Kaieteur News

K

AIETEUR NEWS

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

Woman, trapped in her bedroom, burnt to death

Friday Edition January 15, 2021 -Vol. 23 No. 03

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

Online readership yesterday, 92,469

Cops secure confession for gruesome murders of Henry boys Isaiah Henry

Joel Henry

Stabroek Block deal reviewed but - Jagdeo lopsided provisions untouched confirms - Says other mechanisms will be used to get more benefits for Guyanese

DPP defends right Venezuelan gangs Lusignan prisoners to reinstitute still remain a threat beat, strip inmate murder charge at Guyana’s borders who was remanded on Marcus Bisram - Army Chief of Staff, Bess on rape charge

Prosecution fails to file statement in Lawrence, Mingo election cases Harbour Bridge Board Contractors want recommends actions hundreds of million$ against persons culpable to repair NDIA in asphalt plant racket pumps, excavators Tune in 7:20pm tonight for a discussion on protecting our wealth for future generations, on Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 02

Friday January 15, 2021

Mingo, Lawrence election fraud case‌

Prosecution fails to file statements T

he prosecution yesterday failed to file the statements of the witnesses that are expected to testify against Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo and the Chairperson for the People’s National Congress, Volda Lawrence, in the election fraud cases.

The duo yesterday made another court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates Court before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

They are being represented by attorneys-at-law, Nigel Hughes and Darren Wade, while the matter is being

prosecuted by a team of special prosecutors, attorneys-at-law, Glenn Hanoman, George Thomas, Mark Conway, and Ganesh Hira.

Ye s t e r d a y t h e prosecution was expected to file statements of the witnesses that are expected to testify against Lawrence and Mingo, but failed to file the statements and the matter was adjourned to January 28, 2021.

On September 11, Mingo and Lawrence made their first appearance. They were not required to plead to the charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.

Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.

The charge stated that Mingo, having been procured by Lawrence on or

about March 5, 2020, at the Command Centre for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on High and Hadfield Streets, uttered to the Chief Elections O ff i c e r ( C E O ) , K e i t h Lowenfield, the election results for Region Four, knowing it to be forged, with intent to defraud the people of Guyana.

Mingo and Lawrence were released on self-bail for that charge.

The duo is also facing a joint charge before another Magistrate in the Georgetown Magistrates Court.

That charge alleged that Mingo and Lawrence on March 5, 2020 in Georgetown, with intent to defraud the public, they uttered a certain forged document, that is to say, a report purporting to be a true declaration of all votes cast in District Four for the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections, knowing said report to be forged.

Mingo was slapped with four individual charges on

August 31, 2020, alleging that he misconducted himself in public office by failing to disclose the number of votes that were counted during the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

He was placed on $600,000 bail for those charges.

Additionally, he was also slapped with a joint charge with A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) activist, Carol JosephSmith.

That charge alleged that on March 13, 2020, they uttered a forged document purporting to be a true report of all votes cast in the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections, while knowing that the report was forged.

Mingo was placed on $60,000 bail for the two joint charges and Lawrence was placed on $30,000 bail for the joint charge she faces.

Those matters are also expected to be called on January 28, 2021.

The Chairperson for the People’s National Congress, Volda Lawrence.

Police had announced last August that they will be conducting a comprehensive investigation into the criminal conduct of Lowenfield; the Returning Officer of Region Four, Mingo; and others in relation to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and the events that followed.

During the ongoing probe, several GECOM officials were arrested and put before the court for electoral fraud charges.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 03

Cops secure confession for gruesome murders of Henry boys

By Shikema Dey Investigators secured a major breakthrough in their pursuit to find the perpetrators behind the gruesome murders of West Berbice teens Isaiah and Joel Henry as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) r e c o m m e n d e d c h a rg e s instituted on the three suspects in custody.

That move was reportedly taken after one of the men in custody confessed to the heinous crime which sparked outrage and protests in Guyana.

Sources have confirmed with Kaieteur News that the men in custody are two-time prison escapee 34-year-old Vi n o d G o p a u l c a l l e d “Magga”, a 33-year-old known as “Dan Pole” and a 19-year-old called “Monkey”.

From previous reports, Gopaul was first taken into prison 14, back in 2004 when he was accused of murdering his father who he reportedly shot dead.

In August 2007, he was among 18 prisoners who escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison. He was recaptured not long after in East Bank Berbice however, he managed to escape again in June 2011 but was recaptured. He was released at some point after then.

The DPP advised that Gopaul and “Dan Pole” be charged jointly for the

To be charged for the murder, Vinod Gopaul called “Magga”.

Murdered: Isaiah and Joel Henry murder while separate charges would be instituted on “Monkey”.

Sources from the Major Crime Unit (MCU) revealed too that police are hunting for several other suspects in connection with the crime.

Confession The murder of the Henry cousins sent shockwaves through the country after their mutilated bodies were discovered on September 6 in clumps of bushes near to a coconut estate located at Cotton Tree backdam, West Coast Berbice.

Law enforcement officers, for months on end chased multiple leads and battled violent protests that erupted over the news of their gruesome murder in efforts to bring their killers to justice. Months later, the Henry family may receive this after a harrowing confession by one of the

suspects who told a story of how the two young men met their cruel demise.

Sources relayed to Kaieteur News that the suspects ventured to the West Berbice area with the intention of setting up a farm to plant cannabis in August.

The men were said to have established a camp in the backlands along with their cannabis plot and left the plants to flourish returning, some weeks later in September.

Upon their return, the men reportedly discovered that their camp and farm were destroyed.

They were then said to have ventured to another camp nearby to inquire who destroyed their farm. The suspects, sources disclosed, were informed that two young men from the Cotton Tree area are known to trample the backlands and

Murdered: Haresh Singh. destroy farms. According to the source, the men fumed and vowed to ‘chop up’ whoever was responsible.

Days later, the Henry cousins were said to have ventured to that very camp where they met the three men.

While conversing with two of the suspects, the cousins were asked whether they knew anything about cannabis farms being destroyed in the area.

Sources said that one of the Henry boys laughed and that action angered one of the suspects who swiftly took out a cutlass and dealt a chop to his neck. The other suspect allegedly took out his cutlass and repeated the action.

The third suspect, who was standing some feet away, was allegedly coerced into chopping the cousins (Continued on page 20)

Bourda Market vendor robbed by bicycle bandits Four bicycle bandits armed with a gun and knives, yesterday rode up to Bourda market vendor at his stall and robbed him of his cellphone and cash. The vendor Hazrat, 45, of Ruby Back, East Bank Essequibo, was robbed by the men around 03:30 hrs. at Alexander Street, Bourda Market.

Harzat told police that the bandit with the gun

pointed it to his face and told him to stay quiet. The man then dealt him two lashes to his face with the weapon and demanded cash. Fearful for his life, Harzat handed them $40,000 in cash and his LG cell phone valued some $30,000.

The men then pedaled away in the southern direction along Alexander Street.

PAGE 4

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

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

Biden-Harris and the Rule of Law On Wednesday, January 21, in less than a week, Joseph Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America, bringing an end to the tumultuous, violent and at times outright macabre single term of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.

It is a sign of exactly how much of a proverbial dumpster fire the Trump Presidency was that, here in the final days of it, scandals like the Russian hacking targeted against his 2016 presidential rival Hilary Clinton, or the furor caused by the discovery of his affair with porn star Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels have long been forgotten.

A dazzling cast of bizarre characters from his press secretaries (remember Sean Spicer) have entered and exited the ruinous stage that has been the Trump administration, with the President himself ending a term he began by promising his supporters so much “winning that your head will spin”, not only losing an incumbent but by setting the ignominious record of being the only President of America to be impeached twice.

The departure of Donald Trump from the highest seat of American power marks the end of an era of shame, and the beginning of what will be a difficult process of reformation and reconstruction unprecedented in American history with its only antecedents being the post-Civil War Reconstruction and the Civil Rights era.

The storming of the most sacred site of American Democracy by a mob goaded on by a sitting President in an effort to overturn the election, which he lost represents, the worst flare up of the sickness of divisiveness that has been festering in American society of a long time, but which became most acute in reaction to the election of Barack Obama to the American Presidency.

From his tone throughout the campaign, Biden, almost 80, has sought to be more avuncular than aggressive, a marked contrast to Trump, and a strategy that saw him winning the election by a margin of 8 million votes.

What is clear however is that that margin was not enough to convince thousands of persons to adhere to the role of law in the very centre of American lawmaking, which means that the new President cannot appear to be merely affable when it comes to the actual application of rule of law.

If he does not have the temperament for it, then he should delegate policy direction for it to the person who is more than capable of overseeing reforms, his VP, Kamala Harris.

To be sure, a Kamala Harris Vice Presidency will be markedly different from Mike Pence’ tenure in office. Whereas Pence was, until last week, simply Trump’s factotum, Harris as a former political rival of Biden for the Democratic nomination and formerly a senior senator and state attorney-general in her own right, will play a critical role in cooperating with Biden’s project attorney-general Merrick Garland in using the legal system to push back against the internal insurrection – fueled by both White nationalism and a more diverse but equally rabid Republican deconstructionism – that threatens to destabilize America. Whatever Biden’s rhetoric about peace and harmony going forward, the fact that 21,000 National Guard troops are stationed in Washington, DC should say something about the reality of law and order in America at present.

It is easy, and perhaps not entirely unwarranted, to indulge in a little state-sized schadenfreude in the wake of what appears to be fall of American democracy, considering the direct role America has played in destabilizing small states and entire regions in the furtherance of the establishment of its economic hegemony – however, reform of law and order in America, or the failure thereof, has repercussions for at the very least, this hemisphere.

Any bell that tolls for the rule of law in America would be a bell that eventually tolls for us here in Guyana as well.

Government should take steps to ensure that Guyana’s copyright laws are updated DEAR EDITOR, Recently, a lengthy article was published in mainstream media highlighting a case where India and South Africa are calling on the World Trade Organization (WTO) ‘to exempt member countries from enforcing some patents and other Intellectual Property (IP) Rights under the organization’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known as TRIPS.’ The reason why the exemption or waiver from enforcing some patents under the WTO TRIPS Agreement is being sought has to do with the need to access patented treatments on an affordable basis to fight off the COVID 19 pandemic.

Following the call, WTO members are currently discussing how best to use the global intellectual property system to combat the global pandemic. It would be of interest to know whether Caricom has formulated a position on this matter.

The TRIPS agreement came into effect on January 1, 1995. It set out the minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property, including patents on pharmaceuticals.

The newspaper article tickled my interest having laboured as Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation (2001-2006) in the vineyards of (WTO).

The issues raised in the article reminded me of the negotiations that took place at a WTO meeting in June 2003 at Sharm el-Sheik Egypt.

At that meeting, in which I participated, the TRIPS/public health issue took centre stage.

The big issue at that time was, how to avoid enforcement of WTO TRIPS

protected patents so that developing countries could acquire affordable/generic medicines to treat the HIV/ AIDS pandemic.

Following the Sharm elSheik meeting, and later WTO ministerial meetings, only the Least Developed Countries (LDC) members of the WTO and Somalia, a non-member, benefitted from an agreement enabling them to access treatment such as antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to treat persons infected with HIV/AIDS. Fifteen years later, the call by developing countries on the WTO to not enforce patents protected by the organization’s agreement on TRIPS is back with us once again, this time it is to access affordable vaccines to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meanwhile, the WTO has called on its members ‘to work to ensure that intellectual property rights such as patents, industrial designs, copyrights and protection of undisclosed information do not create barriers to affordable medical products such as vaccines and medicines or the scaling up of research development, manufacturing and supply of medical products essential to combat COVID-19.’

Developing countries can ill-afford the huge amounts of foreign exchange needed to procure the expensive medications produced by the large pharmaceutical companies.

Many developing countries like Guyana will have to depend on the World Health Organization’s COVAX and perhaps, vaccines like SINOVAC from China or the GAMALEYA vaccine from Russia.

Both vaccines have

shown impressive effective rates in countries where they have been approved for use by the local authorities.

China’s SINOVAC has made tremendous headway in the vaccine diplomacy race with SINOVACS use in South East Asia, Turkey, Brazil and the Middle East.

And the Government of the People’s Republic of China has offered Latin America and Caribbean countries access to a whopping US$1 billion loan to buy vaccines.

The Jamaican Government’s recent announcement that because of it joining WHO’s COVAX Facility, Jamaicans will get the COVID-19 vaccine in April this year. That timeline coincides with the WHO’s announcement that the COVAX vaccine will be available by April this year.

Since two doses of each vaccine is required, the cost and percentage of their effectiveness will be decisive factors in determining which of the vaccines self-financing developing countries would procure. The Moderna vaccine which is 95 percent effective cost US$33 per dose; the Pfizer vaccine which is 95 percent effective cost US$20 per dose; the NovaVax vaccine which is 62 percent effective cost US$16 per dose; Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine (still being tested) is estimated to be between 5090 percent effective and is estimated to cost US$10 per dose; the SINOVAC vaccine which is 50-79 percent effective cost US$13 per dose; the Gemaleya vaccine which is 92 percent effective cost US$10 per dose and the AstraZeneca vaccine which is 62-90 percent effective cost US$4 per dose.

