Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR APNU/AFC who Saturday Edition NEWS signed Exxon’s p.3 deal now willing to support negotiation January 09, 2020 - Vol. 15 No. 01

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

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Online readership yesterday, 84,159

Venezuelan Maduro vows to “reconquer” p.

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Essequibo; makes new presidential decree Twitter bans Pres. Trump permanently Man remanded to jail for sexually molesting his children p.

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Trinidad’s PM Rowley taken to hospital

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Suspected electrical fire guts section of Fogarty's building p.

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AG says... Works begin p.

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on correcting electoral loopholes, weaknesses Guyana’s fishing industry doomed. Listen to a rebroadcast of the Glenn Lall show at 11:00am today on 99.1/99.5FM Kaieteur Radio

Despite setback, Olivia Bess admitted to local bar

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and Compton Bess and her brother who is also an attorney-at-law, Keavon Bess.

During her speech, Bess extend her gratitude to Justice Kertzious for accepting her petition and she also thanked her brother, Keavon for presenting her petition. The young attorney also thanked the other persons for their support and words of encouragement during her journey.

Bess began her academic life at Friendship Nursery School; she then went onto St. Andrews Primary School and Sacred Heart Primary School. After writing the National Grade Six Assessment and graduating primary school, she earned a spot at Tutorial High School.

She was then later accepted into St. Rose's High.

In 2014, she went on to study for her Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Guyana. Whilst studying for her LLB, Bess also studied for and obtained a Certificate in Psychology at the University of Guyana and a Certificate in Business Etiquette at Carnegie School

Man remanded to jail for sexually molesting his children

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he 40-year-old man from Region Three who was arrested for sexually molesting his two children was yesterday remanded to jail.

The man appeared at the Leonora Magistrate Court before Magistrate Zameena Ali-Seepaul where he was charged for sexual activity with a child family member under Section 10(3) (a) of the Sexual Offences Act 8:03.

He was not required to plea to the indictable charges that was read to him. Hence he was remanded to prison and the matter was adjourned until January 21.

According to reports, the incident had occurred over a period of time including the year 2020. Based on the information received, from

(From left) Rosemari Bess; attorney-at-law, Olivia Bess; Justice Sandra Kertzious; attorney-at-law, Keavon Bess; and Compton Bess

espite not being accepted to the Hugh Wooding Law School a few years ago, 26-year-old Olivia Olexis Bess was yesterday admitted to the Bar. Bess' petition was accepted by Justice Sandra Kertzious.

The brief admission ceremony was conducted at the Demerara High Court, and present at the ceremony was her parents, Rosemari

Saturday January 09, 2021

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of Management and Home Economics.

In 2017, she completed her LLB but was not granted a space on the list of top 25 students to attend Hugh Wooding Law School.

However being indefatigable in nature, Bess wrote the entrance examination in 2018 and was accepted into Hugh Wooding Law School to train for her Legal Education Certificate.

On November 16, 2020, Bess was deemed to have completed her training and was granted her certificate.

Her brother later presented her petition to be admitted to the local Bar and she was accepted.

time to time when the suspect consumes alcohol, he would allegedly molest both of his children. According to the police report, a relative had reported that upon visiting the children in December, one of the children had confided to them about the matter.

Acting on the information received, both the police and Childcare and Protection Agency visited the home of the children and they were rescued.

A medical examination was conducted on both children and proved that they were sexually molested. The man who was not home at the time was later apprehended by the police and told of the allegations. He was then arrested and taken into custody.

Brazilian man dies in hammock after complaining about pain

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Brazilian man on Wednesday died in a hammock after he complained about abdominal pain and swelling.

According to a police report, the only name given for the deceased is Piawi, 55, a miner that worked at Sand Hill Oku Backdam, Region Seven.

The report stated that Piawi had been working at the mining operation for the past six weeks and on the day in question he was in the camp resting in a hammock.

The man's coworkers told

the police that while Piawi was in the hammock resting, he started to complain about feeling pain and swelling in his abdomen.

The police were told that while transportation was being arranged to take him to seek medical attention he became motionless in the hammock whilst waiting.

On Thursday, his body was transported to the Bartica Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor. The investigation into the death of Piawi is ongoing.

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Saturday January 09, 2021

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Health Minister counters local APNU/AFC, who signed lab's claims of presence of new Exxon contract, now willing COVID-19 strain in country to support renegotiation

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ven after being a part of the c o a l i t i o n government that signed and failed to renegotiate the lopsided Stabroek Block Agreement, General Secretary of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and now Shadow Oil and Gas Minister David Patterson, has given his assurances that the coalition in opposition will support the People's Progressive Party /Civic government if they wish to renegotiate the ExxonMobil deal.

Patterson made these utterances during a Kaieteur Radio programme, Guyana's Oil & You on its end-of-year edition, where he told the panel of industry experts and listeners that during their five years in government, while holding the power and authority, the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) never got the chance to correct the poor provisions in the deal.

Examples of a few of these sub-standard provisions, which are crafted in such ways that Guyana would suffer significant value leakage, include

AFC Executive, David Patterson Guyana paying Exxon's billions of dollars in taxes; pre-contract costs discrepancies; unspecified interest rates expensed to Guyana for loans to the oil entities; weak environmental standards; Guyana's inability to control the amount of oil being produced; and infrastructure cost anomalies between the Liza One & Liza Two Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels.

If the new PPP/C

government wishes to renegotiate such a deal, Patterson indicated, the coalition will be offering their “unconditional support”.

Notably, during his time as Opposition Leader, now Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had repeatedly trashed the Exxon deal. Even in late December, the VP had taken issue with the fact that some of the wording of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) creates the impression that ExxonMobil and its cocontractors have sovereignty over Guyana.

He had said, in fact that “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 had said, “and some parts, wording of the contract confers or creates that impression that they have sovereignty over the country.”

But even with these concerning reservations and criticisms, the VP and the PPP/C government have refused to renegotiate the contract.

Guyana holds joint Ministerial meeting with T&T on market access

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Joint Ministerial Trade and Agricultural Meeting was held virtually between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) yesterday. The meeting's purpose was to discuss Guyana's difficulties as it relates to exporting products to Trinidad and Tobago.

Representing Guyana was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, and T&T was represented by their Minister of Trade and Industry, Senator Paula Gopee-Scoon, and her Minister of Foreign Affairs and International delegation.

Cooperation, Hugh Todd During the engagement, Todd stated that as small states, both Guyana and T&T, often face challenges while countries can enjoy the taking on a competitive benefits that come with the global arena. In light of that, R e v i s e d T r e a t y o f he said that “It is for us to be C h a g u a r a m a s a n d able to engage fruitfully at the CARICOM Single Market political level with the and Economy (CSME).

In her address, T&T's support of our technical t e a m s , ” s o t h a t b o t h Minister Gopee-Scoon stated

that the country's relationship with Guyana continues to be of importance and also noted that Guyana is a major market for products exported from Trinidad and Tobago.

While engaging on Guyana's market access to Trinidad and Tobago, the ban on the importation of poultry meat from Guyana was discussed along with an agreement to regulate trade in equine being formalized.

They also discussed the transshipment of honey and other items and committed to holding future discussions amongst technical experts from both countries.

Also in attendance at the joint meeting were, Guyana's Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Wa l r o n d a n d F o r e i g n Secretary, Robert Persaud, T&T's Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat and technical experts.

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he Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony has countered claims made by a local laboratory indicating that the new strain of the COVID-19 virus may be present in Guyana and they could do testing.

While delivering the COVID-19 update on Thursday, the Minister maintained that Guyana does not have the capacity to test for the new strain of the virus whether at public or private institutions. In light of this, the strain cannot be detected in the country making those reports false.

The new strain of the virus was first announced by the United Kingdom late last year and it was also stated that a new strain was found in SouthAfrica.

On December 30, last year, the Minister made the initial announcement that the country lacks the capacity to test for the new strain of the virus, but he did state that the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) can do the testing and discussions are underway to have samples sent out.

Further explaining, Dr. Anthony said none of the local laboratories possesses the in-house capacity because the testing is done through genetic sequencing. He said, “To differentiate between variants and/or mutations with the virus, it would mean that our laboratories must be able to do genetic analysis and we don't have that.”

The Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony Minister Anthony did not name the local laboratory during his address, however, the Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc., a private laboratory had announced on Monday that it can do testing for the new strain.

Subsequently, reports were seen in other sections of the media stating that according to tests done by Eureka, the new variant of the virus may have been in Guyana since December last year.

It was stated that the lab detected “abnormalities” in persons who tested positive for COVID-19. These abnormalities according to Paul Cheddie, Virology Laboratory Manager at Eureka, were discovered in December mainly in persons who recently travelled outside of Guyana.

Cheddie told other sections of the media that the

test the institution is using involves identifying three genes linked to the virus SARS-CoV2, which causes COVID-19. He said that those genes help to enable the COVID variants to bind to human cells, which later enters and infects cells.

Adding to that, he said that when testing is conducted if one less gene is found then there is a possibility that the persons can be infected with the new variant.

In their release on Monday, they said, “We would like to reassure our valued customers and partners that the assays we are currently using to detect SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) are capable of successfully identifying persons with either the common strain of the virus or its mutated variants.”

But Cheddie later said that Eureka can determine if a person has likely been infected with a variant of COVID-19 but cannot definitively state which variant the person might be infected with.

Cheddie was quoted saying, “Any further identification or characterisation of the variant would require us to do genomic sequencing which we are not able to do at this time, mainly because of resource constraints.”

The Health Minister has since urged those releasing information that the new variant might be in Guyana to be cautious since it is yet to be detected here and Guyana lacks the capacity to test for it.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday January 09, 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

On Shame and Opportunity Six months ago, Justin Gest, a political scientist at George Mason University in the United Sates, writing in the respected journal, ‘Foreign Policy’, made the case the David Granger administration’s then three-month long attempt to defy the will of the people and collude with elements in GECOM to steal the elections was a potential portent of what the citizens of the United States could expect from the Trump administration later in the year.

“A country has reached a constitutional crisis,” wrote Gest, “The validity of its national election is in dispute...

However, the chief executive refuses to concede. Instead, he accuses the opposition of stuffing ballot boxes and fraudulent voting in several electoral districts. He orders the election commission to re-count the votes and, when the initial result is confirmed, the government’s top elections officer invalidates hundreds of thousands of ballots. The incumbent declares his reelection. You could be forgiven for projecting onto this scenario your worst fears about President Donald Trump and the U.S. elections in November.

Numerous pundits have played out this scenario already in the press. But this is not the United States—at least not yet.” As the events of the past few weeks have shown, Gest’s predictions – not surprisingly to any keen observer of the politics of both countries – came through. Moving forward, it is hopeful that today’s editorial in ‘The Economist’, written about the United States and aptly titled, “The Shame and the Opportunity”, can provide some lessons for the now opposition here, these words in particular: “Stand back from the nonsense about stolen elections, and the scale of Republicans’ failure under Mr. Trump becomes clear. Having won the White House and retained majorities in Congress in 2016, defeat in Georgia means that the party has lost it all just four years later… Normally, when a political party suffers a reverse on such a scale it learns some lessons and comes back stronger… Reinvention will be harder this time.”

The prognosis at this point, however, is not promising.

