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AIETEUR NEWS

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

Guyana cannot take another five

Sunday Edition

years to get ready for oil

January 03, 2021 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

Price $140

- IDB Country Manager warns

Online readership yesterday, 50,601

Guyana’s ‘lawless’ giveaways force Brazil to bend over backwards to keep oil companies Bandit shoots Contract workers Other employees accomplice accounted for 75% received gifts worth in chest while of employment cost $10K while GM got escaping at Granger’s ministry $900K bracelet with loot for 2019 - AG’s report Int’l Men’s Day celebration at Harbour Bridge…

Guyana’s oil revenues fell 38% below expectations in 2020 Clothes Asphalt Plant spent $71M No cap on credit vendor shot on transportation in five granted by dead during - when it could have purchased asphalt plant - audit report confrontation years own vehicle - audit report p.

8

In absence of nation-wide consultation…

Jagdeo single-handedly dictates Guyana’s depletion policy to be “drill baby drill!”

Please tune in to Kaieteur Radio @ 7:00pm, listen to how Guyana is in great danger with oil and gas.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 02

Sunday January 03, 2021

Asphalt Plant spent $71M on transportation in five years - when it could have purchased own vehicle - audit report

T

he state-owned Garden of Eden asphalt plant could have purchased its own fleet of vehicles for transportation instead it expended a whopping $71 million, outsourcing the same over a five-year period.

The recent audit conducted at the facility controlled by the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) management, revealed that there was a poor oversight of the costs associated with transporting of the materials needed.

It was stated that trucks were mainly hired to transport raw materials from suppliers and occasionally, for stock taking. The report outlined, too, that trucks were not hired to move material during the production process.

In 2015, the plant expended G$19,489,491 on transportation alone.

In 2016, $24,672,566 was expended; $14,234,647 in 2017 while $9,808,934 and $3,169,167 was expended in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

“An analysis of the above payments revealed that the amounts reported for

2018 and 2019 was understated as for those two years' transportation cost are also included into the cost of inventories,” the state audit report detailed.

Further on, it was revealed that payments were also made to several persons for transportation services.

Angela Gopichand Abdool was paid $34,921,309; Christina Singh received $11,440,000; Jasmattie Goordial was paid $22,481,542; Sheik Ayube & Rachel Simeon collected $281,873 while Demerara Sand & Aggregates Trading would have been paid $2,250,045.

However, it was noted that no contracts or files were f o u n d f o r t h e aforementioned suppliers.

The special audit team led by Chartered Accountant, Chateram Ramdihal, also pointed out that analysis of the o u t s o u r c i n g o f transportation services as against that of the procurement of the plant's own truck has revealed that the procurement of a truck would have resulted in a savings of approximately

The Garden of Eden asphalt plant that is controlled by the state

sixty percent (60%) of that incurred during the period under review.

“Management should ensure t hat cost is minimized at all times.

Management should consider acquiring its own vehicle for transporting of materials since this is an integral part of the production process and will

result in less cost to the plant,” the team recommended.

The audit was ordered after a complaint of an asphalt buying racket at the

Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara location of the plant.

The audit report found sign ificant weaknesses in the operations of the plant.

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

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Contract workers accounted for - Auditor 75% of employment cost at General's Granger's ministry for 2019 report F

ormer President David Granger had employed a total of 471 contract workers for 2019 with their payments accounting for a whopping 75% of employment cost for that year alone.

According to the Auditor General's Report for 2019, amounts totalling $1.954 billion were budgeted for Employment Costs, while $1.938 billion was expended by the Ministry of the Presidency.

Included in the sum of $1.938 billion were amounts totalling $1.844 billion, which were expended for the

Breakdown of 2019 Employment Costs for 2019

Former President David Granger

payment of wages and salaries.

The report outlined that “audit checks revealed that

the sum of $1.375 billion, which is approximately seventy-five percent of the total Employment Costs,

was paid to employees who were employed on a contractual basis.”

Further, the 471 employees

Safety measures in place for partial re-opening of schools tomorrow

W

ith schools scheduled to r e o p e n tomorrow, the Ministry of Education says the protocol remains the same for students in Grades 10 to 12, who are returning for faceto-face engagement.

Minister Manickchand pointed out that while the Government has taken the initial steps to ensure the safety of students, teachers and other staff, the onus is on each individual to safeguard himself or herself from infection.

The Minister said students from Grades Nine and below will continue to learn using the methods that were used during the previous term, whether through virtual classrooms, radio, television or

worksheets.

“So, if in the Christmas term teachers were teaching on WhatsApp at Grade Five and Grade Six and Grade Three, on [January] the 4th, we expect teachers to begin teaching on WhatsApp again and parents to have their children ready for that. If teachers were teaching through Zoom, on

Grades Three, Seven and Eight level, on the 4th, we expect teachers to be teaching again and for parents and children to be receptive to that.”

Minister Manickchand also urged parents to ensure that the necessary support structures are in place to ensure their children have access to education.

on contract represented approximately 51% of the 924 employees as of December 2019.

The Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, noted too that a Circular dated February 7th, 2017 from the Public Service Commission (PSC) required Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments and Regional Executive Officers to submit a list of all officers on contract/gratuity for them to be appointed on the pensionable establishment.

The AG pointed out that the 189 contracted employees were below the age of 45 and should have been transferred to the pensionable establishment.

Included in the 189 contracted employees, were 102 employees who were contracted as of December 2018, and should have been transferred to the permanent establishment.

In response to his claims,

the Head of Budget Agency for the Ministry of the Presidency indicated that the transition of staff to the pensionable establishment is an on-going process.

“The administration is faced with many challenges, such as staff members who haven't met the requirements for transfer due to the upgrade of their qualifications, among other factors,” the report noted.

Guyana's Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, in an invited comment on this revelation stated that “99% of those employees were political appointees.”

“They were not even required to be there nor were they qualified. So we inherited a Public Service that was about four times what it should be, now how do you expect us to maintain that?” he added.

In its recommendations, the Audit Office asked the Head of Budget Agency to continue with the process of moving its current eligible employees over to the pensionable establishment in keeping with circularized instructions.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday January 03, 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

New Year’s greetings and wishes From the Kaieteur News media network, we extend best wishes for 2021 to our readers, fellow citizens of Guyana and the world, brothers and sisters all, wherever present, however accessing this message. Our message is for health, peace and the goodness that comes from above, for from that all the rest will follow.

As we begin this brand-new year, we are hopeful. We think and believe that we can be joyful, but only if we are prepared to listen, learn, and apply the lessons gained. As Guyanese, we should not want to go back to the many troubling things from the just concluded 2020. With the hindsight of perfect vision that comes from that combination of digits, we do not even want to look back at what was the best of times and the worst of times.

It was the best due to the rediscovery of democracy (of a peculiar foreign-aided kind), the best for more discoveries of rich optimism laden oil fields, and it was best for the partial sparing that we got from the arrival and assaults of the raging COVID-19 pandemic. There are other things that, we are sure, would rank just as high in terms of what many others visualise and evaluate as ‘best’ in the happenings of this country in 2020.

And, while so, there were those other developments that left disturbed and weary and jaded. This was for the simple reason that they represented what were the worst kinds of situations holding the worst projections for our prospects as hopeful individuals and as a poor nation struggling to come into its own from the blessings that we have.

Among the worst were the sharp reminders of how divided and hateful and venomous we are, and how much we delight in nothing else, but being at each other’s throats, with untold malice in our hearts. National elections do that to us, reduces to the worst instincts and bringing out the worst devils in our personal closets.

It goes without saying that this oil of ours has brought some of the worst human species around, like lethal snakes picking up the overpowering scent of prey and moving in for the kill. But, perhaps still worse, is that for which we don’t have to look too far, and think too long, since they are right here. That of which we write today would be the human political detritus that pollutes us with the ruthless ferocity of the COVID-19 virus. Like the pandemic, the local human political detritus comes under all kinds of costumes and with many secrets that project the worst of ills for expectant citizens.

They disguise themselves with falsehoods wrapped in the national flag, the flag of democracy, the flag of principled and prudent business management of this oil of ours. Better men that our Guyanese leaders have fallen for the temptations that the foreign corporate powers place before them, have surrendered to the irresistible greed and covetousness that have been the nature of mineral wealth in general, and oil wealth in particular.

We must be ready to learn and to adapt, for we must not go down the road that brings anger, despair and, inevitably, conflict. And this is where we are as publisher and staff and communication channels, whether newspaper, radio station, or whatever the technology permits in cyberspace. As we ponder where we went wrong and what we did wrong in 2020, we just have to commit sincerely to doing what is right in 2021, and on so many fronts.

Through doing right, getting rid of secrecy in governance, including from leadership, involving practices and, especially, when called upon to explain or elaborate. Doing right means not selling the Guyanese more sixes for nines, merely speaking to truth, being transparent. Let us commit in 2021, from the top and bottom (in any order), to work towards building a society that could embark on a real lasting peace with ourselves, so that we can appreciate what is at stake with our wealth, and how we all can be wealthy people from it.

Last, we wish for the health to contribute to Guyana’s growth and prosperity for all. Best for 2021 to all.

2020 put our people on trial Dear Editor, The year 2020 is now behind us. It will be remembered by me, as one of the most challenging, agonising, exciting and in the end, rewarding and gratifying years of my life.

Throughout it all, I never lost hope. I held tenaciously to the belief that, in the end, the will of the people would prevail and democracy, the rule of law and constitutionalism will be victorious. I was eventually vindicated.

2020 put our people on trial, my country on trial, democracy on trial, the rule of law on trial and to some extent, me on trial. The result was as gratifying as the sacrifices and challenges

enduring. I learnt greatly and matured immeasurably from the experience garnered.

Upon reflection, I am grateful for the platform, which the challenges presented. It allowed me and thousands of Guyanese, not only in Guyana but in the Caribbean and the diaspora, to show our true colours.

Patriotism, nationalism, and their lack thereof, were scintillatingly showcased.

A few days before the year started, former President David Granger buckled under immense pressure, after one year of unrelenting political struggle, indefatigable social agitation, unwavering diplomatic pressure and a series of adverse judicial

pronouncements, and named March 2, 2020, as the date for regional and general elections. So when 2020 dawned, with swords drawn, the political gladiators were ready for the electoral amphitheater. Someone predicted that it would be the “mother” of all elections.

Few realised how prophetic that adjectival label was.

Subsequent events proved its truism, without doubt.

After a grueling one-year battle with the APNU+AFC Government for the former President to fix the date for elections, we were faced with another monster.

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) then assumed the baton in the relay of frustrating and

obstructing the holding of free and fair elections. They tried at every opportunity available, to corrupt the electoral machinery. They attempted to pervert the statutory process of claims and objections by unlawfully extracting from the National List of Registrants, thousands of qualified electors. We were forced to resort to litigation. We were vindicated by the Judiciary, repeatedly. When this battle was eventually won, another perversity was attempted, that is, to deny PPP strongholds adequate polling places. This battle waged its way to a mere two days before E-Day. A compromise was finally struck. Makeshift (Continued on page 6)

Sunday January 03, 2021

A public domain controversy over promotions does not augur well for GPF’s image Dear Editor, As a former Minister of Home Affairs, I am moved to express publicly, my concern over the current state of affairs in respect to the controversy that is now in the public domain concerning the promotion of senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

In his New Year ’s Message, the Commissioner of Police (ag) is quoted as saying: “Bear in mind that the Commissioner of Police promotes ranks up to that of sergeant while the Force recommends and the Police Service Commission (PSC) promotes from Inspector upwards.”

It appears that a number of senior superintendents with a legitimate expectation to be promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner are peeved because the Police Force’s administration did not recommend them to be promoted.

Based on the Commissioner’s message, it follows that responsibility for the controversy that has arisen falls squarely on the shoulders of the administration of the GPF and the Commissioner of Police (ag), since it was the Commissioner ’s recommendations to the PSC that caused at least one senior rank to approach the court to block the recommended promotions.

To have a controversy in the public domain over promotions at the senior level of the GPF at this critical stage in the development of the Guyana Police Force and moreso, at a time when government is making every

effort at demonstrating its commitment to a strong and vibrant democracy, certainly does not auger well for the image Force’s administration.

Whatever the human resource internal dynamics within the GPF, the controversy over promotions, if not urgently solved to the satisfaction of those affected, can potentially prove unhelpful to succession planning at the GPF. Addressing the legitimate expectations of ranks in the bracket of senior superintendent who feel disenchanted for one reason or another is critical for the maintenance of stability and morale uplifting in the Guyana Police Force.

The words of consolation by the Police Commissioner in his New Year’s message to: “Those who have not been promoted’ urging them ‘to be patient and murmur not, because ‘one day you will reap your reward’ will not go down well with the aggrieved ranks. In fact, the murmurs have become shout outs that have reached the media and the Court. The Police (Discipline) Act Ch:17:01 clearly stipulates that “Every alleged commission of an offence against discipline under this Act shall be investigated as soon as practicable by a member of the Force not below the rank of sergeant and of a higher rank than the member of the Force who is alleged to have committed the offence.”

The Act goes on to say that, ‘The investigating officer shall as soon as practicable inform the member of the Force alleged to have committed an

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Kaieteur News

offence against discipline in writing he understands, and the particulars of the facts constituting the offence, and of his right to refuse to make any written or oral statement to the investigating officer unless he otherwise desires.”

If as we are told that the alleged disciplinary offences go as far back as three years or more, then surely someone has to answer the question why did the Force’s administration not act expeditiously to bring closure to the outstanding disciplinary matters?

In this connection, the Chief Justice’s decision is to be welcomed as a step in the right direction.

Putting on hold the promotion list of senior ranks, albeit for totally different reasons, is reminiscent of the situation that arose in November 2017 when Mr. Joseph Harmon sent a letter to the PSC on behalf of the then President directing the Police Service Commission “that there be no consideration of promotions for members of the Guyana Police Force until further notice.”

At that time, the Chief Justice found that Harmon’s letter sent to the Commission was in flagrant disregard of the Constitution and is unlawful, null, void and of no effect.

In this case, the Chief Justice granted an order instructing that the status quo at the GPF remain until the matter that was filed to challenge the PSC’s procedure for promotions is heard before her on January 12, 2021. In the November (Continued on page 6)

Guyana needs a coherent land management policy Dear Editor, The PPP has returned to power without a coherent land management policy for Guyana. This has exposed them on several fronts like the Success Squatter Settlement issue.

The Minister with responsibility for the sector Mr. Collin Croal, stood in the National Assembly just recently stating that while he was requesting additional monies from the public coffers, no arrangements were put in place to urgently regularise or relocate the Success squatters.

When we compare the Success issue with squatters on the shoulders of the Conservancy Dam, Canal No. 1, for instance, we see a policy in effect: ‘different strokes for different folks’.

Government recently, led by Irfaan Ali, delivered potable water and electricity to the squatters at Conservancy Dam. Minister Croal told the National Assembly they “will not” be moved due to the length of time they have been there.

When you map where the current ad hoc distribution of land is occurring, much like the distribution of the bulk of the COVID-19 Cash Grant, it has more to do with the practice of politics by those in power than a holistic housing policy; mapped instead along PPP’s electoral lines.

Those who had harboured hopes of the return of a PPP transfigured understand now more than ever that that was simply wishful thinking, now faded with the Christmas Season.

On assuming government, the PPP attacked a land issue at Kingelly, West Coast Berbice, where veteran

trade unionist Lincoln Lewis has been arguing that those are ancestral land belonged to his forefathers. Instead of a judicious interlocutor in the Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, it was reported he told some Kingelly residents, “”Listen wuh meh ah tell yuh, if Lincoln Lewis interferes with your operation…your occupation, break down whatever physical structure he has…”

If persons occupy state lands illegally and there is a policy, which speaks to their removal, it should be applied universally as we are reminded of the epithet ‘justice is blind’.

Yet the leaseholders of the former Wales Estate may be yet another exception to the rule, as the PPP’s administration said that NICIL’s Special Purpose Unit (SPU) ‘could not explicate the process used to dispose of thousands of acres’.

We are now being told that the matter is being relooked at given the fact that “some persons complained that they had already expended monies on the lands and they have begun occupation.”

Like the fences at Kingelly, the administration’s policy has been to break down everything the APNU+AFC

erected.

The former government’s coherent policy of ‘housing solutions’ and not just distributing lands is being dismantled post-haste. Last August, Minister Croal told a nation anxious for a roof over every head that promotional land deals by APNU+AFC would be reversed and monies paid reimbursed. ” The decision was made across the board to have all the letters and allocations rescinded,” reports quoted the Minister as saying.

It is far easier to break down anything than to build up something. What the nation is yet to hear articulated is the heart of the administration’s land management plan, instead of plasters being applied to sores.

The squatters at Success will continue to look at those at Conservancy Dam jealously, for sure, wondering whether this new year means more deliberate flooding of the lands they occupy, more pellets from the police or more tear gas because if it is one thing they know of the PPP regime, while all men are created equal, some are more equal than others.

Yours truly, Sherod Avery Duncan, MP

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Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

The Lincoln Lewis of the 1980s and 1990s is the same Lincoln Lewis in the 2000s Dear Editor, Permit a response to Vishnu Bisram’s letter, “Lewis errs, Freddie very anticolonial” (KN 1st January 2021). This man’s insertion into the exchange not only exposes his inability to tackle the issues adumbrated in my letter, “Kissoon has earned his place as a key contributor to the recolonisation of Guyana” (KN 30th December 2020), but his penchant for exposing who he truly is, an agent provocateur. I stand by every statement in the instant letter, which he failed to rebut but used as an excuse to insert himself in furtherance of his typical wild assertions.

The Lincoln Lewis of the 1980s and 1990s is the same Lincoln Lewis in the 2000s. I remain true to the universally acceptable principles, which I hold sacred. For some, I was progressive when I fought for workers during the administrations of the PNC, but in taking identical positions on behalf of workers during the administrations of the PPP, I am no longer progressive but racist.

When I stood up against the David Granger-Moses

Nagamootoo government on issues such as GuySuCo and in areas where I disagreed with their policy positions, those who considered me racist during the PPP found me a good Black man or progressive.

I have an unchallenged record standing up for the working class across race, creed and geographic space. Nobody has to solicit me to speak on issues that adversely impact workers. What years of experience in the struggle has done for me is made me sharper and more intolerant with injustices. The struggles of my forebears and those who shoulders I stand on, and their achievements, which are enshrined in laws, universal declarations and international conventions, in the 21st century Guyana should not be a nation of pervasive racial, political and social injustice. Given my years of fighting to uphold and deepen the tenets for a just and fair society, I have earned my stripe to be intolerant, including with those who fought alongside me or supported me, but now find it convenient to be silent or excuse injustices either because they stand to gain personally or those

in office look like them.

Frankly, I don’t care how the Bisrams of this world see me because I don’t represent them or facilitate their agenda. I am encouraged to hear that he does not admire me because were he to, I would typify what he represents, i.e., racial superiority and distortion of history. This is the same man who felt obliged to deny the contributions of U.S Vice-President elect Kamala Harris’African (Black) lineage by pretending that she is who she is today in large part because of her mother, who is of East Indian (South Asian) ancestry. Harris was sired and nurtured by both parents, and her brains and value systems shaped by both, but Bisram has a problem identifying the Black side of her and sought to take it away. Refer to his letter, “It was Kamala Harris’ mother, not her father” (SN 27th August 2020).

This is a man who ignores the fact that whereas Harris may presently have an estranged relationship with her Black Jamaican father, she is part of him, and it is public knowledge that he played a pivotal role in her life. He seeks to downplay her blackness even as she

Gas-to-shore has transformational potential despite grumblings from ‘experts’ Dear Editor, The Kaieteur News’ frontpage headline of January 01 blared that the “Gas-to-shore project, a recipe for bankruptcy” and went on to quote a “US Financial Expert” who shared a very pessimistic view about the viability of any proposed gas to shore project being executed by the Government of Guyana. He based his views on the fact that the previous government (s) negotiated bad contracts with oil companies.

Based on his faulty logic, because our political custodians blundered on one negotiation, it definitely must mean the country’s officials will blunder on every subsequent negotiation. This is an insulting and egregious

assertion and one that’s grounded on negative assumptions by some individuals from developed countries that Guyanese nationals are incapable of effective leadership, management and decisionmaking. Maybe if he or one of his developed countries’ counterparts are in the driving seat only then can the project have any chance of success.

Additionally, he sees no benefit and utility of such a project but rather emphasizes that only the oil companies stand to benefit.

Is he arguing and promoting that we are better off as a nation being at a standstill and never attempting any forward,

modern development projects if the oil companies, which are major stakeholders in all this, stand to benefit? Taking this logic to full conclusion, Guyana would not have had any OG sector since all the exploration arrangements that led to discoveries had to involve oil companies for their experience and capital resources.

The upside of the gas to shore project is that it has transformational potential, for both our public/private enterprises and our citizenry, and is one that should be pursued despite premature and nonsensical grumblings from so called “experts”.

Yours truly, Clinton Urling

...A public domain controversy over From page 5 2017 scenario, Granger told the PSC that his instruction not to proceed with promotions was because of the “deep concern of the coalition administration that state security was imperiled” and that he Granger “had received many legitimate complaints by members of the PSC and aggrieved police officers of abuse and malpractice in the Guyana Police Force.”

We do not know if stirrings of this “deep concern about state security, complaints of abuse and

malpractice in the GPF” has influenced the actions of the GPF’s administration resulting in the current controversy over the promotion of senior ranks from Senior Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner.

Between 2015 and 2020, twelve (12) of nineteen (19) ranks comprised the strength of the GPF at the rank of superintendent. Of the twelve, three (3) were on the 2021 promotion list to the rank of Assistant Commissioner while nine (9) were not promoted. It is among that nine there appears to be much

disquiet.

While it is perhaps the succession line-up, if not competition that has triggered the controversy over promotions at the highest level of the GPF, it is incumbent on the administration to address soonest, the seeming restlessness at the senior level of the GPF in the interest of the orderly and good governance of the organisation.

Yours truly, Clement J. Rohee Former Minister of Home Affairs

entered the presidential race proclaiming same and ran for elected offices promoting that aspect of her heritage. Harris has never denied her mixed-race identity, though at times, she seems more inclined to play up her blackness and Jamaican roots.

This is Bisram, he who seeks to discuss issues on race and hate but doesn’t have the common decency to acknowledge glaring facts.

He brings no integrity to conversations on race and racial justice. He masquerades as an academic to discuss these issues, hoping he can camouflage his promotion of racial disrespect and denying the contributions of nonIndians to the development of people and society. He doesn’t fool me.

I am a Black man. I make no

apology for my blackness or speaking with pride to the contributions of my people to the development of this nation.

Neither do I make any apology for speaking out in defence of my race when the group is under attack or their rights threatened by any in society, regardless of who the aggressor is. It is a similar stance, which I took when others sought to deprive the heirs of Cudjoe McPherson (my ancestor) to lands that they do not own and remain in the name of this great forebear. I make no apology standing strong on these principles. On these issues gender, race or power does not propel me but what is right and wrong. I aggressively defend my turf and rights as I similarly do for those who I represent.

Having made my position noticeably clear, Bisram is

being called on to provide the evidence to his claim, “workers he spoke with say Lewis should take positions like that of his predecessor Joseph Pollydore and be supportive of what is right not what favours his race.” Let this academic, who is not unaware of the importance of providing evidence to buttress his claim, highlight for this nation one instance, where I as a trade unionist took a position against any worker in this society that transgresses his/her rights or violates the laws that protect those rights and freedoms.

Let him provide the evidence.

If he fails to (which he would), it reinforces the manner of man he is- a malicious agent provocateur.

Yours truly, Lincoln Lewis

...2020 put our people on trial From page 4 tents were finally consented to be erected in these areas, exposing voters, queued up in long lines, to the harsh elements, simply to exercise their constitutional franchise.

However, the electorate was closely following the struggle and were conscious of the poor performance of the Government. On E-Day, they rose to the occasion and expressed their wrath against violations of the rule of law, constitutional transgressions, mismanagement of the economy, draconian tax policies, corrupt and incompetent governance, discrimination, joblessness, economic stagnation and everything else which characterised government under the Coalition.

They voted solidly against APNU+AFC. The next five months that ensued marked, perhaps, the most intense and intensified agitation to protect democracy witnessed in the western hemisphere in living memory.

It galvanised, on the one side, all the opposition parties and their supporters, by far exceeding a majority of the Guyanese population, both in and out of Guyana, all the diplomatic missions, every major international organization in the Caribbean and the Americas and one hundred governments across the globe, against APNU+AFC, a small gang of its marauding supporters, both locally and in the diaspora, along with their conspiratorial kingpins at GECOM and a picayune few scattered across the State’s apparatus.

From the inception, it was a mismatched battle, which the latter could never have won. Their lack of foresight in recognizing this from the beginning and their plunging ahead in their fraudulent pursuits to pervert the results of

the elections, have damaged their credibility forever.

Theirs was an objective to steal government by the most unsophisticated and vulgar methodologies, causing a former Jamaican Prime Minister to remark that he has “never witnessed a more transparent attempt to alter the results of an election”. To compound and exacerbate the atrocities, they resorted to the Judiciary, the abode of the rule of law, to aid and abet them to violate the very rule of law! A most antithetical strategy, indeed. Predictably, it backfired. My belief that the Law would never aid one who desecrates at its majestic altar, was vindicated. It was the Judiciary that finally crushed their pursuits and malevolent ambitions. Lawyers who prostituted their noble profession were left dishonoured in the eyes of the dispassionate.

The true results of the election were finally declared by the Chairwoman of GECOM and Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, lawfully sworn in as the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana on August 2, 2020, bringing the curtains down on a historic struggle for democracy that brought global scrutiny to Guyana.

In its aftermath, this unprecedented ordeal has produced great many heroes.

Many of whom are unsung.

Hopefully, sooner than later, this epoch will be analysed and properly documented for posterity and the contributions of so many recognised and put into perspective.

To coincide with this mammoth political struggle, COVID-19 was unleashed upon the world during that embattled month of March 2020. It is by far the worse global pandemic to visit the humankind in modern history. It

has killed 164 in Guyana and nearly two million worldwide.

2020 concluded with the approval of new vaccines for and the discovery of a new strain of the COVID-19 virus.

The year 2020 has concluded with PPP/Civic well entrenched in government. The government was able to pass a budget in record time, by September month end, and by the end of December, Guyana is already a transformed country.

Within four short months, the Government has tackled GECOM head on. Twenty-six criminal charges instituted against the Chief Elections Officer and his clique. Raging corruption scandals, across central Government, have been exposed, sycophant appointments terminated, draconian taxes and license fees reversed, witchhunting units like SARA dismantled, unscrupulous land rents and drainage and irrigation charges reduced, thousands of sugar workers returned to jobs, the economy rejuvenated, a people imbued with renewed hope, a series of COVID relief measures implemented, uniform vouchers and cash grant restored to our students, investors flocking our door steps, petroleum drilling expanded, huge capital projects embarked upon, airport project contract reviewed and I can continue but space will not permit.

Lastly, the conclusion of 2020 has seen a Guyanese population rejuvenated, a people with renewed hope and a country reinvigorated with energy and aspiration to accelerate national transformation into 2021 and well beyond. What a year: goodbye 2020! Best wishes for 2021!

Yours truly, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

Guyana’s oil revenues fell 38% below expectations in 2020

By Kemol King Guyana’s Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is notoriously lax in the regulatory strength it gives to

Guyana and offers extremely generous terms to the supermajor and its Stabroek block partners.

From its fiscal terms, former Energy Director, Dr. Mark Bynoe, had said that Guyana should expect about US$300M from the sale of its

crude in 2020.

This was already a meager amount for oil as cheap to produce and as valuable as Guyana’s, but the sale of the Stabroek block’s Liza crude did not even meet two-thirds of that amount. Guyana received just US$185M from the

Exxon’s flaring at the Liza Destiny resulted in necessary production cuts, which contributed to a steep reduction in Guyana’s 2020 oil revenues

sale of its crude in 2020 – 38 percent below the former Energy Director’s expectations.

This sheer drop may mainly be attributed to two major occurrences- the global oil price crash and a tumble in ExxonMobil’s production due to flaring at the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO).

The oil price crash is mainly attributed to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war. The first case was detected late in 2019 but the virus began to spread out of control in early 2020 and reached Guyana by March. By then, the oil price had already debilitated rapidly.

Brent, the standard

Guyana’s Liza crude is being traded against, was comfortably over US$60 a barrel early in 2020, but crashed to US$20 by spring. Worse off than Brent, West Texas Intermediate – a US standard – fell to negative prices in April. The pandemic had driven demand so low that American energy companies ran out of room to store petroleum.

As for the other cause of the oil price crash, talks between Russia and the Saudiled Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over proposed oil production cuts broke down in March last year, shortly after the genesis of the global expansion of the virus.

OPEC styles itself as a stabilizer of oil markets, and is in

concert with Russia. The disagreement lasted nearly four months. By the end of June, Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to production cuts.

