominations

Committee to identify and evaluate potential directors and to nominate future directors and committee members and that there be a reduction in CWI Committee structure from 12 to five (5) Committees.

“We cannot ignore the fact that this is the fifth external governance review endeavour of its kind, within the past 13 years. However, I am confident that this latest review was conducted by five experienced, skilled and wellintentioned West Indians, each with an unmitigated concern and respect for West Indies cricket in general,” the CWI president said in a letter to stakeholders.

“Together they are more than capable of merging learnings from past reviews

with the realities of the present, in order to develop a pertinent and strategic outlook for a preferred future”.

An Independent Task Force led by Senator Don Wehby, which also included Sir Hilary Beckles, Mr Deryck Murray, Mr O.K Melhado and Mr Charles Wilkin QC, prepared the report. The Task Force consulted extensively, and the 36-page report drew from a wide cross-section of expertise – from knowledgeable persons in the West Indies as well as in the global game.

The report is also now available to the public on the CWI Website - https:// www.windiescricket.com/ cricket-west-indies/thewehby-report-distributedto-cwi-stakeholders/

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Martinez dazzles as Inter demolish Shakhtar to reach Europa League final DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Lautaro Martinez played chief tormentor as Inter Milan claimed an emphatic 5-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk to reach the Europa League final and come closer to a first title in nine years yesterday.

Argentine striker Martinez was the pinnacle of a perfect tactical display as Antonio Conte’s team set up a clash with five-time champions Sevilla, also thanks to a goal by Danilo D’Ambrosio and a Romelu Lukaku brace.

Shakhtar had their share of possession but failed to threaten a compact Inter side, who eventually completely overwhelmed their

opponents. Sevilla beat Manchester United 2-1 on Sunday to book their place in Friday’s showdown.

Shakhtar dominated possession as expected but were toothless up front and Inter opened the scoring with their first chance after 19 minutes.

Nicolo Barella collected a woeful clearance from goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov and raced down the right flank before crossing for Martinez, whose perfectly-timed header went into the back of the net.

Seeking their first trophy since a 2011 Coppa Italia triumph, Inter controlled Shakhtar, who pinged the ball around without being able to bring it forward before the

43rd minute, when Marcos Antonio fired a shot just over the bar.

Pyatov made up for his earlier mistake with a superb save four minutes into the second half, tipping the ball wide to deny Martinez who had attempted a fine loop from 30 metres.

Shakhtar, who had not mustered a single shot on target in the first half, still failed to threaten after the break until the 62nd minute when Junior Morales headed the ball straight at Samir Handanovic.

Inter were just more clinical.

Two minutes later, D’Ambrosio headed home from Barella’s corner to make

it 2-0.

Martinez curled in a perfect shot in the 74th to cap a remarkable individual performance, dashing any hope of a comeback by Shakhtar.

Martinez, who had not yet scored in the competition, then turned provider shortly after, releasing Lukaku on the right for the Belgian striker to make it 4-0 from inside the box.

Lukaku has now scored in 10 consecutive Europa League matches and by producing another cool finish at the end of powerful run seven minutes from time, he is now one short of Ronaldo’s mark of 34 goals in one season for Inter in 1997-98.

Fixture for Hero CPL 2020 CPL - The start time for Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) weekend fixtures have changed. The afternoon matches on Saturday and Sunday will now start at 2:15pm local time.

The 33-match season will be played in Trinidad & Tobago, with all matches taking place across two stadiums in that country. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba will host 23 games, including the semi finals and final, and the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain will have 10 matches.

Hero CPL 2020 Fixtures Brian Lara Cricket Academy Tuesday 18 August, 10am - Trinbago Knight Riders v Guyana Amazon Warriors Tuesday 18 August, 5:30pm - Barbados Tridents v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Wednesday 19 August, 10am - Jamaica Tallawahs v St Lucia Zouks Wednesday 19 August, 5:30pm - Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Thursday 20 August, 10am - St Lucia Zouks v Barbados Tridents Thursday 20 August, 5:30pm - Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs Saturday 22 August, 10am - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v St Lucia Zouks Saturday 22 August, 2:15pm - Guyana Amazon Warriors v Jamaica Tallawahs Sunday 23 August, 10am - Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents Sunday 23 August, 2:15pm - Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Zouks Queen’s Park Oval Tuesday 25 August, 10am

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

All set for the CPL 2020 action which will be quieter than usual. (CPL) - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Barbados Tridents Tuesday 25 August, 5:30pm - Jamaica Tallawahs v Guyana Amazon Warriors Wednesday 26 August 10am - St Lucia Zouks v Trinbago Knight Riders Wednesday 26 August, 5:30pm - Barbados Tridents v Jamaica Tallawahs Thursday 27 August, 10am - St Lucia Zouks v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Thursday 27 August, 5:30pm - Guyana Amazon Warriors v Trinbago Knight Riders Saturday 29 August, 10am - Barbados Tridents v Trinbago Knight Riders Saturday 29 August, 2:15pm - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Jamaica Tallawahs

