Kaieteur News

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Former AG, NEWS Basil Williams spent $99M on legal fees in 2019

Friday Edition

AIETEUR

December 25, 2020 -Vol. 22 No. 50

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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Tricks oil companies use to rob nations Merry Christmas from Kaieteur News family

T

he Management and Staff of the Kaieteur News extend greetings for a Merry Christmas to all Guyanese.

Christmas is a time of goodwill. In the spirit of the Season, we call upon our political leaders, regardless of which side of the political divide they stand, to come together and work for the good of our country.

We urge them to bring an end to their petty squabbling and jousting and commit to working together for the benefit of our people.

Our people take their cue from our leaders.

If our people see our leaders working side by side and hand in hand, they too will be encouraged to unite.

This will be good for our establishing harmonious relations among citizens and communities.

When we work together, as a unified people, we position ourselves to extract the maximum benefit for our resources and to deter foreigners from taking advantage of us.

We lift our neighbour up; and we please the Creator who has gifted Guyana with great wealth.

We s e n d C h r i s t m a s greetings to President Ali, Vice President Jagdeo and the government’s team, and to Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and his team.

We offer a heartfelt toast to them and all Guyanese, in the hope of a better and brighter future. May God bless us all with a safe and enjoyable Christmas.

Measure what you give in tax breaks, against what you get in return - African Centre for Energy Policy

Armed bandits carry out daring robbery on teen, maid

Prison escapee recaptured on Mon Repos Line Top

Kaieteur staff Quacie Browne weds Precyous Fiona Browne

$306M in deliveries outstanding from Health Ministry - AG Report P.

24

Guyana received US$150M in oil revenues this year but gave away US$600M in taxes for 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 04

Friday December 25, 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

Guyana, have a joyful, peaceful Christmas If there is belief in the divine mysteries of the Virgin Birth that is good. And if there are other beliefs that clash with Jesus and Christmas and all that both have come to represent, then those are respected in a spirit of goodwill. It is what this birth, this man, and this season of more than a day have together come to be about in the particular mystique that graces this time of the year.

It always comforts to observe firsthand the delights of Christmas in Guyana, with its many local traditions, the festiveness in the air, the manner in which our Guyanese brothers and sisters dig deep to prepare and put out their best for Christmas. The efforts to make things just so, with sparkle and good cheer, in colours and candles and lights that bring a twinkle to both eye and heart. The exotic dishes prepared and the excited cleaning, where somehow the money is found and squeezed and put to work to brighten home, day, and interval.

It fascinates that Guyanese, who have little, who struggle all year, put aside and ‘save up’ and find some extras to make the time and all the hard work satisfying and memorable.

For sure, we have our religious holidays that are greeted with varying degrees of solemnity, our local ones that have meaning for only our peoples and steeped in the rich tapestry of our histories, our national ones that are celebrated according to the temper of the times. But no matter how we debate (or deny), there is none that has a texture like Christmas in Guyana. The others may come close, but they cannot really compete with or challenge the primacy of Christmas. It is in our genes that urge to celebrate, that fever that lasts a long month laden with comradery, good cheer and fine fellowship.

Whether we want to admit it or not, there is an ongoing struggle on two fronts, perhaps more. The still live and feared one, is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed a damper on things, through some tight restrictions. We warn our fellow citizens: be sensible, do not breach, do no throw caution to the winds.

More than one battering could follow; do not be the unlucky one in the wrong places at the wrong times doing the wrong things.

Those can spoil more than Christmas, for the reach goes way beyond. The word once again: this Christmas, hear and heed! Be careful.

The second blight is that that long stormy national contest of ours, that began before the year started, and has left void and bitterness, as well as deep resentment and barely concealed animosity.

Both of these hang over the national head like the heaviest of hammers. We must be keen to dedicate the interest and energies to lift ourselves up and rise beyond that which dilutes the special ambience of the Christmas Season, which makes enemies of brothers, villagers, and urban dwellers.

In spite of the weights that burden us and remind us all the time of what happened and where we are, we would do well to grow beyond our challenges, our disappointments, and our great uncertainties of the way that Guyana ought to have been as measured against what it is now.

We must be like those who still believe in the Guyanese Dream, the Guyanese Spirit, and the prosperous successes that can be Guyana’s too, but only if we go about matters the right way, as built on the right visions, motives, and objectives. Despite our many question marks, our existential threats, our people in the far-flung Diaspora still hoard scarce time, reserve still scarcer funds, to come here and share with whatever family and friends they have left. And when they don’t have any of those from that dwindling bunch, they continue to be enchanted by the magical allures of home and come at Christmas. To those living here, to those coming from afar, like the three wise men of yore and scriptural lore, we say good to be among our brothers and sisters. Good to have those who are here. To all: a good and grand Christmas. Stay well, be safe, Guyana.

Domestic Violence - Incarceration - Punitive or Curative?

DEAR EDITOR, Incarceration should not dominate the treatment landscape of domestic violence.

Daily grim news about domestic violence has been inundating our television screens and airwaves. In essence and reality domestic violence in Guyana has become tantamount to a societal pandemic, with all and sundry even the clergy proffering divers reasons for its occurrence while clamouring for a cessation.

Considered in aggregate, physically abusive men constitute a catastrophic public health hazard. In summary there appears, to be a heavy over-reliance on the criminal justice system as the administrator of punishment and betterment.

While incarceration may be an important deterrent to domestic violence, it is in no way a cure and should not be regarded as such.

Over the past years the prevailing question has been

deceptively simple: “Has it worked? Plainly stated or better put—Have the batterers been made better?

Was the prison environment conducive to reduction of aggression?

What reeducation, basic, preparatory or otherwise awaits these abusers, (some of them habitual) within the walls of the institution wherein they will serve their sentence?

The answer is a resounding, none!

Recently in a Guyanese newspaper adherents of the Hippocratic Oath proffered the following as likely panaceas for domestic violence “We need to create a more peaceful society where there is justice for everyone, and where communication is nonviolent. We must teach abusers coping skills such as effective communication, problem-solving strategies, anger management, and selfcontrol rather than using brutal force and violence”.

I somewhat beg to graciously differ as the intractable nature of the

problem, reinforces the fact that each domestic violence is a unique, multi-faceted and ongoing problem that cannot be solved by a “one size fits all” intervention.

Patriarchy might not explain all abuse, since not all batterers are violent for the same reason. Additionally, utilizing techniques such as anger management “downplays the fact that most batterers selectively confine their violence to their partners, rarely striking friends or co-workers” which feminists claim demonstrates that men can, in fact, control their behaviour in the parts of society where they are more likely to be held accountable.

Research indicates that many wife abusers have substance abuse and addiction problems, and that treatments might be improved by addressing issues of racial prejudice, economic stress, detrimental community or family culture, mental illness and the men’s own histories of

childhood abuse. This multifaceted approach is a coordinated community response, and once again bears out the fact that no single intervention is expected to solve the complex problem of domestic violence. It is fear; the fear that they will be abandoned and this fear quickly turns into anger.

It is my belief that immediately before committing domestic violence the first emotion experienced by batterers is not rage but fear. Fear that they will be abandoned and this fear quickly converts into anger.

Notwithstanding, it is blatantly evident that the nature of the criminal justice system’s response to the domestic violence incident has not altered the trajectory of recidivating, as the offenders are not deterred by the severity of their sentence.

The cyclical and recurrent nature of domestic violence suggests that (Continued on page 6)

The danger of using second-hand tyres on motor vehicles DEAR EDITOR, In a feature article on used tyres by columnist FREDDIE KISSOON which appeared in KN on Dec. 17, 2020, he related an incident while cruising on the Seawall Road with his car.

An observant driver stopped him and drew his attention to his car’s defective two front tyres and suggested he changed them immediately as they pose a safety risk. In consternation, Freddie mused,” that all he knew about a car was how to drive it”.

Shortly thereafter he apparently bought two used tyres and expressed the opinion that they were in excellent condition and very workable. He claimed he paid a bargain basement price of G$7,000 for them but had David Granger, the former President of Guyana and Winston Jordan his Finance Minister still in office, he would have had to pay five times more.

Based on price and other considerations of used tyres, Freddie concluded that former President Granger and his Finance Minister Jordan didn’t understand how the industrial world functioned since the cultural outlook and means of the people living in that region allowed them to change their

cars every three to four years and the tyres on them every two to three years. Further, the roads in the industrial world vis-’a-vis those in the developing region are in immaculate condition.

In reality these statements made by Freddie are misleading and false. The people living in the industrialized world do not as a matter of policy or culture change their vehicles every three to four years unless they are leased.

If the vehicles are owned, many are usually kept for more than eight years. I drive a Toyota Camry in NY which is over 14 years old while my son who lives in Los Angeles drives an Avalon which is over 20 years old with over 200,000 miles on the odometer. There are many people living in Canada and the USA which are industrialized countries who own and drive vehicles over eight years old.

Condition of the roads in the developed countries is another matter. The roads in Brooklyn, NY an industrialized region, particularly at the start of the spring season is not that much better than the roads in Bel Air Park or Queenstown.

Guyanese living in Queens and Brooklyn, boroughs in

the City of New York can attest to this.

The outgoing PNC/AFC Govt. should be given credit for banning the importation of used tyres in Guyana which has contributed to the safety of all road users. Used tyres are sold with many defects which are not visible to the naked eye. These include but are not limited to damaged belts and cords, tread separation, cracking and manufacturing defects.

Synthetic rubber compounds and reinforcements used to manufacture tyres deteriorate with age and many manufacturers recommend replacing tyres more than six years old.

(Freddie should check the dates of manufacture of the used tyres he bought as these are stamped on their side walls).

The former PNC/AFC Govt. may not have carried out the necessary research locally to support their claim that used tyres on vehicles plying the Guyanese roads were posing a danger to all road users, but it had sufficient evidence from the developed world to show that this was so.

Reports published by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the USA and similar institutions in other countries have attested to this. Therefore, Freddie and others should not be driving motor vehicles

which are poorly maintained and with defective secondhand tyres since their continual usage is a danger not only to the drivers and their passengers but other road users as well. After all, a motor vehicle should not be a symbol status for those who could ill afford it, but a means to provide needed transportation for those with the resources to have one and can maintain it to generally accepted standards.

Finally, Freddie claims that when a Government proclaims a policy it should be backed by research and this should have been done with respect to the banning of used tyres. Based on this premise it is concomitant this should have been applied to the Covid-19 virus now sweeping the country.

However, the evidence suggests that although the Government has not conducted any worthwhile research on this virus it is nevertheless doing all it can from the information it has available from others to protect Guyanese from its infection and spread.

The contributors of KN enjoy reading its articles which are written by knowledgeable and thoughtful columnists who enlighten them with the facts and not with misinformation and innuendos.

Yours truly, Charles Sohan

Friday December 25, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Building State Capacity in the Caribbean - The State of the Civil Service in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, The captioned document is dated November 2018. It is essentially an ‘assessment of the Human Resources Management functions’ of the administration in operation in 2017. It begins with a review of the organisation structure and the operationalities of the HR function as observed in Guyana’s Public Service in 2017, the major components of which are identified as follows: Public Service Commission Mandated by the Constitution to ‘monitor the management’ of: · recruitment · promotion · discipline Department of Public Service (Formerly the Public Service Ministry) · Responsible for overseeing the Public Service, albeit from within the Ministry of the Presidency At this juncture the view needs to be expressed that there obtained a substantive contradiction in terms, whereby the Ministry of the Presidency implicitly reduced its authoritative status of over-viewing and pronouncing on HR issues arising from (comparator) Ministries, by instituting the over-arching decision-maker in the Human Resources Management function as a Department. How then does the ‘Department’ address similar internal issues which arise? Indeed there is on record at least of one critical disciplinary issue having to be outsourced in order to obtain an informed decision that would achieve acceptance as unbiased within its own Department.

Interestingly, the IDB document observes as follows: “The Department’s duties included: · providing personnel requisite training · consulting services’ to other (?) ministries and divisions

· determine number of positions required within ministries · establish salaries and grade levels.”

Once again, it is clear that the Department operated above the level of ‘servant Ministries’. The following Exhibit seeks to portray the confusion of accountability relationships.

Notes 1) DPS is not a Ministry 2) There are no other official Divisions in the Public Service Exhibit Ministry of the Presidency Ministries Department of the Public Service Training Division Central Personnel Division IT Division Roles of Divisions Training · Scholarship Awards · Plan, develop and implement training programmes · Prepare entrants to Public Service via the Public Service Staff College The creation of a ‘Staff College’ totally ignored the fact that there was a long established training facility within the public service that catered for all levels of staff.

To establish a lavish facility merely for inducting aspirants for entry level public service jobs could not possibly add substantive value to the performance of any Ministry, assuming of course there were in fact accommodating vacancies.

Central Personnel Monitoring and addressing performance deficits of personnel units in line Ministries Reviewing Job Descriptions and related Job Specifications IT Division Objective – to raise performance to international standards The Human Resources Management Function

The captioned document observed, quite correctly, that the ‘legal framework in Guyana remains largely oriented toward personnel administration rather than human resources management? The situation still obtains at this time of writing.

It further observes therefore that ‘strategic human resources management planning is not currently practised in the Guyana Public Service, nor is there any effective supporting Human Resources Information System across ministries’.

Needless to say also, there is no inkling of any Succession Planning, which of course precludes the necessity for any Performance Evaluation programme, since the latter has been replaced by the wellestablished system of acrossthe-board annual increases which (consequentially) diminishes any concept of motivation amongst performers (too many of whom are overvalued).

The document goes on to remark on the poverty of collaboration between Ministries, and indeed amongst Permanent Secretaries, albeit in the absence of any relevant formal communication construct.

For example, it reflects on the inconsistency in, if not absence of, job descriptions, too many of which are said to be ‘outdated’. Note the following quote: “According to a sample of Permanent Secretaries, 50-75 percent of workers have job descriptions. However, less than 25 percent of them are valid. The inclusion of performance standards and job-specific competencies is inconsistent”. One is therefore left to wonder to what extent is the existing performance appraisal form utilised.

The review refers to the 14 Grade salary structure which existed since 1992 and the

related scales. It refers to the 2016 Commission of Inquiry Report into the Public Service which revealed that: i) “37 percent of all grades are paid above the maximum”; ii) “11 percent are paid below the minimum” The above was hopefully corrected by the debunching exercise that was alleged to have taken place as a result of the COI’s report.