To demonstrate the effect of the pandemic and the oil price war on revenues, Guyana’s first million barrels or so got US$55M into the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) in February. In May, the second lift got Guyana US$35M. To compound the drop in the oil price, ExxonMobil flared gas way longer than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expected it to, as revealed by former Head of the Agency, Dr. Vincent Adams in mid-January 2020.

The company was only supposed to flare temporarily (Continued on page 9)

Clothes vendor shot dead during confrontation A clothes vendor was shot dead on Friday, during a confrontation with his killer at Longden and Commerce Streets, in the vicinity of the East Coast bus park.

Shot dead on New Year’s day is Paul Anthony ‘Blacka’ Smith of 31 Bent Street, Werk-en-Rust.

According to police, he was reportedly shot to his back by another clothes vendor around 18:30 hrs.

Investigators reported that the suspect shot Smith while he was heading back to his car with a cutlass in his hand.

Eyewitnesses recalled just before his shooting, they heard a commotion between him and the suspect. Some said that Smith had walked to where the man was and confronted him with the cutlass.

He reportedly stormed away towards his car. Persons nearby then heard an explosion.

Smith staggered for a bit and collapsed on the front passenger seat of the car.

Public-spirited citizens ran to his assistance and rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Smith was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police later arrested his alleged shooter whom they identified as a 29- year-old resident of East La Penitence.

Kaieteur News learnt that Smith and the suspect were at odds for some time over a grievance they had.

Shot dead on New Year’s day: Paul Anthony Smith aka ‘Blacka’ They were often seen confronting each other, however, things escalated that evening.

Shocked by his death, a number of his customers have made numerous posts on Facebook, expressing condolences to his family. They described him as a great friend, who plied his trade at the bus park for quite a number of years.

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Jagdeo single-handedly dictates Guyana’s depletion policy to be “drill baby drill!”

In absence of nation-wide consultation…

By Kiana Wilburg When the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) assumed office about five months ago, Kaieteur News had published a list of 20 things, which the new government must do to set the oil industry on the right path; a path that would allow the nation to build its capabilities to properly govern and monetize the resources. High on that list was the creation of a depletion policy.

In simple terms, this strategy would say how fast or slow Guyana must extract its oil resources.

Several local, regional and international stakeholders have appealed for the nation to have a policy that slows the aggressive rate of extraction by ExxonMobil; otherwise, the country would be left extremely overwhelmed and on a dangerous precipice.

Taking this into account, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo was asked in November 2020, during one of his press conferences, to state the government’s interest in implementing a policy that would slow the rate of extraction.

At that time, the Vice President did not give any commitment or guarantee that the government would be inclined to walk that route. Dr. Jagdeo did state, however,

that his personal view is that there should be aggressive oil production. (See link: https:// www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2020/11/14/jagdeo-in-favourof-aggressive-production-ofguyanas-oil/) Weeks later, Guyanese, who have yet to be consulted on this critical matter, would learn that Jagdeo’s personal position has become the bedrock of what the PPP/C’s depletion policy for the nation would be. That policy for the time being says –”Drill baby drill!”

During an interview on Kaieteur Radio on December 23, 2020, the official said that Kaieteur News has often reported that the PPP/C is yet to define a depletion policy.

He stressed, however, that the government has already done so “anecdotally.”

The Vice President said, “My own view is that we have a period in which oil would still be very relevant in the global mix of energy and we have a period but it is a window that is closing because of climate change. The window for Guyana will be open a little longer for us than other countries because we have low breakeven costs and because our crude is sweet, light unlike others which have heavy or sour crude.”

The Vice President also noted that the recently issued regulations by the Interna-

tional Maritime Organization require the removal of 80 percent of the sulphur content from global shipping. Since heavy or heavy sour oil has a lot of sulphur, “everyone is looking for sweet crude now.”

Further to this, Jagdeo pointed to the fact that the world’s leading economies, China and the USA, have made it pellucid that they will be heading to renewable. In fact, China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, aims to achieve carbon-neutrality before 2060.

As for the USA, President-elect Joe Biden has declared intentions to increase the nation’s switch to renewable energy.

Considering the implications of climate change and the global transition to cleaner energy sources, Jagdeo posited that demand for fossil fuel is either going to be static or declining in 15 to 20 years’ time.

He said that this is what has influenced the PPP/C’s position to extract the oil as quickly as possible, use portions of it to build world class infrastructure and education while putting aside some for inter-generational equity.

“That is the depletion policy for you,” the Vice President concluded. (See link: depletion policy time stamp: (1: 05: 26) https:// w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m /

Guyana’s oil revenues fell 38%...

From page 8 at start-up in December 2020 to commission its equipment. However, it reported defects in the equipment.

This prolonged flaring forced the EPA to slash Exxon’s production by 60 percent, as revealed by Dr. Adams in June last year. He had said that it was a necessary action to reduce the rate of flaring.

In the meantime, the supermajor failed its own deadline to fix its defective equipment and bring the flaring to an end.

The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/ C) took up office in August and sent Dr. Adams

on leave, then fired him as it came to an end.

Meanwhile, it allowed Exxon to ramp up production in October, with a consequent increase in flaring.

The pollution of Guyana’s airspace with toxic gas only came to an end in December, one year after production began. The EPA reported that Exxon flared a total of 12.429 billion of cubic feet of gas.

Though Guyana had expected to receive its fourth oil lift in November, the lift came mid-to-late December. The sale got Guyana US$49M – a bump up from US$46M from the third lift.

Dem boys seh...

Big Man close-marking Shaart Man De Shaart Man getting close-mark by de Big Man. He bin think that he would ah get he own Ministry. But de Big Man seh nah.

He want keep an eye pun he because he know de Shaart Man is good friend with de Kingmaker. So fuh de fuss time in Guyana history, one of de most important office in de land nah get wan appointee. Dat tell its own story about in-fighting and insecurity.

Dem boys know that certain announcement does gat to be mek by de Shaart Man, but on Thursday, de Big

Man steal de Shaart Man thunder. Before de Shaart Man can talk, de Big Man does do what he gat fuh do.

Dem boys looking forward to who gun get promote and who gun get demote.

Dem boys hear dat de Big Man nah please with some of dem blow-blow people around he. He right.

Dem boys believe dat some of dem is sheer blowblow. Whole day all de doing is putting up dem nice face pun Facebook. Dem going around de place like Santa Claus and dem tekking out picture and calling that wuk.

Dem boys feel is time fuh a reshuffling of de pack because some of dem nah ready yet.

Dem just posing in position. Some of dem nah know what fuh do and some of dem nah gat any new ideas fuh offer people. Dem trading pun dem nice face.

So dem boys hoping that even though de Big Man keeping the Shaart Man on a short leash, he should pay attention to dem blow-blow persons around him. Dem is dead weight.

Talk half and tek a guess who gun get de axe fuss.

watch?v=WA03jUwgIDY) Origin of the phrase – ”Drill, baby, drill!””Drill, baby, drill!” was a Republican campaign slogan first used at the US 2008 Republican National Convention by former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who was later elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

The slogan expressed support for increased drilling for petroleum and gas as sources of additional energy and gained further promi-

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

nence after it was used by Republican Vice Presidential

nominee Sarah Palin during the vice-presidential debate.

PAGE 10

BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our page seven to be blunt on ongoing indecency in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation.

SUNDAY The abuse of fuel purchases by army and repairs of vehicles by ministries and state entities is shocking.

Millions of dollars stolen.

It speaks of a culture where transparency and accountability do not matter in this country to senior officials.

What is more worrisome, is the fact that the army, police and other state entities are aware of the rules.

As Guyana proceeds with building a world-class oil and gas sector, transparency and accountability will matter.

It is a harsh fact that numerous international bodies have warned that we do not have the necessary regulations in place to ensure our people are protected.

If we are allowing tens of millions of dollars to slip away with these rackets in the army, what can the people expect with oil and gas where billions of dollars are at stake?

MONDAY What has a year of oil production by ExxonMobil given Guyana?

Pollution of our air with more than 12 billion cubic feet of toxic natural gas.

- A year of dumping of more than a million barrels of produced water into the ocean.

- The fastest growing economy in the world, but with the majority of those revenues leaving Guyana with oil

companies.

President Ali must protect Guyana’s environment and secure more value for the people.

TUESDAY The Coalition, now in Opposition, has forgotten its mandate.

According to the results of the March 2 elections, more than 217,000 voters believed in them.

After just a few months in Opposition, the Coalition has done what many thought was impossible.

It has partnered with the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic on one issue…oil and gas.

On this one issue, the Coalition had a chance to stand tall and do the right thing.

Instead, it has remained a silent partner in the rape of Guyana’s offshore wealth.

But the Coalition still has a chance to redeem itself.

Will it choose to act ignominiously or will it be able to stand tall?

We, Guyanese, deserve so much more!

WEDNESDAY We have received excuse after excuse on why our oil blocks have been given away or handed over cheaply.

We have been given excuse after excuse why we are receiving peanuts in profits.

What nobody is talking about is how our national debt from oil operations is mounting, while the compa-

nies who were given the blocks started out with nothing, but are now hundreds of millions of US dollars richer, even before they started drilling for oil.

THURSDAY It is incomprehensible, and unthinkable, that the Government of the day can be wasting time.

It has been reported many times of critical studies being launched.

It has been reported many times of the fanfare that such reports were handed over.

It has been a public secret that such reports are thrown to the bottom of the drawer.

The recommendations are never acted on.

We know of critical reports on the oil and gas sector that have been given to the Government.

The clock is ticking but little is done to update our oil and gas laws.

Yet here we are at the 11th hour. Totally unprepared.

Rings are being run around us.

Yet, there is deafening silence. The people of Guyana deserve much, much more from our politicians!

FRIDAY ExxonMobil and its ilk have colluded with the very worst of our leaders to rob this country of its wealth.

No flowery words or witty arguments will abate the fight for betterment.

Guyana must have a fair deal.

Bandit shoots accomplice to the chest while escaping with loot Kaieteur News has been informed by police that a bandit mistakenly shot his accomplice in the chest yesterday, while escaping with their loot from a cellphone store located on Sheriff Street.

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

It is believed that the bullet was intended for the owner of store, but he shot the wrong target.The incident took place sometime around 15:00 hrs.This newspaper learnt that they entered the

building and the armed bandit held the owner at gunpoint, while his accomplice looted the store. As they escaped, the gunman reportedly discharged a round. Unfortunately, the accomplice was struck and he fell. He got up and ran but due to his injury, he did not make it far and was captured. The bandit, however, did not stick around to assist his partner. He continued running.Commander of Region 4 ‘A,’ Simon McBean, said ranks went down to the location and arrested the injured accomplice and recovered the loot. He was then taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was admitted and is presently under police guard.

Police say they are on the hunt for the escaped bandit who shot and abandoned his partner.

FRONT PAGE COMMENTS RECAP FRIDAY

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May the Peace and Blessing of our Creator be upon you as we embark on this New Year 2021. We will certainly need it.

Our country is in deep problems. Our political leaders have pawned our future to the oil companies. The agreements, which they signed have shackled our nation and deprived us of our entitlements.

The new year should not blindside us from this reality.

We must not be diverted or distracted from that which is most important to us – ensuring a better life for us and our children. In this new year, we cannot sit back and allow this unacceptable state of affairs

to continue. We have to make it right.

As we press for better terms for our oil wealth, we must insist on more effective policing of oil exploration and production. Proper audits are a must.

We must not be gullible and accept whatever the oil companies throw at us.

The gaping policy gaps should be filled. The failure to devise a National Oil Depletion Policy effectively hands the management of our oil resources to the oil companies, and exposes future generations to a future of want and need.

The absence of a robust Local Content Policy limits

local participation in the industry. A new Petroleum Act is long overdue to safeguard our resources and to ensure greater transparency and accountability.

Kaieteur News will continue to be the advocate for these things in 2021.

We thank you for your support during the past year.

And we look forward to continuously provide you our readers with the same fearless reporting and opinions, as we did in 2020.

TUNE IN TO KAIETEUR RADIO @ 12 NOON & 7 PM TO HEAR WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR OIL…!

A Happy New Year! Keep the faith!

Tiger Creek bridge - to accommodate completed heavy-duty vehicles next week

The bridge is completed with the approaches being worked on, the Ministry of Public Works said yesterday.

The reconstruction of the Tiger Creek bridge, Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight), which collapsed on November 3, is complete.

However, Wendell St. Pierre, Regional Engineer with responsibility for Region Eight at the Ministry of Public Works, told DPI that other works are still ongoing.

“The bridge is finished, but the contractors have not been able to finish the approaches because of the inclement weather,” he said.

St. Pierre said the contractor planned to complete the approaches on both sides of the bridge by the end of yesterday.

Once the approaches are done, he anticipates the bridge would accommodate its full tonnage from next week.

The new Tiger Creek bridge is a log bridge, constructed with Greenheart wood. It is stronger and situated higher above the creek

than the previous bridge.

Additionally, Pierre said, bush was cleared from around the shoulders of the two hills on both sides of bridge, though this was not part of the contracted works. These works were done to allow more sunlight to penetrate the road in the rainy season.

On Monday, the Ministry of Public Works advised that the bridge would only accommodate light vehicular traffic not exceeding 14 tonnes.

Following the Tuesday, November 3 collapse, the Ministry had crafted a threeweek timeframe to complete the works on the bridge, but this deadline was extended due to rain.The Ministry is providing technical assistance on the project, while the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission is tasked with executing the repairs.

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

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PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

Zena Bland

Meet the confident yet charming Zena Bland. She won the Miss Guyana United Nations title back in 2018. She enjoys reading, interacting with others and exploring nature.

One of her favourite quotes is, “Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart, the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.�

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Sunday January 03, 2021

Guyana's Emergency Medical Service - an initiative that has been helping to save lives S

ince its inception in 2016, the Guyana F i r e a n d Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have responded to 15,630 medical emergencies via the 912 emergency hotline. Numerous lives were saved and there has been a positive impact on prehospital emergency response l o c a l l y, a c c o r d i n g t o National EMS Director, Dr. Zulfikar Bux. While the coverage is showing its benefits in the Region Four environs, Dr. Bux, the architect behind this initiative, noted that since there are many more patients throughout the country who need this service, there is a growing need to expand in order to fill the evolving prehospital emergency needs of Guyana.

“This service has proven its worth worldwide and helps to save so many lives and we are seeing similar effects in Guyana. We want to save more lives and answer all the calls for help but we cannot cover the entire country with a couple of ambulances. I sometimes fantasize about the day when every Guyanese can have emergency access to paramedics anywhere in Guyana by calling the emergency hotline. I am still optimistic we will get there and I'll do all that I can to achieve this goal,” said Dr. Bux.

HOW IT BEGAN

ACHIEVEMENTS

Recalling a time when he was a young physician working in the emergency room (ER), Dr. Bux spoke of seeing accident victims coming too late because they didn't have timely transport or were transported improperly.

“I always wanted to change this and get the sick to the hospital in a timely manner while ensuring they had proper care en route,” said Dr. Bux, an Emergency Medicine Specialist.

While an ambulance service was beyond reach then, Dr. Bux was able to put a plan in place to train police officers as first responders so that they could assist with providing care when they arrived on the scene. This initiative was beneficial to some but Dr. Bux had long recognized that more was needed to ensure every Guyanese had proper access to pre-hospital emergency service. His faculty at the Vanderbilt Medical Center had similar ideas for Guyana and, in 2012; they decided to put the idea to paper and came up with a model that was tailored to Guyana. Over the next couple of years, Dr. Bux was unrelenting in his drive to get a system up and running. He finally had a breakthrough in 2014 when approval was granted for a pilot model to be initiated through the Accident and

Since then, Dr. Bux revealed, over 100 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) were trained as well as nine emergency medical responders, 32 emergency medical dispatchers, 618 police officers, 48 CANU officers, 21 surveyors from the Lands and Survey, 115 firefighters, 165 GWI staffers and 24 workers from the MMA/ADA. Also, over 15,000 medical emergencies were attended to by the EMTs including the delivery of 17 babies en route to hospital and four patients who stopped breathing were resuscitated by the EMTs en route to hospital, according to Dr. Bux. “We did this with minimal resources and in challenging circumstances. I cannot begin to thank my hardworking team for sticking it out and doing what we had to do to save lives in challenging conditions,” an appreciative Dr. Bux added.

The work done by Dr. Bux and his team has not gone unnoticed on the international scene. He was invited to the World EMS expo where he and colleagues from the Vanderbilt Medical Center were asked to present the EMS model that created Guyana so that others can benefit from such innovations in medicine. He

EMS Director, Dr. Zulfikar Bux

Emergency department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The model was wildly successful and gave Dr. Bux the evidence that was needed to initiate a more sustainable, national model.

After many attempts, Dr. Bux finally found an ally in the Guyana Fire Service.

Mr. Marlon Gentle, the head of the Fire Service, understood the need for such a service and readily teamed up with Dr. Bux when he proposed that the two entities collaborate to form a national service. The EMS was birthed in November 2016.

Instructors from the Vanderbilt Medical Center with a batch of EMTs who benefited from advanced training in 2019

was also invited to EMS agencies in Vermont and Tennessee where similar presentations were done for EMS leaders in those states.

Dr. Bux is currently collaborating with partners from the Vanderbilt Medical Center to support the development of a similar initiative in Grenada which has reached out to him for support in this field.

CHALLENGES “It's never easy forming a new system, much less one in a resource challenged setting,” Dr. Bux shared, as he added, “we need ambulances and infrastructure development as we expand the service. We need members of the public to stop harassing the EMTs and give them space to do their work.

Many countries celebrate their EMTs and we need to do the same and encourage these young professionals who are venturing into unknown and sometimes dangerous environments to save a life.”

“There are times,” he added, “we cannot respond to calls because it's too far away or we are occupied with other emergencies. We want to be able to do those, calls but if we try to cover the entire country with a couple of ambulances, we will not be as efficient or effective and the system will be grounded to a halt in no time.”

Dr. Bux is hopeful that there will be continued and even bolstered support this year for the EMS initiative.

“We ask that everyone come on board and support us as we drive this process forward and help save so many who can be saved. The pandemic has slowed us down tremendously but we are looking forward to moving ahead once the situation becomes more favourable,” he added.

WHAT LIES AHEAD Moving forward, Dr. Bux said that there is currently a plan to cover the road population in phases. The hope, he said, is to have road coverage with ambulances, on a national scale, in order to respond to medical emergency calls. “There are obviously places in the hinterland where air and water ambulances are more effective and that process needs a more collaborative effort, but we have the technical know-how to support such a system,” said Dr. Bux. The EMS Director is optimistic that “we can expand the ambulance coverage across Region Four and into Regions Three and Five within the next year or so. We can then address the other regions in similar phases until there is national coverage.”

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Bitter cook-up W

ith no parties permitted this O l d Ye a r ' s Eve, I was forced to revert to what most Guyanese do as they welcome the New Year.

With a plate of cook-up in hand, I tuned in to television for the traditional Old Year's Night countdown to 2021.

At midnight, the explosion of celebrations on the radio was interrupted by the President's Annual New Year's Address. It is a tradition for Guyanese to greet each other for the New Year and then to quickly tune in to the radio and television broadcast of the President's New Year's Address so as to hear what the government has in store for them.

The majority of Guyanese would have been disappointed by what the President had to say. He sounded more like a 'sweet man' than a statesman, mouthing sweet nothings.

'Sweet men' are adept at making general promise, “I c a n l o o k y o u a f t e r, everything gan be fine with you, you don't have to worry about nothing.� But behind the sugar-coated words there are no concrete promises.

The President promised that this year will be a 'springboard' for recovery.

The metaphor could not be more inappropriate. It is like saying that hospitalization will be the trigger for recovery.

Recovery is more crawling than leaping or

springing. But who cares?

The supporters of the President would have gobbled that with the excitement of a child on a trampoline.

At the end of the address, the only take-away was the idea that 2021 will be a springboard. It is difficult to reconcile this idea of recovery with the statement that Guyana was enjoying its brightest prospects yet.

But what really caused me to choke on my bone was the President's declaration that he had been told that business was brighter this Christmas than over the past five years and that money was circulating. I am not sure just how the President came by this assessment but he should dispense his friendship or relationship w i t h w h o e v e r communicated this to him.

They surely were not being forthright.

The business people, whom I have spoken, have a different perspective. Their verdict is that this was the slowest Christmas in over 30 years. The frequent refrain emanating from store owners and vendors alike was that business was slow and that money was not circulating as before, quite unlike the lies which the President had been told.

Consumers, those who were brave enough to attempt to go shopping last Christmas, would have found that very few products were on display. Many of the electronic stores, for example offered mainly speakers as their main attractions. Store owners hardly imported, preferring to dig into their inventories and excavate old stock since they were mindful that pandemic would have reduced purchasing power.

That purchasing power was further diminished by the failure of the government to offer public sector workers the usual 'back pay' for 2020. Only the joint services got a two-week bonus, quite unlike the restoration of the 13th month pay promised during the election campaign.

Christmas bonuses are not part of the public sector tradition. The APNU had paid a $50,000 per person bonus in 2015, reduced it to $25,000 the next year and then abolished it all together afterwards.

Under the PPP/C back pay had become institutionalized. It was always seen as an additional income for Christmas. Not o ff e r i n g w o r k e r s a n y retroactive increase this year left a bitter taste in the

mouths of public sector employees. And the feedback may have motivated the government to make the late-hour $25,000 per worker pay-out.

The pay-out came too late to finance the New Year's Eve traditional cookup or the New Year's lunch spread.

It has been ridiculously titled as a COVID-19 payout which makes it all the more absurd, since it makes the COVID-19 pay-outs all the more inequitable and discriminatory. If a husband and wife of any household are working in the public sector, it means that the total COVID-19 grants received would be $75,000. Yet, a poor household without any public sector workers, would only receive $25,000 Incompetence and shame force governments into this type of ridiculous situation.

The government seemed not to have had a handle on its financial needs for the past four months. It had to rush to the National Assembly for approvals for supplementary

spending.

Then it suddenly realized that it had the monies to pay public sector workers, including sugar workers. But not wanting to set a precedent of a Christmas bonus, President Ali and his Finance Minister, who is supposed to be an accountant, have absurdly titled the pay-out as a COVID-19 grant.

All of that made this year's Old Year's Night cook-

up taste all the more bitter in the mouths of Guyanese.

That bitterness was compounded by an address to the nation which was more flatulence than substance.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Methodist Church mourns as centenarian, Sybil Harte, dies I

t was in late February that the Methodist Church Guyana District celebrated the birthday of Sybil Harte. She became the country's newest centenarian.

She died on Wednesday, the church announced yesterday, in expressing condolences.

The Methodist Church said that it “wishes to announce with a heavy heart the passing of our dear sister, Sybil Harte, who departed this life on December 30, 2020 having lived a full life of 100 years.

We e x p r e s s o u r s i n c e r e condolences to members of her family, the Trinity Methodist congregation and the Georgetown circuit. May the God of comfort be felt at this time in your bereavement.

The funeral arrangements for late Sis. Sybil Harte will be announced later.”

In February, the centenarian celebrated her 100th birthday. She was a member of the Trinity Methodist Church since June 1932.

Harte was born February 19, 1920 and had outlived both her two children.

She held the post of Cradle Roll Secretary, Sunday School Teacher, Class Leader, and was an influential part of the Women's League.

She was described as a very approachable and knowledgeable person especially when it comes to the affairs of the church. Members of the congregation had described Harte as a very patient individual who gets persons to commit to their responsibilities within the church.

She still was playing a role in guiding youths in and out of the Methodist church in their religious

Sunday January 03, 2021

Centenarian, Sybil Harte

duties.

This was even though she would have suffered two strokes in the year 2012 that resulted in her not being able to walk and communicate effectively.

Harte would have still continued to contribute to the life of the church through her many writings and letters of encouragement, which she sends to the congregation from time to time.

During her effective years, she also served as a Chairperson of the Guyana Red Cross Society Senior Women's Group and was involved in organising fundraising among the other seniors.

Ms. Harte was residing in Roxanne Burnham Gardens with her great niece and nephew, the Kaieteur News article had said of her last year.

NIS offices to fully reopen from tomorrow T

he National Insurance Scheme (NIS) yesterday announced that it will be reopening its offices from tomorrow. The offices had closed for several months, due to the COVID19 pandemic, restricting pensioners and others to limited walk-in access.

A new board of directors under Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development, Ramesh Persaud, has been constituted and instructed by the Senior Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, to turn things around.

NIS, a semi-autonomous entity charged with

collecting contribution and managing a social system of pensions and claims for medical benefits, has been struggling with revenues and long-term sustainability. It has been criticised for poor services.

The Finance Minister had urged the new board to improve the processing of claims and other services and bring NIS to a state of sustainability.

NIS, over the weekend, on the reopening of its offices, said that tomorrow would also mark the commencement of its pensions' week for the month of January 2021.

The entity warned, however, that for persons

with transactions, there must be strict adherence to all COVID-19 protocols.

“All persons entering the compound will be required to visit the hand washing stations or sanitising dispensers that are installed at the entrance of our compounds.”

It was also reminded that each person will be required to take a temperature test on entering the compound.

“Tents and chairs will be set up to accommodate our customers and facilitate social distancing.

Members of the public though permitted to enter the building will be monitored to avoid overcrowding,” NIS' statement said.

NIS has announced the reopening of all offices throughout Guyana from tomorrow, but it will be under strict COVID-19 guidelines.

Sunday January 03, 2021

Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to add a few more pages to our newspaper to recap major stories, some in their entirety, carried during the past week.

SUNDAY SOME TAX EXEMPTIONS STIFLE LOCAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – AFRICAN CENTRE FOR ENERGY POLICY Certain tax exemptions have the effect of stifling local business development for the value chains of the extractives industry, said the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) after conducting research into the usefulness in Ghana’s mining sector.

The finding is one of several, which developing countries could find useful.

ACEP is a think-tank that conducts high quality research, analysis and advocacy in the energy and extractives sectors in Africa.

In a January 2020 report, titled The Relevance of Tax Exemptions in Ghana: The Case of the Mining Industry, ACEP said that import duty exemptions on items that could be produced or sourced locally hurt the competitiveness and growth of local businesses.

Providing examples of this, ACEP said that, in Ghana, under the Tax Concession Agreement (TCA) of some of the mining companies, “import duty waivers are extended to petty items such as white boards, TV/monitor brackets and broadband routers…”

These are products, it said, which can be procured on the domestic market.

However, because of the granting of import waivers, locals who would want to develop those products are entering a market with buyers who are more incentivized to buy overseas.

“The wholesale granting of import waivers on procurements that could be done domestically could be disadvantageous to the competitiveness of Ghanaian businesses, the State’s import substitution industrialization, taxes and employment opportunities that such businesses would generate,” the policy think-tank said.

This is not favourable for ACEP. It is of the view that governments must focus on creating an environment that is conducive to supporting local manufacturing and boost the competitive of local businesses as they look to the value chains of this extractive

sector.

“Key business growth interventions such increasing access to credits, reducing cost of borrowing and improving infrastructure and service delivery are critical pieces government must develop.”

Further, ACEP said that the onus is on the government to pursue an agenda that improves on the parameters of waivers so that the desired transformation expected by tax breaks are realized.

ACEP holds that the extractive sector holds higher economic promise if the value chain is optimized to encourage local manufacturing and supply of goods and services.

In Guyana, tax waivers granted to extractives companies is a contentious issue. All of Guyana’s petroleum agreements have granted oil companies blanket waivers of all taxes. These agreements are held in place by rigid stabilization clauses.

On another front, there is intense debate about the effectiveness of the government’s efforts to provide an environment, which allows locals access to the oil and gas value chain.

Oftentimes, these conversations are unrelated.

Because of the permanent and immovable blanket tax waiver granted to oil companies, no local content policy has even suggested the use of tax waivers, or the removal thereof, to improve local content.

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

EXXONMOBILADVISOR WARNS GUYANA… LARGE DISCOVERIES MUST BE MANAGED FOR BENEFIT OFALL – PATH AHEAD NOT WITHOUT PITFALLS On December 20th, last, Guyana marked its one year anniversary as an oil producing state. And on that occasion, many regional, local and international stakeholders were keen to remind the new oil producer of the herculean task it faces in ensuring that it transforms its nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources for the benefit of all.

One such person who sought to highlight the importance of this task was ExxonMobil’s Senior Upstream Advisor, Maria Guedez.

In her message to Guyana,

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Guedez stressed that the nation’s prominence on the world market is rapidly changing. She recalled that prior to oil; Guyana held a low profile in comparison to its South American counterparts. The Senior Advisor said that most folks, who never heard about the country, struggled to pronounce its name and frequently confused it with Ghana or Guinea. This she said, changed since the rapid oil discoveries in the Stabroek Block by ExxonMobil. Guedez was keen to note, however, that while Guyana maybe wellendowed with natural gifts, it is a country where there can be limited opportunities.