In its most recent foray into inanity and senility, the current posture of Mr. Granger’s machinery is an appeal to the Joseph Biden administration to work with them to remove the PPP/ C from power. This complete absurdity from the country’s leading opposition party would have to be premised on a reality in which not only is Biden going to be unaware of the internationally condemned rigging attempted by Granger but in which there was not in fact bipartisan condemnation of Granger’s anti-democratic antics by members of the US Congress. Indeed, one of the abject failures of the APNU+AFC political machinery was its efforts using the Washington lobbying firm JJ&B LLC to seek to convince US legislators to support its attempt at rigging the election, resulting in nothing more significant than a clumsy halfcommittal by New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, a man already comprised by headline participation in an APNU+AFC victory rally in 2015. In contrast, several powerful committees in both the Senate and Congress joined the US State Department in condemning the obstinate criminality that was taking place here in Guyana. If anything, considering that Biden faced his own version of Granger in Mr. Trump, the Coalition will have no friends in the new US government, particularly if they continue with the farce of claiming electoral fraud. Guyanese are still waiting for Mr. Granger to emerge from wherever he is hiding to present the Statements of Poll that he claimed to have in his possession that showed him, in keeping with Clairmont Mingo’s corrupt figures, having won last year’s elections. Additionally, now calling on Biden to remove the legitimately elected Ali administration is a complete volte-face of the Granger administration’s supposedly principled position last year that the United States needs to stay out of Guyana’s sovereign affairs.

It is therefore unclear why, in light of these very basic and glaring realities, that the People’s National Congress continues to carry on this macabre theatre of cognitive dissonance, as if we all were somehow transported over the past year back into the 1970s, the height of Burnhamite

Far too many inappropriate sentences for offenders DEAR EDITOR, I write to you on a legal topic. I have noticed that there are far too many inappropriate sentences for offenders in the Assizes, of which I read almost every month at least twice in your widely read newspaper here in the diaspora, of offenders who are found guilty of a capital offence, and in particular the recent sentence received by Foster Gravesande of Mahaica in the Demerara Assizes, and that no one in the judicial hierarchy seems concerned.

As a former practitioner in Guyana myself, and with a keen sense of seeing fair play occurring in civil society, I would like to say that Guyana should take a harder look at its sentencing laws and principles used by judges, and introduce new legislation accordingly to suit the times.

Here in Ontario in 2021, firstly, a good sentencing technique that a judge often use upon a similar person like Foster Gravesande, who, from what I read in the Article entitled on page eight Kaieteur News January 8, 2021 edition, ‘The only thing

is that I love women...

Mahaica man tells court before he gets 56 years for murder’, has been a model citizen and a model prisoner for the past four years, would be to declare him as a dangerous offender due to the nature and gravity of his crime.

In Ontario, such a designation will oftentimes result in an indeterminate sentence by a judge, with eligibility to apply for parole after seven years due to statutory legal guidelines.

The learned judge in Guyana gave Mr. Gravesande the quantum of 56 years with eligibility for parole after 28 years.

I find such a sentence very interesting as a lawyer. I find it interesting because if one is sent to the “slammers” for 60 or more years with eligibility for parole exceeding 25 years, and as in Gravesande’s case – eligibility for parole after 28 years – certainly you will never get parole, in essence when you are in your 50s as Mr. Gravesande is.

Now, in my humble view that portion of the sentence

is cruel and inhumane and ought to be addressed by the legislators and/or Chancellor and/or AG, as it is not just cruel and inhumane, but unconscionable and difficult for me to digest as an individual living in a civil society.

Why would a judicial officer see it appropriate to say that an offender is to be eligible for parole until he is 106 years of age, when the average lifespan of a citizen in Guyana is a mere 63 – is that how we ought to operate when we wear a justice cap in 2021? I ask.

Here, in Ontario, the sentencing regime only permits a sentencing judge concrete parameters within which he or she must deliver an appropriate sentence, and if a judge overrides those parameters his or her Regional Supervisor, a senior judge, may “accost” that judge to keep him or her “in line and in conformity” and, I end by saying that with Ontarian judges, I have found that they would use seven years as eligibility for parole as a yardstick for when even the most dangerous offender

with first degree murder faces them in the courtroom.

Ontarian justice system accords high regard to human dignity and the right of an offender to make amends for a bad deed, particularly when there is a punitive measure taken by the State, and the sentencing laws are geared to that end.

I therefore feel Guyana ought to take guidance from the Ontarian jurisdiction, which is known for its excellent judicious sentencing regime, and which I don’t hesitate to say, is very similar to almost all the other common law jurisdictions of the Commonwealth, like Australia, the U.K., etc.

I shudder to think what would have happened to the lawyer’s thought processes, who appeared for the Defence at the Sentencing Hearing following the decision by the learned judge in the Demerara Assizes for the rest of that day, much less Mr. Gravesande, the offender, himself.

Sincerely, M. Shabeer Zafar Barrister, Solicitor Notary

Democracy must not be taken for granted DEAR EDITOR, Now that the dust appears to be settling in Washington following the storming of America’s Bastille, and, as Americans prepare for the inauguration of their 46th president questions still linger over the security breaches at the Capitol.

Sometime in the late 1980’s while the PPP was in opposition, I was given the opportunity through a USAID exchange programme to visit America for the first time.

Our programme included a conducted tour of the Capitol. Security procedures to move around the building were extraordinarily tight to the point of being puzzling at that time. I was nevertheless impressed with the security arrangements.

The second occasion was

in 1990 when I accompanied Dr. Jagan to lobby some congressmen and senators in support of free and fair elections in Guyana. The impressive security arrangements appeared to be the same, even though appointments were made well in advance for the then Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the PPP. During my tenure of Foreign Minister, I had the opportunity to enter the UK’s House of Commons, the European Parliament, Parliament of Canada, as well as the Parliaments of South Africa and India. It is not easy to gain access to the hallowed chambers of those buildings.

Security coverage is at its highest 24/7. Cameras and scanners are all over.

Security protocols catering for visits to the

dictatorship, including virtual absolute control over the dissemination of information to the general public.

What is clear however is that with the PNC suffering from what is essentially Trumpian leadership and all its attendant pathologies under Granger, the burden of taking advantage of the opportunity for reform falls, at least in the political realm, directly to the People’s Progressive Party and the single seat joinder list. The problem is that it does not matter if the current incumbent has truly embarked on a Road to Damascus journey away from the hegemonic excesses of its own not so distant past – credible bipartisan leadership is needed to reform the political system as a whole, and this cannot be done if the Opposition continues to operate within the boundaries of the decrepit alternate reality, the tragi-comic, manic, regressive fever-dream being generated by Guyana’s own shameless Green Wizard of Oz. Considering that her potential political allies in the Alliance For Change and whatever remains of APNU share the essential

Capitol by individuals and groups are one thing, but security to counter an assault by thousands of violent rioters committing an assault on the building is another.

Not even the 2,000 strong members of the Capitol Police was sufficient enough to beat back the massive breach of security of the building by a riotous mob.

It appears that there was gross over-estimation, not only of the Capitol Police’s strength but of their ability to contain what symbolically was declared ‘an attack on democracy’. The guns in the holsters of the police and long guns at their disposal were useless in scenes of chaos.

What seemed strange to me was that a place like the Capitol which is Federal property is protected by what is now proven to be a poorly

trained police force incapable of repelling assaults of the kind we just witnessed. The Saturday morning quarterbacks are now busily asking a plethora of questions and the call has been made for an independent investigation to be carried out.

The attention paid to the ‘unprecedented assault on democracy’ by millions of Americans, not to mention millions around the world, including world leaders, is a reflection of the interest and impact that an assault this scale and magnitude would have on the entire world.

To witness the unprecedented breach of security of the Capitol in a country like America is unbelievable but it happened. At the same time, (Continued on page 6)

qualities of the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, it leaves none other than PNC Chair, Volda Lawrence – provided that she survives her current stint before the court on charges of electoral fraud – to be the Dorothy that leads the Opposition and by extension its political base back to some semblance of reality. In preparation for her party’s national congress, Lawrence, who decisively won the Chair in 2018, needs to challenge Granger for the leadership on an agenda of acceptance of the will of the people and a programme for credible, not comical, opposition to the governing party. For its part, that governing party, even as it needs to exercise zero tolerance for opportunistic attacks on the legitimacy of its mandate, has to create a framework that incorporates reasonable engagement by the political opposition for the good of all the people of Guyana. President Irfaan Ali, having secured a solid mandate for leadership, needs to be ready to transform this country’s political system to prevent the sort of shameful actions that descended upon us last year.

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Kaieteur News

President Trump is the one most Passport processing time needs only position that sequence of facts and compiled/validated and accountable the Ambassador Lynch could moments, as initiated by, to improve even contemplate.

However, I must say incorporated online to be DEAR EDITOR, I refer to an article in another section of the media titled, “US Ambassador Lynch: “Lawlessness and rioting are always unacceptable”; those responsible for Capitol riot will be “held accountable” (DW, January 7). I am glad that Her Excellency broke her silence: Thank you, Excellency.

Now I have a problem. I am with, and all for, all of the curative and high ground things covered by Ambassador Lynch. Again, and again, I am impressed by how well representatives of the ilk of Her Excellency has served her country (dare I say, too, my country?). Objectives are followed through thick and thin; and regardless of the obstacles and critics, she has put her head down, stood her ground, and carried on unfazed. Just like that old hit commercial about a man sleeping, dreaming, and waking with one thing and one thing only on his mind: it has got to be about the donuts. So, too, the American Ambassador has followed her mandate from Washington, D.C., and carried the baton of responsibility. But now I have a reality check for her and other Americans, who may think along the same lines like me.

The Ambassador spoke of what happened as being “always unacceptable.” Of course, it cannot, should not, and must not be any other way. Quite candidly, that was

have taken and that is rational and justified. In fact, even President Trump, realizing belatedly the folly of his ways, called the behaviour of the mob “outrageous” and “lawless.” What he has to say about anything does not matter anymore. What our resident American Ambassador does say, however, should be listened to, parsed, and weighed. I have done all of that and come to a place, which I am almost sure that will make Her Excellency recoil. Somebody has to take responsibility for the hard part, and it might as well be me, so off I go. As I share, I trust that I will not assault the sensitivities of Her Excellency. According to the article, Ambassador Lynch stated that those responsible will be “held accountable.”

Indeed, and well said. I am always for that, too. But, after all is said and done, the ultimately responsibility for the mayhem, loss of life, property damage, and damage to American honour and prestige rest with one person only: President Donald Trump. I repeat for emphasis: the ultimate responsibility for Wednesday’s intolerable and unacceptable and disgraceful debacles rests solely and squarely with President Donald Trump. He should be held accountable. He should be called to book, and then have it thrown at him. Though U.S. presidents are exempt, I would have locked him up.

I tender the following

perpetrated by President Donald Trump. He was cheated. The elections were rigged. They (the Democrats and any dissenting Republicans) must be made to pay. He repeatedly drummed those divisive and incendiary messages into the heads and hearts of his supporters, and they responded. He reminded them repeatedly of something big coming down on January 6 and they answered the call of their president and leader.

He exhorted them not to be left out, and many of them made sure that they were not; they came by planes and boats and trains and cars to Washington, D.C for the big rodeo and bar-bque last Wednesday to support their president and to receive a last-minute shot in the arm from him. Done!