Notwithstanding, the historical concept of earning an ‘increment’ has long been forgotten by the actors, and as unknown to the decisionmakers.

All the foregoing indicate that there is no structured path to promotability that is recognisable across public service agencies, even in the face of criteria that in any case are hardly referred to.

The review makes reference to reports of officers acting ‘inordinate periods of time (up to 10 years) without being promoted to the substantive post and without any clear rationale being communicated’.

Most critically, however, the analysis does not delve into the constipated 14 Grade Job Structure. Once again the question must be asked how it is possible to ignore the substantive changes in technologies and related jobs, skills and competencies, and simplistically cramp new jobs into the same dated categorisations evaluated and graded in 1992.

It is indeed a wonder that even the Union(s) involved have overlooked this critical faultline.

In the meantime there is the unregulated disposition to contract employees for new jobs, and reward them impetuously with pay for jobs not objectively evaluated, along with related

competencies to cope with the challenges of the transitional strategies which the current administration has undertaken to implement.

It is therefore imperative for the latter to appoint a group or groups of competent professionals (including from the Caricom Region) to undertake the major restructuring that is so urgently needed. Such a comprehensive undertaking would take no less than one year, during which the reconstruction of the Human Resources Management function in the Guyana Public Service must have primary attention.

The above constitutes but a summarised version of the first 13 pages of an analysis of our Public Service that demands the attention of any administration, and certainly the current one, who should not rest their laurels

on the mere changing of Permanent Secretaries and Regional Executive Officers.

There needs to be a very proactive focus on developing the management decision-making capacity, the technical capabilities which are required to incentivise highly productive public servants, and human resources management functionaries in particular – so much needed in an increasingly multicultural business environment, and in pandemic times.

The foregoing is but the first instalment extracted from the IDB’s analysis. The next will reveal the actual ratings given to specific activities of the Guyana Public Service based on the IDB’s index.

E. B. John Human Resources Management and Development Consultant

Season’s Greetings DEAR EDITOR, The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana (CRG) wishes All Guyanese and Visitors to Our Beautiful Nation all the best for the Holidays and may we all have

an Excellent New Year that brings with it Health and Prosperity. Season’s Greetings!

Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

PAGE 6

Kaieteur News

Christmas greetings to all humankind DEAR EDITOR, December 25 is Christmas Day, the most celebrated holiday in Guyana and Guyanese from all walks of life, regardless of their religion or race will be celebrating Christmas at home and in the diaspora. Christmas is a time of joy, peace and goodwill towards all mankind and to strengthen bonds with loved ones.

In the Guyanese tradition, Christmas is a time to spread happiness with family and friends, enjoy the festivities, attend parties and partake in some of the finest Christmas dishes.

This Yuletide season should serve as a period of reflection on our lives and how we must redouble our efforts in the coming year to live in peace and harmony, and to develop and make Guyana a prosperous nation.

It is a time when Christians come together to sing carols and joyously celebrate the birth of their saviour, Jesus Christ. Christmas 2020 will greet some of us feeling on top of the world, happy and h e a l t h y, d e s p i t e t h e various and enormous challenges we faced during the year. However, it will find many others feeling down and unhappy, some through faults of their own, while others are victims of c i r c u m s t a n c e – – j o b l e s s n e s s , homelessness, poverty or

personal illness.

We hope that the less fortunate in Guyana and across the world will get the opportunity to experience the joy of Christmas through the generous acts of kindness from those who are better off and are conscious of their obligation to their fellowman/woman.

On this festive occasion, all must pray for peace, for those who are bed-ridden in hospitals, the less fortunate, and those who have lost loved ones during the year, especially due to the horrible COVID19 pandemic.

We must also pray for those battling depression and alcohol and substance abuse, and hope that their spirits will be lifted as they seek help.

It is that time of the year when the poor feel, most a c u t e l y, t h e d e e p e s t distress of not being able to provide for their families as they would like, particularly their children who are too young to even understand the meaning of poverty.

We should show compassion to them as Jesus Christ did for the needy in an earlier time period. The Nativity scene of Jesus’ birth essentially depicts the poor human suffering and conditions in Guyana, where those

deserving of help are the elderly, the homeless and single mothers and their children.

Christmas is also a time for healing and to forget t h e h u r t , a n i m o s i t y, persecution and bitterness, and to renew our love for one another; hold out a hand of friendship to neighbours and friends; to those from whom we have been estranged and have done us wrong.

We must recapture the spirit of the message that brought joy to the world 2000 years ago by the Babe of Bethlehem.

However, the spirit of giving has not been made easy for many who wanted to give but are not in a position to do so. Needless to say, the true meaning of Christmas continues to elude the poor and downtrodden in Guyana.

To o o f t e n , i t i s t h e greedy, not the needy; the rich and powerful and not the poor and powerless who enjoy Christmas.

We must not forget the tragedies the country has experienced, the goodness and kindness shown to us by others, and be thankful for the peace that surrounded our nation during a testing and frightening election period that lasted for five months and subsequent change of administration.

Perhaps the holidays will give the political directorate and the opposition a chance to reflect on themselves and their behaviour and the importance of inclusiveness of all in society, so that they can make better decisions in the interest of the people, and that 2021 will be a year of healing, atonement, cooperation, honesty, and genuine and competent leadership.

We must all pledge to work to free Guyana from poverty, crime and chronic unemployment and the pandemic; pray for all its leaders and its resilient, loving and caring people, and hope they may live to see many more Christmases. Best wishes for a safe, happy, peaceful and enjoyable Christmas to everyone.

We at Globe-Span Television in New York take this opportunity to wish Merry Christmas to all our sponsors, guests and listeners/viewers in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Guyana and elsewhere!

Yours faithfully, Noar Singh, CEO, GlobeSpan TV Devin Bissoon, Technical Director, Charles Sugrim, Producer and Moderator Dr. Asquith Rose, Initiator and Moderator

Friday December 25, 2020

...Domestic Violence Incarceration - Punitive From page 4 spouses, children, and sometimes senior family members are often fearful of the offender ’s reprisal.

Recognizing not only the gravity of the situation, but also the urgent need for an approach geared towards gradual cessation, it is recommended that prisonbased domestic violence programming be immediately instituted with mandatory attendance for all batterers.

Such programmes should be conducted by appropriately trained practitioners, and intended to target many of the afore-stated risk factors that may predispose to domestic violence. Similar programmes should also be held in the communities. Social service and health care settings must be aware, or made aware of the protocols (or lack thereof) in their agencies for identifying and assisting battered women and their children, as there is evidence that opportunities to help them have been missed by some agencies, as in the case of Caroline Kennedy and her two children, residents of Bartica burnt to death in a house fire deliberately set by her husband, and Linus la Cruz of the gold mining township of Port Kaituma, who torched the home killing his wife and four children.

Coordination and communication among

agencies is ideal when possible because, in many cases, separate agencies each possessed unique and significant information with respect to risk that, taken together, would have painted an alarming picture with respect to the need for risk assessment, management and safety planning.

Clearly, reaching out to women who are abused is an essential part of preventing further abuse or death, because women often experience the violence/ abuse long before it comes to the attention of police.

Incorporated in the efforts(s) towards a cessation of the violence should be public awareness campaigns to inform women who are abused about strategies for getting help, and in the process may assist in changing community norms about domestic violence. The latter-mentioned point is extremely important, as in many cases, family members, neighbours and friends were aware of lethality risk factors but either did not fully understand their significance or did not know how to respond. Women planning on leaving an abuser, should be taught how to leave and not cause others to grieve— how to strive to leave alive.

She must be warned NOT to confront him personally with the decision, and instead should leave a note or call him later if necessary. Some women like the idea of a health care professional notifying the police for them, so professionals should offer this option to them.

Conclusively, one of the most promising and sustainable involves the implementation of schoolbased programmes aimed at preventing dating violence, and teaching youths about healthy relationships. Boys need to be taught the skills that are necessary for forming and sustaining healthy intimate relationships characterized by equality, and how to cope appropriately with the various conflicts that may arise in intimate relationships, especially with the potential dissolution of intimate relationships. Remember that not only is domestic violence a breach of the fundamental rights of security and personal integrity, but also an attack on the community.

The community must be unified.

Y. Sam

PAGE 08

Kaieteur News

Friday December 25, 2020

Police confiscate gun, ammo, ganja Prison escapee recaptured on Mon Repos Line Top in Berbice raid - several arrested

The .32 Beretta pistol with matching ammunition.

Police ranks on Wednesday found 63.5 grams of suspected cannabis, one .32 Beretta pistol along with 33 live rounds during a raid in New Amsterdam and East Canje Berbice, Region Six. According to police several persons have since been arrested in connection with the

illegal firearm, ammunition and narcotics.

The search was reportedly conducted between 11:30 and 17:00Hrs at John and Pope Streets, New Amsterdam.

Raids were also conducted at Sheet Anchor and New Street, Cumberland, East Canje Berbice.

The Lusignan inmate who had reportedly dodged bullets to escape was recaptured on Wednesday by police ranks.

The prisoner, Ishaka John, according to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) was apprehended around 20:00Hrs at Line Top, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The GPS stated that police ranks had received information about the prisoner’s whereabouts in the Mon Repos area.

They reportedly made some checks on the Line Top and there they located John.

The police force was thanked by GPS for their commitment and dedication which led to the capture of the inmate. John who is currently on remand for murder, escaped from the Lusignan Prison around 02:28Hrs on Tuesday.

Kaieteur News reported that just before John made his escape, he was spotted on top of the prison fence by ranks of both the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and GPS. They reportedly fired shots in an attempt to apprehend him but John did not stop.

According to investigators, he ran between three of the prison towers before he disappeared.

John is accused of beating and strangling Jason Bowen, a store manager to death on October, 12, 2019.

Recaptured prison escapee: Ishaka John.

The murder reportedly took place on the bridge in front of the Office of the then leader of the opposition Bharrat Jagdeo.

Friday December 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 09

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Christmas is a time to send special greetings to one and all, even to those it may seem do not deserve such greetings. Christmas should be about everyone, and since most Christmas Day columns are dedicated to the good, I have decided this year to single out for special mention those who are often seen as undeserving of Christmas wishes.

This column is especially dedicated to all those, whose actions have harmed our society and who are setting a bad example within our country. To all of them, this column sends a special Christmas wishes and hope that in the New Year they will change their wicked ways and turn over a new leaf so that our country, in the words of the publisher of this newspaper, Mr. Glenn Lall, “can move forward.”

Among those to whom these Christmas greetings are dedicated, are those persons who barefacedly stole our people’s future by their betrayal when dealing with the oil companies.

Listed also are those whose sticky fingers continue to steal from the public purse.

These persons know who they are.

There are crooks and

bandits behind bars in prison, but there are also many others who occupy positions of power and authority who are making merry on public funds. There are those who are shamelessly (or shamefully, depends on how you look at it) benefiting from the sweetness that they are receiving because they have friends and connections in the right places.

Merry Christmas to you all and I hope that come next year you will all go to jail.

To all those who feel that the treasury is one large cookie jar into which they are free to dip their sticky hands, this column sends you wishes for a Merry Christmas and hope just like the crooks and bandits that you will also go straight to jail, come next year, so that our country will move forward.

Then there are those slackers within our society who are too lazy or simply unwilling to perform, yet want to benefit from the contributions of taxpayers.

Merry Christmas to you, too.

I hope that the New Year will give cause for you to turn over a new leaf so that things can get better in Guyana.

Then there are procrastinators within our

midst who like to delay, and in the process, cause a great deal of suffering to others.

Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope that come next year, your actions will be further exposed and you will receive the boot.

I cannot also forget the many bribe-takers within our midst. Merry Christmas to them, too. They have disgraced themselves over the past year, but have become richer for it.

They have forced many a small man to have to dig deep into his or her savings to be able to satisfy their own lust for money. They need to turn over a new leaf.

Then there are those who rip the country off through substandard work.

Christmas greetings are extended to this special category. I hope that they will examine what they are doing and decide that come next year, they will ensure that Guyanese get value for money. I hope that they have the conscience to return all their ill-gotten gains to the people of Guyana and commit never again to give a six for a nine.

To all those rabid, kickback contractors, I extend Season’s Greetings.

Stop giving bribes in order to

Dem boys seh...

Some people want Christmas bonus Christmas comes once a year and every man must have his share. So the song goes.

One man vex dat he nah get he share… of de Christmas bonus from de Waterfall paper. De man seh how he wuk three months in the year and he bonus must be pro-rata. De man hardly used to do any wuk. Yet he want bonus.

Dem boys hoping de boss man of de Waterfall paper nah tek dem boys bonus an give to dat man who dun resign long now.

Dem boys know that

dem oil company get more than bonus. Dem get bonanza. And after listening to de Vee Pee on Friday night, dem boys wan tell all of al yuh dat dis country doom.

De man dancing around de issues more than Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

And dem boys know dat dem public servants vex with he fuh nat giving dem any back pay dis year. Duh is wan dem does use in place of a Christmas bonus.

Dem boys hear some GUYOIL workers dem deh pun sit-in fuh bonus and

back pay. Dem boys seh dem gat a long time fuh sit down.

Dem like de same man who used to wuk at de Waterfall paper and still hoping fuh a bonus after he resign.

One time a female decide to down tools. De man was furious. He barked at her, “Who said that just because I tried to kiss you at the Christmas party, you could neglect to do your work around here?”

The girl looked at him and quietly said, “My lawyer!”

Talk half and enjoy yuh Christmas! .

win contracts. This is not good for the country. Take this holiday period to decide to end this practice and to give back more to Guyana than you receive. This country would be a better place.To all those plainfaced, “innocent” functionaries who receive these kickbacks, I urge them to turn away from this awful practice.

Stop thieving, stoptaking bribes; stop ripping off the taxpayers of Guyana.

Stop it! It is not good for Guyana.You are robbing poor people. Some of these functionaries are so rich that

they do not know what they own. Stop thieving so much.

Stop the corruption.

Included among the corrupt are those who feel that the country is theirs to do as they please, who feel that they have a right to make their friends richer at the expense of the poor of this country.

They too deserve our Christmas wishes at this time.I reserve my final best wishes for those who should be exiled for attempting to steal the elections. This is a pitiful bunch for who there can be no salvation. Their attempts were pure wickedness.

To all the naughty people in Guyana, to all the rogues, thieves and bandits sitting behind desks and within our political parties, this column extends holiday greetings.