Guedez then stressed, “…The path ahead for Guyana is not without pitfalls.

Yes, large oil discoveries create opportunities, but only if the resources are managed responsibly for the shared benefit of all…”

The Senior Advisor is not the first to make this point over the past few years to Guyana.

In fact, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has, on numerous occasions, pointed to the many loopholes the government needs to close in its governance framework so that the revenues of the sector can be spent for the benefit of all.

But these recommendations are yet to be taken on board. For example, the IMF has stated that Guyana needs to strengthen its petroleum fiscal regime through the revision of the Petroleum [Exploration and Production] Act 1986 ( P E PA ) , t h e P e t r o l e u m [Exploration and Production] Regulations 1986, as well as other tax laws and sector

regulations.

The IMF has been keen to note that while the PEPA gives the government broad powers to grant petroleum prospecting and production licences, and to negotiate oil contracts, it is silent on processing and refining of petroleum products, pipelines and other modes of petroleum transportation, as well as how petroleum marketing arrangements are to be observed. In spite of this, the country has been pushing ahead with the marketing of its oil and plans to bring gas to shore.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, w i t h regard to the lopsided oil deal, the IMF has expressed alarm over the opportunities Guyana gives Exxon Mobil and its partners to be abusive in the way they add interests to its expenses, all of which would be recovered in full.

Left unchecked, the IMF said that this can have a detrimental effect on the oil profits that would be left to share. In one of its reports, the IMF said it is a well-established industry norm to have limitations on how much interest can be charged and deducted on loans by oil companies. It noted that some countries disallow interest expenses or limit the amount of debt permitted for cost recovery purposes through caps.

Other countries, it advised, go the route of prescribing that interest may be deductible only on borrowing to fund development costs or a maximum percentage of such costs. Interest on loans to finance exploration is not allowed.

Considering the dire

consequences this loophole can have for Guyana, the IMF said it would be appropriate for Guyana to limit the amount of debt for cost recovery purposes or disallow interest expense altogether.

Further to this, the IMF has called on Guyana to close other fiscal loopholes in existing Production Sharing Agreements; undertake a policy review of fiscal terms contained in existing PSAs to ensure that these are implemented appropriately, and assess areas of improvement for future investment; design a new generally applicable fiscal regime for upstream petroleum projects that increases the government take and limits the scope for individual negotiations; introduce a revised production sharing mechanism for new PSAs that provide the government with a higher share of profit oil as the profitability of projects’ increases; and publish a model PSA that includes the minimum fiscal terms accepted by the government for future contracts.

The IMF has also called on Guyana to apply tighter ring-fencing arrangements to contracts so that oil companies would be unable to deduct the costs associated with exploring other wells or developing other projects from another field that is producing oil.

The foregoing represents a mere fraction of the I M F ’s recommendations which the nation’s leaders have failed to implement, yet

continue to tell the nation that every possible measure is being put in place to protect the oil sector.

ARMY SPENT $92M TO FIX 30 VEHICLES – AG REPORT – $7.2M TO REPAIR ONE 11 YEAR-OLD PICKUP – POLICE FORCE, OTHER AGENCIES ENGAGED IN SIMILAR PRACTICE Details from the recently laid Auditor General’s Report for 2019 highlighted a slew of high maintenance costs for vehicles attached to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Ministry of Social Protection, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Public Security, as well as Regions Three and Six. According to the AG’s report, these high maintenance costs were due to the ministries, departments and regions not assessing whether it was economical to retain or dispose of vehicles.

It is in this regard that the sum of $251.619M was expended on repairs and maintenance in respect of 118 vehicles during 2019, the report indicates.

In particular, the GDF had expended $91.629M on the maintenance of 30 vehicles, which represented an average maintenance cost of $3.054M per vehicle.

“More significantly,” the report said, “10 vehicles were maintained at costs amounting to $46.429M, which represented an even higher average maintenance cost per vehicle ($4.643M).

Remarkably, one Toyota Hilux Double-Cab acquired over 11 years ago was maintained at a cost of $7.185M; whilst, a Ford Ranger was maintained at a cost of $5.660M.” The audit of the army’s 2019 (Continued on page 18)

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From page 17 spending found that a Ford F-350 and Ford Ranger Double Cab were maintained at costs amounting to $6.486M and $5.599M, respectively. However, based on a list submitted for audit, the force has deemed these two vehicles unserviceable.

MONDAY GETTING LOCAL CONTENT RIGHT WON’T BE ENOUGH TO GUYANAMUST STRIVE FOR EFFECTIVE OVERSIGHT FRAMEWORK – TT EXPERT Even though it is crucial for the governments of oilproducing states to ensure maximum participation and capacity building of their citizens in the industry, that alone will not be enough to save the sector from failure.

According to petroleum expert and energy strategist, Anthony Paul, his home country, Trinidad and Tobago, knows this lesson all too well.

During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Paul noted that Trinidad has been in the game for more than a century while adding that it has made some admirable moves to ensure that its industry had significant levels of capacity building and technology transfer. In spite of having attained this fantastic feat, Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is desperately trying to get back on its. feet. Paul said, “Everyone can see that Trinidad is struggling so it shows that having local content policies and supporting laws are very good virtues. They are necessary but trust me, they are not sufficient and Guyana must not run away with that idea.”

The TT expert added, “You must have proper governance and oversight or else it will all fail, all your investment will fail or will lose value day after day.”

Further to this, Paul sought to stress that at the

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heart of Trinidad’s struggle today is the lack of accountability of the regulator of the sector.

Paul added, “That is my view. I know because I used to work for the regulator and they are the ones to manage it. I will give you an example if you think I am mistaken. The law says that every company operating in the oil and gas industry, no matter what they do, be it pipelines or gas petrochemicals, must have a licence. But you know what, there were many stakeholders in the petrochemical industry who did not have licences and they have been operating for 40 years.”

As a result of this state of affairs, Paul said there was extreme opposition and difficulties to implement guidelines in a bid to regularise that section of the industry. As a result of this lawlessness that was allowed, it prevented the government from abiding with a section of the law that requires a register of such licences to be properly kept and made available for public scrutiny. “…So you see, one can get very complacent in the face of oil money…Guyana needs to be aware of this danger,” Paul added while stressing the need for civil society actors to communicate the poignancy of these arguments to the man on the ground.

Paul stressed that Guyana has to build a clear line of sight for communicating activities, impact, and outcomes to the citizens and making people feel that they have a right to demand better and know how they can go about doing so. $4B WITHDRAWALS FROM CONTINGENCY FUND FAILED TO MEET FMAACT CRITERIA – AUDITOR GENERAL Withdrawals from Guyana’s Contingencies Fund for 2019 amounted to $4.150 billion but according to the Auditor General (AG), these did not meet the criteria set out in the Section 41(3) of the Fiscal Management and

Accountability (FMA) Act. The AG in his latest audit report explained that Section 220(1) of the Constitution explicitly states “Parliament may make provision for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund and for authorising the Minister responsible for finance to make advances from that Fund if he is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure for which no other provision exists”.

The Minister at the time was Winston Jordan.

In accordance with Section 41 of the FMA Act, the Finance Minister “may approve a Contingencies Fund Advance as an expenditure out of the Consolidated Fund by the issuance of a drawing right”.

The criteria as stated in Section 41(3) of the FMA Act requires the Minister, when satisfied that “an urgent, unavoidable and unforeseen need for the expenditure has arisen: a) for which no moneys have been appropriated or for which the sum appropriated is insufficient; b) for which moneys cannot be reallocated as provided for under this Act; or c) which cannot be deferred without injury to the public interest….”.

Further on, Section 22(1) (c) of the FMA Act states “the amount of an appropriation for any programme may not be varied under this section by more than ten percent of the total amount appropriated for the programme in the applicable appropriation Act”.

In addition, Section 22(2) states “the Minister shall include all changes to appropriations made pursuant to subsection (1) up to the end of the tenth month of the current fiscal year in an appropriation amendment Bill: otherwise any changes shall be made in accordance with Section 24”.

With that said, the AG explained that according to the Statement of Receipts and Payments of the Contingencies Fund for the year ending 31 December,

2019 amounts totalling $4.150 billion were drawn from the fund by way of seven advances to the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Ministry of Communities along with the Public Health Ministry and Region Six. (See figure 1.)

With regard to the Public Infrastructure Ministry, withdrawals were made on three occasions.

The first, it said was “to facilitate the execution of emergency sea defence works along critical sections of shoreline between the communities of Fairfield to Dantzig, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, Region Five.”

The second withdrawal was made to again “facilitate the executive of emergency sea defence works along critical sections of shoreline between the communities of Fairfield to Dantzig, Mahaicony, ECD, Region 1. 5 and rehabilitation and upgrading measures are also required along multiple stretches of sea and river defences within Regions Two, Three, Four and Six including the islands of Wakenaam and Leguan.”

The final withdrawal, the Finance Ministry said was to “conduct major repairs to generators at Port Kaituma & Light Co. Inc.” For the Agriculture Minister, it was stated that a single withdrawal was made to “increase in work programme by NDIA in an effort to reduce the likelihood of flooding and damage to infrastructure in critical areas in Region Four during spring tides and to negate the effect of widespread flooding in Region Five.”

Monies were given to Region Six to “purchase of fuel and lubricants to irrigate fresh water from Manarabisi and Black Bush pump stations to save the rice crop” while the Ministry of Communities received funds for the “provision for immediate funding to Central Housing and Planning Authority for land transferred

by National Industrial and

Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

And finally, monies were given to the Public Health Ministry to “vaccinate all eligible persons so as to ensure that herd immunity is obtained so as to prevent the transmission of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, ensure all pregnant women receive quality care, offer all postnatal women a contraceptive method, screen all child bearing women for cervical cancer once per year and reduce home delivery.”

While he noted no advances were taken during 2017 and 2018, the AG pointed out however, for the period under review, all seven advances granted from the Contingencies Fund were to meet routine expenditure and did not meet the criteria defined in Section 41(3) of the FMA Act. In response to his claims, the Ministry simply stated that, “all the advances meet the criteria in keeping with Section 41 (3) of the FMA Act 2003.”

Nevertheless, the AG gave strict recommendations that the Ministry of Finance adopt stringent measures to ensure that there is compliance with Section 41 of the FMA Act regarding the criteria for the granting of Advances from the Contingencies Fund.

CUBAN NATIONAL HAMMERS WOMAN TO DEATH AND SLITS HER CHILD’S THROAT -LOCKS UP SLEEPING FATHER-IN-LAW IN HOUSE Cops have begun a manhunt for a Cuban national who allegedly hammered his girlfriend to death and slit her child’s throat before locking up her sleeping father in the house.

Currently on the run from police is Yoel Rodriguez Barrientos of Oriundo de la Provincia, Santiago, Cuba.

Barrientos is accused of murdering a sales girl, Tara Krishnaran, 34, and her 11year-old daughter, Larissa Singh, at their home located

at Princess Street, Lodge.

Detectives believe that Barrientos might have slain both of them sometime after 20:00hrs on Christmas night.

Their bloodied corpses were discovered around 09:00hrs the following day by his father-in-law, Yomona Krishnaran, 67, who had woken up and found himself locked in the house.

Crime scene experts who subsequently visited the scene reported that Krishnaran was found lying on her bed with a wound to the back of her head, another to the left temple and one more to the left side of the face. Her daughter was found in her bedroom too but lying on the floor with a six inch cut wound to her neck and blood on her vagina.

Detectives also retrieved a blood stained hammer and knife from the room, which they believe Barrientos used to kill them.

Speaking with the investigators, his father-inlaw said that Barrientos had gotten into an argument and a physical altercation with his daughter around 17:30hrs on Christmas Day. He claimed that he had ignored them and went to bed since it was normal for the couple to fight.

The man reportedly woke up around 08:00hrs the next day but did not check on his daughter and grandchild. He claimed that he taught that his daughter must have left for work and took her child with her. However, when he realized that he was locked in the house, he became alarmed and decided to check his daughter’s room where he made the gruesome discovery.

He summoned police and their bodies were removed and taken to the morgue.

The Cuban community in Guyana has since called for collaboration from fellow nationals for any form of information that may lead to the capture of Barrientos.

A Cuban national living in Georgetown, Elier Acuña, wasted no time in posting a photo of Barrientos within a Facebook group called (Continued on page 19)

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From page 18 Cubanos en Guyana. In that group, he pleaded with fellow Cubans to assist the Guyana police in locating the wanted fugitive. Acuña wrote, “Please I plead with you that if someone knows the whereabouts of this man please contact me or call the Guyana Police Force (GPF), because right now he is the prime suspect in the murder of his wife and her 11-year-old daughter. Their bodies were found on Boxing day.”

The Cuban further stated that the murdered woman was his wife’s niece and that her killer who also took the life of her daughter must be brought to justice. Acuña, added that with such a heinous act, “this psychopath (Barrientos)” could greatly affect all Cuban migrants living in Guyana.

TUESDAY WITHOUT PROPER DEPLETION POLICY, OIL PRODUCING STATES COULD LOSE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS – SOMEONE NEEDS TO DEFEND GUYANA’S CASE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE – T&T EXPERT WARNS With its discovery of over nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources in the Stabroek Block, American oil giant, ExxonMobil, is hell-bent on turning these petroleum finds into billions of dollars for its shareholders via a suite of development projects. In fact, the company hopes to have as many as five floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operating offshore Guyana by 2026.

But is this explosion of development in Guyana’s interest?

In the eyes of Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Strategist, Anthony Paul, the answer is an emphatic “NO!” The industry specialist was quick to highlight two examples to cement his argument. In one case, he showed how an oil producing country was able to save significantly by having the right depletion guidelines in place while another lost out substantially in the absence of proper rules.

In relation to the former, Paul noted the case of Ghana. He said, “This African country had two adjacent fields. Field A had a FPSO working round the clock, extracting the oil. Now, when it came to Field B, there were plans to bring in a second oil ship. But the country’s authorities told the oil companies, “No, let us wait and use the Field A FPSO on Field B instead of having to increase costs and shorten the lifespan of the sector.”

From this example, Paul said the question Guyana needs to ask itself is: What is the right pace of depletion for the Stabroek Block?

And more importantly, what is the right order of depletion for the various fields? Also, how can this be done in a way that maximizes benefits for the country?

Turning his attention to his next case, Paul was keen to note that Trinidad holds some key lessons that Guyana should not ignore. He

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said that as a result of not having a proper policy in place for the development of natural gas, Trinidad and Tobago possibly left billions of dollars in gas resources behind in the ground which it cannot go back and remove.

Expounding further, Paul said, “In T&T, companies take out the gas from the ground at high pressure, put it in high pressure pipelines, and send it to shore. But once the pressure in the reservoir drops below a certain limit, the oil companies close up and move to another reservoir. By operating in this way, they leave a lot of gas in the ground.”

Paul continued, “…In reality, we should have had a policy in place which demanded that all the gas be produced. We didn’t have that and the oil companies knew that if we had forced them to do that, they would have had to put systems in place to ensure that is done. That would have meant spending more money. And more money means fewer profits for their shareholders…”

With the foregoing example in mind, Paul stressed that a country essentially loses significantly without a proper depletion policy.

He said that Guyana needs to understand that managing these resources is technical business and would therefore require strong capacity to manage it and negotiate with the oil companies in the best interest of the country.

“You must have this big picture in mind and someone has to be looking at it because if you leave it to the companies, they will manage it in a way that yields the best results for them. So someone needs to defend Guyana’s case before it is too late,” the T&T Expert concluded.

GRATAKES FUEL COMPANY TO COURT OVER FALSIFIED INVOICE The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has taken Atlantic Fuels Inc. to court for making a false declaration on an invoice. The matter is scheduled to come up before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on January 4, 2021.According to a court document seen by Kaieteur News, on the 12 day of November 2020, at Lot 200-201 Camp Street Georgetown, the fuel company, which is owned by former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Dr. Richard Van West Charles, caused to be made and subscribed, a false declaration to the revenue authority, to which an invoice number 100 for custom declaration reference number GY 410 C which was falsely declared, contrary to section 217 (1) (a) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.The document, which lists Godfrey Statia, Commissioner-General of GRA, as the complainant and Atlantic Fuels Inc. as the respondent, does not give details. Kaieteur News understands that the charge is related under invoicing by the fuel company.

A source attached to the tax agency confirmed that the fuel company has been caught

recording less than the amount of fuel in a shipment, which caused the revenue authority to lose revenue.

This is not the first time the fuel company has been caught up in allegations of tax fraud. Last year GRA investigations revealed a similar situation involving Atlantic Fuels Inc. ED. MINISTRY PAID $28M FOR DESIGN OF ST. ROSE’S HIGH SCHOOL’S FOUNDATION, THENABANDONED IT Details from the recently laid Auditor General Report of 2019 shows that the Ministry of Education (MoE), under the APNU+AFC, had paid a consultancy firm $28M for the design of the foundation for the $412M St. Rose’s High School, but later abandoned the design because it was “inadequate”.

The AG’s report recalled that on July 31, 2017, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) had awarded a consultancy contract for the design and supervision of the new St Rose’s High School in the sum of US$134,790/G$28M. It was indicated that the letter of acceptance was issued to the contractor on August 30, 2017, where the duration of the service was from August 30, 2017 to July 30, 2018 for the design phase, and the supervision was to commence immediately upon the signing of the contract for the construction works.

Audit examination revealed that the consultant was responsible for all soil investigations and to design the foundation for the school, slated to cost taxpayers $412M. However, the report states, it was discovered that the ministry had paid another consultant to review and redesign the foundation, based on a decision that the original foundation was inadequate.

It is against this that the AG’s report highlighted that “The

ministry paid the first consultant for designing an inadequate foundation for the school building.”

Further examination of the project file had also revealed that the ministry had engaged two additional consultants to provide services for redesigning the foundation for the school. “However, it was noted that the initial supervising consultant was required to conduct soil investigations and design a foundation for the building as part of his contract. As such, it is unclear why the ministry engaged two other consultants to redesign the foundation, given the fact that they had accepted the foundation design in the first place and went ahead with tendering and awarding the contract,” the report said.

The AG report also states that a second consultancy contract was awarded in the sum of $6.575M by NPTAB on the January 30, 2019 for an independent assessment to be conducted to determine whether a deep foundation was required for the construction of the building. It pointed out, however, that no details regarding the tendering and award of this consultancy contract was seen, and it is unclear what procurement procedures were utilised by the ministry in awarding this second consultancy contract.

“A third consultant was paid the sum of $432,000 for the calculation of loads of the building for redesigning the foundation,” it stated too.

Kaieteur News, in a series of articles, had exposed the controversy regarding the construction of the school, which was awarded to Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited some two years ago. The contract was signed on August 8, 2018 with a duration of 18 months.

On August 17, 2019, the NPTAB had awarded an approval to increase the contract sum by $59.595M due to the scope of the contract being extended to include

a change to the foundation design whereby a deeper foundation was required using timber piles. As such, the contract sum increased from $352.710M to $412.304M, with the duration of the contract extended by 20 months, resulting in a revised completion date of August 23, 2021.

Physical verification carried out in early September by Kaieteur News had revealed that no works were in progress on site, save and except for the completion of the driving of 224 timber piles for the foundation.

It was noted that Courtney Benn Contracting was paid a second advance payment of $28.963M on January 10, 2020, having already received an initial advance payment of $52.906M. But against this point, the report states, “At this time no significant works had commenced on site and as such, the first advance payment made would not have been expended. An analysis of the payments made to the contractor revealed that having received the first advance payment of $52.906M, the contractor was further paid the sums of $5.186M and $1.379M under valuations two and three respectively, followed by several small payments for security charges.

Therefore, it is unclear what this first advance payment was used for.”

Even against these concerning details, the Education Ministry went ahead and had paid the contractor a second advance. “No evidence was seen whereby the contractor used the advance payments exclusively to pay for plant, machinery, and equipment, materials and other expenses required directly for the execution of the contract, as required under clause 34.2 of the General Conditions of contract. This clause also stated, “The contractor shall demonstrate that Advance Payment has been used for the purposes of execution of the Contract by supplying copies of invoices or other documents,” the (Continued on page 20)

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From page 19 report states. It was further noted that both advance payment bonds expired since March 2020 and none of the advance payments were recovered.

Shortly after the pile driving exercise, Courtney Benn Contracting had abandoned the work site, following which the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) government terminated its contract.

WEDNESDAY EXXON CHARGES GUYANA US$1.6B FOR WORKS UP TO 2017 ALONE – GOVT. HAS CONCERNS ABOUT “ADVERSE” FINDINGS ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has handed a bill of US$1.6 billion for expenditures made in support of its Stabroek block operations.

The supermajor is claiming these funds as recoverable from the sale of Guyana’s oil, as per the terms of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), signed by former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman.

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, revealed this during a recent interview on the Kaieteur Radio show, Guyana’s Oil & You, hosted

by Kaieteur News’ Senior Journalist, Kiana Wilburg.

“So far, about US$1.6 billion of the cost – that’s precontract cost of US$460 million, plus about US$1.2 billion from the development and exploration cost up to 2017 has been audited,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

That charge has been audited by the UK firm, IHS Markit. According to the VP, the final report was submitted by the firm just a few days before the President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, was sworn in.

However, Markit had failed to convert that report to a draft report. Audit of this nature provide for three reports, of which the final would have been the last, according to the VP… Markit skipped the second report. He said it had done the initial report and submitted it in early 2020.

“They skipped the interim report and we have a big issue with them because the interim report, as is normal for any audit, has to go to the company for them to make comments before the audit is finalized.” Jagdeo said. “So since then, we’ve had some disagreements with Markit.”

Kaieteur News

The government is set to review the draft report, after which, it will be sent to ExxonMobil for its comments.

The Vice President said that there are some “adverse” findings already about the claims being made by Exxon and other companies. During a previous press conference, Dr. Jagdeo had revealed that some costs being claimed by ExxonMobil are not considered recoverable by the government. He has explained that the government would not allow the oil companies to recover any cost which government does not consider recoverable.

Attorney-at-Law and accountant, Christopher Ram, had said in 2018 that Exxon’s claim of US$460M is overstated by at least US$92M. He had challenged the former APNU+AFC Government to justify the figure it agreed to pay.

His calculation found that all figures supplied by the companies, even when one allows for all expenses and expenditures, amount to a far cry from the US$460,237,918 that Exxon and its partners, Hess and CNOOC Nexen, are claiming. He had said that it is overstated by “at least” US$92M, because not all expenditure is recoverable as pre-contract costs. He maintained even in November that he believes ExxonMobil has cheated Guyana on those costs.

Ram’s analysis only accounts for a fraction of the US$1.6 billion Exxon is claiming.

Despite the fact that the bill was handed to Guyana years ago, it was only late last year that the David Granger administration hired a firm to audit Exxon’s costs.

Dr. Jagdeo sees this as a blunder on the part of the former administration, as the contract places a two-year limit on the right to challenge costs.

“The government at that time could have hired a company immediately to audit the pre-contract costs because at the time it was signed, then you only had pre-contract costs.”

He added: “We were in opposition so we could not have done anything to deal with the audit…Had it hired a company in 2016, we would not have had this conversation today. Had it built the capability within the four years from 2016 to 2020, we would not have had this conversation today.”

Vice President Jagdeo said that what government needs to do is build the capacity to do audits within the specified period. “Not to wait like six years or seven years. And we

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are busy doing that.”

The current administration, he said, is working to build the capacity of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to conduct cost oil audits, which he said are different from regular audits. This is expected to be done alongside independent consultants, as Guyana builds its capacity.

APNU+AFC CABINET APPROVED $228M ON PROJECT BUT CONTRACT SIGNED FOR $191M – AG 2019 REPORT Details from the 2019 Auditor General’s report revealed that the former Coalition government had approved the sum of $228.062 million for the construction of a new annex building for the Finance Ministry.

However; the contract was signed for a figure far less… $191.674 million.

The sum of $113.711M was budgeted in 2019 for construction of the Ministry of Finance’s New Annex Building at Croal Street, Georgetown.

According to the Appropriation Account as at 31 December 2019, the full amount was expended.

That contract, according to the report, was awarded to Courtney Benn Contracting Services in 2017 by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) for $228.062 million.

No details regarding the advertisement and duration for submission of bids were presented for audit examination; the AG, Deodat Sharma, cited in his recently released report.

However, based on documents seen, it was noted that a total of 16 bids were received on July 18, 2017.

The contract was later signed on December 20, 2017 for $191.674 million, with duration of 12 months for completion and a Defects Liability Period of 12 months.

“It was observed that the contract was signed for a sum of $191.674M; however, NPTA letter of award as well as Cabinet No Objection states an awarded bid price of $228.062M. It is unclear how the contract was awarded for a price of $228.062M and the contract was signed for a lesser sum of $191.674M,” the AG said in his report.

As at December 31, 2019, the contractor received payments amounting to $182.834 million.

Courtney Benn Contraction was said to have received an advance payment of $64.557 million,

representing 33.68% of the contract sum, followed by seven interim payments.

As at December 31, 2019, $38.050 million or 59% of the mobilization advance was recovered, with the remaining balance of $26.507 million outstanding, the report stated.

M o r e o v e r, t h e A G pointed out that physical verification by the Audit Office on October 2, 2020 revealed that the works were incomplete and only the contractor ’s foreman was present on the site.

“No works were in progress at the time, despite the fact that the revised approved completion date of June 30, 2020 had long expired.

Further, our assessment of the works completed at the time of our verification, revealed that the contractor already received payments for works which are incomplete and in most instances which had not even commenced,” the report said.

Further on, the AG pointed out that according to the Review of Tender Evaluation Report dated November 2017, the Evaluation Committee, which was initially set up to evaluate and recommend a contractor for award of the contract had submitted an Evaluation Report, which was not approved by all three appointed evaluators.

A minority report, he stated, was submitted by one of the evaluators instead.

The AG explained that: “The reasons for the

evaluators not approving the report was not stated in the review, while it was noted that the review was carried out in November 2017, four months after the submission of bids. It is unclear if this review was carried out within the Bid Validity Period, which is normally ninety days. If this period had expired, the works should have been retendered.”

Added to that, it was noted in the review that bidder ¹.16 did not provide the necessary NIS compliance.

However, examination of the Minutes of Tender Opening attached to the review, shows that bidder ¹.16 did in fact submit NIS. “It is unclear how the bidder did not have NIS compliance during the evaluation, but had it when the bids were opened,” the AG said in his report.

In response to the Bid Va l i d i t y P e r i o d , t h e Finance Ministry explained that the date of the second evaluation the bids were still valid.

“The Tender opening for this tender according to I n s t r u c t i o n To B i d d e r s (ITB) 18.2 19.1, 19.2 of the Bid Data Sheet was 18 July 2017. The Review of Tender Evaluation Report is dated November 2017 and signed by the evaluators on 8 November 2017. The number of days between the 18 July 2017 and 8 November 2017 is 114 days.

Therefore, at the date of the second evaluation the bids were still valid,” the Ministry said.

Further on, with regards

to the Contractor not submitting his NIS compliance, the Ministry noted that the Minutes of the Tender Opening for this Tender did not record that Tender ¹. 16 submitted both NIS and GRA Compliances.

It explained that according to the Administrative Compliance, of the second evaluation report, labelled Review of Tender Evaluation Report dated November 2017, “The evaluation committee is in agreement with the evaluation of administrative compliance previously done which shows that Bidders ¹.

1, ¹. 7, ¹. 8 and 16 do not have a d m i n i s t r a t i v e Compliance…Bidder ¹. 16 did not provide the necessary NIS compliance…”

“Therefore, it can be concluded that since both sets of evaluators (who during conducting their separate evaluations, would have reviewed the actual tenders/documents submitted), concluded that Tender ¹. 16 did not have the necessary NIS compliance, then they must be correct,” the Finance Ministry explained.

With regards to the contract price, the Ministry said it concurred with the observation made, however relayed that “it must be noted that the contract was signed for $191.674 million in accordance with ITB Clause 12.1 as stated in the Bid Document Reference. ¹.

NPTAB 1193/2017/03.”

With all that said, the Auditor General recommended that the Head of Budget Agency; “(i) desist from certifying valuations for (Continued on page 21)

Sunday January 03, 2021

From page 20 works which have not been completed and (ii) improve in the supervision of works and overall contract administration and (iii) ensure that Bonds and Insurances remain valid for the requisite periods.”

US COASTGUARD FLAGSHIP DEPLOYED TO BATTLE ILLEGAL FISHING OFFSHORE GUYANA – TO CONDUCT “MULTI-MONTH” PATROLS The crew of the USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) departed from Pascagoula, Mississippi, last Tuesday, just ahead of Christmas, for a multi-month deployment to the South Atlantic countering illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, while strengthening relationships for maritime sovereignty and security throughout the region.

The brand new Legendclass national security cutter, one of the U.S. Coast Guard’s flagships, will provide a presence and support national security objectives throughout the Atlantic.

This patrol is the cutter’s initial shakedown cruise, following its delivery in November, a statement from the US Coast Guard said Tuesday.