On Wednesday, January 6, President Donald Trump incited, electrified, and galvanized his incensed base that was present.

Then, satisfied with his handiwork and that they were ready for war, he stepped back and set free the dogs of war. To Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch, and the rest of the world, I have (Continued on page 6)

DEAR EDITOR, I remember the good old days of completing a form at the Guyanese Consulate office in New York in the morning to either renew my passport or get a new passport and then return in the afternoon, the same day to collect it. Soon after, again; pre-2016, I remember being told that I had to go to Guyana in person, to renew my passport. Confirmation of this policy with a follow-up call to the consulate was indeed a surprise. Imagine, that one had to travel all the way to Guyana, just to renew a passport. Attempting to understand the logic of that decision was too much to

renewing my passport in Georgetown was an impressively professional and expeditious process.

The current process online (New York Consulate) states; completed applications are sent to Georgetown with a processing time of 4-6 weeks or 2-3 months. It is fair to ask, in the era of Zoom and Webex that has replaced person-toperson direct contacts, and esignatures online for documents etc: (1) What part of this process is so unique that it has to be done in Georgetown?, (2) Even so, in this era of sophisticated online digitized systems, what information can’t be

shared globally or is it that (3) Passports can’t be kept securely or accounted for outside of Guyana?

Shifting gears; recently the foreign minister suggested to Guyanese to come back home and invest, and not just send money. It is hard to justify how citizens from one of the least populous countries in the world, in the era of super fast, ultra sophisticated online systems, have to wait for 4-6 weeks/23 months to get a passport.

The international process needs to be streamlined, into a more efficient and realistic wait-time, to fit the times that we live in.

Chi Kansi

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Kaieteur News

Lincoln Lewis responds to Samuel Hinds DEAR EDITOR, Response is being made to Samuel Hinds’ “Expect more nasty outbursts like that of Lincoln Lewis’ unless we can get onto a path of truths and reconciliation” (KN 6th Jan, 2021). Sam’s talk about truths and reconciliation is not new to society. Such talk has been bandied around for years, including during the period Hinds was both President and Prime Minister. It remains instructive that those who make these calls, having played leading roles in society, are not prepared to lead by example. For those persons such issues of importance to a nation forever sitting on a tension keg is a smiling matter; a view I do not share.

Sam has an opportunity to be what he thinks the society should do or deserves by leading the way. He played pivotal roles in the nation’s management at the political and corporate levels and has some truth telling to do. He was identified as Prime Minister for the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) because, according to Cheddie Jagan, he would have been the bridge for Africans to benefit from the

nation’s patrimony under that government.

Let him give us the truth of his performance so we can move towards the reconciliation he is calling for.

To his feigned concern about rigged elections and the stain to which he wants to ascribe solely to the African community, he needs not forget society is not blind to him being a direct beneficiary in the 2006 Election. It is no secret that for five years he sat in the National Assembly on the Region 10 votes of the Alliance for Change which were given to the PPP/C

by GECOM Chief Election Officer Goocool Boodhoo. He who calls himself a “proud AfroGuyanese” should have declined to support the fraudulent assignment of a parliamentary seat, but he did not. In his proposal for truth and reconciliation, does Sam have a problem with this “errant GECOM employee [Goocool Boodhoo]” whom he personally benefited from with a rigged assignment of votes (seat)? Or to him and those who supported or benefitted from this malpractice the act was not wrong, corrupted?

Sam should know in the repertoire of evidence of electoral rigging or fraud this is no smiling

matter. Truth and reconciliation require speaking truth in all its warts and glories. None and nothing are exempted in the process, for reconciliation can never come with selective recount of history or good and bad solely determined because of who is the beneficiary, committed the act or has been deprived.

Hinds and I worked in the bauxite community in Linden. He was head of the Research and Development Division. The company (GUYMINE), which was state-owned, gave him an open cheque and latitude to research and develop new products from bauxite. Let him come clean and admit to this nation that he squandered the money and opportunity. On his watch not one new product was developed. As a politician, but moreso an engineer Sam is not blind to the fundamentals that evidence must lead the way in determining truth and arriving at reconciliation.

It cannot help but be noted his truth, reconciliation and rigged elections talk is the result of him inserting himself into the strident defence of my character and the badgering and denigrating of the African community by Freddie Kissoon.

When Kissoon came at me and

the community Sam was silent and his insertion here is not on universally acceptable principles but typical of what we see in real life in gangland warfare. I am not blind to his antics which remain true to his political role from the inception.

If Sam thinks speaking truth to power constitutes “nasty outbursts” such is mere reflection of a mindset on issues that impact some but his view on the matter of defending the African race from unnecessary attacks and injustices will not deter me.

For whereas such have never been his interest they remain of interest to me.

I have had enough of Kissoon’s malicious distortions, lies and Black attacks. Sam is free to be blind to them or take them with a smile, but I will not. Whenever Kissoon attempts to besmirch my character and the Black community which I am a part of, I will respond with the proverbial sledgehammer. Defending myself and the group I identify with when under unnecessary, wicked, and malicious attacks will not see me smiling or turning the other cheek.

Lincoln Lewis

Saturday January 09, 2021

...Democracy must not be taken for From page 4 it demonstrated that what seems to be impregnable could nevertheless be penetrated and that domestic terrorism is just as deadly as international terrorism.

And an over-estimation as well as an under-estimation of law enforcement’s capacity and ability to address an attack in any shape or form can result in untold physical, psychological and collateral damage that only time could heal.

Security experts around the world will have a field day pondering and discussing this matter. And no doubt, many books will be written about the incident. It is indeed a classical case that requires deep and critical analysis and study by national security practitioners and those who have an interest in such matters.

Moreover, governments around the world are likely to call on their respective law enforcement bodies and intelligence communities to have another look at the security arrangements for their parliament, congressional or Capitol buildings, reckoning that extremist elements in their respective jurisdictions could engage in copycat actions in pursuit of their antidemocratic objectives.

That aside, as far as the assault on the US Capitol is concerned, questions have been asked whether there was really a breakdown in the pre-coordination arrangements between the Federal, the DC Metro Police and the DC National Guard intentionally allowing the Capitol Police to be overwhelmed and unable to protect the building thus bringing the Capitol Police into disrepute? Who would want this to happen and who would benefit?

Or, was there really and truly a break down in intelligence sharing, communication and coordination amongst the long line of independent security apparatuses in Washington DC? Why was the metro

police called upon at such a late hour and why was the National Guard activated when the rampage was almost over?

The jurisdictional and bureaucratic red tape about who protects Federal buildings versus who protects municipal buildings facilitated the blockage of rapid deployment of law enforcement to protect people and property giving way to a massive security failure.

It is almost unimaginable to accept that law enforcement and the intelligence community in Washington DC was not paying attention to the persistent social media posts alerting about the intentions of the ultra-right, extremist groups and their principal target on that particular day.

And if indeed it was widely known and accepted that ‘this was bound to happen’ why wasn’t the necessary steps taken to prevent it from happening?

C l e a r l y, t h e r e a r e lessons to be learnt from this assault not only by law enforcement bodies and the intelligence communities in the US but by those around the world as well.

We in Guyana, by way of our own experiences, k n o w f u l l y w e l l t h at democracy is fragile. And as I wrote in a previous letter ‘all that glitters is not gold’.

Democracy must not be taken for granted. Forces are always at work to undermine and push it to the precipice.

A disgruntled, dissatisfied and frustrated section of the population must have their concerns addressed one way or another. At the same time, to protect our own democracy, eternal vigilance must be our watchword, regardless of our social standing, political affiliation, religious beliefs or where we live.

Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee

...President Trump is the one From page 5 only this to say and I say it humbly: there is the one - the only one - who is to be “held accountable.”

I rest my case. I, too, have many pieces to pick up from

this scorched, wretched earth. It includes the pieces of me that have to be put painfully back together again.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

In this modern age, no country can grow without education and information.

As time goes by, it is clear that successive governments have withheld both critical education and critical information on the oil industry from Guyanese.

There is no beneďŹ t to deliberate ignorance other than making room for corruption.

Ask yourself why there is no government information site for oil and gas. Ask yourself why information on oil block ownership and details of contracts continue to be withheld.

No responsible government, or opposition, keeps their people in ignorance while foreign companies suck our wealth dry. Demand more from the people you put into power.

PAGE 07

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Venezuelan Maduro vows to “reconquer” Essequibo; makes new presidential decree P

resident of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, on Thursday issued a presidential decree, reinforcing the country's claim to Guyana's Essequibo Region and in a tweet has vowed to “reconquer” the Essequibo.

Alongside that action, the Venezuelan President announced on the same day that he wrote to SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, requesting the union to lead direct negotiations between Guyana and Venezuela as an alternative solution to the ongoing litigation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Maduro said that the Essequibo region has always been the territory of Venezuela but that it suffered imperial dispossession.

In a tweet posted on Thursday, Maduro said “I

Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro.

(Photo @NicolasMaduro Twitter)

signed the decree by which t h e Te r r i t o r y f o r t h e Development of the Atlantic Façade of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is established, which becomes

part of the legal, diplomatic and political actions for the defense of our rights for more than 200 years.”

“That territory belongs to the Venezuelan men and

women and we are going to reconquer it.” Maduro said in another tweet, as he called on Venezuelans to support his cause.

Maduro's call was buttressed by a unanimous agreement made on Thursday by all political factions in Venezuela's National Assembly that they would fight for the region they call 'Guayana Esequiba.'

A c c o r d i n g t o Venezuela's Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information, the National Assembly made three agreements, which include the formation of a 'Special Commission for the Defence of the Guayana Esequiba

Territory and Territorial Sovereignty.'

Maduro also announced in another tweet on Thursday that he wrote to the UN with the objective of advancing a peaceful alternative to the ICJ litigation.

T h e Ve n e z u e l a n President said that only sovereign states can bring us closer to a solution to the controversy.

“We reject the ICJ's decision. We are determined to defend our Essequibo.”

Maduro said.

The Court, in December, delivered a judgment stating that it has jurisdiction to hear a matter in a border case Guyana filed against neighbouring Venezuela.

The judgment states that the

UN Secretary-General may choose a means of settlement under Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, which includes judicial settlement.

Venezuela had long held that it would prefer direct negotiations and that it rejects the jurisdiction of the ICJ to settle this matter once and for all.

After the judgment was passed down, Venezuela declared that it rejected the Court's assumption of jurisdiction T h e G u y a n a Government's Advisor on Borders, Carl Greenidge, has said that he expects the ICJ to take two to three and a half years to issue a judgment settling the matter.

Trinidad PM Rowley taken to hospital

T

rinidad and Tobago NEWSDAY – The Prime Minister was taken to hospital on Friday afternoon, but no official statements were given on his condition.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for communications, Symon de Nobriga confirmed that Dr. Rowley was taken to hospital. But he said, there is no official position on his condition at this time.

In March 2019, Rowley went to California to seek medical treatment for a coronary issue. When he returned home, he said his doctors had given him a clean bill of health. One media report said Rowley was being treated for a cardiac issue.

De Nobriga said, "I have seen the report. I

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley (Taken from 103fm.tt) have no official information on it. As I get, I will share." Cabinet sources confirmed to Newsday Rowley was taken to Westshore Medical Hospital in Cocorite.

