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AIETEUR NEWS

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UN Secretary General calls for p.

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Saturday Edition July 11, 2020 - Vol. 14 No. 27

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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swift elections declaration

Online readership yesterday 156,450

Lowenfield fails to submit elections report * tells Commission he didn’t understand instructions given * leaves in a hurry claiming he received a death threat * GECOM Chair demands compliance by 11am today p. 8

Remove persons obstructing electoral process - OAS to GECOM Chair says Stabroek Block holds over Wood 7 trillion cubic feet of gas Mackenzie

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Three foreigners arrested in Meten-Meer-Zorg; gun seized p.

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Lowenfield bound to use Recount results Granger’s newly appointed Army Chief tells ABCE countries he will abide by the Constitution

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Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 02

Three foreigners arrested in Meten-Meer-Zorg; gun seized The gun seized

T

hree Spanishspeaking men who residents noticed were acting suspiciously were last night arrested at Meten-

M e e r - Z o r g , We s t C o a s t Demerara.

According to residents, a group of men were seen crossing a bridge near the

seawall area around 8 pm y e s t e r d a y, c a u s i n g a l e r t residents to take notice. They had claimed they were headed to the hinterlands.

One man was found with a .38 revolver while another with an ice pick. The men were caught by residents and handed over to the police.

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

PAGE 03

Four political parties demand Lowenfield to be fired T

he Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), The Citizenship Initiative (TCI), The New Movement (TNM) as well as the United Republican Party (URP), have called for the immediate dismissal of Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, following a plethora of actions from him aimed at further delaying and hindering the electoral process.

In four separate statements to the press last evening, the four smaller parties made their frustration known with the electoral proceedings, as one party even related that the country is being held hostage by Lowenfield through his reluctance to comply with instructions from his superior.

The TNM in their statement said that Lowenfield has acted ultra vires on numerous occasions and had done so again yesterday, after the Chair of

Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield

[From left], Presidential Candidates of LJP, Lennox Shuman; TCI's Rondha Lam; URP's Dr. Vishnu Bandhu, and TNM's Dr. Asha Kissoon the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice (ret'd) Claudette Singh, had written to him with clear and specific instructions, which were, however, not executed.

“His very actions” TNM said, “has held an entire nation at ransom and snatched the people's

democratic freedom. Mr. Lowenfield has been noted to peddle an erroneous statement in June 2020 saying that he is not bounded by the directives of GECOM but has stated publicly in 2019 that it was GECOM who by constitutional order, instructs him.”

Based on the above

citation, the TNM made an appeal to Justice Singh to fire Lowenfield, tomorrow [today], if he fails to comply with the directives set out in her letter dated July 9, 2020 and the follow up letter dated July 10th, 2020. To further cement their request, the party made note of private criminal charges filed

against the CEO for fraud and misconduct. That matter was called to court on Monday morning, but Lowenfield failed to appear, following which he was summoned by the Magistrates.

The party went on to say that, “His (Lowenfield) blatant disrespect has tested

our patience but we will not continue to have GECOM let one of their main staff go rogue anymore.

We will reiterate that we firmly believe GECOM needs to act and take stern steps to curb his malicious actions by simply discharging him of his duties. Please act for the people of Guyana, in all justice and fairness. We have had enough. Terminate the services of Lowenfield and declare the results.”

The leader of the United (continued on page 7)

Lowenfield bound to use Recount results

By Kemol King

C

hief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield is bound to submit a report on the results of the national recount, as he has been so instructed on several occasions, a restriction that has been pointed out across several documents and which has been most recently affirmed by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

The results of the national recount have shown that the People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) won the elections with 233,336 votes, ahead of the APNU+AFC coalition's 217,920 votes. On June 16, the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh took note of the end of the national recount and the necessity for a swift conclusion of the electoral process and instructed Lowenfield to submit a report on the results of the recount.

This had followed an attempt by Lowenfield in his preliminary report, to invalidate nearly 270,000 votes in a bid to hand a false victory to APNU+AFC on trumped up claims of voter impersonation and

irregularities. The Chair resisted his attempts, pointing to the need for any question of the validity of the election to be investigated by the High Court in an elections petition, after the elections.

Her letter had stated, “Pursuant to Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03, you are hereby requested to prepare and submit your report by 13:00 hrs, on 18th June, 2020 using the results of the recount for consideration by the Commission.”

Lowenfield disregarded the Chair's clear instructions, as a motion was filed in the Court of Appeal by a woman named Eslyn David, an agent of the coalition, to give Lowenfield legal cover to invalidate votes.

On the very day, it was announced that the CARICOM Scrutineer Team had completed its report on its observation of the national recount, in which it declared that the elections were “reasonably credible” and that the recount results should form the basis for the declaration of the elections results.

“The Team notes that

there were some irregularities at the 2020 elections,” the Team had stated, “which were revealed through the very transparent national recount, but none of these irregularities and shortcomings are sufficient nor substantial cause, to call the 2020 results into q u e s t i o n … t h e Te a m

categorically rejects the public efforts to discredit the 2020 poll up to the disastrous Region 4 tabulations.

Despite our concerns, nothing that we witnessed warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the

declaration of the results of the March 02, 2020 Elections.”

The team report went on to declare, “We are of the unshakeable belief that the people of Guyana expressed their will at the ballot box, and as a result, the 3 person CARICOM Observer Team concludes that the recount

results are completely acceptable.”