“This is the service’s first patrol to South America in recent memory, engaging partners including Guyana, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Portugal. The cutter also embarked an observer from the Portuguese navy for the operation’s duration.”

Operation Southern Cross is conducted in conjunction with U.S. Southern Command, charged with managing operations in Central and South America by working collaboratively to ensure the Western Hemisphere is secure, free, and prosperous.

“In September 2020, the Coast Guard released the Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) Fishing Strategic Outlook, which reaffirms our commitment to global maritime security, regional stability, and economic prosperity,” the statement said.

A few months ago, Guyana and the US signed agreements to increase security for this area.

Guyana has observed one year in the commercial production of oil.

“The U.S. Coast Guard is committed to the protection of living marine resources.

IUU fishing threatens fish stock’s health and adversely impacts those who follow global norms and national

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laws. This is a global issue, and IUU is a problem too big for any one nation. Only by working together can we protect livelihoods, ensure ports remain economically productive, and support sustainable fisheries industry.

Stone’s patrol demonstrates our commitment to the established rules-based order while addressing IUU fishing wherever a Coast Guard cutter is deployed.”

This is according to Vice Admiral Steven Poulin, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.

“I am very proud of the professional men and women I serve alongside. It is no easy feat to assemble a crew and ready a cutter for sea – but this crew has had to perform this difficult task while observing protective measures associated with the Coronavirus-19 pandemic.

The crew and I look forward to this historic first voyage, as Stone begins a storied career of service to this nation. While balancing training and qualification requirements, Stone’s crew will engage with partner nations in South America in a like-minded pursuit to curb illegal fishing tactics.”

This was also disclosed

by Captain Adam Morrison, commanding officer of USCGC Stone (WMSL 758).

Nearly half the world’s population relies on fish for 20 percent of their animal protein. IUU fishing removes access to this valuable protein source, particularly to the most vulnerable coastal States.

The first sale value of global fish production in 2018 stands at $401 billion.

“IUU Fishing results in tens of billions of dollars of lost revenue to legal fishers every year.”

The US Coast Guard said that of the world’s top marine fish stocks, 93 percent classified as fully exploited, overexploited, or significantly depleted.

“IUU fishing undermines the sustainable management of these resources, pushing them to the limits of their capacity.”

The vessels are 418 feet (127 meters) long with a 54foot beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days, and a crew of around 120.

COALITION SPENT ALL OF US$18M OF EXXONMOBIL SIGNING BONUS – AUDITOR GENERAL Every single cent of the US$18M signing bonus Guyana received when it

penned the 2016 agreement with petro giant, ExxonMobil, was spent by the A Partnership For National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) regime.

Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma, in his recently released Audit Report for 2019, stated that the US$18M Guyana received was deposited into the Finance Ministry’s ExxonMobil Account ¹. 845L5086, at the Bank of Guyana.

The Bank, he explained maintained a “Cash and Investment Accounts,” to independently account for earnings accumulated from investments. The report outlined that during November 9-17, 2016, the sum of US$15.831 million was transferred to that very account and later expended to purchase overseas bonds.

The balance of US$2.176 million or G$449 million remained in the country’s Investment Account.

Later on, the report said, Guyana earned interest of US$498,775 from its investments from November 9, 2016 to December 31, 2018, while the interest from the Investment Account totalled US$2,889.

Then on December 28, 2018, the Finance Ministry was said to have instructed the Bank to transfer US$3.780 million from the Investment Account to Guyana’s Consolidated Fund. This was done on December 31, 2018, leaving a remaining balance of US$112,480 in the account.

The Auditor General noted too that as of January 2019, the value of the investments appreciated to US$14.545 million, while the interest earned on the Investment Account rose to US$42,378.

He pointed out that the Ministry then instructed the

Bank in January of 2019 to close the ExxonMobil Account ¹. 845L5086 and transfer all balances to the Consolidated Fund.

“In keeping with the directive of the Ministry, an amount of G$3.065 billion or US$14.699 million was transferred to the Fund on January 24, 2019,” the AG highlighted, noting that a final transfer of G$104,867 or US$502.96 was made on February 14, 2019 “resulting in nil balances in the account.”

The Bank then closed the accounts in February 2019.

That transfer occurred before the High Court ruled that the December 21, 2018 No-Confidence Motion was validly passed.

It was only after intense pressure from the media, that the Coalition Government headed by former President Granger revealed that it received the signing bonus from ExxonMobil at the time of inking the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

Before that there was silence.

Later on, the Coalition said that the money was for legal fees for the Venezuela border case at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, To date, Guyana remains in the dark as to how much of that signing bonus was expended on the case.

Moreover, there has been no breakdown given as to what the remainder of the funds was spent on.

Kaieteur News made contact with former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, to provide an idea on what the money was spent.

His response was: “Once the money goes into the Consol Fund, there is no specific item; funds are

spongeable when they get into the Consolidated Fund.

So you don’t identify a specific item of expenditure.

That is why, if you want to identify a specific item of expenditure, you keep it in a special account. But once the money is transferred into the Consolidated Fund, it becomes part of the pool of resources in the Consolidated Fund.”

Asked whether the allotted US$15 million was expended on the case, he said: “I am telling at the time of the transfer we did not spend $3 billion, on the Border Controversy case.”

Jordan explained that: “Whenever a need arose for monies to be used with reference to the Border Controversy, such sums that are identified would be transferred from the special accounts to the Consolidated Fund and then monies would be released through the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“So even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent a significant sum on the Border Controversy, and often time we had to go back to Parliament for more monies for them, I don’t remember that any monies were transferred from the special account to the Consolidated Fund and that is why the entire sum was transferred in January 2019.”

GUYANATO SPEND US$2M ON ONE HELICOPTER, MAINTENANCE AND TRAINING – FINANCE MINISTER The National Assembly on Monday approved $413M in supplementary funding for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

According to the Senior

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, the sum caters for the maintenance of the King Air 350 Beechcraft, to increase aerial operational capacity, the training of four engineers, and for the purchase of one Bell heavy-lift helicopter.

The Finance Minister explained that acquiring and engaging these two critical pieces of equipment were important to strengthening the operational capacity of the GDF. He said provisions were made for training of both engineers and pilots for the Beechcraft.

“Both engineering and pilot training are specific to aircraft type and so what we are providing here is specific training to the aircraft type.

This is not training as is done by the Public Service Ministry… this is specific training for the aircraft type,” Singh said to the National Assembly.

Singh had further explained that the engineers were identified by the leadership of the Air Corps.

The training will be done overseas and will focus on the maintenance and operation of the aircraft.

Previously, Kaieteur News had reported that United States’ State Department had made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Guyana of Bell 412EPi and 429 Helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of not more than US$50M. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale in November. A senior government official in Guyana, close to the army, had confirmed that the (Continued on page 22)

PAGE 22

From page 21 Government is “exploring” the possible purchase of four Bells to boost the security capacity of the country.”

“The Government of Guyana had requested to buy two (2) Bell 412EPi Light Utility Helicopters with customer-unique modifications; two (2) Bell 429 Light Utility Helicopters with customer-unique modifications; two (2) WESCAM MX-10 cameras; mission equipment; contractor-provided pilot and maintainer training; particular ground support equipment; spares; publications; integrated product support; technical assistance; transportation; Repair and Return; and other related elements of logistics and program support,” the US entity had said in a statement.

Meanwhile, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, $6.525 million to purchase 15 motorcycles for the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was approved on Monday. The motorcycles were sourced to boost the force’s response to the upsurge in armed robberies during the festive season.

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, had explained that the Honda motorcycles were distributed between the traffic and general patrol of the GPF in Region Four; Central Georgetown, East Bank and East Cast Demerara.

In response to a question posed by Opposition Member of Parliament, Shurwayne Holder, about the sudden need to purchase the vehicles, Minister Benn said the motorcycles within the force were in a dilapidated state.

“It is a specific request from the Guyana Police Force and we are responding to that request,” he had explained.

The procurement of the motorcycles would help to advance the Government’s mission to provide the force with the necessary equipment to ensure the nation’s safety.

THURSDAY GUYANATOAUDIT IN EXCESS OF US$6 BILLION MORE OF EXXON’S COSTS – VP BHARRAT JAGDEO Guyana has in excess of US$6 billion of oil-related expenses to audit from ExxonMobil and Stabroek block partners, affiliates and sub-contractors, according to Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

This was revealed during a recent interview on the Kaieteur Radio show, Guyana’s Oil and You, hosted

Kaieteur News

by Kaieteur News’ Senior Journalist, Kiana Wilburg.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had warned Guyana four years ago that one of the most critical challenges it faces is conducting effective cost audits. The Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil only gives the nation a two-year window to contest unreasonable and/or inflated costs.

If it doesn’t audit within the period specified, Guyana will have to accept all the costs and repay every cent to ExxonMobil from the sale of its crude, even if the costs are inflated. This is a matter of national concern, as every cent Guyana is robbed decreases its profits from the sale of the Stabroek block crude.

Guyana has not audited any of the expenditures Exxon claims it has made on the three oil developments, Liza Phases One and Two, and Payara. Those add up to US$18.5 billion.

The Vice President said that US$8-9 billion in expenditures are claimed to have been made in total, so far, and have to be audited.

He explained that this includes expenditure on the three wells ExxonMobil already received development approval for – Liza Phases One and Two, and Payara.

“You’ve had 8-9 billion of expenditure made so far, of the 20 billion programme for the three wells. Only US$1.6 billion has been audited…”

The US$1.6 billion covers pre-contract costs.

“We still have another six point something billion dollars to be audited, that we have to get to, of expenditure that’s already made,” Dr. Jagdeo told the Kaieteur Radio panel.

He agreed that Guyana dropped the ball on audits of Exxon’s costs, and placed the blame squarely at the feet of the former David Granger administration. He said that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) had urged the government repeatedly to begin audits on the costs ExxonMobil is claiming.

“What we have to do is to build a capability to do audits within the period specified by the contract,” The Vice President said.

Government, he said, is currently doing that, so that time doesn’t run out on Guyana.

“Not to wait like six years or seven years,” he said, “and we are busy doing that.”

The previous administration allowed years to pass before it contracted a

firm to audit the supermajor’s pre-contract costs alone. So far, the firm contracted by the previous administration in November, 2019 – IHS Markit – has completed the audit of US$1.6 billion. The initial report was only submitted early this year.

The Government is set to review a draft report from Markit – the second report in the process, which it accepted from the firm – after which it will submit the document to Exxon and its partners for comments.

The government has made some adverse findings, according to Jagdeo, including issues with expenses it doesn’t consider recoverable, but which Exxon intends to recover.

After Exxon’s comments are made, the government is supposed to instruct Markit to submit a final report.

INT’L MEN’S DAY CELEBRATION… DEMERARA HARBOUR BRIDGE BOSS USED $900K COMPANY FUNDS TO GIFT HIMSELF BRACELET – AUDIT REPORT REVEALS General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), Rawlston Adams, honoured himself in a rather unique fashion for International Men’s Day 2019 with a bracelet worth a whopping $897,000 using funds from the company.

That discovery only came to light after the special team recently appointed by Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, to investigate an alleged racket at the Garden of Eden Asphalt Plant did a little digging.

Wednesday, at the handing over ceremony of the report containing the findings, head of the team, Chateram Ramdihal, shared some details.

He stated, “We found that the Harbour Bridge went about buying gifts for their staff during International

Men’s Day November of 2019. It was the Board’s request that any gifts purchased must be approved by the Board.”

However, those purchases were not given a stamp of approval by the Board.

Ramdihal added that, “We came across an alarming gift to the value of $897,000, a bracelet that was purchased for the General Manager and approved by the General Manager.”

He explained that in normal circumstances, approval for such a large purchase comes directly from the Board. If no Board is present, the matter is escalated to the Public Infrastructure Minister who was David Patterson at the time.

But Adams apparently bypassed all these levels and presented himself with the high-priced gift.

Gifts were also said to have been purchased for other members of staff to commemorate the day but no details were given to outline what those were and the costs.

Kaieteur News attempted to make contact with Adams for a comment on the issue, however, his phone was turned off.

Adams was, nevertheless, quoted in other sections of the media as saying that the Harbour Bridge Board will later issue a statement providing an explanation for the $897,000 purchase.

SNR. COP MOVES TO COURT OVER ‘UNFAIR’ PRACTICES IN YEAR-END POLICE PROMOTIONS Senior Superintendent of Police, Calvin Brutus, has moved to the High Court in a bid to block promotions for senior members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) until the decision not to promote him is recanted. Brutus’ case is among a series of lawsuits filed in the High Court by

Sunday January 03, 2021

police officers to block the promotions.

The court cases follow a recent row by top ranking officers of the GPF over promotions.

Earlier this month, seven senior police ranks wrote to the Police Service Commission (PSC) through their attorney, C. V. Satram, demanding all promotions be halted until outstanding disciplinary matters they are involved in, are concluded.

The ranks all hold senior positions and have matters that go as far back as 2016.

That request was formed on the basis that the PSC is allegedly using the pending matters the ranks are involved in as a direct means to stifle their promotions.

As such, in the Fixed Date Application (FDA) set to be heard by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire at 10:00 hours today, Brutus outlined what he calls an irrational and unlawful practice of the PSC in the deliberation of its annual year-end promotions.

According to FDA filed by his attorney, Brutus contends, among other things, that the practice of the Commission not to promote police officers with pending disciplinary complaints regardless of the nature or seriousness of such complaints perpetuates a permanent injustice against him and others who are scheduled for promotions.

He is therefore seeking several declarations from the Court, including a declaration that the policy of the PSC not to promote, or consider for promotion, ranks with pending disciplinary matters before it, is unlawful; a declaration that he is entitled to be promoted to the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police; and an order of Certiorari quashing, nullifying and/or cancelling the decision of the PSC denying his appointment to the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Additionally, the officer

wants the Court to give several orders, including an order of Certiorari quashing, nullifying and/or cancelling the decision of the PSC to promote Edmond Cooper, Philip Azore and Kurleigh Simon, Senior Superintendents of Police to the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police; an order of Mandamus compelling the Commission to reconsider its decision not to promote him in accordance with law and in accordance with his legitimate expectation; a declaration that he was entitled to be heard in accordance with the principles of natural justice prior to the decision taken by the Commission denying his promotion to the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police; and a declaration that he is entitled to be heard in person on any reconsideration of the matter; a declaration that the Commission contravened his fundamental right to equality and equal protection of the law guaranteed by Article 149 D of the Constitution of Guyana; a declaration that the policy of the Commission not to promote or consider for promotion ranks with disciplinary matters is irrational and unlawful; and consequential order pursuant to Article 153 of the Constitution directing the Commission to appoint him in the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police.

In supporting documents for his application, Superintendent Brutus explained that recommendations for promotion made in respect of him and Fazil Karim Baksh, Senior Superintendent of Police and head of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) have been ignored by the Commission in its decision to appoint officers to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.

He said that it has been the practice of the (Continued on page 23)

Sunday January 03, 2021

From page 22 Commission not to promote police officers with pending disciplinary complaints regardless of the nature or seriousness of such complaints.

“Trivial and unsubstantiated complaints have been accorded the same weight as grave or serious allegations of indiscipline in denying promotion to those against whom disciplinary complaints have been lodged which the Commission,” Brutus said in the claim, noting that he was appointed to the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police in 2015.

He explained that it was in October 2019, that it was alleged by the Deputy Commissioner – Administration, that he committed a breach of discipline. The Commission appointed Assistant Commissioner Andries-Junor to investigate the allegation.

A breach of discipline notice was not served upon Brutus until October 2020.

However, he said that the investigation has not progressed beyond the issuance of the breach of discipline notice.

The officer explained further that in keeping with its practice, the Commission purportedly refused and/or failed to consider and/or denied him for promotion to the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police relying on the said allegation of indiscipline. This, he says, is a frivolous allegation and he knows of no other reason why he was denied the promotion he was recommended for.

CARICOM URGED TO RELY ON COVID MEASURES, AS RICH NATIONS HOARD VACCINES The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)’s outgoing Chair and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, has urged that the region rely on the safety measures it has implemented to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, while it prioritizes acquiring resources needed to obtain more vaccines. His advice comes as human rights organizations are sounding the alarm on access to COVID-19 vaccines being skewered in favour of the global North.

Dr. Mohga Kamal Yanni, from the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a confederation of global human rights organizations, said a few weeks ago: “Rich countries have enough doses to

vaccinate everyone nearly three times over, whilst poor countries don’t have enough to even reach health workers and people at risk.”

Dr. Gonsalves, whose time as CARICOM Chair is slated to end today, noted that the region is looking to receive its share of the vaccine through the COVAX facility – a programme launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission and France in response to the pandemic. It is meant to provide equitable access to COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. The programme is meant, among other things, to be a lifeline for some poor nations. It will help those countries to find access to concessional financing.

Guyana is one of the countries looking to access vaccines through the facility, and will have to wait months for its quota.

“We look forward to receiving our share through the COVAX Facility…” Dr. Gonsalves said. “However, the quota for our Region will only cover 15 percent of the population. We therefore cannot let our guard down.

We must maintain the discipline to ward off the worst effects of the virus.”

He took the opportunity to contend that the basis on which the COVAX facility determines which countries access the vaccines via concessional funding should be amended. Currently, the St. Vincent PM said that the financing instrument for the COVAX facility is utilizing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as the basis on which to determine which countries access the vaccines.

He said, “The Community is advocating strongly for the development and use of a Universal Vulnerability Index as the main criterion to determine access to such funding.”

“The overall economies of our countries have been hard hit, particularly those directly and indirectly dependent on the tourism, travel and entertainment sectors. The global spread of COVID-19 was propelled by travel, and the curtailment of that activity has acutely affected the Caribbean, which is the world’s most tourism and travel dependent Region.”

While poor countries wait for vaccines, the People’s Vaccine Alliance is calling on vaccine producers to share technology through the World Health Organization COVID-19 Technology Access Pool so that more vaccines can be rapidly

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developed for the benefit of more people.

Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Winnie Byanyima, noted in a statement earlier this month that rich nations, representing 14 percent of the world’s population, have bought up 53 percent of all the most promising vaccines.

She said that the treatments have to be available to all, and that that can be helped once pharmaceutical corporations relax their monopolies on medicines, by sharing their knowledge.

“As we learnt from the HIV crisis,” she said, “this monopoly costs many lives.

If history has taught us anything, it is that pharmaceutical corporations create and protect monopolies to maximize profits as a goal higher than improving public health.”

Byanyima said that the world’s best chance of beating COVID-19 is ensuring that everyone is safe, and that if serious action is not taken, the current response to COVID-19 will only reinforce and lay bare global inequalities.

She said, “We must have a #Peoples Vaccine, not a profit vaccine.”

FRIDAY GAS-TO-SHORE PROJECT, A RECIPE FOR BANKRUPTCY – US FINANCIAL EXPERT Considering Guyana’s poor power generation capacity and infrastructural systems, almost all of the nation’s leaders have thrown their support behind ExxonMobil laying the ground work to bring gas to shore.

But industry experts are of the firm conviction that such a venture could prove financially detrimental to Guyana, especially when one considers the nation’s weak capacity to negotiate fair deals for the country.

Making this point in particular was Tom Sanzillo, Director of financial analysis at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

He was part of a panel that included international lawyer, Melinda Janki; Chatham House Associate Fellow, Dr. Valerie Marcel and former minister, Mr. David Patterson.

These industry stakeholders participated in the end-of-year discussion on Kaieteur Radio’s programme, Guyana’s Oil and You. During the discussions on

Guyana’s proclivity to bring gas to shore in a mere four years, Sanzillo said he can certainly appreciate the nation’s desires to respond to the rising demand for electricity as well as to find a solution to the issue of power outages and high electricity costs.

He stressed, however, that the manner in which Guyana went about negotiating a lopsided deal for oil provides no evidence that it can confidently do otherwise for bringing gas to shore.

The financial expert said, “…I have to be frank about this, the way the contracts were negotiated for this oil endeavour gives me no confidence that the country has any ability to negotiate the best price for a pipeline and other infrastructure to bring gas to shore…There is no evidence of that. In fact, one has evidence to the contrary.”

Sanzillo also pointed to the alarming fact that the citizenry is still to know whether there was a cost comparison between where renewable markets are and the proposed gas project for in Guyana.

In addition to this, he said that based on his observations of how Guyana’s leaders intend to pursue the gas to shore project spells out “a recipe for financial bankruptcy for Guyana.”

In this regard, Sanzillo recalled that the leaders have intentions of having ExxonMobil build a pipeline that would allow for the project to be brought to shore.

Guyana would not be paying for the gas but it would have to pay ExxonMobil the cost for transporting the resource.

By subjecting itself to such an arrangement, Sanzillo said that Guyana is in simple terms, taking the little oil money it would make and investing it in another fossil fuel project that would leave the country saddled with more debt.

He said that Guyana is not only accepting a lopsided deal with the Stabroek block but it is now moving to invest in a project that will

handsomely support the interests of oil companies and their bankers. This he alluded is not just backward, but a dangerous precipice for Guyana to be hanging from.

HARBOUR BRIDGE PAYS TT COMPANY $9M ONE YEAR BEFORE COMPANY REGISTERED The state-owned asphalt plant located at Garden of Eden reportedly paid a Trinidad-based company $9 million for the supply of cold mix asphalt in 2016, roughly a year before the company was legally registered. Same was revealed during an audit of the asphalt Plant after allegations of a racket involving the purchase of asphalt at the state-run entity controlled by the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB).

The cold mix asphalt refers to the asphalt mixture blended by unheated aggregate, mineral filler and dilute asphalt. The cold asphalt mixture is a high-tech road repair material, suitable for repairing different types of road surfaces under any environment, such as asphalt concrete road, parking lot, airport runway and bridges expansion joint.

The report outlined that the cold mix was purchased from a company in Trinidad and Tobago that was registered in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2016, the same year when the cold mix was purchased.

“We noted at the time of purchase, the supplier of the cold mix was not a known seller of the product. Our analysis of the general ledger revealed that the company was paid the sum of $9,814,600 on the 17th November, 2015, the year before it was incorporated,” the reported stated.

“Management advanced the Plant’s fund to a company that was legally non-existent and as such, exposed the Plant to the risk of nonrecourse in the event of nondelivery,” it added.

Several discrepancies were also discovered relating to the purchase of the cold mix. The report stated that there was no approval given by the Board to authorize the

purchase. There was also no feasibility study conducted to determine whether it was beneficial to procure and sell cold mix. In fact, the report pointed out that from analysis, the cost of procuring cold mix is “approximately eleven (11) times that of Asphalt.”

The audit revealed that management did not abide by the policy of the plant as decisions of this nature should have been approved by the Board. In the event that a Board was not in place, approval would have had to be given by the subject Minister at that time.

The investigating team also reported that they were unable to determine the rationale behind acquiring cold mix from a new company rather than an established supplier.

In response to the finding, the DHB management explained that the decision of entering the sale of cold mix was done after consultation and deliberation with Public Infrastructure Ministry management.

It stated that the usage of cold mix was not to replace asphalt but as an option for the early intervention of Ministry road maintenance (all weather) and far outlying areas.

Management was also said to have submitted a news article purportedly containing details of a feasibility study being conducted but according to the team, “no documentation was found in that regard.”

“Please see Stabroek News article dated 28th November, 2015 with respect to feasibility on cold mix. Also please see attachment, pictures of the cold mix seminar dated 25th November, 2015 at the Pegasus Hotel showing a Ministry of Public Infrastructure minister, a Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation Vice Chairman and Ministry of Public Infrastructure senior personnel in attendance, among others,” the DHB management stated.

The team pointed out too that, there was merely a seminar to disseminate information on cold mix and as such, it could not be considered a “feasibility study”.

Further on, the DHB management noted too that it was unaware of the incorporation details of the company but this did not lead to a loss of revenue.

“Please note that CJIA, Sol Guyana Inc., Ministry of Public Works (hinterland Airport – Mr. Mangra) (Continued on page 24)

PAGE 24

From page 23 continues to be customer,” it said.

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

our The Liza Destiny (Credit shipspotting.com)

OIL CONTRACT WORDING APPEARS TO GIVE EXXON SOVEREIGNTY OVER GUYANA – VP Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo takes issue with the fact that some of the wording of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) creates the impression that ExxonMobil and its co-contractors have sovereignty over Guyana.

“I do have problems with making it seem as though Exxon has sovereignty within a sovereign nation. I do have problems with that kind of configuration,” the VP said, “and some parts, wording of the contract confers or creates that impression that they have sovereignty over the country.”

At the time of making this statement, Dr. Jagdeo was engaged in an exchange with Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall on the Kaieteur Radio Show, Guyana’s Oil & You, hosted by Senior Journalist, Kiana Wilburg.

Lall questioned Dr. Jagdeo about the limitations the oil contract places on Guyana’s right to inspect Exxon’s operations and audit the oil companies’ books. The terms of the contract require advanced notices, which have been widely criticised as being lengthy and restrictive.

Dr. Jagdeo said it is only reasonable that companies be notified of intent to audit or inspect. He said any business would expect the authority to notify it. However, “I have issues with the long-term notice, because we are a sovereign country and companies that operate here must comply with our law,” the VP said. “And if our system says that we are doing an audit, you have to comply with the audit. That is the law of Guyana.”

Under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that ExxonMobil signed with the Government, the Government through the Minister with responsibility for petroleum has the right to audit the company’s books.

However, that right was granted along with some restricting measures – one audit per year, with three months written notice of intention to audit.

These measures are outlined in Article 23 and Annex C of the contract.

Article 23 is limited and defers to annex C of the contract.

Annex C goes more in detail of the accounting and auditing measures. Annex C

has an “Audit and Inspection Rights of Government” clause.

That clause states that the Minister “shall have the right to audit upon ninety (90) days written notice, at his sole cost and expense, accounts and records of the Contractor, maintained hereunder with respect to each Calendar Year within two years from the end of each such year.”` The contract states that the Minister may audit, examine and verify, “at reasonable times during normal business hours but not more than once per Calendar Year, all charges and credits relating to the Contractor’s activities under the Agreement and all books of accounts, accounting entries, material records and inventories, vouchers, payrolls, invoices and any other documents, correspondence and records necessary to audit and verify the charges and credits.”

During the annual audit, the Minister has the option to review items previously subjected to audit in earlier years. According to the PSA, that the former administration signed, Guyana must give ExxonMobil seven days’ notice before his visit, and must carry out the visit at its own expense.

This is enshrined in Article 9 of the contract, which speaks to records, reports and information.

Article 9 (e), for example, states: “The Minister, through duly appointed representatives, upon providing the contractor with at least seven days’ notice, shall be entitled to observe the petroleum operations conducted by the contractor at his sole cost and expense and at all reasonable times to inspect all assets, records and data kept by the Contractor

relating to such petroleum operations. In the exercise of such rights under this paragraph, the Minister shall not unduly interfere with the Contractor ’s petroleum operations under this agreement.”

In January 2020, former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams reported that the EPA would include a provision in the environmental permits granted to the companies, which allows officials to visit the company’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels without prior notice. He had said that Guyana does not have the resources to fully utilise this provision, but that that would not be a permanent situation.

Another contentious provision, which has received criticism, is the Stability Clause of the oil contract – Article 32. Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram had said in 2018 that one gets the distinct impression that ExxonMobil went above and beyond to strangle Guyana’s Parliament and future governments with the use of the rigid stability clause.

It states that, “Except as may be expressly provided herein, the government shall not amend, modify, rescind, terminate, declare invalid or unenforceable, require renegotiation of, compel replacement or substitution or otherwise seek to avoid alter, or limit this agreement without the prior written consent of the contractor.”

The anticorruption advocate had said that the PSA only serves the interest of Exxon Mobil as it limits the role of the government in applying new laws made in the petroleum sector. Ram revealed that if Guyana were

to amend any of its laws, which would affect the entity’s operations, the Government would have to restore the benefits so lost.

The contract reads, “After the signing of this agreement and its conformance with Article 15, the Government shall not increase the economic burdens of the contractor under this agreement by applying to this agreement or the operations conducted hereunder any increase of, or any new petroleum related fiscal obligation, including but not limited to any new taxes whatsoever, any new royalty, duties, fees, charges, VAT or other imposts.”

Also, the contract states that if at any time after the signing of this agreement, there is a change in the Laws of Guyana whether through the amendment of existing laws or the enactment of new laws or a change having the force of law in the interpretation implementation of application, ExxonMobil must not be affected.

Guyana agreed that despite whatever may change, ExxonMobil must receive the “same economic benefit under the agreement that it would have received prior to the change in law.”

The contract compels Guyana to resolve “promptly” and by “whatever means may be necessary” any conflict or anomaly between this agreement and any such new or amended legislation including by way of exemption, legislation, decrees and or other authoritative acts.

Ram noted that the Stability Clause provides, inter alia, “that any delay by the government to respond to any notification from the contractor that they may have suffered any adverse effects

can result in the contractor taking the matter to arbitration.”

