Kaieteur News

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Boat captain kills self, Tuesday Edition NEWS after chopping woman who denied him a relationship with her under-age daughter AIETEUR

December 01, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 48

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

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Price $80

Online readership yesterday, 99,029

World Bank-endorsed gas project crippling Ghana’s energy sector; Guyana may be next p.

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If ExxonMobil bills Guyana for Kaieteur non-commercial well, it would be criminal - Jagdeo p.

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Rice farmers grapplep. Son admits GPL’s submarine with insufficient 11 to robbery p. supply of high quality but denies11 cable severed p. seed paddy nationwide 12 - probe launched

killing mom

TV station crewp. rescues mom, 21 2 children after canoe mishap in Pomeroon River

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Bisram Suriname Marcus beaten, robbed ferry to of millions in cash, jewellery reopen soon in home invasion Police hunt bandits…

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ExxonMobil to prioritize capital investments on high-value assets in Guyana, Brazil, US p.

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Laws, not platitudes Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo is trying to make us feel good about our own misfortune.

He patting us on our heads to make us feel satisfied and to try to calm our outrage over what we have been deprived of.

Mr. Jagdeo is trying too hard to convince us that better will come under the present contract with Exxon. Having Exxon stop importing water will not counterbalance the lopsided contract which has been handed to us. It does not compensate for the US$ 55B which was left at the negotiating table.

Instead of trying to appease us, Mr. Jagdeo should focus on ensuring that both Guyana and Exxon obtain a fair deal - we for our wealth and Exxon for their investment.

As Mr. Jagdeo knows all too well, Guyana’s petroleum laws are outdated.

Laws ensure that obligations are met and, if not, then sanctions and penalties become operative. Laws create rights and duties.

They therefore are fundamental to ensuring that each side gets that to which each is entitled.

The priority which Mr. Jagdeo assigns to the creation of jobs and opportunities for local businesses would be best achieved through local content legislation rather than wishful thinking.

We need laws, not platitudes.

It is only when the appropriate laws are in place will we be able to give effect to our just entitlements. When we enact the right laws, we no longer have to rely on political promises or corporate goodwill. We will, through the right laws, create legally binding obligations which will ensure that we obtain that to which we are entitled.

Guyana, tune in to Kaieteur Radio from Monday to Friday at 7:20pm to hear what your leaders don't want you to know about your wealth

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Sluice operator dies in Berbice accident

Dead: Ganesh Ramlakhan

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pedal cyclist who was making his way to work along the Number 11 Public Road, East Coast Berbice, was on Sunday struck down by a van that was reportedly speeding.

Ganesh Ramlakhan, a sluice operator and father of three, was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, hours after he was rushed there and was expected to undergo emergency surgery.

Based on the information provided by the police, the accident occurred sometime around 18:05hrs on the

Bramfield Public Road, East Coast Berbice.

It involved a van, GRR 3351, owned by Purminu Ramkilleram, and driven by Vinood Baljeet, 47, of Letter Kenny Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

The van was proceeding east along the northern driveway about 35-40 kph on Bramfield Public Road when it hit a pedal cyclist, who was proceeding in the opposite direction along the northern side, swerved into the path of the vehicle.

The driver told police that he reacted by pulling (continued on page 20)

Without a father/husband: The wife and children of the late sluice operator

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

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World Bank-endorsed gas project crippling Ghana's energy sector; Guyana may be next G

hana's energy s e c t o r i s struggling to be financially sustainable, and it's mainly due to a gas project that the World Bank endorsed and helped to fund.

Approved in 2015, the project was meant to lower the cost of electricity and make electricity services reliable, and it did just that.

However, the project has created new problems for Ghana as it has trapped the country in a deal which requires it to pay for a lot of gas that it has no uses.

Ghana has become victim to a 'take-or-pay' clause in the contract for the Sankofa gas project, which requires the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to purchase 90 percent of gas produced, whether it has uses for it or not.

As a result of this provision, Ghana was billed US$250M for unused gas in 2019. To put this into perspective, the Petroleum Commission of Ghana said in a July report that Ghana's

Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF) received US$925 million in oil revenues. That means Ghana's bill for its unused gas amounted to more than a quarter of the revenue it got from petroleum in that year.

Over the past two days,

World Bank just so happens to be Guyana's development partner, too, and its hand is also in Guyana's gas-toshore project.

The Bretton Woods Project, a UK based nongovernmental organization, was formed to challenge the

The Bretton Woods Project, a UK based non-governmental organization, [said] that Ghana's offshore gas is rapidly becoming a fiscal burden amidst the country's debt crisis, and that this raises questions about the role of the World Bank in the country's gas development.

Kaieteur News had shown how the independent nonprofit, Institute of the Americas, warned Guyana to be careful in its negotiations to ensure it doesn't end up in Ghana's position.

This time around, the focus is on Ghana's development partner, the World Bank and its role in this problematic project. The

work of the World Bank and the International Monetary F u n d ( I M F ) o n development, usually in the areas of the environment, human rights and democratic governance.

It said in a 2018 article that Ghana's offshore gas is rapidly becoming a fiscal burden amidst the country's debt crisis, and that this raises questions about the

role of the World Bank in the country's gas development.

It said that the publicprivate partnership (PPP) for the project is backed by a total of US$1.2 billion in World Bank guarantees and debt financing.

As early as 2015, Ghana Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), like the African Centre for Energy Policy, criticised the contract's terms as unfavourable.

The Bank has noted the considerable criticism in the media for the development, and the perception that the petroleum companies supported by the bank were just exploiting the resources for their own benefit.

The World Bank said that it should have seen the need to set up a communications strategy to explain to the public the rationale behind the investment it made. The bank further said that part of the economic benefits of the development project will not be realized immediately.

Bretton Woods also pointed out in a 2017 article that over 150 CSOs have

If ExxonMobil bills Guyana for Kaieteur non-commercial well it would be criminal - Jagdeo

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ollowing the announcement by ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation, Ratio Petroleum, and Cataleya Energy Limited, that the discovery at the Tanager-1 well in the Kaieteur Block is non-commercial, the companies informed the market that the well would be plugged and abandoned.

Since making this d i s c l o s u r e , h o w e v e r, industry stakeholders have expressed concerns about what protection Guyana has in place to ensure the millions of US dollars incurred to drill and now plug the well would not be billed against the profits being made in the Stabroek Block.

Kaieteur News subsequently contacted Vice

President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on the matter as he is tasked with an oversight role for the oil industry.

The Vice President was quick to note that if ExxonMobil were to engage in such an act, “it would be criminal.”

During a brief interview with this newspaper y e s t e r d a y, D r. J a g d e o stressed that the agreements signed for the Stabroek and Kaieteur blocks are separate.

It therefore means that expenses have to be accounted for separately, expressed the official.

The former President added: “They can't consolidate everything. We made it clear that when they come for a production sharing agreement for the Kaieteur Block, (it would not have the same loopholes as

those which exist in the Stabroek agreement). It would be a very different PSA. So they can't transfer that or else it would be criminal…”

The concerns about the consolidation of costs were expressed yesterday by Tom Sanzillo, Director of Financial Analysis at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Sanzillo is of the firm conviction that the accounting process for the non-commercial well needs to be addressed in a transparent manner while adding that there are serious questions which the citizenry needs to have answered.

In this regard, Sanzillo said that Guyanese must be told about the estimated cost

of the Tanager drilling and any other costs to plug the well. The Finance Director also said that Guyana must know for certain, if 100% of the costs associated with the (continued on page 13)

called on the World Bank and the IMF to stop their aggressive support for PPPs because the CSOs have recognised significant risks where these projects are concerned.

Bretton Woods said that PPPs have potential serious negative consequences, such as their fiscal impact through the creation of legal obligations for governments to make payments only if particular events occur, such as the take-or-pay provision in Ghana's Sankofa contract.

The CSOs made their call in a manifesto which called for “those concerned with justice, equality, sustainability and human rights” to instead push for publicly-funded, democratically controlled, accountable public services.

This is not the first time the World Bank has been singled out for its potentially problematic role in a country's petroleum sector.

Very recent developments have occurred, much closer to home.

During a recent press conference of the Alliance for Change (AFC), former Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman pointed to the World Bank's role in some problematic hires mad e u n d e r t h e Coalition government.

The Coalition Government had hired UKbased consultant Dr. Michael Warner to produce a local content policy for Guyana's oil s e c t o r, t h e U K - b a s e d Bayphase to review ExxonMobil's Payara Field Development Plan (FDP), and the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP to review Guyana's petroleum legislation.

All three of these raised serious questions about conflicts of interest, since they all worked with ExxonMobil, a supermajor which has an effective monopoly on Guyana's oil sector.

Trotman said these proposals were made by the World Bank and that the government relied on the Bank's due diligence.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 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

Cocaine Country Eleven tonnes of anything is massive by any standard.

Eleven tonnes of cocaine is extraordinary, even when there is considering Guyana’s sordid history with this destructive, but so fabulously profitable product.

In view of the enormous bulk of the shipment that now appears to have originated from these shores, there is so much that can be-and should be-asked of how and where and what we are in this society.

The public details from the media are of one man being sought for questioning, who has since vanished without a trace; of possibly altered electronic records at the GRA, and then to top it all off, the backup files that are gone.

Just like the man needed as part of the police inquiries on a matter that has caused some raised eyebrows here (and not much more) and which has resonated in Belgium, and wider Europe and the world, given the enormous interdiction.

Eleven-plus tonnes of cocaine discovered anywhere is not an everyday development. In addition, the fact that Guyana has nothing on which to go, even make some effort towards a start says how sewed up is this s o c i e t y w h e n c e r t a i n c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t i e s are contemplated.

For here it is that more than, in a description that citizens should be able to appreciate, the equivalent of two fully loaded sand trucks (with a fraction of a ton to spare) passed through this country’s screens, checks and balances, and people, and our officials are reduced to pawing the ground and sniffing the air. From all indications, they keep coming up empty, not even short. They have nothing with which to work.

But clearly, a tonne of careful and clever work, many tonnes, were in place for the arrival and departure of such an immense movement to take place under our noses and eyes. This is not the kind of weight, the kind of planning, the kind of arrangement, or the kind of sophistication that can be left to ordinary runners. By this we mean the suitcase shippers and narcotics mules.

This was a big load for big money that had to involve big people with big reach to get a big deal executed. And that it was, with all those things contributing with awesome resourcefulness, skill, and intricacy.

Even though it involves a destructive and lethal commodity, the sheer scale of the enterprise takes the breath away. The audacity of such a project called for generalship of the highest order. That is, almost like that which went into the preparation and execution of the Normandy Invasion in World War II. The Americans had their Desert Storm, and Guyanese just experienced the ‘shock and awe’ of their Demerara La Nina in what had all the stealth of an unequalled ninja operation.

It cannot be the scrap iron man, of whom there is neither sighting nor sounding, which should not surprise anyone.

And even if he ever surfaces, in whatever form, the tracks will lead nowhere. There is sure to be no trail that points to anything or anyone - either paper or electronic or verbal.

What we have is the silence and stillness of an underworld Hades. But it is one that brings so much light to bear on the way things are here.

For such is the airtight compartmentalization of the drug universe as the elevations get higher. In this country, we call them ‘the big fish.’’ They have to be to be able to make things such as these move undetected, make men disappear, and make files evaporate.

They have to know the powerful, who know them, take their money, which is bottomless and always available for the giving.

When public men talk up a storm about positive visions, and then turn around and take from those who bring their rich gifts, a whole society is rendered vulnerable and held hostage.

Those 11 tonnes of cocaine are not about a scrap metal shipment alone. Or of one man alone. But of a few men, who have power and reach to make anything happen, to bend our laws, our people, our practices to their will at their time, their bidding. The tentacles of such criminal control runs deep and wide. It is Guyana’s reality.

Our journalists have got to start asking the tough questions Dear Editor, Very often we take a message on its face value and would quickly be inclined to create a ruckus. If you want to be really analytical, it is wise to look at the messenger and the circumstances in which the message is delivered. The most recent message, creating a national outcry, “Guyana erred when it allowed Exxon to dump toxic water into the Ocean” (KN, November 28th) is based on the pontifications of Dr. Adams, head of the EPA after he was fired. This article in context, is essentially a confession that he (Dr. Adams) had failed Guyana by being the head of the EPA and signing the Lisa 1 and 2 environmental permits for Exxon to “dump produced

water into the ocean.”

Dr. Adams cited his 30 years of experience working in oilfields where “every drop of produced water had to be re-injected into the reservoirs.” Dr. Adams as head of the EPA knew what was right, yet he signed Lisa 1 and 2 environmental impact assessments to dump produced water in the environment. Dr. Adams didn’t need to swim to the South Pole to tell the media that he was being pressured into signing something that he knows could be detrimental to the environment. He signed and kept his silence.

The article states that Dr. Adams was asked to - but did get to participate in the

evaluation of the Payara FDPbecause he was sent on leave and the journalist concludes that, “Once he was out of the way, ExxonMobil, it appeared, got its way.” Our journalists have got to start seeing through these thin veils presented by these technocrats and start asking the tough questions. What is there to convince the public that Dr. Adams, after silently signing Lisa1 & 2 EIA to dump produced water, would have held up his hands against dumping in the Payara project? I see nothing to convince me! What happened to the golden rule of doing a job “without fear or favor?”

The evidence suggest that Dr. Adams seems incapable of that.

Speaking of Exxon’s reluctance to invest US 300 million in technology to reinject produced water, Adams made a comparative analysis.

“So what they are saying in other words is that the health, safety and the environment of the people of Guyana is not worth this US$300M.” If Dr. Adams had said the above before he was fired, I would have been rooting for him to continue as the head of the EPA. The fact that waited until he was fired to do his comparative analysis, presents a skewered version of patriotism by Dr. Adams an opportunist.

Yours truly, Rudolph Singh

Is it the apple rotten or the barrel?

Dear Editor I recently read an interesting article in the print media purportedly written by Jai Lall under the caption, “Police officers should be role models in society.” I agree with the title but not with all of the contents of the letter.