But they could not say why.

"It's too early to tell," one source said.

A second source added, "They are going to do some tests."

Kaieteur News

Saturday January 09, 2021

PAGE 09

Jagdeo is humming and hawing T

he PPP/C is pussyfooting on the question of local content. In August, mere weeks after being sworn in to office, the President announced the establishment of an Advisory Panel on Local Content.

There was no need for an Advisory Panel on Local Content. It would be interesting to know from whence this suggestion came since the PPP/C is known to be averse to taking local advice or to establishing such advisory panels.

The APNU+AFC had already developed a draft local content policy. That policy was highly criticised but could have been salvaged through revisions rather than the PPP/C seeking to restart the entire process, as it appeared to be doing when it established the Advisory Panel on Local Content.

A c c o r d i n g t o Vi c e President Jagdeo, the Advisory Panel has submitted a voluminous report. The government has asked the panel to cut it to around 30 pages. Based on what the Vice President stated during his appearance on Kaieteur Radio on December 23, 2020, the report incorporates many of the recommendations submitted by the various sectors.

According to the Vice President, the next steps

Dem

boys seh...

L

ong ago, if de police ketch yuh walking down de road with a cutlass and it nat conceal, dem used to tek it away from yuh. Dat is how people learn dat when dem walking with cutlass, dem gat to wrap it in newspaper or some other paper.

If de police ketch yuh with penknife, you could end up in front of de magistrate.

If dem ketch yuh with ice pick, yuh gat fuh answer what yuh doing with it. If yuh gat knife, dem gan assume yuh up to mischief.

These days, people walking de road with exposed cutlass in dem hands, knife and ice pick in

would be to have the report cut down to size and from this, the President will then hold consultations with the various stakeholders.

Arising out of these consultations, a negotiating brief will be developed which will form the basis for drafting a Local Content Law. The long-winded process outlined by Jagdeo will take another year. The Panel will require another month, at the least, to summarise the various recommendations.

Consultations will take another six months and then another few to produce what Jagdeo misleading calls a “Negotiating Brief”.

The only entity with which negotiations have to be held is Cabinet. Once the consultations are completed, a policy can be produced.

But Jagdeo made no mention of a policy. He appears to want to go straight towards a Local Content Law. Placing the cart before the horse is typical of the PPP/C's ineptitude.

There is no need for this long drawn-out process as d e t a i l e d b y t h e Vi c e President. It amounts to pussyfooting. Why consult again with the very stakeholders whose views would have been sought by the Advisory Panel?

Developing a Local Content Policy and Local Content Law are not rocket science and should not be

subject to this extended process as outlined by Jagdeo. Local Content Policies exist in other parts of the world. All that needs to be done is to first tailor a policy based upon the advice of the Local Content Advisory Panel, develop a revised draft policy (since one already exists) and then proceed immediately to draft a local content law.

The Government is humming and hawing.

Consultations for the PPP/C amounts to windowdressing. The PPP/C does not have a track record of being serious about public consultations. It is therefore playing for time.

Jagdeo and the PPP/C have been in opposition for five years. They have seen what the APNU+AFC has done in relation to Local Content. The PPP/C therefore had enough time to have produced a revised draft of the existing Local Content Policy.

The local content ship has already sailed. A Local Content Policy will have little effect on Exxon. No new policy or law can prejudice Exxon's rights.

This was built-in to the contract signed between ExxonMobil and the Government of Guyana.

The Stability Clause in the Production Sharing Agreement insulates Exxon and its contractors from any adverse economic effects occasioned by changes to

De jukka in de pants dem waistband and penknife in dem pocket. And de police nah stopping nobody fuh question why dem gat these dangerous weapons pon dem.

Every Saturday night, if you go to the Emergency Department of dem public hospitals, yuh gan find persons having to be treated fuh stab wounds. Is like pon weekends, de stabbing does increase.

And in many cases, people does dead after dem get stab. Yet de police nah doing nothing fuh stop and search people pon de road fuh see what dem gat in dem waist.

Dem schoolchildren getting stick-up with ice pick

and knife and getting relieved of dem cellular phone. It nat hard to spot who gat jukka in dem waist.

Yuh does see de bulge. But like de police looking fuh another type of bulge, dem who gat money in dem pocket. Yuh wutless if you bin thinking about another bulge.

Dem boys seh even madmen now walking around with knife in dem waistband. Dem boys play brave and ask one of dem, weh he going with de knife in he waistband. He watch dem boys and seh, “I going and peel two mangoes.”

Talk half and nah ask how he get getting de mangoes.

Guyana's laws. Should such adverse economic effects occur as result of any new law being passed, the Government is obligated to restore the lost or impaired economic benefits to Exxon and its contractors.

ExxonMobil has the upper hand. Its agreement was drawn up by legal experts, unlike the situation on the Guyana side where the Coalition went into the negotiations without such expertise.

All Exxon has to do is to

claim that any Local Content Law or Policy adversely affects the contracts which it has signed or which it will enter into in the future. This will effectively nullify any Local Content Policy and Law. The PPP/C knows this all too well. And therefore, it is in no hurry to rush through any Local Content Policy and Law. In any event, most of the contracts for the supply of goods and services have already been snared by

foreign firms and there is nothing much left for Guyanese, not even for transporting those big pipes from the wharves to the shore bases. No wonder the PPP/C is pussyfooting with the Local Content Policy and the Local Content Law. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Saturday January 09, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence and Claudette Singh A

ny Guyanese whether in I c e l a n d , Greenland or Afghanistan that followed the insurrection on Capitol Hill in the US and who knew what happened in Guyana between March and July in 2020 would have invoked memories of Claudette Singh.

First, there were the words of the Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch Mc Connell.

Addressing the Senate, he remarked that the people who want to overturn the election results are the losers. Immediately your mind would have turned to Guyana. Only the entity named APNU+AFC described the election as being rigged.

Attached to the PNC were surrogates like Lincoln

Lewis, Eusi Kwayana, Dr. Mellissa Ifill of UG and others who viewed the election results with racial lenses.

No civil society organization, no opposition p a r t y, n o f o r e i g n government, no foreign lawmaker, no one from any international organization major or minor – supported the lyrics of tampering by the PPP in the 2020 election here.

Mc Connell, though being a supporter of Trump was conscientious enough to remark that it was the loser that wanted the result changed. In this regard, the election ambience in the US resembled that of Guyana's.

Enter, Vice President Pence.

After the storming of Capitol Hill while members of both houses were counting the ballots of the Electoral

College, the counting resumed and Mr. Pence did what we in Guyana expected Claudette Singh to do.

Pence addressing US lawmakers endorsed the election of Joe Biden as the winner. In Guyana, it took a different turn. We all know the shape events took after March 4 with Singh remaining aloof from the illegalities that the GECOM Secretariat was committing.

Pence did not leave to come back.

He stayed on Capitol Hill and continued the counting.

Of course, he could have sabotaged the process by offering some excuse for leaving.

Here is where Pence stood tall and his deportment must be contrasted with Singh. At the point where the Chief Justice had compelled Mingo to tabulate the Region

Four results using the actual statements of poll (SOPs), Singh had her opportunity to stop him. The time to intervene came on Friday, March 13 at GECOM's head office in Kingston. Mingo had again used fictional numbers not corresponding to the SOPs. The international observers were there on Friday, March 13 and they witnessed the continuation of Mingo's pantomime. The next day, Singh should have convened a meeting of GECOM, replace Mingo, continue the Region Four votes and the next day, Sunday , March 14 GECOM should have made a declaration of the results using the official SOPs. The insurrection on Capitol Hill did not deter Pence. At no point from Wednesday, March 4, did Singh intervene. In the US, democracy was saved by the unadulterated integrity of Pence. This is what we expected from Singh, long

before the Court of Appeal upheld the decision that the CARICOM observed recount was the basis on which a declaration could be made.

There is a crucial nuance in the comparison between

Frederick Kissoon S i n g h and Pence. Pence is a Republican politician and President Trump's Vice President. He could have accepted Trump's silly exclamation that the US election was tampered with.

Singh on the other hand, was supposed to be an objective, independent agent. Yet her action was questionable from March until the end of June.

Pence saved America's democracy. It was the rule of law that saved Guyana's democracy bringing into sharp focus the role of Singh.

After the Caribbean Court of Appeal ruled that the recount was valid, the APNU+AFC descended to abysmal level of asininity by asking a

lower court to overturn the decision of a higher court.

The Chief Justice was definitive – the court's time was being wasted because she could not overturn a judgement of the CCJ. More asininities followed when the Chief Justice's ruling that the lower court cannot act was appealed.

Guyana's second highest court then brought the election impasse to an end by upholding the Chief Justice's judgement.

Looking back then at Guyana's election circus and comparing it to how Vice President Pence acted hours after insurrectionists occupied Capitol Hill, the role of Singh is laid bare. In looking back at 2020, I had intended to do an entire column on Singh. But this comparison with Vice President Pence should suffice.

As the days unfold in the US and the commentaries and analyses intensify on the role of the mobs that captured Capitol Hill for almost an hour, Guyanese all over will reflect on the fivemonth-old madness that overtook this country, a burst of dangerous insanity that only one person could have prevented Madam Claudette Singh.

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

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Saturday January 09, 2021

Suspected electrical fire guts section of Fogarty's building Scenes from the fire yesterday

I

t was a major scare yesterday after a fire suspected to be of electrical origin erupted and gutted a kitchen section of the Fogarty's building located on Water Street, Georgetown. Other sections of the Fogarty's did not suffer much damage but thick smoke had spread to other parts of the building. After the fire was contained, those

areas had to be ventilated.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told reporters that around 09:32hrs, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) received calls of smoke emanating from the building.

Navitri Narine, who operates a pharmacy in the Guyana Post Office (GPO) Building said that around 9:30 hrs, she smelled something burning but took

it for granted. However, a few minutes later, she saw smoke emanating from the eastern end of the building.

She added that she owns a storage bond in the Fogarty's building which was situated not too far away from where she saw the smoke.

Narine continued that she called the GFS right away and was told that firefighters were already on their way.

The business-woman said they arrived shortly after and had a little trouble with access to water and their hose, but did manage to control the blaze.

Gentle explained as well that the congested street leading to the building was a minor setback. He said that it took them eight minutes to clear the streets of traffic before they could efficiently

get to where the fire was.

Gentle went on to congratulate his ranks for attacking the fire quickly in order to prevent the flames from spreading to other parts of the building.

He said that it is a highrisk area and could have been disastrous. Gentle reminded reporters that in 1945, a fire had erupted at that exact location and had destroyed

the entire block. The Fire Chief added that he is quite grateful that history did not repeat itself yesterday.

An investigation has since been launched into the fire. According to the fire chief, the fire started in the kitchen area and is believed to be electrical. Gentle said his team told him that it might have been a faulty extractor fan.

Kaieteur News

Saturday January 09, 2021

PAGE 13

Lorry driver involved in Old Charlotte Street man Year's Day accident granted bail nabbed with gun, ammo

A

Dead: Danata Doman

T

he lorry driver that was involved in the Old Year's Day accident on Coverden Public Road, EBD, was yesterday granted bail after he appeared at the Providence Magistrate Court on a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

Balram Singh, 33, of Enmore, East Coast Demerara appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce, where the charge was read to him. Singh pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged that on December 31, he drove his motor lorry in a manner dangerous to

The scene of the accident in which nurse Danata Damon was involved the public, causing the death of Danata Damon.