But what does the

negotiations at the WTO ‘to exempt member countries from enforcing some patents and other IP rights under TRIPS’ mean for Guyana?

What is the relevance?

In cases of public health emergencies, provided Guyana’s patent laws have incorporated the TRIPS Amendment, Guyana would be allowed, as a WTO member, without manufacturing capacity, to use compulsory licensing or to negotiate appropriate licences to access patented treatment from another WTO member that has such capacity.

My own view is, at this time, the waiver proposal is not of particular value to Guyana. However apart from other futuristic considerations, support for the proposal should be evaluated on the basis of political support for other WTO members.

If it hasn’t done so as yet, Guyana should move swiftly to put in place the legal framework and systems to ensure it has access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines. It is to be assumed that Guyana, like Jamaica, has joined the COVAX Facility.

The announcement made last week by the Guyana Government that a COVID-19 Vaccines Task Force has been established in preparation for the rollout of the inoculation campaign against the pandemic coincides with the announcement made on January 13 by the Jamaican Government.

And while the Jamaican Government announced that vaccines will be available on April, the Guyana Government made no mention of a time frame for (Continued on page 6)

We have to rise above our petty grievances and party affiliations DEAR EDITOR, I stand ready to defend our great land as a Guyanese.

In condemning the decree made by the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro, on January 7, 2021, which seeks to illegally lay claim to Guyana’s Essequibo territory.

I wish to urge that as Guyanese we must all come together.

I urge all leaders to meet and address this worrisome, economic and mentally challenging matter, which can affect all Guyanese. The challenge and claim to our land is serious and troubling

for the Guyanese public. I note that the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, continues to hold on to the belief that he will not engage with the APNU+AFC Opposition.

Meanwhile, Guyana’s Private Sector, Bar Association and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce remains silent among heads of other organisations, Churches, Masjids and Mandirs remain silent on the matter of the President of Guyana and the Leader of the APNU+AFC Opposition Meeting or engaging in any conversation to put Guyana first.

If no other time, this is the perfect opportunity for all of Guyana to unite for the good

of the nation.

I wish to remind all Guyanese that we are open and vulnerable when there is war and the devastation of war includes violence, trauma, poverty and disease that can set this country back millions of dollars in development for many years ahead. The scars of war, along with national and political division, have unspeakable ravages to the fabric of nation building.

History will not view leaders in Guyana kindly when we look back on our silence to act. I believe that spite, racial hate and venom should not supersede the life, livelihood and safety of all Guyanese.

Guyanese, we have to rise

above our petty grievances and Party affiliation to encourage our leaders and heads of organisations both local and international to forget vile hatred of one another and put our country first. I firmly believe that to become one force for a credible fight unity is required.

I stand ready to defend our great land as a Guyanese.

Let’s unite together in defence of our sovereignty.

Incredible things can be done simply if we are committed to making them happen.

Pt. Ubraj Narine But for that American presence

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

The wise should pay heed DEAR EDITOR, As I observe recent Venezuelan agitations about decrees and the rest from its still embattled leader, I would hope that my fellow Guyanese are paying attention to what has been made public by our neighbours, and the substance of some contrarian positions I had taken a while back upon which I think it is now appropriate to elaborate.

What originated with the Venezuelan leader was nothing short of the hostile and which I would go so far as to term warlike. It is not a word that I use lightly, especially when the surrounding atmosphere, the tone, and the timing all pointed to the bellicose and that well bandied about onesabre rattling. I think that it is sufficient to say that it was not friendly in the least.

There was this flurry of sharp words and positions, but with a significant underlying difference that was distinctive.

Our neighbour spoke of

Essequibo and what is in mind with that large swath of rich Guyanese territory, from a Venezuelan perspective and vision. He also spoke of willingness to engage in dialogue. And let us all agree on one thing: the man and his compatriots are serious. They hear and see and know of these billions of barrels of oil sloshing about, and of other discoveries, which have to be in the pipeline, all associated circumstances considered. It is enraging and greedtriggering. No Venezuelan political participant struggling and hustling to maintain some degree of relevance in his society before peers and adversaries could be otherwise, such as appearing complacent to the point of being unstirred and untroubled. He or she cannot be silent, which is as good as surrender on any claims.

Having said this much, I now want to place before my fellow citizens a few situations, which are not new but timeworn for me. The Venezuelan leader is talking.

I would go so far as to say he thrilled to a good raving and ranting. But that was it. He was careful to not go beyond that; despite serious concerns about the presence of the U.S. Coast Guard and joint exercises with Guyana, again that was it, and great care was taken to register disagreement and distrust with that presence, but there was nothing beyond the official public releases. To put differently, there was and is a limit past which Venezuela and its leaders are hesitant to go, and for powerful reasons.

The country is in trouble with America, which I do not foresee easing in any material manner, incoming administration and all, and which brings me to this place where Guyana is concerned.

Venezuelan powers will talk and rattle whatever, but that’s it. They will not mess with America. Exxon is an American icon, an American asset, and the projection of American power. Given the existence of sanctions and sharp conflicts with its leader,

Less than acceptable customer service DEAR EDITOR, Permit me a few lines to express my disappointment with the service I received at, where most would consider, one of Guyana’s premium hotels. Let me be clear, I was not a guest at the hotel, but rather a customer at their poolside bar and dining area.

Upon arrival, I was pleased that they complied with the national COVID-19 guidelines. My friend and I proceeded to a vacant table, which to our surprise, appeared to have not been cleaned for the day.

A waitress came over and began to wipe it with a damp cloth. There was no noticeable scent of bleach or other cleaning agents on this piece of fabric that was used to wipe the table. Considering the current global pandemic, you’d think that some cleaning agent would’ve been used. Nevertheless, my friend and I proceeded to order drinks while browsing the menu for our meal choices.

I’d average it was about seven to 10 minutes after placing

the beverage order that the waitress returned with the drinks.

She placed them on the table and said she’d return soon to take the food orders. As soon as my friend proceeded to remove the remains of the wrapper from the straw in his glass, he noticed that there was a fly in the glass. This was not an ordinary housefly, but a vinegar fly, which is also called pomace fly or small fruit fly. In Guyana, we refer to them as ‘sour flies’.

We quickly signalled the waitress and after another five minutes, she returned. When we told her that she gave us a drink with a fly in it, she immediately became defensive. The young lady then informed us that it was the policy of the restaurant that those things can happen because it was an outdoor setting. She even said that it had to happen after she presented the drink to us because she had her eyes on the drinks all the time, which I find to be absolutely absurd.

After somewhat of a back and forth with the young woman, who I noticed was fitted with a supervisor tag,

my friend decided to ask for another drink to be made. By that time, I was already annoyed and disappointed with the service. When she returned with the new drink, I decided to ask for the bill, we paid and left.

My point is this, even if the fly made its way into the glass after she presented it to us (which I highly doubt because it would still be swimming in the glass when we noticed it), customer service will take your business a far way. A paying customer shouldn’t have to debate with a waitress, and in such a case, an immediate offer to remake the drink with an apology would’ve done the job. We were not asking for a free meal; we were asking for a little courtesy.

I strongly suggest that the management of that entity invest in a refresher course in customer service for their staff. While you’re at it, remember we’re in a pandemic, please invest in some cleaning products for your tables too.

Yours sincerely, Janell Cameron

the situation is unstable, as well as an unhappy one for our neighbour. It is, therefore, very circumspect on how loud it speaks and how far it is going to push any hot buttons. The man is talking about decrees and much more, but he is not going to risk any more American wrath.

Thus, he has to content himself with making noises and that is about it.

On the other hand, I submit again that if it were any other company but an American one, then there would have been more action and less speechmaking. This has happened before, but it is not going to be tried now,

not with matters on tenterhooks with Uncle Sam. If it was an Indian or Chinese or European company, even a British one, out there exploring for this oil, it is my belief that it would have been run out of town already. As I compress all this, I remember Teddy Roosevelt and ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’ and two things come to mind.

An authentic big power can afford to do so, because it can back up whatever it speaks, however softly uttered. It does not have to prove anything. The other side of that is that those who talk big, but lack the wherewithal to do something in support, has

just lost face, which is what I think is happening here. Still, as I say this, I watch to detect possibly destabilizing forays across the border under criminal cover.

Last, as I looked at pictures of that joint exercise involving American and Guyanese vessels, I cannot help thinking that this is the 21st century version of ‘gunboat diplomacy.’ The visit of that Admiral also is not merely a courtesy call, but of ties and messages. The wise in the area should know what I am talking about and pay heed.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Different strokes for different folks DEAR EDITOR, Within the week, Guyana, like the rest of the world, will have the pleasure and relief of a new President and Commander-in-Chief of the US. US is the most powerful and influential State in the modern world.

Some soothsayers predict that the raucous behaviour and attempted insurrection witnessed in the US Capitol last Wednesday could be the beginning of the collapse of

another great Empire.

Maybe, the advance warning that a pattern inhumane experience may be evident.

That is the beginning or the fall or disintegration of a great Empire, Roman, Greek, Timbuktu, among others.

As we survey the scene and await the next trumping of a democracy, I remain disappointed that the US Ambassador’s statement, the silence by FITUG, Gerry

Gouveia and the Private Sector Commission did not make the clarion call to President Trump and the likes of Mike Pompeo, who came to Guyana to preach to us that for much of November, December, up until now, these persons did not advise Mr. Trump and his Cabinet to step aside.

The old folks say “different strokes for different folks.”

Amen!

Nigel Bacchus

Coronavirus Vaccine DEAR EDITOR, The coronavirus pandemic is raging worldwide and almost two million people have died. Imagine the heartbreak for those families that have lost their loved ones. In Guyana, as you traverse the country, people have a lackadaisical attitude to the disease. The majority don’t wear mask, there is no social distancing and overcrowding is common in marketplace, schools, in the buses, among other places.

The world is now relying on vaccines to rid us of this disease. Poor countries like us are left behind as the vaccines are grabbed up by

wealthy countries and even some developing countries.

The question then is why isn’t Guyana trying to strike bilateral arrangements with countries like India? A number of countries have written to the Indian Prime Minister for vaccine help.

Guyana and India shares strong ties. India is making its Covishield by the Serum Institute which is AstraZeneca’s vaccine. This vaccine is

already in use in the UK and will start in India by Friday.

While we are waiting on the WHO for vaccines, which are not enough for our population, there is no harm in seeking help from the Indian government. I urge the government to have discussions with the Indian High Commissioner in Guyana in an effort to curb the disease in Guyana.

B. John

PAGE 6

Andrews’ sea defence project completion snafu DEAR EDITOR, In a KN article of January 12, Chief Engineer Sawh of BK International Incorporated (BKII) alleged that instructions from the former Minister of Public Infrastructure (MPI) caused delay in completion of the $124M sea defence project at Andrews (SDPA) on the Essequibo Coast.

The project was to have been completed by August 2020 but to date, it is claimed that only 15 percent of contract work has been done while the c o n t r a c t o r, B K I I h a s received 70 percent of the contract cost paid for material costs for the foundation.

T h e S D PA c o n t r a c t document probably states the distribution of payment to BKII for the

various items of work done, materials supplied and/or percentage of partial payment for work completed. My experience on a rip-rap sea defence project is that boulders are the most expensive material used and not geotextile fabric or sand.

Therefore, the lack of fabric in constructing SDPA may have delayed its completion but could not account for 70 percent of contract cost since no invoice was submitted to show the cost of the fabric transferred to Dantzig.

BKII had two distinct and separate contracts with the MPI. BKII claims that SDPA was delayed because the fabric it had on site was diverted on instructions from the former Minister, MPI, for

use to close the breach at Dantzig, East Coast Demerara. This may well have been so but there were shortages of other vital materials such as sand and boulders at S D PA , which BKII Engineer Sawh claims were necessary for constructing the foundation slope to lay the rip rap boulders. After all, construction work on any rip-rap slope has to be done at low tide and therefore sections of it have to be prepared, completed and protected between tides.

BKII claims that the Dantzig breach was sealed in 40 days, and despite shipping delays, the reordered geotextile fabric was received in September 2020. Therefore, it is puzzling as to why it took months to get the material to SDPA to (Continued on page 23)

...Government should take steps From page 4 the availability of vaccines locally. In furtherance of its growing increasing all-round cooperation with the United States, it is quite likely that the US would make a shipment of vaccines free of cost available to Guyana.

Guyana should reciprocate by taking steps to enter into a Bilateral Intellectual Property Rights and Investment Protection Agreement with the United States.

Sometime in 1999, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the AG’s

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

Chamber, drafted a Guyana/ USA Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. I led a small delegation to Washington to negotiate the agreement with the US authority.

However, at the end of the negotiations, when we thought we had an agreement in the bag, the US delegation announced that they wound need an omnibus Bilateral Investment and Protection Agreement before the Intellectual Property Rights Agreement could be signed.

Because we were not mandated to negotiate such

an agreement, the process ended there.

In light of this experience, and the fact that Guyana is now on the cusp of being a player in the global economy, government should take steps to ensure that Guyana’s copyright laws are updated.

