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Despite Global Witness report scrapped…

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Clyde and Co. report is enough to push for renegotiation- Ram

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Inflated value of Permian Basin Asset…

US Law Firm probing ExxonMobil for allegedly misleading investors Hunter Street contractor fired - New contractor to take over project Four fined Cop struck Delayed renovation $100,000 each down while of Suddie Hospital directing for racist hampers surgery Facebook posts traffic Dr. Vincent Adams says...

With ten FPSOs, 2M barrels of toxic water will be dumped into Guyana’s waters everyday Listen how Guyanese are getting low paying jobs from these foreign companies, and how our leaders are happy with that on the Glenn Lall Show @ 11:00AM (Rebroadcast)

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Friday January 22, 2021

With ten FPSOs, 2M barrels of toxic water will be dumped into - Dr. Vincent Guyana’s waters everyday Adams

By Mikaila Prince il supermajor, ExxonMobil, is planning for ten Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels offshore Guyana. With those ten FPSOs, former Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams, projects that the US oil giant would be dumping about two million barrels of toxic, produced water into Guyana’s pristine ocean, if Guyana allows it.

Produced water is a term used in the oil industry to describe water that is produced during the extraction of oil and natural gas. It is a kind of brackish and saline substance filled with minerals and brought to the surface from deep underground.

O

Former Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams.

Dr. Adams made these and other comments during a Moray House Trust virtual discussion titled, Guyana’s Oil: Priorities for 2021, last Saturday. There, the former EPA Director indicated that based on his perusal of data

from the Payara Environmental Permit, Exxon – which flashes itself as an effective manager of its waste – is expecting to dump 200,000 barrels of produced water per day.

Multiply that by ten, and Dr. Adams indicates that it would amount to two million barrels of toxic water being dumped into Guyana’s ocean, which can leave significant environmental damage, placing marine life and ecosystems at peril.

It should also be noted that Dr. Adams’ two-millionbarrel projection appears to be based on an assumption that all FPSOs moving forward will have similar specifications as Liza Two and Payara.

During the virtual discussion, Dr. Adams also weighed in that the produced water is allowed to contain

The Liza Unity FPSO is currently under construction in Singapore.

(Photo credit: Lim Weixiang)

“.42 milligrams per litre of oil,” and with the dumping of about two million barrels per day, about 80 barrels of oil would also be thrown into the ocean.

“On top of that,” he added, “the temperature of the water that is being

dumped is like 55 degrees centigrade. The temperature of the ocean is about 20-23 degrees centigrade. Now that’s about two and a half times, so you cannot tell me that and make public statements that are totally, as far as I am concerned is

irresponsible to say,” as he referenced claims by President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, who had said that the water h a s n o e ff e c t o n t h e environment.

Despite Routledge’s (Continued on page 22)

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

Despite Global Witness report scrapped…

PAGE 03

Inflated value of Permian Basin Asset…

Clyde and Co report is US Law Firm probing enough to push for ExxonMobil for allegedly misleading investors renegotiation - Ram

A

nti-corruption watchdog Global Witness recently rescinded its damning Signed Away report detailing how a poor negotiation process and questionable behaviour by government officials had led to the inking of a lopsided oil deal with an Exxon-led consortium for operations in Guyana’s lucrative Stabroek block.

But even with this report withdrawn, Attorney-atLaw and anti-corruption advocate, Christopher Ram is of the belief that the Clyde and Co. report has enough weight to push for the renegotiation of the Stabroek Block deal.

During a recent panel discussion on Guyana’s 2021 priorities for the oil sector, Ram described the Clyde and Co report as “even more damning that the Global Witness report” and is one that should have already been used to push for renegotiation.

“Whilst Global Witness disappointed us, what is still available is the Clyde Report that is even more damming and did no justice to those who were involved in the deal,” Ram highlighted in his presentation.

The anti-corruption advocate noted too, that he expected the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration to put as priority a review of the Stabroek Block agreement using the Clyde and Co report.

But the PPP/C made no move along this direction despite the deal being

Attorney-at-Law and anti-corruption advocate, Christopher Ram.

fraught with numerous provisions which leave the country open for abuse.

When the Global Wi t n e s s r e p o r t w a s released, then Natural Resource Minister, Raphael Trotman quickly announced that the previous Coalition regime hired British law firm Clyde and Co to conduct an independent investigation on the circumstances surrounding the signing of the 2016 Stabroek licence.

The firm had been provided with the drafts of the 2016 agreement exchanged between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Exxon’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and made several revelations.

Chief among them was that the negotiation of improved terms for Guyana led by the former Natural Resources Minister Raphael Tr o t m a n i n t h e 2 0 1 6

agreement was not a priority for the Government.

Clyde and Co analyzed the points of agreement raised by each side.

While Government did make efforts to propose improved terms, the report posited that the consortium was not receptive of its proposals.

Nevertheless, Government wanted to get the negotiations over with, in a short period.

Clyde and Co. found that the negotiati ons were limited, taking place over just the course of a month.

While the Government could have approached the s i t u a t i o n d i f f e r e n t l y, through extensive negotiations on the agreement’s terms with a view of improving them, the authors of the report wrote “such an approach was not in the forefront of the Government’s mind.”

What the Government prioritised, according to Clyde and Co, was ensuring a continuity of its relationship with the Contractor consortium, ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC. Because of that, the Global Witness report pointed out that Guyana lost US$55 billion over the life of the agreement and urged for renegotiation.

Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announced yesterday that it has launched an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of ExxonMobil Corporation.

The probe stems from allegations that the oil titan may have issued materially misleading business information regarding its Permian Basin asset to the investing public.

Kaieteur News would have reported that on January 15, 2021, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “Exxon Draws SEC Probe Over Permian Basin Asset Valuation.” The article reported that the U.S. Securities Commission probe is premised on a whistleblower complaint that during a 2019 internal assessment, workers were forced to use unrealistic assumptions about how quickly wells in the Permian Basin could be drilled to reach a higher valuation, and that at least one worker who complained about the assumptions was fired. On this news, Exxon’s stock price fell US$2.42 per share, or 4.81%, to close at $47.89 per share on January 15, 2021.

Following the release of the WSJ report, ExxonMobil was quick to inform the media and its shareholders

ExxonMobil President and CEO, Darren Woods. that the claims made by an alleged whistleblower are demonstrably false. It said that actual and provable performance exceeded drilling plans for the Permian, and such performance has been accurately represented to the investment community while noting that the Wall Street Journal has been aware of these facts since September.

Further to this, ExxonMobil said it has an extensive and rigorous planning and budgeting process that considers many sensitivities and ranges of outcomes. The oil giant said it takes into account thousands of inputs including hundreds of drilling curves over a sevenmonth period. The Stabroek Block operator said, “Learning curves were developed as a collaborative

effort between the drilling team executing the work, who had the most expertise with current drilling performance, and the development team, who leveraged data from demonstrated learning curve performance in other unconventional projects.

There were multiple learning curves considered and evaluated throughout the process.”

Taking this into account, Exxon said it is obvious that the employees who are alleged to have made the false claims lack the breadth and depth of experience to understand how and why drilling curves are routinely revised as technologies improve and understanding of the resource base expands. Exxon was keen to note as well that historically, t h e c o m p a n y ’s unconventional drilling performance has increased in short timeframes as engineers and planners gather more data in basins across its portfolio.

In conclusion, Exxon said that it stands by its statements to investors, and, if it were to be asked about this matter by authorities, it would provide information that shows the accuracy of its valuation of the Permian assets, and that actual drilling performance exceeded the plans.

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Friday January 22, 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

Banglegate, hubris and entitlement In the lead up to the 2015 elections, the Guyanese public was treated to the scandalous revelation that Ministers and friends of the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) government were entitled to and took abusive advantage of a taxpayer-funded healthcare fund that covered even elective and cosmetic medical procedures. Public outcry to the scandal itself and the hubris and entitlement with which public criticism was responded to played no small part in the then incumbent losing to the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) opposition coalition.

When the David Granger administration came into power and, within a few months, increased the salaries of ministers by up to 50 percent, after an initial denial about the increases, the rationale was then floated that the increased salaries would act as a disincentive against the sort of costly abuse of power that the healthcare scandal under its predecessor encapsulated.

Clearly it did not work. The recent revelation that David Patterson, David Granger’s Minister of Public Infrastructure, collected gifts that most notably included an expensive ‘bangle’ from agencies under his direct purview is redolent, and then some, of precisely what the Coalition campaigned against and promised not to do, considering that a preliminary probe revealed that Patterson’s junior minister, Annette Ferguson, was also in receipt of expensive jewellery and other items from some of those agencies.

While there are clear parallels, the added complexity of Banglegate and its key departure from the health benefits scandal under the PPP/C is that, what took place was in fact the structured transfer of state funds, invested in assets, to ministers of government. Taxpayer funded jewellery worth several months of an average public service employee’s salary going into the possession of a minister of government is completely unjustifiable in itself in any one instance, but seen in totem represents what is tantamount to graft when the value of the objects being given is considered.

Patterson’s response of course has not been helpful in any way in resolving this issue. His first response, when the story of him having received two pieces of jewellery came out, was that he did not receive any such jewellery and the reports that he did were false considering that he did not even wear jewellery. When multiple pictures were posted on social media showing him wearing a band or a bracelet, Patterson then claimed that what he was pictured wearing was a family heirloom. He then subsequently acknowledged that he did in fact collect the jewellery he originally and emphatically claimed that he did not, but that he had no part in procuring them and that the practice was perfectly normal, despite producing no evidence of any equivalent gift-giving.

It takes no small amount of hubris for the sitting head of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, a seat Patterson currently occupies, to seek to justify his receipts of publicly funded gifts from state agencies under his control, some of which by themselves either equate to or surpass his ministerial salary at the time they were given. In the short term, failing to return the gifts or providing restitution to their value, Patterson should either resign or be otherwise removed from the PAC – his continued tenure there would make a mockery of the purpose of the Committee which is, as apparently needs restating, to provide oversight to ensure the prudent and ethical expenditure of public funds. What should be troubling in all this is the fact that his status as PAC Chair appears dependent solely on his own discretion, or that of the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon who had put forward the Granger administration response of “no apologies” for the clandestine salary increase, or Granger himself as Head of the APNU+AFC list, now in perpetual hiding from the public in the midst of increasing exposure of what was clearly a culture of graft under his administration.

All that said, the larger issue here is that both major political parties continue to refuse to put in place either

The PPP knows what it is doing and it is criminal DEAR EDITOR, I refer to the articles titled, “Gas to shore project requires detailed environment study Vincent Adams” and “Gas-toshore project…Int’l lawyer challenges Pres. Ali to prove economic soundness and release studies” (SN and KN respectively, January 17).

Some thoughts follow.

First, there is no Guyanese (for emphasis: no Guyanese) who knows, understands, and has the most comprehensive reservoir of expertise on matters related to oil, like Dr. Vincent Adams. It is telling that the PPP government wants nothing to do with him, leading to his ouster and marginalization.

The president and oil minister say that they want to do our oil business transparently and cleanly, yet they hide, make themselves small, are struck dumb and rendered invisible on most matters related with this oil. If this is cleanliness, then they need to be bathed repeatedly in caustic soda.

That I think will fail, since the PPP’s leaders are so riddled with inconsistency and the shadowy over Guyana’s oil.

They give off a bad odour with what is wrong and in how they go about our oil affairs; it is a chilling, troubling business. At best, the leading men dissemble; at worse, they are about

deceptions and slyness and missteps. I think of Nigeria’s Abasanjo and Angola’s de Santos, and that is where I sense we are with oil and our leaders.

Dr. Adams called for a detailed study of the Wales gas to shore project, which I interpret to mean exhaustive.

Like the Payara report, Guyanese shouldn’t hold their breath, since it falls on deaf ears, committed positions, and nothing doing, as the bottom line. Ms. Janki challenged the president to release the studies; and, again, I venture that both are wasting their breath, time, and ink, because the president and Vice President have no intention of doing any such thing. That is why they hedge and beat hasty retreats to escape any attention, to thwart some accountability.

Quite candidly, I would be surprised if any studies at all were done, which may explain why the PPP dodges and distances itself from any delivery of documents or disclosures of anything. Like I have said repeatedly: this society has been gifted with serial political opportunists.

And if by some chance some pretense at a study was done for the Wales project, then it would have been lacking in serious substance, which is another good reason for the PPP leaders to jump all over

the place in wonderful Guyanese imitations of Australian kangaroos.

Whatever they did (if anything) will not pass serious scrutiny; it is more than likely that it got some borderline outfit to give what it needed as cover.

It is why I say that the PPP government does not know the meaning of clean governance nor ethical leadership. Examine the record on oil at any length, and it becomes undeniable that the party and its powers are about deceiving and concealing and pulling the wool over the eyes of Guyanese. It gives citizens $25,000 COVID-19 cash relief to keep them quiet, while it engages in stealthy treacheries that are sure to cost this country. The party luminaries have nothing to show to Guyanese interested with what is really going on with this oil, so they play these distorting games, where they get rid of people who can help and keep things in check, while they ignore the strident calls to come clean, to be transparent. The president himself is so transparent that if a 1,000-watt searchlight may be lit in his face, and he would still come across with the dimness of the darkness of midnight; it is the world he inhabits and cherishes.

The actions and inactions of the president and the Vice President with Guyana’s oil convey a sordid tale of what leadership is about in this country. It is all about setting up a programme that devastates the aspirations of gullible citizens. Citizens had better come to grips with the reality that if some pittancesinformation and cash, are thrown their way, that that is all they will ever get.

Regarding projects executed cleanly, loans spent honestly, and oil arrangements made with the country foremost, those had better be written off and from now. This is what the political deceivers in this land are, through how they mislead us. The government is not alone; it has made sure that the opposition has been lured and snared to be part of the dirty doings. And because the opposition is so pathologically corrupt itself, that was the easiest of attractions and efforts.

Where that leaves us is pre-oil: all hopes and dreams.

