Saturday February 20, 2021
Kaieteur News
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With over 150 years experience …
GNIC ready to be leading contributor to fabrication works for oil industry By Kiana Wilburg
W
ith over 150 years of experience in shipbuilding and the repair and maintenance of vessels, the Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC), formerly known as GNEC, remains one of the most significant contributors to the upkeep of the nation's maritime industry along with the services and manufacturing sectors. In fact, the company has been a staunch advocate for not only maintaining a high level of performance but ensuring that as the oil and gas industry blossoms, more Guyanese are given an opportunity to play a leading role in their respective areas of expertise. Speaking to Kaieteur News recently, GNIC's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Clinton Williams, did not hesitate to note that the entity is well known for its capacity to build and repair oceangoing and riverain vessels, which include Coastal Trawlers, Passenger Ferry
CEO of the Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC), Mr. Clinton Williams Fuel tanks which GNIC did for GuyOil Vessels (T & H D), Suction Hopper Dredge, Tugs, Pontoons, and Launches. Williams articulated that these are only some of the multitude of marine vessels built and repaired with the tested skills of GNIC's Craftsmen, Technicians, and Engineers. Over the last five years, and more recently, last
month, he shared that private companies, agencies and state-owned organizations have utilized the Corporation's facilities and expertise in fabrication, welding, machining, and constructing large and small industrial engineering components. With respect to recent emergency works, management at GNIC shared that the Transport and Harbour Department had requested emergency repairs to MV Kimbia, since the vessel was said to have developed major problems while being assigned for use in the North West District. Kaieteur News was made to understand that the vessel was drydocked on January 15, 2021, and major works were done to the hull, along with sandblasting, crop and renewal of hull and frames, painting of the superstructure, and installing zinc anodes. The repair works were completed as per deadline and undocked on January 29, 2021. For those who may not be aware, the MV Kimbia was built by Damen Shipyard in Holland in 1980. The vessel is known
to ply various waterways to transport passengers and cargo with limited accommodation for vehicles on deck. Over the years, GNIC has always done major structural repairs and contributed to the existence of the vessel so that it can continue to traverse the various waterways. In evaluating GNIC's performance, it is pellucid that contractual conditions were satisfied on quality, timeframe, and scope for the vessel's seaworthiness. SERVICE TO MARAD GNIC has a longstanding relationship with the Maritime Administration Department, particularly as it relates to doing maintenance work for its Dredge Steve N, which is said to be its
largest vessel. This dredge was designed by Damen Shipyard and constructed in GNEC's Drydock in 1978. It is used to clear the channels in Guyana's major waterways in order to allow for proper navigation of ships within the harbour. Recently, the MV Steve N was berthed at GNIC's Wharf for repairs to Draghead Sheaves. Checks by Kaieteur News with MARAD revealed that GNIC satisfied all requirements on the repair works and the vessel left on February 3, 2021. It should be noted that in 2016, the MV Steve N was out of operation for critical repairs. This news agency had reported back then that GNIC was able to fully complete all the repair work
and bring the vessel up to specification with the assistance of staff with a wealth of experience. Works carried out on the Dredge included fabrication works to the hull, hopper and ballast tanks; repairs to propulsion system; propeller shafts; bushes and rudder; sandblasting and painting; electrical works including installation of three 5,000 BTU air condition units and installation of two generators to name a few. With respect to other works conducted by GNIC, Kaieteur News understands that Motor Vessels MV Torani and MV Malali went t h r o u g h m a j o r refurbishment throughout the years since constructed by GNEC. Its contributions (continued on page 19)
The MV Kimbia that was recently repaired
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Kaieteur News
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Exxon subsidiary yet to produce evidence that parent company will pick up oil disaster costs I
t has been over a year s i n c e E s s o Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) failed to provide Guyana with a formal agreement, which states that i t s p a r e n t c o m p a n y, ExxonMobil, would accept liability should any oil disaster occur in the Stabroek Block. It has also failed to provide similar proof of agreement from the parent companies of Hess Guyana Exploration Limited and C N O O C / N E X E N Petroleum Guyana Limited, the two other partners on the Stabroek concession. The fact that so much time has elapsed without this formal guarantee sets a worrying trend for Guyana's future says Dr. Vincent
Adams, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The operator of the Stabroek Block, EEPGL, he explained is known as a limited liability company, carrying little assets that would be able compensate for a major disaster that extends to Guyana's shores. He said this leaves Guyana exposed and running the risk of acquiring massive debt to compensate for the damage for decades. It was Dr. Adams who had ensured that the Liza Phase Two environmental permit handed to EEPGL included a provision committing the parent company, ExxonMobil, to accepting unlimited liability for all costs related to oil spills or any other such
incident. This was also done for the Payara environmental permit, but not for the permit for the Liza Phase One Project, which is currently producing over 100,000 barrels of oil per day. And while the EPA is now under the control of Sharifa Razack, who has the authority to amend the permit, it has made no move to do so, leaving Guyana at further risk. Dr. Adams even went a step further to ensure Guyana was protected by ensuring that the provision in all other permits regarding exploratory work in the basin. He continued, “They threatened me to bring in the President or whatever but I really did not care. I knew
ExxonMobil still to explain root cause of flaring By Kemol King
T
oday makes three days since Kaieteur News asked ExxonMobil to clearly define the cause of flaring at the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. On the morning of February 18, Government and Public Affairs Advisor for ExxonMobil Guyana, Janelle Persaud, told reporters “Axial vibration of the compressor rotor was the initiating event of the technical issue experienced on January 27. The resulting vibration within the
ExxonMobil Guyana's Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud
compressor was the cause of the mechanical seal failure initially reported.” At this point, Kaieteur News asked whether the vibration of the rotor was linked to the previous issue ExxonMobil encountered which caused it to flare all year 2020, and/or whether it was linked to a design flaw, improper maintenance or some other cause. This was asked to ensure that there wouldn't be a related reoccurrence at Liza Phase One or any of ExxonMobil's future developments. ExxonMobil was also asked to provide a (continued on page 15)
that we had the leverage, that they could not pump a barrel of oil until they agreed that they were going to transfer that liability to the parent corporation. I got them to write that into the permit.” However, what the EPA allowed EEPGL was time to formally agree to the provision in the permit. And that is what led to the situation now where the company still has not provided assurance of agreement, Dr. Adams relayed. “Nobody in the world has ever obtained that before and it has been over a year now and they have not provided the signed document from the parent
company saying that they are going to do it…,” he said. Dr. Adams added that answers need to be demanded from both Exxon and the government as to why such a critical element meant to protect Guyana has not been finalized. “The BP spill in the Gulf is running close to US$70 billion dollars, the whole of Guyana cannot afford something like that so we need to know what is going on,” he lamented. Clarification on this matter was sought from EEPGL's Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, but up to press time, no answer was received.
Former EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams At his most recent press e n g a g e m e n t , t h e Vi c e President, Bharrat Jagdeo, was asked to say if he secured the formal agreement from the parent companies. While he agreed that Exxon and its partners should be the ones accepting liability for such disasters, he admitted too that the current administration has received no commitment from the company detailing this.
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Saturday February 20, 2021
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
Commercial Registry and beneficial owners It is perplexing that in this day and age, when transparency is supposedly the order of how things should be, we have Guyana’s Commercial Registry finding it necessary to draw a hard public line on disclosure of beneficial ownership of companies registered with it. And it is suspicious when there is a failure to disclose beneficial ownership of companies registered with anything to do with this country’s oil. In fact, we at this publication would go so far as to state that it is suspicious, in the extreme, when every effort is made to conceal beneficial ownership in companies having to do with Guyana’s oil. It is highly unacceptable that this is what has happened under the previous PPP government, where stringent steps were taken to hide and mislead the nation’s population on what was taking place with our oil. Specifically, in the instances of the awards of the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks, it was the equivalent of pulling teeth, pulling fingernails (one by one), and pulling out hair one root at a time to get any answers, any sliver of information on who were the beneficial owners of those rich oil blocks; blocks that were estimated to have billions of barrels of oil equivalent resources. And despite doing all of that pulling without any anaesthetic, there were still no details forthcoming from any source, as to the identity of the beneficial owners of those two oil blocks. Why should this be with something of such value (or any value) that belongs to the people? How could this be with rich assets that are the property of all of the people of this country? Since those two oil blocks were the property of the people, and not the PPP leadership to do with as was pleasing to them, or as appealing to their scheming minds, then there are so many other sharp questions that could be asked. None of those questions or the related thinking behind them is favourable to the integrity, principles, and honour of Guyanese political leadership, be it the PPP or coalition leadership, but especially, that of the former. The worst and lowest misgivings take firm hold and would not let go, given that there is only silence and dodging on what went on and why it had to be so in the first place. As many Guyanese ought to know by now, it was the unceasing and tireless efforts of this paper that led to the unearthing of names like Dookie and Chuck-A-Sang and LowA-Chee. Those are all Guyanese, who served as front men and middlemen doing the apparently questionable biddings of senior PPP political honchos. The latter were and are still bent on overseeing the country’s oil business in a secretive and sleazy way. In addition to the collaborating Guyanese, there were others from Canada and Israel and later, going down the line, as far away as Australia. The slick political players made sure their people took a lot of care in confusing whatever tracks and personnel may come to light at a later time. As we consider all of this, and we are sure that the local Commercial Registry was not unconscious of our almost daily disclosures over the beneficial owners of those oil blocks, it is with considerable delight that we welcome the insistence and rule, this new demand, that beneficial ownership must be disclosed for companies seeking registration. This is nonnegotiable and has to be a standard feature of conducting business in this country. There is nothing burdensome or special about such an arrangement (a demand, if such must be the case), and this is not just for oil, but for all companies. And the more details about those beneficial owners that can be furnished the better. The Commercial Registry is calling for the beneficial ownership disclosure for those holding 25 percent or more of the shares of the underlying company. Since there are a bunch of crafty characters around, it would not surprise us if suddenly, most (or all) of the owners of a company up for registration are under the 25 percent disclosure threshold. Though there is nothing wrong with that, given how we have gone about business in this country, that less than 25 percent floor could conceal a world of worms that eats away at the fabric of honest commercial endeavours in this society. And at the top of the list is oil.
Tendering, including for gas, must be open and transparent DEAR EDITOR, In theory, government contracts are given out based on an open, transparent tendering process – the most effective tender supposedly gets the job. Is it really so? Is the entire process of submitting a tender a sham? For the four studies for gas to shore, is there any tendering? Or is government just selecting any four entities to do the gas onshore studies? Is it ethical for Ministers to direct contracts to favour bidders? Should government engage in no bidding contracting? There were allegations of manipulation of tenders during the last PPP administrations that ended in 2011 and 2015 with loss of political support. In spite of economic progress, the PPP was removed from office. Did the PPP learn anything from those allegations and the election outcomes? We are six months into the new administration. Is a repeat in the making? It is becoming common practice for Ministers to override their departmental tender boards within their respective Ministries and award contracts as per the
Minister’s directives. It was so under the previous regime except for a few Ministers against whom there were no allegations of wrongdoing or contract interference. But this government promised to do business differently from its predecessor. Instead, there are more abusive practices that are costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Are all contracts advertised or tendered? How about the much talked about gas project for Wales? Are some contracts sole sourced with preferred bidders? It was recently revealed in a report in a paper that two companies got 85 percent of the contracts to supply the Health Ministry with drugs. Is that fair? There is much hype over the Eccles to Diamond road recently done. Why was it not tendered? Which company did the road? Who owns the company? Is there an incestuous relationship between contractor and someone in the government? Is the contractor a front for anyone in the government? It is now necessary for the Auditor General (AG) to pay close attention to every tender so as to prevent
manipulation of the process. Copies of tenders should be submitted to the AG’s Chamber. And opening of tenders should be done in the presence of AG staff and made public before evaluation is done so that costs are not changed in favour of a contractor or to add something for rewarding of the contract. This open tendering process would restrict the kind of ministerial abuse that is emerging in which ministers direct which company gets a contract. Are contractors being called in to pay a fee and/or told of a deal to get the contract? Is the contract price re-negotiated to include the deal? On deals, are family members of a Minister providing a service through a recently established company that is expediting approval of construction and facilitating contracts? There are suggestions that this is the case and that this is a Ministry that has one of the largest budgets. Is it right for family members of Ministers to engage in this kind of business activity and is it fair to squeeze contractors for a
fee in order to land a contract? Editor, putting in a tendering process cost in excess of $200K — buying the tender package and going through the expenses of preparing the documents like hiring engineers to complete the required paper work, packaging of the materials, and the time spent — only to find out the entire process is a sham. A small contractor finds the process prohibitive and cumbersome, and feels pain when a contract has been manipulated to favour a particular contractor who pays to play. While a few former Ministers did not interfere with the tender process, and they are applauded for their honesty, it appears that the opposite now obtains in several Ministries where an honest contractor finds it almost impossible to get work. Ministers should not have the power to determine who gets a tender. The process should be open and transparent perhaps involving the Auditor General to witness the tender process and audit the work. Yours truly, Nigel P. Blake
What is Local Content and who should benefit from it? DEAR EDITOR, I applaud the government for consulting with the public on arriving at a policy on local content requirements (LCR) for the oil and gas industry. Local Content Policy refers to the legal requirement of foreign investors using domestic goods and resources or services. We have limitations in both. When the APNU led regime was negotiating with Exxon in 2016/17 on a new oil production agreement for field development, a few of us, economists and budding oil enthusiasts, met in New York as well as online discussing royalty, profit sharing, and local content and offered recommendations. We also organized seminars and hosted oil specialists in several public forums in New York and zoom webinars. As expected, our recommendations were all ignored and Guyana signed a lopsided agreement. The APNU regime signed an oil agreement that was well below international norms. Since then, we have championed efforts to renegotiate the unjust contract without success. The current President, Vice President, Minister of
Energy and other spokespersons for this administration were quizzed by Mr. Glenn Lall and KN on renegotiation of the oil agreement. The government says it will not violate the sanctity of a contract but that it will press for greater local content in oil companies’ exploration and production. Exxon claims it has been spending billions on local content. Since there has not been any audit of Exxon’s expenditures or purchases or hiring, Exxon’s figures can’t be verified. It can’t be determined what percentage of Exxon’s expenses or personnel are actually ‘local’ content. A genuine audit may find just a small percentage of Exxon’s Guyana cost operations is local content. The present administration has displayed seriousness about local content. Colleagues who met regularly over the last four years to discuss local content and other oil and gas related issues complain that they were not invited for participation in the recent panel discussion. All countries, including UK, Norway, etc., have a local content requirement in extraction of resources or
foreign investment. There is a percentage of local resources in foreign investment that varies as per negotiation. Generally, World Bank and IMF recommends not less than 20 percent but can be up to 50 percent. Guyana does not have much technical skills or resources or capital equipment for oil or gas production. So its local content resources may be very infinitesimal. What qualifies (or not) as local content and how can it be enhanced? Local content is the value of local input that a project uses to help boost the national economy. It is not just the utilization of local food but other resources as well including development (training) of local skills and technology transfer. Local content is not the equivalent of hiring Guyanese for cleaning of the oil platform and rooms, cooking for platform staff, washing underwear and bed sheets, supplying “bhajie” and water melons, and non-technical activities. Local content is building a workforce that is skilled to meet the requirements of the energy industry. It is also hiring Guyanese in management.