And while our Patent Act may not have been amended to make it TRIPS compliant, steps should be taken to amend the Act and, if necessary, to accede to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Yours faithfully Clement J. Rohee

Agriculture critical during COVID DEAR EDITOR, Agriculture is very critical to any economy especially for a country like Guyana whose comparative advantage is land and relatively cheap farm labour. Agriculture is perhaps the most resilient sector of the economy during the ongoing COVID pandemic. It must, therefore, be given priority as the country seeks to recover from the wreckage left behind by the preceding coalition regime.

The nation at large and farmers, in particular, recognise the significance of farming to the economy. The nation is grateful that this government has not neglected agriculture and that since August several measures have been implemented to encourage farm production. Farmers and the public say Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, has been very active on the ground, providing support to the farming community and encouraging farmers to ramp up production. He has received kudos from farmers all over the country for his work ethic and for his support to boost production. As I travel around conducting an opinion poll, farmers say he has been very engaging listening to them and implementing some of their ideas. Almost everyone gave the Minister a positive rating for his performance. This is in sharp contrast with his predecessor whose support for the farm sector was lacking. In looking at the economy, from my interaction with people across all classes and ethnicities, it appears that construction, real estate, banking, and mining are among the most resilient sectors of the economy during the ongoing COVID crisis. Some planned construction is delayed because of the pandemic but will resume over time. There is not much demand for office space and high-end residential developments that are further weakened by mobility restrictions. Gated communities are planned as well as several name brand hotels. Oil and gas projects are proceeding as is some

home construction. The challenge is people don’t have much spending power to purchase property or rehabilitate homes but surplus money is invested in construction. So investors are not really facing losses and their money is not fetching significant returns in a bank. Property value will increase when oil money flows and returns on investment would be high than in the bank. Mining products don’t rot and some minerals have instant market with the highest value per unit – gold and diamond, in particular. Those with surplus capital are proceeding with construction with the expectation that when the COVID eases and money starts to flow, people will purchase property.

People have to eat and as such need money. They tap into savings, utilising banking services with the banks making money through their fees. Since there is a demand for food, agriculture is sustained and remains perhaps the most resilient aspect of the economy.

However, since many workers lost their job due to termination by the coalition government, closure of factories, COVID, and political and racial victimisation, many people have gone into market vending of agro produce to make ends meet. But money has not been circulating the way it did five years ago and so vendors are not earning much. In addition, there is a surplus of vendors accompanied by a shortage of funds by consumers to purchase food. So farmers are not earning much from their crops and most vendors are barely eking out a living.

Food is plentiful. And most farmers, except for some cash crops, are not losing money except through inclement weather conditions.

Many consumers, especially in rural and hinterland areas, produce a lot of food for domestic consumption.

Government must look to export of food in the Caribbean and in the diaspora, especially USA and Canada where there is huge

demand for Guyanese produce. The two stimulus packages have provided much needed relief among the poorer sections of society especially during the end of year holiday and this New Year so far. People are observed spending creating a small spurt in the retail sector.

Agriculture is still the hope of the future. And it must be protected as a key indicator of economic activity. It could provide a platform for national recovery from the pandemic as the country waits for oil money not expected until three to five years hence. At any rate, so as not to become a victim of the oil curse, the country should continue producing food as a priority. The world needs food especially when greater amounts of land are devoted to real estate and industries. Government must encourage farmers to produce even if there is a surplus in the market. Prices of essential foods have not been decreasing although vendors suffer losses.

Supply and demand are not working in Guyana’s agro market economy because of cost of production. Government must find a way to subsidize farming. There is a surplus of food especially vegetables and ground provisions; overseas markets are needed.

Government has to find ways to help farmers to export food – perhaps through some arrangement with the airlines, which are flying very light over the last couple months at less than 50 percent capacity. Government could subsidize airfreight to New York and Toronto, where there is strong demand for all kinds of vegetables. Once the price is right, the diaspora would be attracted to Guyanese produce, which in turn would help to provide revenues to farmers in Guyana to sustain the economy as the nation awaits the oil funds.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Awards not conferred but handed out DEAR EDITOR, There was no conferral of national awards to the 2020 recipients.

I understand recipients are being called by OP to come in and pick up their respective medals. It seems the certificates were given out some time ago and now the medals are ready to be handed out.

While it is understood that COVID has had the final

say to the usual pomp and ceremony and grandeur associated with the occasion, it would have be more befitting if a simple ceremony, with all COVID protocols in place, was arranged and the President conferred the awards instead of a clerk handing out the medals. In this way, the event would have been memorialized.

A National Award is the

highest honour and distinction a country bestows on its deserving citizens for their service.

Such an accolade should be afforded the dignity, decorum and stateliness associated with it.

To do otherwise places insignificance and unimportance to the award and by extension the awardee.

Shamshun Mohamed

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Friday January 15, 2021

Annandale man on trial for murder of wife’s brother-in- law…

Wife of deceased testifies to witnessing stabbing incident L

atchmini Singh t e s t i f i e d yesterday that she witnessed the stabbing incident which led to her husband Ramkarran Mohanlall’s demise on February 3, 2016.

She was to the stand to testify in the trial against her brother-in-law, Shafeek Mohammed. Mohammed is

on trial at the High Court before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed-twelve member jury.

The woman was among some eight witnesses to take the stand in the trial, so far.

In her testimony, Singh’s recalled that she got a phone call and heard loud noises coming from the other end of the phone.

As a result, the woman said that she went to investigate what the racket was about and found her husband and brother-in-law in a standoff at her Annandale East Coast Demerara residence. She explained that her husband was trying to get into the yard and the accused had blocked the entrance.

The witness recalled that during the standoff, the accused went to his car and pulled out a hockey stick and tried to lash her husband with it. She said that her husband retreated to his car, which was parked on the road but they continued to quarrel and threaten each other.

The woman recalled that not long after, a fight broke out between the two men and as they engaged in the scuffle, the accused pulled out a dagger from his waist and dealt her husband several stabs about his body.

She said that soon after the accused went to his car and drove away, she and some her neighbours hired a car to take her husband to the hospital.

While on the way to the hospital, the car was involved in a small accident, hitting a rail and skidding off the road.

The witness noted that the car was nonetheless used to transport them to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where her husband was pronounced dead.

The woman’s evidence followed State Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh who told the Court that Mohanlall died as result of perforation of the heart due to stab wounds.

Under cross examination by M o h a m m e d ‘ s l a w y e r, Latchmie Rahamat, Dr. Singh agreed with the suggestion that there is a possibility that the type of wounds, the victim sustained

Accused Shafeek Mohammed.

could have caused by a sharp object in a motor vehicular accident.

He nonetheless noted that he was certain that the injuries he examined were not caused by a motor vehicular accident when he was questioned by State Counsel, Teriq Mohammed.

Other witnesses who testified in the trial yesterday were part of the police investigating team. Officer Hilton Benjamin told the court that he could not find the station diary, which he allegedly made records of investigations into the incident.

He therefore agreed with the reasoning of the defence lawyer that the information could not be verified. Police Sergeant Patrick Benjamin who was the crime scene technician and photographer brought several photos, which he took of the crime

Ramkarran Mohanlall. scene.

The items were tendered as part of the evidence in the trial while policeman Denaise Adams told the court that he had the task of questioning the accused after he was arrested and charged.

According to Adams, the accused told him that he had “nothing to say”, about the incident.

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 09

A winter full of discontents

D

anger is lurking around the c o r n e r. T h e spike in coronavirus cases since the start of this month indicates that more deaths are ahead… far more deaths.

Even with a vaccine due to arrive sometime later this year, the situation which faces Guyana is terrifying.

Unless coronavirus infections are crushed within the next three months, the arrival of the vaccine will result in a mass rush.

The spike in cases in Moraikabai over the past week should not have occurred. Towards the end of last year, infections had increased in that community.

Mass testing of everyone should have taken place, mindful of the experiences of other similar communities. Such testing would not have exhausted the testing kits of the Ministry of Health to have tested everyone in that community. It should do so now.

A crisis is brewing. And s a d l y, p e o p l e a r e uninterested. Each death becomes another statistic.

Care and concern about the dying has been thrown through the window. People - the government and civil society included - are indifferent to the unfolding human tragedy.

By the time the vaccine gets here, deaths would have reached 300. When this column first touted this number some persons rebuked it in the name of God. Now, we will be lucky if we can restrict COVID-19 deaths to 300 before the end of June.

We have not learnt anything from the experience of other countries. Sixteen thousand

persons died on Wednesday around the world and on that single day more than 740,000, just about the entire population of Guyana, were infected.

The situation in the United States, the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe is extremely grim.

Lockdowns are in effect and still the next few weeks are expected to be the worst since the pandemic began.

More than half a million persons have died since the end of November 2020. By the time you would have read this, more than two million people would have died so far from the pandemic.

The winter has realized the world’s worst fears. Just as a vaccine has been developed, an additional 20 million people were infected in December alone. And for the first 13 days of this year, another 10 million have been infected.

What all of this says is that vaccines are going to be hard to come by for poor countries.

The rich countries will buy up most of what is being produced because their infections are surging.

A major controversy is brewing over the efficacy of the Chinese-developed SINOVAC vaccine.

Some countries have recorded high efficacy rates for this vaccine, but Brazil is claiming that the vaccine only has an efficacy of just over 50 percent. This is not going to make that vaccine one of the viable candidates for mass inoculations when two vaccines with far superior efficacy rates have been already authorized for use.

This is a major setback for developing countries

since the SINOVAC vaccine was expected to add to the dwindling global stocks and allow for developing countries to access supplies.

At present, global production is not meeting the demand for the two main vaccines which have been authorized in the United States and the UK. And with mounting cases, the timelines for poor countries to receive their quotas are going to be pushed even further backwards.

Guyana is expected to receive vaccines under the COVAX initiative for about 20 percent of its population.

However, it is estimated that in order for herd immunity to develop, Guyana would need to vaccinate at least 75 percent of its population.

The number of vaccines to meet this target is not going to be available anytime soon, unless there is change in the efficacy rating of the SINOVAC vaccine.

Therefore, unless this pandemic is drastically slowed locally, Guyana is heading for a massive increase in deaths.

This cannot be allowed to happen and therefore there has to be new approach, one which aims to crushing the rate of new infections, while the country awaits the vaccination.

By the time the vaccine gets here, Guyana should have put itself in a position to report no active cases.

Unless this happens, Guyana is headed for a disaster worse t h a n t h e Ti t a n i c a n d Jonestown put together.

The vaccines presently authorized will take too long to get here. And Guyana is likely to experience the same slothfulness and supply constraints that are being

Dem boys seh...

We all living like jailbird We all does live in prisons. We does lock we gate when we guh leff home.

We gat barbed-wire and razor-wire pun we fence. CCTV cameras deh mounted all around de perimeters of we yard. Alarm systems connect to we doors and windows and steel grills locking we in de home when night fall and even during de day. We living like real jailbirds.

If we gat emergency, we can’t get out easily. Some nah get out at all. Like dat famous Indian dancer who used to live in Kitty. She house ketch afire. She get roasted alive because she could not open de door, and de windows bin all grilled.

How many people we know could not escape fire because dem home tun steel cages.

And is all because of de crime situation!

If it didn’t have so much crime, you woulda bin able to do-do with yuh gate and doors open and no bars pun yuh windows. We all tun victims of crime.

And when you go to de market or to de store or to de supermarket and you ask yourself why dem prices so high, you must remember dat is de crime cause dat. Every business gat fuh cater fuh de day dem gan get rob. And so dem have to put a little mark-up fuh cater fuh such contingencies.

Dem farmer does plant and other people does reap. De farmer gat fuh charge a little extra fuh compensate fuh dem wah thieving from he.

Talk half and nah laugh at jailbird when yuh living in steel cage!

experienced in other countries. The United States should have already inoculated more than 40 million persons; they are now only around 10 million.

And they have a population of 300 million.

The Minister of Health has to adopt an interim strategy aimed at curbing new infections in the shortest

possible time. This may have to involve mass testing of entire communities, imposing stricter curfews and closing non-essential businesses.

Otherwise, when the vaccine does come, the number of cases will be such as to cause a human stampede.

And this is not what

anyone desires.

(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

Friday January 15, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Giftland’s “Boardroom,” human nature and me in 2020 Every human has things they hate. There is no exception.

I am a husband and a father and I know my wife and daughter have things they hate. I have friends that I know have things they hate.

One aspect of human nature I hate, and was prepared since I was small to fight, is people forcing me to embrace laws, mores, values, attitudes, etiquettes and conduct that they do not subscribe to and

pay no respect to.

Just as 2020 had about a week left before it faded into history, I was involved in a small incident with big implications for philosophy.

It was about one of the things I hate about humans. I walk my dog every morning in a section of Guyana that no one in Guyana knows better t h a n m e – t h e Georgetown/Eve Leary seawall.

Countless mornings, on my way home, I would turn into Giftland to quickly pick up an item from the pharmacy or Giftland’s supermarket. I would park on a no-parking area just as you enter the Giftland compound. There is an area with a long canopy which is

for vehicles to drop off their occupants.

The security personnel do not hassle me for two reasons – they know me as a “regular.” Since Giftland started operation, I have been walking my dog way down at the back, just in front of Demerara Estates.