The Magistrate granted bail to a sum of $250,000 and adjourned the matter to February 19.

According to Kaieteur News' previous report, the motor lorry driven

by Singh was travelling 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, he lost control and ended up into the path of a motorcar driven by a 26-year-old of Block 'X' Diamond

Housing Scheme, which was travelling south along the eastern side of the road. Reports are that the two vehicles ended up in a head on collision causing both vehicles to receive extensive damages.

Both the drivers along with two other occupants of the motor lorry and one from the car were taken to the GPHC. They were all admitted to the ICU in a serious but stable condition.

However, Damon, age 26, a nurse and mother of one, who was in the motorcar, succumbed to her injuries on New Year's Day.

61-yearold man of Charlotte Street, Bourda, Georgetown was on Thursday nabbed with gun and ammunition in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

According to the police report, the suspect was driving his motorcar near the West Bank Demerara side of the bridge when a party of policemen from the Criminal Investigation D e p a r t m e n t Headquarters observed him acting in a suspicious way.

The officers decided to stop the man and a search was conducted. During the search, the ranks unearthed a .38 revolver and five matching rounds of ammunition on the man. He was taken into c u s t o d y a n d investigation is ongoing.

The revolver and the matching rounds of ammunition that were found on the man

PAGE 14

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

AG says...Works begin on

correcting electoral loopholes, weaknesses

W

ith the aim of strengthening Guyana's electoral system, so that the fraud, corruption and gymnastics that occurred during the March 2 General and Regional Elections, as well as those events that ensued, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, has revealed that works have begun on correcting those electoral loopholes and weaknesses.

During an interview on Kaieteur Radio's Guyana's Oil & You with senior Kaieteur News Journalist, Kiana Wilburg, the AG was asked about the importance of strengthening the 'check and balances' the citizens have at their disposal as it regards to changes in government.

To this the AG reminded listeners of the People's Progressive Party/Civics' commitment to conduct “wide-ranging” reforms to ensure gaps are bridged, loopholes are closed and strengthening is exercised, on those weaknesses which “miscreants exploited and nearly succeeded in stealing government.”

To this, AG stated works have already begun in that regard, with the assembly of a small unit at the AG Chambers, now tasked with compiling requisite pieces of legislation, which will form the basis for the review. Following such, he went on to add that consultations will be held with the relevant stakeholders, who will all work on correcting the loopholes.

“And these are not constitutional changes that we are speaking about,” the AG pointed out, while adding that, “These are simple things like the Statements of Poll [which] must be used as the basis for tabulation of the results and that must be absolutely clear, so that one cannot substitute a spreadsheet, like what Mingo did—a spreadsheet that he concocted or that was concocted and was given to him with falsified numbers.”

As part of another fixed requirement, Nandlall said that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and political parties would be mandated to make online uploads of SOPs within 24 hours of receiving them. Failure and refusal to adhere to such will result in consequences, he noted.

“Then that [final] report that the CEO is required to produce by law—we have to clarify what that report must contain and we must have to

make the language clear, so that no Chief Executive Officer (CEO) can reasonably or unreasonably prepare a report of his own. We must state in the law that invalidity of votes can only be determined at an election petition and no CEO or political party can decide if a ballot is valid or invalid outside of what is a spoilt or unspoilt ballot,” the AG articulated.

Corrections and discussions will also be conducted on whether a cyclical system can be stopped midway and commence a house-to-house registration process; and whether additional biometrics will be introduced into the law.

The AG also spoke about the misconduct of electoral officers under GECOM and how “very few offences” apply to them. He reminded that the laws in their current form define offences in relation to the conduct of the elector, such as voting twice or attempting to impersonate another. There is, however, no reciprocal list of offences in relation to election officers, Nandlall noted.

“And what we find in Guyana is that the election officers are the errant ones, not the electors. We have to create a series of offences {penalties} to imprison for life election officials who attempt to compromise the electoral machinery and process at any stage. And the higher the office the official holds, the greater the penalty imposed upon him,” Nandlall expressed.

Notably, GECOM's CEO Keith Lowenfield, Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo, Information Technology Officer Enrique Livan, as well as other GECOM staffer, Shefferon February, have been charged with fraud, misconduct in office and breach of public's trust.

These charges are still before the court and are said to go to trial soon. Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo as well as the Private Sector Commission (PSC) have both called for the removal of these officers from GECOM before this year's constitutionallyscheduled Local Government Elections (LGEs).

“That is a fundamental cornerstone of our agenda in government,” Nandlall said.

“We know that because of our track record, because of our performance, because of our competence… we will not lose a free and fair election in Guyana. So it is in our interest to protect this democracy.”

Kaieteur News

Saturday January 09, 2021

PAGE 15

41 new infections added Albouystown man shot in chest by to COVID-19 case toll accomplice during robbery remanded

T

he Ministry of Health reported 41 new infections of the COVID-19 virus yesterday.

This was represented in their daily dashboard update which shows the total number of confirmed cases increased to 6,510.

Further, the dashboard disclosed 296 patients in home isolation, 41 in institutional

isolation and six in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

An additional 43 persons are in institutional quarantine and ten more persons have recovered from the virus.

The total number of recoveries to date, according to the Ministry, is 6,000.

The COVID-19 death toll remains at 167 deaths.

East Ruimveldt man charged for throwing corrosive substance on former friend

A

n E a s t Ruimveldt man w a s o n Wednesday released on bail after he appeared in court for allegedly throwing a corrosive substance on his former friend.

The defendant, Orin Thomas, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Thomas pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on October 29, 2020, at East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he inflicted grievous bodily harm on Shawn Bristol.

The court heard that Thomas and Bristol are known to each other and were friends until Bristol became friends with Thomas' ex-girlfriend.

According to the facts of the charge, on the day in question, Thomas persistently called Bristol's cellular phone but the phone was never answered.

After receiving several calls from Thomas, Bristol went to Thomas' home. It is reported that an argument ensued between the two men and during the argument Thomas allegedly threw a corrosive substance on

Bristol.

Persons who were in the area and witnessed the incident, rushed to Bristol's aid and he was then taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for treatment.

The matter was later reported to the East Ruimveldt Police Outpost and an investigation was launched. Thomas was later arrested and subsequently charged.

Chief Magistrate McLennan placed Thomas on $100,000 bail and the matter was adjourned to January 20, 2021.

T

hree days after he was allegedly shot in the chest by his accomplice while escaping with their loot, Joshua Browne, of Albouystown, Georgetown, w a s o n We d n e s d a y remanded to prison when he appeared in court.

Browne made his first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

He was slapped with two armed robbery charges which happened on the same day.

Browne denied the charge which alleged that on January 2, 2021, at Sheriff Street, Kitty, Georgetown, while in company of another and armed with a dangerous weapon, a gun, he robbed Anthony Rodrigues of a quantity of cellular phones valued $1,900,000.

He also denied the latter charge which stated that on the same day and at the said location, while in company of another and armed with a dangerous weapon, a gun, he robbed Thelbert Seales of one iPhone 'X' cellular phone valued $90,000. The court heard that Browne is known to the victims.

According to the facts of the charge, around 15:00hrs, while armed with a gun, Browne and his accomplice entered a cell phone store on Sheriff Street, which belongs to Rodrigues. It is reported that Browne's accomplice held Rodrigues and Seales at gunpoint while Browne looted the store.

While making good their escape, Browne's accomplice reportedly discharged a round in Rodrigues direction but hit Browne to his chest. He then fell to the ground while his

accomplice kept on running.

Browne later got up and ran but due to his injury, he did not make it far and was captured.

The police were alerted and Browne was arrested and the loot was recovered.

He was then taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was admitted and treated for his injury under police guard.

After he was discharged from the hospital, Browne was placed in custody and told of the allegation, cautioned and subsequently charged after he admitted to committing the offence.

The Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan remanded Browne to prison, and he is expected to make his next court appearance on January 27, 2021. Meanwhile, the manhunt continues for Browne's accomplice.

PAGE 16 WANTED

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

Parfaite Harmonie Tuchen, farm, Eccles, Herstelling, Uivlugth, Covengarden, Zeelught and elsewhere Cash.

Call 666-2326

BETWEEN:GIBSON (MASHEBA) nee RENNALLS Petitioner/Applicant -andGIBSON (ARDEN LLEWELLYN) Respondent To the Respondent ARDEN LLEWELLYN GIBSON Last Known Address Lot 406 Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke Linden Highway, Guyana.

TAKE NOTICE that on the 10th day of November, 2020 a Petition for Divorce was filed against you by MASHEBA GIBSON nee RENNALLS, the Petitioner in the Family Division of the High Court in Georgetown, Demerara.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that as part of an Order made on the 14th day of December, 2020 the Petitioner was directed to effect service of her Petition on you by publication of this Notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issues of the Kaieteur News Newspapers, a daily Newspaper printed, published and circulated In and. around Guyana and on the Worldwide Web. AND FURTHER TAKE NO-

TICE that if you desire you may appear or attend in person or by your duly authorized agent or Attorney-at-Law at the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara where you will be issued with a certified copy of the Petition together with related documents.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire to Defend this Divorce, then upon receipt of the certified copy of the Petition, you must file an Acknowledgement of Service, Notice of Intention to Defend (Forms are available at the Registry), Answer and/ or Cross Petition in the Registry of the family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara within 35 (thirty-five) days from the date of the second and final publication of this Notice.

TAKE NOTICE that the divorce is fixed for Directions Hearing on Tuesday the 9th day of March, 2021 at 9:50 am before the Honourable Madam Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry via Zoom Meeting ID: 746 8647 7396 and Password: Courtla at the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown.

IN DEFAULT of your filing an Acknowledgement of Service/Notice of Intention to Defend, Answer and/or Cross Petition the Court may proceed in your absence and may make any Order it considers appropriate, including granting the Divorce.

The Registry of the Family Division of the High Court is located at the Law Courts [Georgetown, Demerara]. The office is open to the public between 8:00am and 3:30pm Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00am to 2:30pm on Fridays except on public holidays and on such other days as the Registry is closed.

Gardener/Handyman to work part time or full time. Call 2260240.

VACANCY

SERVICES Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040 Repairs, Services, Spares t o Wa s h i n g M a c h i n e Refridgetor Store, Treadmill, Deepfryer, Cooler, D r y e r, G r a i n s m i l l .

Call:#694-9733 Installation, Repairs and parts for AC,Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc. Call Nick#630-1600.

Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158

FOR RENT Large property with huge concrete bond, prime location Cumberland, Canje. Ideal for business. Sale or Rent. Call 679-2497 Fully furnished 1 & 2 bedroom house / apartment / parking, E.C.D. US$600, US$700, daily $40, whatsapp/ call 868-7474343, 648-1787 Fully furnished 2 bedroom apt inclusive of A/C master bedroom wifi etc $1500US monthly. 674-5019 Overseas workers preferred LAND FOR SALE Republic Gradens- phase 1, G$28 Million. Gated community, Tel# 688-5554, 233-2546 Eccles AA- Land size: 55" by 100" $45 Million Tel# 688-5554, 2332546

Driver; Must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles, Age 2545, Car/Van License. Call 6429823.