And to that I add this epitaph: better find eternal rest for those. For they are not happening; not with the kind of unscrupulous people we have for leaders and captains of Guyana’s oil commerce.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Desecration of sacred indentured land at Port Mourant DEAR EDITOR, Land cleared by indentured labourers that was used for recreation, cricket, mass gatherings, cultural activities, religious events like Ramayana, satsanghs, Phagwah, festivals like Holi, kite flying, kabadi, wrestling, and other functions at “Four Foot”, Ankerville, just behind the yard of the Jagans, has been desecrated. The indentured labourers and those whose sweat went into converting a forest into a playground must be turning in their graves. Their descendants let them down.

There is so much history into that playground. Great oral

history was revealed about events at the ground. This holy land at the back of Ankerville, of great archival value to researchers, has been converted into house lots.

One shudders thinking that no government, no politician, not even those who are geographic MPs, Councillors, and NDA reps made any serious effort to preserve the playground. Community voice was ignored.

I only found out that the indentured cricket ground was turned into house lots when I visited a few days ago to pay homage to Jagan at his ancestral home. Many people are quite upset that they are

policy or legislation on gifts and emoluments, defining statutory caps on what can be accepted in what time period, what should be declared and when, and penalties for breaching either the caps or the reporting requirements on gifts. Whether it is elective healthcare or bling, no member of any already generously remunerated executive should be gaming the system to receive extra benefits above and beyond what is defined in their contract of employment. If the Dr. Irfaan Ali administration is serious about fighting entitlements and extra emoluments, it has to go beyond the strategy of merely exposing what took place under its predecessor and take concrete steps towards putting in place a gifts and emoluments infrastructure built upon both an enforceable executive code of conduct and legislation.

deprived of a playground and of the erasure of history from our memories.

The indentured playground played such an important role in the growth and development of the Indian community in Corentyne and beyond, has not been preserved for posterity to remember the contributions of the indentured labourers and their children or grandchildren in developing the area.

Survivors from the 1920s onwards who played cricket behind the Jagan’s home at “Four Foot” are angry at the then government for converting the playground into house lots. That large cricket field, where the indentureds and their children played ball, and where legends like Rohan Kanhai, Joe Solomon, Joey Carew, and the fathers of Alvin Kalicharran, Rex Ramnarace, etc. once played or practiced the game, has been converted into lots for housing. Such an act would inevitably result in the erasure of history of significance of the ground.

The indentureds and their children chopped down

forest, cleared thick vegetation, dug drains, and moved tons of soil to develop that playground and a roller was brought there for pitch preparation. It was all done by voluntary labour. It was established for the indentured, their children, grandchildren, and future generations for cricket and other sporting activities.

There were many community events at the location. People pooled resources and donated money for various programmes there. Cheddi Jagan played ball at that hollowed playground that his father helped to establish; he visited often after he entered into politics. Other famous personalities also played there.

People I spoke with claim there was no consultation with the community or with historians or activists on the importance of the ground before it was parceled out into house lots. Why was the ground desecrated with conversion into house lots?

The argument cannot be there is a paucity of land in Guyana. Berbice has (Continued on page 6)

Friday January 22, 2021

The debate on Trump’s impeachment revolves around the question of jurisdiction DEAR EDITOR, President Donald John Trump’s impeachment by the U.S House of Representatives (HR) on January 13th for the “high crimes and misdemeanours” of incitement of insurrection, has generated a somewhat vitriolic debate and disagreement between two Harvard University iconic constitutional law professors – Allan Dershowitz, and Lawrence Tribe.

This debate (like most things American) has captivated a worldwide audience; it revolves around the (nostalgic) question of jurisdiction. The question is: is Trump, on becoming a private citizen on January 20th still triable, convictable and disqualifiable by the Senate (when the Speaker of the HR transmits to the Senate the Articles of Impeachment (AoI) from holding any (federal) public office (including the Presidency) in the future?

Professor Allan Dershowitz contends in somewhat unaccustomed infelicitous characterization of professor Lawrence Tribe (“….. so called scholars…”; “… phony academic who claim the imprimatur of legal scholarship”, “… partisan zealots not legal scholars”) on Stephen Sackur’s HARD talk BBC TV programme on January 15th, that the Senate will have “no jurisdiction” to hold any trial of Trump the private citizen as such trial

will violate the Bill of Attainder clause (BOA) of the U.S Constitution and that only a (incumbent) President is triable. Professor Lawrence Tribe contends, to the contrary, that the Senate has jurisdiction. I agree, unreservedly, with Lawrence Tribe. Allan Dershowitz is wrong. Kindly permit me space to join the debate.

I begin my short audacious disagreement with Professor Dershowitz, by drawing particular attention to these very salient factors: impeachment by the HR is not an end in itself; it is but a means/step/stage to the end of trial/conviction/ disqualification by the SENATE. When the HR voted on January 13th to impeach Trump, his status was that of President, not private citizen. That status is irreversible. He was January 13th not a private citizen for the purposes of the BOA. So it cannot be a BOA (with its own procedural provisions) matter; it is an impeachment clause matter (with its own intertwining procedural provisions). The relevant and material date for determining this trial/conviction/ disqualification jurisdiction in this interconnected and intertwining process is the 13th January as the process begins with impeachment, CONTINUES with transmission to the Senate of the AoI for Trump’s trial. It is this continuity that is the crux of this matter. Relevantly, and

notably, the impeachment clause does not make time the essence for transmission. No time limit for transmission is prescribed. Laxity in transmission, coupled with the absence of any deeming – of – incumbency provision in the event of any contrived pre/post transmission resignation by the President, strongly militates against any necessity of (continuing) incumbency argument (the linchpin of Dershowitz’s case) which argument, ex hypothesi, renders the Congressional accountability intendment (discussed below) potentially nugatory.

For the layperson grappling with an understanding of this legalese I digress to suggest that there is a striking analogy as regards the two stage HR SENATE process, with, mutatis mutandis, what is commonly known in Guyana as a PI (in a Magistrate Court for committal of an accused) and then trial/conviction/ punishment in the High Court

by Judge-Jury. Would any lawyer dare to argue the legalistic nonsense that if (as an illustration) a police officer is indicted for the indictable offence of misfeasance in public office, and he is committed for trial at the PI, then the High Court will have no jurisdiction to try him if before, or at the time of trial he had ceased to be a member of the Police Force and to hold public office!

Returning to my main (Continued on page 6)

Sweeping out unethical individuals DEAR EDITOR, After reading the article in KN-21st, “Former Ministers Patterson and Ferguson received over $6.7M in gifts....”, and corresponding statements of the Public Works Ministers view of the leadership at the Public Accounts Committee; reminded me of a fox being asked to guard the chicken den.

It is difficult to see how “Gift Giving”, regardless of amount is even an acceptable

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Kaieteur News

policy.

Accepting gifts, regardless of employment in government or private companies, is grounds for dismissal that is clearly stated in the (a) Terms for accepting employment and (b) Yearly “Code of Conduct” employment reviews that employees have to sign and agree to, in the “Industrial world” because it can so obviously be misused. It is clearly unethical. It is shocking reasoning for

anyone not to believe that this policy isn’t troublesome on its surface.

Ministers and other people in even higher positions, have had to resign just from accepting gifts in other countries.

This policy is a big dark, special interest area with no advantage, easily prone to dark interests and should be banned outright. There is no justification for it.

Chi Kansi

Tribute to Phillip Alsopp DEAR EDITOR, We learnt of the passing of a great Guyanese gentleman. Phillip Alsopp, this week, departed this earthy plane to join the great majority in the other world.

Truly, we can sum up this tribute to a friend who possessed great engineering skills and the art of diplomacy by simply saying that ‘a cedar of Lebanon has fallen.’

I knew Phillip all my life growing up in Charles Street, Charlestown where he and his family lived in a delightful cottage immediately east of our yard next to our home. A simple fence dividing the two properties.

Phillip, his siblings, Richard and Bertie with their parents brought a level of dignity and sobriety to the hustle and bustle of Charlestown in those days. Later, our paths coincided when he was Chief Works Officer, when I held the Ministerial portfolio of Works, Hydraulics and Supply.

It is there, my regard for Phillip grew tremendously.

It was soon recognized that the Ministry and the Government could rely absolutely on the advice and recommendations of Phillip Alsopp.

This was useful at a time when we were busy constructing or rehabilitating our roads along the coast even as we ventured to build hinterland roads and airstrips.

I can recall on no occasion that we had to regret any engineering advice given by this patriot Phillip Alsopp.

His virtue was that he also had a penchant for seeing things done on the ground and when it was agreed that we needed to have a convenient link between a location in the Upper Demerara River and a place on the Essequibo River, after examining available maps, etc., one early morning a team with support staff left Wismar on foot determined to find a location either on the eastern bank of Essequibo River or near to the Essequibo Bank as an accessible roadway to the Potaro and other parts of the Hinterland.

Four persons reached that point ahead of other members of the team. They were Phillip Alsopp, Parliamentary Secretary, the Late William Haynes, Photographer Sydney Qualis and myself.

To honour him, that important connecting spot was named Point Alsopp and

a signboard was erected.

To talk about Phillip Alsopp could consume volumes.

I remember that he led a team that was seeking to identify quarry equipment to cope with a serious challenge we had, since the stone at Tiperu was unusually tough, and ordinary crushing equipment did not last long.

Recognizing his calm and competence, Philip was also identified to be an Ambassador.

We know that Guyana has lost a good Engineer, a reliable Professional and a decent, affable citizen.

To the entire family circle, on behalf of my wife, family and many who worked with him at the Ministry and benefitted from his knowledge, I tender condolences confident that he has gone to a good place.

Phillip could be uttering the words of Prophet Kahlil Gibran, “I have passed a mountain peak and my soul is soaring in the Firmament of complete and unbound freedom: I am far, far away, my companions, and the clouds are hiding the hills from my eyes.”

Hamilton Green

We do thank France and all of Europe DEAR EDITOR, I recently reflected on the influence of the French on our history. After all they did give us Le Bonne Intention, historically one of the best Sugar Estates in the country.

Good intentions and all, the culinary artistry of France has also evolved to the level of exquisite Veganism.

An excellent pairing for an ecotourism centric society. The vegan global trend is now being linked to good health and increased survival against the Coronavirus.

It i s s i m i l a r t o t h e longevity associated with red wine of which our French friends have an excellent reputation.

Thanks to the French, who have also been a part of our colonial heritage, our Society does still appreciate the finer things in life, excellent service

and exemplary manners.

Some may argue that the British have had a similar impact, but who am I to argue about the rivalry between neighbours.

We do appreciate all of Europe in Guyana and thank our European friends for their historical gifts that keep giving.

This has allowed for a very fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship to flourish over the years.

They have stood by us throughout our history and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has continued to visit us over the years.

Europe continues to lead in sensitizing the world to climate change and has fostered its development in e n v i r o n m e n t a l consciousness.

We look forward to sharing with them the rediscovery of Our Beautiful Land via the

Ecotourism Industry.

Thank you for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change!

Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

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Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Guyanese know full well who “assassinated” Walter Rodney DEAR EDITOR, I refer to an Open Letter (SN, January 21, 2021) to the Chancellor “Court Cases of Walter Rodney and Donald Rodney in dire need of justice”.

Like the signatories I am heartened by this desire to bring to the fore the matter of Dr. Walter Rodney’s killing, otherwise styled as “misadventure” by those in the PNC government of the day.

One of the first acts of the APNU+AFC coalition government led by David Granger was to bring the Rodney Commission of Inquiry to a quick end.

Despite the ignoble attempt to hide this momentous inquiry to find real closure, the Guyanese people were/ are not fooled. Guyanese know full well who “assassinated” Walter Rodney.

While I welcome this Open Letter, I hold certain reservation vis-à-vis some of the cosigners who will be

nameless at this time. But I refer to a few individuals who ostensibly portray themselves as WPA people, or Rodneyites.

The WPA signatories (and sympathizers) should be ashamed to append their names to this letter. At the end of the day the WPA people, lock, stock and barrel, betrayed Walter Rodney and the party of WPA. The WPA without coercion became part of the APNU+AFC Coalition, arm in arm, lying in bed with the party presumed to be the perpetrator of the vicious and barbaric demise of Walter Rodney.

Now alas, it seems that some of his comrades lacked his sound ideological/ philosophical/political grounding!

They turned out to be double-dealers who betrayed the cause of a truly great Guyanese, a truly great man whose life was snuffed away in the prime of his life.

Walter Rodney had so much to offer.

He was Guyana’s saviour, the messiah for true change based on nonpartisan, nonracial, grassroot activism – whose humanity was rooted in research, etiology and truth, formulated in a way that made the complex very simple for the masses. For this, he was murdered ignominiously.

Then the advent of these professors and activists speaking on/for his behalf! It is easy for me to say why they betrayed the cause. I know almost all of them personally. Then, I believed they were genuinely good people, and I really respected them.

Martin Carter spoke of ‘food’, ‘mouth’, ‘eat’. These individuals were/are not the ordinary poor. They did not need dirtied, tainted food to live.

Then again, food comes in different forms – gravy or soup usually savoured for its

...The debate on Trump’s impeachment From page 5 argument, I argue that since the MISCHIEF and object underlying the Impeachment clause in the U.S Constitution is the criminal accountability of the President of the Congress by impeachment, the constitutional scheme of checks – and – balance in the distribution of governmental powers. And since the Congress is a binary institution consisting and comprising of BOTH the HR and the Senate, then the drafters of the Impeachment clause (the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution) must have intended that this (somewhat supervisory) accountability jurisdiction (which begins with the HR) was to run and continue (in the event of a vote by the HR to impeach – as has happened in the Trump case) to the completion of the accountability process (which ends in the Senate).

This jurisdictional continuity, as it seems to me, arises as a matter of sheer necessary implication, not warranting any express provision.