Many of the issues and concerns posited will promote lively conversations.

However, one sentence titillated me. Here is it: “Unfortunately, only one rotten apple spoils the barrel.”

Please permit me to repeat some issues I raised some time ago and introduce some new concepts of thinking about law enforcement. This missive has a law enforcement bias but it could be equated to some other government departments, the private sector and some other organisations in Guyana.

The vexed question is: Is it the apple rotten or the barrel? Often the argument is heard that just a few “bad apples” can ruin the entire barrel, so a few bad cops can ruin the entire department.

Trautman (2000) contends, “The ‘ rotten apple’ theory that some administrators propose as to the cause of their demise is usually nothing more than self-serving, superficial facade, intending to draw attention away from their failures.” Swope (2001) believes, “It is the unethical breeding environment of the barrel that generates the major difficulties. It is the barrel, the culture of police organisations, that can cause the root shaking scandals that periodically face some police organisations.” Swope also believes that an officer’s behaviour is influenced more directly by

the actions or lack of actions in response to ethical shortcomings of his superiors than by the stated directives or written ethical code of an organisation.

Perry (2001), likewise, suggests examining the barrel: “The rotten-apple theory won’t work any longer.

Corrupt police officers are not natural-born criminals.....The task of corruption control is to examine the barrel, not just the apples, the organisation, not just the individuals in it, because corrupt police officers are made, not born.”

If I can add, we may have to change some of the hoops and staves that make up the barrel and also look at the quality or lack of quality of materials that we utilise to make up the barrel.

Perry contends, “Those who serve the public must be held to a higher standard of honesty and care for the public good than the general citizenry. A higher standard is not a double standard.

Persons accepting positions

of public trust take on new obligations and are free not to accept them if they do not want to live up to the higher standard. “Managers must examine their departments and find ways to promote integrity and ethical behaviour that adheres to this higher standard.

All is not lost. A good starting point to promote ethical behaviour and integrity is to eliminate the code of silence: “The code of silence encourages people not to speak up when they see another officer doing something wrong.” Fulton (2000) stresses: “Police commanders must exemplify the honesty and integrity they seek in their subordinates.” In addition: “Ethical mentoring and role modeling should be consistent, frequent and visible.”

What can be done to prevent unethical behaviour and corruption?

Wayne W. Bennett and Karen M. Hess present seven steps

that can help prevent unethical behaviour and corruption: “(1) Recruit with great care. (2) Establish appropriate policies and put them in writing. (3) Adopt a good employee evaluation process. (4) Make sure your sergeants share management’s values and philosophies. (5) Develop operational control. (6) Perform regular anticorruption inspections and audits. And (7) Implement ethics and integrity training into every training activity.”

The movers and shakers of law enforcement are apparently nibbling around the edges. What is required is a holistic approach, a comprehensive plan to deal with the situation. Piecemeal methods will definitely produce piecemeal results.

Let us stop concentrating on the fruits. Shift the heavy concentration on the root not the fruits. Cut the main root and the tree dies.

Yours truly, Clinton Conway

In leadership, example is better than precept Dear Editor, The newspapers give daily updates on the Covid19 virus cases. It is alarming to find the soaring rise and spike of occurrence in the general population, especially in Guyana with a relatively small population.

People usually listen to their leaders for guidance.

Unfortunately, leaders in most countries have failed. They have not been boldly and resolutely tackling the problem from a preventative perspective. Countrywide campaign: down to earth

billboards, posters, fliers; broadcasts with megaphones, in addition to TV, radio, and internet, constantly, repeatedly and regularly, could have, should have been going on aggressively – a neglect not only in Guyana but also in other countries like the U.S. Now we are closing the gate after the cattle escaped. And waiting optimistically for the vaccine; fiddling while Rome burns!

Significantly, I find it very disturbing and disappointing to observe President Ali and President Santokhi and the first ladies without masks on

two occasions during President Ali’s visit to Suriname.

Leaders should lead.

Being human, they would sometimes slip, as humans are wont to do; and being both humans and leaders, would respond to respectful correction with appreciation.

It is an imperative that leaders lead by example – always and in all ways. There should be no exception.

People generally follow their leaders, and do what their leaders do. Example is better than precept.

Yours truly, Gary Girdhari

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Kaieteur News

Suriname ferry to reopen soon The Moleson Creek, Berbice ferry stelling

Tuesday December 01, 2020

One year after Bourda granny’s murder…

Family hikes reward to $1M for information on killers

Wanted fugitive: Lopez Perez Jair

The Government of Guyana has issued the COVID-19 Emergency Measures for December, with new guidelines for travel to Region Seven and to Suriname.

The curfew remains the same for December, with lockdown hours from 10:30 pm to 4 am.

Non-essential travel into and out of Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) is restricted from December 1 to 31. Travel will only be permitted where it is connected to an essential service, according to the

Official Gazette, which was issued on Monday.

The Gazette also states that gatherings in Region Seven shall not exceed five persons utilizing the required physical distance of six feet.

Also, the Regional Democratic Council is tasked with ensuring the sanitizing of Government buildings, landings and transportation.

Meanwhile, travel to Suriname via the Moleson Creek Crossing will be opened from December 12. All operators and passengers must comply with the

precautionary port health measures.

Travel to the neighbouring country was halted and the GuyanaSuriname Ferry Service closed, following Guyana’s first COVID-19 case on March 14, 2020.

This prompted the shutdown of all ports of entry.

On October 12, the Government reopened its airports to commercial travel, while travel and trade between Guyana and Suriname through Moleson Creek remained closed.

GPHC sees COVID-19 ease as Ocean View hospital now fully functional After nine months of dealing with the novel Coronavirus, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has seen an ease in their management of the COVID-19 virus, following the Liliendaal Infectious Disease Centre (better known as the Ocean View COVID-19 Hospital) being declared as fully operational.

It was confirmed by senior health officials who disclosed that the patients who were in the GPHC’s COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit and one transition patient (someone suspected to have the COVID-19 virus and is showing symptoms but is awaiting their test result), were transferred to the facility last Friday.

Kaieteur News learnt that to date, a total of 10 patients were transferred to the facility, seven transition patients and three critical care patients, who will occupy the ICU. It was stated that each patient had to be transferred

“one by one” and each ambulance was sanitized after every trip to curb the possible spread of the virus.

Necessary medical equipment that was used at the GPHC was also transferred to the facility along with staff and additional medical personnel were also provided.

Further, it was noted that despite the hospital being “fully operational,” works will continue in various sections to maximize the amount of service provided to patients and to be fully efficient.

Works had been ongoing on the COVID-19 ICU at the Ocean View for a few months, in order to “ease” the GPHC’s management of the virus, as previously reported by this publication.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, stressed that it was the ministry’s overall goal since the GPHC had been the centralized unit managing of the virus since the first case being recorded

in March.

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Dr. Anthony had also highlighted that the GPHC in some instances saw a high influx of cases and lacked space. Now with the facility being fully operational, the GPHC will be in charge of managing the Ocean View Hospital, giving them a different site and facilities to deal with COVID-19.

This, the Health Minister had said, will enable the GPHC to carry out separate functions, meaning that they will have the capacity to house patients with other illnesses, seeing more patients being able to go to the GPHC for treatment.

The previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition government had spent $1.6 billion to ‘rehabilitate’ the Ocean View facility; however, the money was expended with works still incomplete when the PPP/C government took office in August.

That led to an additional $750 million being spent by the new government to complete the works and operationalize the facility.

One year has gone by and family members of murdered pensioner Marva Oudkirk, 67, are still continuing their efforts in trying to find her killer (s).

Police believe it might be a Cuban national, Lopez Perez Jair, 31, and had issued a wanted bulletin for him in March of this year. He was never apprehended.

In their bid for closure and justice, Oudkirk’s family members have now decided to offer a new reward of $1M. Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, Oudkirk’s only daughter, Makada Oudkirk, said: “We are begging for any information on the whereabouts of the prime suspect, Lopez Perez Jair.”

Makada had found her mother’s body on October 10, 2019 inside her residence at 241 Bourda Street, Georgetown.

Oudkirk’s corpse was found around 19:45hrs that evening lying on her bed with a mosquito net wrapped around her neck.

One of her rooms was ransacked and family members reported that her

Murdered: Marva Oudkirk jewelry and an undisclosed amount of cash were missing.

Investigators also noted that the intruder had removed several floor boards to enter her home.

Detectives began working with the theory that she was slain during the furtherance of a robbery. An autopsy report later verified that Oudkirk was strangled to death. A CCTV footage later obtained by police showed someone entering the woman’s premises during the time she was murdered.

Five months later, in March, Kaieteur News reported that cops were seeking a Cuban National, identified as Lopez Perez Jair for her demise.

This newspaper was told that prior to the woman’s demise, Jair frequented the nieghbourhood.

Persons said he was a

labourer but never was seen visiting Oudkirk’s home.

Nevertheless, after her death, he vanished and since then cops have been looking for him.

Sources told Kaieteur News that contact has been with the authorities in Cuba to find out if he might have returned there but he is still to be located.

Jair last known addresses are lot 106 Plantation Versailles, West Bank Demerara (WBD) and San Miguel del Padrón, Havana, Cuba.

Anyone with information leading to the arrest of Jair can call the following numbers: 216- 0251, 216-0253, 226-6978, 225-8196, 226-2870, 226-7065, 227-1149, 226-7065, 226-9834, 268-2298, 226-2222, 229-2557, 617-9660, 911 or contact the nearest police station.

Boat captain kills self, after chopping woman who denied him a relationship with her under-age daughter Resident of Riverview, Ruimveldt, yesterday witnessed a bizarre scene with a boat captain who killed himself and chopped a woman all because she denied him a relationship with her 14-year-old daughter.

The incident took place around 13:00hrs at Riverview, Ruimveldt, not far from a police station.

The dead boat captain has been identified as Jeffery Narine, 52, of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Hospitalized is Michelle Russell, 36, who was reportedly chopped by the boat captain.

Investigators reported that earlier in the day, Narine went to Russell’s home and threatened her.

Police were told that he sternly warned the woman that if she did not allow him to be with her 14-year-old daughter, he will kill both her and the teen. She reportedly refused to adhere.

Later that afternoon, he returned armed with two cutlasses and a knife in his waist. He approached Russell and chopped her twice-once to her abdomen and once to her left hand. He left uttering words, according to police report, that he “will kill someone” Russell was picked up and

rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she was admitted.

Instead of leaving the area, Narine sat in front of a shop. Police were notified and went there to apprehend him.

Upon seeing the uniformed ranks, Narine reportedly pulled out a knife and stabbed himself to the neck. He fell to the ground and the ranks were forced to call an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor on the team.

His body was removed and taken to the morgue.

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

The Government of the day is mandated to protect the country. They are supposed to be the gatekeepers to ensure transparency.

When you have a Government that does not look out for the interest of the people, who only signs deals and agreements that leave Guyana holding the short end of the stick, then the conclusion is that they are not worthy to be there and it is all a trick.

The time to renegotiate the ExxonMobil deal on the Stabroek Block is NOW, not 20 or 40 years later when we have nothing to recover and when too late will be the cry.

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Kaieteur News

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Tuesday December 01, 2020

ExxonMobil to prioritize capital investments on high-value assets in Guyana, Brazil, US I RV I N G , Te x a s – ExxonMobil has completed a review of its forward business plans and will prioritize nearterm capital spending on advantaged assets with the highest potential future value, including developments in Guyana and the U.S. Permian Basin, targeted exploration in Brazil and Chemicals projects to grow high-value performance products.

“Recent exploration success and reductions in development costs of strategic investments have further enhanced the value of our industry-leading investment portfolio,” said Darren Woods, chairman

and chief executive officer for Exxon Mobil Corporation. “ Continued emphasis on high-grading the asset base - through exploration, divestment and prioritization of advantaged development opportunities - will improve earning power and cash generation, and rebuild balance sheet capacity to manage future commodity price cycles while working to maintain a reliable dividend.”

The company said its annual business plan focused on the following priorities and actions: · Leveraging the

significant cost savings realized in 2020 that are on track to exceed announced reductions of $10 billion or 30 percent of capital spending and 15 percent of cash operating expenses. Key to ongoing expense management are business line reorganizations and efficiencies that include global workforce reduction of 15 percent by year-end 2021. · Continued pacing of investments. The company expects $16 billion to $19 billion in capital and exploration expenditures in 2021, and $20 billion to $25 billion annually through

2025. · Preserving the long-term value of the company's investment portfolio by offsetting costs associated with project delays.

The company plans to double earnings by 2027, when viewed on the same price and margin assumptions used in the 2020 Investor Day materials. · Removal of less strategic assets from its development plan as a result of the growing strength of its portfolio.

Assets removed include certain dry gas resources in

the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, Oklahoma, Te x a s , L o u i s i a n a a n d Arkansas in the United States, and in western Canada and Argentina.

The decision will result in a non-cash, after-tax fourth quarter impairment charge of approximately $17 billion to $20 billion. · Increased focus on monetization of less strategic assets to grow the portfolio of potential divestments, including certain North American dry gas assets, contingent on buyer

valuations.

Woods said the business environment in the fourth quarter is showing signs of improvement despite the resurgence in COVID-19 cases and accompanying economic restrictions.

“Prices and margins for many of our businesses have improved from the third quarter and when coupled with continuing efforts to reduce spending and capture additional efficiencies, quarter-to-date cash flow has improved versus our plan assumptions,” he said.

Region 10 woman, 31, dies as Partly decomposed body of East COVID-19 death toll reaches 151 Canje pensioner found in house

T

he police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Bharrat Mandroo, 76, a pensioner of Lot 31 Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje Berbice.

The body was partly decomposed when it was found in the lower flat of a two-storey house which he shares with his niece. He was discovered lying naked on a bed in the lower flat.

According to the man's niece, Omwatie Mandroo,

43, a vendor at the New Amsterdam Market, she occupies the upper flat of the house while her uncle occupies the lower flat.