As for the Coalition's claims about the credibility of the elections, the Team had stated “Any aggrieved political party has been afforded the right to seek redress before the courts in the form of an election (continued on page 16)

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Saturday July 11, 2020

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

Lust for Power L e t u s c u t t o t h e c h a s e r i g h t a w a y. T h e APNU+AFC coalition will settle for one thing and one outcome only. It is that what it presents is accepted.

It is that once that is accepted, that it be declared the winner of the nation’s elections.

It is time to cut out all the silliness about in-depth analysis and chess moves and visions, and the rest of that kind of well-meaning nonsense. At least, that is what each new antic of the coalition group, as articulated or postured by willing henchmen, represents, and signifies, in its essence and to the fullest extent.

This is not any longer about the righteous indignation of a political group that has been cheated and robbed blind at the polls and inside of ballot boxes, or one spiritedly pretending to be so grievously injured.

Even those pious postures that once earned sympathetic listening and following have dwindled into skeletal brittleness, which crumbles at not the slightest touch, but at the most fleeting of glances.

That is the shallowness and dismissiveness, with which each new shaky coalition tactic and development is greeted.

The coalition leader has sacrificed credibility on the altar of expediency. His group must emerge triumphant, regardless of the damage done to his own reputation and the psychological wreckages strewn across the face of this nation.

Victory is what paramount, with all else being viewed as acceptable collateral damage. These are the unimaginable and unprecedented brinks to which our local politics drives men and makes unrecognizable misfits of all of us. The primary objective, the bottom-line result, is that electoral success must happen, and if it cannot happen through legitimate efforts and processes, then any other way that works will have to do.

It does not matter who has to be denied. It is of no consequence whatever the sweep and degree international sanction or local pressure or regional opprobrium that is brought to bear. What matters is winning, of not losing, of not surrendering or conceding.

With such a manner of thinking, this intensity of character in leader and advisor and follower, another day and yet more interminable delay does not matter.

Along the same vein, it does not count for anything that warnings are uttered, scorn is heaped, and the disreputable becomes an inseparable aspect of any association with and regard for the ranking membership of the coalition, and all the way to the very top.

Another day sacrificed, yet another week wasted, and still another lost weekend looms. In this instance of elections and results and who should be declared to be what and take their place where, these lusts are best reduced to one word: power.

It is this lust for power that compels and hurtles towards unfeeling, unthinking, and unblinking delusions.

The delusion of having stood for copyrighted falsehoods for so long, that what is of the truthful, what is about integrity and credibility, is discernible no more. There is only one truth: the utter falsehood believed with fanatical devotion: we are triumphant.

We will not let go. We must overcome.

Through this mindset is traced and retraced the now all too familiar pattern of interpreting and arguing, of hedging and stonewalling and always with one objective in mind: there is no other way.

Encomium for Glenn Lall in combating theft DEAR EDITOR, I commend publisher Glenn Lall for his consistent and determined effort to combat all kinds of fraud – stealing of forest resources, oil, land, ballots, money, people, buildings, state corporations, among others.

Some politicians worked in cahoots with crooked business people to defraud the state in exchange for kickbacks – a common occurrence among politicians, which Lall’s media house has consistently opposed. In addition to fighting against electoral banditry, Lall has filed a private citizen charge against ‘tiefing’ of our precious land resource that has been happening at unchecked pace since December 2018. He has displayed a rare courage among Guyanese to publicly take on those engaged in fraud and wrongdoing. I have not seen such courage since the struggle for free and fair elections during the dictatorship. He and others who championed democracy and fought against corruption deserve accolades. The work of others in championing democracy and combating corruption going back to the mid-1960s should be recognized.

Ironically, July is a historic month as it is the anniversary of several electoral banditries.

Lall’s courageous stance reminds me of those brave individuals involved in that noble struggle since 1966 to combat electoral fraud and stealing of state resources (including money). Few have demonstrated their indomitable spirit to take on riggers and barefaced thieves.

May I salute those valiant warriors who combated fraud in a long arduous struggle that restored free and fair elections in 1992. Readers need to be reminded of some frauds and efforts to combat them.

July 10/11 is the anniversary of the 1978 theft (rigging) of the referendum that changed the democratic (British imposed, referred to as the white man’s) constitution with a head of state to oversee the actions of the head of government.

Burnham was opposed to oversight and restricted powers. He created his own constitution removing checks and balances and creating an all powerful presidency, giving himself that title from 1980 till death in August 1985.

Desmond Hoyte and all successors have retained that sham constitution of a

powerful president with unlimited powers. That constitution that grants monstrous powers to a President is primarily responsible for the problems we face today with yet another rigging, ‘tiefing’ of land and oil money, among other jhanjat (worries).

Had the country reverted back to the 1966 independence constitution, as promised by those who combated electoral fraud, much of the current day problems and the need for the valiant actions of Lall and others would not have been warranted. The independence constitution restricts powers of the executive, allows for a (Governor General as head of state appointed by the British Crown) and a separate executive (Prime Minister), empowers an independent credible court (that would never say 33 is not a majority of 65) to address legal grievances, creates a professional bureaucracy and police, ensures separation of powers, militates against racism, among other real benefits of the nation. So many fought for the restoration of democracy that occurred in 1992 and were promised that the Burnham constitution would be

abolished. Forty years later, we wait with bated breath.

We must not forget the contributions of those who battled and are still fighting against that constitution.

They were/are all heroes though their work was never recognized by beneficiaries.