Sunday 30 August, 10am - Barbados Tridents v St Lucia Zouks Sunday 30 August, 2:15pm - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Guyana Amazon Warriors Brian Lara Cricket Academy Tuesday 1 September, 10am - Jamaica Tallawahs v Trinbago Knight Riders Tuesday 1 September, 5:30am - Guyana Amazon Warriors v Barbados Tridents Wednesday 2 September, 10am - Trinbago Knight Riders v St Kitts Patriots Wednesday 2 September, 5:30pm St Lucia Zouks v Guyana Amazon Warriors Thursday 3 September, 10am - Jamaica Tallawahs

v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Thursday 3 September, 5:30pm - Barbados Tridents v Guyana Amazon Warriors Saturday 5 September, 10am - Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Zouks Saturday 5 September, 2:15pm - Jamaica Tallawahs v Barbados Tridents Sunday 6 September, 10am - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Trinbago Knight Riders Sunday 6 September, 2:15pm - St Lucia Zouks v Jamaica Tallawahs Tuesday 8 September, TBC - Semi final 1 (1st v 4th) Tuesday 8 September, TBC - Semi final 2 (2nd vs 3rd) Thursday 10 September, TBC - Final

Hero CPL 2020

Guyana Amazon Warriors and TKR clash in opening encounter today

By Zaheer Mohamed Dubbed the biggest party in sport, this year’s edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 will be a quiet affair due to the crowd restrictions caused by the pandemic. The tournament which bowls off today will see matches being played only in Trinidad and Tobago at two venues due to the travel restrictions which also resulted in many franchises missing some key players.

Today’s opening encounter will see the consistent Guyana Amazon Warriors facing Trinbago Knight Riders at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy from 10:00hrs.

This match is expected to set the tone for the rest of the tournament which is comprised of 33 games; 23 including the semi finals and final will be staged at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and 10 matches at the Queen’s Park Oval. There will be no advantage for the team winning the league stage as the top four teams will contest the semi finals.

In last years’ tournament, The Warriors played unbeaten until they lost to Barbados Tridents by 27 runs in final, however they will be looking to cross that final hurdle this time around and give their fans, who have been waiting for that magical moment for some time, much to cheer about.

Australian Chris Green will lead five-time finalists Warriors, who will be without regular captain Shoaib Malik. Green, who plays for Sydney Thunder in the BBL, was the most economical T20 bowler in 2019 and was even picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the most recent IPL action.

Brandon King and Chandrapaul Hemraj have done well for the Warriors upfront with King emerging as the highest run-getter with 498 runs including a highest individual score of 132 not out against Barbados Tridents at Providence in 2019; his feat is also the highest individual score in the tournament history.

Hemraj will be looking to capitalise on his starts, while the Warriors middle order is more than competent, boasting two of the most dangerous batsmen in the region Shimron Hetmyer and

Nicholas Pooran. Both players are proven match winners and once they get in, the opposition will steering down the barrel of sizeable totals, especially with support coming from the likes of Sherfane Rutherford and Ross Taylor.

Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd are capable allrounders and could play vital roles at crucial stages of the tournament.

Spin is expected to dominate particularly with the pitches set to deteriorate rapidly as the tournament progresses, and with Imran Tahir and Green the Warriors are not short in this department either.

Despite the absence of the fans, Knight Riders will still have home advantage as most of their players will cherish the conditions there.

Lendl Simmons scored 430 runs in 2019 and he can be more dangerous playing at home, and so are Daren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine. Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine can prove lethal there and with support coming from Khary Pierre, The Knight Riders who have won the title thrice, possess one of the most dangerous bowling attacks in the tournament.

This will be McCullum’s second stint as Knight Riders’ coach in the CPL and he will want to make use of this experience before he heads to the UAE to take charge of the other Knight Riders franchise (KKR) in the IPL. Teams; Guyana Amazon Warriors; Anthony Bramble, Ashmead Nedd, Brandon King, Chris Green, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Imran Tahir, Jasdeep Singh, Kevin Sinclair, Keemo Paul, Ross Taylor, Nicholas Pooran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Odean Smith, Qais Ahmad, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford and Shimron Hetmyer.

Trinbago Knight Riders - Anderson Phillip, Amir Jangoo, Akeal Hosein, Ali Khan, Colin Munro, DJ Bravo, DM Bravo, Fawad Ahmed, Jayden Seales, Kharry Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Pravin Tambe, Sikandar Raza, Sunil Narine, Tion Webster and Tim Seifert.