Secondly they believe me when I tell them I would be less than 10 minute because I have my dog in the car. The chief of security of Giftland, Mr. Baksh, told me it is alright once the stop is a quick one.

Days before Christmas, I parked to rush into the pharmacy. My dog was in the car. The new guard didn’t know about the arrangement so he asked me to move and I suggested he contact Mr.

Baksh. A lady came out of Giftland swinging at me. She was aggressive and asserted that I must move. I know Mrs. Beepat to talk to and it wasn’t Mrs. Beepat. I know many of Giftland’s women managers and they would not speak to me like that. So from her tone, it was clear to me that I was facing the “Freddie Kissoon thing.”

It happens all the time. I just live with it. I got permission to walk my dog at the Aquatic Centre and this gentleman kept telling management last year that Kissoon should not be allowed that privilege. I found out that he hated me because I was a critic of the APNU+AFC government. If any other person was feeding a stray cat in the National Park, management would not have stopped them but they did just that to me last year.

By the antics of this lady, I knew I was facing the same thing. She was furious and took out her smart phone and began filming my car. She then went into an alfresco restaurant named the “Boardroom” and began chatting with the staff. I

followed her to the “Boardroom” and described her double standards for her.

She was not wearing a mask and was not observing the six feet distance policy.

In other words, she was berating me for not observing a simple car park instruction but was violating COVID-19 regulations. I informed her I was going to bring the police. When the policeman came in my car, he didn’t come out because she and the staff had their mask on.

On Christmas Eve, the traffic into Giftland was nightmarish and backed up on the Railway Embankment way past my home. It is just a couple of minutes’ walk from my home so I took my dog with me to check what was going on inside the compound of Giftland.

Do you know the Boardroom restaurant was in full swing way past midnight? COVID-19 curfew starts at 10.30 pm. A few days after, I parked in the same place.

I saw the lady in the Boardroom. I went up to her to tell about her violations.

Frederick Kissoon She informed me she is the owner of the Boardroom and if I saw that COVID-19 restrictions were violated by her, I could call the police. I asked her if she didn’t film her own restaurant for violating regulations as she did with my car. She was annoyed and requested security to remove me. I removed myself.

So here is what I am going to do for 2021. I walk my dog each night at Giftland as stated above.

Once I see that masks are not being worn by Boardroom staff and that entertainment there goes beyond 10.30 pm, I am bringing the police on the management.

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

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

Boy, 13 shot in Aruka River ‘crossfire’ The gunshot wound Antwan john sustained to his shoulder

A 13-year-old boy was shot to his right shoulder, on Wednesday, during what police sources say was a crossfire between joint services ranks and suspected Venezuelan gang members in the Aruka River, North West District (NWD), Region One. Currently receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital is Antwan John of Arukamai Village, Barima River.

Speaking with Kaieteur News, Region One Police Commander, Khalid Mandall, said that around 01:30 hrs. the ranks had an exchange of gunfire with occupants of another boat during which a civilian was injured.

The Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Coast Guard based at Morwhanna and police ranks was at the time combing the river for suspected Sindicato gang members accused of robbing a Port Kaituma businessman hours earlier. It was reported

that three armed Venezuelan bandits invaded the businessman premises at Water Front, Port Kaituma and held him and his wife at gunpoint.

The men robbed them of guns, ammunition and millions in cash before escaping via boat. Kaieteur News had reported that moments later joint service ranks who responded spotted a boat in the Aruka river and decided to approach.

The occupants, however, opened fire on them.

The ranks returned fire but the boat sped off in the direction of Imbetero, a border with Guyana and Venezuela.

The injured Antwan John told Kaieteur he was returning from a fishing trip with his two uncles that morning.

He detailed that he heard gunshots being fired about 45 to 46 feet away from their boat – as his uncles sought cover, he said, all of a sudden (Continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 13

CARICOM calls for global summit on equitable vaccine access and distribution

T

he Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is calling for a global summit on equitable access and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines necessary to help countries recover from the current pandemic.

In a statement issued this week, CARICOM expressed deep concern at the current prospect of inequitable vaccines. It stated that, “The reality is that small states will find it difficult to compete in the market place to ensure equitable access for vaccines. Given the transmissibility of the virus, all countries are vulnerable and should work together.”

Therefore, they stated that the summit should be conducted including the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Access to COVID19 Tools (ACT) Facilitation Council. The ACT that was launched by the WHO has

been supporting global efforts to provide tools to fight the disease since April.

CARICOM said that the unavoidable link between the CARICOM countries whether economically, socially, and by travel within t h e r e g i o n a n d internationally makes it important for them to be afforded access to vaccines and it is a matter of urgent priority. It was stated that vaccine access for the community would be mutually beneficial as it would bolster breaking the transmission of the virus.

In light of such, CARICOM lamented that the community will explore all available options to access vaccines to protect the population in each member country from the harms of the COVID-19 pandemic.

L a s t m o n t h , CARICOM’s former Chair and Prime Minister of St.

Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, had urged the region to rely on the current protocols in place to fight against the pandemic while CARICOM prioritises obtaining the resources to get more vaccines.

His statement came after human rights organizations started advocating for equitable vaccine access and called out Northern countries for hoarding the COVID-19 vaccines.

A doctor, from a group of global human rights organisations called the People’s Vaccine Alliance, Mohga Kamal Yanni said a few weeks ago that rich countries would have bought enough doses to vaccinate their population nearly three times over, whilst poor countries don’t have enough to immunize health workers and people at risk.

Dr. Gonsalves had noted that the region is looking to

The CARICOM Headquarters in Guyana.

receive its share of COVID19 vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, w h i c h i n c l u d e s organizations like the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations

and GAVI – the Vaccine Alliance. The facility was created in April to ensure lower-income countries acquire vaccines for at least 20 percent of their population as well as help member countries find access to concessional

financing.

Guyana too is one of the countries looking to access vaccines through the facility and the Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony has estimated arrival of the first batch in the second quarter of this year.

PAGE 14

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

Mason slapped with break and enter and larceny related charges A 29-year-old mason of First Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara was on Wednesday slapped with two counts of break and entry and larceny charge at the Sparendaam Magistrate Court, when he appeared before Magistrate Alisha George.

It was alleged that between August 8 and 9 last year, Vinoo Khan, a father of two, while in the company of others broke and entered Hybrid Electronic Store located at Crown Dam, Industry and owned by Ecliff Bradford, and carted off a quantity of electronics valued over two million dollars. The men allegedly stole a quantity of cellphones, memory cards, flash drives, cellphone chargers, charging ports, LCD digitizers, one television and two bottles of cologne.

Khan pleaded not guilty to the charges read to him and was granted bail to a sum of $150,000 for that offence.

It was also alleged that between November 7 and 8 last year, Khan broke and entered the apartment of Mirnara Singh of Sixth Street, Cummings Lodge and stole one cellphone valued $100,000.

Khan pleaded not guilty to the offence as well and was granted bail to a tune of $60,000 with condition for him to lodge his passport and report to the Turkeyen Police Station on the 15th and the last day of every month.

Police Prosecutor, Worrel Thornhill, had objected to bail, stating that the defendant was a repeat offender who was charged before in other courts.

The matter was adjourned until February 19.

Vendor granted $150,000 bail on wounding charge A 33-year-old vendor of ‘C’ Field, Sophia, was on Wednesday granted bail to a sum of $150,000 on a wounding charge, when he appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate Court before Magistrate Alisha George.

It was alleged that on January 9, Ewart George, 33, a father of two, at ‘C’ Field, Sophia, unlawfully and maliciously wounded Dellon Vigilance of Sophia. Kaieteur

News understands that the men had an altercation which resulted in Vigilance being wounded.

George pleaded not guilty to the charge that was read to him. He was however granted bail with condition that he lodge his passport and report on the 15th and last day of every month at the Turkeyen Police Station. The matter was adjourned until February 25.

Victim’s screams scares away armed bandits A man who shouted and screamed while being assaulted by armed bandits apparently scared them away.

According to police, Hemant Dhanpaul, 43, popularly known as ‘Chicken’, of Maria’s Lodge Old Road, Essequibo Coast, Region Two was attacked around 23:30hrs.Dhanpaul told police, that he was making his way to the lower flat of his home when he was confronted by two men, one armed with a cutlass and the other with a gun.

The man armed with the

cutlass dealt him several lashes about his body while the accomplice placed the gun to his head and demanded money.

Dhanpaul claimed that during the assault, he raised an alarm by screaming and shouting that he was being attacked.

Upon hearing his screams and shouts, the bandits aborted their mission and escaped. Neighbours who heard him shouting came over to assist him and he was transported to the Suddie Public Hospital for treatment.

Boy, 13 shot in Aruka River...

From page 12 his shoulder was numb.

He then realized that he had been shot.

The teen claimed that they flashed a torchlight and noticed a Coast Guard boat.“It appeared as if they were shooting at us but when we flashed the lights they stopped,” said John.

He added that the Coast

Guard boat then came close and the ranks on board told them that they would send for help. Sometime later a Guyana Police Force boat came and picked them up.

John said that he was transported to the Mabaruma Hospital where he was treated. Yesterday he was airlifted to the city for the bullet to be extracted.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

Harbour Bridge Board recommends actions against persons culpable in Asphalt Plant racket

F

ollowing the exposure and audit of a racket at the Garden of Eden Asphalt Plant, the Board of Directors of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation ( D H B C ) h a v e recommended that action be taken against those persons found culpable in the issue.

According to the Minister of Public Works (MoPW), Juan Edghill, the Board has prepared an independent report to his ministry.

Edghill told the media on Wednesday that he and his team are yet to examine the recommendations and actions in detail, but will aim at doing so shortly.

The Board issued this independent report after a specially-organized team, appointed by Minister Edghill, had conducted an audit of accounts and operations at the Asphalt Plant.

Kaieteur News had exposed, in a series of articles, the damning

findings of the report. Some of these included a no cap on credit granted at the asphalt plant; that the asphalt sold at Garden of Eden went ten miles away from the plant to be weighed, despite the fact that there a scale was located next door; that the plant s p e n t $ 7 1 M o n transportation in five years when the plant could have purchased it’s on vehicle; and that the Minister of Public Infrastructure had overpaid millions for asphalt (Continued on page 18)

Garden of Eden Asphalt Plant

PAGE 15

Stabroek Block deal reviewed but lopsided provisions untouched -Says other mechanisms will be used to get more benefits for Guyanese - Jagdeo confirms

By Kiana Wilburg Even though the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) contains several weak provisions and has been reviewed by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , Vi c e President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo made it pellucid that all provisions have and will remain intact.

During a brief interview with this newspaper last night, Jagdeo said what the government is doing instead, is using the review process as the platform for developing mechanisms that will bring Guyanese more benefits. He said this is the reason why a local content policy and a gas-to-shore project are being produced.

The Vice President said, “We are looking at several areas. Remember we promised to review all of the contracts and to see where

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

we can get more benefits for Guyanese. As part of that review, we have committed to having a new PSA for all of the future contracts so that means going forward, every person including those who have licences already, will when they come to production stage, have an entirely different contract than the one for Stabroek which will include significantly more benefits.”

The official reminded of the commitment, which the government made to ensure that as part of the review, it would not be renegotiating the ExxonMobil deal but rather, look at ways to get more benefits.

“That is why we are looking to get the local content out of the way and that is why for the gas to energy project, we made it clear that a significant part of the gas will have to come as free or way below market value. We believe that through those mechanisms and others, like the strengthening of license for the Payara project…our people stand to benefit much more than under the existing contract and the way it was,” the Vice President.

Kaieteur News would have exposed via an extensive study published in 2019 that Guyana’s PSA for (Continued on page 20)

PAGE 16

Kaieteur News

Lusignan prisoners beat, strip inmate who was remanded on rape charge

F

ive prisoners from the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara, were Wednesday night transferred to another prison in Georgetown after they strip and beat an inmate who was remanded to prison on a rape charge.

Based on a video seen by this publication, the group assaulted their inmate who was standing near a post with his underwear torn and his clothes scattered on the ground.

Some prisoners shouted, “Go by the gate,” while others said, “Y’all beat he.”

In the video, the prisoners used their footwear to beat their inmate, while others used their hands.

A prisoner was heard saying, “Y’all leff he now,” and the prisoners that was beating their inmate picked up his bag and some of his clothes and told him to, “Go by the gate jusso.”

Last evening, while giving reference to the video, Director of Prison Service (ag), Nicklon Elliot, confirmed that the incident happened at the Holding Bay at the Lusignan Prison on Wednesday night.

“I wish to state,” Elliot said in a brief statement posted in a joint services press WhatsApp group, “that last night, there was an incident at the Georgetown Prison B (Holding Bay), where a prisoner was assaulted by five other prisoners because he was charged for rape.”

According to the Director, the matter was investigated and the five prisoners were

Friday January 15, 2021

Ranks from the K-Nine Unit of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) during a patrol with crime fighting dogs at the Stabroek Market.

A screenshot of the video of the beating at the Lusignan Prison.