I also recall those (as I also was a participant rounding up voters) who waged war against the December 1968 fraud, which manufactured the two-thirds majority to amend the independence constitution removing the Privy Council as final court of appeal and replacing the British appointed Governor General with a titular President. This period saw the introduction of the ban on (imperialist) imports including religious items. Then came the July 17, 1973 election rigging that further empowered Burnham to take over almost all private businesses, schools, means of transportation, banks, etc.

I remember joining protests on the Corentyne and being confronted by gun toting security forces. I saw ballots strewn among cane and rice fields and along the coastline of the Atlantic in Port Mourant. Soldiers dumped legitimate ballots marked for (Continued on page 5)

The games Guyanese play Dear Editor, Many who take Guyana’s politics so seriously that they commit heart and soul to it, end up losing their minds. I came uncomfortably close but am grateful that higher callings returned swiftly. I say this because anyone who thinks that Guyanese politics possesses the positive, principled, or constructive are living a full-out lie and making utter fools of themselves. As I review our political proceedings and the related characters and behaviours, there is this immovable conclusion: it is a game.

Nothing more, nothing less, and all that counts is winning, which is the only thing.

I read of men pretending to the national interest, lauding the grandeur of the CCJ’s ruling. I take my hat off before the CCJ. As for Guyanese political men, I laugh at them. I do so because I remember what others forget. Not too long ago, sometime before the noconfidence motion, I recall local political bigwigs praising the CCJ uttering harsh words about the CCJ. The same was said of CARICOM. In essence, each has to prove what they stand for, what they are really about, deep down. Wrapped inside of that I detected this, to which I limit myself: the

refereeing could be one way only: ours. It is that or damnation.

Otherwise, integrity and credibility would not be assailed. They clap at getting a call that goes their way. I agree with the call, not their games.

It is the same favourable or critical and dismissive postures, in the instances of CARICOM and GECOM. They must do as bid, as willed through sheer force of propagated rightness, as defined by one side or the other. And the armchair army of worker bees stand for things in this domestic political game in the same unerring manner. If it is in favour of us, it is good; if it is against, then it is of the corrupt and the conspiratorial. Lovely people we are; aren’t we! Winning at all costs, I call it, even when such means running over the honestly disagreeing, delaying whimsically, and coming up with concoctions that are pathetic and infantile, that even children would summarily dismiss what is, at best, a schoolyard game.

I watch from an increasing remove our elections in this country, and I observe largely unprincipled men (our politics attract and drag along similarly made up women) lose whatever slivers of decency, of integrity, that

they may have once had.

They did not start out with much, but that was all that the Guyanese game of politics required, with the lesser the better. In that way, the wrestling in mud and gutter could be relished even more.

Rather disgustingly, I also behold many in this society, people I once thought of harbouring some dignity and thoughtfulness, surrender willingly and enthusiastically to the tribal bugle calls that gurgle from the cesspit. This is what we call politics and elections and governance, and we love it.

Proud racists preen on slippery slopes to rationalize the irrational; believers profane their sacred teachings to blaspheme against what is right; the learned abandon education to defend the indefensible, and all shed their skins and jump into this death dealing game. Slick men slice verbal hairs with battle axes grown blunt from overuse in the arena, while they gave up all pretenses as to ideals and truths, of diversity and inclusion. Just give what is desired; just allow to the victory pedestal. Let my people triumph, and none other. This is what sleazy players have gambled all and brought along their young ones to savour the blood and thunder in Guyana’s the rank

asininity, the heart of Guyana’s racial political scrabble. Sometimes we call it political science; it must be of the kind propounded by the KKK or Machiavelli or some of our own unrestrained brethren on social media.

Look at us! We are having the time of our lives, as we cavort nakedly before the world without shame. This is what is cherished and cheered.

After the waste, the spotlight is on GECOM. That means one person: the chairwoman. What will she do with whatever report is delivered to her, if any? Any way she moves or goes, she is Delilah and Jezebel and the mother of them all: a serpentine elections Eve; a floor crosser.

In Guyana, that is worse than a cross-dresser. I pray for her. She, too, has had her share of heckling and cursing, when her calls have not gone in anticipated ways. Now in this game of ours, she has to make the biggest call yet, of her life possibly; in a matter of mere months, she has lost many good years.

Now the game has one round left. Somebody will be knocked down. This nation could stay down. It is all part of the game, the games Guyanese play.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Saturday July 11, 2020

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

Has any other political entity destroyed itself and its ethnic constituency like the PNC? DEAR EDITOR, Ethno-politics is simple.

You advance your kith and kin ahead of others. Very simple. But not so simple with the PNC. In the 54 years of rabid Guyanese race politics since Independence, the PNC or a PNC-dominated entity has held power for 31 years.

Yet the PNC’s ethnic constituency, AfricanGuyanese, has suffered the worst economic degradation in those 54 years compared to any other ethnic constituency. This current election criminality, immorality, arrogance and banality driven by the PNC sheds a lot of light on why the PNC has consistently smashed its knee on the neck of its ethnic constituency in those past 54 years. The PPP has its own history of selfdestruction but the PNC is in another extraordinary league of its own. It has wrecked itself and its ethnic base at every critical juncture. The strategic and intellectual wasteland that is Congress Place is staggering.

When the PNC gained power in 1964 backed by the West, capitalist Guyana had the 50th highest GDP per capita in the world. Yes, 50th highest! What happened between 1964 and 1992 was eminently outrageous.