Those were some of our recommendations that were ignored by those who negotiated with Exxon. It is expected that more Guyanese will be increasingly employed in the oil and gas sector and taking over the daily activities including technical aspects of the industry. Since Guyana lacks local manufacturing and oil specialists, it is expected that Exxon will provide training to Guyanese to enable them to take over operations of production. Guyanese must be provided the technical aspects of production not just in cleaning platforms or lifting pipes or transporting materials from shore base to platform. Where possible, Guyanese can be trained for the oil and gas industry by a local (not expatriate) contractor not just in Calgary or Texas. Local content is also defined in terms of the ownership of the enterprise involved in production and training of Guyanese. Having a foreigner or an expatriate establishing operations in Guyana and virtually owning the newly found company that offer basic training to a (Continued on page 22)
Saturday February 20, 2021
Proposed bridge for the Guyana-Suriname crossing of the Corentyne River DEAR EDITOR, On Feb. 17, it was reported in the news of a press release by the Ministry of Public Works which stated that 30 companies have expressed interest for consultancy services to conduct a feasibility study and prepare detailed design for the construction of a bridge across the Corentyne River to connect Guyana with Suriname. It is highly unusual to engage a consulting firm to prepare a feasibility study for a project and at the same time given an assignment to prepare detailed design and contract documents for it. A feasibility study is intended primarily to determine the financial and economic viability of a project. If it is found viable, the next step would be to ensure that funding is available for the
project before any assignment is given for its detailed design, which can be costly. Once finance is assured, a consultant is appointed to prepare a detail design and construction contract documents. The project is then put out on tender for a construction contractor to build the project in accordance with the drawings, specifications and bid amount. An assessment of the traffic flow between Guyana and Suriname would indicate that the construction of a costly bridge across the Corentyne River would not be a viable project and large subsidies will be required to service the capital investment as well as for its operation and maintenance. The feasibility study should bear this out. Based on its past illconceived expenditures on
large capital projects such as the Skeldon Sugar Factory, the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric project and the Temehri International Airport, Guyanese should not be burdened with yet another “White Elephant’ since the proposed Corentyne River Bridge will not contribute significantly to the development of the Guyanese economy. Funding will be better spent improving the ferry service. Finally, the Government should reconsider its priorities and realize that a Demerara River crossing bridge vis-a’-vis that for the Corentyne River would fit into its national development programme and create a producing asset which will realize benefits in a very short period of time. Yours truly, Charles Sohan
Pleading for a reduction in transportation cost DEAR EDITOR, Despite the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for finance, D r. Ashni S i n g h ’s announcement of a reduction in the excise tax
on gasoline and diesel to relieve the impact of the recent sharp increase in the world market price for fuel, drivers of hire cars on the East Coast highway are still charging the old price of 200 dollars for short drops.
Please Commissioner of Police, please look into this matter, since it will be very difficult for the poor people to reach this high transportation cost. Yours faithfully, Rooplall Dudhnath
It can’t get worse at GuySuCo DEAR EDITOR, Reference is made to “GuySuCo must be depoliticized to become a successful business entity” (Feb 19), among other letters. I can’t help but notice various related commentaries on the state of affairs of Ministry of Agriculture and defensive responses thus far from agents. I note also responses of defenders of the Minister, including one from a political grasshopper who was an Upper Corentyne PPP activist who became an AFC activist who is back as a PPP defender. People will do anything for a job!
The responses ring hollow. This leaves one to conclude that the Minister i s t r e s p a s s ing on the Ministry. Such behaviour and acts of incompetence must be brought to an abrupt end. Also, it appears that the Minister and the CEO of GuySuCo are at loggerheads. Incompetence and arrogance are rampant, worse than what occurred during the last stint of the PPP. Competence is thrown out the window once again. It can’t get worse at GuySuCo; we have reached the bottom. Not much good can come out of appointments. Square pegs in round holes are back with a
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vengeance. A financial analyst or CPA is not an economist or an agro scientist. And a CPA without experience is of no use to a science, engineering based company like Guysuco. You need someone with the skill set and good human relations behaviour, not someone who is arrogant. Yours truly, Sharmila J Ally
A tale of two presidential truth tellers DEAR EDITOR, As I observe Guyana’s two leaders in action, I am reminded of that standard stationhouse practice. It is of the “good cop-bad cop” combination. One is extremely well versed in the role of bad cop, while the other is being groomed every step along the way, in an extended apprenticeship, on how to trick citizens and make them let down their guard. Handlers hold him closer than a baby, with none holding tighter than the main man. The President struggles at being the good cop; he gets better: all smiles and good cheer, a regular jolly Santa Claus, with honey dripping, and bobbing around testing developments. He isn’t named Ali for nothing. He sweetens like a honeybee, and stings with the many scorpion jabs that he gets away with, since few take him seriously. Enter the other half of this well-studied and wellrehearsed leadership combo, the one who pretends to bow to constitutional dictates, by assuming sprawling viceroyship. Thus, the socalled bad cop gets to be the Field Marshall overall portfolios. He likes being the heavy, and if having to deal with vice (not the title, but the real thing) then that is a part of the territory. Editor, in this, I detect the Christian Dior efforts of PPP groomers to transform the president into Guyana’s guy next door, as in Jimmy Stewart; while the other fellow thrives on being a snarling, spitting, and menacing Jimmy Cagney. Now if this is too far back for the younger folks, I offer the president, who fancies himself as a smooth Denzel
Washington, and the next patriot who holds himself out to be the Guyanese reincarnation of the Boy from the Hood. If Afro-Guyanese are offended, I hasten to assure them: no offense meant. I must try harder to please everybody. To go cultural and completely, both think of themselves as Amitabh, while Amjad Khan fits the bill better for the swaggering badman. Editor, in this eclectic local political brew are two men, national leaders, who hide in plain sight. They have a good game plan that both do tap dances around to avoid stepping on the other’s toes; they lull the gullible and innocent to trust them. I don’t for a moment. One has nothing to offer on unity and transparency and accountability; while the other struggles manfully to speak to truth without going near to it; or exposing himself to what the whole truth obliges to deliver. This is the proxy delivered on all matters related to oil. Ironically, both presidents boast of extravagant borrowings and all the good to come for citizens. But on oil, both are the sum of mum and dumb; not one convincing crumb. Both leave out mentioning that borrowings are only made available by international financial institutions, because oil is solid, unbeatable tier-1 collateral. What both of these presidential cops engage in is the delivery of the careful ballet that doesn’t step on each other’s toes, but crushes the naïve. What they embody, I dismiss and denounce. Because what they share is tainted and planted, and fails the smell test. Minorities captives are
very familiar with that song and dance that sends them to jail (or Death Row), and Guyana is nothing else if not a land of minorities and the mentally imprisoned. Look at us. A minority of deep thinkers. A minority in the ranks of the truly honourable. And a minority of people left that still possess a conscience. When these two remarkable imitations of national leadership took the reins, they forgot to read Guyanese their rights, to enlighten them as to where they stand. Now they struggle to make things stick in the court of honest public opinion with their governance dodges and verbal gymnastics. In so doing, the two of them remind me of those loaded American police officers, who always end up claiming fearing for their lives and self-defence, when somebody turns up dead. This is how all Guyanese, including PPP supporters, are being lullabied to rest. I tender that it could be eternal rest with that oil, that bulk borrowing and spending. Only a few dare to shout: not so fast! What the hell is going on? More pointedly, what is the meaning of that, and where is that expected to lead? Remember this: the good presidential cop is not anybody’s friend; while the other one is everybody’s enemy and worst nightmare come to pass. Sincerely, GHK Lall
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GAWU continues to pay close attention to situation in sugar industry DEAR EDITOR, The GAWU saw the letter written by former President Donald Ramotar titled ”Paradigm shifts needed in sugar industry to regain viability” which appeared in the February 16, 2021 newspapers. Some of what was said by the former President has merit. Indeed, like Mr. Ramotar, we are firm of the conviction that the sugar industry can be revitalized and made successful. Like Mr. Ramotar, we too share the view that sugar and sugar-related products should be among the industries that would exist alongside the oil industry to ensure a diversified and robust economy. Mr. Ramotar pointed out that the industry needs experienced and capable persons at the helm. We cannot express any disagreement. Indeed the industry has suffered a deficit of skills for some time. The situation became more acute over the last five years when innumerable personnel were lost and square pegs were placed in round holes. Certainly, the former President must be aware of what took place especially given his
long-standing association with the sugar industry. We are aware former sugar men and women, whether near or far, have deep interest in the industry and have been willing to lend their skills. At the same time, the industry needs to listen to its workers who also have valued and valuable institutional knowledge. We need too to develop a new cadre of sugar leaders. We believe, we may require assistance from known successful sugar industry and states to assist the process. They may be aware of doing the tasks differently and more efficiently. At the same time, we do not believe that the seeming denigration of the Management will assist in turning the industry around. It may well do the opposite and demoralize further a weakened management. The GAWU itself has not shied away from expressing critical views of the Management. While we contend that our criticisms were principled and with merit, at the same time, we do not believe in seeking to pull down managers. The lamentations of the former
President has to be considered in tandem with the critical role, which he played as a Director of GuySuCo for several years and later as President. Undoubtedly, we believe, he must have had several opportunities to address the shortcomings, which he pointed to. The former President touted the idea of workers cooperatives to farm cane lands. This sounds on paper like an enticing idea. We believe that this is a concept that must be studied properly and thoroughly. We remind Mr. Ramotar that the industry has had cane farmers supplying canes to the factory prior to our Independence in 1966. Yet despite the lengthy period cane farming potential has not been fully exploited. There may be good reason for this, and several factors may be at play. We do know now that the industry is having difficulty to attract and retain farmers and thus to transition workers, who lack the financial wherewithal when compared to farmers, could be a bit of a stretch. That is why we believe this notion of workers cooperatives must be
carefully considered and not be rushed into no matter how much it glitters. With cane farming largely outsourced, the former President asserted that management could have more time to concentrate on product diversification. The GAWU does not believe it is a case where the management is not knowledgeable of what could or should be done. Much of it has been known for some time now. Several studies have testified to this and Mr. Ramotar must be familiar with some of these during his time on the GuySuCo Board. Certainly, we do not believe the GuySuCo knows of every possibility but at the same time they are very much acquainted with several important possibilities. What is needed now is the mechanism to transform them from concept to reality. There are several avenues which may require deeper examination. Mr. Ramotar reminds of the possibility of liquid fertilizers and bagasse briquettes which he mentioned were experimented with a few years ago. In terms of the liquid fertilizers, we are aware that they did not have
the intended effect and had the probability of fertilizing more than the canes given their method of application. This is not to say that we should throw the baby out with the bathwater but signals the need for further investigation to determine whether other solutions are available. Maybe fertilizer cost could be produced through local production when gas is piped to shore. Regarding the bagasse briquettes, it was indeed a novel idea at the time and held out some promise. However, it required an availability of sufficient quantities of bagasse which had been limited by cane supply. We do not recall the compression of garbage as a possibility, but we believe it would require separation of organic from inorganic materials. Moreover, uses of other biomass such as saw dust and paddy husks were experimented with at Skeldon and did not yield positive results. The former President made mention of the purchase of machinery. We agree with him that those suitable and economical machines should be purchased. At the same time, we do not believe the
industry should purchase the lowest cost machine if it cannot fulfill the objectives of the industry. The Union of course is most interested in these matters as we indeed want to see the maximization of scare resources in the interest of the industry and more so the workers. We are aware of the Government’s deep desire to turnaround the fortunes of the sugar industry and its strong commitment to getting the task realised. Clearly, given the Administration’s high level of interest in the industry it certainly must be paying close attention to the unfolding situation. Undoubtedly, it will take appropriate actions if necessary. At the same time, our Union continues to closely pay attention to the happenings in the industry. We have a vested interest and we have seen the hardships spawned by the reckless policies of the Coalition. It is with this in mind that we will continue to do our utmost in seeking to ensure that the industry remains on the right track. Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU
The PNC’s bullying tactics knows no bounds DEAR EDITOR, They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that’s precisely what took place when I viewed the footage of The PNC’s protest action at Parliament. It was a despicable display of sheer lawlessness in immeasurable proportions that one has to stop and give a long sickening sigh. At first, I really wanted to disprove what I was actually seeing, probably thinking that my vision was somewhat failing me or whether the videographer was just being histrionic or something of that nature. But closer scrutiny of the video revealed just what was portrayed there, a senior parliamentarian from the opposition scaling the police barrier and kicking the officer in his head during the process. This was a reprehensible act judging it from any standard and was I the officer being assaulted in such a shameful way, I would have arrested that parliamentarian and have him charged forthwith. But this is not the case, instead the opposition is now demanding an apology from the police for his foolish actions, interesting! So why is the Opposition so
belligerent? This we shall delve into. Now, you have to realize where this person is coming from. He was just rehashing an age-old dogma of the party where they claim ownership and control of the armed forces and as such, they can do whatever pleases them. It was Desmond Hoyte who emphatically repeated that, “The police and the army are my kith and kin.” So, whether it was an accident in him kicking the officer, that is immaterial to the argument, he could have brazenly scaled the barrier and confronted the lawman from the known standpoint of the “kith and kin” theory. The parliamentarian probably knew fully well that he could commit such an atrocity and get away with it. So, while the party is steeped in that bullying and thuggish mode, their mindless friends are holding
out for their comrade in a series of never ending excuses. The PNC Apologists claim that the PPP/C while in opposition did a lot of things so the parliamentarian ought to be given a free pass on this one. The shallow excuse of “the things the PPP/C did”, we are yet to be apprised of, so I quickly drew up the following scenario. Let us switch roles and place a Bharrat Jagdeo at the scene and picture him scaling a police barricade and accidentally kicking that very same officer? Would that officer be so calm about it, or greater still, would the PNC accept that sort of display from Jagdeo? I think not. So, if we cannot countenance that foolishness from a Jagdeo, why should we accept it from any parliamentarian? Respectfully submitted, Neil Adams
Is position in conflict with undertaking? DEAR EDITOR, A commitment and undertaking were given by a high-ranking official. Now permission must be secured
before information can be released. Is that position in conflict with the undertaking given? Shamshun Mohamed
Kaieteur News
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Saturday February 20, 2021
Understanding the draft Local Content Policy (Pt. 3)
Govt. proposes progressive increase of Guyanese in management, technical positions
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o ensure maximum participation of Guyanese in the oil a n d g a s i n d u s t r y, t h e government has proposed in the draft Local Content Policy that there be a sliding scale of
targets for oil companies. The chart below shows the extent to which the administration wants to see Guyanese participate in various positions for the oil operations.