And in the words of the young hero of the children’s movie ‘Home Alone’: “Merry Christmas you filthy animals!”

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

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Friday December 25, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

A song for my wife at Christmas DEAR EDITOR, It has been a terrible Christmas. It was marred by two factors one of which was peculiar to Guyana.

Christmas around the world today is marred because of the lock-down worldwide. It was caused by a pandemic not a single person in the world predicted in 2019.

When the lockdown reached Guyana and the curfew started at 6PM, the capital city of Georgetown looked like a ghost town. I walk my dog most afternoons at the back of Giftland Mall in front of Eddie Boyer’s commercial gated community, Demerara Estates. I have been doing so

for years now. This year there was a chilling experience at that place.

As the afternoon tapered off my dog and I were alone.

No one could be seen walking by in the large compound of Giftland Mall.

No one drove out of Demerara Estates, no one drove in. The sadness was compounded by the election rigging. If people were unhappy having to be at home at 6PM, that depression was deepened by the prospects of a dead future.

There were times, a driver entering Demerara Estates would stop and ask me for my opinion and I

would echo the words of Trinidad’s Prime Minister, Keith Rowely, “It is not going to end well.”

There were many afternoons I sat with my dog in that compound while the clouds of uncertainty spread over the land and my mind went back to the days when I never thought I would be married, never thought I would be a father, never thought I would enter one of the best universities in the world.

Those were the days of rigged election under Burnham, and I saw friends and relatives dashing like mad to get out of Guyana. No one thought there would be a future for Guyana.

Those visions came tumbling down in psychedelic colours riveting my mind during the election rigging. Rowley’s words scared me. I imagine another Guyana under Forbes Burnham, another dead country.

There were times in that compound I felt that I betrayed my wife terribly.

She secured a good job after

she finished university in Canada and stupidly followed me to Grenada then back to Guyana.

As I type this column, I read where dozens of citizens are demanding that the government bring in an Argentine forensic team to probe the death of three young men.

None of those names ever felt what came over me as I walked my dog in the deserted parameters of Giftland Mall as Guyana’s future look dead because our right to vote was being taken away from us. An entire country was being stolen but these people were silent coming to life suddenly over three homicides.

The pandemic and the election rigging depressed a majority of people in this country and no doubt it has killed their mental vibrancy to celebrate the season this year.

On Wednesday evening, I took my dog driving in the compound of Massy Supermarket to see what Christmas shopping was like. I live across the road

from Massy and the cars I saw outside the supermarket were far less than what I observe while walking my dog at that place too on an ordinary night.

And this was two days before Christmas.

The pandemic and the election depravities hit Guyana hard and one needed mental comfort to stay alive.

I got that from the woman I married 42 years ago.

On this Christmas, I dedicate the song below to my wife.

I once did this in a previous column. I am doing it again because this song so vividly depicts the way I feel about someone who made me survive the decades of nihilism in Guyana. Many famous artists have covered this song but for me the best version is by the Italian baritone singer, Patrizio Buanne You’re My World (Il Mio Mondo) You’re my world, you’re every breath I take You’re my world, you’re every move I make Other eyes see the stars up

Frederick Kissoon in the skies But for me they shine within your eyes As the trees reach for the sun above So my arms reach out to you my love With your hand resting in mine I feel a power so divine You’re my world, you are my night and day You’re my world, you’re every prayer I pray If our love ceases to be Then it’s the end of my world for me With your hand resting in mine I feel a power so divine Il mio mondo a cominciato in te Il mio mondo finira con te E Se tu mi lascerai In un momento cosa Tutto per me Tutto per me finira.

Friday December 25, 2020

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Kaieteur News

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Friday December 25, 2020

Magistrate appeals High Court‘s dismissal of $50M lawsuit against DPP

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ttorney-at-law, Arudranauth Gossai, has filed an appeal with the Full Court seeking orders to set aside the decision of High Court Justice Navindra Singh to dismiss the $50M defamation lawsuit Magistrate Alex Moore brought against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali - Hack.

According to documents seen by this newspaper, Magistrate Moore, the appellant, is asking that the entire decision be set aside and that the matter be reinstated in the High Court to take its normal course in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules 2016.

Based on the grounds of appeal, the appellant outlined that the learned trial judge erred in law and/or misguided himself when he found that Moore “clearly accepted that Ali-Hack was acting in her capacity as DPP,” when this was a question of fact which could not be resolved without a trial and the taking of

evidence.

Moore also claims that the trial judge erred in law and/or misdirected himself on the law when he made a finding of his judgment based on the pleadings, when this was not proper and or permissible on a strike out application.

In his appeal, the magistrate contends that the trial judge erred in law and or misdirected him on the law, when he found at page five of his judgment that was protected by the Justice Protection Act when this was a question of fact to be determined at a trial and is not an issue which could be resolved on the strike out application.

Further, Moore added that the judge erred in law and misdirected himself on the law when he improperly considered the affidavit of the DPP at the hearing of the strike out application, which is legally impermissible, and only the Statement of Claim ought to have been considered on a strike out application.

DPP Shalimar Ali- Hack.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e Magistrate claimed, “The learned trial judge erred in law and misdirected himself in his judgment when he found that the defence of absolute privilege is raised, when in fact no defence was filed in the matter.”

In his view, he said that the trial judge erred in law and or misdirected himself on law in failing to consider and/or adequately consider the stark difference between a summary judgment

application and a strike out application.

“The trial judge erred in law,” he added, “and/or misdirected himself on the law when he awarded costs of $200,000, when the maximum cost on a strike out application is $30,000 in accordance with the CPR 2016.”

Earlier this month, Justice Singh dismissed a $50M claim for defamation brought against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack by Magistrate Alex Moore.

According to the claim, Moore on July 22, 2020 filed a lawsuit for damages based on the contents of a letter written by the DPP. The letter addressed to the Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana and copied to the Chief Justice of Guyana was captioned: ‘Re: Conduct of Magistrate Alex Moore in the charge of the Police vs Marcus Bisram for the offence of murder, Contrary to Common Law.’ The letter purportedly expressed the view that

Magistrate Alex Moore Magistrate Moore has a personal interest in the matter.

In his claim, Moore said that the DPP meant and was understood to mean that the claimant was unfit to be a Magistrate and that he was taking the side of the defence in a murder charge brought by the prosecution against Marcus Bisram.

In the document, Moore noted further that by reason of the matters, he has been greatly injured in his

character, credibility and reputation, and has been held up to public ridicule and has suffered mental anguish, distress and depression.

However in a ruling delivered on December 2, 2020, High Court Justice Singh noted that contrary to claims of Moore that he was defamed, the DPP, who has conduct of all prosecutions in the State of Guyana by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution of Guyana, must be able to communicate frankly and freely with the Chancellor in order that the Chancellor can properly make an informed decision with respect to a request under Section 12 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Magistrates) Act. The Judge stated that the matter is one of public interest and as such, the DPP is granted such privileges.

As such, the judge u p h e l d A l i - H a c k ’s application for the Court to strike out the claim on the ground that the pleadings disclosed no reasonable basis for instituting the case.

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Friday December 25, 2020

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Tricks oil companies use to rob nations

By Kiana Wilburg Cost recovery is considered an integral part of production sharing agreements that are signed between governments and oil companies.

The mechanism is one that allows oil operators to recoup money spent for activities regarding exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources.

But the process, if not properly scrutinized by governments, is often used by oil companies to rob nations of billions of dollars by inflating costs. In fact, the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI), which researched this matter for decades, has documented many of the ways oil companies go about abusing the cost recovery process.

In some cases, the international watchdog on corruption, said that

expenses claimed by oil companies have been found to be simply ineligible.

Examples, drawn from actual cases, include companies seeking to claim expenses incurred prior to the signing of the “host government agreement” contract; expenses for personal interests of executives, expatriate employees and families; expenses for the technical training of expatriates; a duplicate invoice for a good or service that has already been expensed; inclusion of expenses such as oil and gas marketing fees, or expenses related to mergers, acquisitions, or transfers in participating interests that are normally deemed ineligible according to the contract.

In other cases, CPI stated that the price of legitimate goods and services are intentionally inflated. The

nonprofit organization said this practice, known as transfer mis-pricing or misinvoicing, is of particular concern for transactions between affiliated companies.

In this regard, it noted for example, one case where offshore drilling work was contracted to another subsidiary of the same parent firm. It said that the invoice ultimately submitted for the work was inflated by 30% beyond what the drilling was actually worth. The 30% in this scenario was recorded as a cost to the project, but is in fact profit for the company.

This “profit” is ultimately reported in a low tax jurisdiction – a process known as profit shifting.

Furthermore, CPI said it also found that contracts normally contain clauses requiring that all transactions between affiliated companies are

Two in custody over drug seizure in Berbice The drugs discovered

Two persons are in custody following a drug bust that was conducted by a team of Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) officials on Wednesday.

This was disclosed to Kaieteur News by the Head of the CANU, James Singh, who said that the two were arrested in connection with drugs found by the team in Berbice.

Singh said that among the drugs discovered were 8.5 kilograms of marijuana, 16.3 grams of Ecstasy, 28 Ecstasy pills, 9.9 grams of cocaine and 18.1 grams of methamphetamine.

The identities of the two persons in custody were not released.

Last Saturday, 79 parcels of cannabis weighing 85.804 kilograms were discovered at a house in Dartmouth on the Essequibo Coast and several persons were taken into custody. Among those arrested were the occupants of the house and others connected to them.

CANU officers had conducted a search at the house and discovered the items in a suitcase in one of the rooms, which led to the arrests, and investigations are ongoing.

19-year-old arrested for possession of cannabis A 19-year-old man, who resides at Parfaite Harmony, West Bank Demerara, was arrested for having seven grams of cannabis in his possession on Wednesday.

Based on information received, the suspect’s sister reportedly went to the police station to file a report that he threatened to kill her. The police then went to the suspect’s home where he was told of the allegations,

which he denied.

The man was then taken to the station, where a search was conducted on him.

Kaieteur News understands that three transparent Ziploc bags containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis were found in the suspect’s right side back pants pocket. He was immediately arrested, while investigation continues.

based on international market prices. It stressed however that these provisions are “notoriously difficult to enforce.”

Turning its attention to another controversial category of costs, CPI said that overseas headquarters costs are a legitimate expense but have often been used to inflate project expenses. In most contracts,

it said that these costs are supposed to be limited to a small percent of overall project costs.

It also said that countries have to be wary of the interest on the loans taken to finance projects, as these are oftentimes a potential area for abuse. CPI said that many tax regimes put in place limits on the ratio of debt to equity (to avoid what is

known as “thin capitalization”).

Finally, the nonprofit said that countries should also be wary of invoices submitted for goods that were never actually acquired and for services that were never actually delivered. It has documented hundreds of examples where countries have been duped in this regard.

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Friday December 25, 2020

Chief Labor Officer criticizes industrial action

by Guyoil workers Scenes from the Guyoil Sheriff Street Gas Station on Wednesday.

Guyana’s Chief Labor Officer, Charles Ogle, is contending that the Guyoil workers who took industrial action over their bonuses and salary increases on We d n e s d a y b r e a c h e d protocols.

On Wednesday, about 300 workers from the company decided to strike after they were told there will be no bonuses and salary increases being paid for the

year. This was despite an agreement made by the company this year to pay the workers their bonuses and give a salary increase of eight percent.

Some showed up to the gas stations, however, engaged in sit-ins while some were out with plaque cards demanding their bonuses and increases. The industrial action was supported by the Clerical

and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU). The C C W U ’s p r e s i d e n t , Sherwood Clarke, was quoted as saying that the previous board company had agreed to pay salary increases based on a p er f o r man ce ap p r ais al system, but a new board was installed by the current administration and that board pulled out from the agreement.

Ogle spoke to another section of the media, where he maintained that their strike action breaches protocols and labour laws.

He said that the CCWU should make management aware when workers want to engage in industrial action, but that was not done.

“We had a…meeting and we are at a stalemate presently, the company is offering nothing and the Union is asking something…I wrote the union for them to come in…they didn’t inform me or they didn’t inform management. The Union is saying it is a sit in and the

management is saying it is a strike,” the Chief Labour Officer said.

He further stated that he told the President of CCWU, Sherwood Clarke, on Monday, to delay any strike action since the Ministry of Labour was brought into the matter and was working on a solution. Clarke still decided to take industrial action despite the Labor Ministry’s intervention, according to Ogle.

“I checked with them and I am monitoring the situation. I even checked with the parties to see if there have been any movements, if the Union is lowering their

proposal or if the company is offering something because if the parties don’t move then there is no way we can solve the problem,” Ogle was quoted saying.

Kaieteur News understands that the CCWU and Guyoil have been in negotiation since July of this year to get the workers their benefits.

It was reported that in light of the strikes, management at some locations have threatened to fire workers if they do not work or they will replace them with persons who have pending applications in the company’s system.

Friday December 25, 2020

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In search of Christmas normalcy during a pandemic

By Mikaila Prince It is needless to say that in Guyana and all across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted the lives of millions. But during this Christmas season, and particularly in Guyana, many are in search of normalcy and a sense of calmness. And it is at this juncture where Guyanese turn to the sweet Christmas traditions of their homeland.

Let the celebrations begin!

The proverbial Christmas carpet is rolled out early. In mid-October, radios, musical carts, and all manner of musical enthusiasts begin playing Christmas carols—with Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ as the season’s anthem. This musical sensation is one of our early indications and traditions of Christmas pulling up on the shores of the Land of Many Waters.

Take a walk through Main Street in the nation’s capital city and be greeted by the spectacularly-lit fairy lights, all wrapped around the limbs of the mighty Samaan trees. For me, I’ve always found sweet nostalgia in the magicallygleaming trees of Main Street. It reminds me of my home and family, and I think it’s for this reasoning that I, along with the scores of Guyanese and foreigners, flood to that tropical enchantment. Main Street is one location I’d recommend you visit this holiday, as long as you practice social distancing and remember to mask up!

Hopefully, this year we get to view persons dressed in colourful costumes dancing to the beat of their fellow members’ drums and flutes while holding out hats and small containers for donations. I am always filled with awe when I see tall ‘Mother Sally’ in her flowing dress and the “Mad Cow” that charges at passersby or children and female dancers with large stuffed behinds gyrating. It is a wonderful spectacle for all to witness.

Upturning the house!

Leading up to December, many Guyanese initiate the annual Christmas cleaning.