The woman stated her uncle was suffering from several complications.

She said that she last saw him sitting under his house about 11:50 hrs on Wednesday.

The woman stated that when she woke up about 06:30 on Sunday, she got a stench which was coming from the lower flat of the

house.

She said that upon making checks she discovered her uncle's body lying in a partially decomposed state.

There were no marks of violence found on the body.

The body was taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The body is presently at the Baileys Funeral Home where it is awaiting a post mortem examination.

Investigations are ongoing.

A

3 1 - y e a r- o l d Region 10 ( U p p e r Demerara-Berbice) woman who succumbed to the novel Coronavirus on Sunday was recorded as Guyana's 151st COVID-19 death.

This was reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) who said that the woman

died while receiving treatment at a medical facility.

Additionally, 30 new COVID-19 cases were recorded yesterday.

This was presented in the MOH's daily dashboard update which also says that three persons are in the COVID-19 Intensive

Care Unit at the Liliendaal Infectious Disease Hospital; 63 in institutional isolation; 31 are in institutional quarantine while 797 persons are in approved home isolation.

To date, 30,096 persons have been tested for the virus while 4,392 have recovered.

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 09

The only option left T

he only option leftthe call for renegotiation of Guyana's oil and gas contracts. It pointed to what is taking place in Mozambique, where it is reported that agreements are being renegotiated.

These agreements, however, which are being renegotiated relates to the use of gas. Both Exxon and Total are seeking to extract more gas in order to cut their costs. So, it is not a question of the country insisting on a better deal. In fact, three days ago, it was reported that the government of Mozambique was not even aware of the talks, which were taking place between Exxon and Total.

This is how the oil companies operate. They make their plans behind your backs. And then they present you with a fait accompli.

In the case of Guyana, the ship of renegotiation has left the harbour. The people were not on board and therefore the governments (APNU+AFC and the PPP/C) have piloted the craft out to sea.

The governments have betrayed the people during the opportunities, which were presented for renegotiation. The Coalition government had the best opportunity to extract a good deal for Guyana. Exxon's permits had expired and it had to seek a production licence to begin production.

But instead of pressing Exxon for better terms than what was obtained at a time where the basic was not derisked, the Coalition got a paltry one percent more, no ring-fencing, cost recovery with a cap of 75 percent and a suite of concessions which amounts to more freeness than Santa Claus.

Guyana was shafted by the Coalition. It has long been suspected that this agreement was signed behind the back of then President David Granger.

His petroleum advisor has publicly said that when he told Granger about the agreement, the President seemed surprised.

A decision of this magnitude would have had to been sanctioned by Cabinet. The PPP/C now should be in possession of the Cabinet records of the A P N U + A F C administration. They should inform the nation as to whether the contract was considered by Cabinet and whether it received the blessings of the President.

Under the Constitution of Guyana, all executive power is vested in the President. And while it is true that the President can delegate these powers, again in accordance with the Constitution, when it comes to the signing of an oil contract any such delegation would have to be specified by fiat. The broad responsibilities granted to

the Minister of Natural Resources does not allow for any signing of any major agreement without the expressed consent of the President or Cabinet.

When the PPP/C in 2015 handed out oil blocks, it was signed by the President.

Unless the President authorized, specifically, the signing of the Production Sharing Agreement between the Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil, then this agreement is not legally binding and should be so challenged in our courts of law.

The PPP/C also betrayed the people. Instead of moving to strike a better deal, it said it would review, rather than renegotiate the contract. That review came up far short of expectations.

In fact, it represents a disappointing sleight of hand on the part of the PPP/C. The ship of renegotiation has sailed because our leaders were either at 'sea' when it came to the agreements or they were not inclined to seek a superior deal for the country. Guyana was shafted twice, first by the APNU+AFC and then by the PPP/C's so-called review instead of renegotiation.

A better deal will not originate from the country's political leaders. It is therefore useless to be looking towards the government to extract better terms from ExxonMobil.

That ship has sailed without

Local content boys seh... gone foreign Dem

D

e World Bank cannot tell de government who fuh hire. De World Bank paying de consultant and de hiring does gat to tek place according to World Bank standards.

But in de final analysis, de Government gat fuh give a no-objecton. So dem boys nah accepting nottin wah Trotty saying.

It was a mistake when dem dis de Local Content Policy wah de man Paul did develop. But de present government still gat de policy so dem boys nah know why Prezzie had to appoint an advisory

committee pun local content.

De best advice already in de house.

All de Pressie gat fuh do is to pull de Paul report and implement it. Story dun.

De Vee Pee giving he mouth air. He talking how locals must get preference.

But what preference he talking about when there is no local content law. And even if de law come which local firms gat de capacity fuh supply anything to de oil rig.

De Coalition tek five years and nah put dem local companies in a position to supply de oil industry. Dem sit down pun dem laurels and

now there is lot of talk about local content. When de oil dun start pump and de Trinidadians and Americans done dominating de procurement.

De politicians put a big shaft pun Guyana. Dem give away we oil blocks, dem sign contract with dem eyes close; dem shortchange de country with de production sharing agreement and now dem leading de people up a blind alley when dem talking about local content.

Local content nah gone Cove and John. It gone to Port of Spain and Texas.

Talk half and demand we oil blocks be returned!

the cargo intact.

The only option now open to Guyanese is to demand that the government determine whether the Production Sharing Agreement was signed with the consent of the President.

If it was not, then its legality can be challenged on the grounds of lack of capacity to contract. Unless the people come on board and demand a better deal, this ship too will likely sail.

(The views expressed in

this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday December 01, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The self destruction of so many after March 2020 S

enior journalist at this newspaper, Kiana Wilburg, published a letter in this paper yesterday in which she wrote, “I have noticed that there are some individuals such as the prolific Professor Clive Thomas, whose written commentary on the oil sector, contains on some occasions, indirect disparagements regarding the work of this newspaper.

In some instances, they do come across hostile.”

I find two interesting dimensions about that letter; one is the use of the word hostile, the other is that the hostility stems from Thomas' writings on oil. In relation to oil, I am not aware that in his long career as a researcher, Professor Thomas has done any study on the petroleum industry.

I think I can go so far as to say he has no expertise on the

subject. I suspect for this reason, his government, APNU+AFC, never tasked him with an oil project but assigned him to an area where he has a voluminous output – sugar. He was chairman of GuySuCo. This does not preclude him of course from adding his two cents to the debate. I am more concerned with the use of the word, “hostile.” I suspect the journalist may be referring to the last two lines in his Sunday column that went like this, “Given the noise and nonsense echo chamber's dismissive comparisons Guyana's fiscal regime and Suriname's ….”

I will answer my own question; why the hostility?

I believe Professor Thomas has killed his legacy. It is not partially damaged; it is dead.

What Professor Thomas may be doing is seeking the resuscitation of his

credibility by his so-called expertise on oil and his attacks on this newspaper.

The loss of credibility is worth documenting.

Thomas' party, the WPA, was part of the government of Guyana from May 2015 July 2020. In that period, Thomas' government performed terribly and Thomas' balance sheet in that period has destroyed his legacy.

SARA – It was Thomas himself that said shortly after APNU came to power that over $100 billion may have been lost in corrupt avarice during the reign of presidents Jagdeo and Ramotar. Thomas was appointed as the hunter of that colossal sum. SARA under Thomas turned out to be a humiliating failure with Thomas not coming even close to finding out where $100 million went much less

$100 billion.

SUGAR – Thomas was made chairman of GuySuCo. Sugar devastated Thomas' legacy. This was sad because he wrote so much on sugar that it was expected that he had knowledge of the industry. Not only were 7,000 workers and their families (about 28,000) put on the breadline, but Thomas' government refused to legally compensate these souls resulting in court cases that the sugar workers won. $5000 AMERICAN – Thomas went to Buxton, again in search of lost credibility and regained some of it when he told a Buxton meeting that the state should donate $5000 American in cash to poor Guyanese. Working class organizations embraced the opportunistic moment of Thomas. But Thomas' own government resisted the promise only giving it token recognition during the 2020 election campaign.

G R A N G E R ' S NEOLIBERALISM -The little credibility he got from Buxton melted like butter against the sun, as my mother used to say. A series of anti-working class policies were pursued by his

government, some were very i n f a m o u s – VAT o n electricity, water, education fees; hike on taxes on an ocean of items; banned used tyres; ban on cars older than eight years; refusal to reexamine the draconian

Frederick Kissoon aspectsof the law relating to marijuana; sweet-heart deals for some companies his party; the WPA, criticized when in opposition; Granger's edict to youths that the role of the state is not to provide employment; no substantial increase in public salaries; refusal to raise the age of retirement for public servants; SARA's payout of a monthly rental of millions for its head office from a rich family.

THOMAS' STABROEK NEWS COLUMN –

Commissioned to do a weekly column on economics, Thomas waxed lyrical on the autocracy and corruptibility of the PPP government in his pieces, devoting several columns to describing the operation of what he referred to as the “criminalized state” under the PPP. His SN offerings consisted more of politics than economics from 2011 onwards. He could be excused for not writing against his government between 2015-2020. But one expected at least a few lines on the controversy that has currently enveloped James Bond. I doubt he will touch the subject.

THE DEATH OF THE WPA - The 2020 election rigging marked the final stage in the degeneracy of the WPA. Thomas remained silent while his WPA “Rodneyite” colleagues openly endorsed election rigging causing Walter Rodney to turn in his grave.

Thomas courted selfdestruction from 2015. It has drowned him.

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

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Tuesday December 01, 2020

Submarine cable damaged again, caused weekend outages - GPL A

critical power cable across the Demerara River that links the East and West Demerara areas has been severed yet again.

The state-owned Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) yesterday said that it is working to get the submarine cable fixed.

A statement said that on Friday, at approximately 07:08hrs, there was a fault on the 69kV submarine cable linking Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston Power Plants resulting from suspected damage from a ship's anchor.

“The cable was raised on Saturday, November 28th, at which time that damage was confirmed and it was discovered that the cable was completely severed.”

GPL said that as a result of this incident, customers in regions 4, 5 and 6 were “intermittently” affected during the period- Friday, 2020 November 27 to Sunday, 2020 November 29.

“Efforts are currently

underway in the Demerara River to determine the full extent of the damage to the submarine cable and subsequently the necessary requirements to rectify the problem.”

This is not the first time.

It happened before, causing the East Demerara area to be without the extra power produced by Vreed-en-Hoop for weeks.

GPL explained that it had taken measures to prevent a recurrence. However, it has happened again.

It said that following last years' similar maritime accident, it initiated several measures in tandem with Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).

These included a survey to determine and plot the location of the cable in the Demerara River and the updating of maritime charts including the position of the submarine cable and the publication of maritime notices indicating the boundaries of the submarine

cable.

It also involved the placement of warning signs and hazard lights at both ends of the cable.

In terms of the short and medium term plans, GPL said it implemented a number of measures to prevent prolonged service interruptions when the 69 kV

cable is disrupted.

These measures have resulted in the avoidance of widespread load shedding, GPL boasted.

It included that installation of a new 13.8kV Submarine Cable from Vreed-en-Hoop to Princess Street, which is being utilized to transfer power

from the Vreed-en-Hoop Power Plant to the eastern side of the DBIS via an alternative route and the installation of the new express feeder from Vreed en Hoop to Vriesland, West Demerara which facilitates the utilization of the cable from Vriesland to Craig, East

Bank Demerara, as an additional alternative route.

There was also the installation of additional generating capacity in Berbice to make that area more self-sufficient and the i m p o r t a t i o n o f approximately 4MW from MCG Investments (Giftland (continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

PAGE 13

Police hunts bandits…

Marcus Bisram beaten, robbed of millions in cash, jewellery in home invasion A

rmed bandits Sunday night barged into the premises of former murder accused, Marcus Brian Bisram, and carted off millions of dollars in cash and jewellery belonging to the family.

Bisram told the media that it was just around 19:30 hrs. Sunday, while he was sitting with relatives having a chat like they always do on evenings at his Number 70 Village residence, four men entered the premises through the front gate that was left open.

He disclosed that the men were all wearing surgical masks and gloves.

Three brandished guns while the fourth was armed with a cutlass.

"Four masked men came in and three of them had guns and another a cutlass. They came in and said "don't

Robbed: Marcus Bisram

move" and they relieved everyone of their cellphones and then they directed everyone to go into the house,” he said.

Bisram stated that while they were in the house with the men, the bandits relieved everyone of their jewellery and raided their pockets for cash. One gunman grabbed

unto a two-year-old as he made his demands from Bisram.

"One of them asked me where is my room and asked me for all the jewellery and money and I gave him because he had a gun at the head of a two-year-old kid…and the other two was with the rest of the relatives

here,” Bisram said. Shortly after grabbing the loot, the men escaped.

Surveillance footage seen by this publication showed the minute the men entered the yard. In the footage, Bisram was focused on his cellphone while sitting with two female relatives.

There were several other persons seated at separate tables in the yard. The four men rushed it and one grabbed the phone out of Bisram's hand while another seemed to have a confrontation with a male relative of Bisram.

Shortly after, the bandits guided everyone in the house and spent at least three minutes before exiting and making their escape.

Kaieteur News understands that the men arrived on motorcycles and parked it a few houses away from

Bisram's house… they escaped on the said motorcycles in the direction of Georgetown.

Eight cellular phones including Bisram's iPhone Pro Max, his two gold bangles (100 pennyweights each), a 100 pennyweight gold chain, a diamond ring worth US$12,000, $5M Guyana currency and his wallet which contained seven credit cards and US$2,000, were stolen, he said.

According to Bisram, the $5M Guyana currency was withdrawn some six days ago to pay his lawyer. When questioned about security, Bisram stated that at the time of the robbery he had no security and has not had any security for the past three months.

Shortly after the men escaped, the police were immediately contacted and

they responded to the scene some 15 minutes later, Bisram said.