This continuing jurisdiction operates in

personam (in respect of the person); not inrem (the Office). There is nothing illogical, anomalous, or contrary to common sense about the Senate (in its binary conceptualization) having a continuing jurisdiction to try, convict and thereupon to again vote to disqualify him as a private citizen (he having been necessarily impeached while he was president). Bear in mind in addition to the primary power of removal from office (which in Trump’s case has now become irrelevant and academic) congress also has the power to, in its discretion, vote for disqualifications, or one having committed impeachable offence(s) – the rational being that in American Constitutional jurisprudence such as a convict is unelectable.

And yet by somewhat Dershowitzan illogicality which tends to the defeat, the evasion, subversion and impairment of the whole, essential constitutional accountability – to – Congress purpose of the Impeachment clause, Trump would again be electable

because the Senate, he having demitted office by constitutional expiry on January 20th, would be denied the opportunity of disqualifying him, as it would have no jurisdiction to continue to try him, possibly convict, and disqualify. I argue that such a position is a manifest absurdity- reductio ad absurdum. Would the drafters of the impeachment clause have contrived such flippant frustration of its unelectability objective?

I end with this: it is for the US Supreme Court to authoritatively decide this preliminary issue/question of jurisdiction, when, as is anticipated, Trump’s lawyers raise an objection to the Senate assuming jurisdiction to try him with a view to a vote for conviction, and allied vote for disqualification. Our own experience with Eslyn David (the 2020 General/Regional election case decided by the CCJ) warns us of the potential for procrustean methodologies and mystiques of Courts on jurisdictional questions. Lord Denning in his preface to his book “The Discipline of Law” warns us that “scholars are few”. My view is that the position taken by Professor Lawrence Tribe qualifies him as one of the few constitutional scholars.

Yours truly, Maxwell E. Edwards (Attorney-at-Law)

energizing and sustaining longevity. Yes, the soup was flowing, was tasty, and difficult to resist – for those with feeble minds and duplicitous disposition. They became opportunists, or in Guyana’s parlance big time soup-drinkers.

Do I sound nasty and angry? You bet I am. I am mad like hell. Sorry, there are no nice euphemisms in my vocabulary for now.

These individuals, who

shall remain nameless but who know who they are, and who are now attempting to sanitize their images, should recuse themselves from this Open Letter. They turned out to be bedfellows with perpetrators of Walter Rodney’s murder. During the five months of election rigging they were/are guilty of being part of the rigging process – by their individual and collective silence – despite being footnotes.

Rohit Kanhai did perfunctorily address the question of election fraud.

(KN, Mar. 09, 2020).

I do not want to distract from the laudable objectives of the other honourable signatories.

I do apologize for any awkwardness and unease.

And while I am heartened, I am also distraught and disappointed.

Sincerely, Dr. G. Girdhari

...Desecration of sacred From page 4 unlimited land. There is abandoned rice land next to the ground that could have been used for housing.

Alternative land can be easily identified on the Corentyne.

The cricket ground could have been preserved in its most natural form for posterity.

I do not think politicians acted maliciously converting the ground into house lots.

They acted out of sheer ignorance as is the wont of several politicians. They tend not to study history. They do not study history and don’t care for lessons of history or even preserve the legacy of indentured ancestors. They do not understand the relevance of protecting historical grounds and edifices. Mr. Austin of the famous Austin’s bookstore told me politicians don’t buy books, and certainly not history books except Mr. Granger.

African politicians would never convert Parade Ground or lands sacred or of historical significance to slaves into house lots.

Few descendants of indentured labourers are aware of the significance of the indentured recreation ground in Ankerville, where just across the side line was built the first place of open worship (a Shiva Murthi) in a mandir, on the dam next to the cane fields. It could very well be the oldest place of Hindu worship in Guyana.

I learn of the importance of the ground in recent years in my research on the history of the Indian community in Port Mourant when I conversed with seniors in their 80s and 90s, including my 93-year-old surviving mother who played there. The playground was just behind the yard of the Jagans, next to open rice land and a mile away was open cane fields as far as one can see. It was right

across from Boundyard and served cricketers from Boundyard, Free Yard, and Ankerville. It used to have large gatherings. It was the first cricket ground in Port Mourant and for many years the only one for the large community before a ground was prepared behind the hospital followed by the famous PM Community Center cricket ground. The indentured ground was probably the first cricket ground for Indians in Guyana.

Later, grounds were established in newer sections of Port Mourant like Ankerville (behind the hospital), Free Yard and Boundyard and later in Miss Phoebe Lowside, Train Line, Babu Jaan, Haswell, Miss Phoebe West, Tain, Clifton, Jones, Portuguese Quarter, etc.

The Ankerville ground was used for recreation and various other activities during the colonial era before another one was built behind the hospital as the Indian population grew and settlements expanded. I played cricket at both grounds in Ankerville just before departing for university studies in 1977.

The indentureship cricket ground is of sentimental value to Indians who grew up in the area. It can be regarded as the cradle of Indian civilization in Berbice, if not Guyana. Port Mourant was the largest estate in Guyana and had the most indentured labourers.

The area produced some of Guyana’s most distinguished sons and daughters – besides the Jagans, Shridat Ramphal’s parents were from Port Mourant as was the parents of Muneshwer and Alim Shah, among others who were bounded at the historic plantation.

In The West on Trial, Cheddi Jagan detailed his childhood days playing and interacting at that very

ground. It was that playground that children of indentured labourers use to play soft ball as well as hard ball. It was a popular meeting point for the indentureds after the termination of that abominable exploitative system in 1920. It was used for rallies and for championing India’s swaraj (home rule) as well as to support Jagan in his struggle for Guyana’s independence. Politicians don’t show appreciation for what our fore-parents did.

Granger, Vincent Alexander, Harmon, Green, David Hinds, Tacuma Ogunseye boldly take initiatives to preserve their history. Regrettably, there is no corresponding alacrity from members of the other groups to preserve their history. Indian scholars are almost never consulted for views on matters of importance to the nation or communities.

The indentured girmitya labourers and succeeding generations of Port Mourant were disrespected. Other ethnic groups show appreciation for the contributions made by their ancestors while that of Indians are marginalized.

There is a lack of appreciation for the history of the indentured and their contributions to the nation. The indentured sporting ground should not have been converted into house lots.

Such an act would result in the erasure from history of the significance of the ground. The politicians and community leaders need to pay heed to historical events and activities so we can remember our ancestors. Can anything be done to preserve such an important aspect of the history of the indentureds building their own cricket ground?

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

The media was forced to run behind and beg the David Granger administration for information about our oil patrimony, information that should be public.

Secrecy around the handling of Guyana’s oil is unbearable.

It is a cesspool for corruption.

President Irfaan Ali should not continue in the same vein. Public registers of agreements and periodic reports are the bare minimum, if Guyana means to get things done the right away.

For the oil industry to prosper, Guyana needs full disclosures.

The Guyanese people should not have to beg. It is their oil. Information should be freely given!

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Friday January 22, 2021

Magistrate yet to decide on mode of trial for elections fraud case

T

he Magistrate is yet to decide on the mode of trial that will be used for the elections fraud charges against: Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo and the Chairperson for the People’s National Congress, Volda Lawrence.

This is according to Attorney-at-law, Glenn Hanoman, a member of the special prosecution team that consists of five attorneys.

Other members of the team are attorneys-at-law, Ganesh Hira, George Thomas, Mark Conway, Danielle Anthony and Donavon Rangiah.

During an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Hanoman stated, that they are still awaiting the ruling by the Magistrate on the type of trial that may be required for the election fraud matters.

Lowenfield, Mingo and Lawrence are being represented by attorneys-atlaw, Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels and Darren Wade.

Kaieteur News had reported on October 24, 2020, that Hughes had asked the court for his clients matter to be tried before a Judge and Jury in the High Court.

It is Hanoman’s belief

Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo. that the defence’s request may take longer if the matters are tried summarily and disposed of in the Magistrate’s Court.

He said, “The law is that

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

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield.

Attorney-at-law, Glenn Hanoman.

the magistrate is the person who ultimately makes that ruling about where the trial should take place and be concluded…The defence, in this case, has taken the unusual stand that they are more interested in the matter being tried by a jury. That procedure, will most likely take more than five years and it will cause substantial delays in the trial of the

matter.”

According to Hanoman, the prosecutors are doing their best to have the matters tried in the Magistrate’s Court as opposed to the High Court.

The trio along with others is facing multiple electoral fraud charges. All the matters are currently being heard in the Georgetown Magistrates

Court. Some of the Magistrates that are handling the electoral fraud cases are: Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, Principal Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus and Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty.

On January 28, 2021, Mingo, Lawrence and A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (Continued on page 14)

Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 09

Listen to Glenn Lall!

G

lenn Lall, the publisher of this newspaper and proprietor of Kaieteur Radio, has been the most outstanding voice to have emerged in Guyana over the past 10 years.

He now hosts his own discussion radio show, The Glenn Lall Show, and is instrumental in highlighting the inadequacies of our oil sector and its management by the government. The public should take serious note of what Lall has to say.

His intentions are selfless. If there is any man who can be held to his word, it is Glenn Lall. There is no mask involved. What you see, is what you get.

He cannot be accused of using his media to advance his personal ambitions. He has made it clear that he has no desire to hold public or political office. He is not running for anything; the only race he is in is the human race.

Lall is not after material gain. He has made his mark by creating and building a local media empire which involves owning the country’s leading newspaper.

He has achieved this without political help, least of all from the government, which tried to suppress his newspaper by denying it of advertisements during the first 10 years of its existence.

What drives Lall is his conviction that we are all put in the world for a purpose.

He believes that God has a purpose for him and that purpose is to bring about betterment for the country and its people.

Glenn Lall is outspoken

and courageous. He talks what is on his mind and is not afraid or bothered if he offends anyone.

He has faced all manner of persecutions and lawsuits but these have never deterred him from being true to what he believes.

What he is presently saying about our oil, bauxite, gold and timber cannot be contradicted. It is a fact that after more than 100 years of multinational corporations exploiting Guyana’s natural resources, the country has nothing to show in return.

Omai came here more than 40 years ago and said that it had discovered the famed El Dorado. Guyanese believed that everyone would soon have become millionaires.

All the gold is gone and Guyanese are still awaiting the promised riches. Other large scale gold mining companies have set up shop but the country remains piss poor.

The discovery of oil presented the country with a chance to avoid the pitfalls of the past.

But the country’s leaders have sold us short. Lall has been exposing some of the deals which have been made, and their lopsidedness.

Two major oil blocks were handed out under less than transparent process.

These arrangements, Lall argues has robbed present and future generations of the chance for a better life.

He wants all of this to change.

And so he has been vociferous in condemning what has taken place. He has been advocating for a better deal. His newspaper is now

dominated by information on the oil and gas sector.

His assessments and analyses are sound. Nothing Lall has said has been contradicted by anyone or any authority.

His newspaper has been supporting its arguments with unassailable facts not only from Guyana but from around the world.

Glenn Lall is singlehandedly carrying the fight for a better deal. There is no active civil society in Guyana. And so Lall has been ably filling that vacuum. He is assuming a non-partisan stance. He cannot be accused of siding with any political party. Both of the country’s main political parties have been criticized by him. But he is unapologetically on the side of the people and is pressing for them to enjoy their fair share of the country’s wealth.

Lall is also pointing to the need for a rethink in the way the country’s natural resources are managed. He makes a simple proposition: when these resources are non-renewable; when they are exhausted, they are lost forever.

It is better, he says, to leave them in the ground, than to sell them short.

His message is not only in relation to oil but for all t h e c o u n t r y ’s n a t u r a l resources.

He argues that foreign companies are hogging this wealth and the people have not benefitted from it.

Guyanese should listen closely to Glenn Lall.

He may well turn out to be the person who is able to influence the change for

Dem boys seh...

De Harbour Bridge gat to be a nice place fuh wuk Dem Boys look at dem wrist de other day and all dem boys see was a rubberband. If dem boys bin wukkin at de Harbour Bridge, dem boys would ah get a diamond-studded cricket ban for International Men’s Day. It remind dem boys bout de day wan old balding man walked into a jewellery store with a beautiful much younger girl at he side.

He tell de jeweller he looking fuh a special ring fuh he girlfriend. De jeweller looked through he

stock and bring out a $500,000 ring.

De man say, “No, I’d like to see something more expensive.”

De jeweller went to he special stock and bring another ring over. “Here’s a stunning ring at only four million dollars,” de jeweller seh.

De young girl’s eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement.

De old man seeing dis said, “We will take it.”

The jeweller asked how payment would be made and

de man seh, “By cheque but I know you need to make sure my cheque is good, so I will write it now and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds. I will pick the ring up Monday afternoon.”

On Monday morning, de jeweller angrily phoned de old man and seh, “Sir, there is no money in that account.” ‘’I know,” de old man seh, “But let me tell you about my weekend.”

Talk half and wait fuh mo people bag get buss up!

which the people of Guyana have been clamouring for more than 100 years.

(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 22, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Guyana is a breeding ground for moral revulsion

I

t was too daunting a task to research my archives of articles to find the column in which I noted that the US would overcome Trump and resume its democratic functionalism.

The trouble with such research is that you have to ascertain the title of the article.

But here we are. The US has gone past Trump and the moral corruptibility he and his cabal generated since 2016.

In Guyana, the start of 2021 has been mentally devastating. Three utterly disappointing waves have come ashore.

This is indeed a deeply disturbed land but even though it has a dying

psychology, it is still worth saving. Guyana has one of the youngest populations among more than 200 nation states.

It is truly a horrific thought that such young minds will not have a moral compass to guide them in their relationship with other humans.

One example should suffice. What becomes of a society where humans have not the remotest clue of the value of lower animals that are inherently nature’s most prized possession?

I have now become a senior citizen. I’m not happy about how my country has turned out and nothing, absolutely nothing in this country shocks me. I have

lived for too long in my homeland and have seen too much to have a mental jolt at the most graphic manifestation of incredible flaws. But there are times you wonder how Guyana can have the kind of people it has. I am asking a truly philosophical question when I enquire if there isn’t a genetic line fault in the psyche of the Guyanese nationality that has destroyed the capacity of that nationality to understand ethical commitments.