PAGE 24

Tuesday August 18, 2020

Kaieteur News

CPL 2020: No crowd, no Gayle, a quiet party ESPNcricinfo - CPL 2020, the biggest party in town, begins today August 18 in Trinidad & Tobago.

However, it will be a quiet affair due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will be the first T20 league during the pandemic, which will be played in a single country at just two grounds. Due to the global travel restrictions, many franchises have also been severely affected by the absence of key overseas players.

ESPNcricinfo looks at some of the key talking points that would come into play during the 23-day tournament, which will also act as training ground for some players and coaches ahead of the IPL, which begins on September 19, nine days after the CPL final on September 10.

Lopsided Scheduling The fact that Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks have Indian ownership has forced not just the CPL to conduct matches to suit the Indian viewership, but the schedule also favours those two franchises.

The Knight Riders and Zouks play eight and seven day matches, respectively.

The lopsided nature of the schedule is evident when you compare that with Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs, who play just one and three day matches, respectively.

This could affect teams in multiple ways especially with rain likely to have an impact on the tournament. For teams like Amazon Warriors, who play nine matches under lights, dew is likely to play a major factor. If it remains dry during day matches, then Knight Riders and Zouks can dominate with their spinladen bowling attacks.

Playoffs format tweaked again The playoffs format this year will comprise just the two semi-finals and the final without any advantage for the team winning the league stage. There will be one less match compared the four games during the play-offs last year.

Spin is expected to play a huge role in this year’s CPL. (ESPNcricinfo Ltd) Spin to win Queens Park Oval in Portof-Spain will host ten matches while the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba will stage 23 games. With pitches set to deteriorate rapidly, there is a good chance that spin could play a dominant role. Also, spin has worked well at both the venues: slower bowlers have conceded 6.90 runs per over compared to 8.38 by pace bowlers.

Hence there is a good chance that teams such as Barbados Tridents and Knight Riders could field even four spinners in the XI. Get ready to watch some masterclasses by legspinners like Rashid Khan (Tridents), Imran Tahir (Amazon Warriors), Sandeep Lamichhane (Tallawahs) and Zahir Khan (Zouks).

No Gayle in CPL 2020 T20' s leading run-getter and six-hitter will not be part of 2020 season. Having decided to move to the Zouks after a bitter fallout with Tallwahs, Chris Gayle pulled out of the tournament recently, citing family reasons, taking everyone by surprise. As it happens, Gayle is the top scorer in CPL as well,

with 2354 runs at an average of 39.23 and a strike rate of 133.44, including four centuries.

Needless to say, in a tournament already affected by the pandemic and no crowds expected at least during the league phase, Gayle’s propensity to do the unthinkable could have provided the necessary balm.

Who are the emerging players to watch out for?

The CPL has made it mandatory for each team to give an emerging player a minimum of five games during this season.

The rule states that at least one emerging player should make five appearances or multiple players should make five combined appearances. The rule is designed to provide exposure to young, uncapped talent.

So, watch out for Jayden Seales (Knight Riders) and Nayeem Young (Tridents) who shot to fame in the Under 19 World Cup earlier this year. Joshua Da Silva from St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, who recently kept wickets as a substitute during the final Test of the England series, is

Windies door not closed for...

From page 23 won the tournament in 2016.

Pollard, however, noted that as it stands all players are eligible for selection and Sammy is no exception.

“We have made clear to the (new Cricket West Indies) administration that everyone is available for selection in that pool. No one is an exception to the rule. Performances

and fitness and everything we are looking for,” Pollard told members of the media.

The 33-year-old Pollard replaced Jason Holder as the ODI captain and Carlos Brathwaite in T20Is last September. Sammy will look to make his mark in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League where he will represent the St Lucia Zouks.

Can TKR bounce back from last season and win their fourth CPL crown? (Getty Images) another young player who might have a breakthrough season along with speedster Keon Harding (Tridents).

Tell me about the favourites…

With 2410 T20 caps between them, one can’t really look past Knight Riders, who have won the CPL thrice and this time will be playing the entire league at home.

In terms of experience, if you put together the entire squad of Tridents and Amazon Warriors even then they have fewer matches than Knight Riders whose line-up includes greats like captain

Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo. They will be coached by Brendon McCullum, who is the thirdhighest scorer in T20 cricket.

This will be McCullum’s second stint as Knight Riders’ coach in the CPL and he will want to make use of this experience before he heads to the UAE to take charge of the other Knight Riders franchise (KKR) in the IPL. Five-time finalists Warriors will miss their regular captain Shoaib Malik, but they remain firm favourites as well. Chris Green has taken over as captain and will have a point to prove after he had

been pulled up for suspect action.