Bisram made news in Guyana a few years ago after he was accused of masterminding the killing of a carpenter in Berbice. The carpenter was a guest at Bisram's home and was reportedly beaten and dumped after clashing with t h e N e w - Yo r k b a s e d Guyanese.

The carpenter's body was found on the roadway and it appeared to be a death from a road accident.

However, the relatives were not satisfied and police investigation saw several men arrested and charged.

A warrant was issued for Bisram who had already left Guyana for New York.

He was extradited back to Guyana to face the murder charge. He was freed earlier this year.

Lockdown lifted in St Cuthbert's Mission - monitoring continues at Siparuta, Bartica and Amelia's Ward

T

he lockdown has ended in St. Cuthbert's Mission, but the Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the community as a few active COVID-19 cases remain there.

The Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, said people are still vulnerable and should continue to observe the precautionary measures.

“If precautions aren't taken, we can see infection rates go up again,” he said, during Monday's COVID-19 update.

D r. A n t h o n y s a i d residents now have a better understanding and appreciation for the precautionary measures as a result of the COVID-19 education campaign.

“We felt confident that

we can lift the lockdown and we want to thank the Joint Services, the Village Council and all the persons who would have worked with the health team to ensure we reduced the numbers drastically.”

Meanwhile, there is continuous monitoring in Siparuta.

“The Village Council has imposed some travel

The supplies taken to Orealla and Siparuta

If ExxonMobil bills Guyana...

From page 3 aborted drilling and plugging at Tanager-1 will be passed along as costs to be recovered from Guyana's oil and gas revenue or if ExxonMobil will bear the cost of the drilling thus far.

Further to this, Sanzillo said Guyana needs to know what are the financial controls that exist to prevent the operator from passing along the costs under the Kaieteur agreement as costs to the Liza exploration and production projects; if ExxonMobil as the operator will be providing a public statement that sets forth basic facts about this unsuccessful drilling project, including costs; and if it offers appropriate

assurances concerning future activity.

Additionally, Sanzillo posited that ExxonMobil has a superior reputation for its oil drilling expertise, as such, Guyanese deserve to know if there will be a final analysis that is publicly available that explains why the drilling project was undertaken, what was anticipated, what was achieved, why the decision was made that the reserves are not commercially viable, what lessons were learned with regard to the quality of oil reserves in the Kaieteur Block generally, and what steps will be taken to ensure positive future outcomes.

In conclusion, the

Director of Financial Analysis at the Institute said that the agreement for the Kaieteur block, like the one for Stabroek, involves carefully crafted provisions which are designed to provide maximum cash reimbursements to the contractor before Guyana receives its fair share of cash from the oil.

Ta k i n g t h i s i n t o consideration, Sanzillo said: “How the costs are determined and how they are used to calculate cash payments to Guyana are of vital importance.

What happens now, at the beginning of the contract, will set the pattern for Guyana's claim to its fair share for years to come.”

restrictions in terms of bringing down the numbers, decreasing contacts with other people to prevent spread. So those are good measures,” Dr. Anthony said.

The Ministry is also concerned about 66 cases in Bartica, Region Seven. A team is on the ground there supporting the local health authorities.

A small spike has also

been recorded in Amelia's Ward, Linden and the area is also being monitored closely.

Supplies were recently taken into Orealla and Siparuta.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Government demands that Panama pays $1.9B owed to rice millers L

ast Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote to the Panamanian authorities, demanding that they pay the $1.9B owed to Guyanese rice millers for

rice exports.

This publication learnt that that Spanish-speaking country acknowledged their outstanding dues to Guyana.

However, Panama wants to wait until the COVID-19

pandemic ends to make the payments.

The Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, stated that the government is taking continual steps to ensure the

- Panama indicates unable to pay until the end of pandemic money is received and as a result of this, he will soon be contacting Panama's Minister of Agriculture, where they will make a decision regarding what date the money will be paid. As he pledged his commitment to Guyana's rice industry, Minister Mustapha said that this matter could have been resolved a long time ago, but the previous administration had not shown much interest in doing so.

Since taking office in August, he has been persistent in getting the matter resolved.

This publication reported a few months ago, that the Panamanian Government had committed to clearing their debt and said Guyana would be repaid with interest.

They had also indicated that they would like to revive their rice deal with Guyana.

Kaieteur News understands that Panama's debt comes from contracts signed in 2018 and 2019 for rice shipments from Guyana to Panama. The rice was

shipped by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) but only a partial payment of US$550,000 was made for the 2018 contracts and absolutely no payments were made for the 2019 contract.

The partial payment was used to pay rice millers in 2018 and the GRDB had to use their own money to pay rice millers afterwards resulting in them having a liability of $4.7 million.

They had lamented that Panama's delay was a hanging threat to their revenue.

It was also previously highlighted by this newspaper that the Panamanian government's market offers a higher price than other markets; however, payments are sometimes delayed due to government processes.

The GRDB had contended that their commitment to reviving their rice deal with Guyana is good for the industry, which includes farmers, millers, and other stakeholders.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha Along with that, Minister Mustapha said that his administration would be examining the Caribbean markets for rice export opportunities, mainly with countries that have indicated their willingness to explore these options too.

Large-scale farmers had acknowledged that Mexico is interested in purchasing rice and it was stated that that too would be explored.

Man chops drinking buddy for drinking more rum than him

A

man became infuriated on Saturday and chopped his drinking buddy over an alleged dispute of who was imbibing more.

The incident took place around 08:40 hrs. at a shop located in Tiger Creek, North West District, Region One. Currently nursing multiple chop wounds to the neck and body at Matthews Ridge Hospital, is Ceveland

Caslistro of Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, Region Three.

Investigators reported that Caslistro and the man were imbibing together at the shop. According to police, hours later, an argument started between the two men.

Kaieteur News was told that they began accusing one another of drinking more rum. Things escalated quickly, stated a police

report, and the man pulled out a cutlass from his pants waist and began chopping Caslistro until he fell to the floor.

The suspect ran away and the police were summoned to the scene immediately.

The ranks picked up Caslistro and rushed him to the Hospital where he received medical attention.

A manhunt is now on for the suspect.

Submarine cable damaged...

From page 12 Mall).

“Notwithstanding GPL's efforts, the risk of short term outages is increased as the two systems operate without the 69 kV interconnection; these risks will be further a d d r e s s e d w i t h implementation of GPL's medium term plans…”

GPL said that these

include the installation of an additional 10 MW of generating capacity by December 15, 2020; construction of the new 46.5MW at Garden-of-Eden

by April 2021 and further improvements in the transmission and distribution system to build redundancy at the 69 kV and 13.8 kV levels.

“Meanwhile, GPL is working to expedite the repairs to the 69 kV cable.

This will be facilitated by the fact that GPL bought extra repair kits for the cable and now have these in stock. These previously took months to manufacture as they are not stocked by suppliers.”

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

The firearm and ammunition that was recovered

Group drinking at gas station during curfew arrested after gun find

A

security officer who was imbibing alcohol after curfew hours with some friends, has been arrested after he was caught throwing a gun near a stand at Chico Ramas Gas Station, Coldingen, East Coast Demerara.

While the police did not release a name, the security officer was identified as a 46year-old male of Park Street, Enterprise.

According to the police report, the incident occurred at around 23:20 hrs. on Saturday.

Based on information received, a team of policemen under the command of an Assistant Superintendent who were on patrol, observed a group of persons imbibing alcohol at the gas station.

The police report stated that at the time, a Toyota Allion motor car was parked with a female seated in the front passenger seat. Several males were seen seated on a bench just next to the car. Investigators reported that the individuals were warned and told to return to their respective homes.

Police said that they saw the security officer approaching the car. He opened the right rear door and removed an object that appeared to be a firearm. He reportedly went to the western half of the gas station and threw the object near a stand.

Upon searching the area, the ranks recovered a 9mm gun along with 12 live rounds of ammunition.

The individuals were arrested and taken to the Vigilance Police Station for the possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Kaieteur News understands that the security officer, along with two other persons, are in custody while the investigation is still ongoing.

PAGE 15

PAGE 18

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Suspect, 34, in killing of ex-lover, 16, to face court after recovering from suicide attempt

Charges soon: The suspect - “Kumar�

A

thirty-four-year old man who stabbed to death his ex-lover, 16, last month, will soon be discharged from the hospital after recovering from his suicide attempt.

The suspected killer, who has been identified as Kumar, has been hospitalized at the Oscar Joseph Hospital since last November 11. Reports are that the man consumed a poisonous chemical, after stabbing Sanesha Lall, about 20 times.

According to a senior police source, the suspect will be discharged from the hospital this week, after

Dead: Sanesha Lall being admitted for 21 days.

Kaieteur News understands that the suspect premeditated to murder the teen, after she reportedly severed the relationship.

On November 11, the suspect forced his way into the teen's Richmond Housing Scheme home, Essequibo Coast, where he stabbed her in the presence of her two siblings.

After fleeing the scene, the man consumed a poisonous substance, which was later identified by police as Indezone. Sources told Kaieteur News that the suspect committed the act after being rejected by the victim.

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

The COVID-19 case for HIV self-testing

By Dr. César Núñez UNAIDS Latin America and Caribbean Regional Support Team Director “Pivot” became one of 2020's buzzwords.

Governments, organizations and families alike have launched into different ways of living, learning and working.

The shock of COVID-19 is familiar for those who remember the start of the HIV pandemic almost 40 years ago. Who could have imagined in the 1980s that what was then a mystery illness with a definite death sentence, would one day become well understood and utterly manageable?

Today HIV can be diagnosed in minutes with a rapid test. For many patients it can be treated with one pill daily. HIV-free babies are routinely born to mothers living with HIV. Patients who are successfully treated and monitored can achieve an undetectable viral load. This means that they cannot transmit the virus.

This brave, new world

was made possible by unprecedented and catalytic global solidarity. To get here we needed the tenacity of research scientists, the will of policymakers and the courage of activists.

In this region partners, including the Global Fund and PEPFAR, joined efforts with governments and civil society to turn the tide.

Importantly, we embraced the idea that the best possible information and approaches should be available to people everywhere.

The Caribbean joined the community of nations in adopting a Fast-Track strategy to end AIDS. This meant shifting to radically new treatment protocols that many stakeholders found daunting at first.

Not so long ago, a person who was diagnosed with HIV would not begin antiretroviral treatment until their illness was advanced.

But since 2016 the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that treatment commence immediately, even if the person feels fine.

It was not easy or

Dr. César Núñez inexpensive, but most Caribbean countries transitioned to a “treat all” policy for providing a n t i r e t r o v i r a l t h e r a p y.

Policymakers understood that the upfront investment would avert not only thousands of AIDS deaths, but also thousands of costly new infections.

Today, half of all people living with HIV in this

region are virally suppressed and are therefore not infectious.

Since 2010, AIDSrelated deaths in the region have declined by 37 percent while new infections have fallen by 29 percent. We've moved beyond the stillvaluable ABC of HIV prevention—abstain, be faithful, condomise. Now we're also using treatment as prevention.

But Caribbean AIDS responses have not uniformly embraced best practices. For example, over the past several years the WHO has endorsed a new HIV prevention strategy known as PrEP, short for preexposure prophylaxis.

This entails the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent an HIV negative person from becoming infected. Only the Bahamas and Barbados have rolled out this strategy nationally.

The same is true of HIV self-testing. In 2016 the WHO recommended that self-administered HIV tests be offered alongside longstanding voluntary counselling and testing

services. Today, in many parts of the world, it is possible to purchase an HIV t e s t i n a p h a r m a c y, administer it yourself and get the results in around 20 minutes.

With appropriate regulation, states can ensure that quality, reliable tests are on the market. And with the right communication strategy, people can get information about how to confirm a positive result, access counselling and start treatment.

HIV self-testing policies are needed now more than ever. Three-quarters (77 percent) of people living with HIV in the Caribbean are aware of their status, as compared to the global average of 81 percent.

In a modern response that calls for early diagnosis and treatment, too many of the region's men are only diagnosed at the point of advanced HIV illness.

And while some members of key populations like sex workers, gay men and transgender women have access to testing services, others have a hard

time learning their status.

COVID-19 threatens to worsen the situation. People are being asked to limit their movement.

They are more reluctant to go to clinics and hospitals.

And they do not have the same access to communityprovided services.

At a time when we should be picking up the pace, a new pandemic threatens to slow progress.

That's why on the occasion of World AIDS Day (December 1), UNAIDS joins the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and A I D S ( PA N C A P ) , t h e President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Caribbean civil society organizations involved in the AIDS response to call for Health Ministries and National AIDS Programmes to adopt and implement HIV self-testing policies.

The science, technical support and best practices are available to guide your progress from pilot to full implementation. This is a pivot whose time has come.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Banks DIH acquires exclusive distribution rights to Morning Glory Rice Cereals The Morning Glory Plant

B

anks DIH Limited, Morning Glory Inc. (MGI) and the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) have signed an agreement handing the drinks giant exclusive distribution rights of Morning Glory Rice Cereals.

A joint statement disclosed that the products are manufactured at a state-of-the-art facility in Anna Regina, Region Two, Essequibo Coast.

The project was funded by the Government of Guyana through an initiative led by President Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali in 2014, when he was the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.

The sod was turned for the facility by former President Donald Ramotar, former Minister Dr. Ali and other members of Government in March of 2015.

The products and manufacturing process were developed by the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, which also spearheaded the

construction of the facility, procured the equipment and operationalized the plant.

The plant has been operational since late 2017, and produces two varieties of the popular rice cereals: Original and Jaggy the Jaguar Rice Krunch.

Both products are available in 225g and 500g packets.

It was explained that since late 2017, the Morning Glory products have steadily increased their market share and in the process Morning Glory has become a household name in Guyana.

“The nutritious cereals, which are superbly well-packaged, successfully compete against mature brands in a very competitive market segment.

Furthermore, the Morning Glory Rice cereals are manufactured using greater than 99.5% locally sourced materials, entirely by local Guyanese workers.