Narcotic dogs help unearth ganja, illegal items at NA Prison

P

immediately transferred to the Camp Street Prison, while noting that all five prisoners will be charged departmentally for their conduct.

olice narcotic dogs, on Wednesday helped joint services ranks unearth 30 grams of marijuana and other illegal items during a search at the New Amsterdam Prison.

According to a press release sent out by the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), the search began around 06:20 hrs. and ended at 09:08 hrs.

GPS stated that narcotics dogs from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were deployed and a number of prohibited articles were found.

Unearthed were four Ziploc bags containing 30 grams of cannabis, a quantity of wires, lighters, improvised weapons, razor blades, mirror, cellphones along with batteries, a nail clip and one pair of scissors.

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Woman, trapped in her bedroom, burnt to death in fire Dead, Krystle Fung.

A

woman who was reportedly trapped in her bedroom, yesterday perished in an early morning fire. The deceased has been identified as 26-year-old Krystle Fung.

When Kaieteur News contacted Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle, he stated that the fire is still under active investigation.

This publication understands that the fire occurred around 05:30 hrs. at Lot 8, Little Diamond, East Bank Demerara, where Fung lived with her father, mother and little sister.

According to an eyewitness, neighbours and passersby noticed smoke and fire emitting from the wooden section of the top-flat of the two-storey building, so they raised an alarm.

While Fung’s parents and sister were able to escape from the inferno with minor burns to their bodies, she was not as fortunate since she was trapped in her bedroom, which is located at the front western side of the building.

Another eyewitness stated that before the firefighters arrived, they were loud cries for help coming from Fung’s bedroom. “Her father and some men tried to rescue her but the fire kept spreading and they had to

Scenes from the fire yesterday at Little Diamond.

back off…at that point they couldn’t do anything to save her with the way the fire went blazing,” the man added.

As word spread about a fire in the community, residents flocked the road and streets. After the firefighters were notified that a woman was trapped in the front bedroom in the top-flat, the men aimed their hoses at the bedroom area to control the fire.

However, that was not enough – the screams of the young woman were no longer being heard after some time.

At that point, Fung’s relatives and other persons gathered under a neighbour’s house.

As Fung’s mother watched on in tears, her relatives tried to console her.

Around 07:40 hrs., the firefighters were able to control the fire which had completely destroyed the upper part of the building.

The firefighters then continued to hose sections of the house that still had smoke.

Moments after the firefighters stopped hosing the house, loud screams came from the relatives after someone said, “Look her burn body hanging out that side of the house.”

Before the firefighters attempted to retrieve Fung’s body, workers from the

Guyana Power and Light (GPL) were called in to cut the electrical wire that ran to the home.

The firefighters then placed a ladder some distance away from where Fung’s charred remains were seen hanging out at the western side of the house. However, (Continued on page 23)

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 19

DPP defends right to reinstitute murder charge on Marcus Bisram

D

irector of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, has defended her right to order a Magistrate to reinstitute charges on former murder accused, Marcus Bisram, during the case which continued on Wednesday at the Appeal Court in Kingston.

Bisram was extradited from the United States to face a murder charge for Berbice carpenter, Fiazz Narinedatt, over a year ago.

He was however discharged of the crime by Magistrate Renita Singh – something that the DPP has challenged in the Court.

As part of her arguments, the DPP pointed to Section 72 of the Criminal Law Offences Act, which she said gives her the right to direct the Magistrate to reopen the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) and commit the accused for trial.

On this preface, the DPP said that her directive for Bisram to be committed to stand trial was proper, reasonable and lawfully made. She stressed among

other things that the Magistrate erred in finding there was not enough evidence to commit Bisram for trial.

In her argument, the DPP told the court that there is sufficient evidence against Bisram for him to be committed, based on evidence that was given by the main witness. She also stated that while the Magistrate did not make out a prima facie against him or did not find sufficient evidence for Bisram to be committed, she believes that there is sufficient evidence and the case should be reopened and the jury should be allowed to decide on the credibility of the evidence.

“This was the function of the jury not the Magistrate,” she said. “Section 72 (2) (1) and (2) (a) and (b) empowers the DPP to direct the Magistrate…,” she emphasized.

She also stated among other things that with a jury properly directed, there can be a conviction for the murder of Narinedatt, who was killed between October

DPP Shalimar Ali- Hack, SC. 31, 2016 and November 1, 2016.

The DPP had previously contended too that there were several errors in the judgment of Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who ruled in June that Bisram was unlawfully committed to stand trial in the High Court for the capital offence of murder.

She noted that the Judge had granted orders quashing the decision of the Magistrate to commit Bisram to stand trial in the

High Court for the offence of murder; prohibiting the DPP from proffering an indictment in the High Court charging Bisram with the offence of murder again.

In response to the contentions, Attorney-atLaw, Arudranauth Gossai, contended that the DPP stepped outside her realm in her order to the Magistrate.

“It offends the separation of powers’ doctrine,” the lawyer said, adding that Article 122 A of the Constitution “created an independent judiciary, and expressly provides that all courts and all persons presiding over the courts shall exercise their functions independently of the control and direction of any other person or authority; and shall be free and independent from political, executive and any form of direction and control.”

He contended further that the determination of whether a prima facie case was made out is a judicial process that has to be determined by the Magistrate in the

Accused: Marcus Bisram.

Preliminary Inquiry.

Gossai said that in his view, the provisions of Section 72 (2) (ii) (a) seek to encroach on the judicial determination of a Magistrate. Such an encroachment, he pointed out, would offend the separation of powers doctrine.

“The DPP cannot seek to determine the outcome of the preliminary inquiry.

If the Court were to hold that the DPP had such powers, it would,

respectfully, mean that the DPP (the Executive) would be reaching into the affairs of the court,” he added.

He noted too that “When one considers a directive to Magistrate Renita Singh, by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, for Guyana-born US citizen, Marcus Bisram, to be committed to stand trial for murder in the High Court, even though he was discharged after a preliminary inquiry, it amounts to obvious judicial interference, having regard to the above constitutional provision.”

As such, the lawyer urged the Court of Appeal to strike down, as being unconstitutional, the offending parts/provisions / w o r d s i n t h e aforementioned Section of the Act. The DPP had asked the Appeal Court to set aside an order granted by High Court Justice, Simone MorrisRamlall, quashing as unlawful her directive to the Magistrate.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

Friday January 15, 2021

Northern Brazilian state declares curfew over virus SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Amazonas state in northern Brazil yesterday announced a curfew to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus, as cases soar and hospitals run out of beds and oxygen supplies.

Authorities warned of a dire situation across the vast state. In its capital Manaus, the health system has been pushed to breaking point.

The city has “run out of oxygen and some health centres have become a type of suffocation chamber,” Jessem Orellana, from the Fiocruz-Amazonia scientific investigation institute, told AFP. Amazonas governor Wilson Lima said the state was “in the most critical moment of the pandemic.”

The 7:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew will begin today.

According to official figures, Manaus recorded 198 deaths on Wednesday, the fourth day straight it had set a new record.

Oxygen is needed to treat COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory complications.

Amazonas produces “significant quantities of oxygen, but now our people need oxygen and solidarity,” said Lima, who added some patients would be transferred to other states.

Military personnel delivered 400 oxygen cylinders to Amazonas over the last five days.

Brazil has recorded more than 205,000 deaths from COVID-19, second only to

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Nurses talk in front of the 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus, Amazon State, Brazil, yesterday. (Photo: AFP) the United States.

The national average of deaths is 98 per 100,000 inhabitants but in Amazonas, the figure is 142, surpassed only by Rio de Janeiro (158) and Brasilia (145).

An expert studying coronavirus mutations in Amazonas told AFP a new strain detected in the state is “very probably” more contagious than the original virus, just like new strains found in Britain and South Africa.

Felipe Naveca said the variant, which the World Health Organization described as “worrying”, may have spread throughout Brazil and could already be the dominant strain in Amazonas.

The worsening situation in Manaus was not due only to one variant, he added,

noting that authorities were expecting a rise in virus cases due to end-of-year parties.

“We need urgent support from the population to reduce the transmission and slow down the virus’s evolution,” Naveca said.

Experts worry new mutations could eventually show resistance to the vaccines developed to combat the original strain.

However, “right now there’s no evidence that this line prejudices the vaccine’s response,” Naveca said.

There is concern, though, the new variant could already have spread throughout Brazil and it has been detected as far afield as Japan.

Britain on Thursday said it was suspending all arrivals from South America due to the new coronavirus variant.

Venezuela’s central bank says Guaido rebuffed deal to buy coronavirus vaccines CARACAS - (Reuters) - Lawyers for Venezuela’s central bank said yesterday that they sought to negotiate a deal with opposition leader Juan Guaido to purchase coronavirus vaccines in Britain, but that the opposition rejected the deal.

In a statement, the lawyers said the bank - whose board was named by President Nicolas Maduro - requested the support of an ad-hoc central bank board appointed by Guaido to transfer $120 million in funds frozen in Britain to Gavi, an alliance seeking to improve poor countries’ vaccine access.

“Due to international sanctions the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela have worsened, and President Maduro’s government has been unable to effect payment to Gavi to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines by any other means,” the central bank’s lawyers at Zaiwalla & Co wrote in a statement. A Guaido representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The opposition argues cutting off

Maduro’s access to the funds is justified because he would use the money for corrupt ends, rather than to help Venezuelans suffering a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse.

Guaido is recognized by dozens of countries, including Britain, as Venezuela’s rightful leader after Maduro’s disputed 2018 re-election. The two sides are locked in a London court battle over which side can access over $1 billion worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England.

The Maduro-aligned central bank has previously sought to access the funds to help fight coronavirus efforts. The opposition said in early January it had reached a deal to participate in Covax, one of Gavi’s facilities to provide vaccines, but did not provide details. Maduro has said Venezuela will shortly receive some 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. The South American country has reported some 117,811 coronavirus cases and 1,084 deaths.

Police ranks brave Atlantic Ocean to save man from drowning

A photo of the rescued man lying unconscious while paramedics tended to him.

Two policemen in uniform yesterday, took off their shoes and ventured out into the Atlantic Ocean to save a man from drowning.

According to an eyewitness, the man was spotted in the morning hours lying in the rising waters some distance away from the seawalls in the vicinity of the GT&T Earth Station, Kitty, Georgetown. A small crowd gathered and person began calling out to man, but he did not respond.

While onlookers initially thought he was dead, a public-spirited citizen went out into the waters to check on him.

The individual alerted the others that the man was still alive but unconscious.

Shortly after, continued the eyewitness, a police patrol headed by Sergeant Nafaste Morris pulled up. After Morris learnt that man was still alive he and one of his ranks reportedly took off their shoes and headed into the waters to rescue the man.

Live video seen by this media house showed the

Screen grab from a live video recorded of the ranks pulling the man out of the waters. officers carefully pulling the man out of the ocean.

As the tides rose, persons could be heard telling them to walk carefully. They coached them to keep feeling with their feet so as to avoid slipping into the deep and rough waters.

Eventually the officers managed to pull the man safely to the shore. An ambulance arrived promptly and paramedics began their work to revive the man and transport him to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Cutlass bandit robs labourer of cellphone A bandit, on Tuesday, placed a cutlass to the neck of a labourer and relieved him of his LG cellphone valued some $40,000.

The labourer, Daniel Rooplall, 21, of Back Street,

Patentia, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was robbed around 20:30 hrs.

Rooplall was walking home along the Patentia Public Road, when the bandit approached him and placed

the cutlass to his neck, demanding that he hand over all his valuables.

Rooplal told police that he afraid and handed the man his phone, who then ran away.

PAGE 22

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

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

WANTED

SERVICES Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040 Repairs,Services,Spares to Washing Machine Refridgetor Store, Treadmill, Deepfryer,Cooler,Dryer,Grains mill.Call:#694-9733 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 House plan& estimate Call 216-0671/ 692-8464 or whats app 622-0267

VEHICLE FOR SALE

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

Call 666-2326

Vacancy exist for the following labours,semi skill workers Experienced cashier, counter etc. please contact P.S.G.C.S server, roti/ puri cook, cleaner, Tel# 621-6969, 615-7784 apply Hack's Halaal, 5 Commerce St

Boys & girls for the interior & live in domestic for Georgetown. Tel#670-1641, 660-9093

Puri roti cooks apply @shanta's 225 camp & Newmarket One 1 welder must know grill work Tel#625-5763 One female domestic cook not older than 40 yrs, Call 231-8737 between 8am - 4pm Wanted: Weekend maid saturday's and sunday's 9:30 to 11:30 Call 633-8353 Male & Female to work in factory. Apply in person to R.P'S Enterprise area "K" Le Ressouvenir. E.C.D

Toyota Fortuner 2012 model G$11.9 Million. automatic, Low Mileage (40,000 km) Tel#660-0192, 233-5859, 6885554 FOR SALEFOR SALE

Plastic drums for sale contact 223-5273/74 or 600-0266

FOR RENT Fully furnished 1 & 2 bedroom house / apartment / parking, E.C.D. US$600, US$700, daily $40, whatsapp/ call 868747-4343, 648-1787

VACANCY New York marketing firm wants to hire sales managers. paid training. serious canidates.

Email: sally@jwiz.com Driver; Must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles, Age 25-45, Car/Van License.