He has got his action cleared since, but is yet to test it out in top-flight cricket.

Green, who plays for Sydney Thunder in the BBL, was the most economical T20 bowler in 2019 and was even picked

by Kolkata Knight Riders in the most recent IPL action.

As for Tallawahs, they have a power-packed middle order that could spring a surprise.

Their gun allrounder Andre Russell will also have a point to prove after having said recently that this could be his last season with the team.

Hero CPL to broadcast the return of T20 around the world The broadcasters for the Hero Caribbean Premier League have been confirmed for the 2020 tournament with deals with key partners in place in India, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australi a , America, Canada, South Africa, SE Asia, Bangladesh the UAE and across the Caribbean. In addition, the tournament will be live streamed over Twitter, Facebook or YouTube into 81 countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan.

With the league being the first franchise T20 tournament to return since the lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, viewership is expected to be bigger than ever.

Each game will be shown

live, with highlights and digital packages being available to all partners.

Sunset+Vine, who deliver outstanding coverage of ICC events and T20 tournaments around the world will again help to raise the bar in terms of production quality, capturing the onfield action alongside an impressive line up of commentators, including international favourite Danny Morrison and local voices Ian Bishop, Samuel Badree and Darren Ganga along with CPL’s Director of International Cricket, Tom Moody.

Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s COO, said: “Each year we grow our broadcast and digital footprint, and with us being the first major cricket league to return we are confident that we will see an

increase on last year ’s record viewership figures.

Hero CPL is now the second most watched T20 league in the world and we are delighted that fans from around the globe are going to be watching in record numbers thanks to our broadcast and streaming partners.”

The Hero CPL will feature the best players from across the Caribbean and around the world. With Rashid Khan, Dwayne Bravo, Daren Sammy, Colin Munro, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Ross Taylor amongst the star names that are due to take part fans can expect plenty of entertainment when the tournament gets underway on the 18th August in Trinidad.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday August 18, 2020

GABF looking to upgrade Courts during lockdown

Charles Ramson Jr. - Minister of Culture, Youth Sport

T

he COVID-19 lockdown in Guyana has forced the commencement of basketball locally to be delayed by six months now and according to head of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF); Mike Singh, the Federation is using this time to assist in the rehabilitation of outdoor courts.

Speaking to Kaieteur Sport, Singh indicated that the GABF paid a courtesy call with the newly appointed Minister of Culture, Youth & Sport; Charles Ramson Jr., last week with the meeting focusing mainly on introduction.

Singh, who is the former president of Colts Basketball Club, noted that the Federation and the Minister discussed identifying some community courts for development to ease the burden of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall’s use while also earmarking courts that can be rehabilitated and utilised by sub-associations. And, Singh posited that this is the best time to do such projects since all play has been halted.

The administration

Mike Singh head of GABF shared with Kaieteur Sport his optimism of a good relationship between basketball fraternity and the recently appointed Minister since Ramson Jr. indicated that he actually played the sport.

Singh revealed that during the meeting, “We (the GABF) indicated the need for a gov’t official to assist in expeditious issuance of travel documents.” Since Guyana’s best chance of qualifying for the last AmeriCup was hindered when Champions League winner Delroy James couldn’t renew his passport after consultations with numerous government ministers, early last year.”

Currently, Singh shared that online programmes and focus on the overall management structure of the GABF are being reviewed as the federation awaits permission for the Sports and Health Ministries to return to play.

In addition, table officials are preparing for the opportunity to renew to apply for their licence as FIBA has scheduled a table official online course set for September 9. (Calvin Chapman)

Windies door not closed for Sammy insists Pollard SportsMax - West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has insisted the door is not closed on former skipper Darren Sammy, despite it being three years since his last appearance.

The 36-year-old Sammy, who captained the Caribbean T20 team to two World Cup titles, last appeared for the

West Indies against a Pakistan XI in 2017.

Sammy’s tenure with the team seemed to have come to an end in acrimonious circumstances after he was removed as captain and dropped after publicly criticising the West Indies administration after they (Continued on page 22)

PAGE 25

Guyana Amazon Warriors and TKR clash in opening encounter today

rt o p S Warriors will hope to go all the way in this unusual tournament. (CPL)

CWI President Skerritt commits to enacting Wehby Report recommendations

Martinez dazzles as Inter demolish Shakhtar to reach Europa League final

Cricket West Indies President Ricky Skerritt (left) and Dr. Kishore Shallow.

Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their fifth goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Lars Baron/Pool via REUTERS)

CPL 2020: No crowd, no

Gayle, a quiet party

Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez celebrates scoring their first goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

(Sascha Steinbach/Pool via REUTERS)

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