Despite the backing of the capitalist West, an incredible foundation for capitalist economic takeoff and proven success from Singapore and others from playing the ideological game to obtain massive Western capital infusions to gain economic glory, the PNC alarmingly went socialist in a country

where it lacked majority support (essential for socialist success) and where the majority of the country was naturally capitalistic in nature.

The result was the slaughter of African entrepreneurship and capitalist fervor. The PNC killed it so a few idiots controlling the PNC could use Africans under the cover of a socialist system to remain in power. The PNC pulled and pushed Africans from productive entrepreneurial activity into a statedominated socialist economy that soon collapsed wiping out over a hundred years of African generational wealth and entrepreneurial spirit in just over a decade. It took one decade for a hundred years of African struggle for economic emancipation to be erased by the PNC! Those left out of that state jobs largesse for PNC party card holders went the entrepreneurial and emigration route. They built wealth and capital and in doing so better handled the detonation and implosion of the public sector and the collapse of the economy.

They were economically way ahead of the PNC’s ethnic constituency when the dust settled.

To add to the economic ruin of its ethnic constituency, the PNC accelerated free market reforms in 1988 without any buffer to protect its vulnerable constituency from the frothing feeding frenzy that ensued. Imagine these were people who held absolute power to pass any law they wanted and they did

nothing! The resulting bloodbath for the PNC’s already economically annihilated constituency was staggering.

Add the ethnocentric policies of the PPP mirroring the PNC’s ethnocratic sickness and Africans fell further into a hole.

Then the PNC went to “slo-fyah mo-fyah” after the 1997 election. After running around Georgetown for months, they shamefully signed an accord that focused solely on trying to gain political power rather than focus on economic equalization for their constituency. The political power never materialized and the social and economic wreckage of the PNC’s ethnic constituency continued.

Then the PNC landed back in power in 2015 and again, true to form, it did what its DNA dictated; nothing for economic equalization and African economic empowerment. And again, the trap was set and sprung against itself and its base.

Now, here we are with the PNC trying to bare facedly steal an election that it would have won if it had called an election right after the noconfidence vote with Jagdeo’s political pawn, Alli, hugely disliked by PPP supporters. Instead, we got a tragic APNU resort to criminality, despotism, bullyism, stupidity and political bestiality that turned a win into a shattering loss.

David Granger and the PNC sat on a constitutional reform report for almost 4 years that would have saved the PNC and its base now. But here we

Encomium for Glenn Lall in...

From page 4 PPP or Liberator Party, replacing them with fraudulent votes for the PNC. On election day and for several days, I was in the protest with elders on the road top observing armoured vehicles rolling on the Corentyne intimidating and threatening people. The soldiers directed their guns on the protesters. It was that election day that soldiers martyred three freedom fighters in Skeldon. Five years later, I ‘skulled’ college joining the protest in front of the Guyana Consulate in New York on 38 Street, 2nd Ave

against the July 10, 1978 rigged referendum. I was on the picket line again in December 1980 and December 1985 to protest rigged elections. (I was also in similar protests in front of the CG for several days when Walter Rodney was assassinated by Burnham).

And now we come to the attempted ‘tiefing’ of the 2020 elections by Mingo and Lowenfield. The independent

media is with the nation combating electoral fraud and exposing stealing of land.

Those being involved in land grab must be brought to book.

Thank you Glenn Lall for taking on this battle. Your name will be recorded in the history books for standing up to corruption and electoral fraud.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

are with the PNC trying to choke and rob Guyana of what it could have achieved by legitimate, decent and sensible means.

This is the shameful legacy of the PNC to its ethnic African constituency. It is one of terrifyingly lame-brained decision-making, abuse of its constituency and a dangerous orientation to dishonesty and authoritarianism that impedes any sense of clarity and tactical awareness. And the PNC is now a political movement run by trained military minds whom Guyanese taxpayers have spent billions to train in tactical awareness all over the world! If the self-induced gunshot wound from the noconfidence vote fallout wasn’t enough, the electoral filthiness has now irrevocably banished the PNC to Hades.

It has slaughtered any chance of power sharing. It has exacerbated race politics

when it has the minority position. It has damaged the social currency Africans had.

It has unveiled the true nasty nature of race politics. It has ramped up ethnic fear and agitation with its antics. It has exterminated any realistic chance of winning crossover voter support. It has ticked off the international community.

It has put a shotgun to our sovereignty just when we are fighting for it at the ICJ. If the PNC continues this charade, it will invite lethal force upon itself.

The PNC will now have Africans marauding in the streets of Georgetown under an abjectly false narrative of being cheated. It will not move on. It cannot move on. It has never moved on. It is trapped in the miasmic sadness of the worst excesses of failed ethno-politics. The PPP grumbled after losing the last election by 0.3 percent but it moved on, rebuilt support and won the next election. Its

constituency moved on, adjusting and adapting and seizing on economic opportunities under APNU rule to further deepen the economic divide the PNC started by spectacularly destroying African economic power. The PNC is still trying more than a year after a noconfidence vote to bludgeon Guyana into submission to its nasty wrongdoing. In that year, it did nothing to equalize the economic playfield in order to protect its constituency. It did not implement its own constitutional reform report.

It has done absolutely nothing! It is a sad tale of thieving laziness on display here with this electoral mess.