Now, this type is cleaning is different from those performed around the year, as the entire house is “broken apart” for each nook and

cranny to be dusted, wiped and re-wiped. This complete overhaul is warranted, say our elders, as it brings prosperity with the ushering in of the New Year.

Most households upturn and rearrange their furniture, cover them down with sheets and plastics, and are moved to a corner of the house until we’re ready to replace them.

Funny though, if you enter the home of a Guyanese during the Christmas season, you will realize two things; you hardly have a proper place to sit and the environment is in complete chaos. One should also prepare themselves to be overwhelmed and overpowered by dust and the smell of fresh paint.

With the cosmeticallyaltered changes in the home comes along the new furniture and appliances.

Some housewives wait until this season to purchase new kitchen appliances, sofas, carpets, curtains, and dishes and cutlery.

Those who could not have afforded to purchase the items cash, opened hire purchase accounts just to steal the show. Certainly, a visit to any Courts or Lucky Dollar branch in Guyana would confirm this.

Even with the COVID19 restrictions and strict social distancing protocols, many Guyanese still prefer to do the bulk of the shopping and decorating on Christmas Eve which would usually run into early Christmas morning when housewives/mothers would be busy preparing the lavish breakfast.

This is when all the expensive wares from the cabinet would be taken out – the tea cups, saucers, jugs, and plates to name a few.

Please smile “I’ll be home for Christmas” – we think not.

On most Christmas holidays, Guyanese can expect the arrival of overseas-based loved ones who we haven’t seen in months or years. They fly for miles just to be part of our very unique celebrations because they know that no other country is as committed to this holiday and its many traditions as G u y a n e s e . B u t unfortunately, due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 thereby causing the lockdown of airports, many of us will not be able to embrace the presence of those loved ones. It may be indefinite on when we might

get to see them again.

On the flip side, however, Zoom and other media platforms have made provisions for you to virtually chat with those absent loved ones.

Usually, we’re accustomed to the overpouring of invitations to Christmas concerts, parties, carolling and Christmas tree light ups that make the season an unforgettable one.

To these events, Guyanese also wear their best and are always present. However,

that you can almost taste it.

While these treats are undeniably appealing, it is important to consider how sugar- packed and fatty they are. With studies showing reduced physical movement due to COVID-19 restrictions, the need to shave off unwanted sugars and fat is imperative.

Perhaps, you should try replacing a few of the sugary/fatty treats with dried fruit and nuts.

The celebration is not complete without drinks, and

eating too much can simply ruin your waistline and health, so can excess alcohol.

At small gatherings, dilute alcohol with soda or juices, always eat before you drink, stay hydrated, choose drinks with lower levels of alcohol, or ones that are nonalcoholic. Drink at your own pace. Remember, you are not required to accept every offer of a drink.

Most importantly, we should all try to wear masks whenever possible when indoors with our loved ones,

this year’s engagements and party invitations may be limited due to social distancing regulations.

Food galore and more A Guyanese Christmas would seem almost meaningless if there weren’t any traditional dishes and treats to consume. The thought of coming home to loaves of freshly-baked bread laid beside a dark, meaty goodness that is Pepperpot is refreshing as it is delicious. Pepperpot, as most know, is an indigenous rich meal made from cassareep and beef or pork which is eaten with rice, cassava bread, or homemade bread.

Let’s not shy away from the mouthwatering garlic pork, a famous meal contributed by the Portuguese to our diverse culture. In this dish, the pork is cut into small pieces and left to marinate for days in vinegar and other herbs and later fried.

And certainly, let us not forget to mention the delightful delicacy that is black cake. There’s always something comforting about a fruit or black cake’s darkly sweet, rum or brandy-tingled aroma. The intoxicating scent can at times be very overpowering; so powerful

of course, the special beverages to accompany these meals, ginger beer, sorrel, and mauby are always on standby. As it regards to alcohol, Guyanese are known for their overindulgence in it.

Moderation in the beverage is challenging, especially when the rums, spirits and wines are stacked by the cases, and temptation lurks.

But remember, whereas

as there is strong evidence to show that masks reduce the spread of COVID-19 from an infected person to others.

When wearing a mask i s n ’t p r a c t i c a l d u r i n g Christmas dinner, keeping physical distance from members of other households can massively reduce the risk of virus spread. Whether that is sitting at either end of the dining table, on separate

sofas, or even in different rooms.

The important thing is that any kind of distance at all between you and your loved ones helps mitigate the risk of spread, with greater distance meaning lower risk.

The big day is finally here!

Christmas Day for some entails attending Church to celebrate the birth of Christ among fellow Christians, and for others, it’s spent opening the presents that have been sitting under the tree and being amongst loved ones.

Despite the hectic festivities in the constrained environment for the season, let us not forget what is most important; from the friendly “Season’s greetings!” to the sharing of meals and opening of presents. Remember when around your loved ones to wash your hands, especially after touching around your mouth and nose.

A n d , i m p o r t a n t l y, remember to wash your hands before handling food or drink for others, and especially after you’ve coughed or sneezed. Viruses can be transferred from your face to your hands and then to a family member without you even realizing it.

This festive holiday is all about the birth of Christ and sharing; it is about being warm and hospitable to all; it is about being grateful for the year’s blessings, to reflect on those we have lost to COVID-19, as we enjoy our Guyanese Christmas traditions.

Have a merry and safe Christmas, and an even safer New Year!

Friday December 25, 2020

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Friday December 25, 2020

Measure what you give in tax breaks...

From page 3 given with an expectation that it would return increases in employment, investment commitments for specific locations, capital attraction to competition and domestic market efficiency, and investments in specific economic sectors or activities as part of an industrial development strategy.

It said that a cost-benefit analysis would objectively determine the costs and associated benefits before tax exemptions are granted.

This is necessary, it said, since studies show that tax

exemption frameworks for extractive sectors by developing countries tend not to be properly designed, nor are they informed by adequate scientific analysis.

Furthermore, it said that these exemptions undermine business development in Ghana as they force locals to operate on an uneven playing field.

In Guyana, tax waivers granted to extractives companies have formed a point of controversy over the years, and the debate has been exacerbated by the recent development of the oil sector. Virtually all of G u y a n a ’s p e t r o l e u m agreements have granted oil companies permanent waivers of all taxes.

These agreements are held in place by rigid stabilization clauses, which dictate that if the government were to revise its legislation or tax framework in a manner that affects the economics of the contracts, it would have to compensate the contractors, their subcontractors and affiliates for any losses, which occur as a result of the revisions.

The exemptions are widely seen as excessive.

One Canada-based commentator, Darshanand Khusial of the Oil & Gas

Governance Network (OGGN), wrote that as taxes are fundamental to developing the social, physical and economic infrastructure of a country, the waiver granted by Government to these c o m p a n i e s i s u n f a i r, especially when compared to what local commercial enterprises in Guyana are made to pay.

The 2019 Report of the Auditor General into public finances revealed that Guyana forfeited US$600 million in taxes for 2019.

Guyana made less than US$150 million in 2020 from the sale of its crude, according to the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB).

Guyana is projected to lose in excess of US$650 million over the next five years from the tax breaks in the Stabroek block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) alone, according to a report from the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

During a recent interview on Kaieteur Radio, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said that the tax regime is too liberal. He then committed to producing better future agreements.

Friday December 25, 2020

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Friday December 25, 2020

Ganja, cellphones found at New Amsterdam prison

Items seized during the raid at the New Amsterdam Prison

M

ore than 1,000 grams of suspected cannabis and 15 cell phones were seized on Wednesday, during a raid at the New Amsterdam prison.The raid was conducted by joint services ranks between 05:30

and 10:00 hrs.According to police, searches were carried out in both the male and female dormitories.Also seized were, several lighters, wires, earpiece, phone chargers, a quantity of razor blades, three mirrors and a tattoo machine.

Bandit beats woman with gun to steal handbag A bandit on Wednesday beat a female cleaner with his handgun to steal her hand bang which contained her cellphone and $221,000 cash, Police has identified the woman as Annamae Harris, 52, of Crane Housing S c h e m e , We s t C o a s t Demerara (WCD).

Annamarie was attacked and robbed around 20:50Hrs while walking along Best Road to go home.

The woman told investigators that a brown car pulled up and stopped about five feet away from h e r. A m a n w h o s h e

described as fair complexioned stepped out of the back seat of the car and approached her with a gun in his hand.

The bandit, she told police, demanded that she hand over her handbag but she refused.

The bandit then used his gun to hit her on the hand causing her to give up the bag. Harris told the lawmen that he grabbed the bag and made good his escape in the waiting car.

Apart from her cash and cellphone, Harris lost her bank cards, ID card and NIS card.

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Friday December 25, 2020

$306M in deliveries outstanding from - AG Report Health Ministry Details from the recently respond to the AG’s findings, laid Auditor General Report for 2018, shows that some $306.205M is outstanding in deliveries to the Ministry of Health for the years 20152017. According to the report, these suppliers included Caribbean Medical Supplies; the Pan-American Health Organization ( PA H O ) ; I n t e r n a t i o n a l Pharmaceuticals Agency; New GPC Incorporated; Supply Chain Management Systems; Western Scientific Company; IDA Foundation; Scientific Supplies & Technology; USAID Global Health Chain; Massy Gas Products; and Royal Emporium.

Notably, the Head of Budget Agency did not

but recommended that Budget Head at the Ministry of Health take action to ensure that the outstanding goods are supplied, and if that is futile, recover the relevant sums.

The AG office also found that in 2018, a supplier had received payments totalling $94M. “However,” the report notes, “up to the time of reporting in November 2020, the supplier was still to supply goods valued at $37.210M.” Against this, the Audit Office recommended that the Budget Head take actions to ensure the outstanding goods are supplied, or if that is futile, recover the overpayment of $37M.

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Friday December 25, 2020

Seven Movies that embody the Spirit of Christmas

By Kiana Wilburg Like opening presents, watching movies is unequivocally one of the Christmas rituals most of us simply can’t do without.

Unquestionably, movie watching allows us to enter a 90 minute world of enchantment while providing that opportunity to reconnect with our loved ones, rediscover the true meaning of love and why we’re celebrating this joyous occasion, and in some cases, help us to reconcile differences with long lost friends or relatives.

As you gather this Christmas with your loved ones to engage in this most beloved tradition, the Kaieteur News team has selected below, a few movies that are sure to enrich your experience this season. The selections below, without a doubt, embody the spirit of the season and are sure to keep you on a rollercoaster of emotions you’ll never want to get off of.

Be sure to enjoy with your favourite holiday snacks and beverages with dimmed lights for a dramatic effect. Happy movie watching!

Serendipity Serendipty is a romantic drama about how the hand of fate affects two people who meet by chance at Christmas in New York.

During the Christmas

season in New York City, Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) meets Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) trying to buy the same pair of black cashmere gloves at Bloomingdale’s.

They feel a mutual attraction and despite the fact that each is involved in other relationships, they end up sharing dessert at Serendipity 3 together, where Sara reveals her opinion that fate determines a lot of her decisions in life.

They say their goodbyes and leave, but both return to the same restaurant a short while later to retrieve missing things.

Considering this to be a stroke of fate, Jonathan and

Sara decide to spend more time together, and at the end of a magical night they start to exchange phone numbers, but Sara’s gets blown into the wind, which she takes as a bad sign.

However, she comes up with the idea of putting their names and phone numbers out to the universe, his written on the back of a $5 bill, hers written in the front of a used book entitled, Love in the Time of Cholera that will be sold the following day.

If they are meant to be together, they will find the items and contact each other.

Several years later, it’s revealed that Jonathan is getting engaged to Halley Buchanan. On the same day, Sara (now in San Francisco), comes home to find her boyfriend Lars Hammond (John Corbett), a famous musician, proposing to her.

As their respective wedding dates approach, each finds themselves with a case of cold feet resulting in each attempting to find the other again before their respective weddings.

Love Actually Love Actually is a 2003 Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television projects. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress. Most of the movie was filmed on location in London. The story begins

five weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place one month later.

The Best Man’s Holiday The Best Man Holiday is a 2013 American comedydrama film written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. It is the sequel to the 1999 film, The Best Man. The film was released on November 15, 2013 by Universal Pictures. It stars Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence

Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Harold Perrineau, Monica Calhoun, and Melissa De Sousa reprising their roles from the 1999 film along with the supporting cast.

Mia Sullivan (Monica Calhoun), wife of Lance Sullivan (Morris Chestnut), has written letters requesting that the old gang should join them for Christmas: Harper Stewart (Taye Diggs) and his almost-nine-monthpregnant wife Robyn (Sanaa Lathan), Julian Murch (Harold Perrineau) and wife Candace Sparks (Regina Hall), her best friend Jordan Armstrong (Nia Long) and boyfriend Brian McDonald (Eddie Cibrian), Quentin “Q” Spivey (Terrence Howard), and Shelby Taylor (Melissa De Sousa). All the friends arrive at the house, the first time they’ve come together in 14 years, and the celebration begins. At dinner, the old friends catch up while tensions grow between Shelby and Candace.

Years after his debut novel, Harper is struggling with writer’s block, financial difficulties, and pressure from his publisher to come up with newer and better material for his next book.

He has also been recently relieved of his faculty position at New York University, f u r t h e r complicating the

couple’s financial position.

He kept all this from Robyn, as she is finally pregnant with their first child after years of expensive fertility treatments and the baby is almost full-term. His agent suggests he write a biography on his estranged friend, Lance, who is set to retire from football. Harper reluctantly agrees, but keeps the biography a secret.

It Happened On Fifth Avenue It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) is a motion picture comedy, directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Victor Moore, Ann Harding, Don DeFore, Charles Ruggles and Gale Storm.

The film received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Story. This film has been remade in Hindi twice in India: Pugree (1948) and Dil Daulat Duniya (1972).

Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore), a New York City hobo, makes his home in a boarded-up Fifth Avenue mansion, using the back door, while its owner, multimillionaire (“the second richest man in the world”) Michael J. O’Connor (Charles Ruggles), winters in the South. McKeever winds up taking in homeless ex-G.I. Jim Bullock (Don DeFore), who has been evicted from an apartment building O’Connor is tearing down for a new skyscraper, and runaway 18-year-old (Continued on page 31)

Kaieteur News

Friday December 25, 2020

PAGE 27

The reasons I look forward to Christmas each year

By Renay Sambach On December 25, each year the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians around the world.