Call 642-9823.

Maid to cook and clean for East Bank Area. Call 6159132.

1 two bedroom apt for rent Eccles H/S E.B.D Call Shelon 648-7004, 233-2219, 659-2204

Pitmen and Hauler operator for interior location. Applicants must be experienced. Call 6182020

Two 2 one bedroom and a three 3 bedroom apartment to rent in lot 1 Yarrow Dam Contact Miss Bibi 592-666-2424

1 Experienced Typist Clerk and 1 Cook & Bread & Pastry Maker. Kindly email us at jacquelinepinder811@gmail.com.

2 bedroom apartment inside toilet & bath E.B.D Prospect No#673-3509

Experienced carpenter. Call 691 1918

Vacancy for one experience carpenter & mason.Tel#223-6035,6736210 Security guards contact 2235273/74 or 600-0266

WANTED Experienced Salesgirl with 2 y r s experience.Apply@Christine's Variety, Lombard St.Contact:227-8529.

1 officer worker with 3 years experience and have knowledge of payroll Contact # 6216969/ 615-7784

Searching for Labourers to work on cash crop farm paid $5,000 - $6,000 per day. telephone #695-6139/ 638-7420 DRIVER/Salesman, Plant ASSISTANT, Security GUARDS. Tel# 647-4427

Friday January 15, 2021

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 23

Contractors want hundreds of millions to service, monitor pumps, excavators, others at NDIA The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), on Tuesday, opened 245 -----bids for two government ministries at their Ministry of Finance (MoF) office on Main and Urquhart Streets.

Notable projects included the operations, servicing and monitoring of NDIA hydraulic excavators, bulldozers, motor grader pontoons, mobile fix pumps, and transportation of fuel and lubricants.

No details were shared with regard to the number of equipment, which need to be

serviced, monitored and operationalised.

However, based on the information from NPTAB, contractors who tendered bids for this project want hundreds of millions of dollars to complete the works.

Other notable projects include the ---infrastructural development works at MetenMeer-Zorg, Stewartville, Anna Catherina, Cornelia Ida, and other villages across Guyana under the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

Below are the companies and their bids.

(Continued on page 24)

Ministry of Agriculture- National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Operations, servicing and monitoring of NDIA hydraulic excavators, bulldozers, motor grader pontoons, mobile fix pumps, and transportation of fuel and lubricants

...Woman trapped in bedroom From page 17 the ranks had some difficulties getting to Fung’s body, so other firefighters were instructed to continue hosing the area.

“Don’t throw her like that…lift her up,” relatives shouted to the firefighters

who were removing Fung’s body which was burnt beyond recognition. Undertakers then wrapped Fung’s remains in a blue plastic and took them away.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

Infrastructure development works at Providence in two lots

...Andrews’ sea defence project completion From page 6 commence work further delaying completion of the project and after all the hullabaloo, Engineer Sawh has stated that if good weather prevails, the contract could be completed within six weeks. BKII has had 30 years of checkered history in completing Government awarded construction projects on time, within contract costs and in accordance with the required specifications. Among the contracts that stand out are those for the Georgetown sea wall and the East Bank

Demerara road upgrade.

Finally, before payment was made to BKII for SDPA contract work done, an estimate for payment should have been made by MPI. The Construction Supervisor should have prepared a payment schedule based on the contract document for work done and materials supplied. Therefore, Minister Indar should investigate what 70 percent of the contract sum was paid for and whether it was done in accordance with the contract documents.

Yours truly, Charles Sohan

Infrastructural development works at Prospect in four lots

PAGE 24

Friday January 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

Second Trump impeachment trial takes U.S. into uncharted waters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America will be in uncharted territory when the U.S. Senate meets as soon as next week for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, a case against the outgoing president that one Democrat preparing for arguments called “shockingly evident.”

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to impeach Trump on charges of incitement one week after his supporters rampaged in the Capitol following a speech in which the Republican urged them to fight President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.

Trump falsely claims he lost due to widespread voting fraud.

Representative Diana DeGette, one of nine Democratic impeachment managers who will argue the House’s case against Trump, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was working out with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when to transmit the article of impeachment to the Senate, triggering the trial process.

“This is a situation where you have the crime pretty much being committed on national television,” DeGette, a former trial lawyer, said, adding: “It’s a shockingly evident case.”

In a 232-197 vote on Wednesday, Trump became the first president to be impeached twice and will likely be the first to face an impeachment trial after leaving office.

Ten Republicans joined the majority Democrats in supporting impeachment, while others argued Trump’s remarks were protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which defends free speech.

The action is highly unlikely to lead to Trump’s ouster before Biden takes office next Wednesday. McConnell has said no trial could begin until the Senate was scheduled to be back in regular session on Tuesday.

Impeachment managers will be working through the weekend to compile a list of witnesses they want to call to testify and honing their arguments for conviction, DeGette said.

If Trump has left the White House, the Senate could convict him and then vote to ban him from running for office again.

Biden, a Democrat, has urged Senate leaders not to allow the impeachment trial to get in the way of other priorities in his first days in office such as an economic stimulus bill, coronavirus vaccine distribution

improvements and confirming crucial Cabinet nominees.

Biden’s inauguration has been scaled back due to security concerns and the COVID-19 pandemic. The West Front of the Capitol building, where the swearing-in occurs, is now fortified by fencing, barriers and thousands of National Guard troops. The U.S. Capitol Police said on Thursday that the Capitol complex was closed to the public and its grounds would not be accessible on Inauguration Day, warning that anyone trying to enter unlawfully would be met with force and arrested.

The article of impeachment - equivalent to an indictment in a criminal trial - charged Trump with “incitement of insurrection” in his incendiary speech to thousands of supporters on Jan. 6. The mob disrupted Congress’s certification of Biden’s victory, sent lawmakers into hiding and left five people dead, including a police officer.

A two-thirds majority in the Senate would be needed to convict and remove Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans in the 100member chamber would have to join the Democrats.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who has already called for Trump to resign over his actions on Jan. 6, said on Thursday that the House’s impeachment was appropriate. In a statement, she said that when the case comes before the Senate: “I will listen carefully and consider the arguments of both sides, and will then announce how I will vote.”

In the trial, Trump’s legal team may argue that his comments were not a call to violence and were protected under the First Amendment, some legal experts said.

They said that all sorts of lawful rhetoric could be proper grounds for impeachment, however, and that Congress had wide latitude to define “incitement” as it sees fit in the impeachment process.

“Even if his speech was protected by the First Amendment, he can still be impeached for it,” said Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University.

“High-ranking officials get fired for their speech all the time.”

Trump’s team could also argue that holding an impeachment trial after he has left office would violate the Constitution.

But there is precedent for Congress impeaching former federal officials and the Constitution explicitly says that impeachment is not just

for removing officials but also for disqualifying them from future office, the experts said.

Trump also may face state legal actions on leaving office, including a criminal probe in New York into whether he inflated asset values to obtain loans and tax benefits in his business dealings.

The House impeached Trump in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress

stemming from his request that Ukraine investigate Biden and his son Hunter. The Senate in February 2020 voted to keep Trump in office.

No U.S. president has ever been removed from office via impeachment. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868 but they also were acquitted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 rather than face impeachment over the Watergate scandal.

President Donald Trump

...Contractors want hundreds of millions From page 23 Infrastructural development works at Great Diamond in ten lots

To be continued in tomorrow’s edition…

Friday January 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Forty–nine new COVID-19 cases recorded Guyana has 49 new cases of COVID-19.

According to information contained in a Ministry of Health dashboard on COVID-19, Region Four recorded the highest incidences with 19 new cases, Region Three recorded 10 new cases, Region Six recorded nine new cases, Region Seven has six new cases and Region Ten has three new cases while Regions Two and Five each recorded one new case.

The dashboard also outlined that there are currently 43 persons in institutional quarantine, 449 patients in home isolation, 54 patients are in institutional isolation and four patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Infectious Disease Hospital.

To date, 6,068 persons have recovered and 170 have died. According to the update as of January 14 2021, Guyana’s positive COVID-19 cases stood at 6,745.

PAGE 25

$116M contract signed by Coalition to renovate Linden call centre…..

$16.246M in materials already purchased unaccounted for - AG report Findings emerging from the 2019 Auditor General’s (AG) report show that materials valuing $16.246 million that was already paid to rehabilitate the Linden Call Centre could not be accounted for.

The findings were highlighted under a list of instances where Supervising Consultants failed to administer contracts in the best interests of the Ministries/Departments and it was stated that “the Ministry of Public Telecommunications made full payment on a contract to an Engineering Firm for design and supervision services for the renovations a n d f u n c t i o n a l enhancements to a Call Centre Building at Linden, Region ¹. 10,” however, when a physical verification was conducted on the site on September 4, there was no

representative present supervising the works being done.

Adding to that, the report said that the $16.249 million in materials for the project could not be found.

It was also stated that the roof sheeting installed on the centre did not meet the specifications in the contract.

The report did not name the engineering company but in 2019, it was reported that the Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Ministry awarded a contract valued at $116 million to M&P Investments Incorporated for the rehabilitation of the centre and it was supposed to be completed by April 2020.

It is 2021 and the works have not been completed.

The 2019 AG report also names the Ministry of Public Telecommunications

as one of the four Ministries that were overpaid by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) for government projects.

According to the report, some $199.381M was overpaid to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Telecommunications, the Guyana Defence Force and Transport and Harbours Department in 2019.

Attempts were made to contact the former Minister o f P u b l i c Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , Cathy Hughes to inquire whether an answer could be provided for the materials unaccounted for but she could not be reached.

It was said that the rehabilitation of the call centre would make at least 150 seats available and the long-term goal was to provide 300 jobs for Lindeners.

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

Concacaf confirms Guadalajara to host Men’s Olympic Qualifiers in March 2021 Miami, FL - Concacaf has today confirmed that the regional Men’s Olympic Qualifiers will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, from March 18 to 30, 2021.

The 15th edition of this competition was initially scheduled for March 2020, but due to the pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, it was rescheduled for 2021.

In January 2020, the eight participating U23 Men’s National Teams were drawn into two groups of four at a draw event held in Guadalajara.

For the purposes of that draw, the two seeded nations

were Mexico as current champions and Honduras as the nation which outperformed the six other participating nations in the previous two editions. The groups drawn in January 2020 remain in place for this rescheduled competition and are as follows: Group A: Mexico (A1), USA (A2), Costa Rica (A3), and Dominican Republic (A4).

Group B: Honduras (B1), Canada (B2), El Salvador (B3) and Haiti (B4).

After round-robin play, the first and second-place finishers in each group will qualify for the semifinals. The two semifinal winners will qualify for the final of this

competition, and each earn a spot to represent their country at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the Tokyo Summer Games.

Two host venues will be used for the competition, the Jalisco and Akron Stadiums.

A schedule of matches will be communicated in due course.

Concacaf worked along with FIFA, the FMF, and local stakeholders on the health protocols that will be implemented to ensure this

Friday January 15, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) It's important to take a hard look at yourself and know where you're going, Aries.

A little self-analysis never hurt anyone, especially when you feel like you aren't getting anywhere.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Libra, life around you today almost seems like a (bad) dream. It's almost as if people are talking, but nothing intelligible is coming out of their mouths.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Taurus, you tend to run away from confrontation, but today you might not be able to avoid it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You can't spend all your time running from one activity to the next, Scorpio.

You need to take a break from time to time.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You may feel a little weary today. It's a good time to take stock of your life. You may have gotten some news about someone that has caused you some pain.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today's planetary configuration has you wondering about an aspect of your life that causes you a good deal of hardship, Sagittarius.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You have the gift of being able to get your great ideas across to others. In your family, you may be the one who teaches your children about life and its responsibilities.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You may have been a little difficult to be around lately.

You like to treat yourself to a little moodiness from time to time, but the people around you might appreciate a little cooperation.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) There may be tension in the air as you go about your day. The leftover fatigue from the past few days is starting to wear on you.Take advantage of the situation to clear the air with your friend.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Let your sensual, nurturing instincts shine through, Aquarius. Rely on your sixth sense. If things start to get rough, remember that you have the ability to keep your cool.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You don't live your life by society's rules. Your freedom is what is most important to you. But despite your independence, there are days when you have the sudden, sinking feeling that you could wind up alone in this world.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A solid grounding is apt to be extremely important to you today, Pisces. Hearts may be broken or won, depending on how well you play your cards. Keep in mind that the slow and steady contender is most likely going to win this race.

competition takes place in a safe environment for all participants.

“I want to place on record our thanks to the Mexican Football Federation and the Governor of Jalisco for their ongoing commitment to this rescheduled Men’s Olympic Qualification tournament,” said Concacaf General Secretary, Philippe Moggio.

“This competition is an important part of elite player development for our Member Associations and provides fans with the opportunity to see the best young talents from across the region competing for the honor of representing their country at the Summer Olympic Games”, added Moggio.

“The Mexican Football Federation welcomes the decision made by Concacaf to hold the Men’s Olympic

...Paris St-Germain: From page 28 was from a rebound after his header was tipped onto the post by Steve Mandanda.