In life, there has to be moral criteria that are absolute (yes, absolute, even though the moral relativity argument in philosophy is persuasive).

Two come to mind. We disqualify ourselves to belong to modern society if we believe women are inferior to men and that there are superior and inferior races.

In society, its citizens must adhere to the right of people to vote for those who they want to constitute their government.

In western society under which our university curricula was shaped that right goes back to the year 1215 at Runnymede in England in what is now known as the Magna Carta.

How can any modern society accept individuals and organizations that support rigged elections in which government is composed of persons who were not legally elected?

I picked up our newspapers and read that a new civil society body was formed that includes the Catholic Church and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Do not take my word for it. Google the five-month old election saga and you will find a plethora of material by the TUC in support of rigged election in which the vocabulary was unapologetic and sordid.

I ask from deep within my soul what moral right that civil society grouping has to

be part of civilized society in Guyana.

The second wave relates to Dr. Vincent Adams. Dr. Adams speaks on certain technical issues in Guyana but is yet to tell us about the AFC’s role in the five-month election nastiness.

He is qualified to expatiate on the subject because he was part of the top leadership of that party.

Why did Dr. Adams not join his executive colleague, Dominic Gaskin, in distancing himself from the immoralities of election rigging?

Does Dr. Adams feel the AFC’s adherence to the policy of the APNU+AFC that the PPP tampered with the election results is justified?

The third wave relates to that iconic Guyanese, Moses Bhagwan.

As a youth growing up politically in front of Bhagwan, he became one of the anti-dictatorship fighters that I deeply respected and admired.

Immensely different in his class versatility, he never showed that persistent partiality for middle class socialization that was a sickening trait in other WPA leaders including Walter Rodney, yes, Walter.

When I read his letter in Monday’s edition of this

Frederick Kissoon newspaper imploring that there be justice for Donald Rodney, I became even more irritated at this fine mind that so impressed me in the seventies.

Bhagwan has an analytical capacity that is on par with any social scientist Guyana has produced.

Yet for over five years, he has remained silent on the degeneration of his WPA comrades in the APNU+AFC government.

He has printed not one word of the PNC’s attempt last March to take us back to the era of Burnhamite permanency of power.

I saw the opportunity for him to comment when the APNU commissioner in GECOM, Desmond Trotman, cited his name as someone who would justify what he, Trotman, had done in GECOM. But Moses’ pen seems to have died.

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

Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Hunter Street contractor fired over delayed works -new contractor hired to take over project

T

he contractor that was awarded an $86.685 million contract for the Geometric Improvement – Hunter Street Project has been fired.

This was revealed by an official of the Ministry of Public Works, who stated that contractor was dismissed from the project due to delayed works and has since been replaced by a new contractor, who was tasked with completing the rest of the works.

The contractor was awarded the $86.685 million contract, which was signed on May 8, 2019 by the Ministry of Public

Infrastructure (MOPI) under the previous administration.

The works had comprised of the construction of a pedestrian sidewalk with concrete drains between Front Road and Daisy Street, and Water Lilly Street and Mandela Avenue on the eastern side of the carriageway, along with the widening of road shoulders, full construction of concrete drains at the western side and asphalt concrete road surface finishes.

In the 2019 Auditor General’s (AG) report, it was highlighted that even though there were significant delays in the

works by the initial contractor, he was granted three extensions. The start date for the works was June 10, 2019, and it was expected to be completed by D e c e m b e r 11 , 2 0 1 9 .

Moreover, the completion date was extended from December 11, 2019 to 13th March, 2020, then to July 17, 2020 and finally to 7th August, 2020.“The contractor was granted three extensions, resulting in a revised contractual completion date of 7th August, 2020. A physical verification done on October 9, 2020 revealed that (Continued on page 14)

Friday January 22, 2021

Images of the road presented in the 2019 AG’s report.

Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

Labour Ministry looking at amending the OSH Act Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton.

The Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, announced that the Ministry will be pursuing a legislative agenda that will continue the amending process of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 95:02.

This disclosure was made on Tuesday during a virtual conference with the Minister and the American Chambers of Commerce (AMCHAM).

Additionally, the agenda will bring into force the existing Mining and Joint Workplace Safety and Health Committee Regulations; the development of Regulations for the Oil and Gas Sector and the Construction Industry; and the revision of the Docks Safety Regulations in keeping with the International Labour Standards.

Moreover, the agenda would include Labour Act, and the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act. According to Minister H a m i l t o n , “ t h e implementation of this legislative agenda is very important since it will provide for the protection of the safety and health of workers in the respective

areas.

T h e D e p a r t m e n t ’s capacity will also be built in these areas.”

During a telephone interview with this p u b l i c a t i o n y e s t e r d a y, Minister Hamilton shared that the Ministry has already started the process of the agenda since October.

He added that the Ministry has started to review the legislation that guides the different technical departments.

Soon after the proposals of the amendments are finalized, the Ministry would be engaging with the A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l ’s Chambers for advice on the recommendations whether it can pass the legal scrutiny.

Once given the passage, the Ministry would have a public consultation in the different areas to finalize the documents before it can be submitted to the Ministry of Governance for the presentation of the National Assembly.

Minister Hamilton noted that he hopes for the process to be finished by the end of the first quarter of the year so the amendment bill can be ready for Parliament.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Friday January 22, 2021

Cop struck down while directing traffic

A

police constable yesterday received minor injuries after he was struck down by a truck while directing traffic along the Houston Public Road, East

Bank Demerara (EBD).

The traffic rank, Roy Shanks, was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he received medical attention and later sent away.

According to police, Shanks was struck down in the early morning hours in the vicinity of Rahaman’s Park while performing his duties to assist with the smooth flow of traffic during peak hours

along the East Bank Corridor.

Shanks reportedly signaled the truck to stop. It did slow down but collided with him, throwing him onto the paved road.

The truck driver told

police that he had applied brakes but it still kept moving forward until it knocked down Shanks.

Police have taken the truck driver into custody as Traffic Rank: Roy Shanks (Photo courtesy of they investigate the matter.

Big Smith News Watch)

Injured Constable, Roy Shanks lying on the Houston Public Road (photo courtesy of Martin Gaul)

Hunter Street contractor...

From page 12 the works were incomplete; even though the revised contractual completion date expired. It should be noted that at the time of the physical inspection, there was minimal work activity, with the contractor’s work force on site comprising only one foreman and seven workers,” the report stated.

The report also noted that even though the contractor failed to pursue the works diligently, the MOPI still granted the three extensions instead of taking action.

Justifications for the extensions of time were not seen and the basis on which they were granted could not be determined.

Kaieteur News was told that the new contractor taking over the project will be responsible for completing the remaining works left by the initial contractor.

This includes the paving of the road, which was also confirmed by the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, who spoke to Kaieteur News on Wednesday, when he stated that the initial contractor is “off the site.”

This publication also understands that the new contractor will be paid the remainder of the contract

sum, as a significant portion was already paid to the initial contractor.

The AG report stated that on December 31, 2019, amounts totalling $13.003 million were paid to the contractor, which represented approximately 15% of the contract sum.

Subsequently, four interim payments were made in 2020, resulting in the total payments amounting to $35.041M, which represented approximately 40% of the contract sum.

The initial contractor was also paid a sum of $120,000 for Safety and Traffic control.

However, it was highlighted that at the time of the physical verification, there was no traffic control, caution signs, caution tape, barricades or traffic cones indicating that the work site was in operation.

Follow-up checks conducted randomly by the Audit Office revealed that poor traffic management remained, resulting in frequent traffic congestion, as equipment and construction materials were often left precariously along the road side without any precautionary measures being in place.

Magistrate yet to decide...

From page 8 (APNU+AFC) activist, Carol Smith-Joseph, are slated to return to court for the continuation of their matters.

Some of the defendants were slapped with a number of joint and individual charges. Some of the charges are misconduct in public office, conspiracy to commit fraud, forging a document and forgery.

The 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.

Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Friday January 22, 2021

Workers write to Minister over sudden transfer to out-of-town estates Shake up at GuySuCo…

Over 35 senior workers from the Albion, Uitvlugt and Rose Hall Sugar Estates have written to Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, over their sudden transfers to factories and towns they are not familiar with.

According to the letter seen by Kaieteur News, the workers being transferred range from Factory Managers, Shift Managers, Mills and Boilers Engineers to Engineering Managers and Engineers among others.

The imminent transfers reportedly shuffle workers around, in cases taking some from Uitvlugt to Rose Hall and from Albion to Uitvlugt.

The sugar workers lamented in their letter sent on January 10, 2021, that they were merely handed letters detailing their transfers with no prior consultations conducted as was done in the past.

“We were just slapped with a letter and told that we have been transferred. Some of us have a life within our communities, spouses that

are working, children in school and university, old parents to take care of. When you tell us, we are being transferred, it is not just one man, it is man with a family, a wife, with children, with an old mother and father, who needs care and attention. No care or consideration has been given to the disruption to our lives, and to top it off, we don’t see the benefit of the move,” the letter detailed.

On that note, the letter outlined that the persons sent as replacements have little to no experience in the field position they are expected to take.

In addition to that, the workers also alleged that the staffers are being “bullied and threatened to accept these transfers.”

They said “When a change is about to be made with the rank and file workers, their union is informed and there is discussions, etc. Whatever h a p p e n e d w i t h compassionate leadership?

Whatever happened to

‘putting yourself in the shoes of others?’ While the senior staff does not have union, at least prior consultations should have been held to find the best fit for staff.”

The workers pointed out too that the move taken by

the Corporation gives the impression that it care less about the dedicated senior staffers employed at the factories. “We feel cheated, depressed and disappointed at the way these transfers are being carried out. We thought that the Human Resource was the most important resource that the company had, however, with the way we have been treated; it seems we are not

under this classification.

We are the ones who toll day and night to get these factories going.

Do you think the measly overtime allowance of $35,000 to $40,000 per month compensates for the amount of time staff are asked to work in these factories?

We are on call 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week. At some locations, no day off is given

– just a partial day off on Saturday or Sunday and if there is a problem then your time off is forfeited,” they stated. The workers are demanding from the Agriculture Minister assistance with hopes that the transfers could be prevented.

“There must be a more logical, humane, compassionate way to do it,” they concluded.

Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Housing Ministry set to pump $2B infrastructure works in Region 6 Housing Minister, Collin Croal, (2nd left) engaging with a resident.

- Mother of 12 awarded house lot after 16-year wait

T

he Minister of Housing and Wa t e r H o n .

Collin Croal during his visit to Region 6 to facilitate a public outreach at the Regional Democratic Council revealed that his ministry is set to invest a whopping $2B in the 2021 program to infrastructure works in the region.

He disclosed that works will commence in Hampshire, Williamsburg, N o . 7 5 Vi l l a g e a n d Ordinance/Fortlands. The focus will be on road networks and water delivery in new housing areas. “ We w e r e h e r e i n December at Tain for the allocation exercise of 300 house lots to start the process here. Today the department of the Central Housing and Planning Authority is here.

In Region 6 works are to commence here to the tune of $54 M”, the Minister said.

Additionally, Minister Croal disclosed that presently in the pipeline is the construction of 200 houses with 100 intended for Williamsburgh and another 100 for Fortlands. He added that Region Six will see the “the infusion of wealth generation and employment opportunities complemented by safer communities, expanded family, better living lifestyle for persons who aspire to have their own

lot or for those who will be shortlisted on the housing aspect” as a spin-off from the housing sector.

Meanwhile, at the public outreach, an array of issues were raised with many persons looking for assurance after they would have applied for house lots o n l y r e c e i v e d acknowledgement letters thus far.

The Minister assured that “once they are in the system, as we pull from it they will be called”.

There were cases where persons had applied for a house lot and when they returned to the housing department they were told that their names were not seen and were asked to reapply.

“When persons apply,” the Minister said, “you must ensure you receive an acknowledgement letter. If y o u l o s t t h e acknowledgement letter you can re-apply for another one.

We are strengthening this office in Berbice and it will be fully automated. We have just completed an internal audit and so we are hoping by the middle of this year backlogs should be cleared including the new ones from last year.”

A mother of twelve children walked away a happy woman yesterday after she was granted her

Company donates masks to Region 10 RDC On Monday, Medical Diagnostic Supplies Guyana Inc. donated a quantity of KN95 masks to the Regional Democratic Council of Region 10. According to head of the company, Yonnick David (left), the masks are intended to assist the Council in carrying out its work.

“I believe that the Region is extremely ripe with opportunities” David

said, “and has a population that is both resilient and hard working.

I’m excited to collaborate with them and further develop the Region and town.

I have deep roots in the area, as my grandparents and parents are from Linden.

I know they will be enthused with my decision to pursue business and development opportunities here.”

house lot with the intervention of Minister Croal. Jacqueline Archer had applied for a house lot in 2004 and has been waiting ever since.

However, after pleading her case to the Minister, he assured her that he would look into it.

“I got it. Minister said he gonna look after it now and I got through. I had confidence that he will and I was allocated at Fort Ordinance,” the woman told Kaieteur News. Archer stated that she was very satisfied with the service provided and is urging the Minister to have more outreaches.

Hundreds of persons including staff from the RDC, health care professionals, policemen and women, pensioners and young professionals turned up to meet with the Minister.

He spent the entire day engaging with those persons

with many given on the spot solutions. Outreaches were also held at other locations in the country. Also present were the Vice Chairman Zamal Hussain, Regional Executive Officer Narindra Persaud, Manager of GWI Chesney office Randy Leith and representatives from CHPA.

House lot recipient, Ms. Jacqueline Archer.

PAGE 18

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

Four fined $100,000 each Teen who lost her mom for racist Facebook posts to domestic violence gets scholarship to fulfill dream

Fined, Glynis Gibson.

Four women were on Wednesday, fined $100,000 each after they pleaded guilty to posting racially insensitive Facebook posts.