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. I get to spend quality time with my family; from the Christmas cleaning and decorating to feasting, I enjoy it all and everything else that the holiday has to offer.

Around this time of the year, we create memories that we will treasure forever.

While some persons spend their Christmas differently, there are a few things that we all have in common during this festive time of the year.

Some of my favourite activities that I look forward

to each year include spending time with my family and close friends, attending Christmas parties, masquerades, gift-giving, cleaning, shopping and feasting.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC For me, the playing of Christmas music is one of the first indications that the season is approaching.

While there are various different categories of Christmas music, I tend to gravitate more to the Reggae Christmas songs.

My favourite Reggae Christmas song is Jacob Miller and Ray I – We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

During the Christmas season, Reggae Christmas songs are played on the radio excessively to get persons to feel the ‘Christmas spirit’.

Even while walking down the busy streets in

Georgetown, you are destined to hear one of the push-carts playing these types of songs.

SHOPPING Since I was a young child, I have been accustomed to my mother going out of her way to buy new appliances, and all the fancy Christmas items to beautify the home. Actually, every year it’s the same process, we visit the market and stores and pick out what will go nice with whatever theme and colour scheme we have decided on.

However, we do our grocery and gift shopping separately. As we all know, Christmas is a time for giving, and this is one aspect that I take very seriously.

Around this time, people take gifts to relatives, friends and associates and my family has adopted such activity.

Christmas Incentives… How to show your

employees you appreciate them!

By Shikema Dey S t a ff e r s w h o h a v e worked hard for nearly a year (battling a pandemic nonetheless) want and deserve to feel appreciated and valued by their bosses through some form of an incentive.

And with Christmas around the bend, employers are presented with the perfect opportunity to strengthen relationships, build employee confidence or possibly unintentionally drop it.

So, what are the best forms of incentives you can use to show your employee that they are valued? No need to look too far. There are some simple and wellthought-out choices that usually do the trick.

And the first, most obvious choice is money$$$.

Cash incentives The usual goal of working hard is to be rewarded with that needed pay-cheque at the end of the week or month. But bosses s h o u l d k n o w, m a n y employees deserve a raise or a bonus (or both, if you’re feeling extra jolly).

So, it definitely makes sense that, at Christmas time, employers use bonuses as one of the perfect ways to reward their employees for a year of hard work and loyalty. I mean, who doesn’t love extra money?

What makes this a great

choice is that bonuses can be tied to an employee’s stellar performance over the year.

We all know that employees are encouraged to give 100 percent throughout the year.

B u t i n r e a l i t y, productivity can reach peaks if bonus incentives are added. And with spending at an all-time high during the Christmas season, no one wants to walk around with an empty wallet.

Bonus incentives can be tricky though, as it is that it’s pretty hard to personalize the bestowal of a wad of dollar bills. So, if you are looking for another way to show you appreciate your staff, there are other kind ways you can try. But please note, these methods work best if employers are actually familiar with staff and their needs.

Eatables The Guyanese tradition of creating a spread of all the Christmas delicacies continues to live on. But the ingredients for that delicious

pepper-pot, pickled pork, rich black cake and sorrel carry sometimes, a hefty cost.

So, an employer bestowing a hamper containing these very ingredients and even more goodies to their staff is another perfect way to indicate thoughtfulness and add the elusive personal touch that money is unlikely to have.

Of course, there are consumables of the more alcoholic variety, which might be preferred.

Guyanese love a good 5year-old! So, if you know your employee’s likes and dislikes, this is another way in which you can show you care.

Tickets It could be tickets to the upcoming cricket matches (HERO CPL perhaps), or to the latest show in town or even tickets to see the latest smash hit at the cinemas.

Although, with COVID-19 (Continued on page 28)

REDECORATING THE HOME A Guyanese tradition every Christmas time is the cleaning and preparations for the “great redecorating of the home.”

My family and I would thoroughly clean the house and I love to see the finished product on Christmas morning. I must admit, that I do enjoy the time I spend cleaning and decorating with my family even though it’s tiring. We usually spend hours selecting the pattern in which the decorations will be placed, and of course, we have to climb to reach the parts of the house that are not that accessible and then we finish it off by putting up the Christmas lights.

MASQUERADE BAND When I was much younger, I was terrified of the Masqueraders, especially the man that wears the really terrifying mask and the ‘bull cow’. From the moment, I would hear the beat of the masqueraders’ drum, I became terrified and hid.

Eventually, I grew to like and appreciate the masquerade band. The masqueraders are often seen around Mashramani and Christmas time in the streets around Georgetown and even in the various villages and communities.

If you don’t see the masqueraders in their bright colours, you are sure to hear them due to their synchronized beats. The masquerade group comprises of dancers, musicians, the cow, and various representations of women. The dancers usually interact with the crowd, especially children, who they usually captivate with their deft dance steps.

Entertained spectators would in turn give them money.

FEASTING Christmas is one of those

times where families take the time to prepare different types of food, cakes and other goodies, not only for themselves but for friends, neighbours and associates.

While I’m not a professional as yet, I do put a lot of effort into every dish my mother challenges me to make and I enjoy taking part in the “devouring” of as many meals as I can.

My favourite dish is the pepperpot and homemade bread that we usually have on Christmas morning and for lunch, it’s always something extravagant.

CHRISTMAS CARDS Over the years, my collection of Christmas cards has grown tremendously.

Who doesn’t like to receive a card that makes you feel special and appreciated?

The reason I love Christmas cards so much is because they lift my spirit and I get to keep them and add them to my collection. I usually read the cards over and over again and smile until I memorize the words by heart.

REFLECTION Usually after h a v i n g

breakfast on Christmas morning, some of my relatives will stay inside to re-watch all five of the Home Alone movies, which is one of the most popular Christmas features, others will go outside and hang-out with friends on the street corner, while others head to church.

During the day when everyone returns home, as the Christmas music plays in the background, the adults are busy with the preparation of the meals while the children play with their new toys.

On Christmas Day, there is always some party or occasion to attend and that’s where we spend the rest of our day.

The warm feeling the Christmas holidays give me, I will appreciate and look forward for to. Even as we celebrate the holiday during this pandemic, be safe and take all safety precautions.

Merry Christmas and have a prosperous new year!

Kaieteur News

PAGE 28

Friday December 25, 2020

Testimonials of how pets can be used as amazing coping mechanisms

By Mikaila Prince In March, when former President David Granger had announced a Public Health Ordinance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Guyana, like the rest of the world, fell into a social and economic stalemate that was compounded by an unprecedented health crisis.

Thousands of Guyanese were forced to close their

business; many were laid off from their jobs, while the entire country was forced to stay locked away in their homes for the safety of their health.

These public health actions, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety, says the United States Civil Defence Commission (CDC), while adding that coping with the stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you

Sydney snaps a shot with one of her pets, Binx the Cat

care about and your community stronger. One such coping mechanism can be that of a pet.

There’s no question that having a pet in your home can bring joy, comfort, and a sense of serenity in this time of solitude and worldly disarray. Below are the testimonies of just a handful of individuals who’ve managed to scrape through this difficult year and a more difficult Christmas season by the help and compassion of their furry babies.

Danielle and her soft girl Bella Danielle, 26, says that she has always been an animal lover, but highlights that she’s always been particularly fond of dogs.

At the time when Guyana was recording its spikes in COVID-19 cases, Danielle who’s an Administrative Assistant, said that she was moved from her hometown of Bartica, Region Seven.

“At the time, and even now, my dog has been the only familiar and closest thing to family right now in my life. She was my home,” Danielle says.

Things took a dark turn when in August, Danielle had tested positive for COVID-19 and she was instructed to home isolate for almost 30 days.

“When I had tested positive for COVID-19, I was trapped in isolation at home. It was just me and my dog. During that isolation, my dog was literally the only other living thing near me. At the time of testing positive for COVID-19, I had slipped into depression; my mental health was a mess. My pup Bella, even though we speak completely different languages, understood the pain that I was in, and being the amazing dog that she is, she pulled me out of a dark place. My Bella was my biggest comfort throughout everything,” Danielle says on the brink of tears.

She continues, “My appreciation for the comfort and the cheerfulness that Bella gives to me has grown a lot. Like I said, Bella is everything to me. I plan my whole life around her; I make decisions always with her well being taken into consideration. She’s my child, she’s my world and I honestly don’t believe that I would’ve made it halfway through this pandemic and these festive holidays without her.”

Sydney and her family of a cat, a swimming dog and one chatty parrot

Danielle poses with her furry baby, Bella Sydney, a second year University of Guyana (UG) student, says that with the anxiety and stress of school, personal issues and now a pandemic, she can boldly say that 2020 has been one of her most difficult years.

That being said, Sydney adds that her biggest solace has definitely come from her pets.

“I know a lot of people have spent this time isolating by themselves; locked away from loved friends and family members, and that can be unbearably hard. So having my pets has made it easier for me, for me to cope with all the chaos. Your pets

are basically your children, which is something that I tell people a lot. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

Kevin and TenTen Like Danielle, Kevin had also tested positive for COVID-19, and he too was under home isolation by himself for weeks.

The 23-year-old says, “When I had tested positive for COVID-19, I was under home isolation and TenTen was my only distraction. I thought that being stuck at home by myself would have been dreadful; I was terrified at the thought of it. But my (Continued on page 29)

Ken and one of his cats, Adaline

...How to show your employees From page 27 around, there aren’t many events to attend, tickets have still proven to be an excellent “employer to employee” gesture.

As with eatables, however, worker’s reaction is very subjective so it would be necessary that one do their homework first before choosing what kind of ticket or even choosing a ticket at all.

Gift cards While gift cards are popularly used as birthday gifts, they can equally double as an employee incentive as well.

It ensures that employees can get their Christmas shopping done, but at no cost to their own pockets and leave them with the option of picking up a few extra Christmas goodies that the card didn’t cover.

The only criticism of this method is that it has a price cap and a rather limited scope allowed.

A little time off (PAID OF COURSE!) We all know that there are a few businesses that are essential and obligated to work through the Christmas holidays. But let’s face it, most employees have families, friends and loved ones who they would rather be spending time with than working at the office.

While there are the employees who make a conscious effort to work as per normal, they still need time to balance Christmas shopping and activities with their families.

And balancing the two can be stressful so if you can, why not give your employees paid time off for the holidays as their incentive?

A smiling TenTen smiles for the camera

Mikaila snaps a picture with her cat, Bella

Many employees can only dream of being able to stay away from work and still keep their job, so such a generous gesture would not go unnoticed by staff. And who knows?

Come January, there might be a line of eager recruits who’ve heard of this policy and want to join your team.

Vacation Most workers dream of being sent on an all-expense paid trip as part of their holiday package. And it is a luxury afforded to many company executives. But sadly, it is just that; a luxury. Whatever method of incentive chosen, bosses should remember that their employees are less likely to forget the way they were treated, particularly at Christmas.

So, put a smile on their face this Christmas. Make it one they won’t forget, but in a good way of course.

Kaieteur News

Friday December 25, 2020

PAGE 29

Christmas at home “a fantasy” for some in 2020 B y Shervin Belgrave For some, being at home for Christmas this year will only be something they can fantasize about. During this festive season, plane tickets are sold out, boats are filled to capacity, taxies and buses are the busiest. Everyone wants to be home for Christmas, especially those who have been working abroad or miles away from their loved ones. In 2020, however, they are quite a few who desire to be home but just cannot.

I was able to locate three of them - two of them husbands, Sherwin Belgrave, 38, and Romario Adams, 22. These men can only dream of playing with their children this Christmas.

They can only imagine a kiss from their wife or daydream of Christmas shopping with the family. The third is a young man, Diego Adams, 19, who longs to hug his mom and play with his little brother.

Belgrave is a resident of Troolie Island, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara. He is employed as a mechanic with the Palamyra Logging Company in neighbouring Suriname.

In February, he hugged his daughters and kissed his wife goodbye as he departed his home for Suriname. He anticipated that he would not get to embrace them again until the Christmas holidays.

Adams, who is from Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD),

is a ‘scaler’ worker with the s a m e c o m p a n y. L i k e Belgrave, he too had left his two young children and wife and travelled to Suriname in February. He would spend the following months working and had expected to return for Christmas.

His younger brother, Diego Adams, who works with them also did the same.

Unlike Belgrave and his brother, Diego does not have a wife or children of his own but wanted to return for the holidays to be with his mother and brother.

Each day as they worked hundreds of miles away from their loved ones, the young men could think of nothing else but the upcoming Christmas season.

Work would be over, and they would be heading home to see their respective families again. Belgrave had planned to buy his daughters fancy toys and take his wife shopping.

Not only was he looking forward to being home, but he too would be reuniting with his little brother and mother who he had not seen for a few years.

Diego on the other hand just wanted to buy presents for his mother, little brother and girlfriend, and he wanted desperately to eat some pepperpot. He had planned to attend a few Christmas parties too.

As the days passed by, they grew more anxious about Christmas. But 2020 proved to be a spoil sport.

The Covid-19 pandemic struck and borders began closing. All of a sudden, said Belgrave, the bosses began hinting that “Christmas at home” for the employees might be impossible.

Romario Adams will not get to see his babies and wife this Christmas.

Nevertheless, as they continued to work in isolation with other colleagues, there was still a glimmer of hope. They worked with the expectation that the pandemic will soon be over and things would go back to normal.

The pandemic continued, however, and cases both in Suriname and Guyana began to rise. Their superiors in the company were reluctant to let their employees leave.

“My boss said that we can choose to go home if we want but it will be a risk, b e c a u s e w e w o n ’t b e accepted back to work,” said Belgrave.

“It was a tough decision to make, because that means we would be without employment” he continued.

Belgrave said he and the Adams brothers, along most of their colleagues, chose to continue working in isolation and had hoped that

by December, the borders will be reopened and the company will allow them to go home for the holidays.

December drew closer

Sherwin Belgrave and some of his colleagues who can’t make it home for Christmas this year.

and things were beginning to look promising. They were out of isolation and there were talks that the Guyana/Suriname border will be reopened.

The young men were happy, and the company was also willing to permit them to go home for Christmas, if the borders reopened.

When December finally came, family members contacted Belgrave and the Adams brothers about a major development reported in the local media. The Guyana-Suriname Ferry service was scheduled to be opened on December 12.

Romario said, “I packed, I was going home; we were just waiting for the company to close off operations.”

Within a matter of days Diego recalled, “We were told that the ferry service will not be opened anymore, and the borders will remain closed because of some Cubans.”