And here it is trying to commit kick-down-door electoral banditry when it has left its own constituency door-less and rammed its knee on their collective neck.

Yours faithfully, M. Maxwell

Claudette Singh and delays DEAR EDITOR, In 2010, Barack Obama took responsibility for what he described as a “systemic failure” that resulted in an alleged terrorist boarding a flight to the United States.

Obama noted that “[u]ltimately, the buck stops with me.”The same must apply to GECOM Chairperson, Claudette Singh, with respect to the systematic attempt by some in GECOM to subvert Guyana’s 2020 elections.

As per the usual

operating standard, the Chair called a meeting for July 9, 2020 to address the election declaration. This was rescheduled to July 10, 2020; the reason being that the Government Commissioners needed time to study the July 8, 2020 judgment of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

It is probably not lost on these commissioners that the judgment was available to all and sundry on the court’s website. If they were so inclined, it was readily accessible. The inevitable

conclusion is that something is afoot. As Guyana has come to expect, these routine delays are followed by further mischief. These exhaustingly repetitive and sordid events have destroyed every shred of credibility of the characters involved.

The Chair of GECOM is ultimately accountable to Guyana. Her actions and inactions have held this country hostage. Ultimately, the buck stops with Claudette Singh.

Kowlasar Misir

PAGE 6

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

My pandemic stressors DEAR EDITOR, It was a draining, depletive, even frightening experience, nightmarish in its proportions, which left me sleepless and deeply unsettled – unintelligibly.

But last night’s psychological turmoil, as it turned out, erupted from real day-to-day experiences over recent past weeks, and up to the evening of July 02. I could never have conceived that individually and collectively they had plumbed my subconscious so deeply.

The first scenario had to do with my futile engagement with a bank, with which I have been associated since it was opened in this country; than whose managers and employees am decades older.

They insist that after all this time, they would no longer

honour my cheques issued to payees that hold no accounts with them, despite the fact that the latter would have been the same recipients over the years. The reason given was to avoid/contain the COVID19 infection – a reason with which I am still grappling.

How does having an account at any bank becomes a successful intervention against any infection?

Unfortunately, over the weeks of exchanges, and despite its international proclamation to provide special assistance to ‘senior’ customers like myself, my representation was dismissed, with a warning that this ‘senior’ customer would not be listened to again.

In the meantime, appeals to related agencies have fallen on deaf ears. The Central Bank

has not even acknowledged my submission thereto. (En passant, I have always bemused myself that organisations of such importance would have an automatic system of acknowledging even (wayward) correspondence).

Until last night, I did not realise that such an organisational performance deficit had also insinuated itself into my subliminal state of stress.

As it turned out similar submissions to legal colleagues did not appear to impress. Was I then exceptionally incoherent?

As if to compound my confusion, and in a separate vein, the newspaper with which I have related over decades, has recently refused to publish my letters to the

Editor, as well as to commit to an explanation therefore.

Another demoralising experience.

But if the foregoing provided the ingredients for a cake of some kind, the tasteless icing recalled was in the form of having this loner’s TV companionship suspended – the reason stated mutely on the screen that ‘the channel was not subscribed to’. A number was provided to call. So I did, only to be greeted by a recording advising that there would be a seven minute wait. I gave up after 20 minutes actually, having listened to repetitious recordings of how great the agency was and how caring it was of ‘valued customers’.

My ineptitude forced resort to a young visiting family member with his adept cell

phone was able to reach another more responsive number at the Network, on which a live person admitted that they had mistakenly terminated a service which in fact had been fully subscribed.

Although reunited with my regular channels, I could not help reflecting on the further implications of this age of robotics, and the automatic distancing between live animals, some of whom are also human beings.

In desperate aloneness, I found that increasingly, I had to resign myself to the admission of my incapacity to grapple with the challenges of this technological pandemic

DEAR EDITOR, I write this letter as a representative of all Guyanese under the age of 18. We, as a group do not have the privilege to participate in the voting process as yet.

However, some of us still observe the elections process. We follow the news and listen to the programmes to form educated conclusions.

All Guyanese, both here in Guyana and overseas, know that it has been 131 days since the elections occurred on March 2. Over that period, it has become more evident every day who has won the plurality of the votes of the Guyanese voting populace. However, the losing side has been obstinate in admitting their loss. They, therefore, have descended to various forms of lies, trickery, and manipulation of facts in a bid to convince the public that these elections were affected

by widespread fraud and illegalities. They have brought up baseless allegations of dead and foreign nationals voting.

They have also made false allegations of voter impersonation (an act which GECOM’s own Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield, declared in 2015 on video recording to be “just not possible”). In all of this, the losers have not brought a single shred of evidence to support their position.

They’ve also decided to attack and verbally abuse persons, many of whom are foreign dignitaries, who, using simple logic, dispel their lies and trickery. Even persons and organizations who stand on the side of the supremacy of the law are not safe from their nasty diatribe.

It seems to be that these obstinate losers are willing to ruin their reputations and relations with foreign governments and diplomats

to grasp onto power.

To preserve democracy around the world, foreign powers like the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom resort to sanctions to remove undemocratically installed governments.

Punitive actions by these powers can be against personal actors who participate in rigging, against organizations (private and public) or governments.

Punishment, however, can only be applied if there is wrongdoing that resulted in the will of the Guyanese electorate being disrespected and discarded. If Guyana is subject to reprimand due to the actions of a greedy few, this will be an unfair punishment to all Guyanese who cannot vote. Collective punishment for all Guyanese when only a few have decided to participate in electoral fraud is not only unjust but also an assault against the rights of Guyanese. These are the

same rights, which we fought to preserve since independence.