The cereals are nutritionally augmented by a vitamin cocktail, which is specifically designed for

the Caribbean diet.”

The Morning Glory Rice Cereal won the 2019 Guyana National Bureau of Standards National Quality Award and Green Initiative Award for Agro-Processing. For products that have only been in production since late 2017, this was a remarkable achievement.

Banks says it has one of the most extensive distribution networks in Guyana, reaching the smallest of retailers in the furthest reaches of Guyana's 83,000 square miles.

“Its products are ubiquitous across Guyana and the company is deeply embedded in the DNA of Guyana.

The partnership between Banks and MGI is a natural one, building on a partnership already established between the Institute of Applied Science and Technology and Banks, where another of the Institute's products, the Pakaraima Flavours Sundried Tomato Ketchup and Salad

Dressings are utilized exclusively

by Banks in its Food Service business and restaurants across Guyana.”

The growing success of Morning Glory Rice Cereals in the

Guyanese market caught the attention of Banks Sales and Marketing Executive, Carlton Joao. Joao and a senior team from Banks toured the Morning Glory facility in Anna Regina and “were very impressed” by the plant, its safety and quality protocols and the professionalism of the staff.

“Given the partnership already enjoyed by the Institute and Banks, and the desire of MGI to take advantage of Banks' distribution reach, it was an easy decision to make for both companies,” the statement said.

Clifford Reis, Chairman of Banks DIH Ltd, commented, “Banks DIH Ltd has a deliberate focus on maximizing Guyana's potential by engaging local people, productive capacity and local resources.

We are delighted to deepen our partnership with the Institute of Applied Science and Technology by proudly distributing another of the Institute's innovative products: The Morning Glory Brand of Rice Cereals, which are now produced by Morning Glory Inc. The emphasis of adding value to local agricultural commodities through agro-processing aligns well both at a philosophical level and as a commercial focus for Banks DIH Ltd. Morning Glory Rice Cereals is superior products, equal to and in many cases superior to the imported cereal on local supermarket shelves.”

Marketing Head of Department of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Ms. Raveena Mangal, who is also partially seconded to Morning Glory Inc. said that “securing Banks DIH Limited as the Distributor for Morning Glory Rice Cereals is transformative for our young company.”

Sluice operator dies in Berbice accident From page 2 right to avoid a collision.

However, the right side rearview mirror came into contact with the pedal cyclist left arm causing him to fall onto the road surface.

The pedal cyclist was picked up by public-spirited citizens in a conscious state and placed into the same van which then took him to New Amsterdam Public Hospital.

He was subsequently transferred to the GPHC where he succumbed.

He suffered a fractured left arm and other internal injuries. Meanwhile, Hemwattie Balkaran, 29, wife of the dead man, stated that she was watching television when her neighbour called her via telephone to inform her that her husband was involved in an accident.

"She called and said my husband got an accident and when I come down this morning, I got the message he died. He left home to come to work", she said.

According to Balkaran, her husband worked as a sluice operator for over three years and was the sole breadwinner of the home.

Kaieteur News was also informed that Ramlakhan had been involved in an accident at Borlam Turn a few years ago and also lost one of his brothers to an accident on the Number 19 Public Road in 2017.

Ramlakhan's body is at GPHC awaiting a post mortem.

PAGE 22

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

Linden honours 25 in first annual music awards - Mafi is best new artiste of the year CAR RENTAL

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The first Annual Linden Music Awards was staged over the weekend at the Watooka Guesthouse, Mackenzie Linden and streamed live, following strict COVID-19 guidelines, with top personalities recognized for their contributions.

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regional officials.

According to the RTC, the Best New Artiste of the Year was Mafi.

The Music Producer of the Year went to Code Red Records, while the following other categories were also recognized: Contemporary Artiste of the Year - Diana Chapman; Soca Artiste of the Year Brandon; Rukatooks Artiste of the Year - Gucci Boss; Dancehall Artiste of the Year - Davy Marley; Linden Music Ambassador Award 20192020 - Ralston Richmond; Reggae Artiste of the Year Best; True Patriot Award Static; Calypsonian of the Year - De Professor; People’s Choice Award - Mafi; Songwriter of the Year - GT Youths; Best Live Contemporary Band - Cannon Ball.

In addition, the Best Live Gospel Band went to the Redeemers Band, while the following were also recognized: Best Female Gospel Artiste - Rene Winter; Best Male Gospel Artiste - Double G; Denis Parkinsoin Lifetime Achievement Award - Jeffrey Jackson; Music Video

Best New Artiste of the Year - Mafi Director of the Year - Director DEX; Best Cover Remix - Deon Anderson; Best Music Video of the Year - Miracle; Dancehall DJ of the Year - DJ Badboyz; Radio DJ of the Year - DJ Fearless; Children Band/Steel Orchestra Award - Linden Drum Core; M u s i c i a n o f t h e Ye a r Pastor McDonald; Collaboration of the Year Davy featuring Mafi while the R&B/Hip Hop award went to Lashawn Banz.

According to the RTC, in his final remarks, MP Devin Sears, Chairman of the Region 10 Tourism Committee,

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Nominees in this segment

thanked the judging panel Michael James; Jenel Arthur and DJ Dan Hype; the Minister and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce; the Department of Tourism; Region Ten Democratic Council; The Linden Mayor and Town Council; APNU+AFC PR Committee and sponsors for their support.

“Tonight, Linden has made history once again, with the introduction of the annual Linden Music Awards.”

He noted that the Linden’s artistes creativity became paramount, especially during this global pandemic, the quality of composition and production is on par with the rest of the world and will continue to get better; he encouraged artistes to work on their craft, use social media as a platform to promote themselves and posited that next year will be a great year for Linden and Guyanese Music.

The Linden billboard will be introduced and as a bonus for each award, $100,000 will be given in the coming year.

“If you think 2020 was great, wait until 2021.”

Tuesday December 01, 2020

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Elections case centers on arguments over request to remove Granger‘s participation Lawyers involved in the 2020 election petition case are now arguing over a request made to remove former presidential candidate of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, David Granger, from actively participating in the matter.

The case which challenges the outcome of the March 2, 2020 Regional and General Elections continued before Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire yesterday with arguments over Granger’s role in the matter in light of a challenge

by Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall S.C, to have the entire election petition struck out.

AG Nandlall, in his capacity as the state‘s legal representative in the case, has presented notice of application to strike out the election petition on the ground that the petitioners failed to serve Granger - the second named respondent within the time prescribed by law for service.

The AG had stressed that the failure to serve with affidavits in Petition 99 of 2020 is an absolute ground to strike out the matter.

However, attorney for one of the petitioners, Mayo Robertson, submitted that given the circumstances, Granger should not be considered a necessary or proper respondent. He wants Granger removed from the list of respondents.

In addition, last Thursday, Granger’s lawyer, Basil Williams, S.C, filed a notice not to oppose the elections petition — a move, which is being interpreted by lawyers for the ruling People‘s

Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) as an attempt by Granger and his team to invalidate their application to strike out the election case.

Yesterday, lead attorney for Bharat Jagdeo, in his role as the leader of the PPP/C, the Trinidad –based, Douglas Mendes S.C, presented arguments to support the view that Granger’s notice not to oppose the election petition should not negate him as a respondent.

“Any of the other respondents have that right to file a notice not to oppose this elections petition,” Mendes said adding that the law provides for such steps to be taken but it does not negate any person who files such notices from the proceeding as not a proper respondent.

Citing specific sections of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act, Mendes said that the law makes provisions for respondents to give notice not to oppose.

“Section 27(1) (a) of the Act states, “that if before the trial of an elections a respondent other than the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) gives the prescribed motive that he does not intend to oppose the petition… the Registrar shall give notice thereof in the prescribed manner …”

Part Two (2) of the section further notes that, “a respondent who has given the prescribed notice that he does not intend to oppose the petition, or for whom any person has been substituted, shall not be allowed to appear or act as a party against the petition in any proceedings thereon,” the lawyer said,

adding that by seeking this relief Granger is in essence accepting that he is indeed a proper respondent in the case.

Granger is proper Further, the lawyer argued that Granger is a proper party; since the petition concerns him and the party he leads and could result in a loss of their 31 seats in the National Assembly.

Added to this, Mendes said that should the court favour his argument that Granger is a necessary and proper respondent, then the issue of late service must be examined.

In this regard, Mendes referenced the dates in which Granger was served with the affidavits for Petition number 99 of 2020.

According to the lawyer, the evidence, which included a signed document by Granger himself, acknowledging receipt shows that the documents were not served within the legally prescribed period.

“The petitioner is arguing that the document was prepared on September 18 but all the other documents including one which Granger himself signed shows that it was served on September 25,” the lawyer pointed out.

“Your honour, you raised the question of service on the 22nd of October. It should have been apparent to everyone why you were raising it, because it was out of time. One would have expected that if an error was made in the affidavit, either you would have been told right away that there is an error and they would correct it and within a very short period of time affidavits would have been filed

correcting the issue of service.” Mendes said.

Additionally, Mendes said that the explanation does not add up. “Perhaps, Mr. Robertson could explain to the Court why this is so or what actually happened here,” Mendes asserted concluding that service within time is yet to be proven and as such, the Court should dismiss the petition.

AG Nandlall followed with a similar line of argument. He too cited the provisions of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Rule Cap1:04.

Nandlall noted the fact that Section 27 (2) of the Validity of Elections Act states “A respondent who has given the prescribed notice that he does not intend to oppose the petition or for whom any person has been substituted shall not be allowed to appear or act as a party against the petition in any proceedings thereon.”

“A respondent, your honour, must mean a properly named respondent.

Therefore, by filing that notice to say he is not opposing that petition, Mr. Granger has implicitly or rather, expressly accepted that he is a properly named respondent. That is what the section gives him the power to do,” Nandlall argued.

He continued that, “Any of the named respondents, including Bharrat Jagdeo or anyone else, have an option in the law to choose not to oppose the petition. And Mr. Granger has exercised that option. Mr. Granger cannot contend that he is not a proper party in the petition and then use a mechanism in the act that is directed to proper respondents. He cannot have

Trinidadian attorney, Douglas Mendes, S.C.

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

Attorney-at-law, Basil Williams, S.C.

Former Presidential candidate of APNU+AFC party, David Granger

it both ways, your honour.”

Not Participating Meanwhile, when asked by the Chief Justice to respond to the charge laid by the attorneys, Granger’s lawyer (Williams) said that his client is only withdrawing from actively participating in the matter.

“Your honour, Mr. Granger is saying that he does not oppose the question that all we are saying, that in effect, we will not be participating we don’t have to be served in any way…Any respondent can do the same thing,” he said.

“Do you then agree with the attorney for the petitioners that Mr. Granger

is not a proper party?” the CJ queried.

“Your honour, we did not file this petition,” Williams stressed, adding that the question of whether Granger is a proper respondent is a matter for the Court to determine.

However, the CJ noted that Williams did not give a response, but rather skirting around the question.

Towards, the end, Williams said that he would await the submission of the lawyers for the petitioners. Those lawyers are expected to present their arguments this morning when the court resumes hearing the elections petition case.

Teen’s ponytail saved her from death

Saved by her ponytail: Aalliyah Norton.

A teenager was saved from the jaws of death by her ponytail following a car accident on Sunday last on Hillfoot Public Road, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

The victim was identified as 18-year-old Aalliyah Norton of 650 Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Kaieteur News learnt that she lives there with her older sister and younger brother.

According to a relative, the teen is still at the Georgetown Public Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but she has regained consciousness and is showing signs of improvement.

During an interview with this publication, Olivia Norton, the teens elder sister said that Aalliyah owes her life to her ponytail, since that was how the man who saved her spotted her in the water.

According to a police report, the accident occurred at around 20:30 hrs., last week Sunday. It was reported that the motorcar was proceeding west along the southern side of the road.

The driver of the motorcar told the police that while proceeding, an unknown vehicle, which was coming from the opposite direction – overtook another vehicle and ended up in his path.

The driver alleged that upon seeing that he pulled south to avoid a collision when the right side back tyre “blew out.” He eventually lost control of the vehicle resulting in the vehicle toppling over and ended up off the road in a trench.

Olivia told this publication that she had sent her sister to the shop and when she returned from the shop she left home around

18:00 hrs. to go by a nearby relative. The sister said that after Aalliyah failed to return home, she didn’t suspect anything since she thought that she was still by the relative.

“Around 12:00 hrs. I started to worry where this girl was because she does normally come back before that time…around 02:00 hrs. my neighbour called and said that how Aalliyah reach in an accident. The bus driver carried her to Diamond Hospital first and then they transferred her to GPHC.” Olivia added, “What we found out is that they were drinking and the car was overload… Aalliyah along with another girl was in the car, but Aalliyah was the only one that received serious injuries… others got a few small scrapes about their bodies and that’s it.”

“After the car crash the driver and others ran from the scene and a bus driver that was heading up the highway stopped at the scene and while looking at the car in the water he saw Aalliyah’s ponytail and pulled her out from the water and rushed her to the hospital along with another guy.”

Doctors told the teen’s relative that if the bus driver didn’t spot her ponytail she would not have survived.

Olivia stated that the water from Aalliyah’s head was already drained out and now they are just hoping for her to be discharged as soon as possible.

Kaieteur News was told that the 23-year-old driver of Second Street, Sandville, Kuru Kururu, was released on station bail. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Rice farmers grapple with insufficient supply of high quality seed paddy nationwide

By Kiana Wilburg

F

a r m e r s nationwide are experiencing s e v e r e d i ff i c u l t i e s i n preparation for the first rice crop of 2021.

Kaieteur News understands that farmers are struggling to source high quality seed paddy since the most prominently produced variety, called GRDB 10, is not germinating properly or in some cases, not at all.

Dharamkumar Seeraj, who is part of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), told this newspaper yesterday that he is aware of the challenges while adding that the association is in the process of doing its own information gathering with the hope of helping those in dire need.