“Our hopes of making it home for Christmas was shattered,” added Belgrave.

He continued, “It is sad, travelling home for Christmas now is only a fantasy, we will have to spend Christmas right here without our family.”

Diego with a little bit of sadness in his voice said, “I had really wanted to go home for Christmas, I will miss my mom this year.”

The young men said that they will try to comfort themselves with daily cell

This is Diego Adams’ first time away from home this Christmas.

phone calls and countless video chats just to keep in touch with their loved ones for the holiday.

...Testimonials of how pets can be used From page 28 dog made it bearable, because every day just waking up next to his warm fuzziness made me happier.

He made everything fun. In a world where everything feels upside down, He brought me that humorous and adorable serenity that a dog gives to you.”

At the age of 23, Kevin says he wanted to feel a greater sense of responsibility and maturity, so he adopted TenTen. “I am very lucky to have him as a pet,” the Radio Personality says, “because even now, it has given me a huge sense of responsibility and it’s teaching me how to balance work and your personal life. Going into the new year, I’ll make myself feel more mature; ready to take on so much.”

Ken, Carl and Adaline Ken, a local and undeniably talented photographer, is the father of two; one named Adaline and the other Carl.

He considers these two as his blessings in furry form and his peace.

“Coming home and seeing them after a hard day of hearing about all the bad things going on in the world that just calms me right down. Because of the

pandemic, I have all this new free time, so I’m around much more often and they see me a lot. I think it’s gotten to the point where they are probably frustrated by my affection, so we’ve gotten really close,” the 19-year-old said amidst a chuckle.

He added, “I don’t even call them my pets. Nobody calls them pets in this house.

These are literally my children. I cannot live without the two of them.

They held the most weight when it came to my mental health. My craft, which is something that relaxes me, was somewhat put on hold due to the pandemic. So they were there, so innocent, and they just made me feel whole.”

Mikaila and her regendered cat, Bella I decided that I’d leave the final testimony to be presented by yours truly.

In March of this year, shortly after Guyanese went to the polls, I had adopted a cat and named it Bella.

Funny enough, two months after I had adopted, I discovered that my cat was male and not female. By that time, my cat had already grown accustomed to being called Bella, so the name stuck.

Nine months later, I can honestly say that Bella has definitely been a source of comfort, playfulness and joy in my life. And in August when I had tested positive for COVID-19 and had to endure close to two months of home isolation, my cat effortlessly pulled me out from a gloomy, lonely abyss.

For this, I am forever grateful to him.

Because of benefits and the unconditional love many share with their pets, people around the globe were extremely relieved when the World Health Organization (WHO) had reported that there is no evidence that domestic pets can transmit the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The virus is spread to humans through person-to-person contact, not pet-to-person, so interaction with pets is highly encouraged at this time as long as everyone involved — both humans and animals — are healthy.

Going forward into the New Year, I hope that we can all find a year of fortune, p r o s p e r i t y, a n d m o s t importantly, good health.

Happy holidays!

Kaieteur News

PAGE 30

Friday December 25, 2020

Christmas movies:

The Naughty and Nice on Netflix!

By Shikema Dey The holiday season is here again and with

abundance of cold, rainy nights, who wouldn’t want a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate to warm their

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey This star-studded Christmas musical is the most magical of the bunch.

Picture The Wiz meets Willy Wonka, with John Legend as a producer. Forest Whitaker stars as a penniless toymaker who has lost his touch and everything else that makes life special: his wife (Sharon Rose) has passed and his daughter (Tony award winner Anika Noni Rose) moved away, estranged.

Years earlier he created a unique matador toy that comes to life (voiced by a charmingly wicked Ricky Martin).

The naughty toy and the t o y m a k e r ’s a p p r e n t i c e (Kegan-Michael Key) left with the toymaker’s book of ideas, putting him out of business and making themselves mega-rich.

Things really get going w h e n t h e t o y m a k e r ’s granddaughter (bonafide star

Madalen Mills) comes to town and she, along with a neighbourhood boy with aspirations of being a great toy inventor, try to save the toymaker from himself.

There’s singing, dancing, flamboyance galore, earnest lessons learned, and magic t h a t ’s s o m e t h i n g l i k e science. It’s the kind of movie the phrase “family fun

adventure” was invented to describe.

Clocking in at more than two hours, this one could tighten up the runtime a bit, but that just means there are plenty of safe opportunities to refill your hot chocolate or run to the restroom.

I dare you to watch this movie and not feel the holiday spirit.

The Princess Switch, Switched Again

It’s not Christmas until y o u ’ v e s e e n Va n e s s a Hudgens chloroform herself. The sequel to 2018’s The Princess Switch, The Princess Switch, Switched Again, rightly knows that Kevin (Nick Sagar) is a better leading man than the walking robot that is Prince Edward (Sam Palladio).

When we last saw the sous chef dad with the six-pack abs who likes sappy Christmas movies and wearing the heck out of ugly Christmas sweaters, he was making out with Lady

Margaret. In the two years since then, they’ve split up, the King of Montenaro has passed away, and Margaret’s cousin who was next in line for the throne has abdicated, which means Lady Margaret will be crowned on Christmas. Naturally.

The Princess Switch franchise has found the sweet spot between “painfully bad” and “so bad it’s good.” The latest version adds what the first lacked – a worthy villain. Vanessa Hudgens gleefully vamps around as a Kardashian-

esque cousin of Lady Margaret’s who goes after the Montenaran crown. It’s fun to watch Hudgens be bad, and it adds a requisite layer of novelty to the proceedings.

Wi t h T h e P r i n c e s Switch, the sequel is even better than the original. The Princess Switch 2 knows exactly what kind of movie it is – fun, silly, romantic, distracting, a mix of both great and terrible fashion, and maybe a little eye rollinducing. Absolute perfection.

spirit as they curl up in front of the TV to partake in a favourite Christmas tradition: Christmas Movie

Binge!

But let’s be honest, not all Christmas movies get a A+ rating, so let’s dig into

the new Christmas movie offerings from Netflix, letting you know what’s nice (and naughty).

Operation Christmas Drop In order to protect her boss’ interests, congressional aide Erica (our girl Kat Graham aka Bonnie Bennet from The Vampire Diaries) is sent to a military base in the Pacific over Christmas to find excess spending in order to justify budget cuts. Her biggest target is Operation Christmas Drop, a real-life programme, where service members from the US, Japan, and Australia drop presents (and life-saving supplies) to remote surrounding islands. Hyper-focused Erica knows there’s a possible promotion on the line and she has to work harder than a bunch of dudes named Matt back in DC in order to get it, putting her at odds with the base’s own Santa, Capt. Andrew Jantz (Andrew Ludwid).

In addition to directly engaging with how much harder the Erica’s of the world have to work to get their due, Operation Christmas Drop also highlights the people who live on Guam and the surrounding islands, as the

Holidate If you like a little spice with your sugar, Holidate is the right holiday romcom.

Netflix is already the antiHallmark in this category, trading judgey and Jesus-y for a sense of humour and soundtracks worth bookmarking on Spotify.

And Holidate doubles down on the snark and PG-13-ness of it all.

Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey star as Sloane and Jackson, two singles sick of shrugging off a million questions and setups throughout the holiday season. The cast is rounded out with Frances Fisher (Watchmen, Titanic), Jessica C a p s h a w f r o m G r e y ’s A n a t o m y, S N L’s A l e x Moffat, Jake Manley from The Order, and Manish Dayal of Halt and Catch Fire and The Hundred-Foot Journey, proving he deserves to play a romantic lead.

(Continued on page 31)

first full-length major studio movie filmed there.

Featuring the favourite romance trope “enemies to lovers,” a tropical Christmas, and some of the real-life people who make the actual Christmas Drop possible, Operation Christmas Drop is an ideal holiday romcom.

It’s still goofy at times and heart-fluttery at others, and of course everything will work out in the end, but it’s better written than most of what’s on TV and casting Kat Graham is always a good choice.

Kaieteur News

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Friday December 25, 2020

“Not being able to hug them (family) is the hardest part. It’s Christmas. Happy time you know.

Everyone will be mingling, and I will be isolating. I cannot hug them because I love them, and I don’t want them infected, but I am also mad that I can’t hug them because of how much I love them.”

An ‘isolation and quarantine’ Christmas

By Sueann Wickham Christmas this year has been truly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the isolation and quarantine necessary for staying safe from the virus and preventing transmission, Christmas this year is definitely not the same given all of these restrictions.

Persons now have to spend their holidays confined to their homes, except for essential purposes but not everyone is complaining.

Many believe that Christmas is a time of the year that needs to be spent with close family and friends. It is spent reminiscing on the year, whether it be tragedies or losses, accomplishments or gains. Even though isolation and quarantine brought inconveniences in many ways, many people have gotten more in touch with their families and their inner

self, while isolating this Christmas.

Many have had achievements to boast about this Christmas and this includes a young artist named Teija Edwards.

Edwards believes that Christmas in quarantine has not been that much different for her, because even before the pandemic she would always be at home or at school awaiting the Christmas break that usually begins around this time. She said that the only thing that has really made her Christmas significant this year was her participation in the Heart Through Art exhibition where she showcased all of her amazing paintings she made while quarantining at home.

After the exhibition she went back to her regular Christmas cleaning and more painting, making the best out of her ‘quarantined Christmas.’

Teija Edwards showcasing her quarantine Christmas art pieces at the Heart Through Art Exhibition.

Those home isolating with the virus were not really dismayed this Christmas, but a few were disheartened that they might not be able to be as close as they want with their loved ones since they are not allowed to have contact with them.

Kaieteur News was graced with the opportunity to speak with a few persons in that situation, however, we chose not to reveal their identities due to their fear of the discrimination that often comes with having COVID19.

Quite a few expressed that there were many things to miss besides being able to go out. In fact, they noted how much they took Christmas with their families for granted. These persons isolated at home are required to have zero contact with anyone in their house until they have recovered. Mild cases usually recover within two weeks but those with

severe symptoms take three to six weeks to recover.

One said, “Not being able to hug them (family) was the hardest part. It’s Christmas. Happy time you know. Everyone will be mingling, and I will be isolating. I cannot hug them because I love them, and I don’t want them infected, but I am also mad that I can’t hug them because of how much I love them.”

Others talked about the psychological toll being infected during the holidays took on their mental health.

Surely, they worried about their physical health, when they will recover and not being able to engage with their families this Christmas.

A young mother shared her experience with isolating at home and not being able to coddle her baby this Christmas season. She said, “This is my first Christmas with little Penny and I’m isolating and it’s hard. I’ve had many Christmases with my family, so isolating from them doesn’t bother me. But I was looking forward to this time with my baby girl.

Hopefully I recover before the holiday ends. So I can enjoy what little is left.”

It can indeed be an emotional time for these persons, being deprived of affection in the familyoriented season, leaving room for melancholy where there should be endless amounts of joy.

But to lighten up the mood, some were humorous.

A Bartica teen joked about how much Christmas cleaning he was missing out on in isolation. While he remained concerned for his health, the young man could not resist sharing how lucky he was to escape his mother ’s overwhelming “Christmas fever.”

Another said that he was

asymptomatic, so he was not really concerned for his health and even though he is not happy with the physical restrictions, it has been a relaxing time and he’s away from the stressful hassles of Christmas. “I don’t have to run to town, climb up high and dust down, hear the quarrelling about how close Christmas Day is. My mooma loves to argue.

Isolating this Christmas saved me the Christmas stress.”

Some have even gotten crafty while at home and decided to decorate their isolation space. Creative right!

This was actually recommended by experts worldwide who said that persons tapping into their creative side can ease the fatigue of isolating when they decorate their isolation space.

Among another list of things some experts have recommended are solving holiday puzzles, reading classic Christmas books, watching classic Christmas movies and having your

own Christmas karaoke.

They did not stop there.

These experts even stressed how useful technology can be. Why not hop on a virtual chat with friends and extend your Christmas wishes?

Persons can also have movie ‘watch parties’ virtually, by sharing a screen as you video chat with your friends.

It’s not all bad! There’s always a silver lining.

Isolation patients and regular persons quarantining have both found ways to cope with a COVID-19 Christmas.

Whether it was art like Edwards, binge-watching TV series and the traditional hallmark Christmas movies, getting in touch with their inner elements or simply finding a closer connection with their families this Christmas. Hopefully, next year does not bring another isolation/quarantine Christmas, but persons have indicated that they will make the best out of this one!

Friday December 25, 2020

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Guyana Trades Union Congress The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) joins with the Christian community and all Guyanese in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The season comes at a time when the world is experiencing a pandemic that has brought sorrows to the lives of many.

It comes at a time of growing disparity between rich and poor nations, the privileged/ connected class, and the working class who are falling more and more into the class of the working poor.

A religion founded to revolutionize man’s thinking and interaction with others, built on the teaching/ principles/values of equality and redemption, finds a world where disparity and injustice reign supreme and the

condemned practices of the Scribes and Pharisees returning to preeminence.

The principle of Christianity that prides itself on being our brothers and sisters’ keepers is waning and considering this, GTUC urges the return of Christ to Christmas.

Where His birth and teachings are premised on equality, justice and fair play, these values would become meaningless when observed in the breach and lip service paid at significant calendar events such as Christmas Day. GTUC enjoins all not only to celebrate Christ’s beginning (25 December), but also to give true meaning to its representation in our dayto-day lives.

The equality, which

protects the individual’s fundamental rights and freedoms to be treated with dignity and respect, includes the right to worship in peace, the right to work, freedom of association, legal justice, to own property, economic advancement, and all other inalienable rights. Respect for equality will ensure systems are but in place to ensure social, economic, and political justice for our fellow man, be it at an individual, group or institutional level.

Treating each other fairly will contribute to creating a just society and guarantee the equality of all. Whether it be the family, workplace, civic group, or government, where the tone is set in ensuring rules and standards

grounded in universal principles of equality, peace and goodwill to all humankind can be assured.

The best exemplar in this regard remains Christ, whose teachings and actions were even handed in conceptualisation, application and implementation.

Thus, the peace and goodwill this yuletide season brings us must not only be for merriment, but committed immersion in the role each and every one of us must play in giving true meaning, year round, to the principles of Christ’s life and work exemplified.

May Christ’s values continue to shape and influence our lives.

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Guyana Public Service Union The 2020 Festive Season is one that would have varying experiences for different people.