The Chartered Accountant added, “In such a case, the arbitral tribunal is authorised to modify the agreement to re-establish the economic benefits under the Agreement to the Contractor.

Where such restoration is not possible, the tribunal has the power to award damages to the Contractor that fully compensates for the loss of economic benefits under the Agreement, both for past as well as future losses.”

ASPHALT SOLD AT GARDEN OF EDEN PLANT GOES 10 MILES TO BE WEIGHED –AUDIT – DESPITE SCALE RIGHT NEXT DOOR Kaieteur News – The special team investigating an alleged racket at the stateowned asphalt plant at Garden of Eden made several damning discoveries following the conclusion of their audit. One such find was that asphalt from the plant was being transported to the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) to be weighed, albeit the fact that there is a functional scale located right next door. The DHB Corporation manages the plant.

“We noted that for large trucks, the weighing of the asphalt is done at the Demerara Harbour Bridge, which is located approximately ten (10) miles away from the Plant, instead of paying for it to be weighed at a scale located next door for approximately three thousand Guyana Dollars (G$3,000),” the reported cited.

That system of weighing the asphalt miles away, the team outlined, can give rise to several implications, mainly the loss of income, as customers are allowed to take away any excess, for which no obligation to pay was established. Added to that, the option chosen requires an employee to accompany the truck using the plant’s vehicle and a driver.

Furthermore, another main risk is the possibility that the truck could make stops along the way and remove asphalt before it is weighed. In response, the plant’s management stated that it had already published in the newspapers, invitation to tender for acquisition of a 60MT scale. That decision for acquisition was said to have been in discussion as far back as 2017. However, no explanations were given to why the company opted to weigh the asphalt miles away from the plant. The team recommended that the plant’s

management consider acquiring its own scale to facilitate the weighing of asphalt in large trucks along with considering the decision to use the scale next door.

Background The audit into the asphalt plant commenced shortly after Kaieteur News published allegations of a large scale racket on-going at the facility.

Well-placed sources told this paper that contractors working on government projects were up to recently mandated to take their asphalt from the Garden of Eden plant. Kaieteur News was also told by a number of persons that contractors would get asphalt at huge discounts under a scam that stretched all the way to the Public Infrastructure Ministry.

“What happened is that there is a special department in the ministry that conducts road repairs and other maintenance works. They would order a certain amount from the plant to be billed to the ministry. They, however, collect less. The difference is what is sold at discount to contractors,” the source stated.

It was explained that contractors would come in a few days later and pay about half price for the asphalt.

“This has a lot of impact.

It means that a contractor is buying raw materials cheap, below cost, and can effectively compete with other contractors,” persons with knowledge of the scam said.

The asphalt plant is being operated by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) which meant that the state would have lost tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

In fact, operators of privately-run asphalt plants have been complaining of little or no business.

“What they do is force contractors to buy from Garden of Eden,” one contractor had told this paper.

“In fact, contractors all the way from Berbice were asked to travel all the way to East Bank Demerara, when there are asphalt plants in operation in Berbice.”

It was explained that the only way this made financial sense is if the contractors were getting discounts.

“There is a simple way to check how it is happening.

There needs to be a special audit. Everybody knows it takes a certain amount of bitumen to make so much asphalt. An audit of what the department of the ministry was doing will clearly show something is wrong,” the contractor had recommended.

Sunday January 03, 2021

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Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

My best column the past five years “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul r e m a i n s unawakened.”(Anatole France) All columnists and interviewers have their number one piece; the one they consider their best. My choice that was my best effort in the past five years was done in 2016. It was a moment of piercing and lacerating emotions because of the subject matter.

It was at that time that I was no longer prepared to tolerate the APNU+AFC running my country. It was at that time, I discovered that David Granger as president was unfit to be president and was in fact on the top of a pyramid of a philistine regime. It was a time too that I discovered that the Guyanese people were unfit to be part of a universal and civilized society.

Before I come to that, let me return to an incident that I have touched on several times. I thought that was the particular issue that caused me to decide that the post 2015 dispensation was decayed beyond rotting and should be removed from power. The anger in me because of that particular situation generated in me a desire to change the 2015 government of the PNC, AFC and WPA who combined their depravity and degeneracy in a deadly cocktail of sick power intoxication and volcanic immorality.

I will briefly describe it because I have been through it so many times on this page.

A day after the 2015 election results, the AFC leadership gathered in their head office to pick personalities to fill their slots of Cabinet posts.

They called a woman on the phone, who was not an AFC member, not an AFC campaigner, not an AFC activist, not an AFC office visitor, not an AFC financier, and offered her the Ministry of the Environment. It caused a psychic laceration in the second-tier leadership of the AFC, some of whom spoke to me with tears in their eyes one day over lunch at Le Excellence restaurant on Charlotte Street in Lacytown.

I thought that was the defining moment for me as to how I saw the post-2015 dispensation until an incident at the Ogle Airport. Here is my choice of the column that I would consider numero uno the past five years. It was published on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 titled, “The puppies were killed because Mr. Gomes did not keep his promise.”

I hope you can find it on the internet. You should be able to, if not call me on my cell phone at 614-5927 or contact me at my email address fredkissoon@yahoo.com and I will respond by attaching the original copy in my file. I am not going to discuss the contents of that commentary because space would not allow

for it. But here is a brief description.

The Guyana Livestock and Development Authority (GLDA) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) were killing puppies and dogs when they arrived at the airport from the interior with their owners. The GLDA and GRA insisted that the owners must state which of the 10 Regions the puppies came from or which country. Failure to provide documentation resulted in the animals being killed through lethal injection.

I will never ever forget that Saturday night in the office of Kaieteur News. A gold miner came in with his two assistants and told us that he just saved his dog from execution because GLDA and GRA were insisting that unless he brings some evidence of the dog being a Guyanese pet it will be put to death.

There and then he chartered a flight to the interior and brought the mother of the puppy for officials of GLDA and GRA to see.

The miner could have afforded it but what happened to the pets whose owners couldn’t afford the flight back to the interior? This story was carried in the Kaieteur News of Monday, November 28, 2016. Even after Kaieteur News carried the story, the killings continued. So disgusted with this bestiality of the GLDA, GRA and the APNU+AFC government, the state-owned Chronicle fea-

tured the story with photographs of the killed puppies.

Shocking to know that there was no outcry from the nation. There was no intervention from people in the government, some of whom said that when they wake up in the morning they listen to a bit of classical music. I guess you can describe someone as “a philistine that lis-

tens to classical music.” I believe the head of the GRA, Mr. Godfrey Statia, is an American citizen and would know that you can’t dare kill animals in that fashion at any airport in the US. Ironically, it was the veterinary doctors that did the killings.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessar-

Frederick Kissoon ily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 27

>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS <<<

National potential with less talking and more delivering, no harrowing road accidents or domestic deaths

By GHK Lall

I

am encouraged as I read of the many expectations of my fellow Guyanese for 2021. Because the editorials, letter columns, even a newspaper article or two, all had much to say about the many things that happened last year - a very troubling one, at times - there is little that I want to add to the cascade.

Since it was a demanding 2020 for me, the less shared about that illfated year, the better I can look ahead. The New Year has all the potential to be a different kind of year, one never seen or experienced here before.

I am thrilled by the national

potential, which can start a new journey and make whatever lies ahead prospering and pleasing for all Guyanese. But, only if handled right by those at the helm, who must deliver on their responsibilities, to the peoples of this nation.

The key is that it must be all the peoples. If I sound overly guarded, then that's on the money, for I am. But already I am detecting signs that disturb, which involves our leaders, both on the government's side and that of the opposition's.

Let there be no mistake: all the right tones, right words, and right postures are on display. The top people on both sides of the usually rancid political divide, not noted for being gifted speakers or writers, are bending over backwards to not offend.

To not offend the Americans. To not offend Exxon.

To not offend one another in what I

call skillfully choreographed verbal dances.

Incidentally, if Guyanese political leaders have to make a hard choice between agitations, the varied foreigners from the north versus disappointing locals yet again, then that one is a no brainer, and will be done. Let the chips fall.

And some chips have already begun to do.

We are full of chatter about transparency, but fail to deliver on sensitive things.

Like mining contracts documents. Like what is in the Payara review report. Like that there be clear and solid movement (Argentine experts) relative to how far they may be able to go beneath the grisly killings in Cotton Tree, and what could be embedded in a much-anticipated report.

That is, if a bona fide investigation ever gets off the ground and to a full conclusion. I was encouraged to hear a while back during the post murder throes

and frenzies that it would happen.

Now I have some doubts, as to how meaningful it would be, and whether we set the stage for more cross narratives, political legends, and the whole kit and kaboodle that keeps us divided and at each other's throats.

If we (our leaders) keep talking and then balk at sharing information with the Guyanese public, we might as well occupy mouths and minds on those matters that we can actually present something that is comprehensive and honest.

One more thing that I was encouraged about came from a gathering of leading Guyanese political presences, a statement attributed to the President and Leader of the Opposition.

It was of the need for all to be involved in Guyana's development.

That is a restatement of the obvious, for if all are not, then we set ourselves for more of the endless squabbling and more

failures. To the two gentlemen I say this: do something.

Stop talking. We have had enough of that to last many generations to come.

Now, I move over to the more routine in Guyanese life. I opened the newspapers hesitantly on New Year's morning and breathed a sigh of relief.

Unless I missed it, there was not a single incident of our usual shocking domestic violence nor was there any traffic accident, especially those fuelled by alcohol, which unleashes speeding. There was no paper on January 2, so I trust that there would be no unpleasant surprises in either area, on Sunday morning.

Last, I extend wishes to all citizens in hoping that 2021 will be a far better year. Compared to 2020, how can it not be?

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

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Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 29

Our Frontline Worker of the Week is…

Dr. Malinee Singh

By Romario Blair

W

ith just a few d a y s remaining for 2020, most of us can do nothing but reflect on the challenges this year has spewed upon us, while at the same time optimistically awaiting the promises of 2021. The COVID-19 Pandemic has without a doubt been the most dreaded challenge, and is no doubt responsible for many broken hearts around the world this time of the year.

In Guyana, we recognize that without our frontline workers, the spread of COVID-19 could've been much more devastating. Dr. Malinee Singh, who is presently attached to the Suddie Public Hospital on the Essequibo Coast, has dedicated much of her time t h r o u g h o u t t h i s y e a r, towards the fight against COVID-19.

Dr. Singh, who has been in the profession for some seven years, is presently attached to the hospital's isolation area. She is also tasked with responsibilities in the Quarantine and Medical wards.

This 32-year-old professional went on to describe her 'pre-COVID19' routine, saying, “Most of the time I assist with the chronic disease patients… so basically we see patients with chronic diseases like diabetic and hypertensive cases and we manage them at the ward.”

Singh explained that that routine changed last March when Guyana recorded its first COVID-19 death.

“Since COVID-19 though, I've had to devote a portion of my daily routine to the isolation and wait quarantine areas.”

Doctor Malinee Singh, who is also a young mother, told Kaieteur News that her love for her profession compelled her to volunteer on the frontline. “I really like what I do and I enjoy working with my patients…

I believe that there should be no stigma attached to working with patients who have COVID-19. They should be treated fairly.”

Doctor Singh went on to say, “my duty is to serve humanity equally because my reasoning is that one of those patients could be your

“

The year 2020 has taught me a lot; in terms of my career it has really strengthened our relationship in terms of team work. Our colleagues have become more like family… of course, from time to time we can get very emotional when dealing with patients on the frontline, but when we encourage and uplift each other, we develop an even stronger and unbreakable bond.

relative. When we assist those patients, we assist those families as well, so sometimes you have to put yourself in those person's positions and feel how they feel. So I enjoy working with those patients.”

Dr. Singh grew up in the Community of Adventure, which is a small and quiet

”

village located just within a mile of Suddie. She attended the Suddie Primary School, before moving on to President's College. In 2005, she graduated from President's College with 10 CXC subjects.

She said that her parents, Lakiraj and Leeawattie Singh, insisted that she

Singh with her husband and their three-year-old son

spend some time at home, following her graduation.

“My parents didn't want me to peruse anything and I spent a year at home. During that year I applied for a scholarship to go to Cuba,” Dr. Singh related.

She said that her interest in the medical field was sparked by her grandmother.

“Since I was a little girl I always wanted to become a doctor because when I had my grandmother around she said she will like her granddaughter to become a doctor… and I'm happy that I went with the idea because I had an opportunity to help her at the diabetic clinic,” said Dr. Singh.

Like most doctors who travelled abroad, adapting to the customs of a foreign nation, can be quite

A dedicated frontline worker: Dr. Malinee Singh challenging. Dr. Singh said that the language barrier was quite frustrating at times, since she had no foundation in Spanish.

“When I applied, I got a reply within three months and I was off to Cuba. My experience was unique but one of our major difficulties was adapting. It took some time for me to adapt because the language was a challenge. Nevertheless within the seven years I was over in Cuba, I managed to pull through smoothly,” said Dr. Singh.

The eldest of four siblings, she revealed that her family was tremendously supportive during her endeavor abroad. “My parents always tried to give my siblings and I the best education.

So at the time when I explained that I was gonna study abroad, they tried to

support me... they were like if I choose that they support me and I'm grateful for that.”

Dr. Singh returned from Cuba in 2013, and has since been assigned to the Suddie Public Hospital. She has a family of her own with her husband, Kawan Suchit, and their three-year-old baby boy, Kelvin. Dr. Singh said that finding the time to balance her family life with her professional life can at times be hard. “I have a challenge where I don't get to spend as much time with my family as I want to and with the pandemic it's increasingly difficult, just trying to balance work and family life.”

Dr. Singh said that as she reflects on 2020, there is still a measure of positivity that can be taken away. She went on to explain that while the year was indeed a hectic one, (continued on page 44) Committed to annihilating COVID-19

Family support is needed

Kaieteur News

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g ts in s... re ture e t In rea C

Sunday January 03, 2021

Emu

(Dromaius novaehollandiae)

T

h e e m u (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius.

The bird is sufficiently common for it to be rated as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in height.

Emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.

Females are usually slightly larger than males and are substantially wider across the rump.

They can travel great distances, and when necessary can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph); they forage for a variety of plants and

insects, but have been known to go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently, but take in copious amounts of water when the opportunity arises.

Breeding takes place in May and June, and fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and lay several clutches of eggs in one season. The male does the incubation; during this process he hardly eats or drinks and loses a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after around eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers.

They reach full size after around six months, but can remain as a family unit until the next breeding season.

The emu is an important cultural icon of Australia, appearing on the coat of arms and various coins. The bird features prominently in Indigenous Australian mythology.

Although flightless, emus have vestigial wings, the wing chord measuring

around 20 cm (8 in), and each wing having a small claw at the tip. Emus flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilising themselves when moving fast.

They have long necks and legs, and can run at speeds of 48 km/h (30 mph) due to their highly specialised pelvic limb musculature. Their feet have only three toes and a similarly reduced number of bones and associated foot muscles; emus are the only birds with gastrocnemius muscles in the back of the lower legs.

The pelvic limb muscles of emus contribute a similar proportion of the total body mass as do the flight muscles of flying birds.

When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Its legs are devoid of feathers and underneath its feet are thick, cushioned pads.

Like the cassowary, the emu has sharp claws on its

toes which are its major defensive attribute, and are used in combat to inflict wounds on opponents by kicking. The toe and claw total 15 cm (6 in) in length.

The bill is quite small, measuring 5.6 to 6.7 cm (2.2 to 2.6 in), and is soft, being adapted for grazing. Emus

have good eyesight and hearing, which allows them to detect threats at some distance.

The neck of the emu is pale blue and shows through its sparse feathers. They have grey-brown plumage of shaggy appearance; the shafts and the tips of the

feathers are black. Solar radiation is absorbed by the tips, and the inner plumage insulates the skin.

This prevents the birds from overheating, allowing them to be active during the heat of the day. A unique feature of the emu feather is the double rachis emerging from a single shaft. Both of the rachis have the same length, and the texture is variable; the area near the skin is rather furry, but the more distant ends resemble grass.

The sexes are similar in appearance, although the male's penis can become visible when he urinates and defecates. The plumage varies in colour due to environmental factors, giving the bird a natural camouflage. Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months and is blackish finely barred with brown, with the head and neck being especially dark.

The eyes of an emu are protected by nictitating membranes. These are translucent, secondary eyelids that move horizontally from the inside edge of the eye to the outside edge. They function as visors to protect the eyes from the dust that is prevalent in windy arid regions.

Emus have a tracheal pouch, which becomes more prominent during the mating season. At more than 30 cm (12 in) in length, it is quite spacious; it has a thin wall, and an opening just eight centimetres (3 in) long.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

THE

PAGE 32

Sunday January 03, 2021

STORY WITHIN THE

Stop complaining; do something!

By Leonard Gildarie

W

ell, well, well!

Did we really m a k e i t through 2020? It was a year where elections, COVID-19, migrants situation, racism (yes, you read it right), schooling (or lack of), and the Ponzi schemes dominated the news.

Fortunately, there is a silver lining. We will not dwell too much on what transpired. It is all known, all written about and experienced by our people. A brand new year has dawned.

The year 2020 should not be chalked down as that bad.

As a country, we did far better than many across the globe. We can chalk up some of the good news to oil and gas.

I would acknowledge that the gamble by the Irfaan Ali government to reopen the airports and relax travel restrictions, locally and internationally, as well as allowing businesses to reopen in a somewhat reduced manner, have been paying dividends.

As the year ended, there are some positive signs for this country for the new one.

Tomorrow, all offices of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) will be opened to the public. This will spell good news for tens of thousands of Guyanese who have been struggling with the partial closures of the NIS offices across the country. For many, it spelled delays and frustrations. The delays in claims have especially been hard on the vulnerable of society who struggle to eke out a living daily and depend on quick processing for the pittance that comes.

I listened to the New Year message of President Irfaan Ali. He managed to strike a number of good chords.

The president acknowledged that Guyana cannot hope to progress in peace and improve their economic status as long as this country remains divided.

I have said it before and will repeat. We are losing valuable time by attempting to score cheap political points. Former president, David Granger, made a dreadful mistake by

declining the invitation to meet with former presidents and President Ali, in a forum that targeted solutions to the country's major issues.

I s s u e s l i k e s e c u r i t y, economy, COVID-19 and of course, in my view, a number of legislative reforms, should have been discussed there.

As it was, the former president said he wanted more details of the agenda of the meeting.

These things are easy to find out. Someone can pick up the phone and find out.

Ask for a letter from the Office of the President, etc.

A golden opportunity was lost for Granger to cement his legacy as a statesman.

The international arena is watching Guyana closely.

Divided we are. We can find very few things to agree on.

Fortunately, the Venezuela border controversy was something that all and sundry agreed will be tackled collectively.

The new government has retained former Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, a smart and strategic move. He is knowledgeable and articulate and versed on the border matter.

The recent victory at the International Court of Justice, the judicial arm of the United Nations, ended 2020 on a high note for Guyana despite Venezuela grumbling it will not recognize the final decision, due in a few years' time.

President Ali's message noted that he is focused on governing for all and that all Guyana must shine.

I doubt that it is all political rhetoric.

The ruling party knows full well we have an unpredictable young voting population. They are not easily swayed by empty promises. Jobs, housing, tax cuts, and education opportunities are all big ticket items that have to feature in an Ali presidency.

President Ali will know he has a maximum of two terms to deliver. He has to be re-elected first in five years' time.

He is young. His legacy will be important. He has bolted out of the gates and his ministers have to deliver.

Leonard Gildarie I like it that they are engaging and working as if the election is around the corner.

According to Ali in his New Year message, his administration is working on bringing the COVID-19 vaccine to our people.

There will have to be an education process. People will be suspicious of any vaccine.

The New Year will still see COVID-19 staring us in the face. It will take resources and sustained efforts and commitment to the new norm of living with masks, sanitizers and social distancing.

There is some other good news.

Phase One of the $25,000 cash grant for COVID-19 which is in Region Four will wrap up shortly.

Thousands of persons, who were renting, were not at home and living in homes with multiple families will be targeted in Phase Two which will start shortly, the President says.

It will be welcomed as there was some unease with a large bloc of citizens being left out in the distribution process.

This Christmas saw businesses reporting their best performance in five years, Ali said.

His message of a united Guyana will come as unhappiness over the ExxonMobil deal in the Stabroek block continues to grow.

This year will be critical for a number of reasons.

Several large scale infrastructural works are expected to begin. These should include a new Demerara River bridge; the alternative East Bank roadway that will link with Ogle, and a number of internationally branded hotels. A number of the hotels are planned for around the Timehri airport area.

A s w e s p e a k , ExxonMobil is drilling a number of wells in the adjoining blocks to Stabroek.

If these wells prove successful, there will be (continued on page 44)

Sunday January 03, 2021

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Sunday January 03, 2021

Junior page Salt painting - Jellyfish Doing better in the New Year It is now a brand new year, And I think this tells me something – That I should try to start again, And do better in everything.

I need to improve in all my work, Whether at home or school, Try to be right in all I do, And with everyone act nice and cool.

But what I think is most important, Even more than work and play, So that God will always help me, I must find more time to pray.

' Elmers Washable School Glue– o Washable, no-run glue that is easy to use and stays where you put it. o Card Stock Paper – We used a light blue color but any color will work fine. o Paint Brush or Pipettes o Liquid Watercolors or Food Coloring mixed with water o Salt DIRECTIONS: 1. First you’ll squeeze your glue designs onto your card stock paper. We opted for jellyfish because it’s one of my son’s favorite things to draw and they’re easy!

You don’t have to do a jellyfish like we did. Use your imagination! After we finished our jellyfish, we ending up drawing stars for starfish, some sharks, and turtles.

2. Sprinkle your design with salt until it is covered and then shake the excess salt off.

3. If you don’t have liquid watercolor paints for this step, then you can use food coloring. Take some plastic cups filled with some water and place a few drops of food coloring into each cup. We used the neon

food coloring in this particular project. You’ll then dip your paintbrush into the paint and gently touch the salt covered glue lines and magically watch the paint travel and mix colors.

If you’d like, a medicine dropper or a pipette would work well for this activity too. Once you’re finished painting you can set it aside to dry for a day or two.

Once dry, display your new works of art!

The Dog At The Well

A dog and her pups lived on a farm, where there was a well.

The mother dog told the pups, do not go near the well or play around it. One of the pups wondered why they shouldn’t go to the well and decided to explore it. He went to the well. Climbed up the wall and peeked inside.

In there, he saw his reflection and thought it was another dog. The pup saw that the other dog in the well (his reflection) was

doing whatever he was doing, and got angry for imitating him.

He decided to fight with the dog and jumped into the well, only to find no dog there. He barked and barked and swam until the farmer came and rescued him. The pup had learned his lesson.

Moral Always listen to what the elders say.

Question them, but do not defy them.

Note: words may be hidden horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forward, or backward.

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TEEN TIME Adopt the Values to enrich

your life in this New Year and onwards In all times and in most places, mankind has looked up to and revered certain values.

They are what make the difference between a barbarian and a cultured person, between chaos and a civilised society.

They are called virtues, and are simply the qualities adopted by each of us by which we reject the bad and adopt the intention to do good.

Values represent the very essence of what is most important in life. When you identify them, you begin to reconnect with yourself in a deep and meaningful way. Life starts to make sense as a direction begins to reveal itself. You feel a sense of realignment that helps you to see where you should

be spending your precious time and energy. As you continue to explore your inner landscape, clarifying your values can help you to understand yourself on a much deeper, more spiritual level.

Each religion has encouraged some set of virtues in its tenets, so look for these, examine them objectively, and start by adopting those in which you feel you are lacking.

Christianity has always cherished and promoted the following, which you would do well to emulate and practise: Prudence (wisdom to act in the best interest of all), Temperance (selfcontrol in all your actions), Fortitude (the courage and strength in reacting to all situations), Justice (a sense of

fairness an honesty), which, along with Faith (belief in an Almighty which results in self-confidence), Hope (an optimistic view in all your doings) and Charity (love and willingness to give help where it is due), have been termed the Cardinal Virtues.

Among those added to these by other groups are: Courage, Wisdom, Generosity, Respect for others, Courtesy, Open-mindedness, Selfcontrol, Love, Appreciation, Service, Excellence, Potential, Patience, Persistence and Decisiveness.

We will be discussing some other values in our next article, so until then please take the time to think on the foregoing and explore how they can impact your own life.

What a wonderful world God gave this world to you and me, It’s priceless, yet it’s also free; It is beautiful beyond compare, And he has left it in our care.

Everything begins anew, Like a rose sparkling with the dew; They blossom in the morning sun, And bloom until the day is done.

A little seed becomes a tree, And gives its shade for you and me, Every creature large and small, The Lord above has made them all.

The bear, the bee, the kangaroo All share this world with me and you; High above us in the sky, We watch the silver clouds go by.

They bring the gentle rain our way, And a rainbow brightens our day; As we watch the setting sun go down, Another perfect day is done.

God gave his world to you and me, He lit the stars above; By seeing all the things He made, We know that God is love.

This new period in life gives us a fresh opportunity to develop ourselves, and it would be priceless if we can use it to add values and principles tour personality.

TELL IT TO UNCLE ROY SAMURAI SUDOKU

BY KRAZYDAD Within each of the two 9x9 squares, each digit from 1-9 occurs once within each row, column and 3x3 block. There is only one solution, and you can find it without guessing.

Uncle Roy is once again appealing to all teens to write to him about any problem you may be facing for which you need a solution.

He would also like you to contribute to this Page by submitting other material that he can include here. These include: 1. A poem, short story or bit of advice that you have written and would like to share with your fellow teens.

2. Any significant event that has happened, or any interesting item about what is going on around you.

3. A commentary about where you live to acquaint others about it.

As mentioned before, you can email me at: uncleroy1992@yahoo.com

Solutions to last week’s

Suguru

Slitherlink

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What Is Thick Hair Exactly?

Thinning hair could be a result of Genetics, Aging, Poor diet, Harsh hair products, Chemicals Medical conditions How Do You Get Thicker Hair?

1. Products A. Shampoos and conditioners Pick thickening or volumizing shampoos and conditioners if you want thick hair. These products do not contain ingredients that weigh your hair down.

B. Sprays There are volumizing sprays for your hair. You can choose such products based on your personal preferences like crueltyfree, vegan and sulfate-free.

C. Serums You could use a serum to plump up thin hair. Serum has potent ingredients that are targeted at your hair. Volumizing serums contain plant extracts like sunflower extracts, vitamin E, ceramides and oils like jojoba and almond oil.

2. Oils A. Castor oil Many people keep a distance from castor oil because of its thick consistency. But did you know that castor oil can make your hair thick? Yes, castor oil is rich in vitamin E that helps in hair health. Apply castor oil evenly on your scalp and hair. Wash with your regular shampoo after 30 minutes.

B. Olive oil Olive oil is literally magic in a bottle. It is a powerhouse of omega3 acids needed for hair health. Bonus point? Olive oil has a moisturizing effect on your hair making them look smooth and shiny.

3. Hair Masks A. Egg mask B. Banana mask 4. Herbs A. Aloe vera Aloe vera has gained immense popularity in the last decade for its lasting benefits on the skin, scalp and hair [6]. You can cut open an aloe stem to use the gel or buy products containing aloe vera. Try combining fresh aloe vera gel with coconut oil or olive oil and let it sit on your hair for 30 minutes.

B. Methi 4. Diet A. Foods Balanced diet containing good fats and protein prevents hair thinning. Consuming foods like fish, eggs, walnuts, almonds, yogurt, beans and green leafy vegetables help in thickening hair.

B. Supplements regular hair spas at professional salons, you will notice visibly thicker and shinier hair. Hair spas improve blood circulation and unclog the pores in your scalp to make absorption of nutrients better.

Tips For Achieving Thick Hair 1. Cut Hair To Shoulder length If you have thin hair, longer hair makes it look even thinner.

Get a haircut that is upto shoulder length or even shorter. This gives an illusion that your hair is thicker.

5. Eat Right Load up on nuts, salmon, eggs, vegetables, fruits, good fats like olive oil for thick and healthy hair.

3. Wash Hair Properly Product buildup and chemical dyes can be taken care of with proper washing of hair. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how to wash your hair: Use lukewarm water to wet your scalp and hair.

Gently massage the shampoo into your scalp and hair (Remember to dilute your shampoo in water).

After the first round of shampooing, rinse with cold water and repeat the second round.

Rinse well and apply conditioner. Wash after 3-5 minutes to get rid of all the conditioner. Use a soft T-shirt to dry your hair and finish off with a serum.

6. Use Ceramic Brush Can Thin Hair Become Thick Again?

If you have genetically thin hair, you really canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do much about it. But if your hair thinning is a result of poor diet, harsh hair care and chemicals, you can adopt all the above ways to make your hair grow thicker.