Seeraj said: “The variety that is giving the problem is

- probe launched 'GRDB 10' and 10 refers to the year it came out, so it was launched in 2010 and it has been around for quite some time. In some seasons, it can account for 30 to 35 percent of total areas cultivated.

Occasionally, you might have germinating issues but for some reason the seed paddy for this season recorded poor germination and it is across the country.”

The RPA member added: “I understand that there are some issues with the 'GRDB 10' variety sold from the Burma Rice Research Station, as a result, the problem is not restricted to a single farmer or region. I am aware as well that plant breeder and other technical staff at the rice research station are doing some

investigations to find out what is really going on.”

Further to this, Seeraj explained that initially, there was an adequate amount of the GRDB 10 available, but after farmers began recording germination issues, they restarted the process with another round of planting in hopes that there would be a change. He said that this eventually impacted the supply that was available. As a result of this, he said that farmers were forced to look at other varieties and even those are now in limited supply.

He said that the alternative varieties include 'GRDB 16' that was recently launched. Seeraj said that this variety has the potential to produce high yields but

GRDB Head, Nizam Hassan stressed that it is still new.

“These new varieties are not the high quality ones you are accustomed to,” the GRPA member added.

Asked to say if this state of affairs which will force farmers to source seeds that are not of the same high quality can eventually affect production at the national level, Seeraj answered in the negative.

He explained that farmers engage in practices after sowing that can be helpful to ensuring quality yields. He said that one such practice is rouging which refers to identifying and removing plants with undesirable characteristics from agricultural fields.

In the same breath, he acknowledged that the use of varieties other than the GRDB10 that appears to be problematic at this time will require more resources from

RPA's Member, Dharamkumar Seeraj farmers to ensure adequate yields. Seeraj was keen to note that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is aware of the issues while adding that a probe is being done by technical staff at the rice research station.

GRDB's Head, Nizam Hassan, was contacted for a comment but he declined, stating that one would only be provided if permission is received from the Ministry of Agriculture. Kaieteur News subsequently contacted the Ministry. Director General, Madanlall Ramraj, was quite forthcoming on the matter at hand.

Ramraj admitted that at first, the Ministry was aware of the complaints but committed to making contact with the research station for clarifications.

Following this, the Director General said that the

Ministry of Agriculture's Director General, Madanlall Ramraj scientists have informed him that the absence of the ideal conditions for germination appears to be the problem at hand.

Ramraj said, “…We had this issue before with GRDB 10 and sought to improve on it with GRDB 14, 15 and 16.

So this problem existed before…Nevertheless, GRDB is replacing some of the seed paddies.

It is not just a problem facing GRDB but also farmers who have been planting 'GRDB 10' and multiplying and selling to farmers…So it tells you that the ideal conditions were not present for the kind of germination to take place…”

The Director General said that the agency is doing its best to deal with the matter but still appealed for farmers experiencing difficulties to make contact with the board for assistance.

Son admits to robbery but denies killing mom

H

e was remanded yesterday for b r u t a l l y murdering his own mother during the furtherance of a robbery. Prior to his court appearance, Devon Anderson, 32, reportedly admitted to the robbery but denied killing his mother, Jenifer Anderson, 62.

Devon implicated other suspects in the crime, after he told police that he did not act alone. As investigations continue, he appeared at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court where he was charged with the offence, via Skype

by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charge

and is expected to make his next court appearance on January 14, 2021.

The crime he is accused of committing sent shockwaves throughout the entire Good Intent community.

His mother's body, according to family members, was found on November 26, a little after midday. She was hidden under a pile of clothes, stuffed between her bed and wardrobe inside her twostorey home at Good Intent, We s t B a n k D e m e r a r a (WBD).

A post mortem later revealed that she was stabbed nine times. Her cause of death was given as

multiple stab wounds c o m p o u n d e d b y compression injuries to the neck. Family members had also found a bloodied screwdriver suspected to be a murder weapon lying on her bed.

Jenifer's five-year-old granddaughter who lived with her was stabbed multiple times, too, and still remains hospitalized at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Hours before, her grandmother's body was discovered, she turned-up at the house of a relative deeply traumatized and in a bloody state. She was taken by that individual to her uncle's home. The uncle, Mark

Anderson, recalled the little girl told him, “Uncle Devon choke meh” and “he choke Granny and beat she up and took her to hospital.”

He rushed her to the hospital where doctors admitted the little girl immediately and labeled her survival a miracle.

Police began a manhunt for Devon, the murder accused, and captured him in Georgetown later that evening, reportedly at a city hotel.

Grilled by detectives, the suspect reportedly said that he did not act alone. He revealed that it was a robbery but he denied killing his mom.

Family members had

Murdered: Jenifer Anderson

told Kaieteur News, that while cleaning Jenifer's home, they discovered that her jewelry and an undisclosed amount of cash were missing.

This newspaper learnt that several persons were picked up by police with some of the woman's belongings, but stated that Devon gave it to them.

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Tuesday December 01, 2020

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

ODI and WBBL final draw more than one million viewers ESPNcricinfo - A combined average audience of more than a million Australian viewers tuned into the weekend double of the WBBL final on Saturday night and Australia’s second ODI against India on Sunday evening, a set of numbers made still more notable by the fact neither match was aired on a primary free-to-air channel.

As the Seven network argues ever more fervently that it is due a discount in its broadcast rights fee, the audience of nearly 429,000 for the WBBL decider between the Sydney Thunder and the Melbourne Stars, followed by an average of some 585,000 for the second SCG match between the teams of Aaron Finch and Virat Kohli,

have made it patently clear that cricket’s broadcast pulling power is anything but waning.

Sunday’s figures were a new record for ODI broadcasts on Foxtel, surpassing the 544,000 who tuned into the 2015 World Cup final at the MCG, and behind only the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final and final as the highest rating sports broadcasts in the network’s entire history.

They are also comfortably the largest figures returned by the subscription network since it won the exclusive rights to broadcast men’s ODI and T20I matches in Australia as its A$750 million part of the A$1.2 billion deal with Seven as Cricket Australia’s broadcast

partners - the same contract Seven is trying every means at its disposal to reduce in value from the A$450 million it signed up to pay.

There was believed to be another flashpoint between CA and Seven over the WBBL final itself, as the governing body was surprised when the broadcaster stepped back from an earlier discussion in which it was believed to be agreed that the decider would take place on Seven’s primary channel provided it was contested between major market teams from Sydney and Melbourne. As if to add further murk to the situation, Seven then scheduled the film Frozen, beloved by a young female audience, at the exact same 7pm timeslot in which the WBBL final strove to

Tuesday December 01, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Unguarded words on the part of a younger person might lead to upset. If the words are directed at you, don't take them seriously. The person doesn't know any better.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Profligate spending over the past week or two may have you feeling less confident about your money situation today. Perhaps you've lent some money to a friend and you doubt their ability to repay.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Your ambition and will to succeed may be at war with your feelings today. Perhaps you've been working so hard that you aren't paying enough attention to friends and family - and they miss you.

CANCER(June21–July22) Today, Cancer, you might uncharacteristically decide to sequester yourself away from the world. Perhaps you're tired or feeling a bit under the weather and only wish to kick back and read a good book.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) A quarrel over money could interfere with a friendship today, Leo. Perhaps someone hasn't repaid a loan and the lender now needs it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Spiritual and metaphysical studies may take up a lot of your time today. You might want to dig into the world's major religions or try to make it through works about spiritualism or the occult.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You might long for a vacation today, Libra, and you could toy with the idea of a future journey by air. Your mind may turn to spiritual places such as India, Egypt, Israel, or Ireland.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) omeone you've known for a long time may move away or otherwise vanish from your life. He or she may move to a distant state.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) There might be some tension between you and your romantic partner that might have you feeling a bit depressed. The key to patching this up is honest communication.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Today your biorhythms may be a little low, Capricorn, so you aren't likely to be feeling very sociable. You're more likely to want to bury your nose in your projects instead of being your usual outgoing self.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) An electrifying attraction to someone you may have just met could cause your mind to dwell on sex and romance today, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Family members could be upset over different frustrating events in their lives, and these moods could spill over to you. Today it would be best to leave them alone to work things out in their own way.

reach the same market space.

Most of Seven’s criticism has been directed at the BBL, which it claims has not delivered value despite costing at least 50% of the total value of the rights, alongside the WBBL, women’s internationals and men’s Test matches.

But the arguments made

by Seven’s outspoken chief executive James Warburton with the backing of the network’s multibillionaire chairman Kerry Stokes existed well before the deal was struck: namely the fact that many of Australia’s best players do not take part in the BBL much if at all due to the constraints of the international schedule, including ODI and T20I series such as those currently being played against India.

Much public anger was heard at the time when CA revealed it had allowed these

matches to be hidden behind a paywall, with the passive assent of the federal government despite “antisiphoning” legislation requiring all Australian men’s internationals at home to be broadcast free-to-air.

Certainly Foxtel were happy to have secured guaranteed fixtures in which viewers would see the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins showcasing their more expansive and entertaining sides, while knowing there was little guarantee CA would be able to wrangle those same players to take part in the BBL. As of this moment, only Starc of the aforementioned quartet has a BBL deal for this season, and Warner has stated bluntly that he will not return to the tournament until his international days are

over. At the same time, the CA board’s decision to chase as much cash as possible from the 2018 deal, to the point of accepting Seven as a partner over Ten - who had successfully broadcast the BBL between 2013 and 2018 for a difference of just A$2 million a season, has left them in a situation where their current free-to-air partner is chasing discounts that will amount to significantly more than the amount they may have lost by maintaining a relationship with Ten. Either way, current deliberations between CA, Seven and the Australian Chamber for International and Commercial Arbitration are taking place at a time when the nation’s appetite for live cricket could not be much clearer. Only the headline figure of a major event on a prime free-to-air channel is lacking.

...Nand Persaud renews BCB Female From page 31 Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Sheneta Grimmond, Shabaki Gajnabi, Tremayne Smartt and others like Plaffina Millington, Dian Prahald, Sherica Campbelle, Kantana Mentore andMarian Samaroo are also expected to turn out. At the end of the tournament, the Berbice Selectors would select the Berbice inter county team and then they would be part of an intense preparation camp with head coach Winston Smith.

The BCB President expressed gratitude to the company for coming on board for the third successive year and assured that the tournament would be well organised. He also stated that the company would receive wide spread public exposure. Devesh Persaud noted that his company was delighted to support Berbice cricket as it was impressed with the work of the board and its effort to develop female cricket even more.

Meanwhile, another three youth cricketers from

...Jimenez-Luiz clash raises calls From page 26 not have been allowed to play on. “You simply cannot take a risk with head injuries. They are not like muscular injuries where you can put a player back on ‘to see if they can run it off’,” Luke Griggs, Deputy Chief Executive at Headway, said.

“One further blow to the head when concussed could have serious consequences.”

the West Berbice area have benefitted from the work of the board under its Patron’s Fund.

The youths drawn from cricket clubs in Bush Lot Village, received a piece of cricket gear which were donated by Patron Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources. Two players carried home a pair of batting gloves, while one received a pair of batting pads.

Over the last thirty

months over two hundreds youths have benefitted from donations of cricket gears, uniforms and bicycles, while hundreds more have receive educational materials including school bags. Foster has disclosed that the assistance programme is expected to be expanded shortly while dozens of youths would receive more cricket gears in a joint project with former West Indies opener Clayton Lambert.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 28

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Fulham stun Leicester to move out of bottom three BBC Sport - Fulham climbed out of the Premier League relegation places with an impressive victory over Leicester that denied Brendan Rodgers’ side a share of top spot.

The visitors scored twice in eight first-half minutes, their first arriving when Ademola Lookman slotted past Kasper Schmeichel following Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s driving run from inside his own half.

Ivan Cavaleiro then made amends for his missed penalty against Everton eight days ago with a confident spot-kick, awarded after referee Simon Hooper reviewed Christian Fuchs’ tackle on Bobby Decordova-Reid on the pitch-side monitor.

Leicester had earlier struck the woodwork twice in quick succession as Wesley Fofana’s follow-up to Youri Tielemans’ volley cannoned off the crossbar.

But the Foxes, as they did in their 3-0 defeat by Liverpool, endured another frustrating night in attack until substitute Harvey Barnes’ late reply ensured a nervy finale for Scott Parker’s men.

Fulham’s second win of

the season takes them up two places to 17th, while Leicester remain fourth and three points behind leaders Tottenham.

RB Leipzig loanee Lookman celebrated his goal by holding up a Senegal shirt which had been hung in the visitors’ dressing room, in tribute to former midfielder Papa Bouba Diop who died aged 42 on Sunday.

Fulham show they are up for the fight A trip to the King Power Stadium marked the start of a difficult run of fixtures for Parker’s side, with a trip to Manchester City and the visit of Liverpool to come and meetings with five of the ‘big six’ in their next nine.

Following successive defeats, this was set to be a tough game for a team with the league’s joint-worst defensive record and only one win in 25 Premier League away matches.

But Parker called for greater intensity after his side let in three goals in their defeat by Everton - the fourth time they had conceded three or more in nine league games - and how his call was answered here.

The visitors appeared focused and well-organised

Fulham had missed five of their past eight Premier League penalties, each miss coming from a different player. (Getty Images)

from the off, while the return of Anguissa brought calm in midfield.

Anguissa’s positive play and neat through-ball teed up L o o k m a n ’s w e l l - t a k e n opener, while the mazy runs of England youth international Lookman caused Leicester problems on the break throughout.

Cavaleiro’s coolness from the spot, following his unfortunate slip in his previous miss, perhaps best typified a transformed

Frappart to become first female referee to officiate men’s Champions League game

Referee Stephanie Frappart during a match of the Europa League - Group G - Leicester City v FC Zorya Luhansk at King Power Stadium, Leicester.

(REUTERS/Phil Noble) (Reuters) - France’s Stephanie Frappart will become the first female official to take charge of a men’s Champions League game when Juventus host Dynamo Kyiv tomorrow.

Frappart, who turns 37 next month, was the first female referee to officiate in a major UEFA competition match when Liverpool played Chelsea in the Super Cup in Istanbul last year.