The charges were filed by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), through attorney-at-law, Stanley Moore, S.C. The defendants: Tiffany Greene, Lashona Chester, Stacy Smart and Glynis Gibson appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates Court before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

The women pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that during the month of March 2020, on their Facebook pages, they caused racial or ethnic violence or hatred and inciting hostility or ill will based on race.

The women apologized and the Chief Magistrate warned them about making such statements. Last month, the ERC

Fined, Stacy Smart. commenced taking legal action against persons who were found inciting racial or ethnic violence or hatred among Guyanese.

On December 9, 2020, two men were hauled before the court.

The defendants, John Gobin and Steve Anthony Barakat, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates Court before Magistrate Rhondel Weever.

Gobin had pleaded guilty to the charge and he was fined $20,000 after which Magistrate Weever warned him not to repeat the offence or publish any similar material in the future.

Meanwhile, Barakat pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $30,000 bail.

Attorney-at-law, Latchmie Rahamat, is representing Barakat. His trial commenced on Wednesday.

Kezia King receiving her scholarship from Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag.

A young woman who witnessed her mother being hacked to death by her dad was on Wednesday granted a full scholarship to fulfill her dream of helping victims of domestic violence.

The teen Kezia King, 18, of Bartica, Region Seven, was granted the scholarship by the Public Service Ministry to pursue a degree in Social Work at the University of Guyana (UG).

King and her little brother Oriel king are the survivors of a tragedy where they witnessed the brutal murder of their mother Natoya Speede, 37. Speede was chopped to death in March, 2020, by her husband Orin King, in a “bushy track” located at the Bartica Airstrip.

Some ten months later King did an exclusive interview with journalist, Lakhram Bhagirat, recollecting the years of domestic violence Speede endured.

King also spoke of the severe trauma she suffered and continues to endure of witnessing firsthand the chopping to death of her m o t h e r. S h e t o l d t h e journalist that she had questioned her existence

after the tragic experience.

There were many times when she could not sleep. King had even lost her appetite, still struggling to cope with the loss of her mother.

She revealed during the interview that one of the ways she is coping is pursuing a career in Social Work.

King had said that she wanted to be able to use her experiences to change the world for the betterment of women, particularly in abusive relationships.

She told Bhagirat that she had enrolled in UG but was struggling to make ends meet and was unsure as to how she would obtain the finance to complete her studies.

King’s story touched many and one of those persons was the Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag.

According to a government release, yesterday, the minister stated, “After I learnt of this horrific tragedy, I decided to reach out to Kezia and speak with her with a view to granting a scholarship. I was moved by her determination to take such a traumatic experience and turn it into something constructive which would benefit others.”

King travelled with her aunt and uncle on Wednesday to meet with Minister Parag where she was given the full government scholarship to a t t e n d t h e u n i v e r s i t y.

Appreciative of the government’s move to assist in fulfilling her desire King said, “I appreciate the steps they have taken in trying to help me and my sibling. This is a big step for me because of what I’ve been through”.

The young woman is currently in her first year at UG and plans to work for government once she has completed her programme.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

PAGE 19

Delayed works on Suddie Hospital’s operating theatre hampering execution of major surgeries

The Suddie Hospital.

D

elayed works on the operation theatre at the Suddie Public Hospital is hampering the execution of major surgeries and causing an additional financial burden, according to the Regional Health Officer of Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Dr. Ranjeev Singh.

The hospital, which is the largest in the region, serves as its main hospital and its services even extend to Wakenaam Island and Moruca in Region One. In 2018, a $40.9 million contract was signed for the prospective state-of-the-art theatre.

It was awarded to a c o n t r a c t o r, B u i l d e r s

Hardware, Rakesh Samaroo, who signed the contract along with the Regional Executive Officer [REO] of Region Two at the time, Rupert Hopkinson.

Singh was quoted as saying, “We want to have that theatre up and running so that we can not only reduce our refers to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), we can do some major surgery here as well.

That is what I’m hoping to achieve, or accomplish.

By the end of this half of the year, we can start having surgeries done here that was not done before.”

He spoke to the DPI on Wednesday, where he initially stated that the

region plans to fully operationalize the $40.9 million operating theatre by the middle of the year as only minor surgeries can be conducted at the facility currently since the operating theatre has not been fully furnished yet.

Singh expressed that he is hopeful that this will soon remedied since the delayed works mean that patients are referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), which paves the way for an additional financial burden on the region.

Additionally, the REO stated that funds to ensure that the project is completed will be allocated in this year’s budget.

Mahaica man challenges conviction, 56-year sentence in Appeal Court Foster Gravesande, has moved to the Appeal Court to challenge a conviction and 56 years jail sentence which was imposed on him for murder.

Last December, Gravesande a father of three from Mahaica, East Coast Demerara was found guilty by a 12member jury for the April 9, 2017, murder of 49-year-old Courtney Porter.

He was sentenced to 56 years in jail by Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court.

However less than a month after the sentence was imposed, Gravesande, through his lawyer Dexter Todd moved to the Appeal Court, arguing among other things, that the sentence was manifestly excessive and severe in all the circumstances of the case.

Gravesande contends further, that the trial judge failed to sufficiently address the many deficiencies in the prosecution’s case in particular, and the many contradicting evidence of the eyewitnesses.

As a result, he said that the verdict of the jury was unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence.

During the trial, Gravesande maintained that he was not guilty of the crime.

He had reportedly beaten Porter with a wood over an alleged altercation that the man (Porter) had with his wife.

Prior to the sentence, when he was granted the opportunity to address the court, Gravesande begged for mercy.

He told the judge “It is very difficult for me. I am punishing in prison, my family is hurting, my business is affected and I cannot contribute to my community as I would like to.”

“I am very sorry for the life lost and I apologize to the family. I am willing to contribute to them in any way possible, I just need mercy … Sir, and I’m not a bad person. What you see here, this is just me.

The only thing about me is that I love women,” he said.

However, State Counsel, Teriq Mohammed, noted that while the accused appears to be giving the court reasons that warrant leniency, the case concerns the senseless killing of one friend by another.

Foster Gravesande.

Murdered: Courtney Porter The prosecutor asked the court to hand down a sentence that is suitable for the crime of a loss of life.

Justice Singh had agreed with the submissions of the State Counsel.

He noted that although the father of three claimed he was remorseful, he did not believe he was truly sorry about what he did.

“This was truly a senseless act. There is nothing to support your claims that this man assaulted your wife. Even your wife in her testimony could not back up your statements…you came into my court and lied to my face … I see no mitigating factors here,” the Judge told Gravesande before imposing judgment.

He nonetheless deducted four years from the base sentence of 60 years for time that Gravesande spent in prison pending trial.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Friday January 22, 2021

Gary Best DUI charge…

Former Army Chief-of-Staff to know fate on February 9 Former Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Rear Admiral (ret’d), Gary Best, will know his fate on February 9, 2021, in relation to the driving under the influence charge against him.

Recently, Best’s lawyers, Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels and Sophia Findlay, had made their no-case submission to the court, asking that the DUI charge against their client be dismissed. In their submission, the lawyers contended that the prosecution failed to produce sufficient evidence to prove the elements of the charge their client is charged for.On Wednesday, the prosecution laid over their

written submission in response to the no-case submission presented by the lawyers of Gary Best.

Last month, Best walked free of causing the death of national cyclist, Jude Bentley, by dangerous driving. The DUI matter is being heard in the Georgetown Magistrates Court before Senior Magistrate, Clive Nurse, in the traffic court.

Best had denied the charge, which stated that on February 8, 2020, at Clive Lloyd Drive, Georgetown, he drove motor vehicle, PRR 8182, while his blood alcohol level was at 0.85 micrograms. He was granted self-bail on that charge.

Senior Magistrate Nurse

adjourned the matter and on that date, he will rule whether or not a prima facie case has been made out against Best.

Best is an executive member of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and lives at Pradoville Two (Sparendaam), East Coast Demerara. In a previous hearing of the matter, the court learnt that Best served his country for nearly 35 years and that he also served as a presidential advisor, a member of the Legal Aid Clinic and is the recipient of a Medal of Service.

Kaieteur News had reported that the accident occurred at around 05:00 hrs. on February 8, 2020.

Bentley was allegedly struck

Dead, national cyclist Jude Bentley. down by a black Toyota Land Cruiser, which was being driven by Best.

Reports indicate that Best and Bentley were heading in the eastern direction when the former slammed into the cyclist, taking down a utility pole located on a median at the same time.

On December 3, 2020, Magistrate Rondell Weaver, in the Georgetown Magistrates Court, upheld a no-case submission that was made by Best’s attorneys to have the causing death by dangerous driving charge dismissed.

In that no-case

submission, the lawyers asked the court to dismiss the charge against their client based on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove the key elements of the offence. Magistrate Weever upheld the no-case submission and ruled that the prosecution failed to establish that Best was d r i v i n g d a n g e r o u s l y, therefore the charge was dismissed.

Moments after Magistrate Weever’s ruling, Best stated during a brief interview outside of the courthouse that, “I would like to express that I’m happy that the matter is dismissed, and what played out in court is exactly what happened.”

However, days after, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) filed a notice of appeal of the Magistrate’s ruling in the Court of Appeal. Based on the court document seen by this publication, the DPP asked for the magistrate’s ruling for that case to be set aside or upturned and Best was also ordered to pay the

Former Chief-of-Staff of GDF, Rear Admiral (ret’d), Gary Best. cost of the appeal.

The document stated, “Take notice that this Court will be moved on a day and at an hour of which you shall be informed by the Registrar by Mrs. Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, Director of Public Prosecutions, Counsel on behalf of the Appellant, that the decision given in the above matter by Her Wo r s h i p , M a g i s t r a t e Rondell Weever at the Georgetown Magistrates Court on the 3rd December 2020, be set aside and/or reversed and the respondent be made to pay the costs of this appeal.”

The Public/Police Service Commission building (photo courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle).

Fingerprints taken as police probe missing flash drives, Ensure Public Service Commission Investigators have retrieved fingerprints as they continue to probe the recent theft of flash drives and several bottles of Ensure milk housed in the Public Service Commission (PSC) building, located at Fort Street, Kingston Georgetown. Several individuals were also questioned too.

The items were discovered missing around 07:15Hrs on Tuesday by a male employee of the commission. According to police the individual had turned up for work that morning and found his desk drawer prised opened and tumbled. Further checks

were made and it was noticed that desk drawers in four other offices were tumbled as well and that a total of four flash drives along with seven bottles of Ensure were missing.

Police ranks who visited the scene observed that no sign of forced entry to the building was seen.

Nevertheless, they made note of an opened glass window above a toilet located in the southern side of the building. Investigators believe that that perpetrator(s) might have entered the premises between 16:40Hrs Monday and 07:45Hrs Tuesday. They are hoping that the

fingerprints taken can lead them directly to the thief or thieves.

The flash drives, investigators reported, contained valuable information such as dismissals, pensions qualifications, and appointments for government employees of the various Ministries and Regions across Guyana.

News of the theft had raised eyebrows after it was reported by another media house that one flash drive and a number of files relative to the work of the Police Service Commission, which is housed in the same (Continued on page 22)

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

PAGE 21

Govt. forced to relocate mobile COVID-19 hospital to Ocean View facility due to lack of staff

T

he government has been forced to relocate the mobile COVID-19 hospital that was donated by the Government of Qatar on Tuesday due to the lack of staff at the initially proposed site, the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

This was announced by the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony in yesterday’s COVID-19 update where he revealed that the field hospital will now be set up in the compound of the Liliendaal Infectious Disease Hospital better known as the Ocean View COVID-19 Hospital, East Coast Demerara.

According to Minister Anthony, the initial site for its placement was the West Demerara Regional Hospital in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) but it was found that there is an inadequate number of doctors and nurses there to efficiently run the hospital.

“Upon closer analysis of the amount of personnel that we have there to run the

facility, it would be a challenge, both in terms of nursing personnel and in terms of doctors. So what we have decided, because we already have a lot of capacity in terms of personnel at Ocean View, that we think it might be more appropriate to set it up in the compound of the Ocean View facility,” Dr. Anthony said during the update.

The Health Minister believes that the field hospital will bolster the Ocean View Hospital’s COVID-19 response as it adds to what is already available at the facility. The O c e a n Vi e w H o s p i t a l currently has a maternity ward, a 25 bed Intensive Care Unit and a normal unit for transitioning (people who have symptoms but are awaiting their test results) and mild-case patients.

The field hospital comprises of 60 beds, 60 mattresses, 60 pillows, 60 blankets, 12 airconditioners, eight carpets, one generator, 20 respirators, 20,000 various types of

Arrival of the Covid-19 field hospital donated by Qatar at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

small and large medical equipment and one diesel tank.

“We would be able to manage patients both critical and non-critical. 20 of the 60 beds would be ICU beds, it would have monitors and

ventilators so that we would be able to manage more severe critical form of

COVID-19,” Anthony further disclosed.

It was stated that the

hospital will be set up by local technical personnel, (Continued on page 23)

PAGE 22

Friday January 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Guyana’s COVID-19 case toll has increased to 7,067 after 52 new infections were recorded yesterday. This is according to the Ministry of Heath’s daily dashboard update.

The dashboard also shows that six patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 580 in home isolation, 19 in institutional isolation and 19 in institutional quarantine.

Additionally, a total of 6,277 persons have recovered from the virus with 11 new recoveries recorded yesterday.

The COVID-19 death toll remains at 170.

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...With ten FPSOs, 2M barrels of toxic From page 2 claim, the company has never actually reported doing a study.

Environmental impacts of produced water and drilling waste from Norwegian offshore petroleum industry According to an Elsevier report titled, Marine Environmental Research, authored by Torgeir Bakke, Jarle Klungsøyr, Steinar Sanni, operational discharges of produced water and drill cuttings from offshore oil and gas platforms are a continuous source of contaminants to the continental shelf ecosystems.

This 2013 piece had sought to review research on the biological effects of such discharges with focus on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with the greatest concern linked to effects of produced water.