Technical Services, 18-23 Industrial Site, Eccles. 1. Mechanic 2. Fitter/Machinist 3.

Welder/Fabricator. 3 Years Experience. Apply in person.

Maid to cook and clean for East Bank Area. Call 615-9132.

Security grauds contact 2235273/74 or 600-0266 One general domestic apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb street Bourda Accounts Clerk & Operations supervisor- apply to Perfume Dazzle- 137 Regent street Georgetown Workers for P.S.G.C.S Labourers, Cleaner, Maintenance worker, Semi- skilled labourer. Contact number 6157784, Mon- Fri 8am- 3pm Vacancy for one experience carpenter & mason.Tel#2236035,673-6210 Experience Baker kitchen supervisor servers Emmanuel's Delight section C Diamond, Grove 696-5492

CAR RENTAL AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL& TOW TRUCK SERVICE :PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE .#698-7807

VEHICLE FOR SALE 19 seater pitbull excellent condition original seats. Call 6753093 Toyota Fortuner 2012 model G$11.9 Million. automatic, Low Mileage (40,000 km) Tel#6600192, 233-5859, 688-5554 WANTED Live in general domestic 3045yrs salary state $20,000 weekly. Tel#610-3974

FOR SALEFOR SALE

For Sale - 4.018 acres of prime land in New Amsterdam, Berbice. Call 679-2497 PROPERTY FOR SALE Experienced and senious land. Dredge workers with some knowledge of chainsawing. Call: 639-2219 between 08:00 - 17:30 hrs.

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

Male & Female to work at car wash Tel#669-4676 Experienced cashier, counter server, roti/ puri cook, cleaner, apply Hack's Halaal, 5 Commerce St Puri roti cooks apply @shanta's 225 camp & Newmarket

One skilled line / GPS man to 2nd quality 1x4 greenheart track out and cut road Call 696flooring/ wall board $150/ BM 9854 Tel#627-0056 Boys & girls fr the interior & Plastic drums for sale contact live in domestic for Georgetown. Tel#670-1641, 223-5273/74 or 600-0266 660-9093 Corrugated steel rods 1/ Vegetarian gardens Driver 2"(12mm) 5/8(16mm), salesman/ Porter Tel#227AlabamaTrading 27 Lombard 7714/ 223-3448 street call 227-4234, 231-3384, 225-5800 One female to work shift system, Tel#225-6337 Household items in excellent condition owner leaving Driver for route #42 bus Call: 675-3093 country. Call 640-0624

Experience salesman good communication handwriting skills 5 subject, CXC, NIS, PAYE ETC key food McDoom village Experience water delivery driver and porter Tel#676-1363 / 692-6768 Immediate Vacancy exists for male workers & 1 lorry driver @ Del Ice Co Tel#231-1408/ 642-9191 Hick's Ville Hotel receptionist/ Hotel attendant washer/ presser Tel#231-0951/ 2277714 1 body workman. Call 6687033 Cashiers to work at superbet.

Tell# 618 3575 1 320 B Caterpillar excavator can be used as spares. Call: 639-2219 between 08:00 - 17:30 hrs.

1 Dishwasher/ cleaner & 1 handyman apply to Bistro Cafe & Bar 141 Middle & Waterloo st Georgetown Te1 #226-1686 LEGAL NOTICE 2020-HC-DEM-CIV -FD896 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE FAMILY, DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION FAMILY DIVISION PETITION NO. FD-896

Dated the 15th day of December, 2020

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Twitter bans President Trump permanently tonight, Twitter employees have coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left in removing my account from their platform, to silence me," Trump tweeted.

The tweets disappeared almost instantly.

Civil rights leaders who

US President Donald Trump ( C N N ) Tw i t t e r h a s suspended President Trump from its platform, the company said Friday evening.

"After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them, we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence," Twitter said.

"In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action."

Tw i t t e r ' s d e c i s i o n followed two tweets by Trump Friday afternoon that would end up being his last. The tweets violated the company's policy against glorification of violence, Twitter said, and "these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President's statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behaviour from this account in recent weeks."

The first tweet was about Trump's supporters.

"The 75,000,000 great American Patriots, who voted for me, AMERICA F I R S T, a n d M A K E A M E R I C A G R E AT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future.

They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!"

The second indicated Trump did not plan to attend Joe Biden's inauguration.

"To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20."

Twitter said the tweet concerning inauguration

could be viewed as a further statement that the election was not legitimate. It also said that the tweet could be interpreted as Trump saying that the inauguration would be a "safe" target for violence because he would not be attending.

Trump's other statement about American patriots suggested that "he plans to continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election," Twitter said.

Twitter's ban specifically addresses "the @realDonaldTrump a c c o u n t , " n o t Tr u m p personally.

Twitter will enforce its policy against ban evasions to ensure that Trump does not circumvent his personal account's suspension, the company told CNN. "If it is clear that another account is being used for the purposes of evading a ban, it is also subject to suspension," Twitter said in a statement. “For government accounts, such as @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, we will not suspend those accounts but will take action to limit their use. However, these accounts will be transitioned over to the new administration in due course and will not be suspended by Twitter unless absolutely necessary to alleviate real-world harm."

Twitter's policy would also prohibit Trump from directing a third party to operate a Twitter account on his behalf.

Trump sought to test Twitter's ban evasion policy at roughly 8:30 pm Friday evening, when he or someone acting on his behalf published four tweets from the @POTUS account.

"As I have been saying for a long time, Twitter has gone further and further in banning free speech, and

have long criticized tech platforms for spreading hate speech and division w e l c o m e d Tw i t t e r ' s decision.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the AntiDefamation League, called it an "excellent step."

"A fitting end to a legacy

of spewing hate and vitriol," Greenblatt said. "President Trump incited the violent riots at the Capitol using social media and paid the price."

Eric Naing, a spokesman for Muslim Advocates, said Twitter "is showing real leadership."

“ A s Tw i t t e r n o t e s , letting Trump continue to post tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos for his white nationalist supporters risks 'further incitement of violence,'" Naing said.

"Now it is up to Facebook and Google/YouTube to follow Twitter's lead."

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Saturday January 09, 2021

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday January 09, 2021

Saturday January 09, 2021

Cycling-Tour champion Pogacar and UAE Emirates mates first team to get COVID-19 vaccine

Tadej Pogacar

Saturday January 09, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Unexpected responsibilities could interfere with plans to take a trip of some sort. Someone might need your help, and you may well have to put your own activities on hold for a while.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Some rather disconcerting information may come to light today. This could throw you into a daze, as it isn't anything that you expected. This isn't necessarily bad news, Libra.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) An unexpected development might interfere with your plans to attend a social event, group activity, or get-together with your partner. This isn't going to sit well with those you've been planning to meet.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Even though everything is going well for you, a sudden upset of some kind, probably involving money, could throw you into a momentary panic.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Arrangements for a get-together you're planning to host could go awry, with everything turned upside down and nothing happening the way you planned.

CANCER(June21–July22) Your usually abundant energy may experience a sudden setback today. Work pressure could create stress that leaves you feeling exhausted and out of sorts. This will pass.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) A trip through exclusive boutiques or antique shops might have you throwing financial caution to the wind and buying luxury items you hadn't planned for. This is all right up to a point.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Unexpected visitors might throw you into a dither. You could panic over how to dress, what to say, and what to serve. Don't make yourself crazy, Virgo. Follow your heart and go with the flow.

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Kaieteur News

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Upsets regarding your career or the activities that take up most of your time are likely to negatively affect your self-confidence. Don't fall into this trap, Sagittarius.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) New scientific or archaeological discoveries could temporarily shake your faith in your spiritual path. You may suddenly doubt something you've always accepted.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You might not be able to accomplish what you'd hoped today, Aquarius. Some minor but irritating conflicts could occur within a group.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A temporary upset with a partner might distract you so you can't function as effectively as you normally do. Don't let your anger get the best of you. The situation is probably due to a lack of communication, and could be cleared up with explanations.

Reuters - Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar and his UAE Emirates team mates has been vaccinated against COVID-19 at a training camp in Abu Dhabi, the team said on Friday (yesterday).

“The riders and staff of the Tour de France 2020 winning team UAE Team Emirates have taken the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention approved COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm CNBG,” UAE Emirates said in a statement.

“A total of 27 riders, including the Tour de France 2020 winner Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar, plus 32 staff have now received the vaccine.” They are the first professional cycling team to be vaccinated.

Among those vaccinated was Colombian Fernando Gaviria, who last October became one of the rare patients to have had the disease twice. The pandemic forced the 2020 cycling season to shut down for fourand-a-half months before resuming in August, with Pogacar ending up winning the Tour in September.

...Liverpool need second-half flurry to overcome depleted From page 20 then stunned the visitors when 17-year-old Louie Barry equalised.

The England Under-17 striker, born just a few miles from Villa Park, signed for the club last January for more than £800,000 having had a spell with Barcelona’s academy. His composed finish four minutes before the break was as assured as what would be expected from Lionel Messi.

Unfortunately for Villa, the youngsters tired while the Reds exerted more pressure in the second half, scoring three goals in a fiveminute spell after the break.

Georginio Wijnaldum stroked in Liverpool’s second on the hour mark before

Mane looped in a header and Mohamed Salah struck home a low shot from inside the area.

M e a n w h i l e , Wolverhampton Wanderers reached the FA Cup fourth round with a narrow win over a much-changed Crystal Palace side. Adama Traore’s scorching left-foot drive proved decisive for the hosts, who were worthy winners.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s largely first-choice side dominated possession and could have won by a greater margin but for some wasteful finishing. Palace, who made nine changes from the Premier League win over Sheffield United, did not have a shot on target.

Kaieteur News

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Saturday January 09, 2021

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers hope Tokyo 2020: Organisers say Olympic Games will go ahead to meet President-elect Joe Biden despite Covid-19 surge but champions lose at Spurs BBCsport - Tokyo 2020 organisers say they will be ready to host the Olympic Games - despite the city declaring a state of emergency over Covid-19.

The rescheduled Games are set to take place between 23 July and 8 August.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said there was a “sense of crisis” as he a n n o u n c e d e m e rg e n c y Covid-19 plans. Organisers said: “This declaration of emergency offers an opportunity for Tokyo 2020 to plan for a safe and secure Games this summer.”

“We will proceed with the necessary preparations accordingly,” they added.

Tokyo recorded 2,447 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday and the latest measures primarily target restaurants and bars, which will be asked to stop serving alcohol by 7pm local time and close an hour later.

Costs for the Games have increased by $2.8bn (£2.1bn) because of measures needed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

And a recent poll by national broadcaster NHK showed that the majority of the Japanese general public oppose holding the Games in 2021, favouring a further delay or outright

cancellation of the event.

The International Olympic Committee said: “The IOC has full confidence in the Japanese authorities and the measures they are taking. “Together with our Japanese partners, we continue to be fully concentrated and committed to the safe and successful delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer.”

Will athletes be taking a Covid-19 vaccine? The IOC said that the organisation supports the vaccine being given to “high-risk groups, nurses, medical doctors and everyone who is keeping our societies alive as a priority”.

However, vaccines are part of a “toolbox of Covid19 countermeasures” to be used “to contribute to the safe environment of the Games, but also out of respect for the Japanese people”.