Nevertheless, on behalf of the Members of the Executive Council of the Guyana Public Service Union, I consider one aspect that would be common to all, and in this regard, I am extending to you our members best wishes first and foremost for your safety and good health and that you and your families and loved ones are well protected from the deadly Covid-19 Virus.

Drastically different from previous occasions in our lifetime, we now have restrictions on our activities and posture.

The cancellation of traditional Christmas parties and the situation being further compounded by the nonpayment of improved wages and salaries in an everincreasing economic environment. Additionally, they have to work in an infectious atmosphere without the recognition and compensation of risk allowances to frontline workers.

This Christmas many of our members who are essential frontline workers, in the health sector are at grave risk doing their best to contain the Corona virus and in so doing are at serious risk, significantly restricted even in their spare time to the normal enjoyment and sharing experience with families and friends on this occasion.

Those in the revenue collection areas, transportation and security sectors, unavoidably, have to interface with people, inspect goods, etc, and in so doing are exposed to becoming infected with the deadly

Corona virus.

Notwithstanding, the obvious and necessity of their involvement and risks to which they are exposed in order to keep the operations of government going, they have been treated most insensitively and uncaring by their employer.

In addition, the many Public Servants who were wantonly dismissed from the Public Service without due process. This action nullifies the statement and the large portrait, which states that the President is a “President for All.” This poor treatment has been ongoing.

The escalation of this deadly virus, which ought to have attracted a more responsible and professional, conduct, has not been taken with the seriousness with which it ought to have been treated.

In 2020, we had great hopes in achieving improved conditions in the quality of life and welfare of the people we represent. Nevertheless, we will endeavour to have collective decision making at all levels. We envision unity, solidarity and good governance.

We expect the Government also to do its part, leading by example and

take responsibility for fair and equitable treatment of its most valuable resources, human resources – its workers, without which no government can success, much less, function.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you and your families, a Merry Christmas on behalf of my family, the Union’s Executive Council and I. I hope that this time of goodwill brings happiness, peace and love to your homes.

Once again A Safe and Merry Christmas, Peace and Goodwill to All.

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Friday December 25, 2020

Friday December 25, 2020

...‘2020 was the most challenging year in Guyana’s From page 39 Caribbean Championships but we may host that next year, but with a Latin flavour.

Ecuador has already pledged their support and we will be sending invitations to other Latin America Countries,” continued Ninvalle.

According to Ninvalle the Pandemic has impacted all levels of our Boxing and financial aspect has not been spared.

“We would expect that come January we could start back some activity. We have not been able to host any competition since February so spectatorship would have been something we would have been looking at.

The biggest disappointment for me due to Pandemic would be our Boxers not being able to go to the Olympic qualifi-

ers. We were looking forward to that, they were rearing to go, they were in the best shape they could have ever been in and I have no doubt that we would have qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 1996,” lamented Ninvalle.

When John Douglas competed in the men’s light heavyweight event in the 1996 Summer Olympics, it was the last time a Guyanese Boxer Qualified for the Olympics, while Mike Parris’ Bronze Medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow is Guyana’s only Olympic Medal and only Medal in Boxing in the English speaking Caribbean.

“We will have to go back to the drawing board and speak to the GOA and Government concerning having a similar programme for these young

men, we hope that this can come true again.

Also we have not been able to host any competition so those are some of the things the Pandemic curtailed.

One of the most challenging aspects in Boxing for me personally, was my decision to resign as the Chairman of the Caribbean Boxing Association…. that decision came after deep thought and it is something I don’t regret at this time. It has allowed me to focus more on putting Guyana first and concentrate more on my Country than in the Caribbean,” Ninvalle explained.

Government’s support of Sports is critical for its development and producing high quality Guyanese Sporting Ambassadors and Ninvalle provided an insight on the

Friday December 25, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) The hard work and detailoriented planning you've done lately are really starting to pay off. The key is to maintain your sensitivity and look to where you can be of service to others.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You may not want to wander far from your bedroom today. That's fine. Take this opportunity to get things done around the house.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Things are on the upswing for you today, Gemini.

People are finally coming around to see things from your perspective. There's no need to doubt yourself.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Take a step back from the line of fire today and examine your position. You've made some bold moves and now it's time to pause and evaluate. Listen to others' reactions.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You may not feel like you're in tune with your situation today, Leo. Try not to get too pushy with your opinions about how things should be done. Honor other people's perspectives and approaches.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Try not to be too competitive today, Virgo. The more you try to drive your point across, the more it will meet stubborn opposition. This is a better day to observe the situation.

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LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Sink into a soft, gentle rhythm and you flow with everything around you, Libra. Ease your mind about any worries. Your subconscious knows the way.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Now isn't the time to prove to people that you're the boss. They would surely become defensive. You're much better off taking a sensitive, nurturing approach on a day like today.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) This is a favorable day for you to deal with intimate and sensitive issues. You will be in comfortable situations that allow you to express what you believe.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) There's a very heavy atmosphere around you that might feel stifling. Situations are cropping up that urge you to think practically with regard to your emotions.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Just when you thought that the whole world was turning on you, Aquarius, things start to come back around. You will find that you don't need to hide.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The more you let your ego and fantasies swell today, Pisces, the more friction you will encounter. Others aren't going to be fooled, nor are they going to want to deal with frivolity.

GBA’s relationship with Government.

“Boxing would have had a good relationship with APNU Government but we have a better relationship with this present Government and when I say that …. just on the level of correspondence and the promptness of the response as it relates to the correspondence it is much smoother, of a higher rate and much more timely and we welcome that,” Ninvalle disclosed.

Ninvalle thanked everyone who has stood in the corner of Boxing; the Boxers, Referees, Coaches, Judges, the Government, the Guyana Olympic Association, the Private sector and the fans for their support during a very tough year, not only for Sport but for everyone. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a productive new year.

...GFF, K&S, MCYS team From page 36 ground running since taking up the portfolio has been excited to see sports back up and running in keeping with the covid-19 guidelines. Minister Ramson teamed up with the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) to bring off an exciting completion two weeks ago and is at again.

Minister Ramson noted: “The Ministry is pleased to support and partner with the Guyana Football Federation and the Kashif and Shanghai for this event as a precursor to the recommencement of football activities in Guyana as the world prepares to exit the Covid 19 pandemic in 2021.”

The K&S Organisation was equally excited to be of support for this initiative and happy to share their expertise in the realms of organising being no strangers in this regard as they have been running the most successful football tournament in the history of Guyana.

Kashif Muhammad stated, “We are more than gratified to be teaming up with the GFF and the Ministry of Sports to aid in seeing the game bounce back. We can assure all and sundry that we’ll pull out all the stops to make these two days truly memorable given the challenges brought up us all by the global pandemic, covid19.”

...LBI Floodlights launched From page 37 indicated that with facilities such as LBI, competitions are likely to attract greater prices and rewards for teams and individual players and is likely to make the game more exciting locally.

CEO of Guysuco, Sasenarine Singh, began his speech by giving a background of the LBI ground under ownership of Guysuco, indicating that Guysuco took ownership of the ground in 1918 and would have managed and maintained the ground since then.

However, he pointed out that by 2010 the maintenance of the ground was not as customary. Singh applauded the efforts of the GCB for upgrading the facility and bringing it to its current excellent condition. He remarked that the progress observed in the facility upgrade was definitely due to persistence, partnership and perseverance, which when summed up can be considered a demonstration of true grit by the GCB. A few Community residents commended the Secretary of the GCB, and its members on their commitment to ensuring the vast transformation of the LBI

facility.

They posited that the LBI community appreciated the facility which they foresee being useful for the youths as well as the seniors.

Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, indicated that the switching on of the LBI Floodlight was a highly anticipated occasion.

She when on to point out, that though the feature match of the evening promised much excitement, that much of the excitement was due to transformation that had taken place on the ground and of the anticipated future development initiatives. She alluded to the fact, that the game of cricket can be likened to one’s favorite tea or coffee, which has today been given an added touch of flavor, a flavor that holds high expectations and promise.

The feature match saw Jai Hinds Masters and WD Masters competing, with WD Masters winning the toss and electing to bowl.

Their decision proved a wise one as Jai Hind could only manage 54 runs which WD Masters were able to surpass, to win the first match at the LBI facility under floodlights. (Sean Devers)

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Friday December 25, 2020

BCCI approves 10-team IPL from 2022 at AGM in Ahmedabad - The decision was ratified by the BCCI’s general body comprising the state associations

E

SPNcricinfo The BCCI has approved a 10team IPL from 2022. The decision was ratified by the B C C I ’s g e n e r a l b o d y comprising the state associations at the board’s annual general meeting yesterday in Ahmedabad.

Deciding on two additional teams was among the main points on the agenda for the board’s 89th AGM; with less than four months left for the next IPL, it was decided to stick to eight teams for the 2021 edition.

Another important point was to discuss cricket’s possible inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The BCCI deferred taking a stand on it and will instead discuss it at a special general meeting in early 2021. With the ICC becoming more optimistic about the

inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Summer Olympics, the body had recently sent a questionnaire to all member countries asking them to quantify the “potential financial benefits” they could accrue from their respective governments if cricket was included in the Olympics.

The biggest decision at the AGM concerned the expansion of IPL, which the BCCI has been discussing since the successful organisation of the recent edition in the UAE despite the challenges of the Covid19 pandemic.

It is understood that at the meeting on Thursday, both Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah, the BCCI president and secretary, stressed that the IPL must become bigger, to provide more opportunities to more

players worldwide while adding new cities to the IPL map.

The board members - the state associations accordingly decided that the IPL can comprise up to 10 teams from the 2022 edition and authorised the IPL governing council to finalise the preparations for the addition of the new teams.

That means the 2022 IPL could have nine or 10 teams.

The state associations and the BCCI office-bearers agreed that time constraints would prevent an additional franchise in 2021, which would remain an eight-team tournament.

The board also decided to set a cap of one franchise per state. Consequently, the new IPL franchise(s) would be located in a state where no existing franchise has a home base. With

15 teams set to battle for top spot

1

5 teams are expected to contest the Boxing day/last Sunday of the year 2020 Dominoes competition which is set to commence tomorrow at Turning Point Sports Club. Strong contenders are Gold is Money, Spartans, Phantom, Executives and Mix Up, however teams such as Gangster, Quiet Storm, Big Boss Girls, Cody 6 and Turning Point have been known in the past to spring surprises

and a keen contest in anticipated.

Coordinator Orrin Boston has put in place measures for strict adherence to covid guidelines; Bleach pans, sanitizers and masks are compulsory upon entry and during games. Action is set to commence at 14:00hrs and teams are asked to be at the venue 30 minutes prior to the start of play.

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Motieram have joined the list of sponsors.

GFF, K&S, MCYS team up for two-day Bounceback Football; Dec 29 & Jan. 1, 2021 - All Star teams from East Coast, Linden, West Dem and GT to clash Football players, fans, lovers and enthusiasts are bracing for the return of competitive football following a long hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Teaming up to make this a reality in a few days are the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Kashif and Shanghai Organisation (K&S) and the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport.

All star teams from the East Coast of Demerara, Linden, West Demerara and the City will be battling for supremacy on December 29th and January 1st, 2021.

Action would kick off at 18:00 and 20:00hrs both nights.

The winning teams from the 29th will clash in the final on New Year’s night where many of the nation’s

stars, current and future would be in combat. Fans would be able to follow all the action on January 1st via NCN Ch. 11, Enetworks and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Facebook page.

GFF President commented: “Almost two months ago I met the Hon. Minister and shared an overview of the critical phases of the Golden Jaguars preparation for the 2021 international season. I also updated him on the GFF/UEFA Bounce Back imitative and the importance of putting into practice the game day COVID 19 protocols we had developed under the guidance of our European partners.

Today I am very pleased to acknowledge the

receptiveness and tremendous support of Minister Ramson, which has manifested in the GFF Kashif & Shanghai Bounce Back classic. The purpose of this event is to provide our local National team players an opportunity to play a few competitive games and to give the GFF Technical and operational staff a chance to test the implementation of the newly developed game day protocols.

This is yet another example of important role the Government of Guyana can play in aiding the development of football, facilitating partnerships and engaging young people across Guyana.”

Minister Charles Ramson Jnr. who has hit the (Continued on page 35)

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and the union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh ruled out, other international match venues like Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram and Lucknow, would be favourites to host the new franchises.

BCCI open to cricket at LA Olympics but...

According to several state associations officials who attended the AGM, the members were open to the idea of cricket featuring in the 2028 summer Olympics.

However, they wanted clarity on few key issues.

That included whether the BCCI would firstly need to give up its autonomy and become part of the Indian Olympic Association, which the members were against.

The state associations also wanted to know what the revenue-sharing agreement would be like.

There was also concern about whether participating in the Olympics could dilute the IPL, which has been the biggest money-spinner for the BCCI over the past decade.

Rajiv Shukla back as BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla has returned as the BCCI vicepresident after he was elected for the post at the AGM. Shukla had previously served as the board vicepresident for three years when N Srinivasan was president, and now takes over the post left vacant by Mahim Verma earlier this year.

Shukla has had a long association with the BCCI;

he has also served as the IPL chairman twice, from 2011 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2018.

He had ended his first stint in the middle of 2013 following the IPL scandal over alleged corruption in the league when three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested for spot-fixing allegations.

On Thursday, Shukla said his focus as vicepresident will always be to improve Indian cricket. “It’s a great day for Indian cricket, we have taken many decisions in today’s AGM by which cricket of our country will certainly be growing.

This year COVID-19 impacted one and all but we managed to hold IPL this year and my focus as the vice-president will always be to improve Indian cricket,” Shukla told ANI.

Sun Yang’s 8-year ban overturned after lawyers point to judge’s anti-Chinese tweets Yahoo Sports - A collection of vehemently anti-Chinese tweets has caused one of the most drawn-out sagas in swimming to become even longer.

Sun Yang, the most decorated swimmer in Chinese history, had his eight-year ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned by a Swiss federal court on Wednesday, according to The New York Times’ Tariq Panja. The ban had originally been issued after the World Anti-Doping Agency brought a complaint against Sun for refusing to cooperate with three anti-doping officials attempting to collect blood and urine samples at his home in China.

The reason behind the reversal was a successful challenge by Sun’s lawyers that questioned the neutrality of Franco Frattini, the chairman of the three-person CAS panel that issued the swimmer’s ban.