Saturday February 20, 2021
Kaieteur News
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The Hustle! T
he Leader of the Opposition knows full well that the government cannot announce an increase for public servants in the Budget. He knows too well that if they do this, he will be the first to question their adherence to collective bargaining with the union representing public servants. Workers would have loved to learn about an increase. They got nothing in 2020, thanks to the same Opposition which kept the country in gridlock for five months and forced a late emergency Budget. The Opposition therefore should be the last to be plugging for any increases to public servants. It hardly ever did so itself while in government. It had the teachers on a royal runaround before agreeing to increases and its actions deprived public servants of an increase in 2020. Public sector workers are not wasting time, waiting on any increases. They are sitting, moping and waiting with folded hands on the PPP's tradition of imposing a retroactive 12month increase at Christmas time. In fact, to tell the truth, many of them prefer to get the increase in the form of back pay at Christmas than to
Dem
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i l d celebrations are taking place in Guyana, a backwater state located on the Atlantic Coast of South America. CNN understands that these celebrations have erupted following an announcement by the longtalking Minister of Finance, announcing a $10 reduction in the price of petrol from $180 per litre to $170 dollars per litre. The Minister of Finance is being mobbed by enthusiastic crowds. Our television cameras can hardly make him out, so surrounded is he by enthusiastic Guyanese who are celebrating this reduction in the price of gasoline of less than 5 US cents per litre. The Minister's
get it in January and have nothing extra for the holiday season. Guyanese workers are not in the mood to be waiting in vain. Many are on the hustle. Some work in the office in the day and catch their hands in the night doing a part time job, or hustle whenever they can. There are public servants working in offices who when they leave work in the afternoons would drive to various car parks and pick up a “load” of passengers. This is how they are earning an extra dollar. Some of them are having their relatives send in stuff in barrels and they are peddling to their colleagues at work. Some are preparing meals and snacks and taking it into the office and selling. Workers are not waiting on government's increase; they are hustling. Others are seeking out greener pastures. If another job is paying better, they jump at the opportunity. They are not averse to risktaking. It is those who are afraid of taking risks that end up stuck in dead-end jobs that go nowhere and pay next to nothing. Just recently, the Guyana Public Service Union called for a 25 percent increase in wages.
Workers have long learnt to move on to better things. There are far too many options out there for public employees to even think about industrial action. These options are the reasons why there is and will always be a severe shortage of labour in the sugar industry. Many sugar workers are now working for more money doing soft labour at businesses and on minibuses. This is less strenuous and more rewarding than the backbreaking task of cutting canes on the estates. Many of them are into construction and some prefer to do a little buying and selling and are making good money from their small kitchen gardens. The sugar workers, long the most oppressed workers in Guyana, are moving on. Instead of intense industrial agitation, they are joining the bandwagon and making a hustle elsewhere. But there is an even better option open to Guyanese workers. If you have family living outside of Guyana you can always call them up, tell them that things are tough in Guyana and that some days you have nothing to eat. When they ask why you
Guyanese celebrating petrol cost reduction head could hardly be seen amidst the throng of supporters who are eager to shake his hands for the concern he is showing to the travelling public. One taxi driver, to whom we spoke to welcome the reduction, is saying that he will save at least US$1 per day, enough to purchase a quarter litre of soda. Another said that he likes to suck mints and chew gum while driving and the reduction will allow him to put an additional five mints and five chewing gums. One opposition politician, however, claims that the reduction is vacuous and meaningless and reflects the disarray in which the government finds itself. He said the reduction will do nothing for that pilot who is asleep in the cockpit while
the landing wheel of his plane is broken and is losing altitude. CNN caught up with Kaieteur News' publisher, Glenn Lall, for a comment. He said that no Guyanese should be paying for gasoline and that the only persons who will benefit are those who have been handed the Kaieteur and Canje blocks. In response to the criticism, a government spokesperson would only say that the reduction represent local content benefits, which will amount to billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the prices of vegetables continue to quadruple in the country's markets Talk half and wait fuh de gasoline price to rise further next month!
do not have a job, you can tell them that since the PPP/C came to power, there are no jobs available. Like suckers they will go down every month to the money transfer office and send you some American dollars which you will spend sporting and drinking with your friends while they work their butts off to make the sacrifice to send you the money.
Guyanese in the Diaspora are suckers for a sad story. They will send you money regular enough and sufficient enough that you can retire early and live the life of Riley. The effects of all of these options provide little or no incentive or motivation to strike or agitate for increases in emoluments. The government knows all of this and has already
decided that five percent is good enough each year. That is the PPP/C's magical figure and that is what is likely to be offered this November. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Kaieteur News
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Saturday February 20, 2021
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Guyana: A study in twisted psychology T
here has been a steady flow of resignations from the apex of the Alliance For Change (AFC). Each statement that accompanies the resignation describes how disappointed the resigned person felt about how emaciated politically the AFC has become. The most high profile executives to have parted company with the party Dominic Gaskin and Leonard Craig - have been there from the beginning. Former parliamentarian, Trevor Williams, told me he has moved on. This week, Reynard W a r d , a n A F C parliamentarian before the elections, took his exit. There are scores of popular AFC second tier leaders who have ridden away. Their
departure didn't make the news. All of these persons make a fascinating study in psychology except Gaskin. He didn't leave because of the depraved politics of the AFC between 2015 and 2020. His alienation stemmed from his conscience not allowing him to accept that his party should rig the national elections. Prior to the March 2020 election, Gaskin was part of a tightly knitted group that closely controlled everything in the AFC. Between May 2015 and February 2020, Gaskin was part of the AFC leadership that wielded state power without giving any recognition to the reality that the AFC in power had jettisoned every principle of life that made the AFC a
phenomenal presence. If you take Gaskin out of the equation, then those who have left make for superb theorizing in the study of the mind. Ward, in his resignation letter offered a description of the AFC that equally applies to him and all of his colleagues who have resigned. Ward said that the AFC is currently in an abusive relationship with the PNC. Ward and his fellow executives were in an abusive relation with the tiny cabal that controls the AFC since May 2015, when power was secured. Ward and other executives were voluntary prisoners in their own party. The question is why did Wa r d a n d h i s f e l l o w resignees did not break away from their party in May 2015 when all the signs were there that the tiny cabal had gone
completely obsessed with power and had become so degenerate that the AFC's immoral directions were far deeper than anything this country had seen from the PPP and PNC politicians. There are two theories that explain why the AFC second-tier leaders chose not to stop the fetid rot in the AFC after it got state power in May 2015. One concept is embraced by Craig. The other is my approach. Here is what Craig said to me when I upbraided him for not seeking to discipline an African Guyanese leader who called for ethnic partition during a virtual meeting of the AFC's hierarchy. He said I would not understand the party blood in leaders, because I was never in a political party. He explained that party loyalists for the sake of unity and survival just cannot go challenging every decision and confronting every leader. He noted that there are times that the party loyalist has to just accept that his/her inaction is out of love of the party. I accepted what he told me and I think that his adumbration is the reality in
political outfits anywhere in the world. Then I offered my theory. In agreeing with Craig I said that there are circumstances that will be born in which loyalists have to put country, sacred principles and civilized
Frederick Kissoon v a l u e s before love of party. Space will soon run out but here are a few examples. Only Dr. Vincent Adams in the AFC ejected the partition talk of that AFC leader. That leader's resignation should have been demanded. All second-tier leaders of the AFC should have resigned when that tiny cabal in May 2015 called someone who was politically inferior to them and offered that someone the post of minister of the environment.
It is interesting to note that one of the executives that negotiated the Cummingsburg Accord in February 2015 was Rajendra Bissesar. Yet after May 2015, Bissesar told me he was denied a junior minister post and any CEO position in the state sector. Where were all these executives who have now resigned? Where were their eyes? Where were their loyalty to country and principles? All of a sudden they have discovered that the AFC is an unprincipled entity. The final example is from the WPA. A senior person in the WPA told me over brunch at the Tastee Snack restaurant on David Street in Kitty in 2016, that when Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine announced to the WPA that, as a minister of government, he cannot discuss government business within the party, the WPA should have expelled him. But he never brought it up in the WPA. Maybe most humans enjoy being silent or abused or sycophantic. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Saturday February 20, 2021
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Saturday February 20, 2021
Ethnic Relations Commission needs to be audited - Commissioner C
ommissioner of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), Haji Roshan Khan, has yet again come to the fore to speak against alleged mismanagement occurring with state funds. Khan is of the firm conviction that an audit is needed to expose key areas where significant value leakage is taking place. Khan made this statement
- received over $900M in budgetary allocations in past 7 years yesterday while speaking to Kaieteur News via telephone on several pertinent issues, which he had highlighted in a letter published in this publication's February 15, 2021 edition. Khan said, “I would like a serious government audit” and if possible, a direct audit
from the Auditor General's Office. In his letter, Khan had said,“…In its current state, I am of the opinion, like most Guyanese, that the ERC has been a total letdown to the Guyanese nation and is not deserving of the funds they receive. In my opinion, they have accomplished very
little. I believe what was done was insignificant and extremely limited to what could have been achieved.” While speaking to Kaieteur News yesterday, he reiterated that there is unjust spending within the Commission. Expounding further, Khan noted that there
Ethnic Relations Commissioner, Hajji Roshan Khan
Chairman of the Commission, Reverend John Smith was the extravagant granting of Christmas bonuses within the ERC. Khan claimed that Commissioners had attempted to grant themselves $200,000 as a Christmas bonus, but settled on $150,000, which still went against the government's advisory of $25,000 per person in statutory bodies. He said, “I refused to accept it because it is illegal and wrong”. Another Commissioner also told Kaieteur News in confidence that he too objected to the sum. A total of $100,000 was also given to all of the ERC's staff as a Christmas bonus and Khan maintained that while they execute their jobs in a commendable manner, “it is unreasonable” to have that type of money as a Christmas bonus given the government's mandate. As it relates to allowances, the Commissioner had claimed that, “Some also wanted a risk allowance to fly on a plane. They wanted risk allowance to go in the jungle.” He said too that some individuals wanted high-quality boots to traverse jungle terrains. These the Commissioner said were provided but barely put to use. According t o K h a n , E R C Commissioners were also given out-of-town allowances and received a good salary for “part-time work”. It must be noted that the ERC has received over $900M in budgetary allocations over the past
seven years, with an average of approximately $130M being allocated yearly, leaving questions as to how much of that sum was put to use in the interest of the Guyanese people. This publication had also asked Khan why the ERC's spending is not properly audited and why Budget Estimates show little to no information on what the large yearly allocations cater for, to which he responded that the Chairman, Reverend John Smith, needs to answer. It must also be noted that Kaieteur News reached out to the Chairman for a response on the issues highlighted by Khan in his February 15 letter on Thursday, but Smith could not respond at the time. He noted however that a press statement would be issued yesterday addressing Khan's claims. Up until press time, no statement was seen by Kaieteur News from the Chairman. Additionally, Khan had blasted the Chairman in his letter, stating that in his view, he is an "ornamental appointee" serving on the ERC, which is a white elephant. The Chairman was also blasted by Khan for giving the general public the perception that the ERC is doing something, referring to the “National Conversation” that was held last December, which was aimed at improving Ethnic Relations in the country. Kaieteur News understands that the Commission, which was reconstituted on February 22, 2018, is set to expire soon. Khan has contended that the ERC had the opportunity to prove its relevance in Guyana for the large amounts of money that were given for the sake of goodwill, harmony, and peace but has failed to do so.
Kaieteur News
Saturday February 20, 2021
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Govt. signs exemption order for small internet service providers T
he Government of Guyana has signed an exemption order to expedite the licencing process for small internet providers, in keeping with its efforts to e x p a n d t h e telecommunications sector. Prime Minister, Hon. Brigadier (ret'd) Mark Phillips, made this disclosure during his guest appearance on NCN's “Budget in Focus” on Friday. “Today (yesterday), I have signed an exemption order that is linked towards 50-odd local small internet service providers. This will prevent them from having to go through a long process to be granted a licence. They just have to register and pay the necessary fees associated with the service. These are the small providers, who will buy and sell services and are going the extra mile, especially in the areas where the big companies may not necessarily want to go.” This would provide access to internet services to more persons in communities across the country who were not able to connect previously, from a
now utilizing that money to ensure that we roll out the ICT services to all the communities.” The Prime Minister noted that while a lot of prior work was done in some communities, the complaints of inadequate service and ICT hubs not functioning remain the same. “Almost every day … got a letter from some community that is requesting
Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret'd) Mark Phillips range of operators. Zoning in on hinterland telecommunications connectivity, Prime Minister Phillips said the Government is aiming to connect 200 hinterland communities in 2021. He said a significant sum of money was allocated to make this a reality. “I will tell you that money was available before we came into office, but nothing was done. We are
Budget 2021 caters for salary increases - Dr. Singh confirms
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enior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, D r. A s h n i S i n g h h a s confirmed that Budget 2021 caters for the revision of wages and salaries. His comments come on the heels of criticisms from the political opposition to the effect that no such provision was made in the latest budget. But Dr. Singh categorically refuted such claims recently while adding that they are absolutely irresponsible. The Finance Minister made this point during his guest appearance on NCN's 'The Parliamentary Agenda” on Thursday. Dr. Singh said it is a precedent that the Ministry of Finance in its budget, caters for the
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh possibility of new recruitment, one-off (continued on page 18)
assistance to have their ICT hub repaired or otherwise installed. So, the NDMA [National Data Management Authority] will be very busy in 2021, ensuring that ICT connectivity becomes a reality,” he said. Just two months after taking office, the Government liberalized the telecommunications sector and issued licences to three
big service operators: GTT, Digicel and E-Networks. Since then, there have been requests for the amendment of the licence. Prime Minister Phillips said to accommodate the industry's expansion, these requests have been facilitated. “These agencies have identified the amendments that are necessary for them to expand their services and we've gone through the
process of assuring that those amendments are granted for their expansion.” The Prime Minister said the Government has an open-door policy for international companies wanting to enter the local telecommunications market. He said to date; they have received Expressions of Interest from three companies. (Modified report from DPI).
Guyana-Suriname ferry service to resume tomorrow
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he Ministry of P u b l i c Wo r k s announced the resumption of the Guyana Moleson Creek, Corentyne and the Suriname, South Drain Ferry Service on Thursday which will take effect from tomorrow. In its statement, the Ministry said that the ferry
Saturday February 20, 2021
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- passengers must have negative COVID-19 test result taken 72 hours before travel
will depart Guyana at approximately 9:00 am and check-ins will be conducted between 6:30 am and 8:00 am tomorrow. The vessel will return to Guyana by 1:00 pm. The Ministry said that the ferry service will operate every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday until further
The Moleson Creek, Corentyne ferry stelling notice and due to serious health concerns, only Guyanese and Surinamese will be allowed to utilize the service. Further, it was stated that diplomat residents in Guyana and Suriname who require the usage of the ferry service will be facilitated upon request through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of both countries. The MV Canawaima vessel is currently in Paramaribo undergoing maintenance works so the MB Sandaka will be used to service the route. A d d i t i o n a l l y, i t i s mandated that every passenger utilizing the ferry service must produce a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Test which must be taken within 72 hours of travel. The statement noted that Guyanese can receive PCR tests at all medical institutions approved, which are the National Public Health Reference Lab and Eureka Medical Laboratories Incorporated, while, Surinamese can have their tests conducted at Suriname's Public Hospital and the MeDiLab in Paramaribo. “Passengers are also asked to have all their travel documents required to travel
to Suriname prior to COVID-19,” the Public Works Ministry also stated. The Guyana-Suriname Ferry Service was closed since March last year when Guyana shut down all ports of entry after recording its first COVID-19 case. Discussions between the PPP/C government and Suriname's government on reopening the borders and allowing the ferry service to resume have been ongoing since last August. In October, the Minister o f H e a l t h , D r. F r a n k Anthony had announced that the two countries will be establishing a team to collaborate on tackling the novel coronavirus. This team, Anthony said, would be responsible for s e e i n g t o t h e synchronization and port health authorities from Guyana and Suriname exchanging necessary information. It was also announced last year that the ferry service would resume on December 12 but the resumption was cancelled after it was discovered that a caravan of over 100 Cuban nationals was attempting to use the ferry service to come to Guyana and use it as a transit point to the United States of America.