A statement from the organisation said: “The IOC has sent a clear message from the beginning that there will be no obligation to get vaccinated.

“At the same time, the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee are fully aligned in their commitment to have as many foreign participants as

possible vaccinated before the Games. “Athletes are important role models, and by taking the vaccine they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration for the wellbeing of others in their communities.”

Meanwhile, the founder of the charity Sporting Minds, Callum Lea, says the uncertainty over Tokyo 2020 has resulted in an increase in mental health concerns among elite athletes. “We saw quite a big spike in March and April when the first lockdown was in full force, and we’ve seen another spike in the past month,” said Lea. “For Olympic athletes their opportunity comes around once every four years and they could be at the peak of their careers, and a lot of them will know that this is their only chance, or their last chance.

“It is always different for every individual - you have some who will be able to cope with it OK and others who are extremely worried and will start to think that this is the opportunity they have built towards their whole life, and it is slowly starting to slip away.”

Liverpool need second-half flurry to overcome depleted Ashton Villa

The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship in October BBCsport - The Los Angeles Lakers hope to become the first NBA champions to visit the White House since 2016 when president elect Joe Biden takes office. No team has visited the White House under the presidency of Donald Trump.

President Trump rescinded invitations to NBA championship winning teams in recent years after several players stated they did not wish to visit. But US media claim the Lakers would be keen to visit Biden after he is sworn into office on 20 January.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the last team to meet a sitting president when they visited Barack Obama after their 2016 win but the Golden State Warriors (2017 and 2018) and the Toronto Raptors (2019) did not go to

see Trump.

The Lakers will potentially make their visit when they play at the home of the Washington Wizards, as long as Covid-19 restrictions or Biden’s own engagements do not get in the way.

The Lakers lost their third match in nine games this season on Thursday, 118-109 at home to San Antonio Spurs.

LeBron James scored 27 points for the hosts but 28 from Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge gave them a fourth win in eight this season.

Elsewhere, Philadelphia 76ers guard Seth Curry brother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry - tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.

His team topped the Eastern Conference but lost for just the second time this

season, 122-109 against the Brooklyn Nets. In the game of the night, Luka Doncic scored 38 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks as they secured an overtime win over a Denver Nuggets side inspired by a 38-point haul

by Nikola Jokic.

Serbian Jokic also had 11 rebounds and with 2.4 seconds remaining, he found space to shoot and land two points to tie the game at 109109 at the final buzzer.

Slovenian Doncic continued his fine work though to help his side to a 124-117 win.

Damian Lillard scored 39 points as the Portland Trail Blazers picked up a 135-117 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the low-scoring game of the night saw the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90.

SIC sponsors GMR&SC’s Jan 24 Endurance Meet Wolves winger Adama Traore proved the match-winner in a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace BBCsport - Liverpool reached the FA Cup fourth round with a comfortable victory over a Covidaffected Aston Villa - but it took until the second half to get on top of a home side made up of academy players

with no first-team experience.

A coronavirus outbreak at their training ground this week meant no first-team players were available to Villa, with the club fielding a starting XI composed of

seven under-23 players and four from the under-18s.

But despite conceding in the fourth-minute when Sadio Mane headed in, they remained resolute in defence for the rest of the half and (Continued on page 19)

Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc. (SIC), Guyana’s Premier Land, Air and Sea Security Service, and Firearm and Repairs Dealer has signed on as principal sponsor for the first round of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) Endurance Meet.

Head of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) Rameez Mohamed has confirmed that the opening event for the year is set for January 24th, next. This will be the first race activity in 11 months at the South Dakota Circuit with the previous

being the National Race of Champions round one in February, 2020. At least 20 drivers have already signaled their intention to push their machines to the limit in just over two weeks time including defending champion, Adrian Fernandes, lap record holder; Mohamed, Motilall Deodass, and ‘Afo’ Harper who has been very outspoken in the media of late.

Owner of SIC; Harold ‘Top Gun’ Hopkinson who is a former Endurance winner and marksman, shared that he is always happy to support motorsport

locally whilst also revealing that the Endurance race will be for three hours.

Meanwhile, the GMR&SC revealed to potential competitors that special covid-19 rules and protocols will be provided in the coming week to ensure the safety of drivers, mechanics, officials and everyone involved at the event.

Prospective competitors are reminded that helmets and gloves are required and those interested in competing are asked to make contact with the GMR&SC via their Albert Street office.

Kaieteur News

Saturday January 09, 2021

PAGE 23

Letter to Sports Editor FIFA to trial concussion substitutes Kudos to Minister Ramson Jnr., at FIFA Club World GFF, K&S and team for spearheading a successful Bounce Back Cup™

F

IFA has yesterday confirmed that it w i l l t r i a l additional permanent substitutions for cases of actual or suspected concussion at the FIFA Club World Cup™, which is due to take place in Qatar from 1 to 11 February 2021, thus becoming the first international competition to test the procedure.

Following FIFA’s input and extensive consultation with key stakeholders, the protocols for concussion substitutes had been approved at The IFAB’s Annual Business Meeting (ABM) in December 2020 with a view to: sending a strong message that, if in any doubt, the player should be withdrawn; preventing a player sustaining another concussion during the match, as multiple headinjury incidents can have very serious consequences; reducing the pressure on medical personnel to make a quick assessment; and establishing a simple procedure that can be applied at all levels of the game.

In line with The IFAB’s circular no. 21, FIFA will implement a protocol in which each team will be permitted to use a maximum of one concussion substitute in a match; this substitution will be able to be made regardless of the number of

© Getty Images substitutes already used.

The trial of concussion substitutes will be applied in conjunction with the competition regulations and the return-to-sport strategy outlined in the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT 5).

Five-substitution option - Teams participating in the FIFA Club World Cup will be allowed to make up to five normal substitutions per game. To avoid disruption to the game, each team will only have three opportunities to make substitutions; substitutions may also be made at halftime.

The temporary amendment to Law 3 – The Players to this effect was originally introduced by The

IFAB in May 2020 based on a proposal received from FIFA seeking to protect player welfare. Extensions of the amendment were recently approved at The IFAB’s ABM.Draw on 19 January - The FIFA Club World Cup match schedule is available here.

The draw to finalise the detailed pairings will take place on 19 January at 16:00 CET in Zurich.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA and the host country will provide the required safeguards to protect the health and safety of all involved in the competition, including the full implementation of FIFA’s Return to Football – International Match Protocol.

Shehan Jayasuriya is relocating to the USA with his family AFP

Shehan Jayasuriya retires from Sri Lanka cricket ESPNcricinfo Allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya has called time on his Sri Lanka career, according to a release from the SLC. The 29-year-old, who bats left-handed and bowls offspin, has taken this decision after choosing to relocate to the USA with his family.

Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka 30 times in ODIs and T20Is, with a high-score of 96 against Pakistan in

Karachi. He had been on the fringes of Sri Lanka’s team for several years, but was unable to replicate his form from domestic cricket and Ateam at the international level, which in turn meant he did not have a secure place in the XI. His most recent outing for Sri Lanka, though, was only in March last year, in a T20 international against West Indies (he played two matches in the series). He

was a player of substantial heft on the domestic circuit, however.

Jayasuriya played 80 first-class matches, hitting 11 hundreds and taking nine five wicket hauls, to average 42.10 with the bat, and 26.38 with the ball respectively.

Most recently, he was a part of Galle Gladiators’ run to the final, at the Lanka Premier League. He played in all ten of the Gladiators’ matches.

Dear Mr. Editor, Greetings to all readers and a Happy 2021 to all may this year be the period that we will all bounce back from all the deficiencies that 2020 had to offer. Speaking about Bounce Back, I would like to complement the Guyana Football Federation, The Kashif & Shanghai Organisation, The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, The Management of the National Stadium and the Government of Guyana for allowing us to witness an enthralling and entertaining football match on Jan 1st 2021.

All over the world many c o u n t r i e s h a v e recommenced the playing of football and Guyana has since joined them. The use of the National Stadium was also a fine gesture on the part of the Government of Guyana and specifically the Honorable Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Attorney-at-Law, Charles Ramson (jnr}.

Mr. Editor, I have been around quite a while and had the opportunity to witness about seven (7) other Ministers of Sports in operation and I am very impressed with the present Minister, he has the knack of knowing what to do, he has the capacity to move sports to the next level, he has vision and the wisdom to succeed and he will.

Look at the way he operates he is meeting with the grassroots sportsmen and women; sports in Guyana is basically played by the underprivileged and sports can and has made many Guyanese popular while enriching many. With a Minister of this category, we are on the right track.

The Government of Guyana and specifically His Excellency President Dr Irfan Ally must be complimented for choosing such an individual to run the Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry. Guyanese were of the impression that Mr. Ramson would have been channeled into the Gas and Oil Sector, if that was done Sports would have lost an opportunity of acquiring such individual, have you ever witnessed a perceived wrong became right, then here is one and Guyana has benefitted. The Oil sector

maybe had a loss but the Sporting fraternity benefitted tremendously.

International football is scheduled to be played in Guyana shortly and we will be participating in the 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifiers and the entire Guyana would be supportive of the National Football Team which has been performing exceedingly well recently, however spectators and home support play an integral part of the team performance.

Remember 11.11.11 when Guyana defeated Trinidad and Tobago at the National Stadium, the crowd played an integral part in us achieving that famous victory. Mr. Editor with the Sports Minister and the support of the Government of Guyana we saw Football being played at the National Stadium after a very long time, did you remember when the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation filled the National Stadium to capacity, it can be done again.

Over the past few years, the National Football Team has been playing its International Matches at the Leonora Track & Field Center but the support was very minimal. Most of the spectators and supporters are based in the city and from the so-called depressed areas and getting to Leonora every time a game is played there can be time consuming and costly and as such most are deprived of witnessing Guyana play these matches due to the above-mentioned reasons.

It is often mentioned and reasoned that the National Stadium is a cricket ground which we all are aware of, and that football should not be played at the venue because the pitch will be damaged, Mr. Editor, before we had the National Stadium, International Football used to be played at the famous GCC Ground Bourda without much fuss.

The Queens Park Oval in T r i n i d a d & To b a g o , Kensington Oval in Barbados, St Lucia and many more Caribbean Islands had and still plays football matches on their cricket venues. Preparing a cricket pitch is not rocket science and after a football match is played once there is

no rain the damage is minimal and the repairs can be done in one (1) day and not longer than a week.

It is my fervent wish and all Guyana that when the National Football Team is scheduled to play in Guyana that the National Stadium is used. Football is played mostly by underprivileged youths and the base of its support comes from these communities where they live, football is also graced by the presence of the middle- and upper-class football lovers and taking the games to the National Stadium will ensure that they take their family to witness the games, a comfortable and respectable atmosphere is the hall mark of a great environment and social cohesion will be implemented.

In closing I would like to once again thank the organisations that were responsible for the playing of the football match. To the GFF, staff and President Wayne Forde, you all did a great job.

To Kashif & Shanghai and workers your organisational ability was evident. To The National Covid-19 Task Force, kudos to you guys for ensuring that all the protocols and guidelines were adhered to and implemented.

To Hits and Jams for your shrewd organisational skills, thank you. Also, to the sponsors for supporting football at such short notice, you are also thanked. To the technical team in allowing us to see the game live on TV and Social Media a great thank you.