Specifically, Sun’s lawyers pointed to past tweets from Frattini that carried a strong anti-Chinese sentiment.

CAS chairman had dozens of antiChinese tweets It’s unclear which tweets from Frattini, who has previously served as Italy’s minister of foreign affairs, were ruled by the Swiss court to show an anti-Chinese bias, but options are not lacking.

Frattini has frequently posted angry tweets directed at China in the past, primarily reacting to animal cruelty in the region.

Some examples: Hell forever for those bastard sadic chinese who brutally killed dogs and cats in Yulin, with the complicity of the chinese authorities !!!

Old yellow-face sadic trying to kill and torture a small dog: this is China’s picture!!!Westerners doing rich business with China bear in mind these atrocities

Barbarians!! Torturing and killing and eating dogs is not history, it is sadism from horrible chinese people deserving the worst of evil. The majority of chinese people don’t like this horror, but they have to intervene and ban Yulin tortures You can check out the larger collection of Frattini’s tweets against China, but be warned that nearly every tweet is in reply to images of animal cruelty.

Where do Sun Yang and the CAS go from here?

While Sun’s ban has been overturned, that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods.

Per the Times, Sun is now free to resume swimming, but only until his case is heard by a different CAS panel. WADA has reportedly said it will retry the case, and that the ban wasn’t overturned because of lack of merit with its case.

It’s unclear if Sun’s next trial will again be public — his first trial was the first in years to be held in public and was marred by translation issues. It’s also unclear when the re-trial will be held, which is not insignificant considering the Summer Olympics are scheduled to be held in seven months.

Whenever and however the trial is held, what remains sure is that the whole matter will remain contentious. What began with one of Sun’s security guards smashing his blood sample with a hammer has become a muddled mess for WADA, which only filed its complaint after FINA gave Sun a mere warning for refusing to cooperate with testers despite testing positive for a banned substance in the past.

Sun and his supporters have remained adamant in their belief that the swimmer is merely the victim of anti-Chinese bias and attempts to hurt the country, while many of Sun’s peers clearly see him as a doper.

Kaieteur News

Friday December 25, 2020

LBI Floodlights launched with O-40 match on Wednesday - Ground to become Guyana’s second International cricket Venue The launching of the Floodlights at the LBI facility on the East Coast of Demerara got off to a late start but that could not put a damper on the momentous occasion which moved the f a c i l i t y w h i c h accommodates Guyana’s only Indoor practice nets, closer to an International Standard Venue.

Leased from Guysuco for 99 years, the LBI rehabilitation project was the brain-child of Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Anand Sanansie.

In his remarks, Sanansie, a Director on Cricket West Indies, alluded to the fact that the opening of the LBI Floodlight facility was a historic occasion. He indicated that the development initiative of the LBI facility has been a work in progress for at least for the last ten years, with the erection of the GCB hostel and the indoor practice facility on the north western end of the premises.

Manzoor Nadir

Anand Sanansie

Thereafter, the GCB tried persistently to negotiate and secure an agreement with Guysuco for the transfer of a lease agreement w hich w as eventually secured approximately seven years from the erection of the initial buildings – hostel and practice facility.

Sanasie went on to provide an overview of the developments works to be completed on the premises, which includes outdoor practice facilities, Press box, Mounds, Stands, and other first class cricket amenities.

Sanasie disclosed that the L B I f a c i l i t y, w h e n completed, will be of

international standard.

The honorable speaker of the National Assembly and President of the Everest Cricket Club, Manzoor Nadir, underscored the importance of having a facility such as LBI with its superb drainage and floodlight features, which he opined will lend to the competitive level of competition. He indicated, that competitions would not be as adversely affected by the usual unfavorable weather conditions, since the LBI facility was equipped to withstand rainfall that would generally affect the continuance of play. Nadir (Continued on page 35)

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Friday December 25, 2020

Update on FIFA Women’s World Cup and men’s youth competitions The Bureau of the FIFA Council has taken several important decisions concerning upcoming FIFA competitions.

Following the amazing success of the 2019 edition, the decision was taken last year to expand the FIFA Women’s World Cup to 32 teams and thus continue to foster the growth of women’s football.

FIFA has since worked closely with the confederations to formulate a proposal for the allocation of slots and the Bureau of the

FIFA Council has today confirmed the following berths for the 2023 edition: Direct slot allocation (29 of the 32 participation slots) 6 direct slots for the AFC; 4 direct slots for CAF; 4 direct slots for Concacaf; 3 direct slots for CONMEBOL; 1 direct slot for the OFC; and 11 direct slots for UEFA. The two host countries, Australia and New Zealand, will automatically qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, and their slots have been taken directly from the quotas allocated to

their confederations, namely the AFC and the OFC respectively.

Play-off tournament slot allocation (3) The three remaining slots will be decided through a ten-team play-off tournament with the following play-off slot allocation: 2 play-off slots for the AFC; 2 play-off slots for CAF; 2 play-off slots for Concacaf; 2 play-off slots for CONMEBOL; 1 play-off slot for the OFC; and 1 playoff slot for UEFA. Play-off tournament format - Four teams will be

seeded in the tournament based on the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking prior to the play-off draw, with a maximum of one seeded team per confederation.

In Group 1, comprising three teams, seed 1 will play for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup against the winners of the knockout game involving the two unseeded teams in the group.

In Group 2, comprising three teams, seed 2 will play for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup against the

winners of the knockout game involving the two unseeded teams in the group.

In Group 3, comprising four teams, seeds 3 and seed 4 will play against the two unseeded teams in the group, with the two winners then playing for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Teams from the same confederation will not be permitted to be drawn in the same group.

The play-off tournament will be used as a test event in Australia and New Zealand for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and both hosts will be invited to participate in friendly matches against the teams in Group 1 and Group 2, thereby ensuring that all teams play two matches during the play-off tournament.

FIFA U-20 World Cup™ and FIFA U-17 World Cup As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to cancel the 2021 editions of the men’s FIFA U-20 World Cup™ and FIFA U-17 World Cup, and to appoint Indonesia and Peru respectively, who were due to host the tournaments

in 2021, as the hosts of the 2023 editions.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel. FIFA has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021.

In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to normalise to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways.

FIFA would like to express its gratitude to the host member associations, as well as the authorities in Indonesia and Peru, for their commitment and the tournament preparations made so far. FIFA looks forward to continuing to work closely together with the host countries to organise successful tournaments.

Da Silva honoured by praise from Sir Vivian Richards, promises to work harder to get better SportsMax - Joshua Da Silva said he is humbled by the praise heaped upon him

by West Indies great, Sir Vivian Richards.

Da Silva, 22, one of the shining lights for what was otherwise a disastrous tour of New Zealand earlier this month. He made a composed 57 in the second innings on his Test debut after being called up to replace injured w i c k e t k e e p e r- b a t s m a n Shane Dowrich.

His performance already has tongues wagging across the Caribbean about the Trinidadian taking over from his Barbadian colleague behind the stumps for the West Indies.

However, while Sir Vivian, who has scored 8540 runs from 121 Test matches, did not opine on whether Da Silva was ready to be the West Indies number-one wicketkeeperbatsman, he definitely likes what he sees. He expressed his opinions to the Antigua Observer in a recent interview.

“I think some of these guys should have a look at

him and see how simple he keeps his game because even for the period I saw him at the crease he was compact, not flashy and had the bat coming down with all kinds of flashiness,” Sir Vivian said.

“He looks very respectable to me like he knows his game.

“You see him when he is batting and when he is looking to defend, how straight his bat is. He looks organized to me and you’re not seeing that in all the other guys.”

After reading about the Master Blaster’s remarks, Da Silva told Sportsmax.TV he appreciated the observations from the alltime great. “I am honoured to see what Sir Viv has said and complimenting about my batting,” he said.

“I am just playing a simple basic game. I am not trying to be too flashy, score when I can score and defend when I can defend so it’s a great honour to get some compliments from a great like Sir Viv and I will take that and keep working at my game and getting better.”

Kaieteur News

Friday December 25, 2020

Amateur Boxing review

‘2020 was the most challenging year in Guyana’s Boxing’ says GBA head

PAGE 43

GBA President Steve Ninvalle (middle) with the fearsome foursome in Cuba.

- Ninvalle praises Sport Minister for understanding the needs of Sports

By Sean Devers The Global Pandemic COVID-19 has wreaked havoc with all aspects of life worldwide including sports and Boxing has not been spared the wrath of the deadly Virus which is threatening to come back for a second round.

President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) and former Chairman of the Caribbean Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, said because of the pandemic, which has not yet been knocked out, the year 2020 was one the most challenging years for Guyana’s Boxing.

“Well 2020 was one of the most challenging years for Boxing in Guyana and in the World. As a matter of fact, it’s the first time that I could remember that we did not have a National Open, a National Novice or a National Intermediate competition.

So if you ask me it has been an extremely challenging year, it’s been an extremely revealing year in the sense that it reviled how much deep we can dig as an executive and an Association The Corona-19 pandemic …. well I don’t want to say reaped havoc …but forced the total closure of the sport for over three quarters of the year and we have only now been able to have a limited amount of activity in Boxing,” the experienced Sports Administrator informed.

Ninvalle was also high in praise for Minister of Culture, Youth & Sport Charles Ramson Jnr. “The discussions we would have had with the Sport Minister, I can assure you as President of the GBA we have never had that sort of conversations and discussions with the previous Sport Minister in the previous Government so that alone tell us that we are on the right track as it relates of seeing eye to eye on issues.

Minister Charles Ramson is more in-depth and more structured and understands what sports needs but it’s not only what Sports needs, but also what the Ministry would need Sports to do. We understand him well and he understands us so I think we will have a wonderful relationship.

New AIBA President Umar Kremlev.

We are happy that we have a Government and a Minister who actually understands what has to be done and how it is to be done and I am very confident that with the support of Minister Ramson, not only Boxing but all sports in Guyana will see a meteoric rise as it relates to development,” the garrulous Ninvalle revealed.

Ninvalle also had a message for the local Boxing fraternity who were starved of fistic action since March when all Sports came to a screeching halt due to the Corona Virus which began in China.

“And just to let you know that while Boxing was floored by the Pandemic it has not been knocked out and we will be back on our feet after a mandatory eight count and the action will be stepped up soon,” promised the GBA head.

But after almost 10 months of no sports in Guyana (Cricket is the only Sport which was allowed to make a return last month with a GCB Tournament begin held in accordance with the Covid-19 guidelines) Ninvalle informed that boxing has gotten permission to re-start basic training without sparring and a maximum of 10 persons at any one time and is based on the size of the Gym. “So Boxers are slowly returning to the Gym and it’s a difficult period for us to estimate and understand what’s going on due to the fact that in December Boxing is usually at a lull due to the Christmas activities but in January things should start picking up and we will take from there.

The immediate plans of the GBA for 2021, is to make sure that the Boxers are focusing and training for the Olympic qualifiers.”

C a r i b b e a n Bantamweight Champion Keevin Allicock, Middleweight Desmond Amsterdam, light Heavyweight Dennis Thomas and Light Welterweight Colin Lewis were in Cuba preparing for the Olympic qualifiers in Peru on the road to the Olympics which were set for Tokyo, Japan from July 24 to August 9, 2020. But due to pandemic both Events were postponed to 2021.

“In January we will start to get that moving, we have already gotten the support of the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport as it relates to having the Boxers encamped.

As soon as Christmas is over the Elite Boxers will be encamped since the Olympic qualifiers will be held in May and so after a month encampment we will be looking at overseas preparation but that would depend on how much open the Caribbean and the World is in terms of their Airports.

While Guyana has opened back almost everything, many other Countries have not and we have to wait and see which Countries have lifted their Covid-19 restrictions so can know where to send our Boxers,” disclosed Ninvalle.

In a year in which the

Global deaths from the Covid-19 has climbed past that of the Spanish Flu which devastated the World in the 1920s and millions around t h e Wo r l d i n c l u d i n g Guyanese, have lost their jobs due to shutting down of Countries, Ninvalle said two positive things in Boxing stood out for him during this year.

“One is that our Boxers were able to complete their three-month training course in Cuba even though they did not get a chance to compete at the Olympic qualifier.

I think what they have learnt in Cuba would be something that would take them through their entire life and they returning safely back home. I applaud the efforts of the Guyana Olympic Association and the Government in bringing these guys back them home safely. I could not have rested a night properly while they were stranded in Cuba.

Also another big plus for me in Boxing was the election of Russian New

AIBA President Umar Kremlev as the President of AIBA. Mr Kremlev has all that is takes to bring Boxing back on its right footing, he is young, he is visionary and he has all the tools that we need to get Boxing back and to make sure that our relationship with the IOC is back to some level of normalcy,” Ninvalle posited.

Ninvalle said that all was not lost during this year and informed that they were been able to have virtual sessions, virtual seminars.

“Our Referees and Coaches were able to benefit from high level seminars hosted by Ray Silvas, who is the Chairman of the AIBA Referees and Judges commission in addition to other seminars held by top ranking officials. So we have utilised that time and one of the Coaches Seminars had the largest turn-out …. We had 170 odd participants which is a record for the World in Boxing,” added the GBA boss.

Ninvalle spoke of the

adverse effect the Pandemic had on Boxing and GBA and the challenges he faced.

“We were only able to get one card in and that was on February 15, usually our Andrew Lewis Novices is held around March or April.

Then we have our Lennox Blackmore national intermediate and that is followed by the Terrence Ali Open. Those are the three statutory cards we hold every year.

Also we would have planned to host the C A R I F TA B o x i n g Championship but that had to be shelved, that would have been the first time in over two decades there would have been a C A R I F TA B o x i n g tournament.

T h e Wi n f i e l d Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior tournament was scheduled for August could not have been held; we will be holding the Tournament next year.

We had planned to host the (Continued on page 35)

Sealed Deal! Minister Charles Ramson Jnr. (2nd left) with GFF President Wayne Forde (2nd right) and K&S Directors Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major (left) and Kashif Muhammad.

rt Spo

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Da Silva honoured by praise from Sir Vivian Richards, promises to work harder to get better BCCI’s Arun Singh Dhumal, Sourav Ganguly, Jay Shah, Rajiv Shukla and Brijesh Patel at the 89th AGM. (PTI)

BCCI approves 10-team IPL from 2022 at AGM in Ahmedabad - The decision was ratified by the BCCI’s general body comprising the state associations

Joshua Da Silva said he is humbled by the praise heaped upon him.

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