19 new COVID-19 infections recorded
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he Ministry of Health reported 19 new COVID19 infections yesterday via its daily dashboard update which increases the case toll to 8,357. Of the new cases, Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica) recorded the majority with 11 new infections. Regions One, Two, Five and Six were the only regions recording no new cases.
The dashboard also shows that nine patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 12 in institutional quarantine, 42 in institutional isolation and 463 in home isolation. Additionally, a total of 7,654 persons have recovered to date with 11 new recoveries recorded yesterday. The COVID-19 death toll remains at 189 deaths.
Kaieteur News
Saturday February 20, 2021
Men granted bail on separate illegal firearm charges
Businessman shot, robbed at Eccles traffic light
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wo men appeared yesterday in court to answer to separate firearm related charges and were both placed on bail. The defendants, Derrick Norton, and Danny Rajkumar, 30, a vendor of Lot 28 School Street, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, both appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly. Norton denied both charges that were read to him. The first charge alleged that on February 11, 2021, at Princess Street, Georgetown, he had in his possession an illegal firearm when he is not a licensed firearm holder. The latter charge stated that on the same date and at the same location, he had in his possession, matching ammunitions when he is not a licensed firearm holder. According to the facts of the charge, members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) viewed Government CCTV footage; and they observed Norton with
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Charged, Danny Rajkumar
Charged, Derrick Norton a black side bag while in the company of others at a funeral. The court heard that Norton placed the bag on a motorcycle and the bag was later picked up by an identifiable female. After viewing the footage, the ranks went to the area and retrieved the bag from the female. Norton was later arrested, and subsequently charged. Senior Magistrate Daly granted
him bail in the sum of $100,000, on each charge and the matter was adjourned to April 9, 2021. Moreover, Rajkumar was arrested on Monday last, for the illegal possession of an unlicensed firearm. He denied the charge that was read to him. The charge stated that on February 15, 2021, at Takubo Road, Tucville, Georgetown, he had in his possession one black silver .32 Taurus Pistol when he is not a licensed firearm holder. Senior Magistrate Daly granted Rajkumar bail in the sum of $150,000, and the matter was adjourned to April 23, 2021, for statements.
businessman was on Thursday night shot and robbed when he stopped at the traffic light at Eccles, East Bank Demerara. The man has been identified as 36year-old Nandkumar Bahadur, the owner of Kumar Varieties Store of De Willem Public Road. A police report noted that around 18:00hrs, Bahadur and with his porter were heading home but were forced to stop momentarily in the thick of the traffic at the Eccles Public Road due to a red light. While there, two unidentifiable males armed with a gun rode up besides his motor vehicle and stopped near the driver's side. The pillion rider then pointed a gun at Bahadur and demanded that he hand over his money. The report stated that before Bahadur handed over the money, the bandit discharged a round which struck him to his thigh. Bahadur then handed over his haversack which contained $500,000, and other personal documents to the bandits who then made good their escape. The matter was reported and the driver was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he
The gunshot wound was seen by a doctor and admitted to the hospital. His condition is listed as stable but serious. The investigation into the alleged robbery under arms committed on Bahadur is ongoing.
ExxonMobil still to explain root cause of flaring From page 3 timeline for the repairs on the compressor. Up to press time last night, there was no definitive answer. The company's local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), insists that the issue is not linked to tests; it has been doing to increase the production capacity of the operation. The first time it said this was during a press conference on Monday, February 8, which was held to brief media operatives and field their questions on flaring occurring since January 27, last. EEPGL's Production Manager, Mike Ryan, had said that the higher production testing was not the cause, as the equipment was operating at 70 percent capacity when the malfunction occurred. When the company sent out a release on February 17, announcing that repairs had begun on the flash gas compressor at the manufacturer's MAN energy workshop in Germany, it stated, “MAN Energy has confirmed there is no linkage between the production optimization activities and the technical issues with the flash gas compressor. At the time of the incident with the compressor, it was only operating at ~70% of its
design capacity. Production optimization is a normal process for operations around the world. A comprehensive safety evaluation took place prior to the optimization process.” This question of whether
the production capacity testing caused the equipment malfunction, which led to flaring was not raised by Kaieteur News, but ExxonMobil repeatedly insisted this in its public statements. It is yet to say
what the actual root cause was. Meanwhile, flaring continues at the Liza Destiny at a rate of about 16-18 million cubic feet per day, having added hundreds of millions of cubic feet to the
12 billion flared last year, a s t a t e o f a f f a i r s Vi c e President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said is unacceptable. ExxonMobil intends to increase the production capacity of the Liza Destiny.
It has produced up to 130,000 barrels of oil per day. Production Manager, Mike Ryan has said that the Liza Destiny currently has liquids capacity of 158,000 barrels per day.
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Saturday February 20, 2021
Guyana's search for mystery boat with decomposing bodies suspended K
aieteur News h a s b e e n r e l i a b l y informed that Guyana has suspended its search for a mystery boat reportedly seen d r i f t i n g o ff s h o r e o n Monday, with what appeared to be decomposing bodies. This decision, Kaieteur News learnt, was taken after coast guards returned to Port Georgetown on Thursday empty handed. Those coast guards had departed at around 17:00 hrs. Tuesday on a privately owned fishing trawler, heading to an area where it was believed that the boat might have drifted after its last sighting around 19:53 hrs. on Monday. They reportedly arrived at that location early Wednesday and searched all day. Their efforts were also backed up by a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) air search, but there was still no further sighting of the drifting vessel. Nevertheless, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has since alerted its international counterparts to be on the lookout for the mystery boat. According a recent press release sent out, MARAD stated that it “has
The area searched by the Guyanese authorities for the mystery boat with decomposing bodies
published a Navigational Warning via the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) informing
all vessels in the general area to be on the lookout for a vessel adrift and to report any sighting.”
MARAD stated to that it has also informed Trinidad and Tobago to notify its vessels about the boat, since the direction of the ocean current could take it there. The Department said that emails were also sent to its equivalent organizations seeking assistance in identifying the boat, its origin, the remains onboard, and where it might have been coming from. Based on photo evidence received by the Guyanese authorities, the boat is about 25 feet long and fairly deep. No engine was seen on its stern, but there was a noticeable tow line attached to its bow. According to a technical
team at MARAD, it is believed that boat could originate from as far as Africa. The mystery boat was first spotted at around 14:04 hrs. by a motor tug contracted by US Oil Company, ExxonMobil, drifting at approximately 112 nautical miles off shore Guyana. Crew members on board the tug had taken photos and sent them to the relevant authorities (MARAD). During a recent press conference held at the Maritime Boat House, Minister Public Works, Juan Edghill, noted that a request was made for the tug to attach a tow line to the
vessel and bring to a sea buoy located some 10 miles from Georgetown. H o wever, the crew members had said that they needed permission to do so from its principals, which they eventually obtained around 15:03 hrs. Edghill had said that the crew members later that night reported that they were unable to attach the tow line because the weather at sea became inclement. John Flores, Director of Safety at MARAD, had moved to point out that there is a possibility that the boat could have sunk due to the inclement weather or even drift in another direction because of strong wind.
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Saturday February 20, 2021
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$413M Leguan Stelling rehabilitation contract terminated - Project to be retendered T
he People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government yesterday terminated the two-year-old $413M Leguan Stelling rehabilitation project after the contractor, S. Maraj Contracting Services, failed to comply with its contractual obligations. In a statement from the Ministry of Public Works (MoPW), it was indicated that yesterday the Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, met with the contractor, along with a team from the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD). Following an 11-hour deliberation, which was guided by a report compiled by the Audit Office of Guyana, the team determined that the c o n t r a c t o r, S . M a r a j Contracting Services “is incapable, unable, and does not possess the wherewithal to successfully execute this project valued at $413,259,260.” The statement went on to
mention that the contractor received payments totalling $199,435,000, almost 50% of the contract sum, an “unheard of scenario”, which it notes is outside of normal procurement practices and a breach of the Fiscal Management Accountability Act (FMA). Despite the contractor receiving almost $200M of the contract sum for a project that was awarded two years ago and was scheduled to last six months, actual works and materials on site were estimated at just about $100M, the Ministry noted. “A contract that should have been completed in six months,” the Public Works Ministry wrote, “and signed on September 20, 2018, received an advanced payment on September 26, 2018, but the contractor only received his order to commence works on December 6, 2018. So the Contractor was in possession of tens of millions of tax payers' dollars for almost three months before he was required to begin work.” The Ministry stated that
Recent photo highlighting the state of completed works on the Leguan Stelling on April 19, 2019, close to 20 months beyond the completion date, the advance payment bond as well as the performance bonds had
Six more witnesses remaining in Better Hope moneychanger and daughter murder PI
DEAD: Aaron Latchman
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he prosecution for the murdered Better Hope moneychanger and daughter preliminary inquiry (PI) is expected to call its remaining witnesses on March 3, 2020. The murder PI for Aaron Latchman, and his 18-yearold daughter, Arianna Latchman, is being conducted in the Sparendaam Magistrates'
DEAD: Arianna Latchman
STILL AT LARGE: Mark Rufino
Courts before Magistrate Alisha George. The five persons accused of the double murder are: Mark Rufino called 'Mark,' 25, a labourer, of Parika Facade, East Bank Essequibo; Paul Chan called 'Long Hair' or 'Anthony,' 37, a conductor, of 10 Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown; Troy Abrams called 'Troy' or 'Rasta Man,' 44, a vendor, of 34 Middle Street, Agricola,
East Bank Demerara; Lloyd Sadloo, 37, self-employed, of 220 Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara; and Sean Thomas called 'Yankee,' 41, an electrician, of 59 William Street, Kitty, Georgetown. However, Rufino had escaped from the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara, last October and is yet to be recaptured. Based on advice from the (continued on page 23)
expired. In addition, it was indicated that the contractor, having received the contract for the building of a stelling, used the argument of a faulty bill of quantities and earned himself by October 30, 2019, an additional $20,650,000 for the supply and delivery of piles for the same Leguan stelling. What is notable too is that the contract did not
include piles, one of the most important components for the construction of the stelling. The Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, had informed that at the time of the audit, the contractor was paid for measured works, but there was no break down attached to the payment certificates. Variations and change of scope of works
could not have been measured,” the Ministry said, “and quantified since no documents were available and submitted. It was clear that there was poor contract administration and oversight. The Auditor General has indicated that payments made in some instances were in breach of the Fiscal and Management (continued on page 23)
Kaieteur News
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Saturday February 20, 2021
Street vending to be regularized in G/town
T
he Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) on Thursday, declared that it will be regularizing all street vending activities throughout the city. This was announced by the Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, during a meeting held with street vendors in the compound of City Hall. This meeting was held under the theme 'Keeping vending neat, clean and organized.'
With his aim of having vending regularized, the Mayor said that “there is a mobile policy before the Council, and a vending policy. So we are moving forward to get that policy approved by the Council so that we can start to regularize vendors and organize them in the right way.” He added that hopefully, this can be concluded before the end of second quarter. When the policies are approved, vendors will be
Some of the vendors gathered at City Hall's forecourt on Thursday, during a meeting with the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown. registered and given a vendor's identification card, which will carry the number of their adequate spot. In addition to this, the Mayor noted that vending will be done in different zones so as to ease the traffic congestion around in the city. The Mayor also told the gathering of vendors that even though they have him on their side, it does not mean that they can go out there and do as they feel. He urged them to adhere to the laws that govern the city. He also asked that vendors, specifically food
vendors, to have their rightful documentation when it comes to handling food. The Mayor made mention of the recent inspection exercise that was conducted around the city, while adding that several food vendors were instructed to close their operations because they failed to provide their food handler's certificate. In closing, the Mayor encouraged the vendors to keep their surroundings clean and abide by the COVID-19 measures outlined.
Budget 2021 caters... From page 13 payments, extraordinary payments and adjustments to salaries. “In the 2021 Budget, anybody who is vaguely familiar with the budget estimates knows and can quite easily find in the budget estimates, there is an allocation of $10 billion to meet the cost of revision of wages and salaries. That is a fact. It is there in the estimates. So, I can say definitively Budget 2021 includes an allocation to cover what we describe as other employment cost…which includes a provision for potential revision in salaries to employees in the central Government.” Aside from the allocation for salary increases, Dr. Singh said central Government employees would also benefit from all the measures outlined in Budget 2021. This includes the increase in the ceiling for housing loans at the New Building Society from $12 million to $15 million, the removal of valueadded tax on data for residential and individual use, and the five percent
reduction in water tariffs. Added to that, the budget also proposes zero-rated status to various basic foodstuff and household items. Further, over 13,000 persons will benefit from the increase in public assistance from $9,000 to $12,000 per month. “It is an indisputable fact that every, single Guyanese will benefit in one way or another from Budget 2021,” he said. Minister Singh last Friday, presented a $383.1 billion budget under the theme “A Path to Recovery, Economic Dynamism and Resilience.” The Budget presented no new taxes, but introduced several measures to improve the quality of life of all Guyanese. The 2021 fiscal plan complements the provisions in Budget 2020, which saw the removal and reversal, of many burdensome taxes. Minister Singh said annually, the measures in both budgets would see over $50 billion of disposable income pumped back into the economy. (Modified report from DPI).
Saturday February 20, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Fmr. EPA Head defends call to shutdown ExxonMobil operations until faulty gas compressor is fixed F
o r m e r Environmental Production Agency (EPA) Director, Dr. Vincent Adams, received much flack this week for his call to have the Stabroek Block operations of ExxonMobil Guyana be shut down until the malfunctioning gas compressor of the Liza Destiny vessel is resolved. Specifically bashing Dr.