Regardless of the thickness, learn to appreciate everything natural that god has given you. https://skinkraft.com/blogs/articles/how-to-get-thick-hair

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

Sunday January 03, 2021

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Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) The symptoms, causes and how you can prevent it You have probably heard of persons complaining that they have constant heartburn, or perhaps, even you are a victim of this distasteful disorder. But what exactly is it and what causes it to happen?

Constant and recurring heartburn is actually a disorder known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD for short.

GERD is a disease of the digestive system with the main pathology occurring at the lower esophageal sphincter or the LES. The LES is a circular muscle between the stomach and the tube leading to the stomach (the esophagus) that seals the stomach and prevents its contents from backing up.

Many persons, especially pregnant women and persons suffering from obesity, experience acid indigestion caused by GERD. GERD is one of those diseases which can be fixed through lifestyle changes including diet and exercise.

However, due to long term effects, some persons may require medical or surgical intervention.

In order to understand the disease we must understand its name.

Gastroesophagealis, the term used to refer to the stomach and esophagus while reflux, means to flow back or return.

As such, gastroesophageal reflux is the return of the stomachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contents back up into the esophagus.

Reflux occurs when the LES is weak or it opens up inappropriately thus allowing the contents of the stomach to flow into the esophagus.

What causes GERD? For some, the causes of GERD are multi-factorial.

However certain diets and lifestyle choices are the main contributors to this disease.

Foods like chocolate, peppermint, fried or fatty foods and drinks like coffee and alcohol, can trigger reflux and heartburn. Cigarette smoke causes relaxation of the LES, along with the obesity factor and pregnancy.

These therefore have significant roles to play in the symptoms of GERD.

Symptoms that you must beware of The most major complaint of anyone suffering from GERD is heartburn. It is also called acid indigestion and is characterized by a burning chest pain on the left side of the upper chest, radiating to the neck and throat. To put it into context, it usually feels like food coming back into the mouth and leaving a sour or bitter taste.

These symptoms can last up to two hours and are exacerbated especially after eating. Two other phenomena that could cause heartburn occur upon lying down or bending over. As such, it is not unusual for a lot of persons to obtain relief by standing up or through the use of an over the counter antacid to neutralize the acid in the esophagus.

A common issue is that sometimes the associated pain is mistaken for that of heart disease or cardiac arrest.

The differences however are easily distinguished. For heart disease, the pain is aggravated with exercise and can ease when resting. It is can also radiate to the left arm, axilla, shoulder, neck and jaw. Heartburn pain is not affected by physical activity and radiates only toward the neck and throat.

TREATMENT The number one recommendation for the treatment of GERD is modification of lifestyle and diet. The mainstay of treatment is in actuality attempting to decrease the amount of reflux or reducing the damage caused to the esophagus by the acidic materials of the stomach.

Foods and drinks that cause the LES to weaken should be avoided. These, as was mentioned, can include chocolate, peppermint, fatty foods, coffee and alcohol.

Legumes and some large amounts of foods rich in carbs should be looked out for as well since persons have reported them as causation factors. Foods and drinks that cause irritation of the esophageal lining, such as acidic fruits and juices and pepper should also be avoided if they cause symptoms.

Managing portion sizes at

mealtime so that you do not overeat could also be essential in symptom control.

Also, eating meals at least 2 to 3 hours before going to bed can help to decrease reflux.

This allows the acid in the stomach to decrease and the stomach to partially empty, thereby ensuring that there is minimum content in the stomach to back up. Being overweight tends to worsens symptoms so weight loss is key to gaining symptomatic relief in the long run.

As smoking weakens the LES, quitting can help to decrease GERD symptoms.

Keeping your head elevated when sleeping at night could also help since it allows the minimizing of reflux through gravity. Along with these lifestyle modifications, over the counter or prescription antacids may also be recommended Antacids help to neutralize acid in the esophagus and stomach, thereby stopping heartburn.

These have been known to help some persons partially or temporarily. Combined with foaming agents, antacids can form a foam barrier on top of the stomach that prevents acid reflux from occurring.

Antacids are not without their side effects though.

Using them for prolonged periods can cause diarrhea, altered calcium metabolism, and magnesium build-up which are detrimental to persons with kidney disease.

Chronic sufferers of reflux are usually recommended medications that reduce acid in the stomach itself. These could include H2 blockers that stop the secretion of acid in the stomach partially. In this group of drugs are cimetidine, famotidine, nizatidine and the popular, ranitidine.

Another kind of medication that can be prescribed is the proton pump inhibitor. These prevent the action of an enzyme that is necessary for the secretion of acid. Popular proton pump inhibitors include omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole and dexlansoprazole, using the trade names Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix, Aciphex and Dexilant respectively.

Some persons with severe, chronic esophageal reflux or with symptoms that are not relieved by the treatments described may require more a complete diagnostic evaluation.

Some of the tests that might be necessary are an upper GI series X-ray, endoscopy, esophageal manometric and impedance studies and pH testing of the

stomach contents.

In the end, only a small number of persons require surgery for GERD. This is due to severe reflux and very poor response to all forms of medical treatment.

Fundoplication is a technique that allows for the increase of pressure in the lower esophagus while endoscopic procedures that assist in making the LES function better are all options in surgical treatment.

Some complications that

can occur because of long term GERD include inflammation of the esophagus, called esophagitis, leading to esophageal ulcers and bleeding.

Narrowing of the esophagus can also occur due to excessive scarring, as well as an increased risk for esophageal cancer.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from this disease, seek help from your doctor as soon as you can.

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Sunday January 03, 2021

STANDARDS IN FOCUS More

jewellers should aim to join the GNBS Product Certification Scheme in 2021

Over the years, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has been promoting Standardization in the gold industry through the development and promotion of a National Standard for Gold Articles.

This was coupled with the provision of the necessary support, including training of stakeholders for its imple-

mentation. These efforts have allowed jewellers who are adhering to the standard (Specification for Gold Articles (GYS 50: 2010) to consistently produce gold articles to specified quality, which gives confidence to their customers.

This national standard, which is also a CARICOM standard, specifies requirements for gold, alloying met-

als, solder, settings, base metal parts, alloyed gold, manufacture, sampling, tolerance and marking. Adherence to these requirements is crucial if jewellers are to produce gold articles to the specific karat content desired by consumers.

The GNBS has a Product Certification Scheme under which gold articles and other

products can be certified after they are proven through testing that they are consistently meeting the requirements of the relevant standards.

In 2021, the Bureau will continue to work with manufacturers and goldsmiths to have them implement the requirements of the GYS 50 Standard and have their products certified. As a result, some of these stakeholders will be able to benefit from technical assistance and training geared to build the capacity of their operations so that the final product is just what consumers need.

Unlike the limited response in the past, the GNBS anticipates that there will be more certification of gold articles in the near future. The expansion of the local tourism industry and the influx of travellers to Guyana should create the need for goldsmiths to demonstrate the quality of gold article offered for sale through certification.

Product Certification and its benefits Product certification is simply a process where a third party gives written assurance that a product meets certain requirements. World over, thousands of manufactured products including household electrical appliances, computers, and cellular phones are certified by certification bodies including the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the European Commission (CE).

These certification marks are usually affixed to the back of these products.

By certifying gold articles under GNBS Product Certification Scheme, goldsmiths and jewellers can garner some worthwhile benefits, which include: -Third party assurance of the quality of their gold jewellery.

-Permission to use the National Standards Mark on gold articles. The mark can be

used as a marketing tool.

-The ability to produce gold jewellery that experience a competitive edge on the local and overseas markets, and ultimately, increased revenue.

-Increased consumer confidence with respect to quality and reliability.

-Ensured consistency in the manufacturing process through the monitoring and implementation of quality control procedures.

-Reduced risk of legal actions.

-Reduced risk of producing substandard products.

-Creation of a positive impact on the tourism and manufacturing sectors.

Conforming to the requirements of the gold standard also prevents fraud and deception arising from misleading labels. The standard gives guidance to manufacturers and helps them to provide adequate labelling information, which guides (Continued on page 40)

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Sunday January 03, 2021

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Happy New Year To All And May We Adjust To The Post Pandemic Era! CONSUMER CONCERNS

O

ver the years, it has been the custom of this column to wish consumers and all readers, “A Happy and Prosperous New Year” and this was done in the spirit of “Auld Lang Syne.”

This year, despite a world radically changed by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pan-

demic, we persevere to maintain the traditions of the New Year we have always known but at the same time being cognizant of the different world created by the pandemic.

At the parties when dancers dance the Old Year into the New and when the noisemakers and squibs go off at

midnight to drive away evil and the evil spirits from the New Year and when the strains of “Auld Lang Syne” and the clinking of wine glasses to toast the New Year reverberate in the night air, these manifestations of the New Year which involved the close gatherings of people were precluded by the

COVID-19 regulations.

Yet welcome efforts were being made to keep the spirit of the traditional New Year festivities alive by videos and other electronic devices.

The public fireworks displays which attracted thousands of spectators did not occur though the GDF still sent off their huge and colourful fireworks into the skies where they could be seen and enjoyed by people in their homes.

Many churches held virtual services and churchgoers now realized that they

could worship in their homes.

The traditional New Year concerts given by the militia and police bands in the Botanical Gardens and at the seawalls were not physically attended but were broadcast on radio and TV. Much of holiday shopping occurred online and New Year’s visits by friends and family to each other did not occur as much, since the pandemic advisories discouraged such.

Yet traditional family lunches and dinners did occur and the print media and

TV carried advertisements with the traditional New Year motifs, such as the hands of the Grandfather Clock moving from midnight or Father Time with his scythe clearing the

remnants of the Old Year, making way for the baby

New Year.

dependent on it and less use

People have successfully maintained the spirit of the traditional New Year in 2020 though the pandemic regulations had forbidden so many of the physical activities associated with the festival and some are still optimistic that coming New Year’s would be celebrated in the traditional way once the pandemic had subsided.

Others have realistically understood that the pandemic had changed the world forever and that New Year as we now know it would not be celebrated in pre-pandemic style in future.

For one, the usage of Information Technology (IT) has been enormously strengthened and extended to the point where international meetings are now being held via Zoom.

Significant communications are being conducted between groups and individuals using social media.

This growing IT use has begun to affect life in multifarious ways: Online shopping has grown exp onentially and

is now made of the classroom; this is especially true in tertiary education.

Books are increasingly being presented electronically and bookstores are cutting on their stocks of hard copies.

IT has been infiltrating and changing social relations and customs and having house parties or friends calling on each other for tea or a drink are becoming less fashionable.

Despite the apparent lessening of direct human contact which the pandemic has

housewives who once used to regard shopping in downtown stores a joy of life are now turning to Amazon and other online suppliers.

Medical treatment is beginning to use IT and education has become very

brought to social life, people have begun to show more concern for the health and welfare of their neighbours and gifts of food are given to the less fortunate and people have become generally more helpful to each other, especially to the less able.

In the post-pandemic world, the customs and celebrations of New Year as we know them will be transformed.

Into whatever new guise the transformation of the festivities of New Year may take, they would always generate hope, joyousness, fraternity,

concern for our fellow man, and the cathartic feeling of entering the freshness of a new life since New Year is almost a rite of passage, and as a Rite of Passage, it will always retain its joyousness and optimism.

The metamorphosis will be noticed in 2021 and will be further unfolding with the passing of the years, but always retaining its present qualities and may even be enriching those qualities in ways now unforeseen.

More jewellers should aim ...

From page 38 consumers during purchases.

The GNBS is encouraging more goldsmiths and jewellers to participate in its Product Certification Scheme, which is voluntary and affordable. By far, the benefits outweigh the costs of being a part of the PC Scheme.

Finally, the GNBS wishes all its stakeholders and every Guyanese a prosperous 2021.

The Bureau will continue to rely on your support as it promotes a culture of quality through standards in Guyana.

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

For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190065 or 219-0066 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

Sunday January 03, 2021

The Do’s and Dont’s of Accessorizing

Accessories can be your friend or your enemy. Too much can make you look like a Christmas tree and too little can make you disappear in a crowd. The wrong selection of accessories can spoil even the most jaw-dropping ensembles and the right pieces of accessories can make a simple dress appear to be more than what it is. That said, finding the right balance to make you an exemplary standout is the aim but it is no easy feat.

But not to worry; the Guyana Inc Magazine has you covered in this regard.

In this special edition, you will learn some of the key ways in which you can personalize and complete your look. And since the first rule of accessorizing is occasion appropriateness, below are some guidelines for three events.

Accessorizing for a Party When you are accessorizing for a party, there is scope to choose your dress and accompanying pieces to achieve different looks. But once you have selected your attire then you have to decide on what becomes the showpiece. Ask yourself, “Is the dress a flashy one?” If it is, then there is no need to go overboard with the embellishments. For example, let’s say your dress is a short, shimmering gold sequin number with long sleeves and a plunging V-neckline. In this case, the dress can speak for itself; it without question becomes your showpiece.

Therefore, there is no need to accessorize with bracelets, a watch, a bedazzling chain and earring set. A simple pair of gold earring be it studs or hoops would do the trick.

Remember, the key when it

comes to flashy dresses is your accessories must be subtle, they should never look as though they are trying to overpower your already showy dress.

However, if you were to choose a similar dress, this time with no sleeves and a different colour, perhaps, then there is more room to have fun. In this regard, you get to choose if your showpiece will be the accessories.

Considering that it is a party, you can wear an elaborate necklace that falls comfortably into your cleavage with small studded earrings to suit.

As for your shoes, they should either balance or contrast with the selected attire. Let’s say you have decided on wearing a simple black dress. In this regard, you can choose shoes that set the colour theme. However, if the dress is shimmering, opt for shoes that have a similar colour and style. Remember, delicate shoes, like strappy sandals, add elegance to an outfit, while chunkier shoes with wedges for example, create a more casual look.

When it comes to bags, it is important to bear in mind that small bags or clutches give an elegant finish to your attire while a big or broad bag gives a casual feel. Also, be mindful to not wear a large bag when the size of your accessories is small. That distorts the structural theme of your outfit as well.

Accessorizing for an Interview Accessories are just as important as the attire you select for a job interview. In this regard, there are several important rules you must pay attention to.

1) Earrings can either

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be a distraction or add a touch of elegance to your persona.

Therefore be sure to avoid dangling earrings which are more suitable for an evening look. Instead take a classic approach by using studs that are either, metal, pearls or gemstones.

2) Necklaces are always a charmer. Be sure to select a piece that is small, simple and yet classy. It is recommended that you choose a necklace with one focal point such as a pendant.

Avoid necklaces that trail to your breasts or midriff.

3) Handbags play a great role in completing your look. It is advised that you use a handbag that is without much detail and not bright in colour (Black or White works perfect). In short, avoid a handbag that has the potential to steal attention away from you.

Mistakes to avoid when accessorizing 1) It is possible to wear a jewellery set. However it must be with small pieces.

Large matching pieces of jewellery adorning your body makes you look clunky.

2) If you are wearing a pink pair of high heels with a black dress, there is no need to accessorize with a pink purse. It is actually a fashion sin to have matching shoes and hand bag. The fashion rules dictate that with bright coloured shoes, lighter toned bags are required to give a better contrast.

3) If you are going to wear a colourful ensemble then hold the colourful jewels. It is either one or the other.

4) Do not wear watches with evening dresses, whether it’s long or short. Just don’t!

Enetworks all set for premier of Special Episodes for Batwoman and Euphoria

Enetworks is gearing for the premier of two special episodes of Euphoria on January 24 at 10PM and Batwoman on January 29 at 8PM. For those who may not be aware of what these shows are about, Batwoman is an American superhero television series developed by Caroline Dries. It is based on the DC Comics character Batwoman and shares continuity with the other television series in the Arrowverse.

As for Euphoria, it is an A m e r i c a n t e e n drama television series created and written by Sam Levinson for HBO, loosely based on the Israeli miniseries of the same name.

Euphoria follows a group of high school students through their experiences of sex, drugs, friendships, love, identity and trauma. The series stars Zendaya in the

lead role, alongside an ensemble cast consisting of Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Barbie

Ferreira, Nika King, Storm Reid, Hunter Schafer, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney, and Colman Domingo. It premiered on June 16, 2019.

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Sunday January 03, 2021

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PAGE 44 Dead: Hire car driver, Parmanand Kalamadeen

Sunday January 03, 2021

Hire car driver dies before birth of third child

A

hire car driver of We s t C o a s t Berbice is now dead after he lost control of his car and crashed into a fence.

Dead is Parmanand Kalamadeen, 27, of Lot 125 B Woodley Park Village, WCB. Reports are that on Friday, January 1, at about 4am, on the Number 42

Public Road, Kalamadeen while driving hire car, HC 8700, owned by Winston Henriques, was proceeding east along the northern drive lane at a fast rate of speed.

He lost control of the vehicle and ran into a fence on the southern side, receiving injuries.

He was taken to the Fort Wellington Public Hospital where he was pronounced

dead on arrival by a doctor on duty.

Mother of the dead man, Jacqueline Oneil, 45, said her son has two children and his wife is currently pregnant, she is expected to give birth in a week.

"When I go in the mortuary and see he lie on the bed, I seh best me de dead because I know what kind of son I had,” she said while fighting back tears.

Investigations are ongoing.

Dr. Malinee Singh From page 29 it strengthened the bond between health care providers on the frontline.

“The year 2020 has taught me a lot; in terms of my career it has really strengthened our relationship in terms of team work.

Our colleagues have become more like family… of course, from time to time we can get very emotional when dealing with patients on the frontline, but when we encourage and uplift each other we develop an even stronger and unbreakable bond,” said Dr. Singh.

With the introduction of a new vaccine, many are optimistic that COVID-19 may soon be history. When asked about the possible advantages a vaccine may bring to frontline workers in Guyana, Dr. Singh said, “We are all excited that a new vaccine is being introduced because it will help us in tremendously, in terms of reducing the work load, and we hope that it is effective so that people can go back to their normal lives.”

Dr. Singh said that while

we await the arrival of the vaccine, the battle is far from over, since there continues to be an influx of confirmed cases. This, she said, can be linked to persons taking the virus lightly.

“The majority of the people still not believing COVID is real and they are not protecting themselves.

We try as much as possible to warn persons that asymptomatic individuals can transmit the virus without even knowing it, but for some reason people aren't taking these warnings seriously.”

During this holiday season, Dr. Singh wishes to advice persons to break the chain of transmission by observing the COVID-19 guidelines.

“I will like to advice those persons to be safe, take all precautions and practices hygiene so we can decrease the amount of cases because those simple things can help the health care system. We know that a vaccine is coming, but please do not let down your guard, because the battle is not yet over,” said Dr. Singh.

Stop complaining; do...

From page 32 opportunities for the administration to strike better deals with the other concessions holders.

But there are some worrying things, for me.

On Old Year's Eve, I was at the Diamond home of my brother and watched with pain the fireworks. Though banned, these were sold openly at Stabroek and across the country.

Something as simple as this…the enforcement side of things…speaks volumes of our will to be law-abiding citizens. It goes beyond the pain of animals and animal rights activists.

We have to resolve to be more accommodating to our laws, that is, if we are serious about progressing to a first world country.

This year, the government will have to pilot several critical legislations including for the oil and gas, the Hire Purchase Bill to protect consumers and

ensure that it manages the COVID-19.

The growing issues with our migrants' situation will have to be tackled and addressed by the administration. It is quietly ballooning into a social nightmare for Guyana's limited resources.

As a people, we have to start understanding that this country belongs to us. We have to care it like our homes … garbage, our neighbours, etc. We have to start being more vocal, demanding more accountability from our village leaders and politicians.

Use social media, use the newspapers' pages. Don't sit still. This year promises much. But do we continue to sit on our hands? Stop complaining; do something.

A prosperous and life changing New Year to all!

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

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 45

Guyana's first locally trained helicopter pilot…

Azam Ally is a 'Special Person'

Captain Azam Ally

A

t just 19 years old, Azam Ally h a s accomplished more than most of his peers. Of note, this week's 'Special Person' is the first and only certified helicopter pilot.

His attraction to aircrafts and desire to ultimately know more about the field has led to a career in aviation. And though he is

just getting started with his work, Captain Ally already has his sight set on raising the bar in the aviation sector.

He told Kaieteur News that his journey started just under three years ago when he graduated from the Abram Zuil Secondary School.

The helicopter pilot, who grew up in Aurora Village on the Essequibo Coast, said

that he had wandered on to a different path before he settled on training as a pilot.

He recalled that his first career choice was to become a teacher but his desire to teach quickly shifted.

He continued, “I didn't go through with teaching but after high school I started working as an office clerk with A. Mazaharally and Sons Limited for three months.

This was his first job. It lasted until October 2018, when he was transferred to Air Services Limited where he started working as an aircraft mechanic in January 2019 for about one and a half year in the rotorcraft department.

He said that from the inception, his biggest work influences are his brother, Captain Mirza Ally, who is just a year older than he is and who is also a pilot but for airplanes, and his instructor Captain Buddy Chance.

“He taught me everything I know and also Captain Akeem Stoll who is another helicopter pilot,” he said.

But before he could have delved into the world of aviation and piloting helicopters, Ally shared a modest upbringing on the Essequibo Coast.

“I lived at Aurora Village

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill; Captain Azam Ally and other officials from Air Services Limited

Captain Ally receives an award from Minister Edghill.

“

My advice would be to pursue it.

It may be a difficult road with a lot of obstacles but it's a nice field (aviation) with a lot of benefits.

Always take an opportunity and make it into something good.

on the Essequibo Coast for about four years with my mom Shalini Prashad,” he said, adding that he then moved to a village called Spring Garden to live with his grandma and aunts -- Rita and Reshma.

“I went to the Good Hope Nursery School, then to the Aurora Primary School where I graduated as the

”

valedictorian of 2013, then attended the Abram Zuil Secondary School for five years. I graduated with five Grade Ones, two Grade Twos and a Grade Three at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination,” he said.

He said that shortly after writing CSEC, Ally relocated to Georgetown to

live with his grandfather.

Then in 2019, he got the opportunity to gain experience in the maintenance department of Air Services Limited.

He first started as a trainee air mechanic in the Aircraft Maintenance Department but was later assigned to the Rotorcraft Maintenance Programme where he gained the foundational expertise in rotorcraft maintenance.

He completed that oneyear training earlier this year and in August, he was given the opportunity to begin training as a helicopter pilot.

He started his training on August 3, 2020 under veteran helicopter pilot, Captain Buddy Chance.

The teen did his first solo flight on September 3, 2020 then a private pilot check ride on December 8, 2020 with Captain Chris Kirkcaldy of the GCAA and that too was successful.

Thereafter Ally has become the first to be licenced as a private helicopter pilot in Guyana.

The 19-year-old said, “I'm motivated by the fact that I'm young and there's a lot more of accomplishments I can achieve especially in aviation.”

He says that some of the challenges in piloting the helicopters are flying over Guyana's vast jungle and landing in very secluded areas.

Earlier this month, the young helicopter pilot became the recipient of an award from Minister of Public Works and Transport.

Ally noted that receiving an award from the Minister (continued on page 51)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 46

Sunday January 03, 2021

Family blazes hospital after chopped labourer sent away twice ends up dying

J

ust a day before the New Year broke, a 58-year-old man lost his life after he was chopped to the head and reportedly beaten. Dead is Arjunan Andiappan called 'Keks,' a labourer, of Kalabash Creek, East Berbice.

The incident occurred at Wallace Street, East Canje, Berbice. Kaieteur News was informed that the suspect has since turned himself over to the police and that his mother is also in custody for allegedly stashing the murder weapon.

Sister of the dead man, Tangitree Balgobin, 61, of 163 New Street, Cumberland, told reporters that on Friday, she gave her brother lunch and he left and went to Wallace Street.

While he was heading back, he stopped to speak with a man on a motorcycle

Dead: Arjunan Andiappan

- suspect turns himself in; mother in custody for hiding murder weapon "and some guys."

It was while he was speaking to the men that the suspect rushed out from his yard "just so and give him a chop on the head and I don't know how much more lash because the police said he has multiple injuries in the head.â&#x20AC;?

The sister said that when she was informed, she went to the location where her brother was and there she saw him with wounds to his head and blood streaming down. "When I went, the boy (attacker) mother come out and seh she gonna take him to the hospital and I told her I will take him because is my brother, so I come home to

Family is angry: Sister, Tangitree Balgobin change and when I go back, they done leff with he for the hospital,â&#x20AC;? the sister said.

According to Balgobin, while she was heading to the hospital she saw the woman with her brother returning

and the woman told her that he was treated by the doctors.

Balgobin said her brother was still bleeding. She questioned why he was not admitted. She decided to jump in the car and take her brother to the Reliance Police Station.

There the police gave her a medical to take him back to the New Amsterdam hospital. There, the doctors

told her that her brother was already treated and they sent her away with him.

"When we brought him home, he start bleed more and we take he back to the hospital and then dem admit he but then dem say they can't do nothing and he died later,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Balgobin told reporters

that when she inquired from the men who her brother was chatting with, they told her that her brother and the suspect had no argument prior.

She believes that if the doctors had admitted her brother the first time he was taken to the hospital he may have been saved.

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 47

Kaieteur News

Guyana cannot take another Other employees received five years to get ready for oil gifts worth $10K while GM - IDB Country Manager got $900K bracelet

Int’l Men’s Day celebration at Harbour Bridge…

While the General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), Rawlston Adams, presented himself with a bracelet worth a whopping $897,000, other staffers received gifts worth $10,000.

The occasion was International Men’s Day, in 2019.

Those revelations were made days ago after the special team appointed by the Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, to investigate an alleged racket at the Garden of Eden asphalt plant, did a little digging.

Gifts were also said to have been purchased for other members of staff to commemorate the day but no details were given to outline what they received.

However, it was stated in the audit report that: “We noted that gifts were also given to all other men within the (Demerara Harbour Bridge) Corporation, to an approximate value of G$10,000 each, to mark the occasion of International Men’s Day.” Adams had honored himself in a rather unique fashion with the bracelet purchased using funds from the company.

Head of the team, Chateram Ramdihal, while presenting the findings, had stated “We found that the Harbour Bridge went about buying gifts for their staff during International Men’s Day, November of 2019. It was the Board’s request that any gifts purchased must be approved by the Board.”

However, those purchases were not given the stamp of the approval by the Board.

Ramdihal added that: “We came across an alarming gift to the value of $897,000, a bracelet that was purchased for the General Manager and approved by the General

General Manager, Rawlston Adams Manager.”

He explained that in normal circumstances, approval for such a large purchase comes directly from the Board. If no Board is present, the matter is forwarded to the Public Infrastructure Minister, who was David Patterson at the time.

But Adams apparently bypassed all these levels and presented himself with the gift.

Kaieteur News attempted to make contact with Adams for a comment on the issue.

However, his phone was turned off.

However, Adams was quoting in other sections of the media as saying that the Harbour Bridge Board will later issue a statement providing an explanation for the $897,000 purchase.

To date, no explanation had been provided by the Board.

By Kiana Wilburg C o n s i d e r i n g ExxonMobil’s plan to have five oil projects working concurrently in the Stabroek Block by 2026, it is clear that Guyana needs to increase the pace at which it is strengthening its governance framework for the sector.

In light of this, Country Manager for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Sophie Makonnen, has said that the country cannot take another five years to get its act together.

During an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Makonnen said, “...I know that people are worried and I understand.

I understand how the world works and why they are worried. But there has been, maybe not enough work done. I think that the next two or three years are critical.

The pace to prepare has to speed up. It cannot be what it has been in the last one to five years. It had to speed up.”

Asked to say why she highlighted the next two to three years as critical, Makonnen posited: “I am just looking at the cycle of when the other oil fields are coming

IDB Country Manager, Sophie Makonnen in, cycles of development, political cycles and all of that.

So I am saying that it cannot take 10 years to get ready. You can’t…

It took a long time to get Guyana where it is in terms of what has been done and there’s still a lot to do. So you cannot take another five years to continue.”

Even as she said that much more needs to be done, the IDB official said this should not be interpreted to mean that there is no move-

ment towards this end.

Makonnen reminded that the PPP/C administration has only been in power for a few months.

She added that she is aware that there is an oil and gas working group, where things are probably happening.

But the difference between today and a few years ago, she said, is that there are key documents which the financial institution helped (Continued on page 50 )

No cap on credit granted by Dormitory students to be tested asphalt plant - audit report again for schools’ re-opening

Students occupying dormitories will be required to have a COVID-19 test done again as they return for the new school term tomorrow. This was announced by the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony during his COVID19 update on Thursday, December 31.

In light of the formal resumption of classes tomorrow for the new school term, the Health Minister said that it is mandatory for the dormitory students to be tested so that the Ministry could make sure they are not carrying the virus. This is because many of them went back home for the holidays, including two regions known to have many COVID-19 cases.

According to Dr. Anthony, once they test negative for the virus, they will be placed in the general dormitory of the school but if they test positive, they will be isolated separately from the rest of the school’s population.

Students will be tested using both Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and antigen tests kits, which have been sent out by the government.