To this, the piece had articulated that hydrocarbons from produced water had accumulated in Codfish and Blue Mussels that were caged near outlets. These hydrocarbons, however, were rapidly metabolized in Codfish. Further, it stated that these chemicals may disturb reproductive functions and affect several chemicals, biochemical and genetic biomarkers.

Water-based cuttings may

seriously affect biomarkers in filter-feeding bivalves, a type of mollusk, and cause elevated sediment oxygen consumption and mortality in various organisms found on the seabed, the article had said.

One should be mindful that no two wells are the same.

The disturbances caused by produced water from one well from the Norwegian Continental Shelf would not necessarily be the same as disturbances caused by produced water offshore Guyana. Even the disturbances caused by produced water at the Liza well may be different from the disturbances caused by produced water at Payara well.

This uncertainly, however, should be the driving for Exxon and its partners to assess the impact of produced water on Guyana’s ocean life.

“Reinjection of that water has to be the only option” – Dr. Adams With aims of protecting Guyana’s marine life and environment, Dr. Adams was adamant that Exxon must reinject the extracted, toxic water, while admonishing the USoil giant for misleading the public after it said that the World Bank recommended that it should dump the water into the ocean.

“That is a lie,” he said.

“The World Bank never recommended the discharge of water in the ocean. The World Bank said, however, that that has to be the last resort if it is not technically or financially feasible. Well, we know that it is technically feasible and you cannot tell me that it is not financially feasible.”

It would cost Exxon $300M to re-inject the produced water in the Payara well, Dr. Adams reminded, while weighing in that, “You’re telling me that the lives and the health and safety of the environment of the Guyanese people are not worth $300M when you’re making tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of dollars?”

It is against this background that Dr. Adams said, “Reinjection of that water has to be to the only option.”

Notably, Dr. Adams had been leading the charge for ExxonMobil to have in place, the relevant technology to re-inject any and all toxic water extracted during the oil production process. However, he was fired by the Irfaan Ali administration before he could see this and other environmental issues regarding the Payara project to fruition.

...Fingerprints taken as police probe missing flash From page 20 building, could not be accounted for.

It was speculated that it might be a plot to sabotage the promotion of officers and a court matter involving senior police ranks and the police commission. Senior

Superintendent Calvin Brutus had taken the Commission to court for not promoting certain senior ranks for a number of years. He was later joined by other police officers who all stated that if a ruling is not in their favor they will head to the Caribbean Court of Jus-

tice (CCJ).

The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe had however cleared the air in an online media report stating that nothing has been stolen from his office.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

PAGE 23

Avoid treating citizens in an unprofessional manner even if they lose their cool - PCA head tells Region Three police during training session

Retired High Court Judge and PCA head, William Ramlall, alongside Region Three Commander, Errol Watts posing for a photo with the ranks who attended the training session.

Former High Court judge and current head of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), William Ramlall, on Wednesday, charged Region Three ranks “to avoid treating members of the Public in an unprofessional manner even if these citizens lose their cool.”Ramlall charged the ranks during his attendance of a specially arranged one-day training programme held at the Leonora Police Station. The training addressed topics in relation to the fundamental rights of the citizens highlighted in Articles 139 to 163 of Guyana’s Constitution. Kaieteur News was informed that two sessions were held from 09:15 hrs. to 12:00 noon.

One for the uniform general duty officers, inspectors, subordinate officers and ranks. The second session for all traffic ranks in Regional Division Three.

During the sessions, Ramlall discussed the frequent complaints that are received by the PCA c o n c e r n i n g t h e unprofessional behaviour of ranks when it comes to dealing with members of the public.Just recently, a video surfaced of a police rank beating a suspected robber at Stabroek Market.

The suspect was arrested and placed in the van.

The video showed that

there was an argument between the officer and suspect. The suspect then attempted to punch the policeman, who dodged and followed up by brutally beating the suspect with the help of his colleagues.

Persons who witnessed the confrontation called it police brutally and accused the ranks of being unprofessional.

There have been many other incidents where onduty policemen involved in physical confrontations with citizens were recorded on camera.Some ranks have also been on the receiving end of assault by the members of the public too.

On October 10 it was reported that an off duty rank of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) was caught on camera beating a Region Three traffic rank who told him to pull over.

Ramlall, however told the officers present at the training session that despite some citizens may lose their cool, as policemen they should at all times try to act

professionally.

He highlighted that the policemen and woman are highly trained and are expected to always be disciplined, respectful and tolerant. Ramlall added that with high levels of restraint, the numerous complaints that inundate his office would reduce significantly.

The ranks also shared their own personal experiences during the sessions, and pledged to follow the guidelines given in adhering to the laws of Guyana that deals specially with stop and search.

They pledged as well not at any time violate the constitutional Rights of citizens.

After the sessions ended, Commander of Region Three, Errol Watts, made a written request for station sergeants to hold follow up instruction sessions on the same topics with their subordinates. A copy of the Constitution of Guyana was also provided for each police station and outpost in the Region Three district.

Govt. forced to relocate ...

From page 21 who will receive guidance and instruction on how to properly set up the hospital from the experts from Qatar.

The field hospital arrived on Tuesday at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and it was a commitment made by the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during an engagement with President Irfaan Ali last October.

PAGE 24

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

Friday January 22, 2021

PAGE 25

Kaieteur News

...Egyptian business giants Josh Warrington vacates IBF world featherweight title over mandatory commitments

Warrington won the IBF world featherweight title in 2018

Friday January 22, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today you may take a look around your home and see what needs improvement, Aries. A pending visit from a friend or relative may provide the incentive to get things in shape.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Family, home, and hEarth are on your mind today.

There may be a community event that you attend out of a sense of obligation but stay for the sheer fun of it.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Family, home, and hEarth are on your mind today.

There may be a community event that you attend out of a sense of obligation but stay for the sheer fun of it.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Even though you seem content with your career, you're ready for some change in your life This is the time t o c o n s i d e r j o i n i ng a group.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Even though you think of yourself as a rational person, Leo, today your intuition is so keen that even you can't ignore it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You may feel slightly bored and restless. If so, an opportunity may come your way today that shouldn't be ignored. You may have a chance to take a trip to an exotic locale or attend a class that will open your mind to all sorts of interesting possibilities.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) or attend a class or lecture that will open your mind to all sorts of interesting possibilities.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) This is your lucky day, Scorpio, and you can expect all sorts of wonderful surprises. You may enjoy a financial surprise or someone could propose a potentially lucrative project.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Passion is very much on your mind, Sagittarius. Unfortunately, you have a lot to do before you can concentrate on romance.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You're never at a loss for an opinion, Capricorn, and today is no exception. The energy of the day is such that you're happier listening to conversations than participating in them.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Finances are highlighted for you today, Aquarius.

This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing - it just is.

Spend as much time as necessary sorting out your records and making sure everything is in good order.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Conversation and travel are highlighted today, Pisces. You may sit next to someone fascinating on a plane ride. You two have much in common, and the time will pass quickly as you enjoy discovering more about one another.

BBCsport - British featherweight Josh Warrington has vacated the IBF world title after the sanctioning body insisted he must face mandatory challenger Kid Galahad.

Warrington, 30, is due to fight Mexican Mauricio Lara on 13 February.

He then hoped to face China’s Xu Can in a world-title unification bout. “It’s disappointing we couldn’t have the IBF Title on the line, but I can’t let those decisions stand in the way of me going down in British boxing history by facing the very best,” he said.

Warrington won the IBF belt by beating Lee Selby at Elland Road in 2018 and he defended it by beating Carl Frampton, Galahad and Sofiane Takoucht. A second bout with Galahad was due according to the IBF, leaving Warrington with the option of facing the Sheffield fighter for a second time or vacating the title in order to pursue the likes of Xu and WBC world featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr.

...Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to fight From page 29 Anthony Dirrell and Britain’s Chris Eubank Jr. The bout will be the first of a two-fight deal where Alvarez - boxing’s best-paid fighter - will work with British promoter Eddie Hearn. Hearn also promotes Britain’s Billy Joe Saunders, who holds the WBO belt in the 168lbs supermiddleweight division.

Alvarez and 31-year-old Saunders have been linked with facing one another for over a year. “Even in a pandemic, Saul is looking to be more active than ever and in his plan to be undisputed champion he must overcome his mandatory challengers to keep his belt,” said Hearn.

“Yildirim is the first of those challenges who will be attempting to dethrone the king.”

From page 26 next year. The launch of a new professional women’s football team in Egypt is expected to follow soon after.

Mansour Group chairman Mohamed Mansour is the seventh-richest man in Africa, and 590th in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

His son Loutfy - based in the English capital London - will head up ManSports.

While the Egyptian business giants have assumed majority control, with Mohamed Mansour becoming chairman, Vernon himself will remain as the ‘other significant shareholder’ in the company and operate as CEO. “Our partnership with Right To Dream is taking a strong African-born organisation, with values that align to our own, and sharing more of it with the world to change more people’s lives,” said Mohamed Mansour.

“Growing the next generation of Egyptian football talent with aspiring boys and girls, and supporting the growth of our women’s team,

is the most meaningful way for us to start investing in football.”

“Our expansion into Egypt and Europe is further evidence that Ghana can export its football values and culture, not just its players,” added Vernon, who originally started teaching pupils around his kitchen table.

Vernon has previously told the BBC that around 25,000 players are scanned every year before being admitted to the Ghanaian academy, from where many have gone on to gain scholarships board, especially in the United States.

“I think the African youth are really lacking in a lot of high-quality role models,” he said. “Hopefully our systematic approach can say that there is a conveyor belt of kids who are ready to lead and inspire. That is our definition of success - not how many players we can produce.”

Around 70% of Ghana’s Right To Dream students come from families which earn less than two dollars a day.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 26

Friday January 22, 2021

Anderson urges players to show more respect for Australia’s COVID-19 fight Melbourne (Reuters) Former U.S. Open and Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson appealed to players at the Australian Open to show more respect for the local community’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, following a chorus of complaints about quarantine conditions in Melbourne.

As many as 72 players are confined to their hotel rooms for two weeks and unable to train for the Feb. 821 Grand Slam after passengers on three charter flights tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Complaints by some players over the severity of the health measures, food quality and even mice infestations in their rooms have sparked a backlash in Australia, which has many citizens stranded overseas due to pandemic-linked border restrictions.

Novak Djokovic was panned after writing to Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley to ask for reduced isolation periods and having

Tennis players and support staff are escorted from accommodations where they are undergoing mandatory quarantine to train at a nearby facility in advance of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Kelly Defina players moved to “private houses with tennis courts”.

The world No. 1 said on We d n e s d a y h i s g o o d intentions had been “misconstrued as being selfish, difficult and ungrateful”.

Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and Alize Cornet apologised for their comments over the last few

days and Anderson said players had to stop and think about how much Australians had sacrificed to stamp out the virus.

“We all really need to respect whatever Australia has gone through to get to this point where, you know, just driving through the courts you see the residents of Melbourne walking

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: Rory McIlroy shoots 64 to lead

B

BCsport - Rory McIlroy hit a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to lead the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after an opening day cut short because of fading light. The Northern Irishman, 31, leads by one from England’s Tyrrell Hatton who had two eagles and three birdies in his 65.

Defending champion Lee Westwood, who won last year’s European Tour Race to Dubai, opened with a three-under 69. American Justin Thomas, who was three over after his first six holes, finished on one over.

The world number three is the highest ranked player in the field and is playing his first event since making a homophobic comment in Hawaii that saw him dropped by a sponsor, despite apologising for his “inexcusable” remark.

A three-hour fog delay in the morning meant 68 of the 132-strong field had yet to complete their first rounds when play was brought to a halt on Thursday (yesterday). World number six McIlroy is competing in his first tournament of 2021 and his first European Tour event in 14 months.

around without masks, interacting, and I know that they’ve sacrificed to get to that point,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

The 34-year-old Anderson, who stepped in to lead the ATP Player Council last year after Djokovic stepped down to form a breakaway players body, said comments from disgruntled players were borne of frustration.

This was especially so as many of their fellow competitors, who arrived in Melbourne and Adelaide in 14 other charter flights, were able to spend five hours a day outside their rooms to practice as they were not on flights with passengers later found to be positive for the virus.

Forgive Players - “From the players perspective I really hope that they can see what’s going on, and from the community you know they at least forgive the players who have said things and understand that,” Anderson added.

Australia has managed the pandemic well through targeted lockdowns and high rates of testing and contact tracing. Local media reported that world No. 1 Ash Barty apologised after she was seen maskless at a departmental store in Melbourne despite a Victoria state requirement that masks be worn inside indoor shopping centres.

Victoria, home to the Australian Open, recorded a 15th straight day without local infections on Thursday

(yesterday). Former UFC champion Conor McGregor, never one to mince words, urged complaining tennis players to get some perspective.

“I’m actually surprised to hear that the tennis players are kicking up. We’ve gotta correct ourselves, there’s a lot going on and a lot at risk,” McGregor told Channel 10’s The Project.

“It’s everyone’s duty on this earth to do what they can. To get to compete in such a prestigious tennis tournament - or any tournament - a two-week lockdown prior, you should welcome it with open arms. I know I would.”

Maria Sakkari, ranked 22nd, is one of the players in strict quarantine for 14 days, and while the Greek said she missed breathing fresh air, she appreciated the fact she was allowed to travel to Australia.

“I’m so grateful that you guys allowed us to come into your country while you were not allowing anyone else to come in,” Sakkari told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

Egyptian business giants invest $120m in Right To Dream academy Ghana’s Right To Dream academy bought Danish Superliga side FC Nordsjaelland in 2016.

McIlroy carded eight birdies in his opening round. (Getty Images) He is returning to the event, which is now the first of four Rolex Series tournaments on the European Tour, after a gap of two years. McIlroy, who did not win in 2020, has finished second four times and third on three occasions in 10 appearances at the event in the United Arab Emirates.

He started strongly with four birdies in his first nine holes and added a further four on his second nine.