Adams for his statements was the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC), President, Manniram Prashad. He had s a i d t h a t D r. A d a m s ' proposition was “extreme”. But the former EPA head disagrees. In response to his critics, Dr. Adams said citizens should view as extreme, Exxon's refusal to slash its production in order to return its increased flaring
to pilot levels. To achieve this, Dr. Adams explained that Exxon would only have to cut production by only 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), thereby moving it from 120,000 bpd to 105,000 bpd. Despite calls for it to minimize production levels so that flaring levels can be reduced, ExxonMobil has been hell bent doing as it
pleases. In fact, the oil giant is currently producing at its maximum rate of 120,000 bpd while simultaneously flaring 16 million cubic feet (mcdf) of natural gas. If that figure is to be considered accurate, Dr. Adams posited it could be assumed that some components of the malfunctioned gas compressor system is still operating to allow approximately 95 mcfd to be
re-injected. “Therefore, based upon the gas to oil production ratio, calculations would show that reducing the production rate by only 15,000 bopd to 105,000 bopd would reduce the flaring by 15 mcfd, leaving 1 mcfd for allowable pilot flaring, and would bring the flaring into compliance with the environmental permit and the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA),” the former EPA Director said. Moreover, Dr. Adams said the Energy Chamber should remember that when Exxon's gas compressor malfunctioned initially in 2020, the company “fully cooperated” with the EPA's request for production to be reduced to 30,000 bpd so as to reduce flaring to a (continued on page 20)
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Saturday February 20, 2021
GNIC ready to be leading... From page 2 and structural refurbishment to the vessels allow their services to continue to this very day. Additionally, MARAD's Motor Tug Aruka is being used primarily as a Pilot Launch, to guide incoming and outgoing vessels, but it also assists in the movement of barges, boats, and tugs around Port Georgetown. This newspaper understands that this Tug was recently pulled onto GNIC's Slipway for repairs. The following scope of works included sandblasting and painting of hull, superstructure, and deck; installation of a new generator; repairs to the propulsion system and renewal of electrical cables and fittings; and the installation of hydraulic steerings and rudder indicator. After this was successfully completed, the MT Aruka was de-slipped on January 27, 2021. As regards its work for the Guyana Oil Company, this publication understands
that GNIC has been engaging this company over the past 30 years in the fabrication of several pieces of machinery and storage tanks. On April 08, 2020, for example, GNIC had commenced fabrication of three10,000 Barrels Fuel Tanks (48ft (d) x 42ft (h)) for the Guyana Oil Company. The scope of works included design, fabrication and assembling. This project was done successfully in accordance with specification on January 31, 2021 The entity is also accredited with designing and assembling a massive 40ft x 15ft water storage tank along with several medium and small tanks for GuyOil. Further to the foregoing, GNIC has been instrumental in providing significant fabrication works for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). In 2016, GNIC had fabricated and delivered a new batch of Unifloat
Pontoons for NDIA's East Bank Demerara Water Conservancy, which is being utilized in the Ministry of Agriculture's World Bank Funding Flood Control Programme. GNIC had also constructed one Unifloat Pontoon and punt in 2009. This newspaper was informed in 2018 that a (96ft x 26ft) Barge was also constructed. GNIC had also supplied to NDIA, two excavators together with a Suction Dredge to do salvage works to all the outfalls along the Coastline and Rivers. Additionally, pontoons constructed by GNIC continue to exceed the designed specification and quality assurance. This newspaper understands that construction is always done under the close supervision of a highly certified and e x p e r i e n c e d welding/fabrication Quality Assurance Engineer. GNIC has also been contributing to the irrigation sector for many years. Furthermore, GNIC would have completed several critical pieces of work for the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB). In 2018, it was called upon to fabricate 40 buoys, all of which were executed and completed in record time in accordance with specifications. In 2020, an additional 25 buoys were also fabricated and completed in a specific timeframe to the satisfaction of the company. Kaieteur News was also told that in 2019, docking and repairs to DHB's Tug “Rickford L” were also completed in record time. Sterling work was also delivered for the Berbice Bridge in 2018. To be continued…
Fmr. EPA Head defends call... From page 19 minimum safe level and allow for the compressor to be repaired. He found it puzzling that the company was so eager to reduce production in 2020 but is now hesitant to do the same this time around. Further on, Dr. Adams noted that the GOGEC should be “at ease” if ExxonMobil Guyana does the responsible thing and reduce production. If that is done, then there would be no need for calls to continue for the company to shut down operations, the former EPA Head stated.
Saturday February 20, 2021
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U.S. will import 62% more crude by 2022 due to domestic production declines, says EIA W
ASHINGTO N Throughout much of its history, the United States has imported more petroleum (which includes crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other liquids) than it has exported. That status changed in 2020. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) February 2021 ShortTe r m E n e rg y O u t l o o k (STEO) estimates that 2020 marked the first year that the United States exported more petroleum than it imported on an annual basis. However, largely because of declines in domestic crude oil production and corresponding increases in crude oil imports, EIA expects the United States to
return to being a net petroleum importer on an annual basis in both 2021 and 2022. EIA expects that increasing crude oil imports will drive the growth in net petroleum imports in 2021 and 2022 and more than offset changes in refined product net trade. EIA forecasts that net imports of crude oil will increase from its 2020 average of 2.7 million barrels per day (b/d) to 3.7 million b/d in 2021 and 4.4 million b/d in 2022. Compared with crude oil trade, net exports of refined petroleum products did not change as much during 2020. On an annual average basis, U.S. net petroleum product exports—distillate fuel oil, hydrocarbon gas liquids, and
UG graduation for 2500 students kicks off next month
T
he University of Guyana is poised to graduate 2500 students between March 19 and 27. In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the tertiary institution stated that 2500 students will graduate in over 50 different disciplines in a series of online graduation events, which began yesterday. “…At the end of March 2021, those attending will be part of a number of historic firsts - including the first cohort of UG's trained PhDs from the Doctorate in Biodiversity programme,” UG notified. In total, there will be four virtual graduation ceremonies for students who have completed the requirements for Academic Year 2019/2020. It was stated that the graduands will be grouped according to their disciplines and for the first time, UG will combine graduands from all the campuses across the country. The statement also noted that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of prospective graduands this year is set to break last year's graduation record of 2133 by 367 or 17 percent. Further, UG noted the need to conduct business in a safe
mode given the COVID-19 conditions. In light of this, the graduands will participate through a virtual march of graduate portraits, which will be taken in advance through a live online interface. “Logistics and details will be shared directly with prospective graduands via UG's internal Students Record Management Systems (SRMS) and official graduation website @ https://uog.edu.gy/convocati on-2020,” the university said. The approved lists of prospective graduands will be made available through Faculties' official websites from March 1, 2021. UG highlighted that it has graduated over 50,000 graduates in its 58 years of existence many of whom have gone on to serve at the highest levels n a t i o n a l l y a n d internationally. The University is also anticipating a record number of attendees this year due to the online nature of the events, as there will be no limit to the number of invitees a graduand may bring along. Invitations with links to all events will be sent out on March 5, 2021.
motor gasoline, among others—averaged 3.2 million b/d in 2019 and 3.4 million b/d in 2020. EIA forecasts that net petroleum product exports will average 3.5 million b/d in 2021 and 3.9 million b/d in 2022 as global demand for
petroleum products continues to increase from its recent low point in the first half of 2020. EIA expects that the United States will import more crude oil to fill the widening gap between refinery inputs of crude oil and domestic crude oil production in 2021 and 2022. U.S. crude oil production declined by an estimated 0.9 million b/d (8%) to 11.3 million b/d in 2020 because of
well curtailment and a drop in drilling activity related to low crude oil prices. EIA expects the rising price of crude oil, which started in the fourth quarter of 2020, will contribute to more U.S. crude oil production later this year. EIA forecasts monthly domestic crude oil production will reach 11.3 million b/d by the end of 2021 and 11.9 million b/d by the end of 2022. These values are
increases from the most recent monthly average of 11.1 million b/d in November 2020 (based on data in EIA's Petroleum Supply Monthly) but still lower than the previous peak of 12.9 million b/d in November 2019. (https://www.worldoil.com/n ews/2021/2/17/us-willimport-62-more-crude-by2022-due-to-domesticproduction-declines-sayseia)
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Saturday February 20, 2021
...What is Local Content and who should
LEARN TO DRIVE AIDAN'S CAR RENTAL & TOW TRUCK SERVICE:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE#698-7807.
From page 4 few Guyanese for low paying oil sector jobs is not the expectation of the meaning of local content. At any rate, the contractor reaps the bulk of the revenues with very little going to local Guyanese or those who champion local content policy. It is noted that during the previous regime, a few individuals took advantage VACANCY of the secrecy of operations Pitmen for interior location. and the contract and of Application must be experi- connections with the energy companies to establish enced. Call 231-2250 companies that supply goods Maid to cook and clean for and services to them. East Bank area Call: 615-9132 Female cleaner office & home Call 642-9823
SERVICES Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040 Installation, Repairs and parts for AC,Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc.Call Nick#630-1600.
FOR RENT Space available at Zeelugt public Road E.B.E second floor 4000 sq st, third floor 4000 sq ft Contact 650-0402/ 260-4988 Furnish apt one bedroom,two bedroom, three bedroom, providence and diamond Tel#672-1906, 682-6238, 2162299 Three bedroom house for rent on W.B.D Contact 6880128/ 681-3981 3 Bedroom apartment and 1 bedroom to rent in Alexander Village Yarrow dam Contact Bibi 666-2424 Two bedroom apartment for rent on E.C.D Tel#629-6237 PROPERTY FOR SALE Commercial property for sale or rent Providence old road Call 623-3440 / 233-5600 Property at kuru Kururu one concrete one flat - 2 bedroom house 1 chicken pen 100ft x 30ft Call 622-8265 3 Story- 1486 Hersterling E.B.D, 2 Story - M88 Onderneeming WBD. Tel# 641-3893/ 697-4557/ 609-3777/ 686-0522 LAND FOR SALE
TO LET
Appartment in Eccles rooms Mini Bus drivers and hire car in albertown 225-3234/ 6281183 Drivers 225-3534/ 628-1183 One experience able body fe- One bedroom apartment, male general domestic Call kitchen, living room & bathroom included cummings 623-1615 lodge Contact# 222-0401/ 673Vacancy exists for one 2467 clearner to work at Innovations America. Contact Rohan on 226-9416 or 653-6750 Vacancy for one sales rep at innovations America, sales experience is an asset. Contact Rohan 226-9416
FOR SALEFOR SALE Exists @people's choice kitchen for BBQ chief night Past CXC Maths and English cooks counter staff Tel#689- papers (2010-2020: paper 1 and 9426 2) and CSEC text books for all CSEC subjects 603-9085 Live in Gradener (with family would be an asset) Cat 428 back-hoe. Cat 215 Exlocation:Linden Soesdyke cavator used parts road spray painting machine 683-7225/ Highway Contact: 639-2845 275-0367 Vacancy for security Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb 320 cat Excavator bucket. Used surveying instrustreet Bourda ments.1200- Gals Bitumen Vacancy for sales clerk to spray kettle.Call 275-0367/ work on delivery truck apply 683-7225 at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Mitsubisi contact 4M40 6 street Bourda months insurance goods & service and alarm system Contact 693-3003
WANTED Live- in or live out waitress 18-25yrs Tel#610-3974 Lathe operator and welder S. Sawh machine shop Contact 645-9333 One live in maid preferably from E.B.D Call 674-9114 Female live in for elderly. Perparing indian dishes, lightdtie. over 40yrs old Tel#638-4111 Wanted - Crane Banksman ages 25-50 years old East Bank Area Preferable please call 644-2564
E.C.D Bachelor's adventure, north 160 x 270 = 43200 SQ FT $34M. Nismes 3M continental Park 21M Mahacia 60Acre 15M. Call 231-2199/ 618-7483
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Parts for 3408 cat engine block, crankshaft, head manifold, con- rods, etc Call 6228265
Genuinely local Guyanese owned entities should get preference over others – that is the very definition of local content. Preference must not be given to those who enjoyed an advantage as a result of incestuous relationships with the oil
companies or those with political connections getting contracts to recruit local Guyanese and providing training to work in the industry. There must be a level playing field for all with preference given to local Guyanese, especially those
who champion local content policy. Local Guyanese and those who champion local content should enjoy the same tax breaks and duty concessions as the foreigners or expatriates. Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram
Saturday February 20, 2021
...Six more witnesses remaining in Better Hope moneychanger and daughter murder From page 17 Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C, the Magistrate was able to proceed with the PI into the double murder without Rufino. When the matter was called yesterday, the prosecution continued calling its witnesses to testify. After the witnesses' testimonies, they were subject to be cross-examined by the defence attorneys and the unrepresented defendants. Police prosecutor Vivian Adolph then informed the court that he will be calling
his six final witnesses to testify on the next hearing of the matter. Magistrate George then adjourned the matter to March 3, 2021. The PI for the matter commenced in February 2020, but since then it has been faced with several delays. Kaieteur News had reported, when the five accused made their first court appearance, that they were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleged that on July 4, 2019, at Robert Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, they murdered the moneychanger and
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his daughter during a robbery. According to reports, on the day in question, Aaron Latchman arrived home around 15:15 hrs and was attempting to park his car in his yard, when two gunmen struck. One of the gunmen reportedly entered the house and shot Latchman's daughter. The other then attacked the father. The two men got into a scuffle, which resulted in a bag ending up in a neighbour's yard. The gunman, who had shot Latchman's daughter, then exited the house and
came to his accomplice's aid, shooting Latchman as well. After Latchman fell to the ground, the attackers snatched up a bag of cash and fled. The killers escaped in a car. The moneychanger and his daughter were taken to the Georgetown Public Corporation, where they were both pronounced dead on arrival. The matter was reported and an investigation was launched. The five accused were later arrested and subsequently, they were jointly charged for murder.
...$413M Leguan Stelling rehabilitation contract terminated From page 17 Accountability Act.” Minister Edghill sought to remind that on four occasions, he had engaged the contractor and the Transport and Harbour Department on the completion of this project, which yielded no success. Against this background and in keeping with the contractual terms, the contract was terminated with immediate effect. The Minister said that
any adverse consequences resulting from this must be placed squarely at the feet of the David Granger APNU/ AFC administration. Notably, the Minister stated that the Auditor General will be engaged to recover the sums that were awarded and gave assurances that a procurement process will be undertaken to ensure that another contractor is engaged to complete the stelling.