He then hit the crossbar and won the penalty when he was brought down by Marseille’s substitute keeper Yohann Pele. The victory continues PSG’s dominance of French football. They have won 19 of their past 20 finals in domestic cups and have won this competition for the past eight years.

Pochettino failed to win anything in almost four years at Espanyol, 16 months at Southampton and five and a half years with Spurs. The former PSG defender lost the 2015 League Cup and 2019 Champions League finals with Spurs.

...Ghana in line to host cricket From page 29 various national T20 tournaments. Increasingly, however, there has been an understanding at the ICC that multi-sport games would provide cricket with both a shop-window for potential new supporters and increase competition and commercial opportunities for its members.

With the ECB, who believe it would provide impetus for the growth of the women’s game in particular, now broadly behind the idea, some of the impediments towards progress have been removed.

Qualifying in Guadalajara, to capitalize on the efforts made previously by all the involved parties.

We appreciate the work done and the enthusiastic participation of Jalisco’s Government, Atlas, and Guadalajara,” said Yon de Luisa, President of the Mexican Football Federation.

Fans will be able to follow all the matches on Concacaf’s partner networks, including Fox Sports (USA), TUDN (Mexico and USA), One Soccer (Canada), Flow Sports (Caribbean), Teletica and

Repretel (Costa Rica), TCS (El Salvador), Televicentro (Honduras) and other local partners.

Matches will also be available on the Concacaf Official App (subject to territory restrictions). The free mobile app is available in the App Stores and Google Play Store. The Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifiers took place in Houston, Edinburg, and Los Angeles, in January 2020 and saw Champions USA and runnersup Canada qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

...Palmeiras, Santos book From page 26 into their fifth Libertadores final, with their sole victory coming in 1999.

With impressive displays in both legs but especially in the second, goalkeeper Weverton was the standout figure for the Brazilian side, who again had vital contributions from Rony and Luiz Adriano (one goal apiece).

With a solid team performance and the firepower to capitalise at key moments in the return leg, Santos proved too strong for Boca Juniors en route to their fifth Libertadores final.

Winners in 1962 and 1963 with Pele in their ranks, and in 2011 with Neymar, O Peixe will be attempting to become the first Brazilian club to win the title four times.

Displaying dynamism, speed and youthful energy, Santos never let their opponents relax across the two legs, although it was only in the return fixture that they made their superiority count. Especially impressive in Sao Paulo were their Venezuelan attacking midfielder Yeferson Soteldo and Brazilian attacker Marinho.

PAGE 28

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

Stubborn Palace end Arsenal’s winning run

Palace’s nine shots is the most Arsenal have faced in the first half of a home Premier League game this season

B

BCsport Arsenal’s recent resurgence was checked by a stubborn Crystal Palace, who claimed a hard-fought point from a forgettable encounter at Emirates Stadium.

Tagged as relegation candidates as little as three weeks ago, the Gunners came into the game off the back of four straight wins in all competitions, but were unable to find their way past the well-drilled and disciplined visitors.

For a side in such good form, Arsenal were a disappointment going forward, their best effort at goal a shot on the turn from Alexandre Lacazette into the side-netting. Their only other clear-cut chance was

an angled shot from PierreEmerick Aubameyang that Vicente Guaita palmed away.

There was more goalmouth action at the other end, with James Tomkins heading an Eberechi Eze free-kick against the bar and Christian Benteke drawing a fine save from Bernd Leno with a nodded effort of his own.

The point leaves Arsenal 11th on 24 points and Palace two points and a league place worse off but comfortably clear of any relegation worries. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta: “We created a lot of situations against the low block but lacked the final quality. We probably didn’t do enough to win the game.

“We are playing a lot of

games and you can see fatigue is paying a price, many players aren’t fresh.

“We had a period that was fatigue related where we kept giving the ball away. We lacked the quality in the final third to win the game.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson: “I’m more than satisfied. A hard-working performance, we defended well and maybe with a bit more composure we could have scored a goal. We were playing a team in excellent form and we go away with a deserved 0-0.

“I thought the game was end-to-end and we are happy we took something away from the game. “Two clean sheets in a row now. If you don’t defend well it is going to be hard to win games.”

Palmeiras, Santos book the battle of Brazil © Getty Images

FIFA - Palmeiras and Santos, the top two sides in the group stage, put paid to the hopes of River Plate and Boca Juniors in their respective semis to set up an all-Brazilian final in the Copa Libertadores 2020.

This will be the fourth time the tournament’s deciding game will be contested by two teams from the same country, and the third between Brazilian

clubs. The nation last provided both finalists in 2006, when Internacional defeated Sao Paulo before going on to upset Barcelona in the Club World Cup final.

The final, which is a single game, will take place on Saturday, 30 January at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. As well as continental bragging rights, the victor will get to represent South America at

the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020, set to be played between 1-11 February.

Despite being outplayed in the second leg in Brazil and losing their unbeaten r e c o r d , P a l m e i r a s ’s resounding win in Argentina proved enough to see off M a r c e l o G a l l a r d o ’s impressive River side. In so doing, O Verdâo checked (Continued on page 25)

Friday December 15, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

PAGE 30

Friday January 15, 2021

Olympic 100m hurdles Floyd Reifer champion Brianna McNeal appointed provisionally suspended West Indies

BBCsport - Olympic 100m hurdles champion Brianna McNeal has been provisionally suspended from athletics after being charged with breaching antidoping rules.

The American is accused of “tampering within the results management process”, the Athletics Integrity Unit said.

McNeal, 29, won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and was also world champion three years earlier. She missed the 2017 World Championships while serving a one-year ban for missing three drug tests.

Tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control carries a ban of up to four years if proved.

Under-19 Head Coach - WI start preparations as host for ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2022

S

Brianna McNeal won gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio As McNeal has served a ban in the past, if found guilty she could face a ban of up to eight years.

She was disqualified from the 100m hurdles at the 2019 worlds in Doha after a false start in qualification.

Spanish Super Cup: Barcelona beat Real Sociedad on penalties to reach final BBCsport - Barcelona are through to the Spanish Super Cup final after beating Real Sociedad in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Riqui Puig scored the decisive spot kick for the Spanish giants, after Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong both missed the target.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal denied Sociedad twice from the spot.

Holders Real Madrid face Athletic Bilbao in the second semi-final.

De Jong headed Ronald Koeman’s Barca in front in the 39th minute after nice link-up play between Martin

Braithwaite and Griezmann.

However, De Jong then handled in the penalty area early in the second half, with Mikel Oyarzabal levelling from the spot.

The final of the Spanish Super Cup, which is in its second year as a four-team tournament, takes place on Sunday.

Paris St-Germain: Mauricio Pochettino wins first trophy of managerial career

Mauricio Pochettino (back left) failed to win a trophy with Espanyol, Southampton or Tottenham BBCsport - Mauricio Pochettino won the first trophy of his managerial career - albeit a minor one as Paris St-Germain beat Marseille to win the Trophee des Champions in Lens. It was only the former Spurs manager’s third game in charge of PSG after being appointed earlier this

t John’s, Antigua - Cricket West Indies (CWI) today named Floyd Reifer as the new Head Coach of the West Indies “Rising Stars” Under19 team. The former interim West Indies Head Coach, and current Head Coach of the West Indies Emerging Player & High Performance Programmes, will lead the development of the squad as they prepare for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to be played in the Caribbean in early 2022.

Reifer was chosen because of his impressive track record in building and coaching successful development teams, including the UWI Blackbirds, the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), the West Indies Emerging Players and the West Indies A Team.

As a former interim Head Coach for the senior team, and as batting coach for the recent tour of England, Reifer’s experience and knowledge are perfectly suited to help young West Indians understand what is needed for them to achieve global standards. He is also a former batting coach for The St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, and is the current Head Coach of The Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Speaking on his appointment Reifer said: It is great to be coaching the young players of the West Indies and trying to guide them as we prepare for the World Cup at home.

I am excited to have already begun the work and I’m sure the young men are also very enthusiastic.

In speaking to many of the possible team members, they are all eager to start the programme.

They have not been playing much cricket due to the COVID-19 situation, so it is great that CWI has started to put the preparation in place for our team a year

month.

Mauro Icardi tapped home PSG’s opener from close range and won a penalty which Neymar scored for the second.

Dmitri Payet scored a late consolation with a clever flick for Marseille.

The Trophee des Champions is France’s

version of the Community Shield - a game between the league and cup winners.

Neymar returned from a month out with an ankle injury to score from the spot for PSG, but Icardi was the game’s key player. He had a goal disallowed before scoring the opener. His goal (Continued on page 25)

out from hosting the World Cup.” Reifer added: “We have solid plans. The programme we have in place is science and technology based and it looks at all aspects of their game, including cricket fundamentals and personal development.

It is very intense and based on creating an ‘elite athlete’ with a professional mindset.

We have held meetings with coaches and the Territorial Boards and they are all happy with the direction we are going.

Within that programme we hope to have High Performance training camps during the year, the annual Under-19 Rising Stars tournament in the summer, followed by hosting the South Africa U19s for five One-Day matches in the Caribbean.”

Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, said: “I am happy that we have been able to appoint Floyd to lead our Under-19 programme

and take the lads through to the World Cup early next year.

The opportunity fits perfectly given his remit as our High Performance Head Coach, a role in which he has successfully overseen our High Performance squads in the recent past, including Emerging Players and ‘A’ teams. I would also like to thank Graeme West who coached the U19 team in the last three campaigns, including winning the To u r n a m e n t i n 2 0 1 6 .

Graeme will continue to be involved in his current role as High Performance Manager.

He will provide valuable support for Floyd in the planning and execution of the programme all the way through to the World Cup next year.”

Floyd Reifer is a highly qualified, Australian Cricket Board (ACB) certified Level Three Coach, whose leadership experience includes being a former West Indies Captain.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 31

Government facilities would be Kraigg Brathwaite ready to managed for maximum use by lead against Bangladesh people of Guyana - Minister Ramson

By Franklin Wilson All government facilities would be managed in a way that would see its uses be maximised by the citizens of this land were the words of Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Charles Ramson Jnr. who was responding to questions posed by the media on Tuesday last at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

Minister Ramson was visiting the facility following claims by one sports entity which alleged that another was responsible for damaging the ground and pitch at the National Stadium.

Commenting on the uses of government owned facilities, Ramson said that its no sense in having same when it uses is restricted to the people. He noted that a few months ago, he made a decision which was endorsed and championed

by His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali that the Providence Stadium Tarmac area must be accessible to members of the East Bank and surrounding areas for purposes of exercising.

“Prior to that it was closed, all day long it was closed. You had tarmac areas; you had areas that people could come and ride

or exercise for whatever reason, play cricket, play football, all kinds of things; it was closed. Is that giving us the best usage for the people of the country? And the President himself was the one who made the decision that it should open.”

Himself and avid sportsman, Minister Ramson posited that the balancing the interest of all of the people of the nation to derive maximum benefits from its facilities is of serious importance.

“And you have people of East Bank who did not have access to an exercise facility and south and western Georgetown who didn’t have access unless they go all the way to the National Park, so that’s what you have to do in terms of balancing the interest.”

Noting as malicious the claims of certain persons that the Stadium was damaged following the Bounce Back Football Fiesta which was a collaborative effort between the Guyana Football Federation, Kashif and Shanghai Organisation and the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, Ramson noted that he would allow such spurious claims to be foisted upon the people.

He stated that Government facilities would

be reachable by all in a structured manner and no one would be denied.

“Football has been denied usage of even the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the last five years even though there were multiple attempts being made and requests, applications, lobbying being done so that they could use the sports hall and it was never done.

So the question is, how are those facilities being used in the best way where you can optimise the benefit for the Guyanese people?

We’re going to be doing that.”

Whilst accepting the fact that there is need for more facilities, Minister Ramson said that this area is one of priority for President Ali and his government.

“Right now we are in budget planning type of situation at the moment; there are plans being made so that we could cater for multiple facilities.

In addition to that, the President would have announced that we would have three multi-purpose facilities on the cards. The three locations, Anna Regina, Mackenzie Sports Club and Albion in Region six, those are going to be very big facilities and multipurpose.”

West Indies arrived last Sunday and started training on Thursday (yesterday).

T

est captain Kraigg Brathwaite sees himself as a central figure in the two-Test series against Bangladesh starting next month, and plans to put his best foot forward. With 64 Tests and a decade of Test cricket under his belt, the 28-year-old is the most experienced player on tour.

His experience will be pivotal to the touring side’s chances, and Brathwaite says he is determined to be an example for the younger players on and off the field.

“I think I have a good team here. A few guys haven’t played international cricket, some haven’t played in a little while but I know this team is fully capable of doing well on the international level, but me as

the leader I want to lead from the front.

Obviously it’s my job as the opening batsman to get runs so obviously I’ll be looking to do that, build the foundation for the team as I always say but the guys here, I don’t see them as second string guys.

I think these guys can perform and do well at the international level so I know they’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Brathwaite has scored e i g h t Te s t c e n t u r i e s , including three against Bangladesh. His career-best score is 212 against the Bangladeshis at Arnos Vale in St Vincent.

“Obviously leading a team you want to win … but my role here is I just want to lead from the front, both as

the captain and with the bat,” the Barbadian pointed out.