All of this was not possible if it was not done under the astute leadership of the Honorable Minister of Sports Mr. Charles Ramson (jnr) whom I shall declare as the Guyana Man-of-the-Year 2020.

Also, to the Government of Guyana and His Excellency President Dr. Irfan Ally for their continued support to sports and football in general a great thank you.

In 2021 Guyana needs cohesion, cooperation and stamina and we will come out of this pandemic victorious. Thanks for your patience and tolerance.

Respectfully yours, Eric St Augustine

Kaieteur News

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Saturday January 09, 2021

Barbados Challengers Franchise signs Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill fight back for India after Steven Smith ton three local players for ISCO Cup ESPNcricinfo - After Steven Smith Ramar Millar signs his contract in the presence of General Manager Roland Butcher.

Shakille Belle Jairo Lombardo

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hree Barbadian football players and one who currently plays in Barbados, have been officially signed and contracted to represent the Barbados Challengers Franchise in the 2021 Islands Cup Open (ISCO) tournament.

Ramar Millar, Shakille Belle, Shaquan Phillips and Jairo Lombardo; are the first to have signed their contracts as they prepare for the star studded summer football extravaganza featuring the likes of Nicholas Anelka, Cafu, Samuel Eto’o , Jeleon Lescott and other footballers in player/coach roles.

The new signees will start with an unprecedented monthly base salary amount for four months of football; plus cash shared incentives based on performance and individual awards as the ten Franchises seek to the win the USD 3 million grand prize and trophies.

Noted former England cricketer and Barbadian Sports Administrator Roland Butcher is the General Manager of the Barbados Challengers Franchise and

will be aided by Head Coach S o l C a m p b e l l (Arsenal/England) and Assistant Coach Andy Cole ( M a n c h e s t e r United/England).

Butcher called the signing a significant achievement for the young men and revealed that the tournament is looking for more Barbadian talent to fill out the rosters of other Franchises.

“The opportunity for these young men to be handsomely paid for their skills and play alongside some of the best in the world is priceless. They will be given the opportunity to travel and be coached by the likes of Sol Campbell and Andy Cole if successful during the ISCO players draft to stay with the Challengers Franchise if not they will still enjoy a home within the ISCO Franchise family.

“It will be an experience they will never forget and finally our players will be able to earn a living for the craft they love,” said the Franchise General Manager.

The Island Cup Open slated to have a pre-season from July 5th through July 28th 2021 with a scheduled playing season from August 1st, 2021 through October 10th, 2021. Including at least two promotional charitable

games based on THE PLAYER’S availability scheduled after the end of the regular ISCO Championship Finals on dates to be announced.

The tournament has received the blessings and endorsements of most Football Associations in the region; with three hub locations in Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and the United States Virgin Islands.

ISCO parent company Caribbean Football Trust Limited (CFTL), Chairman Mr. Chris Anderson added; “Let me first emphasise that ISCO was developed to assist underprivileged youth and their families within the Pan-Caribbean, and by extension the global community. What this venture primarily means to our young men in the PanCaribbean, Latin America, Africa and Asia, is hope for a brighter future for themselves and families with the holistic support that the KICK POVERTY OUT programme offers.

“CFTL is taking the lead by securing the region with another major franchising sporting discipline via football. Over the last few years, we have seen the CPLT20 cricket secure great success and we are confident the same can be expected from our vision and brand in football,” said Anderson.

what initially looked like Australia’s day in the first hour and then India’s as they took quick wickets, the second Test at the SCG remained finely balanced with a fighting century from Steven Smith, a crucial fourfor from Ravindra Jadeja, an impressive maiden halfcentury from Shubman Gill and some tight bowling from the hosts to end the day.

India were still trailing Australia’s 338 by 242 runs after they dominated the day scripting Australia’s collapse of 132 for 8 around Smith, who was run out for 131.

In reply, a steady stand between Gill and Rohit Sharma - India’s third opening combination in as many matches - of 70 gave India a platform before both fell in quick succession for 50 and 26 respectively.

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara used straight-bat techniques with caution in the last hour without bothering much about the scoring rate in their stand of 11 runs in 12.5 overs.

Gill and Sharma also used compact technique against the good balls and the necessary scoring shots when the bowlers erred. The ball hardly moved around and the lack of edges or batsmen getting beaten would have left Mayank Agarwal feeling a little unlucky especially watching Sharma score freely on the flattest track of the series so far.

A patient Gill left and defended balls off the back foot, pulled with style and even ramped while hogging the strike against his Kolkata Knight Riders team-mate Pat Cummins, whereas Sharma had a mini-battle against Nathan Lyon that featured maidens, a straight six, a paddle sweep for four, and a close bat-pad appeal before the opener handed a return catch to Josh Hazlewood for 26. Gill cruised to 50 soon after but produced a rare edge which was taken sharply by Cameron Green at gully off Cummins.

Smith had earlier saved Australia in the middle of a collapse when he marshalled them to a respectable score with a 27th Test century - his eighth against India and third in five innings at the SCG across formats.

Their collapse was started and wrapped up by Jadeja who first dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and

roars after bringing up his hundred ©Getty Images

Matthew Wade in quick succession before returning later in the day to remove Cummins and Lyon. In between, Jasprit Bumrah’s new-ball burst produced a fiery spell of 7-3-12-2 that sent back Cameron Green and Tim Paine cheaply.

Jadeja then fired in a direct hit from the deep to run Smith out.

Smith’s innings was paced to perfection as he put an end to a string of singledigit scores. He started the day with a crisp cover drive off Bumrah, was forced to play plenty of deliveries around the stumps with India’s leg-side trap in place for the old ball, and then left plenty outside off when the visitors changed their lines with the second new ball. At the end, he also collected quick runs with his drives and trademark flicks when wickets started to tumble, scoring 71 of the 106 runs Australia managed after the fourth wicket.

Things were more promising for Australia when the day started as Labuschagne and Smith looked comfortable against a ball that was already 55 overs old in the hands of India’s inexperienced attack, and the duo stretched them past 200 with just two wickets down. But Rahane’s introduction of Jadeja worked as the left-arm spinner first had Labuschagne edge to slip for a sharp catch by Rahane for 91, and then accepted a gift from Wade who stepped out and skied a catch to mid-on when the second new ball was just over three overs

away. And once India got that new ball, Bumrah zipped and moved it around to trouble the middle order.

He set up Green and Paine in similar fashion: he first teased them with awayswingers and some that held their lines before he suddenly brought one in to trap Green lbw for a 21-ball duck and then shattered Paine’s stumps for 1. Only Mitchell Starc contributed from the tail with a brisk 30ball 24. Smith, meanwhile, was hardly fazed. Despite Bumrah’s twin strikes, he punched the fast bowler for a four on off and flicked him next ball for quick runs to approach the nineties. Next over, he flicked Navdeep Saini for four to reach 93, and after another 17 balls in the nineties he got to his century with a nudge behind square on leg followed by a rare animated celebration that saw him punch the air with the bat in one hand and the helmet in the other.

“I’m reading lots of things people say about being out of form, but I think there’s a difference between out of form and out of runs so it was just nice to score a few and maybe keep a few people quiet,” he told Fox Cricket soon after the century. As wickets fell, he ramped and swatted Bumrah for fours, and slog-swept Jadeja. He eventually fell short of a second run despite a dive as Jadeja fired in a throw from the deep on the leg side that hit the base of the stumps.

India 96 for 2 (Gill 50, Rohit 26) trail Australia 338 (Smith 131, Labuschagne 91, Jadeja 4-62) by 242 runs.

Saturday January 09, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

Kevin Sinclair receives his award for the U -19, 3-day player-of-the-year at the 2019 BCB Brian Ramphal awards ceremony.

Sinclair aims to impress if selected for next month’s Super50 - Tournament set for Antigua from Feb 4

By Sean Devers

A

fter a 52-yearold women traveling from New York became the first covid-19 case in Guyana on March 5, 2020, all sports were shut down later that month due to the Pandemic.

However, Guyanese offspinning all-rounder Kevin Sinclair played five matches in the 2020 CPL in August and also competed in the US Open in Florida last December during that period.

Sinclair, who turned 21 last November, told Kaieteur Sport on Wednesday that despite the presence of covid-19 in Region Six, he had an enjoyable Christmas with his family and is now back to training with Jaguars Franchise players.

“I spent my Christmas holidays with my family in Angoy’s Avenue in New Amsterdam but I also put in some work on my game. We were supposed to have a fitness test at the Track and Field Stadium in West Demerara but rain washed that out” said the talented former national youth player.

The Berbician will be involved in three practice matches next week before the Guyana Jaguars team is selected for this year’s Regional Super50 which is scheduled for February 4-27 in Antigua.

S i n c l a i r, w h o h a s steadily improved with his variety and ability to turn the ball, stated that he is looking forward to making his List ‘A’ debut for Guyana after being the most economical bowler when West Indies Emerging players won the 2019 Regional Super50 in Trinidad.

He has played nine List ‘A’ matches; making 132 runs and 13 wickets at an Average of 14.69 and an economy rate of 2.87. He

was also the bowler with the best economy rate for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in his debut CPL; capturing five wickets for 61 from 84 balls.

“Yeah I am working to earn my spot on the team for the Super50 and if selected I will try gave of my best. I don’t really set too many goals but hope to get better as the tournament goes on.

I am looking to showcase my talent with both bat and ball” said Sinclair who played the first of his six First-Class matches for Guyana on January 16. Sinclair has scored 130 runs and taken 12 wickets at this level.

Known for his double summersaults to celebrate his dismissals of batsmen, the hyperactive youth who represents the Rosehall Town Youth and Sports Club said he was grateful for the opportunity to participate in this year’s CPL even though they were no fans in the Stands.

On his CPL debut on August 30, Sinclair opened both the batting and bowling against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. “In the CPL I did not score the type of runs I knew I should have but with the ball I think I was outstanding.

I learnt a lot in the CPL in terms of consistency in bowling in a particular area …while batting rotating the strike has got to be right up there… while putting away the bad balls is very important” said Sinclair, who is the cousin of former Guyana pacer and USA Assistant Coach, Kevin Darlington.

He said he likes playing all formats but seems more comfortable playing ‘White ball cricket’ and should be a certainty for the trip to Antigua.

Sinclair is adamant that he is a batting all-rounder which he has shown in club

cricket but he is yet to convert that form to the Regional level which he hopes to fix if he is selected for his 50-over debut for his Country this year.

Six teams will contest the Regional Super50 tournament; Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, Trinidad a n d To b a g o , a n d t h e Windward Islands.

Motorsport’s to return with Endurance Championship on January 24.

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SIC sponsors GMR&SC’s Jan 24 Endurance Meet Tokyo 2020: Organisers say Olympic Games will go ahead despite Covid-19 surge

Kevin Sinclair executes his trademark summersalt during the last Regional Super50.

The Tokyo Olympics were originally scheduled for 24 July to 9 August 2020 but were postponed last March.

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers hope to meet President-elect Joe Biden but champions lose at Spurs FIFA to trial Ravindra Jadeja concussion and Shubman substitutes Gill fight back Sinclair aims to impress if at FIFA Club for India after selected for next month’s - Tournament set for Super50 World Cup™ Steven Smith ton Antigua from Feb 4 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.