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GNBS launches third NQA programme US offers to restart talks with Iran to revive nuclear deal The United States has said it was ready to restart talks with Iran to revive a 2015 nuclear agreement, reversing former President Donald Trump’s decision to walk out of the landmark deal that was aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after a meeting with his European partners on Thursday, stressed President Joe Biden’s position that Washington would return to the accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if Tehran came into full compliance with the deal. The state department later said it was open to an “informal meeting” with the so-called P5+1 – the parties to the agreement including Iran – that a European Union official has offered to host. It is the most concrete step the Biden administration has publicly made towards direct engagement with Tehran on the nuclear deal to date. However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh seemed to immediately throw cold water on the suggestion, tweeting on Friday “It is now only Iran and P4+1”. “Gestures are fine. But to revive P5+1, US must Act: LIFT sanctions,” he wrote. Iran has in recent months stepped up its nuclear activity in breach of the deal blaming the US and European powers – the other signatories to the deal – of reneging on their commitments. Tehran says Washington and European powers must be first to return to its commitments under the historic 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has also threatened to stop part of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of its nuclear facilities scheduled for February 21 if the other signatories do not implement their own commitments under the deal. European powers Britain, France and Germany – a group known as the E3 – and the US on Thursday warned Iran it would be “dangerous” to limit UN nuclear agency inspections. “If Iran comes back into strict compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, the United States will do the same and is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran towards that end,” said a joint statement issued at the
meeting in Paris. Iran began breaching the deal in 2019, about a year after Trump withdrew and reimposed punishing economic sanctions. Responding to the four nations’ statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that Washington should make the first move. “Instead of sophistry & putting onus on Iran, E3/EU must abide by own commitments & demand an end to Trump’s legacy of #EconomicTerrorism against Iran,” Zarif said in a tweet. “Our remedial measures are a response to US/E3 violations. Remove the cause if you fear the effect,” he continued. “We’ll follow ACTION w/ (with) action.” He said in a second tweet on Friday: “US unconditionally & effectively lift all sanctions imposed, reimposed or re-labeled by Trump. We will then immediately reverse all remedial measures. Simple: #CommitActMeet.” Zarif has previously signalled an openness to talks with Washington and the other parties over reviving the deal. On Thursday, a spokesman for the US State Department said that Washington “would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program”. That statement came after Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general for political affairs of European External Action Service, tweeted he was ready to invite the parties to an “informal meeting to discuss the way forward”. In a subsequent background briefing with reporters, US State Department officials said Wa s h i n g t o n ’s o p e n n e s s was not “itself a breakthrough”, but said the meeting could be a “ s t a r t w h a t c o uld be a prolonged path of trying to get back to a situation where both the US and Iran were back into compliance”, while reiterating Iran would have to come back into compliance first. The officials said they did not expect the announcement to stop Iran from further violating provisions of the agreement in the coming days, saying “frankly, that was part of the calculation”.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) yesterday launched its third National Quality Awards (NQA) programme to recognize businesses for their commitment to quality systems and best practices. In a press statement, the GNBS said that the NQA, which is set for October 2021 as a part of National Quality Week, will be another opportunity for businesses to demonstrate that they are meeting quality requirements in the delivery of goods and services to consumers. The Bureau said that the NQA provides a comprehensive assessment of businesses while adding that it also enhances the quality and competitiveness of the products and services offered. It said too that the NQA fosters greater consumer confidence and satisfaction. According to the GNBS, there are four categories of businesses, which can participate in the awards. These are businesses in manufacturing; financial, tourism and hospitality, professional services and other services; small businesses and those in agro-processing. The GNBS specified that a small business according to the
(Left-Right) Head of the Marketing and Communications Department, Syeid Ibrahim; Communications Officer, Bibi Khatoon; and Head of the Certification Department, Al Fraser. NQA criteria is classified as any business with 25 or fewer employees, earning $60M or less in revenue and is the owner of assets valuing $20M or less. Further, it was stated that in the NQA, agro-processors are differentiated from other small businesses and placed in a separate category to promote and recognize quality in these businesses. The eligible participants are those involved in the smallscale production of agroprocessed products like jams
and jellies, sauces, fruit mixes, salted fish and seafood, juices, packaged eggs, local sweets, chips and others. “All businesses must also possess at least one of the following or have it in place by the close of the application period: Documented Standard Operating Procedures, Quality Manual/ Policy Manual or Best Practices Manual,” GNBS noted. The application process to participate in the NQA is free of cost. In addition to a
completed application form, applicants are required to submit a copy of valid business registration from the Deeds Registry, valid tax compliance from the Guyana Revenue Authority, and Valid National Insurance compliance from the National Insurance Scheme. An assessment of each participating business will be conducted to arrive at the winners who will be awarded at the ceremony in October. The application deadline is March 31.
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South Africa: Australia got facts wrong Jamaica Scorpions beat Leeward Hurricanes by over canceled tour CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Australia got its facts wrong when it made a “unilateral” decision to cancel a cricket tour to South Africa because of COVID-19, the acting head of the South African board said yesterday. Stavros Nicolaou said Cricket South Africa was left “puzzled” by Cricket Australia’s decision two weeks ago to not travel for a three-test series next month. At the time, the Australians said South Africa was at the “peak” of a second wave of coronavirus infections and had a “more virulent strain” of the virus.
Both points were incorrect, Cricket South Africa interim board chairman Nicolaou said on a conference call with reporters. “We were very confused with that statement and we are still unpacking that statement with our Australian counterparts,” Nicolaou said. “We definitely don’t agree.” Although South Africa’s second wave of virus infections peaked in January, it had subsided significantly by the time Australia announced it was canceling on Feb. 2, Nicolaou said. He said Australia didn’t give South Africa a chance to
clarify the local situation before taking “a unilateral decision.” His analysis was backed up by the fact that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the relaxation of some lockdown restrictions a day earlier on Feb. 1 due to a major decrease in new COVID-19 cases in the country. New cases have continued decreasing since and the Australians were not due to fly in until the end of this month. There is also no evidence that the variant first identified in South Africa in December causes more serious disease, according to health experts, although it might be more
Saturday February 20, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today you might work on a lot of writing, Aries. It might be your own or editing the work of others. You could find what you're doing exciting and stimulating. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) If you've been thinking of taking a long trip by air, this is the day to start planning it or even leave, if you can work it in. Your excitement and anticipation are high, and your sense of adventure is at a peak. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Paperwork regarding money might need attention today, Gemini, as you could be planning to entertain visitors. These are apt to be exciting people bringing good news and interesting information. CANCER(June21–July22) You might spend hours on the phone today, Cancer, possibly discussing opportunities to perform services for others. Your mental and physical energy should be high. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) New, exciting opportunities to earn more money might come your way today, Leo perhaps through new fields. Colleagues could bring information. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Friendships or love relationships formed today are rooted as much in intellectual compatibility as emotional attraction, Virgo. Stimulating conversations could take place with old and new friends alike.Creative projects go well.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You're generally intuitive, but today you could be so sensitive to others that you pick up on just about everything. Stay away from hospitals or police stations if you can. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Expect a busy day. You're likely to spend a lot of time in the car running errands and paying visits, perhaps related to projects. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today you might want to put one last burst of effort into a project, as this could make a big difference to your income and status, Sagittarius. It could put you before the public in some way. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) So many ideas are flooding your mind today that you might have trouble sorting them out if you don't write them down, Capricorn. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) A copious amount of physical and mental energy could focus on psychic, metaphysical, or spiritual activities today. You're feeling especially intuitive. You could almost read minds. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Social events and group activities are likely to take up most of your day, Pisces. You could come into contact with so many people you may not be able to keep track of them all. Get contact information for all new acquaintances.
contagious. Nicolaou said Australia was suggesting the variant was more harmful. “We don’t agree there’s a more virulent strain (in South Africa). More contagious, not more virulent,” Nicolaou said. South Africa has publicly stated how bitterly disappointed it was at Australia’s decision, which came even after South Africa agreed to put in place much more extensive bio-bubble preparations for the Australian squad to meet their demands. That involved giving Australia exclusive access to the hotel that both teams were originally planning to share for the series, and forcing hotel staff to quarantine for a much longer time before the Australians arrived in South Africa, according to South African media reports. The extra plans came at a high cost to Cricket South Africa. Some of Nicolaou’s comments yesterday also reflected a current sentiment in international cricket that the sport’s three richest nations — India, England and Australia — might be taking advantage of fears over the pandemic to avoid tours to lower-profile countries. That frees them up for moneyspinning series among themselves. South Africa is still disgruntled over England’s decision to cut short a limitedovers tour of the country in December after hotel workers tested positive for the coronavirus in the tour biobubble and England raised the alarm that two of its touring members had been infected. Those two English positives turned out to be false positives, but England still left halfway through the tour. Despite raising fears over COVID then, England has since embarked on a big-ticket test tour of India, which has more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the second-highest in the world behind the United States. “One needs to assess these cancelations and postponements,” Nicolaou said. “What it means to the smaller nations, the poorer nations, or those with less resources. And I think there is a recalibration that needs to take place in cricket in that respect.” Nicolaou said South Africa had submitted a formal complaint to the International Cricket Council over Australia’s cancelation, although it’s unclear what the governing body can do when a country cites player safety for its decision.
6 runs on DLS method
Derval Green makes great save which led to a key run out during the action. Jamaica Scorpions defeated the Leeward Hurricanes by 6 runs on the Duckworth Lewis (DLS) method yesterday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua in latest action of the Regional CG Insurance Super50 Cup. Batting first Jamaica complied 220 all out in 48.5 of their 50-overs. Fabian Allen 44, man-of-the-match Jeavor Royal 38, Rovman Powell 29 and Paul Palmer 23 helped pad the innings following a steady fall of wickets during the innings. Ashmead Nedd led the bowling effort with 323, Quinton Boatswain 2-35 and Terrence Ward 2-54 were
among the wickets. Set 221 to win and following interruption for rain, the Hurricanes could only manage 187-8 in 43 overs to lose by 6 runs on the Duckworth Lewis (DLS) method. Nitish Kumar with 51 and Devon Thomas 49 fought in a valiant effort in the run chase. Jamie Merchant 3-44 and Jeavor Royal 2-31 led the Scorpions to their eventual victory. The tournament continues today with a big clash between Guyana Jaguars and Trinidad Red Force at the Coolidge Ground from 1:30pm.
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Morris sets new record as Maxwell and Jamieson also strike it rich at IPL auction
Chris Morris became the most expensive signing in the history of the Indian Premier League. SportsMax - Chris Morris became the most expensive signing in the history of the Indian Premier League as franchises filled out their rosters during Thursday’s auction in Chennai. Morris was eventually signed by Rajasthan Royals who he played for in 2015 following a bidding war that saw four teams battling it out to secure the services of the South African all-rounder. His final price finished up at 16.25crore, which equates to around £1.6million, putting him ahead of Yuvraj Singh (16cr) on the list of biggest auction purchases in the global Twenty20 tournament. “I’m super-stoked, super-humbled to be joining Rajasthan again,” Morris said in a video message posted by his new team on Twitter. “I had an unbelievably good time, and a good season, one of the better times in my cricket career, with Rajasthan in 2015, so I’m unbelievably happy, unbelievably excited. “We have a very good squad, so joining up with Rajasthan is a very cool experience.” Royal Challengers Bangalore were big spenders in their bid to secure a maiden title this year, getting New Zealand paceman Kyle Jamieson for 14.25cr (£1.5m) having already signed Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell (14cr - £1.4m) for a fraction less than that earlier in proceedings. Jhye Richardson also collected a huge deal, snapped up for the same price as compatriot Maxwell by Punjab Kings, who added
another Australian paceman to their roster in Riley Meredith, who has yet to play international cricket in any format. Having been released by Rajasthan Royals at the start of this year, Steve Smith is now a member of the Delhi Capitals, along with India fast bowler Umesh Yadav and Englishman Sam Billings. Moeen Ali saw a considerable rise from his base price, the England allrounder eventually going for a final sum of £700,000 to Chennai Super Kings. While a premium was paid for pace bowling during the auction, the market was a little less frantic for batsmen. Dawid Malan – who sits top of the International Cricket Council’s batting rankings in the shortest format – will play for Punjab Kings, but English openers Alex Hales and Jason Roy both went unsold. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is heading back to the Kolkata Knight Riders for 3.2crore (£315,000), while Krishnappa Gowtham went for 9.25crore (£900,000) to the Super Kings, making him the most expensive uncapped India player ever. As for Mumbai Indians, the main additions by the two-time defending champions came to their bowling attack as they added Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. The 14th edition of the IPL is scheduled to begin during April and run into May. Last year’s delayed tournament was staged in the United Arab Emirates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday February 20, 2021
England quicks ‘dying’ to use pink ball in India, says Wood
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FP - England’s pacemen are “dying to get” their hands on the pink ball ahead of the day/night third Test against India, fast bowler Mark Wood said on yesterday. With the four-match series level at 1-1, the teams will play their first floodlit Test against each other in next week’s inaugural match a t A h m e d a b a d ’s n e w 110,000-capacity Sardar Patel Motera Stadium. Floodlit fixtures are renowned for assisting quick b o w l e r s , w i t h I n d i a ’s pacemen taking all 20 Bangladesh wickets to fall in their only previous day/night h o m e Te s t , a g a i n s t Bangladesh in Kolkata 14 months ago. A n d Wo o d s a i d England’s seamers had been excited by their early experience with the pink ball that will be in use next week. “We’ve been bowling with them in the nets — they have swung quite a bit and they’ve lasted longer, which was interesting to see,” Wood told a conference call. “With the ball, as soon as it moves, every one of the bowlers from the past couple of months is dying to get it in
England fast bowler Mark Wood
their hand.” England have the bowlers to exploit floodlit conditions even if Wood, back with the squad after being rested for the first half of the series, does not play. They could deploy both James Anderson and Stuart Broad, rather than field one or other of England’s two alltime leading wicket-takers as has been the case in recent Tests. Jofra Archer is another option if fit following the elbow injury that ruled the fast bowler out of England’s 317-run loss in the second
Test in Chennai, while Olly Stone, who performed creditably in that match, and Chris Woakes are also in the squad. “As soon as the ball moves we know how good our seam bowlers can be,” said Wood. “We’ve got good depth there, good skills and two of the best ever (Anderson and Broad),” added the 31-yearold Durham quick. - Tough rejecting ‘lifechanging’ IPL Wood explained why he had withdrawn from Thursday’s Indian Premier
League auction. Several fast bowlers landed deals of more than £1 million ($1.4 million) in the Tw e n t y 2 0 f r a n c h i s e tournament. But Wood, who has played just 18 red ball internationals in a six-year Test career blighted by ankle injuries, explained that making time for his family and keeping himself fit in a year where England have a packed schedule were his priorities. “ I t ’s l i f e - c h a n g i n g money, which is why it was such a difficult decision for me,” he said. “First and foremost it was for my family. I’m going to spend six weeks here in India and it would have been another eight weeks on top of that. “The second reason, of course, is being ready for England. I don’t want my body to fail me or be a bit bruised mentally or physically for the back end of the year when it’s the (T20) World Cup and Ashes, or in the summer when it’s a big series against India at home. “I’m comfortable with my decision and I hope it serves me well.”
Roraima Airways supports GSCL Inc President’s Cup Roraima Airways of Bel Air has thrown their support behind the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc for the hosting of the inaugural President’s Cup which is set for March 5 to 7. T h e e n t i t y ’ s Reservations Manager Jilleon Chase yesterday p r e s e n t e d t w o complimentary tickets to Kaieteur Falls to Secretary of GSCL Inc Telesha Ousman Yamin at their Bel Air office. Jilleon said they are happy to be part of the competition and wished the teams well. She added that cricket is a unifying influence and the company is happy to give back to the community. She pledged their continued support. Ousman Yamin thanked the entity for their backing, adding that they hope to make it an annual event. She reminded that teams have until Sunday to deposit their refundable $60,000 so as confirm their
Roraima Airways Reservations Manager Jilleon Chase (left) presents the tickets to Secretary of GSCL Inc Telesha Ousman Yamin. participation. The three-day tournament which is organized jointly by the Honourable Counsel of Guyana to Florida, Ramzan Roshanalli and the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Incorporated
(GSCL) was launched on Sunday February 7 at the Everest Cricket Club banquet hall with Guyana’s President, His Excellency Dr. Ifraan Ali delivering the feature address and officially committing to the mega tournament.