She also officiated the 2019 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Netherlands and became the first female referee to take charge of a French Ligue 1 match when Amiens played Strasbourg in

April last year.

She oversaw her first Europa League game in October when Leicester City hosted Zorya Luhansk.

Switzerland’s Nicole Petignat was the first female referee to officiate in UEFA matches when she was put in charge of three UEFA Cup qualifying round games between 2004 and 2009.

Juventus, who have already qualified for the last 16, are second in Group G with nine points from four games, eight points clear of Dynamo Kyiv and three behind Barcelona, who face Ferencvaros tomorrow.

Fulham display.

The visitors took a much more defensive approach in the second half in an attempt

to keep Leicester at bay but, after Lookman was denied

by Schmeichel at close range with 15 minutes remaining,

Parker’s men successfully endured a late barrage to leave with an excellent three points.

Jimenez-Luiz clash raises calls for concussion substitutes LONDON (Reuters) - A sickening clash of heads between Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Raul Jimenez and Arsenal defender David Luiz which left the Mexican striker with a fractured skull has prompted calls for clubs to be able to make “concussion substitutions”.

Jimenez was knocked unconscious after an accidental collision with Brazilian Luiz who rather surprisingly played on until halftime with blood seeping through a head bandage.

Jimenez, 29, needed oxygen on the pitch and was taken to hospital for scans, eventually undergoing s u rg er y f o r th e s k u ll fracture. Luiz was substituted at halftime.

While Arsenal insisted they followed Football Association protocols for head injuries in allowing 33year-old Luiz to play on, the situation raised questions about whether enough was being done to safeguard players’ welfare.

The FA is considering fast-tracking a trial of concussion substitutions in the FA Cup as early as December. Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp says he would support such a move.

“I know we have concussion protocols and I’m pretty sure Arsenal did that. I’m not sure any rule would help in that moment because the player can play on,” Klopp said on Monday

Arsenal’s David Luiz and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Raul Jimenez after a head-on collision. (Pool via REUTERS/Catherine Ivill)

when asked about concussion substitutes.

“But, yes, it makes sense that we can do things like this.”

NOT ACCEPTABLE Former England captain Alan Shearer, who recently hosted a documentary about possible links between a career heading a football and dementia, said a change was long overdue.

“Football needs to get real, it needs to wake up, it needs to get serious. Not next year, next month, now.

It’s not acceptable, it has been going too far too long,” he told the BBC. “They’re on about trialling concussion substitutes. What is there to trial? It’s been going on for

years. It’s not acceptable.”

Manchester City’s Brazil goalkeeper Ederson, who suffered a head injury while playing against Liverpool in 2017, said such situations required special attention.

“When there is a blow to the head there should be a substitution, whether the player can continue or not.

You could be feeling okay but after you could feel the consequences.”

FA rules state that if there is any suspicion of a player having sustained a concussion, the player must be removed from the field of play, and not allowed to return.

Brain injury association Headway said Luiz should (Continued on page 25)

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

PAGE 29

NFL roundup: Mahomes-led Chiefs take down Brady, Bucs

P

atrick Mahomes passed for 462 yards and three touchdowns, winning a duel with Tom Brady, as the visiting Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday.

The Chiefs (10-1) won their sixth straight and continued to track the frontrunning Pittsburgh Steelers for the top seed in the AFC playoffs by capitalizing on the rhythm established between Mahomes and speedster Tyreek Hill, who caught 13 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns.

Fittingly, he also snagged a game-clinching 8-yard pass on the boundary for a first down that enabled Kansas City to run out the fourth-quarter clock.

Hill had seven receptions for 203 yards in the first quarter, including scores of 75 and 44 yards. His firstquarter yardage was the most in a period since 2006 when Lee Evans generated 205 yards for Buffalo. Hill also grabbed a 20-yard TD in the third quarter to make it 2710.

The Bucs (7-5) could not offer enough answers behind

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) drops back to pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium.

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports) Brady, who finished 27-of41 passing for 345 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Titans 45, Colts 26 Derrick Henry ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns to help visiting Te n n e s s e e g r a b s o l e possession of first place in the AFC South with a victory against Indianapolis.

A.J. Brown had a 69yard touchdown reception and also returned an onside

kick 42 yards for a score late in the game for the Titans (83), who built a 35-14 halftime lead.

Jacoby Brissett had two short TD runs for the Colts (7-4), who had beaten division rival Tennessee in Nashville on Nov. 12.

Dolphins 20, Jets 3 Ry a n F i t z p a t r i c k , returning to the starting lineup due to Tua Tagovailoa’s injury, passed for 257 yards and two

touchdowns to lead visiting Miami over winless New York.

Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker had eight catches for a season-high 119 yards, but Miami (7-4) won with defense after forcing six punts, notching a fourth-down stop and collecting interceptions by Nik Needham and Xavien Howard. Miami has forced a turnover in 17 straight games, tying a franchise

record. Howard’s pick gives him an NFL-leading seven this year.

New York fell to 0-11.

The Jets are five losses away from joining the 2008 Lions and 2017 Browns as NFL 016 teams. Quarterback Sam Darnold, who hadn’t played since Nov. 1 due to an injured non-throwing shoulder, was sacked three times and was intercepted twice, passing for 197 yards.

Packers 41, Bears 25 Aaron Rodgers carved u p C h i c a g o ’s u s u a l l y formidable defense for four touchdown passes as host Green Bay put a chokehold on the NFC North with a blowout win at Lambeau Field.

Rodgers completed 21 of 29 passes for 211 yards as Green Bay (8-3) took a threegame lead over Chicago (56) and Minnesota with five games left. The Packers could clinch the division title as soon as next week if they win and both teams chasing them lose.

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, starting his first game since Sept. 27, hit on 26 of 46 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns.

He also tossed two

interceptions and lost a fumble that Preston Smith took 14 yards for a score that upped Green Bay’s secondquarter lead to 27-3.

Bills 27, Chargers 17 Buffalo scored a touchdown on the opening possession of each half and remained alone in first place atop the AFC East by holding off Los Angeles in a victory at Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 157 yards and one touchdown and ran for another score as the Bills improved to 8-3 in the chase for their first division title since 1995.

Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards for the Bills.

Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert was 31-of-52 passing for 316 yards and one touchdown, but Los Angeles (3-8) lost for the fourth time in its last five games.

In other results: 49ers 23, Rams 20 Patriots 20, Cardinals 17 Falcons 43, Raiders 6 Vikings 28, Panthers 27 Saints 31, Broncos 3 Giants 19, Bengals 17 Browns 27, Jaguars 25 (Field Level Media)

Edinson Cavani: Man Utd forward Rain and Walk overs mars latest apologises for Instagram post round W/Dem Masters win GCB/Tropical Spring 0-40 T20 cricket

The first game at Everest was washed out despite the brilliant sunshine.

T

he adverse weather and a couple of Walkovers marred the latest round of the GCB/Tropical Spring 0-40 T20 cricket yesterday, while West Demerara beat Sand Pipers by three wickets in the lone victory registered yesterday.

At Everest in Georgetown, heavy overnight and morning showers resulted in the game between Everest Masters and Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec being called off without a ball being.

Despite a bone dry pitch and sweltering head by midday the damage had already

been done by seasonal adverse weather which had several parts of ground water logged.

The second game between West Demerara Masters and Sand Pipers saw Sand Piper bowled out for 60 from 11. 4 overs as nobody passed 20. Sudesh Persaud, the father of former Guyana U-19 Captain Travis Persaud was the best bowler with 215 for West Demerara Masters who reached 62-1 in 10.4 overs.

Danesh Persaud top scored with 23 as three bowlers captured two wickets in a losing effort.

At Enmore on the East

Coast of Demerara, previously unbeaten West Demerara Mavericks gave Regal Masters a walk over before RP construction Legends got a Walk over from KV Construction who have pulled out of the competition.

Action continues tomorrow with Everest Masters scheduled to oppose KV Construction and Sand Pipers coming up against West Demerara at Everest.

At Enmore Regal M a s t e r s b a t t l e We s t Demerara Masters before RP Construction face-off with Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec. (Sean Devers)

BBC Sport - Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani has apologised for a deleted social media post containing a Spanish phrase that is offensive in some contexts.

The Uruguayan striker sent the message after scoring the injury-time winner in United’s 3-2 win at Southampton.

The Football Association is looking into the post.

“It was intended as an affectionate greeting to a friend, thanking him for his congratulations after the game,” said the 33-year-old.

“The last thing I wanted to do was cause offence to anyone.

“I am completely opposed to racism and deleted the message as soon as it was explained that it can be interpreted differently. I would like to sincerely apologise for this.”

United are aware of the post and understand Cavani’s interpretation of how it was sent.

As of this season, Football Association rules state that any player found guilty of an offence of discrimination will face a

Edinson Cavani came on as a half-time substitute in the 3-2 Premier League victory at Southampton on Sunday, setting up one goal and scoring twice. (Getty Images) minimum three-match suspension.

“It is clear to us that there was absolutely no malicious intent behind Edinson’s message and he deleted it as soon as he was informed that it could be misconstrued,”

said a United statement.

“Edinson has issued an apology for any unintentional offence caused. Manchester United and all of our players are fully committed to the fight against racism.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 30

Tuesday December 01, 2020

GSCL Inc Prime Minister’s T20 Cup 4

Karim, Yusuf half centuries guide Speedboat to open title

By Zaheer Mohamed

S

afraz Karim and A m e e r Yu s u f struck half centuries to lead Speedboat to a 31-run victory over Regal All stars in the open final of the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc Prime Minister’s T20 Cup 4 on Sunday last.

Batting first at the Everest Cricket Club, Speedboat lost Lennox Marks bowled by Roy Persaud for 13 and Greg Singh caught off Richard Latif for two to be at 29-2.

Purposeful bowling by Regal All stars further reduced Speedboat as Mark Harold was caught and bowled by Delroy Perreira for 11, while skipper Wazeer Hussain was taken off Diyanan Ramnauth for seven to leave the score at 61-4.

However, Safraz Karim and Safraz Esau steadied the innings somewhat with a fifth wicket stand of 48 before Esau was removed by Karamchand Persaud for 19.

Shortly after Shazim Hussain was caught off Roy Persaud after hitting two sixes in scoring 12 as Regal

The victorious over 50 team Regal Legends.

All stars bowlers continued to maintain a decent line.

However, Karim and Ameer Yusuf united in an entertaining seven-wicket stand of 79 which changed the course of the match. The duo took advantage of anything wayward as they rallied their team to 201-6

with some power hitting.

Karim struck two fours and six sixes in a top score of 71, while Yusuf smashed an unbeaten 51 off 11 balls with one four and seven sixes, a knock which earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Persaud took 2-39.

Latif and Fazal Rafiek

handed Regal All stars a steady start with a first wicket stand of 37 before Peter Alleyne provided Speedboat with the breakthrough by having Rafiek caught for 25; one run later Greg Singh sent back Latif for nine.

Chien Gittens and Perreira added 28 for the third wicket before Gittens was taken off Kishore Smith for 14.

Ian Ivan then disturbed the stumps of Sewchand Budhu without scoring; leaving Regal All stars in some trouble at 66-4 as batting became fairly difficult following a sharp shower. However, Perreira

and Ricky Sergeant kept their team in the hunt with a fifth wicket partnership of 41 before Perreira was taken off Ivan for 47 with three fours and four sixes.

Avinash Mohabeer hit two fours and two sixes in a cameo 21, while Sergeant and Davindra Ramnauth remained unbeaten on 22 with two sixes and 13 respectively, but their efforts were not enough as Regal All stars finished on 170-6. Ivan had 2-29 and Kishore Smith 2-30.

Speedboat pocketed a trophy and $200,000 while Regal All stars received a trophy and $50,000.

Quentin Sampson of Ariel was named the most valuable player and he received one flat screen television set for his efforts.

Earlier, Regal Legends won the over 50 final against Savage Legends and Fisherman Masters took the over 45 title after winning against Wellman Masters.

Meanwhile, Speedboat has dedicated the win to their former Coach Lance Mosely who passed away on Saturday last.

The Speedboat Sports Club has extended condolences to the relatives of Mosely who also served as President of the club.

Man-of-the-match Ameer Yusuf receives his prize from Prime Minister Mark Phillips.

Quentin Sampson accepts his MVP prize from GSCL Inc President Ian John.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 01, 2020

PAGE 31

Diego Maradona fell and hit his head a week AAG ready for this before his death, was alone 3 days after Sunday’s South - He died of ‘acute lung edema and chronic heart failure’ at home last Wednesday

Daily Mail - Diego Maradona fell and hit his head a week before his death and was left alone for three days after the accident, it has been claimed.

According to local reports, Maradona bumped his head after he fell inside his house. However he was reportedly not taken to hospital or given an MRI scan.

It comes as Diego Maradona’s doctor is being probed over medical negligence.

Maradona died of ‘acute lung edema and chronic heart failure’, according to a preliminary autopsy report, in his sleep at noon while resting at his home in Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina, last Wednesday.

The 60-year-old Argentine football legend was receiving round-theclock medical care at a house in a gated community where he was recuperating from surgery to remove a clot on his brain in early November.

A lawyer for Gisela Madrid, Maradona’s nurse, was quoted by Argentine media as saying: ‘Maradona fell on the Wednesday of the week before his death.

‘He fell and hit his head, but they didn’t take him to the hospital for an MRI or CT scan ...’

Following the fall, Maradona was left alone in his room for three days, lawyer Rodolfo Baquè claimed.

‘Maradona was unable to decide anything: after the fall he was left alone for three days in his room, without being seen by anyone and without being helped,’ he said.

Mr Baquè added that Maradona had hit the right hand side of his head, the opposite one from which he had undergone a blood clot operation on November 11.

On Saturday it emerged Maradona’s nurse had admitted she lied about an early-morning check-up.