Mechanisms have also been put in place to have the tests samples of those who had PCR tests conducted sent to the laboratory in Georgetown and the results will be sent back to the respective regions.

Anthony further disclosed that Regional Health Officers and Regional Educational Officers have been engaged to foster plans for the different regions.

This, he said, is part of the collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education as it relates to the reopening of schools. Schools physically reopened on November 9 last year after being closed

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony since March due to the pandemic.

In the Official Gazette of COVID-19 measures for the month of November, the Ministry of Health approved the conditional physical reopening of schools for Grades 10, 11, 12 and Technical and Vocation Education students. One of the conditions for the reopening was that all dormitory students were to be tested for COVID-19 so that the government can know their COVID-19 status and prevent the possible spread of the virus among the student population.

It was revealed that many of the infections were linked to students coming from hinterland communities that were well-known COVID-19 hotspots. Since schools have physically reopened, over 30 students have tested for the virus, as previously reported by Kaieteur News. Additionally, it was stated that many of them were asymptomatic.

Details from the recently released audit report on the Garden of Eden Asphalt Plant, shows that the handling of credit for customers was poor.

In fact, according to the report, due to the no-cap credit given, coupled with the lack of a credit policy, the plant was exposed to the risk of credit being granted and not being paid on time.

“Management did not manage the risk and cost attached to granting of credit.

This has resulted in the granting of large sums of credit for a long period of time, giving rise to the risk of high cost associated with receivables,” the team highlighted in their report.

Special mention was made of Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited (CBCSL), a company that had been consistently granted credit but failed on paying those debts.

To this, the report mentioned: “Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors dated 29th November, 2016, revealed that the directors were concerned over credit being granted to CBCSL when there was no existing policy for providing credit for such a large amount.”

The team also noted that with this construction company, credit was granted without a credit review process.

In fact, credit is still being granted to CBCSL despite the decision of the directors to discontinue selling asphalt on credit to this client until all monies owed are collected, the report said.

As at December 18th, 2020, the balance owed by Courtney Benn was $12,031,153.

As part of their recommendations, the team advised that management should make all efforts to ensure that monies outstanding are collected on time and that they should ensure that the policies of the plant are adhered to at all times.

Also in their report, the team highlighted the need for a credit policy, which would outline credit and payment terms for customers, and would establish a clear course of action for late payments.

This lack of credit policy, the report states, resulted in all credit sales being approved by the General Manager (GM) without any evidence of a credit review process being carried out and credit limits set for the various customers.

The absence of this policy

had also exposed the Asphalt Plant to a high risk of clients failing to pay on time, as previously mentioned.

To this, the report said: “An analysis of receivables revealed that an average 75% of debts owed beyond 90 days. We were unable to determine whether there was consistency in management’s decisions.”

The auditors were unable to determine whether selling asphalt on credit is economically beneficial to the plant.

Surprisingly, when the special team reached out for a response from the asphalt plant’s management on this issue, management stated that it has an “active and engaged” credit policy approval system in place.

To this the team made it explicitly clear that: “There is no credit policy. We have noted that as of 2019, the asphalt plant instituted a system which gathers information on the customer applying for credit and not assessing the credit worthiness of the customer.”

The audit was ordered by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, after independent contractors and others filed complaints of rackets being run at the plant.

PAGE 48

Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

A year of recovery: Phase 2 of

COVID-19 cash grant to begin soon VACANCY

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-President Ali in New Year’s message President Irfaan Ali, in his New Year’s message, announced that Phase Two of the COVID-19 cash grant is due to begin soon.

He also vowed to work to heal a divided country, insisting the all should benefit from the progress.

The address by the President is below: New Year’s Address to the Nation by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana 2021: THE YEAR OF RECOVERY Fellow Guyanese, On this rainy night, we leave 2020 and we embark on 2021 with every reason for optimism for our future as a nation and as a country. Our economic prospects have never been brighter. Our collective feet are firmly placed on the first rungs of a ladder to prosperity that is clearly within our sight.

The only impediment to our steady climb to the top are those among us who choose selfish gains over national benefits.

History, including religious tracts, is replete with examples of persons who sacrificed the interests of a people in pursuit of their selfinterested purposes.

As a nation, we must resist those who try to lure any of us into serving a cause less noble, less beneficial, and less worthwhile than the upliftment and empowerment of all Guyanese.

When I accepted the democratic decision of the majority of our people to serve as President, I made clear that my stewardship of our nation’s affairs would be in the interest of all – those who voted for me, and those who did not.

I saw my principal role then, as I reaffirm now, as uniting our people – all races, all groups – and advancing their collective interest. I will not be swayed or influenced from that single-minded focus.

No nation can progress in peace and in shared prosperity if it is divided against itself.

Every person within it must be given equal opportunity to shine; every individual must be provided the chance to achieve.

And, as a nation, we must take pride in individual achievement; we must applaud it and encourage it, regardless of the race, religion, or geographical origin of the person.

We must recall always that our nation is the sum of all its people.

If we are to fulfil our de-

sire to be a great nation, not one of our people should be neglected; everyone should be lifted up.

YEAR TO RECOVERY The year 2021 will be the springboard from which our nation will leap into recovery – rebuilding our economy, enhancing our people’s health and lifting up the vulnerable in our society. We must not remain a rich country of poor people.

The bounty of our nation must be shared across our population. The standard of living and the quality of life must be lifted for all. Work will be rewarded; hard work will be rewarded even more.

Opportunities will be created to join in such work, and they will be made available to all. I recognise that there are communities within our society who, because of disadvantages of geographic location, will need more help than others to join our national advancement.

We will identify those communities; assess their needs; identify solutions and implement plans to change their circumstances.

This change will not occur overnight; it will take time.

But every journey begins with a first step.

I intend to initiate that first step and to maintain a steady pace that will take us to that journey’s end. We still have many challenges ahead of us.

TACKLING COVID-19 COVID-19 will not die with the fading of 2020 in the darkness of midnight. It will still be there in the bright light of 2021’s new dawn. It will remain a threat to the health of our people and to the fortunes of our commercial sector.

But, we face the pandemic now with the knowledge that vaccines have been created, and have already been distributed to millions of people in the United States and Europe.

The inoculations offer confidence over concern and hope over fear. Our government is working intensely to secure vaccines to immunise our nation.

Our goal is to inoculate all who are willing to accept the vaccine, starting with the most vulnerable in our society.

We will soon be concluding Phase 1 of the COVID-19 G$25,000 household cash grant.

Immediately, in the new year, we will implement Phase 2 to provide help to those who were not reached in the first Phase.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a failure by many persons to meet their financial

President Irfaan Ali obligations, including those to laughter and sorrow into related to hire purchases. The joy, if we demonstrate the perpromulgation of a new Hire sonal and collective responPurchase Bill will protect con- sibility to be our brother’s keeper, our sister’s protector sumers.

Never again will anyone and our children’s guardian.

CONCLUSION suffer the indignity of losing Guyana’s economic recovhis or her household appliances by virtue of missing a ery is demonstrably underway. Our business communipayment In the meantime, we must ties in Georgetown and elseall act to protect ourselves where have reported better and the people around us. performance over this holiday Already too many families season than any of the previhave lost a parent, or grand- ous five years. And this was achieved even with the reparent, a son or a daughter.

They know the wretched- strictions of the COVID-19 ness of loss and the pain of pandemic.

There is more money in helplessness against this uncirculation and more disposseen killer.

I again offer my deepest able income in people’s pocksympathy and sorrow to all ets than our country has witwho have lost loved ones to nessed in a long time.

I am confident that the this dreadful disease, and I summon every one of us to steps, which our Government act together to halt its spread. will take in 2021 will continue As a people, we have to lift up our economy and made great sacrifices, in the improve the fortunes of evpast, to overcome great trials ery person within our nation.

The task before us in 2021 and enormous challenges to emerge still standing, still vi- is to reaffirm our belief in ourselves as one people and one brant.

Now this generation must nation, determined to rise tojoin previous generations that gether in harmony, showing stood up to malaria, cholera, the world the strength and yellow fever and all the other determination of which we are diseases that plagued our capable.

Let us join our hands and country by showing disciour hearts in making 2021 the pline, good sense and care.

Wearing masks, sanitising year we leap into a future of hands, gathering only in small prosperity and progress. We groups, maintaining physical have it within ourselves to distancing – all are necessary restore with passion the rich soul of our country and our to keep everyone safe.

Let us stop the tears of a people.

My hand is outstretched parent’s untimely death, and the grief for the sudden loss to help one and all… Happy New Year! of a young child.

May God bless and proThose tears will only turn tect you and your families!

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 49

Kaieteur News

Guyana’s ‘lawless’ giveaways force Brazil to bend over backwards to keep oil companies Competition for investors in the petroleum industry has grown stiff in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the genesis of the global energy transition.

With this shift, countries have had to ensure that as they work to ensure that their regulation is strong enough to prevent being robbed by oil companies. They would also offer terms and a system that is fair and attractive.

Guyana has so far avoided striking this crucial balance between being an attractive investment destination and securing value for its people.

The country received advice to negotiate fair oil contract terms for the Guyanese

public and to use the sector’s formative years to develop Guyana’s regulatory capacity properly before the start of oil production.

Instead, the David Granger administration gave away one of the world’s most valuable oil blocks – the Stabroek block – at extremely generous fiscal terms, and approved two oil developments without conducting timely financial audits and securing necessary protections for the environment.

Consequently, other oil producing nations have become pressured to relax their strict industry protections and requirements to compete.

Chief Executive Officer

(CEO), Roberto Castello Branco, of Brazil’s stateowned oil company, Petrobras, threatened Brazil late last year to set the company’s sights on Guyana, if the government took too long to issue environmental permits to drill in Brazil’s Fox do Amazonas Basin, according to S&P Global Platts. The energy industry information provider reported Branco as saying: “This has to be resolved,” during an address at the Rio Oil & Gas 2020 digital conference. “We have big oil prospects there, and we’re prohibited while Guyana is enjoying a moment and opening up,” he reportedly added.

The badly damaged UG road (Photos Credit: Ministry of Public Works)

S&P went on to report, on December 31, 2020 that Brazil is eyeing more industry reforms to lure investors, amidst a series of moves already made. The firm said that Brazil needs to buck up to remain one of the world’s top destinations for energy investments.

Platts said that Brazil’s Congress is expected to debate potential changes to the production sharing regime during the next session, which would allow the National Policy Energy Council, or CNPE, to determine whether oil blocks would be sold under the production sharing or concession models.

Platts reported Brazil’s mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque as saying that the country may trend towards the sale of oil blocks

under the concession regime, as opposed to the PSA regime, given the current global scenario.

With the concession regime, the oil companies pay royalties and special-participation taxes on the petroleum produced, as opposed to the PSA regime, under which they deliver a set percentage of the profit oil to Brazil’s government and includes oversight from the government management company. The concession regime is seen as favourable.

According to Platts, Brazil has also had to reduce requirements for oil companies to use locally procured goods and services, which caused delays.

The country struggles with other issues which cause delays, such as strict environmental and other

regulations. Platts reported Brazilian officials as saying that the current scenario will require flexibility as Brazil grapples with fierce competition from other oil producers, including neighbours like Guyana and Uruguay.

Guyana has been handing out permits quickly, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the infant oil producer has been managing its oil sector expertly.

Under the Granger administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a permit to ExxonMobil on the same day that it received the 1,500 page environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Liza Phase One project. The regulator was later sued for giving ExxonMobil a 20-year permit, when the law only allows for five-year permits to be issued.

That lawsuit was successful.

Evidently, the EPA has been quick to grant permits without conducting complete reviews, and with terms that are not necessarily in-keeping with the law.

On the other hand, the Irfaan Ali administration, since assuming office, has been criticized for the manner in which it goes about conducting reviews. The Government hired former Premier of (Continued on page 50)

The Auditor General (AG)‘s report 2019 has highlighted breaches of the procurement threshold in the award of contracts at Regional Procurement and Tender Administration Board (RPTAB).

According to the report, the Procurement Act 2003 states that the limit for requesting of quotations is $3M. However, the Regional Administration was utilizing the Request for Quotations (RFQ) method of procurement for projects up to $4M. The report noted that as a result, there was no evidence to support and justify the basis of awards for these contracts.

The report noted too that the Head of Budget Agency indicated that for capital projects, the RFQ form of tender were used for all projects under $4M. As such, the procurement unit is trying to locate the evaluation reports for the remaining projects and requests that same will be submitted.

“A request was made to the Regional Administration

for the submission of Evaluation Reports and Regional Procurement and Tender Administration Board (RPTAB) Minutes for all current and capital contracts awarded by the Regional Tender Board during the year. However, these Evaluation Reports were not presented in relation to sixty-eight maintenance works contracts and eighteen capital contracts totalling $317.461M and $87.987M respectively, “ the report outlined.

Given the difficulty, the Audit Office recommended that the Regional Administration comply fully with the Procurement Act 2003 and ensure all Evaluation Reports are submitted for audit inspection.

Meanwhile, the report underlined the lack of proper record keeping in terms of purchases for fuel and lubricants.

According to the AG report, an examination of the fuel slips and log books presented, revealed that twentytwo log books were not properly written up to reflect the total amount of fuel received.

The report noted that: “As a result, we could not determine whether proper control was exercised over the consumption of fuel.”

The report indicated that the Head of Budget Agency explained that the regional administration will ensure all log books are properly written up to reflect the total amount of fuel received.

The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) constructed two pump stations at BV/Triumph and Cane Grove. The pump stations were then commissioned to the Regional Democratic Council, which has the sole responsibility for maintenance as well as the daily operational aspects.

Audit examination of the fuel slips and payment vouchers revealed amounts totalling $814,900 and $4.581M were expended for maintenance and purchase of fuel respectively. However, no log book was presented for the pump station at BV/Triumph.

In addition, the fuel register was not properly written up. As a result, auditors could (Continued on page 50)

[From left] Former President, David Granger and current President, Dr. Irfaan Ali

Government awards $275M contract to rehabilitate UG-Sophia road Region Four administration breached procurement threshold in awarded contracts -AG report for 2019

The Government has signed a $275M contract to rehabilitate the road parallel to the University of Guyana, better known as UG road.

The Ministry of Public Works disclosed that the 900-metre road which links to Sophia has been in a deplorable state over the years even in light of several repairs that were conducted. It was mentioned that the asphalt in the road continues to slip towards the drains on both sides which caused the road to be in such a state. Currently, the road has several bad spots. Photographs seen by this publication show breakages in the road and large potholes, filled with water due to the rainy season. The state of the road has been frustrating drivers who use it as a faster way to and from the city.The new road being built will be equipped with geotextiles, which will hold the foundation firmly and prevent the road from returning to a deplorable state.

The utility poles on the shoulders of the road will also be moved so that the road can be widened to 6.9 metres.The area was visited

by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill; the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, and

the Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Anand Persaud, last week.

The Ministry said that Minister Edghill also conducted a visit in the neighbouring community, Cummings Lodge where he announced that Fourth and Fifth Streets will be repaired soon. Streets in Fifth Field, Cummings Lodge would be looked at under the 2021 programme, according to Edghill.

The Ministry of Public Works did not disclose which company the $275M contract was awarded to, but it was revealed that another contract worth $39M was awarded to XL Engineering for the rehabilitation of Owen and McDougal Streets in Kitty, Georgetown.

Edghill also visited the Kitty area last week and the Ministry stated that the residents used the opportunity to talk about the condition of the two streets. Edghill assured them that the 466-metre streets will be repaved. It was also said that the contractor has three months to complete the work.

Edghill said that his Ministry plans on doing 100 miscellaneous roads; several main access roads, urban roads as well as hinterland roads.

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Sunday January 03, 2021

Kaieteur News

Holidays’ accidents… Nurse dies after lorry accident; policewoman injured man injured in West Dem hit-and-run Just as the country was about to close the curtains on 2020, it was met with news of several road accidents.

On Thursday, a 28-yearold labourer was involved in a hit-and-run accident on Zeelugt Public Road, East Bank Essequibo.

The injured man has been identified as Rockey Alleyne of Parika Outfall.

Based on the information received, the accident occurred at around 22:30 hrs.

According to the police report, the labourer was standing on the southern side of the road, when a silver grey car, which was travelling west along the southern side of the road allegedly swerved into the corner and collided with him. The motorcar reportedly sped away.

The man was picked up in a conscious condition and taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was treated and sent away. Reports are that checks were made in the area for the motorcar, but none was seen fitting the description. Investigation into the matter still continues.

Meanwhile, Danata Damon, age 26, nurse and a mother of one, lost her life following a motorcar and lorry accident on Coverden Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

Reports are that the accident occurred at around 17:00 hrs. on Thursday.

According to the information received, a motor lorry driven by a 26-year-old male of Block ‘X’ Diamond Housing Scheme was travelling

Region Four administration ...

From page 49 not determine if the fuel received and issued was utilized for official purposes. In addition, despite receiving fuel from the regional administration, these pump stations were not on the official vehicle and equipment listing of the

region. As a result, the Audit Office recommended that the Regional Administration ensure that log books are maintained for all vehicle and equipment and are properly written up in accordance with the stores regulations at all times.

north along the western side of the road allegedly at a fast rate. The driver reported that as he was in the process of swerving from a pothole when he lost control and ended up into the path of a motorcar driven by a 33-yearold male of Enmore, East Coast Demerara, which was travelling south along the eastern side of the road.

The two vehicles ended up in a head on collision causing both to receive extensive damages.

Both the drivers, along with two other occupants of the motor lorry and one from the motorcar were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). They were all admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in serious but stable conditions. Damon, who was in the motorcar, succumbed to her injuries the following day. Investigation into the matter still continues.

On New Year’s day, a police woman was hospitalized after her motorcycle collided with a car on the Cove and John Public Road, East Coast Demerara.

The injured woman has been identified as Aquaba

Body found under house at Goed Fortuin The body of a man was discovered yesterday lying under his house at Barclay Street, Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Police has since identified the remains to be that of Gopaul Bissoon called ‘Dona’, 49.

Ranks had received a call around 13:20hrs that he was lying motionless under his house for a while.They headed down to the location and found that the man was unrespon-

sive. Crime scene experts scanned his body for marks of violence but found none.

Based on inquiries they made, the detectives learnt that man lived with his brother and had a drinking problem. They were also told that he suffered from epilepsy as well.

Police removed the body and took it West Demerara Regional Hospital where it was further examined before being sent to the morgue.

Guyana’s ‘lawless’ giveaways force...

From page 49 Alberta, Canada, Alison Redford, to head the Payara project review team. Redford was forced to resign from politics after she mismanaged public funds while in office.

The hiring of the former premier is further complicated by the fact that she benefitted from thousands of Canadian dollars donated to her party by an ExxonMobil subsidiary in Canada, called Imperial Oil. This raised questions about

whether Redford held a conflict of interest in her review of Exxon’s US$9B Payara project.

The product of her review gave no finality to two of the controversial environmental infractions committed by ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block, the dumping of thousands of barrels of produced water every day, and the flaring of over 12 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The PPP/C government

handed out the permits just six weeks after she began her review.

This is the kind of lax regulatory system and overt generosity Brazil is now forced to compete with.

Brazil, with its maturity in oil and years of securing hundreds of millions of US dollars in signing bonuses is continuously executing and mulling a wave of industry reforms to keep its leading status in the industry.

Assanah, 44, a Special Constable of Haslington Housing Scheme.

According to the police report the accident occurred at 12:20 hrs.

Reports are that motor car driven by Bryon Mahendra, 39, a fisherman, of Hope Lowland Section ‘D’ was moving east along the northern side of the road. The driver alleged that while proceeding in that direction, he put on his right side indicator and stopped, when an unknown motor car stopped and signalled to him to turn into the access road.

He further told police that in the process to turning, the motorcycle, CK 5568, driven by the Police woman who was proceeding from east to west overtook several vehicles along the left side of the road and ended up colliding with the left side of his car.

As a result of the collision the woman fell onto the roadway and was picked up and taken to the GPHC where she was seen and examined by a doctor, who admitted her as a patient. Investigations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist is currently in the Accident and Emergency Unit Ward at the GPHC, after he fell off his motorcycle and was run over by a car.

Hospitalized is Daniel Austin of Durban Street, Lodge.

Based on information re-

Succumbed to injuries: Danata Damon.

ceived, the accident occurred at 03:30 hrs. on Turkeyen Railway Embankment, in the vicinity of the CARICOM Secretariat. Reports are that the motorcyclist was travelling in the pouring rain, west along the southern side of the railway embankment, when he rode into the concrete structure on the road. As a result, he ended up falling onto the southern lane of the road.

Eyewitnesses reportedly told police that after the man fell, he remained lying on the road for a few seconds then was struck by a motorcar driven by 31-year-old male of Better Hope, North Squatting Area, which was travelling west

along the road.

He was reportedly dragged some 50 feet by the car. The man was picked up in a semi-conscious state and taken to the GPHC. He was admitted as a patient in the A&E unit ward in the Critical Bay, suffering from a fractured right wrist, multiple lacerations to the face and right side body and head trauma.

Austin’s condition was listed as stable. Reports are that a breathalyzer test was conducted on the driver but no trace of alcohol was found.

The 31-year-old is in custody assisting with the investigation.

Three new infections added to COVID-19 case toll Guyana recorded three new infections of the novel Coronavirus yesterday, adding to the case toll that is now 6,351.

This is according to the Ministry’s daily dashboard update. According to the dashboard, 5,894 persons have recovered from the

virus with 38,548 persons tested since March.

Further, it shows four persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit; 10 in institutional isolation; 21 in institutional quarantine and an additional 279 persons in home isolation.

Guyana cannot take another five....

From page 47 produced that are at the PPP/ C’s disposal. “…They don’t have to be in agreement with everything that was produced. But it’s something to start working with. It’s not a blank sheet of paper,” the IDB Country Manager stressed.

The Inter-American Development Bank has been one of Guyana’s key partners in developing its capacity to manage the oil sector. Towards this end, it has given Guyana several loans, one of

which included: GY-T1167: Strengthening the Technical Functions of the Department of Energy. This was approved on December 17, 2019 and totaled US$ 606,062. The objective of this project is to provide immediate support to operationalize protocols for management and compliance monitoring of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) through improvements in general monitoring and enforcement standards during administration procedures, production

control and verification processes. It is also intended to provide general training and support to key agencies within the oil and gas regulatory framework with specific attention to the use of the contract management systems; and provide a platform for the dissemination of best practices for software solutions for compliance monitoring and for operating requisite internal control systems to maintain data integrity and accuracy in the sector.

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

Family offers reward as city businessman remains hospitalized from hit-and-run

COVID-19 survivor/ Palms resident turns 106

T

106 not out: Zorie De Mattos (Photo by Peter Lester)

S

he made headlines in June 2020 for being the oldest person in Guyana to survive COVID-19. Now seven months later, Zorie De Mattos is celebrating another milestone.

On Friday, January 1, 2021, she celebrated her 106th birthday.

De Mattos, who is a

resident of the Palms Elderly C a r e F a c i l i t y, w a s surrounded by the dedicated team who takes care of her on a daily basis.

She also received a hamper filled with her favourite snacks from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.

Dr. Vindhya Persaud, the subject Minister,

congratulated the centenarian, adding “Ms. De Mattos' longevity is a testament of our commitment to quality care for the elderly. Happy birthday, you are one feisty woman.”

De Mattos has no known relatives and has been a resident of the Palms since 1969.

Azam Ally is a...

Captain Ally at the meeting with Guyana Civil Aviation Authority Director General, Lt. Col. Egbert Field

From page 45 for being the first locally trained helicopter pilot in Guyana is one of the highlights of his career. He looks forward to achieving many more.

In the meantime, Ally is focused on developing his craft. Besides his love for aircrafts, the teenager also loves cricket.

He told this newspaper that he used to play in the Spring Garden/Supenaam cricket team for a while but left after he started working

PAGE 51

with Air Services Limited.

These days when he is not at work, the helicopter pilot tries to spend time with his family. He explained that family time is still a bit of a juggle because the work demands a lot of my time, occasionally I go back in Essequibo to visit my mom, grandma, aunts and so on.

For Captain Ally, “A typical day is being at Air Services Limited and helping out in whatever way I can, if I'm not working I usually go out with my

friends or we stay home and play video games sometimes.”

Given his enthusiasm, the youngster is very encouraging to anyone who wishes to start a career in aviation.

“My advice would be to pursue it. It may be a difficult road with a lot of obstacles but it's a nice field (aviation) with a lot of benefits. Always take an opportunity and make it into something good,” Ally told Kaieteur News.

he owner of USA Styles & Fashion i s n o w hospitalized, after he was struck down by a speeding car in front of Palm Court on Boxing Day night.

Hospitalized is Deodat Ramsamooj, 63, a father of two of Eccles, East Bank Demerara. Based on information received, the accident occurred at around 20: 27 hrs. at the intersection of the western carriageway of Main and Middle Streets.

According to a video footage seen by Kaieteur News, Ramsamooj was seen standing a little distance from the entrance of Palm Court, attempting to cross Main Street.

A white car, which was travelling north along the western carriageway of Main Street at a fast rate of speed, ended up colliding with the man. As a result, the businessman fell some distance away from where he stood.

Based on the police report, Ramsamooj was picked up in a conscious state by the medical personnel from the Guyana Fire Service and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

He was admitted for emergency surgery.

According to the police, checks were made for witnesses, by no one came forward. The police are currently reviewing CCTV footage of the accident for

James Anderson celebrated the milestone on New Year Day. (Peter Lester photo)

J

Businessman, Deodat Ramsamooj, a few hours before the accident

details on the driver.

Investigations are still ongoing.

Speaking with this publication, the man's wife related that she, her husband and their children were at a family gathering at a relative in Kitty, earlier that evening.

She disclosed that her husband informed her that he was stepping out for a bit.

Approximately at 20:45 hrs., she received a call from a family friend who told her of the accident, indicating to her that her husband may have been involved.

After the call, she went to the GPHC and saw her husband in a critical state.

The woman explained

that her husband is suffering a broken right arm and leg, displaced pelvis, neck injuries, fractured ribs and injuries to the head.

According to the woman her husband has not fully regained consciousness. She also disclosed that since the night of the accident, the police have not yet given any information on the driver of the motorcar.

The wife told this publication that she has decided to offer a reward to anyone who witnessed the accident or may have any information relating to the driver.

Persons can contact her on telephone numbers 6144077 or 662-2826.

James Anderson is 100

ames Anderson celebrated his 100th birthday on Friday, January 1, 2021, with close family members at Ann's Grove, East Coast Demerara.

As is customary, a Ministry of Human Services and Social Security representative delivered a celebratory hamper filled with his favourite treats.

According to one of his grand-daughters, Elva, Anderson credits his long life to eating fresh vegetables and fish, and keeping a jolly side.

The centenarian was married to Mavis, who died 26 years ago. He is the father of four (one has died), and has six grandchildren, a Ministry statement said.

PAGE 52

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

Sunday January 03, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Son and Kane on target as Spurs beat Leeds BBC Sport - Son Heungmin scored his 100th goal for Tottenham as they returned to winning ways in the Premier League against Leeds.

Spurs’ first league victory since 6 December lifts them to third in the table, with Leeds remaining 11th.

While Jose Mourinho’s side merited their win, Leeds played a significant part in their own downfall.

Goalkeeper Illan Meslier’s misplaced pass led to Harry Kane opening the scoring with a penalty after Ezgjan Alioski fouled Steven Bergwijn.

Kane then turned provider, with a curling cross from the right that was swept

in by Son at the near post as the hosts doubled their advantage.

While Leeds streamed forward at every opportunity and carved out chances of their own, they often left themselves exposed in defence and were fortunate not to be more severely punished by Mourinho’s side.

As it was, Toby Alderweireld’s near-post header rounded off the scoring at the start of the second half, with Meslier again culpable as he fumbled the ball over the line.

It was a welcome outcome for Mourinho, who called the situation around

Wednesday’s postponed match against Fulham “unprofessional” and is also likely to have been unimpressed by three of his players breaching coronavirus rules by attending a party over Christmas.

The only negative of the day for Spurs was the stoppage-time dismissal of defender Matt Doherty for a second booking.

Son and Kane spark Spurs The problem for Spurs fans and Mourinho over recent weeks has been you are never quite sure exactly what to expect from this Tottenham team.

There is the side that is

Sunday January 03, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today is a great day to check off all the items on that list of yours, Aries. Get it done.

At the same time, realize that your emotions might be a bit clouded and that things that seem genuine may actually be just a mirage.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Today is a great day to let your artistic nature shine through. Your sense of color and pattern is right on target and your words are more poetic than usual.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Turn up your fantasy dial and let your imagination run wild. Your intuition is strong today, and you should give your emotions room to flow.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Issues may be clouded today. The things that seem real may actually be illusions. You might find that you feel a bit more reserved than usual and that you want to hold tight to your material possessions for comfort.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Your emotions may be confused today. People may seem to rub you the wrong way, and you may feel like you're all alone in the world.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Terrific energy flows your way today. Make sure that what you're dealing with is genuine. There's a tendency for people to get lost in their fantasy worlds.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You may be out of step with the rest of the world today, Cancer, but don't sweat it.