The inaugural President’s T20 Softball tournament will be played in three categories; Open (All ages), Masters (over-40 years old) and Legends (over-50 years old) at venues in and around Georgetown. (Zaheer Mohamed)
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Khaliludeen and Company supports Medvedev sees off Tsitsipas to Mahaica Softball Cricket Cup march into Australian Open final
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Manager of the entity Renu Walli presents the sponsorship cheque to President of Strathavon All Star Sports and Cultural Club, Fazal Khan.
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haliludeen and Company, Accounting, Tax Consultation and Management Information systems of lot 5 Robb Street and Avenue of the Republic has supported the Mahaica Softball Cricket Cup for teams in the Mahaica area and the wider regions. Manager of the entity R e n u Wa l l i r e c e n t l y presented the sponsorship cheque to President of Strathavon All Star Sports and Cultural Club, Fazal Khan who is part of the organising committee. Walli said she is looking forward to
a successful competition, while Khan expressed gratitude for the support. The knockout competition is set for Sunday 7th March 2020 at the Strathavon Sports Club Ground from 09:00hrs. The aim of the competition is to get local cricketers and young people returning to sports after almost a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the organisers, the event will see more development being done at the club and youths will get more involved in positive things and be a part of a
healthy lifestyle. According to the organisers, over $200,000 in cash and trophies will be up for grabs and interested teams can contact the competition coordinators Mr. Gobindram Hemraj (Randy) on 643-3319 or Mr. Jermaine Persaud on 6448172 for registration. According to the organisers a limited number of teams will be accepted to take part in this the first Mahaica Softball Cup and the competition. The competition will be played under strict COVID19 guidelines.
Only Fabian Allen sold as Windies players spark little interest at IPL auction SportsMax - There was little interest in West Indies players at the 2021 IPL Auction held in Chennai earlier yesterday. About 18 West Indies players were in the pool of 292 players hoping to fill 61 slots across the eight IPL franchises but only one, Fabian Allen, was sold. The Jamaican allrounder will join Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran at the renamed Punjab Kings for the new season for just over US$100,000. Meanwhile, the likes of Evin Lewis and Sheldon Cottrell, who had a base price of just under US$150,000 went unsold. Darren Bravo, Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford, who each had a similar base price as Allen, also failed to spark any interest among the franchises. Players like Rovman Powell, Oshane Thomas, Chemar Holder, Fidel Edwards, Carlos Brathwaite and several others, also
Fabian Allen
had a base price of around US$70,000 but their affordability did not seem to make them any more attractive to the cash-rich squads that already had retained several West Indies players like Gayle, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and the elder of the Bravo brothers, Dwayne.
ELBOURNE (Reuters) Russia’s D a n i i l Medvedev lived up to Novak Djokovic’s praise as the “man to beat” at the Australian Open when he charged into his first Melbourne Park final with an impressive 6-4 6-2 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas yesterday. The rangy Medvedev wrapped the Greek fifth seed in a blanket of pressure at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena, capturing his 20th successive victory and 12th straight over top 10 opponents to earn a shot at ending Djokovic’s dynasty in tomorrow’s decider. Fourth seed Medvedev served like a machine until broken in the third set, which revived the Greek fans in the terraces as Tsitsipas roared to a 5-4 lead. But the Russian silenced a hostile crowd with the decisive break in the 11th game, then smacked a forehand into the corner on his first match point to seal it. “I’m happy to manage to keep my nerves because still I didn’t make so many bad shots,” Medvedev said on court of his anxious third set. “I just tried to hit aces and winners or put the ball in the court. That’s the only way to do (it). That’s how I stayed in the match.” Wo r l d n u m b e r o n e Djokovic, who beat Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev to reach the final, will be a formidable opponent for Medvedev in his second Grand Slam showpiece match. Serbian Djokovic is bidding for a recordextending ninth Australian Open title and has never lost a final in Melbourne. For Tsitsipas, the defeat was not as bitter as his 2019 semi-final demolition by Rafa Nadal. Yet he paid the price for another slow start, with Medvedev doing what Nadal could not in his five-set quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas this week — slamming the door on the Greek’s revival. Tsitsipas has now lost three Grand Slam semis, including a five-set loss to Djokovic at last year’s
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev French Open. After his taxing win over Nadal, the Greek said he felt beaten after two sets against Medvedev, and was not sure winning the third would have helped. “Let me tell you that he’s a player who has unlocked pretty much everything in the game,” the 22-year-old said of Medvedev. “It’s like he’s reading the game really well.” CAGEY START After a cagey start on a muggy evening at Rod Laver Arena, Medvedev barged through Tsitsipas’s defences to break in the fifth game. Tsitsipas battled to stay in touch and saved three set points before the Russian thumped an ace down the ‘T’ to seal it. With arms sprawling, Medvedev soaked up all Tsitsipas could throw at him and, after a few rope-a-dope rallies, fired a sizzling forehand winner down the line to break the Greek to lead 2-1 in the second set. Tsitsipas retired to his chair fuming and slammed a bottle of water onto the court, triggering a squadron of towel-toting ballkids to mop up. Medvedev marched on, raising three break points at 4-2, and with a touch of arrogance rocketed a return down the line to convert.
The Russian was soon strolling back to his chair two sets up after an ace on set point. Tsitsipas’s struggles became uncomfortable viewing for some in the crowd and a few jeers rang out when he was broken in the opening game of the third. Medvedev was cruising to the finish line until, inexplicably, his serve wavered. He double-faulted to gift break points and dropped serve with a wild forehand, jolting the crowd into life. A rejuvenated Tsitsipas surged back as Medvedev’s baseline rockets misfired. While the Russian’s serve had kept Tsitsipas at bay, it was his returning that proved decisive when he broke the Greek at 5-5. After sending a blazing backhand passing shot down the line, Medvedev waved his arms at the crowd, playing the villain in an echo of his run to the 2019 U.S. Open final. He closed out the match with a 208 km/hr second serve that Tsitsipas could only chop short, allowing Medvedev to jog forward and fire the winning forehand. Djokovic, the real “man to beat” at Melbourne Park, awaits.
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Saturday February 20, 2021
Devon Ramnauth Youth Cricket Jai Hind CC Masters T20 Cup sponsored League tournament bowls off today by Permaul Trading set for Tuesday
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he long-awaited Devon Ramnauth Youth Cricket L e a g u e tournament is set to finally bowl off today at two venues on the Essequibo Coast, Region 2. At Pomona venue, Rising Stars Spartans will tackle United Warriors from 10:00 am, while at Imam Bacchus ground Essequibo Eagles Under-19 will match their skills with Golden Fleece Vikings Youths at 09:30 am. In the other fixture at the same facility from 13:30hrs, Reliance Hustlers Youths will clash with Queenstown Under-19s. Ramnauth stated that since the formation of the League in early 2020, his aim is to improve the game in the Region and decided to start off with the youths. The six under-19 teams will be participating in a T20 round-robin competition with the championship game billed for March 20 at a venue to be announced. According to Ramnauth, the founder of the League, he is “excited” to have things get cracking and highly optimistic the first outing will be a success. He reserved special thanks to all who have
Devon Ramnauth contributed in various ways to have this initiative unfolding now at this difficult time owing to the Global Pandemic. Organizer Travis Simon is a vibrant individual and he must be thankful for his services thus far in having this new competition roll off, according to Ramnauth, a former Essequibo and Guyana Under-19 youth player. “I [am] extremely excited to get things going; initially the competition was supposed to start last year but because of the pandemic; again we have an active Facebook page which is very informative and the focal point of this competition is about development,”
Ramnauth who is currently residing in Canada, disclosed. He further emphasized that the aspiring cricketers on the Coast will get more opportunities to showcase their skills and talent as this League is here to stay. Ramnauth, who still plays professionally in North America, declared that it is about giving back to the coast and by extension Essequibo’s cricket. There are lots of prizes for the winning and runnersup teams, while outstanding individual performers are also in for similar treats. “This is about encouragement and motivation for these youngsters,” Ramnauth commented.
The Jai Hind Cricket Club of Albion, Corentyne, Berbice collected sponsorship for their inaugural Mash Masters T20 Cup cricket scheduled for February 23 (Mash Day) 2021. The tournament will involve Jai Hind Jaguars Masters, West Berbice Masters, West Demerara Masters and Strahavon Masters. The teams will compete for a first prize of $100,000,while the Runners-up collect $25,000 and a trophy and Man-ofthe-Match in the finals, all sponsored by Permaul Trading of Albion. Proceeds from the Event will go towards further development of the venue. The Government recently handed over floodlights and funds to assist in constructing of Fences. At a simple Ceremony held recently, Albert Khan and former Berbice Cricket Board executive Romesh Munna who is on vacation,
Romash Munna (right) makes the presentation to Albert Khan. said they are pleased with the work of the club which has transformed the venue into one of the best in Berbice. They both promised continued support as it becomes necessary. In response, Rajin Moonsammy, Captain of the
Jai Hind CC thanked the sponsors for coming on Board without hesitation and promised to make the tournament an annual one. He also mentioned that it will be well organised and mileage will be given to all sponsors.
Munna (left) hands over the sponsorship cheque to Jai Hind’s skipper Rajin Moonsammy.
Organiser Mark Wiltshire with representatives on Secrets bar display the first place trophy.
Dominoes action Minister Ramson sets Feb 26 set for Pouderoyen as date for GCB Elections Wash Bay on Tuesday I n a Public notice from the honorable Charles S. Ramson MP, Minister of Culture, Youth & Sport, the Minister
Mark Wiltshire in association with Raymond Williams will be hosting a fourgame dominoes competition on Tuesday at Pouderoyen Wash Bay. Entrance fee is $15,000, but any team that is registered before 13:30hrs on playing day will only pay $12,000, while $60,000 will be added the prizes. The best female player will
take home $5,000 and man of the man in the final will received $5,000. All covid measures will be observed. Meanwhile, Secrets bar of Pourderoyen has sponsored the first place trophy. Interested teams can contact Wiltshire on 659-8672. Double six-time is 14:30hrs.
said; “With the Demerara Cricket Board elections just concluded as directed by a Court order of the 15th of February 2021 by Justice Navindra Singh in Action number 2018-HC-DEM-CIV-PDA-622 and having just consulted with Cricket West Indies (formerly known as West Indies Cricket
Board) pursuant to the requirements of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act, I hereby make the following appointments. 1: that the 26th of February, 2021, as the day for the first election of the Guyana Cricket Board; and 2: that Kamal Ramkarran, Attorney at Law, is the Cricket Ombudsman The Cricket Ombudsman will hereinafter advise as to the next steps in accordance with the Cricket Administration Act.”
Saturday February 20, 2021
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Singh to Head DCB for next two years DCB Election paves way for long-awaited GCB Elections By Sean Devers Yesterday morning at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) in Queenstown in the City, former GCC legspinner, East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) President and Businessman Bissoon Singh was unanimously elected President of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB). Former West Indies offspinner and present Chairman of the West Indies Selection panel, Georgetown Cricket Association’s (GCA) Roger Harper and Region 10’s Bradley Fredericks from the Upper Demerara Cricket Association (UDCA) were elected as the two VicePresidents. The Elections, which was supervised by a pair of Marshalls from theHigh Court with Major General (Ret’d) and Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President Norman McLean performing the duties of Returning Officer. In a smooth process which was concluded in just over 15 minutes, the DCB
President Bissoon Singh is flanked by his VPs, Harper (right) & Fredricks, while the other DCB officials stand at the back. elections which was impeded by several Court battles, with the last Court hearing being last Wednesday when Full Court Judges, Justice Nareshwar Harnanan and Justice Fidela CorbinLincoln unanimously dismissed an Appeal by Secretary of the GCB, Anand Sanasie, to stop yesterday’s Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) elections, was held. Last September, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Cricket Administration Act be restored to its original condition, paving the way for elections at the Demerara Cricket Board and
subsequently the Guyana Cricket Board. The Court ruled that the elections they had in January 2020 is of no effect to the elections that Justice Singh ordered, and in any event, once the Act was back in force election of those officers would have come to an end. Attorney Arudranauth Goosai represented the GCA, ECCB and UDCA, while Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports Charles Ramson played an important role in bringing this issue to a conclusion. Five Associations, the Georgetown Cricket
Association, the East Coast Cricket Board, the East Bank Cricket Association and the West Demerara Cricket Association have seven votes each, while the Upper Demerara Cricket Association has three, making it a total of 31 votes at the DCB election. But only three were represented at the DCC with the West Demerara Cricket and the East Bank Cricket Associations being noshows. Seventeen (17) delegates from the Georgetown Cricket Association (seven), the East Coast Cricket Board (seven)
Benjamin and Hackett bound for pro trials with Canada’s Valour FC
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elsey Benjamin and Ryan Hackett will head to Canada in the coming weeks to take part in pre-season trials with professional Canadian Premier League (CPL) outfit Valour FC, thanks to an opportunity brokered by former Canadian international Alex B u n b u r y ’s A B S A A organisation. Plaisance-born Bunbury made the announcement a d u r i n g S e n i o r M e n ’s National Team training session at the Guyana Football Federation National Training Centre at Providence, where 21-yearolds midfielder Hackett and forward Benjamin are part of the domestic-based squad preparing for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers next month. “It means a lot,” Hackett said. “I would like to get a professional contract outside. Thank you to Mr. Bunbury and the Guyana Football Federation, who have helped me develop this far. I
Ryan Hackett and Kelsey Benjamin.
want to go out there and grab this opportunity.” Benjamin, who scored the winner for Georgetown All Stars in the final of the GFF Bounce Back Classic in January, also thanked Mr. Bunbury and the Federation, expressing his determination to succeed. “The sky is the limit,” he said. Professional side Valour had expressed a keen interest in assessing under23 players from
Guyana during their preseason camp, expected to take place in April. Supported by the GFF, it is hoped this breakthrough opportunity will open the door to further trials for Guyanese players. “My objective is to give these young players the opportunity to go to higher heights,” said Bunbury. “One of the great opportunities that we have been able to organise is to have them go to Canada
and try out for a CPL franchise. I’m excited about it and I think the whole country should be excited about it.” “They are both very talented and also very young. We know we have a lot of talented players. They just need to get into a professional environment. This will open up a lot of opportunities for other players. It’s going to say a lot about the talent that Guyana has.” Earlier this month, Bunbury was pivotal in securing a full sports scholarship at Chicago State University for Golden Jaguars forward Nicholas McArthur. “This is very important for our development,” said Golden Jaguars Head Coach Marcio Maximo. “We want to create opportunities for these players. It is very important to encourage them and to give them motivation. We need to put these players into competitive markets and give them the chance to shine.”