Initial reports pointed to a 24-year-old nephew who was staying with him at the San Andres home being the last person to see him alive over breakfast the day Diego died.

Maradona was said to have told his relative ‘I’m not feeling well’ before going back to bed and dying in his sleep before investigators were told he

Diego Maradona fell and hit his head a week before his death and was left alone for three days after the accident, it has been claimed. Pictured, Diego Maradona in 2018. (Getty Images) had never got up on Wednesday to eat anything.

Diego’s nephew told investigators he last saw him when he went to bed around 11pm on Tuesday. An uneaten late-night sandwich snack was among the items found in his room by police.

A night-shift nurse told investigators he had seen Maradona ‘sleeping and breathing normally in bed’ around 6.30am on Wednesday.

A report in the hands of state prosecutors heading a probe into the retired footballer’s death, leaked to Argentinian media and signed by a nurse named locally as Dahiana Gisela Madrid who took over around the same time, states: ‘At 6.30am I started my shift and the patient was resting.

‘At 7.30am he is heard moving around inside his room. At 8.30am he continues to rest. At 9.20am he refuses to have his vital signs monitored.’

The health report for private medical firm Medidom is now at the centre of an ongoing probe after the nurse reportedly told investigators she had never entered Diego’s bedroom the morning of his death to check up on him.

Local news agency Telam, citing judicial sources in a report widely echoed in the Argentinian press, said the nurse had claimed in her second statement under oath that she had been ‘made to lie’ for the

Medidom report.

‘What the witness added in that second statement is that she was made to write in a report for Medidom, where she is part of the nursing team assisting people receiving home medical care, that she had tried to monitor Maradona’s vital signs when the reality is that she let him rest,’ the report said.

It was not made crystal clear if she was claiming her bosses had obliged her to file the ‘false’ report amid concerns they would be accused of negligence over Maradona’s death, or her hand had been forced by others.

Psychiatrist Susana Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz, who formed part of Maradona’s care team, are said to have entered the room just before midday and made several unsuccessful attempts to revive him before calling 999.

Maradona died of ‘acute lung edema and chronic heart failure’, according to a preliminary autopsy report.

D i e g o M a r a d o n a ’s doctor is being probed over medical negligence and police are treating the footballer’s death as a possible culpable homicide.

Police raided the home of the personal physician Luque on Sunday and investigators are looking into all the medical staff involved with his care.

Luque was at his home

while the search on the outskirts of Buenos Aires took place, while Argentinian TV stations have been broadcasting live images of police entering his clinic.

The searches were ordered after Maradona’s daughters Dalma and Giannina gave statements and questioned whether the medication their father was receiving was appropriate.

Argentinian media are reporting Luque could be questioned as an ‘imputado’, someone who is under official investigation on suspicion of possible mala praxis or negligence.

M a r a d o n a ’s l a w y e r Matias Morla last week demanded a top-level probe into the emergency response to the retired footballer’s death.

Morla said the first ambulance took more than half an hour to reach the rented house north of Buenos Aires where the former Naples and Barcelona star suffered heart failure. He called the delay a ‘criminal idiocy’ and complained Maradona had not received any medical checks in the 12 hours before he died.

It later emerged the first ambulance took 11 minutes to reach the private San Andres gated estate near Buenos Aires Maradona moved to after leaving hospital on November 11 following his brain blood clot operation.

American 10k race The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) will host their fourth track meet following restart of sport activities this Sunday when the 18th South American 10k road race gets underway from the National Park.

The other three meets that were competed since health authorities and the COVID-19 task force greenlit s p o r ts ’ r es u mp tio n included the respective cross-country races in Berbice at the Esplande ground and in Linden at the Bayrock ground, while the third race was the Asics Ekiden Marathon in which team Guyana finished in the top 100 amongst thousands of entries.

Head of the AAG, Aubrey Hutson, in an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, confirmed that all systems are in place for a hiccup free event and although they have not received an official letter of approval from the national COVID-19 Task Force, he mentioned that he had received some verbal confirmation thus far.

Among the top racers set to compete on Sunday include, last year’s runner-up for both the Guyana and Suriname legs; Winston Missigher, who trailed Kenyan Alex Ekesa.

However, Missigher will fancy his chances since there will be no participation from

international athletes due to travel restrictions brought on by the covid-19 pandemic.

Cleveland Thomas and Jonathan Fagundes that won the cross-country races in Linden and Berbice, respectively, will also be staking claim for the title with the likes of Cleveland Forde, Ronnel Newton, Royston Fordyce and possibly Devaun Barrington all ingredients for a spicy race.

L a s t y e a r ’s S o u t h American 10k leg in Guyana witnessed a clean sweep by Kenyans Alex Ekesa and Veronica Jepkokei who won the open male and female categories, respectively.

In that race, the Kenyans weren’t the only foreign competitors but athletes from Grenada, the United States, Suriname, St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) also competed.

Following the South American 10k, the final Cross Country race for 2020 will get underway on December 14th at National Park, while the 2020 calendar of events will conclude with a Developmental Meet at the Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) ground at Eve Leary on December 28th.

2021 will then run off as early as January 3rd with an intercity relay event at the Enmore Community Center ground. (Calvin Chapman)

Rain washes out final T20 match between Windies and New Zealand

S

portsMax - Rain was the winner of the third and final T20 International of West Indies tour of New Zealand yesterday.

The match was called off after just 14 balls due to heavy rain. West Indies were asked to bat first and reached 25-1 off 2.2 overs at Mount Maunganui.

Brandon King hit a four and a six but fell for 11 off seven balls. At the break Andre Fletcher was on four not out and Kyle Mayers

unbeaten on five.

The abandonment of the match meant New Zealand won the series 2-0 following their wins by five wickets in the first match at Eden Park on Friday night and by 72 runs in the second contest at the Bay Oval on Sunday afternoon.

The two teams will now travel to Hamilton for the first Test match at Seddon Park starting on Thursday (Wednesday 6pm Eastern C a r i b b e a n Ti m e / 5 p m Jamaica Time).

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Tuesday December 01, 2020

Injured Warner a doubt for India Tests, Short called up for T20s AFP - Star opening batsman David Warner faces a battle to be fit for the India Test series after Cricket Australia said yesterday he will miss the last one-day international and the threematch Twenty20 series next month.

Warner limped out of Sunday’s one-day international against India after straining his groin while fielding as Australia secured the series 2-0 in Sydney.

After a typically swashbuckling innings of 83 on Sunday, Warner fell awkwardly and had to be helped from the field.

Wa r n e r w i l l m i s s tomorrow’s final ODI and all three Twenty20 internationals beginning Friday in Canberra to undergo rehab in an effort to ready for the Test series which begins on December 17 in Adelaide.

Opening batsman D’Arcy Short has been called up to the Twenty20 international squad as a replacement.

Cricket Australia also announced that leading pace bowler Pat Cummins will be rested for the remainder of the white-ball matches against India, putting pressure on an out-of-form Mitchell Starc.

“Pat and Davie are critical to our plans for the Test Series,” head coach Justin Langer said.

“Davie will work through his injury rehab and

Marnus Labuschagne says he would be ready to move up the order to fill in for the injured David Warner.

Australia’s David Warner reacts in pain after straining his groin fielding against India on Sunday. in Pat’s case it is important all of our players are managed well to keep them mentally and physically fit throughout what is a challenging summer.

“The priority for both is being fully prepared for one of the biggest and most important home Test Series we have played in recent years, especially with World Test Championship points up for grabs.”

- ‘Massive confidence’ While Warner played an important role in Australia’s ODI series win, the hosts have no shortage of talented batters who could replace him.

Left-hander Short was the Twenty20 Big Bash League’s leading run-scorer in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Rising star Will Pucovski is also waiting in the wings, with Test greats such as Michael Clarke, Ian Chappell and Mark Waugh all backing the 22-year-old’s

cause. Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 70 in Sunday’s ODI, said he was ready to move up the order into Warner’s opening spot.

“Certainly, if I got asked to open the batting, abs o lu tely it’s an opportunity that I would enjoy doing,” Labuschagne told reporters Monday.

“But we’ll have to wait and see how our team shapes up and the balance of our side.” No replacement has been announced for Cummins, with Australia to rely on Josh Hazelwood, Starc and allrounder Marcus Stoinis to provide the main seam bowling options.

Starc has struggled for form in the first two ODIs, and was Australia’s most expensive bowler in the 51run victory against India on Sunday, taking no wickets for 82 runs off nine overs.

Australia will play four Tests against India, with the other matches in Melbourne

BCA President Conde Riley conferred with Golden Crown of Merit at Barbados National Awards SportsMax - President of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Conde Riley was this morning conferred with the Golden Crown of Merit for his contribution as a sports administrator in the field of cricket.

The Golden Crown of Merit is the fourth highest on Barbados’ list of national honours.

Riley received his award from Dame Sandra Mason during Barbados’ National Awards ceremony held at National Heroes Square in Bridgetown as Barbados celebrates its 54th year of independence.

Riley, who was elected to the board of the BCA in 1996, has been president since 2017.

The retired investment banker is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Enterprise Growth Fund Ltd in Barbados, a Fund established by the Government of Barbados to provide venture capital to Small and Medium Size Enterprises (S&MEs).

President of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Conde Riley.

In December 2019, he was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s 2020 New Year Honours.

beginning on Boxing Day, Sydney (January 7-11) and Brisbane (January 15-19).

Labuschagne said the strong form of Warner and Steve Smith — who scored back-to-back centuries in the

first two ODIs — was a promising sign for the Test series. “100 percent.

C r i c k e t ’s a m a s s i v e confidence game and even though it’s a different format it still gives you confidence

when you score runs consistently,” he said.

“The way Steve and Davie have been batting I’ve got no doubt they’ll be able to transfer that into the Test summer,” he said.

Statue of cricket great Sir Wes Hall unveiled at Kensington Oval

The 83-year-old Wes Hall at the unveiling of the statue of him in honour of his contribution to West Indies Cricket.

SportsMax - A stature of Barbados and West Indies iconic fast bowler Sir Wes Hall was unveiled at Kensington Oval on Sunday night on the eve of the country’s 54th year of independence.

Between 1958 and 1969, Sir Wes Hall played 48 Tests for the West Indies taking 192 wickets. During the 1960/61 series between the West Indies and Australia, he featured prominently taking nine wickets in the famous tied-Test in Brisbane.

The eight-foot tall statue created by 42-year-old fine artist Jason Hope was erected next to that of another Barbados and West Indies legend, Sir Garry Sobers.

The statue was unveiled

by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during a ceremony attended by about

200 persons from Barbadian society including retired cricketers Ian Bradshaw, Vasbert Drakes, and Floyd Reifer as well as Barbados Cricket Association President Conde Riley and Roland Butcher.

S i r We s l e y H a l l ’s children, Dr Kerry Hall, Sean Hall and Remi Hall were also in attendance.

“I want on behalf of the Government and the people of Barbados to salute you and to say to all of the others who helped to create that moment, that we will do all in our power as a government to continue to ensure that you will not only be honoured but that the legends of Barbados will not just remain as a cricketing legacy,” Prime Minister Mottley said.

“We must merge the legacy of the legends with

the current requirement of what we must do to earn.”

In addition to the Prime Minister’s message, there were also recorded video tributes from past greats including former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Desmond Haynes, Sir Charles Griffiths and current West Indies captain Jason Holder.

The 83-year-old Hall said he was humbled by the occasion.

“I really appreciate those Barbadians who came on board and made this statue here for all Barbadians to see and we did not have to go to India, Australia and England to get the funds. I want you to recognize these Barbadians that have come to the party and this is why we have this statue and I am very happy. I am very humbled,” he said.

Tuesday December 01, 2020

Nand Persaud renews BCB Female Cricket sponsorship for 2021 - Youths continues to benefit from donations of gears

BCB President Hilbert Foster Receives sponsorship from Nand Persaud Marketing Executive Devesh Persaud.

The Berbice Cricket Board just after calling off their cricket season for the rest of the year due to the rapid increase of Covid 19 cases in the Ancient County has started to plan for a busy season in 2021 when it is hoped that the season would finally restart. Last week, the board received its first 2021 sponsorship from Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Zulifar Mustapha for an under 15 tournament, while on Thursday last, the board finalized the sponsorship of its annual female 20/20 tournament with Nand Persaud Co. Ltd. BCB President Hilbert Foster visited the company and held discussions with the company Marketing Executive Devesh Persaud.

The tournament would be contested by defending champions Rose Hall Town Metro, West Berbice and New Amsterdam/Canje on a round robin basis.

Foster proudly stated that the BCB is the only county board to organise cricket for its female cricketers. The BCB President stated that

great effort would be made to play another two tournaments in 2021 for females as the board continues to invest heavily in the game for the fairer sex.

Additionally, the BCB would also seek to arrange matches for the female team to play across Guyana.

Another major plan is to have the powerful Metro Female team play a Rest of Berbice Team during the finals of the historic Semi Professional League for an attractive prize package.

With the BCB placing special emphasis on the education as part of its developmental programme, one female cricketer would also receive financial assistance to assist their educational career.

The Nand Persaud Co 20/20 tournament would begin early in the New Year with matches expected to be played at the Area H Ground, Rose Hall Canje and Hopetown. Among the Players expected to be in action are West Indies players - Shemaine (Continued on page 25)

The three young cricketers pose after collecting their cricket gear.

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rt o p S

Rain washes out final T20 match between Windies and New Zealand The Captains shake hands after the washout was confirmed.

Former champ Cleveland Forde winning the Guyana leg ahead of Winston Missigher in 2018.

(Calvin Chapman photo)

AAG ready for this Sunday’s South American 10k race

GSCL Inc Prime Minister’s T20 Cup 4

Prime Minister Mark Phillips (C) with the winning Speedboat team and representatives of GSCL Inc.

Karim, Yusuf half centuries guide Speedboat to open title Statue of cricket great Nand Persaud renews Sir Wes Hall unveiled BCB Female Cricket sponsorship for 2021 at Kensington Oval - Youths continues to benefit from donations of gears

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