I, Jordon Nelson, therefore, plead with the APNU+AFC cabal to willingly concede that you have lost these elections. I am begging Mr. Granger, who is selfproclaimed to be a man of honesty and integrity, do not punish hundreds of thousands of innocent children for the sins of a few.

Please, show that you are a true patriot and a true son of the soil. Any action that varies from what is right, fair, and lawful will result in future generations of Guyanese judging your character.

I will end this epistle with a quote from Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, which states: “Democracy is worth dying for because it’s the most deeply honourable form of government ever devised by man.”

Yours truly, Jordon Nelson

DEAR EDITOR, With due respect to all advocates of Shared Governance (SG), that’s how it should be: Winner takes all.

It is designed to foster competition among political parties - to win support in all constituencies. If a party falls short of the required 51% to take power, it must be allowed to form a post-elections Coalition. This has been a tested principle that works well for a hundred years.

(1) Let’s imagine a society with two racial groups- A & B. Two ethnic parties emerge.

A is 60% of the population.

Of course, A will always win; B would be seething - and B would be planning and instigating ethnic unrest.

The lesson pundits draw from the above scenario is to advocate SG. I tend to agree, but wait a minute. What happens if the two groups do mix in the cultural sphere, celebrate each other’s festivals, play cricket together, drink together in the rum shops, their political parties do have members of the alternate race group?

WHY must their parties still be perceived ethnic? Why are they drawing so low percentages of cross-racial voting? Herein lies the solution to the problem. Party A (Indian) must elect an African to be their leader (Nunes, Brindley Benn, Ashton Chase, Juan Edghill, Luncheon).

This act shall change the politic dynamic. Deep changes in the consciousness of all races will take place. Party B (African) must do the same. It is a very practical solution to the problem.

(2) Concepts of SG or Inclusive Govt. (IG) will not work. None of the parties wants it anyway. A waste of time discussing it.

(3) Actual situation.

which had stressed me into a truly psychological nightmare.

I am hoping that in the absence of any counselling resource, this exposition will help to restore my sense of balance, while earning some sympathy from colleagues and other readers, that however disjointed may be the aforementioned scenarios, they compose a canvass that, for a night at least, overcame a single unsupported spiritual psyche.

But my immediate apology goes out to my neighbours who would have heard my wakeful shouting Help! Help!

Please bear with me.

Distraught

Guyana needs professional help to overcome its Please, answer the call for democracy practice of ethnic politics Indians (PPP) are no longer 51% or 60% of the population. They are 38 39%. They won significant cross-racial votes. Hence, the rationale for SG or IG does not exist anymore. The perception still exists that PPP is Indian. This perception problem cannot be wished away. Let PPP go figure out how to change that tagged-perception. Certainly, they would make no progress - if they insist on Indians only must be their presidential candidate. The other side (Africans) controls all the organs of the State police, army, bureaucracy and stands poised at the gates ready to throw the PPP out. PPP absolutely needs to be perceived as a genuine multi-racial party, if only to mitigate the hostility coming from the African side.

(4) SG and IG are not the solutions for what ails Guyana’s race politics. The solution lies in outlawing ethnic parties. ABC and EU countries must perform an enlightened mediator’s role – to “gently nudge” both parties to become genuinely multiracial.

Guyana has other problems. Deep-state factors are deeply embedded in all organs of the State. (It’s not only in GECOM - but in every organ of the State). It is as if Guyana’s landscape is not conducive for the practice of democracy: Rule of Law and Free and Fair Elections. Even the Courts have been affected with proPNC deep state factors. To transform Guyana into a Rule of Law State requires a lot of work. Only help from ABC and EU and Singapore can help effect that transformation. There is no way Guyana’s fractured society can do it on its own.

Mike Persaud

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

PAGE 07

Stabroek Block holds over 7 trillion cubic feet of gas E

v e n a s ExxonMobil c o n t i n u e s assessments on the quantity of gas it has discovered, there are some industry experts which already have a fair idea of the resources that have been uncovered.

S p e c i f i c a l l y, Wo o d Mackenzie, one of the leading firms on comprehensive petroleum data, noted in a report seen

by Kaieteur News that over 7.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of associated and nonassociated gas has been discovered across the block.

When invited to provide ExxonMobil's estimates to date and how much it would cost to bring the gas to

- Wood Mackenzie shore, the company's Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud said that evaluations of discoveries in the Stabroek Block are still being done.

Persaud said, “It is important to note that the majority of the associated gas will be part of future liquids development, which is essentially reinjection for enhanced oil recovery.”

Further to this, the official said that there are a number of factors that go into the cost of bringing gas t o shore while adding that the evaluation with the

government is ongoing. She was keen to note that ExxonMobil has a gas working group with the government which is considering potential pipeline landing sites and other components of the project.

With no ready infrastructure or gas market in Guyana, Wood Mackenzie in its report assumed that any gas not used in-field for fuel purposes or flared will be re-injected.

The consultancy group said that the gas re-injection can constitute an important

enhanced-recovery mechanism but can have its limits. In this regard, it noted that full re-injection may result in gas recycling, increasing gas-to-oil ratio (GOR) with time.

Ultimately, the company said that gas recycling will top the gas-processing capacity of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO), consequently limiting oil production.