‘A nice way to start the year’ - “It feels good. I knew 65 was the best I have shot here and I’ve shot it a few times but after I turned in four under I said to myself, ‘let’s go one better and shoot another four under on the

next nine’ and I was able to do that,” said McIlroy.

“I maybe played slightly better on the front nine but I holed some very nice putts coming in for birdies. “It’s probably the best I’ve putted these greens in Abu Dhabi and it was obviously a nice way to start the year.”

Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti sits third in the clubhouse on six under, with Frenchman Romain Langasque and Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello one shot worse off. England’s Justin Rose was three under after 11 holes, while Tommy Fleetwood was three over after 10 when darkness descended in the UAE’s capital.

BBCsportAfrica - An Egyptian conglomerate worth billions of dollars has invested $120m to take control of the Right To Dream academy, which was founded in Ghana in 1999 by a former Manchester United scout.

Right To Dream started out with a handful of youngsters being trained by T o m Ve r n o n , o n c e Manchester United’s head scout in Africa, on basic dust-filled pitches in Accra.

Focusing on both education and football, Right To Dream has grown to such extent that it bought Danish

top-flight side FC Nordsjaelland in 2015.

The academy has produced 20 Ghana internationals since it was founded, with Strasbourg’s Abdul Majeed Waris and A j a x A m s t e r d a m ’s Mohammed Kudus among them. The Mansour Group, which reported revenues in excess of $7.5 billion in 2018, deals in a variety of interests, with automotive, energy, finance and food among them.

The group has created an entity called ManSports to oversee its first foray into the world of sports.

“ManSports … will now focus on establishing a Right To Dream academy in Egypt, and furthering the activities of the Right To Dream academy in Ghana, the FC Nordsjaelland club and academy in Denmark,” a statement said.

ManSports is also keen to explore “UK opportunities at club and academy level”. Right To Dream will now build an academy in Egypt, for boys and girls, with construction on the site in West Cairo set to begin this year ahead of an intended intake of students (Continued on page 25)

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

London Marathon organisers ‘optimistic’ 2021 race will have record 50,000 runners The 2019 race, above, was started by a record 42,906 people.

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Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer return to Joe Root’s squad for first two Tests in Ahmedabad

Archer and Stokes last played Test cricket against Pakistan in August 2020.

BBCsport - London Marathon organisers are “very optimistic” a record 50,000 runners will be able to take part in the race when it is held on 3 October. The 2020 race involved only elite athletes running a specially designed closed-loop course because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Event director Hugh Brasher said he hoped the vaccination programme would allow amateur runners to participate. The government is aiming to offer every adult in the UK a vaccine by autumn.

Reaching the 50,000 target would involve marathon organisers accommodating a record number of people on the course. A record 42,906 started the 2019 race.

Organisers estimate the event also attracts about 750,000 spectators and needs about 6,000

volunteers to help on the day.

Event director Hugh Brasher told BBC Sport: “The government has been talking about the fact that everyone will be vaccinated in the country by September.

This is 3 October, so we really hope that this is a beacon of hope in the future.

And that we really are living in a different world to what we are now in. “ We ’ r e t a l k i n g t o scientists, we’re talking to other organisers around the world, where events are happening around the world, how they have happened.

And that’s why we are positive about 3 October.”

For the second year in a row, the race has been moved from its traditional April date. In addition to the runners taking part in London, organisers are also inviting another 50,000 people to complete the 26.2 miles virtually using a

tracking app. Last year 38,000 runners took part virtually.

“The London Marathon has to do what is right for society,” added Brasher. “It is far bigger than just for the runners. This is about the National Health Service, this is about charities, this is about communities. It is about bringing people together. “We are incredibly positive that we will be able to have 50,000 people running the London Marathon in person in 2021.

Time will tell.” Prospective runners who have entered the ballot for a place in the 2021 race will find out if they have been successful on 8 February.

Unsuccessful applicants will then have a week to enter the virtual event before it is opened up to the rest of the public. The ballot to run in the 2020 race attracted a record 457,861 entries.

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty to make return at Adelaide event Field Level Media - World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will end a nearly year-long layoff during a pre-Australian Open exhibition event in Adelaide later this month, organizers announced Thursday (yesterday).

Dubbed “A Day at the Drive,” the starstudded eight-player field also includes Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Jannik Sinner.

The event will take place at Adelaide’s Memorial Drive Tennis Centre starting on Jan. 29. Barty has not played a competitive match since last February. The 24-year-old Australian opted not to defend her French Open title and skipped the U.S. Open in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am looking forward to playing my first match for the 2001 season in Adelaide,” Barty said. “I have fond memories from the Adelaide International last year and it will be

Ashleigh Barty

great to get back on court here for A Day at the Drive.” Barty, however, was spotted without a mask on a trip to the supermarket on Thursday, the Sporting News reported. Her manager noted that it was an “innocent mistake.” The Australian Open is set to begin on Feb. 8 in Melbourne.

BBCsport - All-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer have returned to the England squad for the first two Tests of the tour of India. Both Stokes and Archer were rested for the current series in Sri Lanka.

Batsman Rory Burns, who has been on paternity leave, also returns, but Ollie Pope is yet to fully recover from a shoulder injury.

Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Sam Curran will all be rested for the first half of the four-Test series.

The series begins on 5 February, with the first two Tests taking place in Chennai. The third match, a day-nighter, and fourth Test are in Ahmedabad. England have only named a squad for the first two Tests, with further players due to be rested for the second half of the series as workloads are managed in a year that is set to include 17 Tests and a T20 World Cup, potentially all in bio-secure conditions.

National selector Ed Smith has confirmed that Jos Buttler will leave the tour after the first Test, meaning Ben Foakes will keep wicket in the second.

“It’s a huge year of Test cricket and also a World Cup, a lot of one-day cricket alongside. We’re going to have to look after players,” said Test captain Joe Root.

“With the climate and environment we’re in, resting players is going to be vital.”

Vice-captain Stokes, 29, has not played a Test for

England since the first match against Pakistan in August.

Like Archer, he played for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in October and November and was part of the squad for three T20s against South Africa. Both men were rested for the one-day series against the Proteas, which was subsequently postponed.

“You speak to any side in the world - those two guys coming back into it would give the squad a huge boost and it’s certainly the case for us,” added Root. “I’m very excited to see them back in and around the squad, hopefully they are full of energy and ready to go when they get here.”

Surrey batsman Pope has not played since dislocating his shoulder while fielding in the third Test against Pakistan at the end of August. He is with the squad in Sri Lanka and played in England’s only day of onfield preparation, but while he is fit enough to bat, he is still working towards being able to spend long spells in the field.

Of the trio to be rested for the first part of the India tour, all-rounder Curran and fast bowler Wood are the only England pace bowlers who will play both Tests in Sri Lanka.

Batsman Bairstow has had little break from biosecure conditions since June, having been part of England’s home summer, the IPL and the tours of South

Africa and Sri Lanka.

As well as a 16-strong main squad, England will also travel with six reserves, one fewer than in Sri Lanka, with Somerset pace bowler Craig Overton not included.

England won 2-1 in India in 2012-13, their first series win there in 27 years and India’s most recent defeat on home soil.

In 2016, the tourists were beaten 4-0 in what proved to be Alastair Cook’s last series as captain.

Even if England win the second and final Test against Sri Lanka, which begins on Friday, they are likely to need a big victory in India to stand any chance of reaching the final of the World Test Championship.

England squad for first two Tests in India: Joe Root (Yorkshire) (captain), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Dom Bess (Yorkshire), S t u a r t B r o a d (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).| Reserves: James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Amar Virdi (Surrey).

Kaieteur News

PAGE 28

Friday January 22, 2021

Newport keeper King sets world Liverpool’s 68-match unbeaten home league record with goal from 96 metres out File Photo: Newport run ended by Burnley County’s Tom King saves Ashley Barnes scores

BBCsport - Liverpool’s 68-game unbeaten run at home in the Premier League came to an end as Ashley Barnes fired home a late winner from the penalty spot to secure a famous victory for Burnley.

Barnes was tripped in the box by goalkeeper Alisson with seven minutes remaining and converted the resulting penalty to earn all the points.

Liverpool’s last loss at home came nearly four years ago against Crystal Palace, and they are now six points behind leaders

Manchester United at the midway point in the campaign. Divock Origi was given his first start of the season and should have scored when he ran free on goal after pouncing on Ben Mee’s error but struck the crossbar.

The hosts pushed to find the net in the second half but ran out of ideas - Nick Pope making a stunning save to deny Mohamed Salah and fellow substitute Roberto Firmino flicking an effort wide. Burnley’s shock win lifts them up to 16th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Farfan and Mendes and RHTY&SC inks sponsorship deal for 25th year Sponsorship in Guyana for sports normally last’s a few years and over the past decade most sports organisations have struggled to obtain support from corporate Guyana. On Tuesday last, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) renewed their long standing relationship with Farfan and Mendes during a simple presentation at the company’s Providence, East Bank Demerara, Head Office.

The two organisations have enjoyed a very close working relationship since 1996. RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster described the long serving sponsor as one of the main reasons why the club is widely called the best in the country and noted that Farfan and Mendes Ltd. is the longest serving supporter of its activities.

The relationship started with a donation of a grass cutter to the club in March 1996 towards the upkeep of the Area ‘H’ Ground and then financial support from 1997. The Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes Ltd. Under-15 team has won five Berbice championships under the name of the sponsorship and have undertaken over one thousand community related programmes.

These programmes

includes cricket academies, senior citizens breakfast, youth information booklets, beach clean-up campaign, tribute to mothers and fathers, summer camps, feeding of the less fortunate, food hampers project, tribute to heroes, medical outreaches, Say No/Say Yes campaign, mash parade and youth inspirational forums.

The team has also produced dozens of players who have gone on to represent Berbice, Guyana and the West Indies. Among the players produced are Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Delbert Hicks, Dominic Rikhi, Abdel Fudadin, Khemraj Mahadeo, Murphy LaRose, Kelvon Anderson, Junior Williams, Shawn Perriera, Slyus Tyndall, Matthew Pottaya, Jonathan Rampersaud, Jeremy Sandia, Christopher Deroop, Chanderpaul Govindra, Mahendra Gopilall, Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond and Shabaki Gajnabi.

Fudadin, Crandon, Anderson, Campbelle, Grimmond and Gajnabi have all gone on to represent the West Indies at different levels. RHTY&SC Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu stated that the 25-year relationship has touched and changed the lives of countless persons on the

cricket field, in the class room and in their homes.

The company over the years has also co-sponsored the club’s annual youth magazines, cricket academy, summer camp, charity programme, Christmas village, Say No/Say Yes campaign and youth information booklet among numerous other activities.

Naidu reassured the company management that the club would continue to uphold its high standards in 2021 and would always strive to be the best on and off the field of play. The team would be led by Raphael Fraser with Raj Tika as his deputy in 2021 Long serving club executive Ravinranauth Kissoonlall is theMmanager while Tyrone Pottaya is his deputy. The team would also complete 60 community projects under the sponsorship during the year.

Farfan and Mendes Marketing Executive Onai Vasconcellos hailed the outstanding work of the club over the years and noted that his company was delighted to be associated with the RHTY&SC. Vasconcellos noted that the relationship has lasted for so long because the club has been outstanding representatives of his company’s brand on and off the cricket field.

Reuters - When Newport County goalkeeper Tom King took a goal kick in a League Two game at C h e l t e n h a m To w n o n Tuesday, little did he know he would be writing his name into the Guinness World Records book for the longest goal ever scored.

At 0-0 in the 12th minute, King placed the ball inside his six-yard box and launched it so far upfield that it bounced a few yards outside the opposition box before the wind picked it up and over the helpless Joshua Griffiths in Cheltenham’s goal.

Guinness World Records ratified the record on Thursday (yesterday), with his 105 yards (96.01m) goal breaking the record previously set by former Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, whose clearance from inside his own box found the Southampton net in 2013.

“I’m absolutely delighted because it’s not something that I

from Brighton & Hove Albion’s Neal Maupay in the penalty shootout

REUTERS/Michael Steele.

intentionally set out to do,” King said on the club’s website here. “I’m sure it will be talked about for a long time to come, so I’m proud and I’m sure my family will be extremely proud too.

“I’ll have to drop Asmir a message to send my c o m m i s e r a t i o n s . . . I t ’s different territory for me because I never dreamt of being in the books that you get for Christmas every year.

“Hopefully I might actually read it if I get one for

Christmas this year. I’m delighted and hopefully no one beats it for a long time now so I can show my grandkids.”

However, King refused to celebrate the goal out of respect for his Cheltenham counterpart even though it was the first goal he had ever scored as a professional. “I didn’t even know how to celebrate really and I apologised to the other goalkeeper after the game...

It’s not nice to be on the other end of it,” he said.

Statement by FIFA and the six confederations

In light of recent media speculation about the creation of a closed European ‘Super League’ by some European clubs, FIFA and the six confederations (AFC, CAF, Concacaf, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA) once again would like to reiterate and strongly emphasise that such a competition would not be recognised by either FIFA or the respective confederation.

Any club or player involved in such a competition would as a consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by FIFA or their respective confederation.

As per the FIFA and

confederations statutes, all competitions should be organised or recognised by the relevant body at their respective level, by FIFA at the global level and by the confederations at the continental level.

In this respect, the confederations recognise the FIFA Club World Cup, in its current and new format, as the only worldwide club competition while FIFA recognises the club competitions organised by the confederations as the only club continental competitions.

The universal principles of sporting merit, solidarity, promotion and relegation, and subsidiarity are the

foundation of the football pyramid that ensures football’s global success and are, as such, enshrined in the FIFA and confederation statutes. Football has a long and successful history thanks to these principles.