This is a good day to finish projects. Your head may be in the clouds and your emotions foggier than usual.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The heaviness of the day weighs on you. Take your time with projects and carefully evaluate all the facts before making a decision.

People can be deceptive, so be careful in all your dealings.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Stay grounded and focused today, Leo, You can accomplish a lot if you set your mind to it. You may sense a blurry cloud lingering - this is your emotion talking.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your fantasy world is especially piqued today, Aquarius. Your need to escape physical reality is strong. Be careful about how you go about this. Dreams may take you there, but be rational so you aren't left more confused than before.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today's events may cause disruption in your routine, Virgo. Your emotions may seem clouded, and other people may challenge aspects of your ego. Relationships with the opposite sex may not be great today, so don't try to force an issue.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) People may tug at you from all sides today, Pisces. No matter which way you turn, someone is there. Be patient and levelheaded. Your time will come.

ruthless, relentless and showed clinical efficiency during victories over both Manchester clubs and their north London rivals Arsenal.

And there is the one that stuttered and at times retreated while conceding late goals that cost them points in fixtures with Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Wolves.

However, one constant is the deadly partnership of Kane and Son, who have now combined for 13 top-flight goals this term, to equal the record set by Blackburn’s

Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton in 1994-95.

The ‘SAS’ spearheaded Kenny Dalglish’s side to the league title that term and Mourinho will surely privately have not dismissed that his side could yet find the momentum for a title tilt despite previously downplaying their chances.

Kane, who was a threat from the moment he flashed an early left-foot drive over the Leeds bar, has now scored against all 30 teams he has faced in the Premier

League.

Son, whose energy and running provided the spark for many of Tottenham’s attacks, emphasised his importance with a superb display that has now seen him contribute to 17 goals in his last 14 matches.

With Bergwijn failing to convert from three good opportunities and Ben Davies also blazing over when wellplaced, their performance also underlined Tottenham’s reliance on their star forward duo.

...Barnwell disappointed not to be From page 55 maiden ODI tour. “I never told anyone that I was unavailable since none of the selectors contacted me. Yes, I am still interested in playing for the West Indies that’s why I am still playing regional cricket,” disclosed the DCC AllRounder.

But he is not daunted by his non-selection and aims to impress in this year’s Regional Super50 which is slated for next month in Antigua.

“The preparation for the Regional Super50 starts tomorrow at LBI with a fitness test before three practice matches are played (Jan 8, 10 & 12).

But I am feeling pretty good after getting a few matches in Florida in US Open T20 tournament which was played atthe Central Broward Regional Park Stadium from December 15 and 20,” Barnwell informed.

Meanwhile, Guyanese left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul was eventually selected for this month’s Test tour after being ignored for Test Cricket since 2015 despite not claiming less than 40 wickets in a season for the last five years.

He finished the 2020 season with 50 wickets; the third time he has taken 50 scalps in a single season including his Regional record of 67 scalps in 2015 and has 535 wickets from 120 First-Class matches including 18 from six Tests.

Permaul joined off-spinner Shane Shillingford and leftarm spinner Nakita Miller as the only bowlers with 500 regional first class wickets and bagged three five-wickets and two 10-wicket hauls in the truncated 2020 season.

He was not selected for either the England or New Zealand Test tours this year although he captured 7-59 and 8-18 this season to register the second best match figures in West Indies Regional Cricket since 1966.

Permaul’s non-selection came during his most produc-

tive period of his career, while Clive Lloyd, Courtney Browne and Harper were the Head of the Regional Panel.

Romario Shepherd (ODI) and Permaul (Test) are the only Guyanese selected for the tour to Bangladesh.

Test squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle

Mayers, Shayne Moseley, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemar Roach, Raymon Reifer, Jomel Warrican ODI squad: Jason Mohammed (capt), Sunil Ambris, Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Da Silva, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Andre McCarthy, Kjorn Ottley, Rovman Powell, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 54

Sunday January 03, 2021

Maradona was a poet and a Kyoji Horiguchi great champion - Pope Francis recaptures portsMax - Diego remember with pleasure bantamweight belt M a r a d o n a h a s everything that Diego did for been hailed as a Scholas Occurrentes, the with first round “poet and a great foundation that takes care of champion” by Pope Francis, the needy all over the world,” stoppage at Rizin 26 the head of the Catholic The Pope told Gazzetta dello

S

Kyoji Horiguchi recaptured the Rizin bantamweight title with a first-round stoppage win over Kai Asakura at Rizin 26.

MMA Weekly - Kyoji Horiguchi recaptured the Rizin bantamweight title with a first-round stoppage win over Kai Asakura at Rizin 26 on Friday. The UFC veteran was returning after a lengthy layoff and coming off a loss to the same opponent.

Horiguchi was back to his brilliant best and Asakura simply had no answer for his striking. The champion was on the receiving end of a series of right low kicks at the start of the fight.

Asakura tried to counter with a high kick, but Horiguchi made him miss and continued to punish the lead left leg. The champion was in visible discomfort and tried to turn the fight around with a flying knee.

He only succeeded in throwing himself into Horiguchi’s right hand. The challenger dropped him hard. Seconds later the fight was over with the referee stepping in to save a stricken Asakura from further punishment.

The finish came at 2:47 and Horiguchi regains the Rizin bantamweight belt, improving to 29-3. Asakura dropped to 16-3 after seeing his three-fight winning

streak snapped.

In the first title fight of the night, Ayaka Hamasaki needed just 102 seconds to submit Miyuu Yamamoto.

The fight had the super atomweight belt vacated by ONE Championship bound Seo Hee Ham on the line.

Yamamoto’s right leg was heavily bandaged and Hamasaki set out to target it with kicks. The strategy appeared to backfire when her veteran opponent caught one and completed the takedown.

Undeterred, Hamasaki looked to lock in a Kimura from the bottom. Yamamoto locked her hands together to ward off the submission, but was swept from top position with her arm still trapped.

Hamasaki had one leg wrapped either side of her opponent’s neck with the arm trapped and she cranked on the submission long enough for Yamamoto to tap twice. The finish came at the 1:42 mark courtesy of a leg scissor choke.

With the win, Hamasaki recaptured the Rizin 108pound belt she lost last year and improved to 21-3. Her opponent dropped to 6-5 and Yamamoto’s title ambitions appear to be over.

Church.

Maradona passed away at the age of 60 in November having suffered heart failure.

The former Argentina star is considered as one of the world’s greatest ever players, having led his country to World Cup glory in 1986 and taken Napoli from Serie A also-rans to one of Italy’s dominant forces.

Maradona had his offfield issues, including drug abuse and doping scandals, but Pope Francis, who met Maradona in 2014, praised the impact his compatriot had.

“I met Diego Armando Maradona during a Match for Peace in 2014: I

Sport.

“On the pitch he was a poet and a great champion who gave joy to millions of people, in Argentina as in Naples. He was also a very fragile man.”

Pope Francis also recalled his memories of the 1986 World Cup, with Maradona starring in Mexico, finishing with five goals and assisting Argentina’s winner in the final.

“I have a personal memory linked to the 1986 World Cup, the one that Argentina won thanks to Maradona,” Pope Francis continued.

“I was in Frankfurt; it

Diego Maradona has been hailed as a “poet and a great champion” by Pope Francis. was a difficult time for me, I was studying the language and collecting material for my thesis.

“I hadn’t been able to see the World Cup final and I only learned the next day of Argentina’s victory over Germany, when a Japanese boy wrote ‘Viva l’Argentina’ on the blackboard during a German lesson.

“I remember it,

personally, as the victory of loneliness because I had no one with whom to share the joy of that sporting victory: loneliness makes you feel alone, while what makes joy beautiful is being able to share it.

“When I was told of Maradona’s death, I prayed for him and sent the family a rosary with a few personal words of comfort.”

NBA roundup: Beal posts 31 in Wizards’ first win Bradley Beal scored 31 points to lift the Washington Wizards to their first win of the season, 130-109 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in Minneapolis.

Beal became the first player in franchise history to start a season with at least 25 points in the team’s first six games.

Washington’s Thomas Bryant finished with 18 points after making all seven of his shots from the floor.

The sharp-shooting performance came one day after Bryant went 10 of 11 from the field for 28 points in the Wizards’ 133-130 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Wizards star Russell Westbrook (rest) didn’t play. Malik Beasley scored 12 of his 21 points in the first quarter for the Timberwolves, who have lost three in a row while playing without star KarlAnthony Towns (dislocated left wrist).

Los Angeles Lakers 109 San Antonio Spurs 103 Anthony Davis had 34 points and 11 rebounds, and Los Angeles won at San Antonio for the second time in three days.

LeBron James had 26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals for the Lakers, who beat the Spurs 121-107 at San Antonio on Wednesday behind 26 points from James. Dennis Schroder added 15 points and Kyle Kuzma contributed 11 for the Lakers.

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 26 points while

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the first quarter at Target Center. (David Berding-USA TODAY Sports) DeMar DeRozan collected 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Rudy Gay chipped in 15 points.

Atlanta Hawks 114 Brooklyn Nets 96 De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points, Trae Young added 21 points and Atlanta never trailed in continuing its quick start with a victory over Brooklyn in New York.

The Hawks ended a sixgame losing streak at Brooklyn and rebounded nicely from allowing 145 points Wednesday in a fourpoint loss to the Nets. Hunter made 9 of 10 shots while Young hit 7 of 21 and only got to the free throw line four times. He added seven assists. John Collins added 20 points and eight rebounds, highlighting his big night with two emphatic dunks in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant paced the Nets with 28 points on 10 of 21 shooting, but Kyrie Irving struggled at times. Irving had 18 points and 11 rebounds but shot 6 of 21 and missed 9 of 11 of his 3-point attempts.

Portland Trail Blazers 123 - Golden State Warriors 98 CJ McCollum led an early barrage of 3-pointers with four in the first nine minutes, helping Portland build a big early lead en route to a victory over Golden State in San Francisco.

Damian Lillard led all scorers with 34 points and McCollum totaled 28 as the Trail Blazers improved to 21 o n t h e i r f o u r- g a m e California road trip. The clubs will meet again Sunday night, also in San Francisco.

Stephen Curry had a team-high 26 points for the

Warriors, who were making their season home debut.

Curry shot 4-for-12 on 3point attempts.

Utah Jazz 106 - Los Angeles Clippers 100 Mike Conley scored 33 points and hit a career-hightying seven 3-pointers to lift Utah to a victory over Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.

On a night when Jazz leading scorer Donovan Mitchell had a quiet outing with just 15 points, Conley picked up the slack with his first 30-point game since March 2019. Conley scored seven of the Jazz’s last nine points, hitting a shot-clockbeating 3-pointer and sinking four free throws in the final 1:48.

Dallas Mavericks 93 Miami Heat 83 Luka Doncic amassed 27 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as host Dallas earned a win over Miami.

The Heat missed their first 14 3-point attempts, finally sinking a long-range shot when Duncan Robinson converted with 9:07 left in the third quarter. In the end, Miami shot 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Dallas was 12 of 37 (32.4 percent) on 3-point attempts.

In other results: Detroit Pistons 96 Boston Celtics 93 Milwaukee Bucks 126 Chicago Bulls 96 Phoenix Suns 106 Denver Nuggets 103 Memphis Grizzlies 108 Charlotte Hornets 93 (Field Level Media)

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 55

LeBron James said it was ‘a beautiful thing’ to watch Becky Hammon take over the Spurs

I

nsider - Becky Hammon is used to making history, but e v e n s h e acknowledged that the milestone she hit Wednesday night qualified as “a substantial moment.”

After Gregg Popovich was ejected during the second quarter of the Spurs’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the legendary San Antonio head coach handed over the reins to Hammon, rendering her the first woman head coach in NBA history.

“Obviously, it’s a big deal,” Hammon said after the game, per ESPN. “I’ve been a part of this organization, I got traded here in 2007, so I’ve been in San Antonio and part of the Spurs and sports organization with the Stars and everything for 13 years.

So I have a lot of time invested, and they have a lot of time invested in me, in building me and getting me better.”

LeBron James, who was playing against Hammon’s Spurs Wednesday night, said it was “a beautiful thing just to hear her barking out calls, barking out sets” at the AT&T Center.

“She’s been putting in the work, and any time you put in the work, you get r e w a r d e d w i t h opportunities,” James said.

“Tonight was a case where

Becky Hammon warms up with players prior to a Spurs game.

(Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports)

Becky Hammon.

(Stephen R. SylvanieUSA TODAY Sports)

she got to step in and show her work, show her talents and her love for the game, and obviously, what she did as a player, first of all, we all know that. So her mind was able to transfer to our league, and she’s been great ever since she got in.”

“She’s very passionate about the game, so congrats to her and congrats to the league,” James added.

Hammon overtook head coaching responsibilities upon Popovich’s ejection, which came after the 71year-old snapped at a referee over a no-call with just under

four minutes remaining in the second quarter. So with San Antonio trailing by 11, Pop pointed at Hammon to signal the historic passing of the torch and “said, ‘You got ‘em,’ and that was it.” “ Ve r y P o p - l i k e , ” Hammon added.

Though the Spurs went on to lose 121-107 to the reigning champions, Hammon rallied her team to cut the Lakers’ lead to five later in the second quarter and to less than 10 multiple times throughout the second half. Though the former WNBA star acknowledged

that “the guys responded great” to her assuming head

coaching responsibilities, she admitted that she “would have loved to have walked out of there with the win.”

But the 43-year-old should have plenty more opportunities to lead NBA teams to victory, at least according to one of the winningest coaches in NBA history.

“Obviously, I think very much of her abilities having hired her,” Popovich said before Wednesday night’s game. “That all began when I saw her play. She was a

leader, everybody on the team reacted to her, she was very confident, very competitive, and she led the whole show. And when I got to know her, and she was in our coaches meetings before she was hired... we found out about her knack for the game, her innate understanding of what wins, what loses, what has to be there to make a program.”

“She’s got all of the tools necessary to be a heck of a coach in our league,” he added.

Man United close in on Liverpool with 2-1 Villa win (Pool via Reuters/Laurence Griffiths)

Former India captain Ganguly stable after heart operation

A

FP - Indian cricket legend S o u r a v Ganguly was rushed to hospital yesterday where he underwent a heart operation, doctors said.

The 48-year-old, who now heads the country’s cricket board, suffered a heart attack while exercising at his personal gym in the morning and was immediately taken to Woodlands hospital in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.

“Sourav Ganguly has undergone an angioplasty and he is completely stable now,” doctor Saroj Mandal told reporters outside the hospital, where crowds had gathered after hearing the news about their beloved former captain.

A medical team comprising five doctors has been set up to monitor his condition.

Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said he had spoken to Ganguly’s family, and he was stable and “responding well to the treatment”.

In 2019, Ganguly was unanimously elected president of the BCCI, the sport’s most powerful body.

After a successful playing career during which he captained his country’s team, Ganguly was instrumental in organising the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates last year.

The left-handed opener retired from Test cricket in 2008 having accumulated

7,212 runs including 16 centuries - his first made at Lord’s on debut.

He also scored 11,363 r u n s i n 3 11 o n e - d a y internationals.

Ganguly - popularly referred to as Dada, which means “elder brother” in Bengali - enjoys massive popularity in the cricketcrazy nation and the news of his hospitalisation was the top trending news on Twitter. Ajinkya Rahane, who is currently the national side’s stand-in captain, tweeted: “Wishing you a speedy recovery Dada, @SGanguly99. Praying that you get well soon.”

“My thoughts are with his family and fans at this hour. Hope to see him back soon,” India coach Ravi Shastri posted on Twitter.

Aston Villa’s Keinana Davis in action with Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic and Harry Maguire at Old Trafford.

M

ANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Manchester United closed in on the Premier League’s pole position after a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa on Friday put them level on points and games played with champions and leaders Liverpool.

United trail their traditional rivals on goal difference with both teams on 33 points from 16 matches. Liverpool travel to Southampton tomorrow.

United stretched their unbeaten league run to 10 games as Bruno Fernandes capped another fine individual performance with a penalty after Bertrand Traore had cancelled out Anthony Martial’s opener for the home side.

The hosts had the upper hand in the first half and Martial forced an acrobatic save from Emiliano Martinez before he buried a superb diving header past the Villa goalkeeper after Aaron-Wan Bissaka’s cross in the 40th minute.

The visitors came close through Ollie Watkins before Traore got on the end of a sharp Jack Grealish pass at the far post and beat United keeper David De Gea with a slick shot from close range in the 58th.

But Villa’s joy was short-lived as Fernandes drilled his penalty into the bottom right corner three minutes later after Paul Pogba went down under a challenge from Douglas Luiz, with the spot-kick given after a VAR check.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 56

Sunday January 03, 2021

England’s Root says COVID cases would not derail Sri Lanka tour (Reuters) - England captain Joe Root is confident any positive COVID-19 tests in the squad would not force the cancellation of their twotest tour of Sri Lanka this month, but said his side would have to keep a close watch on their physical and mental wellbeing.

Part of the World Test Championship, the series was scheduled to take place in March last year but was postponed following the COVID-19 pandemic. It will now begin on Jan. 14.

E n g l a n d ’s o n e - d a y

international series in South Africa last month was postponed after breaches of the teams’ bio-secure environment in Cape Town, but Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa and Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand have both gone ahead despite positive cases in the squads.

“I don’t think it (positive cases) will result in an automatic end,” Root told reporters. “The reality is around the rest of the world... teams have had to deal with positive cases... We have to manage it as best we can.”

Root said the team would be travelling with a psychologist to help them cope with the challenges posed by playing during a pandemic.

“There’s going to be a little bit of extra support for the players in terms of a psychologist on the ground at all times, making sure there’s someone to speak to,” he added.

“If at any stage it becomes too much, they are entitled to get out... As captain, a big part of my role is to make sure people are

comfortable.”

England are fourth in the World Test Championship standings behind Australia, India and New Zealand and Root said his side must “play out of our skin” if they are to reach the final, which will be contested between the top two teams at Lord’s in June.

“We know we are not totally best placed at the moment, but we have a good opportunity to win games now,” he said. “All we can do is look after those performances.”

England’s Joe Root during the third Test against Pakistan last year, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

(Mike Hewitt/Pool via REUTERS)

Five touring Indian players in “I saw complete commitment andoff the pitch, football in a isolation after restaurant visit on good place,” - Márcio Máximo Vice-captain Rohit Sharma is one of the five players in isolation. (Getty Images)

BBC Sport - Five India players are isolating as a precaution after a video on social media showed them eating indoors at a Melbourne restaurant.

Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini - all part of India’s Test squad to play Australia will be isolated from other players but are still able to train.

Both teams are investigating to determine whether bio-secure protocols for the tour have been breached.

The third Test begins on 6 January.

The tour is being played with restrictions to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

While in Melbourne, where the recent second Test was played, players and staff are allowed to leave their hotel but if they attend a restaurant they must remain outdoors.

An India supporter posted a video on social media of the five players eating indoors at a restaurant on New Year’s Day. “The BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] and CA [Cricket Australia] are

investigating the matter and seeking to determine whether the outing constitutes a breach of biosecurity protocols,” a Cricket Australia statement said.

“In the interim, on the advice of the Australian and Indian medical teams, the aforementioned players have been placed in isolation as a precaution.

“This will include separating the group of players from the broader Indian and Australian squads when traveling and at the training venue.”

Tomorrow the teams are due to travel from Melbourne to Sydney for the third Test which will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

No details were given on whether the five players would be able to play in Sydney.

Pant and Gill both played in the second Test, which India won to level the four-Test series, while vice-captain Rohit was expected to play in the third, having recently quarantined for 14 days to join the squad late after injury.

By Franklin Wilson Head Coach of the Guyana Football Federation ( G G F S e n i o r M e n ’s National Team (SMNT) Márcio Máximo has expressed satisfaction and optimism that the game is destined to greater heights in 2021.

Máximo and members of h i s Te c h n i c a l Te a m i n c l u d i n g Te c h n i c a l Director Ian Greenwood and Head of Coaches Education, Wi l s o n To l e d o w h o witnessed all the action that unfolded at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence in the GFF, Kashif & Shanghai, Ministry of culture Youth and Sport (MCYS) Bounce Back Football Classic exuded satisfaction with the level of commitment towards the game that was displayed by all and sundry, on and off the pitch.

“The commitment I’ve seen gives me huge hope to better days coming soon, to big achievements that will put football on plateaus that it is never supposed to leave.”

The experienced tactician was pleased to see the level of tactical discipline exhibited by the players for the most part including many of the young and emerging players that have been part of the national grid.

“Like Kelsey Benjamin, Nicholas Mc Arthur, Cortez Kellman, Jeremy Garrett, Rafael Edwards, most young players did very well and this is great for football

in Guyana; it’s a great time because the talent is there.

So you should encourage them to play.”

Also making an impact were the teenagers who appeared, the likes of 16 year-old Darren Niles (West Demerara) and 17 year-old Omari Glasgow (East Coast) among others who did well.

He also singled out all the Coaches for the job that they have been doing and the impact they have been making.

“This encourages us and motivates us to continue our programme; to maintain our targets because it’s tough games coming for us. We have to maintain our principles and convictions that we can do it, it’s not impossible. I repeat that Guyana has lots of talent and we should encourage them to play continuously and give them hope to play in the national team.”

The Brazilian was also high in praise for the initiative of bringing the final live on television and returning to the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. “Thanks so much for all who were involved in making the event possible and congratulations.”

The GFF is set to have a hectic year with the SMNT competing in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F Qualifiers commencing in March. The teams in this group are Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, Puerto Rico and Bahamas.

While the task is challenging, Máximo is optimistic: “Maybe they say that Trinidad is favourite but it must be proven on the pitch. Even Guatemala but it should be proved on the pitch. We believe in our group and our ability to advance. We have a good mix of experienced and young players here and overseas that we can achieve great things with the right support.”

It is hoped that physical training and tests will commence shortly with the covid-19 guidelines to be strictly enforced. It is also hoped that following the physical tests, tactical training will commence in earnest in short order thereafter.

The support of the Government of Guyana t h r o u g h M i n i s t e r, t h e Honourable Charles Ramson Jnr. was highly commended by Máximo, who is coaching his fifth National team and alluded to the fact that governments play a vital role in the overall scheme of things when it comes to success.

“All the national teams that I’ve been involved with had the full support of their governments and what I have seen here for this tournament looks exciting for Guyana. The support of the private sector is also critical here and their combined support for Mr. Forde and the GFF I think is very crucial and timely for Guyana’s football development.”

Kaieteur News

Sunday January 03, 2021

PAGE 57

GFF/K and S/MCYS Bounce Back football classic

Benjamin second half strike hands Georgetown title

By Zaheer Mohamed

A

second half strike from K e l s e y Benjamin handed Georgetown All Star a 1-0 victory over Linden All Star when the teams collided in the final of the Guyana Football Federation/Kashif and Shanghai /Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Bounce Back Football classic on Friday night at the Guyana National Stadium.

The final of the fourteam tournament lived up to expectations and provided much entertainment for those that followed the game on social media. Despite a hiatus of some nine months due to the pandemic, the quality of the game didn’t suggest that the players were out for action.

Linden All Star dominated possession in the opening exchanges.

H o w e v e r, G e o rg e t o w n blossomed nicely as the game progressed. Linden All Star did manage to find the back of the net, but the referee sounded the whistle ruling the goal off-side.

Benjamin had an opportunity to put Georgetown ahead, but his shot from inside the area went wide, while his teammate Nicholas McArthur had an even better chance to put his name on the score sheet; with only goalkeeper Sase Norville to beat after a breakaway, he sent his shot wide. Just before half time, Norville made a fine save from

McArthur inside the six-yard box as the first half went goalless.

Both teams increased their pace following the break and Shane Haynes had a fair opportunity to give Linden All Star the lead, but his attempted shot from inside the six-yard box deflected the ball to the right corner after a cross from the left side of the area. As the teams continued to press forward in an effort to find the back of the net, Norville was drawn into action once again and made a fine save to deny the city side.

However, Benjamin stole the winner in the 69th minute following what could be considered a refereeing slip-up. Georgetown All Star won possession in their opponents’ half after a fowl was committednevertheless referee Sherwin Johnson allowed play to continue, not instituting the customary stop and start to action, but rather going with t h e f l o w.

Benjamin collected a pass from midfield and worked his way forward before finding the back of the net from the left side of the area. The goal triggered some protest some the Linden side, but it stood.

As Linden All Star pressed forward in search of an equaliser, Jermain Junior sent his shot over the bar following a pass from the left side. Georgetown Goalkeeper Alex Murray had a fine game, while their defence stood firm especially in the latter stages to deny Linden All Star.

Jeremy Garrett had an outstanding tournament.

Nicholas McArthur (left) and Abumuchi Benjamin were terrific thoughout the competition.

Speaking with the media following the contest, Minister of Sport Charles Ramson Jr. said he is pleased to be associated with the event. “It’s a historic event for several reasons. We were able to do this safely during this pandemic, recognizing that this pandemic is a challenge forced us to innovate.”

“When we started to examine our options, it was important that when we have the product of broadcasting it must be of a high standard.

The people who were looking at home were able to see Guyana is producing something of a high standard which is something all Guyana should be proud of.

The quality of the game was

impressive, especially under the circumstances. These guys have shown that they are at a good level to be able to progress quickly,” he added.

“Importantly, in doing this we have been able to provide the platform for a lot of young talent to get exposure across the country and further afield.

There are many persons who are going to be recruiting players in other parts of the world. They will be able to use this as a premium example and some of the individual players can use this as a platform to sell themselves. I am happy the GFF and the MCYS have been able to form a strong partnership that we can

aggressively enhance and I am proud the K and S tournament has returned.

The competition was the most successful sport tournament in the country and quite possibly the region. A lot of players have used the tournament to advance their career.”

GFF President Wayne Forde congratulated all who contributed towards the successful staging of the event. “We have been able to prove to our self that we can play the sport despite the challenges and do it well.

God willing the public health situation improves in 2021 I can assure the general public that we will have more events of similar nature and deliver football in the best

possible way to this nation.

It’s encouraging signs we have something good to work with.”

Director of K and S Organisation, Kashif Muhammad expressed gratitude to all stakeholders and said it is nice to have an opportunity to play the sport amidst the pandemic. “There were lots of followers on social media and I think we delivered well.

I hope we can persist and football can continue to win.

The youths were really excited and thank God we were able to give them the opportunity.”

The sponsors were KFC, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Exxon Mobil, Tiger Rentals, Trophy Stall and Bakewell.

Barnwell disappointed not to be picked in depleted Windies ODI team Barnwell goes big in his Regional Super50 series.

By Sean Devers Guyana Jaguars and West Indies T20 AllRounder Christopher Barnwell said he is disappointed not to be picked in the depleted Windies ODI team, adding that he is still interested in making his ODI debut for the West Indies.

Test Skipper, Jason Holder and White Ball Captain Kieron Pollard are among 12 senior West Indies cricketers to have opted out of the Bangladesh tour due to COVID-19 related concerns or personal issues. The others are Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston

Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich.

The Roger Harper led West Indies Selection panel was forced to pick what could be considered ‘B’ teams for the tour of the subcontinent,where the Directorate General of Health Services in Bangladesh reported that 684 new cases and 23 deaths occurred yesterday, making the tally at 515,184 and death toll at 7,599.

The tour includes three ODIs and two Tests in

Chattogram and Dhaka and commences with the first ODI on January 20 and Barnwell, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on January 6, said he was disappointed at not being selected to go to Bangladesh for the ODI series.

“My last super50 was good but could have been better, but I still give thanks to God for my performance. I ended among the top 10 batsmen with the most runs,” said Barnwell, who scored 351 runs from eight games with an average of 43.

In the only Regional tournament played for the

year, Barnwell scored 437 runs from eight First-Class matches with one century and two fifties and in List ‘A’ cricket the all-rounder has 1467 runs from 59 matches with an unbeaten 99 being his highest score. The DCC player also has 30 wickets with a best of 4-31 at an Average of 36.23, while he has taken three 4-wicket hauls.

Looking at the team picked, Barnwell, who has played six T20 Internationals for the West Indies between 2011 and 2013, would have fancied his chances of a (Continued on page 51)

The victorious Georgetown All Star team accept the winning trophy from Minister of Sport Charles Ramson Jr in the presence of GFF President Wayne Forde and Organisers. (Zaheer Mohamed photos)

GFF/K and S /MCYS Bounce Back football classic

Benjamin second half strike hands Georgetown title

Kelsey Benjamin

“I saw complete commitment on and off the pitch, football in a good place,” - Márcio Máximo Márcio Máximo (left) and Wilson Toledo.

Sourav Ganguly was unanimously elected president of the BCCI last year.

Former India captain Ganguly stable after heart operation Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.