and the Upper Demerara Cricket Association (three) were present yesterday. “Today is the dawn of a new era, and democracy has returned to Demerara cricket for good,” Singh said moments after being elected. “We intend to have this process- the electoral process- at the Demerara Cricket Board to be transparent and democratic as possible. From now on, no media would be locked out. Every single thing concerning the management of the Demerara Board, as well as the selection of our team and the cricket development of the Demerara Board would be made public,” Singh promised. We have decided as from today that the entire Guyana…everybody that loves cricket, parents, teachers, the Government, his Excellency, the Teacher’s Union and all those who would like to play a part are welcome. We want everyone to know that we are here to serve the people and not to manage the people… so we want you to be a part of it and let us know what your problem is… if there is one. I believe we have a competent group here who can deliver. Our cricket should never be played in Courts…our cricket should not involve people who have personal agendas. Our cricket is the people’s business, something that unites us and not divide us, and so we have a reasonability to ensure that this never happens again,” Singh added. The DCB head informed that there was going to be another ‘fraud’ on the East Coast when a group put together another Cricket Board when the relevant body had already held their elections in August. “I condemn that and that must come to an end and we are advised that if that happens we could bring
private criminal charges since those people are going to get access to our bank account which has hundreds of thousands of dollars in it. Another thing is that is shocking it that we had the Judiciary that suspended the Cricket Act in Parliament and it is the very Judiciary that corrected that mistake and now responsible for this democracy. I commend them for that and more importantly the honorable Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports Charles Ramson…I would like to commend him for aggressively pursuing this matter and bringing it to a successful end,” Singh continued. He revealed that he will be meeting with the Minister and Corporate Guyana, those in the private sector and all the Chambers of Commerce. Singh also spoke about some of his plans for Cricket development and intends to meet with the Presidents of the other two County boards (Hilbert Foster BCB & Faizul Bacchus (ECB). “We want to be on same page when we go to the Guyana Cricket Board, whoever they are and whenever they are elected because there is an illegitimate group running around calling themselves the Guyana Cricket Board,” Singh said. The new executive members of the DCB: Bisoon Singh (President), Roger Harper &Bradley Fredericks ( Vi c e - P r e s e n t s ) , A z a d I b r a h i m ( Tr e a s u r e r ) , Pretipaul Jaigobin (Assistant Tr e a s u r e r ) , D a v t e e r t h Anandjit (Secretary), Ronald Williams (Assistant Secretary), Neil Barry (Marketing Manager), Raymond Barton (Chairman of the Competitions Committee), Claude Raphael (Public Relations Officer). The Trustees are Azeem ‘Troy’ Khan from West Demerara and Fazal Ishak from East Bank.
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Saturday February 20, 2021
Cricket returns to the BCB/Lewison General Store 2020 Under-15 Final... Upper Corentyne today Cricket is set to return to the Upper Corentyne area today with the start of an U19 40 overs cricket competition which will be contested by four teams. The competition is being organised by the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA) in collaboration with the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and the Ahamad Construction. The teams set to play are Scottsburg’s United, No73 Radha Krishna Mandir, No 73 Young Warriors and No 69 Red Rose Youths Cricket Club. Play is set to commence with two matches. In today’s m a t c h e s – S c o t t s b u rg ’s United will play No73 Radha Krishna Mandir at the No72 ground. No 73 Young Warrior will take on No 69 Youths at the No 69 Red Rose Ground. Two more games are set for tomorrow; Scottsburg’s
United will meet with No 69 Youth CC at the No 69 Red Rose Ground. In the other game, No 73 Young Warriors is set to play No 73 Mandir at the No72 Cut and Load Ground. The competition will continue next weekend with matches on Saturday and Sunday. The final is set for Sunday 28th February at a venue to be announced. Tr o p h i e s a n d o t h e r incentives will be awarded to the winner and runner up team and outstanding individual players. The UCCA is being led by businessman Dennis D’Andrade. The competition will be coordinated by the UCCA competitions committee which is being led former National wicketkeeper batsman Sydney Jackman. (Samuel Whyte)
GMR&SC Drag Championship
40 Cars already registered - Resumption of Guy-Sur ferry service excites fans The Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s (GMR&SC) National Drag championship round one has already seen a total of 40 cars being registered for the event that burns out in exactly eight days at the South Dakota Circuit, Timehri. And, with the announcement of the resumption of the GuyanaSuriname Ferry Service, many fans will be hopeful that this may result in Team Suriname sending a contingent to challenge the Guyanese daredevils, however, only 10 spots remain. In a release to the media, head of the GMR&SC, Rameez Mohamed, explained that the covid-19 task force has only allowed the club to register a limited amount of vehicles but the fanfare and excitement will be double with a high number of high powered cars expected to lineup at the strip inclusive of exhibition runs between the BM Soat 2020 Supra and Team Mohamed’s Lamborghini. Keen on not missing out on having their brand be part of this event that has the 592 buzzing are Prem’s Electrical Store and Rush Energy Drink that were announced as the latest sponsors of the event. Mohamed posited that, “Prem’s Electrical have been
one of our (GMR&SC) oldest partners that are always ready to support any event that we have and we must expressed our heartfelt thanks to the entity.” Meanwhile, he welcomed Rush Energy Drink and called for a long and fruitful partnership going forward. Testing for the return of Drag racing will be available on Friday (February 26) and Saturday (February 27) with pre-qualification available on the latter date. Further, persons who do not get to qualify on Saturday will have a chance to do so on Sunday morning (February 28) before the Knockout segment gets going at Noon. Other sponsors include: Mohamed’s Enterprise, Secure Innovations & C o n c e p t s I n c . , P r e m ’s Electrical, KFC Guyana, ENetworks, Motor Trend S e r v i c e C e n t e r, Wi n d Jammer International Hotel, Cyril’s Taxi, A&R Jiwanram Printery, B.M. Soat Auto Sales, Trans Pacific Auto Sale, Unicom United Commodities, MMD Hollow Blocks & Pavers, KGM S e c u r i t y, R e a d y M i x Concrete, Mac Batteries, Mannol, Homeline Furnishing, Imran Auto Wo r k s , A s s o c i a t e d Construction Services, West Coast Customs Washbay and Land Star Drilling Company.
Albion and Port Mourant to clash in finals today
The Berbice Cricket Board Cricket season continues to gather stream with the hosting of the long awaited final of the 2020 Lewison General Store Final today at the Jai Hind Cricket Ground. Archrivals Port Mourant and Albion would clash in the final which is schedule to start at 9.30AM. BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that when the 2020 season was suspended in March last year, a total of eight finals were affected due to the Corona Virus pandemic. Among the other finals were the Elizabeth Styles Under-21, Let’s Bet Sports 20/20 Countywide a n d M i k e ’s P h a r m a c y Under-15. The BCB hopes to complete all the outstanding finals by late April, while at the same time hosting junior, female and Second Division Tournaments for 2021. Both Albion and Port Mourant have strong teams on paper. Port Mourant would be led by West Indies Under-15 player Rampertab Ramnauth and he would
Rampertab Ramnauth
receive support from Salim Khan, Rampersaud Ramnauth and Romesh Bharrat Albion would be spearheaded by the promising Damien Cecil, Shiv Harripersaud, Afraz Budhoo and Ari Afrizal
Kadir. The Presentation Ceremony would take place immediately after the match. No spectators would be allowed and all the players and umpires are hereby asked to walk along with their own face masks, hand
sanitizers and drinking water. Teams: Albion Community Centre Cricket Club 1 Tameshwar Mangal 2. Ari-Afrizal Kadir 3. Damon Cecil 4. Afraz Budhoo 5. Devin Lalbehari 6. Antonio Ramphal 7. Shiv Harripersaud 8. Kumar Deopershad 9. Asaf Esau 10 Shared Persaud 11 Dion Sital 12 Dhanesh Prabudial 13 Feeaz Baksh 14 Joel Cort 15 Reetish Nathoor Port Mourant 1.Rampertab Ramnath (c) 2. Rampersaud Ramnath 3.Romesh Bharrat 4.Salim Khan 5.Khanromel Budwa 6.Vishal Williams 7.Yoganand Mohan 8.Krish Ramroop 9.Jaikishan Latchhman 10.balram Chappell 11.Chatur Mohobir 12.Ganesh Seosahai 13.Leon Teddy
Agro Services, Amazon Planx Golf tourney set for tomorrow
Pur Persaud (left) accepts the cheques from CEO of Amazon Planx Amit Persaud and Corporate Liaison of Agro Services Renuka Singh. The trophies are on display.
E
xciting action is anticipated tomorrow when the Agro Services and Amazon Planx Golf tournament tees off from 09:00hrs at the Lusignan Golf Course. The open tournament will be contested in the medal play format and there will be prizes for the top four
best net finishers, best gross, nearest to the pin and longest drive. Some 40 players are expected to compete including Max Persaud, Pur Persaud, Avinash Persaud, Tr o y C a d o g a n , R a v i Persaud, Brain Hackett and veteran Maurice Solomon. Speaking at the launching ceremony which
was held at Crown Mining, Corporate Liaison of Agro Services which is located at 181 Section D Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, Renuka Singh said they are happy to be part of the competition and is looking forward to a successful and exciting one. CEO of Amazon Planx of 29 Coldingen, Industrial
Estate East Coast Demerara, Amit Persaud stated that they are fulfilling their corporate responsibility and is pleased to be associated with the development of the sport. They both pledged their continued support. Pur Persaud of the LGC expressed gratitude to the sponsors and said all covid measures will be observed.
Kaieteur News
Saturday February 20, 2021
PAGE 33
BCB/Nand Persaud and Co. Ltd 30 overs Female tournament…
Gajnabi, Grimmond, Giddings, Millington spearhead RHT Metro to C/Ship
- New Amsterdam/Canje to play West Berbice for runner up position
The winning RHT Metro team poses with their championship trophy.
Player of the Match - Erva Giddings.
T
he West Indies trio of Erva Giddings, S h e n e t a Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi with national off spinner Plaffiana Millington where the outstanding players as defending champions Rose Hall Town Metro easily retained their Berbice 30 overs title.
The only club female team in Guyana easily defeated a combined New Amsterdam/Canje team and West Berbice to remain unbeaten since the team was founded in 2008. The BCB/Nand Persaud Co. Ltd 30 overs tournament is the first of three scheduled tournaments that would be organised by the Berbice
Cricket Board for female players in the Ancient County.
Rose Hall Town Metro on Tuesday easily defeated New Amsterdam/Canje by a
LFS Burnham Memorial Road Race
Defending champ Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams to receive stiff challenge tomorrow With the all clear already received from the Ministry of Health and the National Covid-19 Task Force, the nations cyclists are eager to get back into competitive mode when the annual Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham Memorial road race comes off tomorrow, organised by the Flying Stars Cycle Club. The late Executive President of Guyana, LFS Burnham would have celebrated his 98th birth anniversary today; he died on the 6th of August, 1985 at the age of 62. Sponsored by the Burnham Foundation as part of its activities to keep the name of the former leader alive, tomorrow’s race will be about 37 miles commencing at 07:00hrs on Carifesta Avenue. Cyclists would proceed to Belfield on the East Coast of Demerara where Burnham resided before returning to the place of origin for the finish; it’ll be fast and furious as all the big names are expected to be in the mix battling for supremacy. When the event was held last year, just before covid-19 rocked the world
Cyclists are getting ready to pedal off the 2021 season tomorrow with the LFS Burnham Memorial Road Race.
by shutting down everything, Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams won the two-stage event from Curtis Dey, Marcus Keiler, Andrew Hicks, Paul De Nobrega and Stefano Husbands in that order. This time around, Williams is expected to receive stiff challenges from his colleagues as they are all hungry to kick start the 2021 season on a winning note. The registration process, which commenced yesterday, is expected to be completed today at Chin Chan Cycle Store, Robb Street. The last competitive event in a truncated year (2020) due to the covid19 pandemic was held by the Guyana Cycling Federation in NovemberDecember and dubbed the Speed Sunday Time Trial Series which took place over three stages. Emerging as the overall winner was Briton John ahead of ‘Fishy’ Williams and Jamal John; this trio among the others are expected to serve up an exciting duel for toe top podium spots. The junior battle is also anticipated to be an exciting clash with the likes of
Aaron Newton, Alex Leung, Mario Washington, Richard Crandon, Steve Bhimsen, Royston Lawson and Joshua Ruffudeen expected to be in contention. Veteran riders will also be in contention for glory, the likes of Junior Niles, Paul Choo Wee-Nam, Alex Mendes, Lear Nunes, Stephen Fernandes, Segun Hubbrad, Jaikarran Sukhai, Kwame Ridley, Neil Gomes and Sebourne Fernandes among others. With a view to ensure the safety of all the athletes and officials in keeping with all covid-19 protocols, the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), which has sanctioned the event, has informed that there would be no feeding of cyclists during the event. Provision is being made for some support teams to be part of the race in event cyclists run into mechanical problems and might need a change of wheel for example; these persons however, would need to wear masks throughout the course of the race. The presentation of prizes is expected to take place at a later date.
massive 167 runs and on Thursday got pass West Berbice by seven wickets at the Cotton Tree Ground to confirm their status as Guyana’s best. At the Area ‘H’ Ground, the home team amassed a healthy 208 for 7 from their allotted overs with West Indies all rounder Shabika Gajnabi blasting a majestic 108 with nine spanking fours and three huge sixes. She received support from Sheneta Grimmond 37, Erva Giddings 25 and Dian Prahalad 18. Bowling for New Amsterdam/Canje, Amisha Samaroo took 3 for 38 from four overs and Jamie Campbelle 3 for 35. In response, the visitors were bundled us for 41 with Plaffiana Millington 3 for 6, Grimmond 3 for 9 (four overs) and Giddings 3 for 08 being the major wicket takers. At the Cotton Tree Ground on Thursday, West Berbice won the toss and elected to bat first. The match was reduced to twenty-five overs due to early morning rain. West Berbice were bowled out for 68 in 24.3 overs as Giddings continued her purple patch with the ball to claim 4 for 10 from five very impressive
overs. Gajnabi 2 for 10 (3 Overs), Plaffiana Millington 3 for 15 and Grimmond 1 for 14 were the other successful bowlers for RHT Metro. Only Berbice players Devona Frank and Katana Mentore reached double figures with 12 and 30 not out respectively. In reply, Rose Hall Town reached seventy for three wickets with Grimmond unbeaten on 32, while the batters dismissed were Marian Samaroo 08, Kimmone Thomas 19, Sheneta Grimmond 31 not out and Gajnabi 04. D. Frank and T. Isaacs claimed a wicket each for West Berbice, who would play New Amsterdam/Canje on Monday to decide the runner up. BCB President Hilbert Foster congratulated the Shemaine Campbelle led Rose Hall Town on retaining their title and also praised the attitude of the youthful West Berbice team. He pledged that as long as he remains Head of the BCB, female cricketers would not be neglected as is the case in other countries. He also expressed gratitude to the Management and Staff of Nand Persaud Co. Ltd for their continued support of Berbice Cricket.