Participation in global and continental competitions should always be won on the pitch. Gianni Infantino – FIFA President, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa – AFC President, Constant Omari – CAF Acting President, Vittorio Montagliani – Concacaf President, Alejandro Domínguez – CONMEBOL President, Lambert Maltock – OFC President, Aleksander Èeferin – UEFA President.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

PAGE 29

NBA roundup: Cavs ruin debut of Nets’ Big Three

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ield Level Media - Collin Sexton hit the gametying 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the first overtime and scored 15 of his career-high 42 points in the second overtime as the host Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Brooklyn Nets for a 147-135 victory on Wednesday night.

Sexton surpassed his previous career high of 41 set March 4, 2020, against Boston by scoring 31 points after halftime. He shot 16 of 29 from the field overall after missing the previous five games with an ankle injury.

Thanks largely to Sexton’s efforts, Cleveland overcame big nights in the debut of Brooklyn’s star trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, who each played the final 18plus minutes.

Durant led the Nets with 38 points but missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer in the first overtime. He also put up 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Irving added 37 points in his first game back from a twoweek absence due to personal reasons along with health and safety protocols.

Harden posted his second triple-double in three games as a Net with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

Atlanta Hawks 123 Detroit Pistons 115 (OT) Clint Capela scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed a career-high 26 rebounds to help Atlanta erase a 17-point, fourth-

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) drives to the basket in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Rocket Mortgage Field House. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

quarter deficit and beat visiting Detroit in overtime.

Capela became the first Atlanta player with at least 25 points and 25 rebounds since Dikembe Mutombo in 1999. Atlanta got 38 points and 10 assists from Trae Young and 31 points and 11 rebounds from John Collins and defeated the Pistons for the second time.

Detroit’s Jerami Grant had a career-high 32 points and posted his 13th straight game with at least 20 points.

Blake Griffin scored 17 and Wayne Ellington added 16.

Philadelphia 76ers 117 Boston Celtics 109 - Joel Embiid scored 42 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lift host Philadelphia past rival

Boston, who played without Jayson Tatum, who is recovering from COVID-19.

Embiid shot 12 of 19 from the field and 17 of 21 from the free-throw line for his second 40-point effort this season — both in the past three games. Tobias Harris added 22 points for the Sixers, who have won eight of nine at home.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 26 points while Marcus Smart added a season-high 25. Daniel Theis had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Kemba Walker contributed 19 points in just 22 minutes in his second game back from a knee injury.

Dallas Mavericks 124 -

National Community Basketball League launched The National Community Basketball League (NCBL) which is a non-profit organisation, launched its initiative that encompasses the promotion and development of basketball in Guyana.

At the launching yesterday at Sleepin International Hotel & Casino, Chairman of the National Community Basketball League, Kwame Mentor, shared that the motive behind establishing the NCBL was to give back to basketball and he is positive that his organisation will definitely add to the basketball dynamic in Guyana.

He posited that, “I’ve been around the sport all my life and this is our way of giving back to the sport, we can’t make money in this sport, so we are doing it for the love… we want to call all our sponsors our partners because we need everybody involved.”

Executive of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), Rawle Toney, who was present at the launch shared that both the association and the Guyana

Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) are in full support of the NCBL. Toney commented that, “This is a good initiative, and we are here to offer support to it, this is exactly what basketball needs as we look at the return of sport but of course we plan on ensuring that all logistics are in order so that the league can run smoothly.”

Meanwhile, Technical Director of the NCBL, Mark Bradford, highlighted that all logistics and teams are in place as the NCBL awaits a go ahead amidst the pandemic. The NCBL was birthed in 2012 but due to unforeseen circumstances was unable to host an annual event.

However, the NCBL organisation that comprises of Kwame Mentor, Lavern FraserThomas, Rundell Ramsey, Marlon Thornton, Mark Bradford and Treiston Joseph will be aiming to host their first ‘King of the Hard Court’ tourney for community teams by Easter once all the necessary approvals are granted.

Indiana Pacers 112 Kristaps Porzingis collected 27 points and 13 rebounds while Trey Burke added 22 points off the bench to lift Dallas over Indiana in Indianapolis.

Porzingis made 12 of 15 attempts from the floor and Burke sank 9 of 16 shots, including four from 3-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 19 points, two days after misfiring on all 12 attempts during a scoreless performance in Dallas’ 11693 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Luka Doncic recorded his 30th career triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the Mavericks, who snapped a season-high, three-game losing streak. Malcolm Brogdon scored 26 points while Domantas Sabonis had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers.

Miami Heat 111 Toronto Raptors 102 Kendrick Nunn scored a season-best 28 points off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds and Miami defeated Toronto at the Raptors’ temporary home in Tampa.

It was the first time the Heat have won two in a row this season, and it ended the Raptors’ winning streak at three games. The teams play again on Friday at Tampa.

Goran Dragic added 17 points for the Heat while Kelly Olynyk had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Fred VanVleet had 24 points and nine assists for the Raptors while OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam each added 18 points.

Orlando Magic 97 Minnesota Timberwolves 96 - Cole Anthony’s 3pointer at the buzzer capped Orlando’s rally in a win over Minnesota at Minneapolis.

The Magic came in losers of six straight and appeared headed for a seventh consecutive loss as their field-goal percentage languished in the 30s for much of the night.

Nikola Vucevic scored a game-high 28 points for the Magic, Evan Fournier added 24 points and Aaron Gordon and Anthony had 13 apiece.

D’Angelo Russell paced the Timberwolves with 19 points, and Naz Reid scored 14.

Golden State Warriors 121 - San Antonio Spurs 99 - Rookie James Wiseman used seven dunks as a foundation for a season-best 20 points and Stephen Curry added a game-high 26 as Golden State ran away from San Antonio in San Francisco.

Riding the momentum of a win in Los Angeles over the defending champion Lakers on Monday, the Warriors led by as many as 22 points in the first half before ending a three-game losing streak against the Spurs.

Dejounte Murray had 22 points to pace San Antonio, which was completing a two-game trip that began with a win at Portland.

Los Angeles Clippers 115 - Sacramento Kings 96 - Kawhi Leonard had 32 points, six steals and five assists as Los Angeles defeated visiting Sacramento for its fifth consecutive win. Paul George contributed 19 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds while Nicolas Batum and Ivica Zubac added 11 points apiece for Los Angeles. Zubac grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

De’Aaron Fox scored 25 points and added seven assists for the Kings, who lost their fourth straight.

Glenn Robinson III had 14 points.

Phoenix Suns 109 Houston Rockets 103 Deandre Ayton posted a double-double while Devin Booker added 24 points as visiting Phoenix staved off a late rally from Houston. The Suns led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter before the Rockets rallied, eventually cutting the deficit to 103-101 with 1:38 remaining before Phoenix held on.

Ayton led Phoenix with 26 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks while Booker shot 10 of 18 from the floor.

Victor Oladipo and Eric Gordon scored 22 points apiece for the Rockets, who have lost five of six.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to fight Avni Yildim in February BBCsport - Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will defend his WBC and WBA world super-middleweight titles against Avni Yidirim at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida on 27 February. The Mexican added the WBA belt to his collection in a stylish win over Britain’s Callum Smith in December.

The 30-year-old has lost just once in 57 bouts and will start a heavy favourite against Turkey’s Yildrim.

“Avni Yildirim is a good boxer and we will put on an exciting fight,” said Alvarez,

Alvarez has won world titles in four different weight divisions a four-weight world champion.

“I’m very glad that we are able to bring this event to Miami, a short distance from

where my hero, Muhammad Ali, trained.” Yildrim, 29, has 21 wins from 23 bouts having lost to American (Continued on page 25)

Kaieteur News

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Friday January 22, 2021

Rajasthan Royals release Steve Smith Shamilia Connell hard at work with but retain England trio for IPL 2021 new coaching staff in Antigua camp BBCSport - Australia batsman Steve Smith has been released by Rajasthan Royals for the 2021 Indian Premier League, while England stars Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler are retained. India batsman Sanju Samson will take over from Smith as Royals captain.

All eight IPL franchises have released their list of retained players before the auction in mid-February. The tournament is expected to be held between April and June but a location has not yet been confirmed.

Mumbai Indians won the competition - held in the United Arab Emirates because of the Covid-19 pandemic - for a record fifth time last year. Smith joined the Royals in 2014, missed the 2018 season because of his ban for ball-tampering and led the side for the latter part of the 2019 season and 2020.

The 31-year-old’s release comes after the Royals endured a disappointing season last year, finishing bottom in the group stages.

Seamer Archer was named Most Valuable Player, however, taking 20 wickets in his 14 matches at an economy rate of 6.55, while wicketkeeper-batsman

Shamilia Connell (right) pictured with coaching staff.

Steve Smith (left) has been released by Rajasthan Royals but England’s Ben Stokes will remain with the franchise. (Getty Images) Buttler scored 328 runs, including two half-centuries.

Stokes missed the start of the competition because he was on compassionate leave, but impressed with an outstanding 104 not out - the team’s only century of the tournament - in a win over Mumbai. However, England all-rounder Tom Curran has been released from the Royals squad.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - who finished fourth last year - have also had a clearout, offloading A u s t r a l i a ’s Tw e n t y 2 0 captain Aaron Finch, South Africa seamer Chris Morris, India all-rounder Shivam Dube and England’s Moeen Ali. Elsewhere, England’s To m B a n t o n ( K o l k a t a Knight Riders) and Jason

Roy (Delhi Capitals) have also been released. Kings XI Punjab failed to make the play-offs in 2020 and have released big-hitting Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell.

World Cup winningcaptain Eoin Morgan keeps his place at Kolkata Knight Riders, while fellow England players Chris Jordan (Kings XI Punjab), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) and C h r i s Wo a k e s ( D e l h i Capitals) have also been retained.

All released players will now be eligible to sign for other franchises in the auction. A full list of the released and retained players can be found on the IPL website.

2021 is the year of Shamilia Connell, who is ready to cement her name as one of the best bowlers in women’s cricket.

She returned from injury in late 2019 and continued to perform well in 2020, now she’s looking to remain consistent and lead the West Indies to more victories.

The tall, strongly built fast bowler is also looking forward to working with new Head Coach, Courtney Walsh, with whom she worked with previously during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia a year ago.

In her career so far in the maroon, she has achieved the feat of 50 wickets — 20 in OneDay Internationals and 30 in T20 Internationals.

Her best bowling figures were 3-14 against England in Derby in September last year.

She is presently part of the West Indies women camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and attributes her current consistency, to work with Walsh and assistant coach Corey Collymore who worked with her during the tour to England last September and recently back in Barbados.

With the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 Qualifiers looming in July, Connell is focusing on improving her game all-round and is excited to compete in the qualifiers and do her part in ensuring that the West Indies women book their spot in New Zealand for the main event next year.

Kaieteur News

Friday January 22, 2021

PAGE 31

Secondary Schools’ Golf pilot programme commence Training for the Secondary Schools Golf pilot programme got off to a smashing start on We d n e s d a y l a s t w h e n Physical Education Teachers from Berbice, Linden, Georgetown, East Coast and Essequibo participated in group training at the Nexgen Golf Academy, Woolford Avenue.

The four hour session was attended by 14 participants and Head of the Allied Arts Unit in the Ministry of Education Ms. Barker-King was on hand to welcome them along with Department Head, Nicholas Fraser and Programme Coordinator, Al Junior Wilson.

Speaking with the group of teachers, Ms. BarkerKing encouraged them to take their mandate as leaders of an incredible programme that will be the beacon for future generations. “You have a responsibility to yourselves and our learners all across the country and you’ve been chosen to lead a programme that will impact the lives of our children forever. We are grateful to Mr. Aleem Hussain and the Guyana Golf Association along with the Nexgen Golf Academy for their support in making the dream of playing Golf a reality for thousands of children.”

President of the GGA Aleem Hussain with teachers and officials of the Ministry of Education at the Academy.

Mr. Fraser said he was pleased with the results so far and is excited about the prospects of seeing golf take a top position in the schools due to its unique covid-19 compliant qualities. “As educators, sports activities are very important and we are happy that the partnership with Aleem can provide an alternative to contact sports during this unprecedented period in our history.”

Reaction from the Teachers was extremely positive and the competitive nature was quickly evident as they spent over four hours learning and competing amongst themselves. The immediate goal is to build a team in all the pilot schools to engage in a chip and putt competition in six weeks.

Aleem Hussain gives a demonstration at the Academy.

As seen from the energetic nature of the GGA President, the plan to bring Golf to the forefront of all sports is quickly becoming a reality as more and more persons are getting involved in the game.

Hussain feels that golf will be among the top sports in Guyana and is working towards two things, accessibility and affordability.

“We are focused on creating facilities in as many regions as possible and providing equipment and balls so that everyone can have a chance to try the sport. A major part of the strategy was put in place when the programme was approved by the CEO and Deputy CEO of the Secondary Schools after

prompting by Ms. BarkerKing and Mr. Fraser.”

“With access to over 100,000 children in the school system, the Golf Association and Allied Arts Unit feels it is viable to have at least 5% of them take up the sport and expect that one parent will also be enticed into participating, thereby creating at least 7,00010,000 new players in less than two years. It is

important to note that few sports experienced such growth,” said Ms. BarkerKing, explaining that she was happy that such an opportunity was at their disposal though the efforts of Mr. Hussain. Through partnerships with the Scouts Association of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union, Nexgen Global has been able to establish a fully lighted Driving Range and Academy

in Georgetown and now can offer training to approximately 14,000 Teachers as a part of that affiliation.

The cost of learning the game for children is as low as $500 per hour and the facility is open daily until 20:00hrs.

Persons interested in joining the Academy can call 645 0944 or visit the Nexgen Golf Academy Facebook page.

rt o p S

Shamilia Connell hard at work with new coaching staff in Antigua camp

Secondary Schools’ Golf pilot programme commence RHTY&SC Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu receives sponsorship from Joshanna Marcus of Farfan and Mendes Ltd.

Farfan and Mendes and RHTY&SC inks sponsorship deal for 25th year

London Marathon organisers ‘optimistic’ 2021 race will have record 50,000 runners

National Community Basketball League launched

The NCBL launched their initiative yesterday at Sleepin International Hotel & Casino.

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