Wood Mac added that Brazilian pre-salt fields face similar challenges.

It said that operators temporarily shut down wells with unusually high GOR and put spare wells in operation to sustain oil production rates.

It said that this reservoir

management strategy requires additional wells to be drilled in advance, thereby increasing capital expenditure (CapEx).

Wood Mac said, “It may become necessary to find an alternative means of disposal for this gas if reinjection capacity is limited.”

In addition, Wood Mac said that two gas and condensate discoveries (Pluma and Haimara) have been made and they will require a long-term gas solution to be developed. It said that the government may also want to see the gas used in some domestic capacity.

In this regard, it said that options available to the government include

bringing a pipeline to shore and having a floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) technology.

With respect to the former, Wood Mackenzie said that a pipeline could provide gas to supply the domestic market while noting that the most obvious use would be thermal power generation.

As for the latter, it said that this is a monetization option that is becoming increasingly economic, with projects now operational in Malaysia and Cameroon.

It said that the obvious market for cargoes is Trinidad and Tobago, which has a large industrial market for gas but is facing falling domestic supply.

window on the bottom flat, approaching the window and peeking inside.

He then located a piece of stick nearby and used it to pull something closer to him. When the object was within his reach, he grabbed and exited the yard immediately.

At sunrise when the occupa nts a woke, they realized that their cellphones were missing.

The phones were left on

a table that was positioned close to the open window.

Guyana records four new cases Bandit jumps fence, steals as COVID-19 reaches Region 8 cellphones from house with “stick”

T

he Ministry of Public Health y e s t e r d a y reported four new COVID19 cases in Guyana, bringing the total number to 290 for persons who have now tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

According to the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr. Karen Boyle, Region Eight is the newest region to report a positive case.

As a result, she said, nine out of ten regions now have coronavirus cases. She said

that the death toll remains at 16 and the total number of persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has reduced to six.

Dr. Boyle also highlighted that a total of 134 persons have recovered from the virus and the total number of active cases have decreased a little to 140.

Nevertheless, she told Guyanese that Guyana's cases are still on the increase and admonished them to adhere to the precautions.

The DCMO went on to

make reference to a study conducted by the Public Health Ministry and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

The study revealed that Guyanese fears of becoming infected by Covid-19 have decreased significantly from 81.6% to 53.5% with a significant number of persons reporting their unwillingness to give up their daily practices and adhere to guidelines provided by health authorities.

Four political parties...

From page 3 Republican Party (URP) Dr. Vishnu Bandhu shared the views of TNM as he called on Justice Singh “to get stern with the persistent insolence of Lowenfield and draw on the relevant clauses at her disposal to terminate the services of an individual who continues to hold back the socio-economic, and political fortitude of an entire nation.”

Meanwhile, The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) noted with concern that the CEO is unsure of how to comply with clear directives received from the head of the Commission, which has now forced the Chair to reissue her instructions for the third time.

“TCI is of the opinion, that with previous elections experience under his belt, the

CEO is more than aware of how his job should be done.

In light of this background, the CEO's action can possibly be construed as insubordinate action against Madame Chair,” they said.

They continued, “We posit that Guyana's constitution in Article 161 A (1) gives the Elections Commission responsibility for the efficient functioning of the Secretariat, and appointment of its officers.

The Commission, therefore, has the power to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over such staff. Section 18 of the Election Laws Act No 15 of 2000 stipulates that the CEO is subject to the direction and control of the Commission.”

TCI proposes that should CEO Lowenfield appear to

continue to be reluctant or perhaps even appear unable to efficiently complete his duties as per deadline issued, that the Chair exercises disciplinary control as the case may warrant.

The LJP, headed by Lennox Shuman, also called on Justice Singh and the Commissioners of GECOM to ensure strict compliance

by Lowenfield with its instructions, and in the absence thereof, to take stern disciplinary actions, up to and including his removal from office as previously advocated for by the LJP. “The will of the people must be respected and reflected by a declaration using the figures generated from the recount exercise,” the LJP said in their statement.

S

ecurity cameras captured a bandit scaling a fence and using a piece of stick to remove cell phones from the bottom flat of a two-storey house.

The robbery recorded on the footage took place at around 04:00 hrs on Friday last at a house in 1st Field Section B, South Sophia.

After scaling the fence, the bandit searched around and noticed an open

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Lowenfield failed to submit elections report tells Commission he didn’t understand instructions given leaves in a hurry claiming he received a death threat GECOM Chair demands compliance by 11am today

By Shikema Dey

GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh rtd.

G

uyana's Chief Elections Officer (CEO) yesterday failed to present to the Commission his final elections report using the figures from the National Recount since he needed further 'clarification' resulting in the GECOM Chair ordering him to return with the report as directed by 11am today.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Ret'd Justice Claudette Singh had on Thursday evening wrote to the CEO with clear instructions that he should present to the Commission, his final report on Friday at 2pm. Her instructions followed the landmark judgment delivered by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in the Jagdeo Ali et al appeal case.

In her July 9 letter to the CEO, the Chair had said “Pursuant to Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03; you are hereby requested to prepare and submit your report on the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections by 2pm on July 10 using the valid votes counted in the National Recount as per Certificates of Recount generated therefrom.”

She also reminded the CEO that Section 18 of the Election Laws Act 15 of 2000 stipulates that he is subjected

Lowenfield's vehicle leaving GECOM HQ

Commissioner Sase Gunraj

Commissioner Bibi Shadick

to the “direction and control” of the Commission.