And yes, it would be great to get that win but we’ve got to go hour by hour, we can’t think too far ahead.

We’ve obviously got to plan first and then we’ve got to go and execute. Once we take it step by step, the end result will take care of itself.

Once we put in the work initially, I know that this team will do well here.”

West Indies arrived last Sunday and started training on Thursday. The first ODI will be next Wednesday at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. Following the three-match series, Brathwaite will lead West Indies in the two Tests from February 3-15 in Chattogram and then in the nation’s capital, Dhaka.

Ghana in line to host cricket tournament at 2023 Africa Games ESPNcricinfo - Cricket could be included at the 2023 Africa Games as the ICC increasingly looks to multi-sport events as a way to grow the game. ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC Africa office have been in discussions with the local organising committee in Ghana with a view to including cricket at the event.

A delegation, including officials from the ICC, the Ghana Cricket Association and the Ghana Ministry of Sports, has visited the proposed venues to ensure the requisite facilities could be provided.

The feedback is understood to have been overwhelmingly positive, though cricket’s inclusion has not been confirmed at this stage. Whether it comes to fruition or not, the move underlines the ICC’s apparently new-found desire to embrace multi-sports games.

The inclusion of women’s cricket has already been confirmed for the Commonwealth Games of 2022, while there is increasing momentum for a return to The

A coaching session for children in Ghana.

Olympics. The new ECB chair, Ian Watmore, is understood to be a keen advocate of such a move and will shortly be placed in charge of an ICC sub-committee with a remit to explore the possibilities.

Cricket’s inclusion as early as 2028, when the Olympics return to Los Angeles, remains possible.

There has long been a hunger among ICC Associate members to include cricket in the Olympics, in

particular.

It would, they argue, lead to greater exposure for the sport in their individual nations and open up new avenues of public funding. But there has been resistance from

some full member nations who have expressed concern that the amount of time required for the Olympics would eat into the time available for bilateral series and (Continued on page 25)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 32

Friday January 15, 2021

Sri Lanka v England Sophie Devine sets new T20 record with 36-ball century Dom Bess takes 5-30 as Sophie Devine was playing her first game coming out of her quarantine after returning from the WBBL Getty Images

tourists dominate in Galle

Dom Bess’ (centre) previous five-wicket haul came against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in January 2020

B

ESPNcricinfo - Sophie Devine struck the fastest women’s T20 century with a 36-ball hundred for Wellington against Otago in Dunedin. Devine’s unbeaten 108 off 38 balls was also the quickest Super Smash century, for men or women, in Wellington’s 10-wicket win as they stormed past the 129 target in under nine overs.

In what was her first game of the tournament this season after returning from the WBBL in Australia, Devine, the New Zealand captain, broke Deandra Dottin’s record of a 38-ball century from 2010 against South Africa, and with her sixth T20 century, she also overtook Suzie Bates (five) and Alyssa Healy (five) on the list of most T20 hundreds in women’s cricket.

It was also Devine’s fourth T20 hundred since the beginning of 2020, following her centuries in the Super Smash last year, against South Africa at home in February 2020, and for the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL in November.

Devine’s feat was all the more remarkable as she completed her 14-day mandatory quarantine only fours days ago, on Sunday, having extended her stay in Australia until the end of last year following the

completion of the WBBL. Her knock on Thursday was studded with nine sixes and as many fours. After Otago managed 128 for 7 with a quick 35 off 26 from No. 4 Hayley Jensen, Devine tore into the opposition with a 21-ball fifty that powered Wellington to 82 for 0 in the powerplay and a 41-ball century stand, off which Devine had scored 85 runs in the company of her opening partner and captain Maddy Green.

In just over half an hour into the innings, Devine had clocked her century with seven fours and nine sixes.

Devine was particularly brutal in the third over when she smashed Jensen for two fours and as many sixes, and Green also ended the over with a six that took the over’s tally to 28. Devine then finished the fifth over with a four and a six to reach her half-century, and followed it with three sixes in the seventh over to propel her team past 100. She then took on Emma Black in the ninth over to strike a six and two fours on three straight deliveries that sealed the win for Wellington.

When asked how she felt about an innings like this after returning to the field following the quarantineenforced break, Devine said: “I was really nervous this

morning, I think when you have a bit of an extended break away from the game you get nervous about can you come back into it. So it’s nice just to spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the screws.

“For me it was just about playing smart cricket so knowing where my gaps were, trying to manipulate the field. I sort of knew where they would bowl so if I could manipulate myself around the crease, I’d open up areas of the field. Pleased with the way it went today.

“Sometimes I get a little bit carried away and we’ve probably seen it a little bit, and I get a bit over-eager and play some rash shots. So it’s nice to stick to some decent cricket shots today and finish the job.”

With their fourth win from five games, Wellington are leading the points table with 16 points.

The record for the fastest century in men’s T20s is held

by Chris Gayle, who reached the three-digit score in 30 balls, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors in IPL 2013.

Wellington Women 131 for 0 (Devine 108*) beat Otago Women 128 for 7 (Jensen 35, Jess Kerr 2-15, Kasperek 2-20) by 10 wickets

BCsport Spinner Dom Bess took 5-30 as a woeful Sri Lanka batting display left England in control after the opening day of the first Test in Galle.

The hosts were bowled out for 135 in only 46.1 overs despite winning the toss on a pitch that offered only a little spin.

England closed on 1272, with Joe Root unbeaten on 66, Jonny Bairstow 47 not out and their third-wicket stand worth 110. Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley fell to left-

arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya for four and nine respectively.

Sri Lanka’s total was the lowest in a first innings in a Galle Test, and was a pitiful exhibition of indiscipline and poor strokes which demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of how to build a Test innings.

England, who made five changes from their previous Te s t i n A u g u s t , w e r e disciplined with the ball and tidy in the field, aside from a drop from debutant Dan Lawrence, with Stuart Broad

superb in taking 3-20.

Their reward was a strong position on their first day of overseas Test cricket since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, and their opening action of a year that includes home and away series against India, a likely two-Test series against world number one side New Zealand and a bid to regain the Ashes in Australia.

Sri Lanka 135: Bess 530, Broad 3-20. England 127-2: Root 66*, Bairstow 47*. England trail by 8 runs.

Hayden Walsh Jr. unavailable for Bangladesh ODIs after positive covid-19 test result Following PCR tests administered on Wednesday, January 13, Cricket West Indies (CWI) can confirm that Hayden Walsh Jr has tested positive for COVID-19 and will now undergo a period of self-isolation.

The Leeward Islands and West Indies legspinner, who is asymptomatic, first returned a negative test result on arrival into Bangladesh on the weekend, and then had a positive return on his test in Dhaka Wednesday. This result was verified by a second positive test yesterday.

The West Indies touring squad has been in individual isolation since arriving in Bangladesh and so there has been no contact between squad members since arrival. In accordance with the established medical protocols, Walsh remained isolated from the West Indies squad and is now under the care and supervision of the Team Physician, Dr Praimanand Singh.

Walsh will remain in isolation until he returns two negative PCR test results and therefore is unavailable to play in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. All other members of the West Indies touring squad returned second negative COVID-19 tests, after undergoing four tests within the last 11 days. The threematch O D I S er ies co mmen ces o n Wednesday, January 20.

Hayden Walsh Jr Full Tour Schedule: January 18: One-day warm-up match, BKSP, Savar January 20: 1st ODI, SBNCS, Dhaka January 22: 2nd ODI, SBNCS, Dhaka January 25: 3rd ODI, ZACS, Chattogram January 28-31: Four-day warmup, M.A. Aziz Stadium, Chattogram February 3-7: 1st Test Match, ZACS, Chattogram February 11-15: 2nd Test Match, SBNCS, Dhaka

Kaieteur News

Friday January 15, 2021

PAGE 33

Daniel McBeth sponsors GFF statement on Halendino Sports Wiltshire dominoes’ first place trophy The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) takes note of the recent announcement by an entity called Halendino Sports, as covered in the Kaieteur Sports article “Halendino Sports to host trials” on January 14, 2021.

The GFF would like to make it clear to all members of the football community that Halendino Sports is not affiliated to the Federation and this activity has not been approved or sanctioned by the Federation.

As such, no registered member of the Federation is authorised to participate in this activity.

Under the GFF

S

enior Organising Secretary of the Guyana Dominoes League (GDL) Mark Wiltshire has received the support of overseas based Guyanese Daniel Mc Beth for the hosting of his birth anniversary dominoes competition.

Mc Beth has sponsored the first place trophy for the tournament which is set to commence on tomorrow at Turning Point Sports Bar. Wiltshire expressed gratitude to Mc Beth and said an exciting competition is anticipated since some of the top teams are set to take part.

Entrance fee is $15,000 with the winning team taking home a trophy and $175,000, the runner-up a trophy and $75,000, third place a trophy and $35,000 and fourth place a trophy and $20,000.

The MVP will receive $5,000 while the best female player will pocket $10,000.

The competition will

Constitution, and in the interests of good governance, player safety and professional standards, GFF members are only authorised to participate in officially sanctioned events.

Any participation in unsanctioned activities may result in punitive action, including suspension.

Furthermore, at this time, any on field activity must be reviewed and approved by the National COVID-19 Ta s k F o r c e b e f o r e permission is granted by the Federation.

The GFF urges the football community to continue to follow and obey

the COVID-19 regulations and protocols as ordered by the Government of Guyana to protect the health and wellbeing of the general populace during the pandemic.

Illegitimate GCB prohibited entry to Stadium until full compliance with Act - Players participating in the Super50 to have access to train; urgent Meeting with CWI requested Mark Wiltshire accepts the first place trophy from Sheneza Bacchus. conclude on January 17 and among the teams set to take part are All Season’s, Mix Up, Gold is Money, C7, Providence, Turning Point,

West Side and Transport SC. Action gets underway at 14:00hrs. Interested teams can contact Wiltshire on 659-8672.

SIC Endurance Meet pushed back one week

A

s a consequence of a failed attempt to denigrate the Guyana National Stadium and to maliciously incite public disquiet by an illegitimate body purporting to call itself the “Guyana Cricket Board” by causing to be published images of the ground which have proven to be false, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports has taken a decision to prohibit entry of the members of the illegitimate body to the Guyana National Stadium ground with immediate effect until there is full compliance with the restored Cricket Administration Act. In addition, the Ministry, being mindful of the careers

Guyana National Stadium, Providence. of the players who will be participating in the Super50 regional tournament, will, therefore, permit access to the Guyana National Stadium to players and coaches only. Finally, the Ministry continues to engage

the President of Cricket West Indies (CWI) regularly and has formally requested an urgent meeting to brief CWI on the recent developments.

The Ministry will continue to update the public on developments.

MCYS reaffirms position that GCB is illegal

T

he Guyana Motor Racing and Sport Club (GMR&SC) has announced that after consultations with competitors, the first round of the Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc. (SIC) Endurance Championship has been pushed back by one week with the new date for competition being January 31st.

The reason for the push back is that additional rehabilitation works are scheduled to begin on the South Dakota Circuit on Monday and the club

believes that an additional week should be given to the contractors to ensure the job is not rushed.

This news has been welcomed with fanfare by competitors since the proposed works on the track should increase lap times with a generally smoother surface to compete on. To date, dozens of drivers have already signaled their intentions to be part of the three-hour race including defending champion, Adrian Fernandes, lap record holder; Rameez Mohamed, Motilall Deodass, ‘Afo’

H a r p e r, ‘ W h i t e B o y ’ , Richard and his brother Reeyaz Hamid and Harold ‘Topgun’ Hopkinson.

The GMR&SC has explained that special covid19 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.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports has read a statement from a body which purports to call itself the “Guyana Cricket Board”, the public is hereby advised that since the restoration of the provisions of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act in October 2020, the Ministry does not recognise this body as the legitimate “Guyana Cricket Board” until there is full compliance with the Act. This position by the Ministry is affirmed.

While the Ministry has been engaging with and assisting many sports

associations, clubs, community centers, and sportsmen and sportswomen over the last five (5) months, the Ministry has disengaged with the body which purports to call itself the “Guyana Cricket Board” since the restoration of the Act and will have no further engagement with this body until there is full compliance with the Act. The Laws of Guyana are made by our elected representatives and the Cricket Administration Act was unanimously passed by our national Parliament.

The Laws of Guyana require compliance and obedience.

The Ministry will not recognise any organisation which is either not compliant with the Laws of Guyana or believes that it is above the law because the laws do not favour them.

The Ministry is awaiting an Order from the Court of Appeal in a few weeks for a date for the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) election so that there be can an election for the legitimate Guyana Cricket Board immediately thereafter.

Honourable Minister of CY&S Charles Ramson Jnr. inspecting the Providence pitch area.

(Franklin Wilson photo)

Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

Spo

rt

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Government facilities would be managed for maximum use by people of Guyana - Minister Ramson Kraigg Brathwaite

Kraigg Brathwaite ready to lead against Bangladesh

MCYS reaffirms position that GCB is illegal

SIC Endurance Meet pushed back one week Illegitimate GCB prohibited entry to Stadium until full compliance with Act - Players participating in the Super50 to have access to train; urgent Meeting with CWI requested

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.