On Friday, however, Commissioners from both sides of the political divide and the Chair turned up for the meeting, expecting to be presented with a report but this did not happen. Instead, the CEO presented a letter to the Commission in which he sought 'clarity' on her directives.

Lowenfield told the Chair, in his letter, that he reviewed the July 8 judgment of the CCJ and said that, “some clarifications are imperative prior to the preparation and submission of the requested report to safeguard against any action deemed to be unilateral.”

The CEO pointed to paragraphs 41 and 45 of the CCJ's ruling where they “endorsed the view that GECOM cannot determine credibility, so therefore the Recount Order No. 60 cannot be executed in its entirety.”

As a consequence, he

said, a final credible count as conceived by the Commission and as expressed in the Recount Order “cannot be attained.”

Lowenfield told the Chair that her “missive suggests a change in operation procedures” and asked for clear guidance on whether the final report should be based on the ten district declarations being held in abeyance or rather the figures from the National Recount in light of the CCJ's judgment.

The CCJ ruled that the Court of Appeal (COA) did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case presented by private citizen Eslyn David and consequently, they invalidated Lowenfield's report dated June 22 where he sought to dump 115,844 valid votes, citing the COA ruling as justification.

“Death threat” After presenting his 'clarification' letter to the Commission, the CEO hurriedly exited the GECOM

Commissioner Vincent Alexander Headquarters with his security in tow.

O p p o s i t i o n Commissioner Bibi Shadick followed shortly after and told the media that Lowenfield left because he claimed he received a “death threat”.

Media operatives camped outside the GECOM HQ, saw an ambulance in the compound while Lowenfield was exiting, raising suspicions that he may have fallen ill. However, when the ambulance left empty and Lowenfield with his entourage followed.

She told the press that when the CEO presented his letter, “he said he didn't understand, he seeking to quote the CCJ judgment and misquoting the judgment.”

A discussion ensued, she explained, and shortly after the Chair provided the clarity sought by the CEO and took the decision to send a further letter reiterating her instructions.

While the Chair was p r e p a r i n g h e r l e t t e r, according to Shadick, was when Lowenfield revealed to the Commission that he received the “death threat” and left. Calls were made to the acting Commander of 'A' Division, Senior Superintendent, Paul Azore to inquire whether an official police complaint was lodged

by Lowenfield but these went unanswered.

“Full compliance by 11am today” Shortly after Lowenfield had left, Justice Singh issued another, curt directive to the

CEO: “In response to your request for guidance on which the results of the March 2, 2020 Elections can be declared, you are accordingly advised that my letter dated July 9 stands.”

She then ordered the CEO for the third time to submit his report, today at 11am when the Commission will assemble again to provide Guyana with a declaration of the results of the four-month long electoral process.

“Sanctioning the CEO” Questions were posed to the Commissioners on whether the Commission can relieve Lowenfield of his statutory functions if he fails to present a report.

To this, Commissioner Vincent Alexander stated that Lowenfield cannot be removed from his post, not even temporarily, to allow someone to perform his functions.

“The Commission cannot substitute somebody else for him unless it's a course of disciplinary action that he is suspended, off the job and, therefore, since the job has to be done, we substituted somebody else for him,” he explained.

O p p o s i t i o n Commissioner, Sase Gunraj however, noted that the consequences for Lowenfield would be grave should he fails to carry out the directives requested by the GECOM Chair.

Explaining, Gunraj said, “The law dictates that the CEO is a creature of the Commission, he doesn't act on his own, he is not entitled to act on his own and if he fails

to carry out the lawful instructions, obviously that has to be met with consequences and there is a raft of consequences which can flow from that.

If your employer and the employment laws cater for that as are several employment practices, if you fail to carry out what is asked, there are many disciplinary actions that can be taken.

What must be borne in mind here is that a nation is waiting for these results.”

The Constitution provides for disciplinary action to be taken against the CEO and other “election officers” attached to the Commission.

Article 161 (a) (1) of the Constitution provides that the “Elections Commission shall be responsible for the efficient functioning of the Secretariat of the Commission, which shall comprise the officers and employees of the Commission, and for the appointment of all the staff to the offices thereof inclusive of all temporary staff, recruited for the purposes of boundary demarcation, registration of persons and elections and shall have the power to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over such staff.”

An “election officer” the Constitution spelt out can be the Chief Elections Officer, the Deputy Chief Elections Officer, a returning officer, a deputy returning officer, an election clerk, a presiding officer, an assistant presiding officer along with a poll clerk and others.

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

PAGE 09

Thief in the House!

M

any years ago, I was a guest in the home of a friend. One night, a burglar broke into the house.

He came through a side window but was not aware that a pit-bull slept right beneath the same window.

The dog attacked and subdued him. The ruckus woke everyone in the house and the thief was caught.

The wife of my friend was so surprised by the burglary that she began to question the intruder. She asked him, “What you doing here? Why are you here?

Who gave you permission to come in this house? What did you come in here to do?

These were not rhetorical questions. She was interested in finding out what the thief was doing in her home, his motives and purpose. She was never going to get a straight answer.

What was he going to say? That he mistook the house for his own. If that were the case, then why did he choose to come through the window, instead of the door? That he came to see what the inside of the house looked like? Who would believe him?

It is questions, like the ones which the wife asked the burglar, that Guyanese are today asking about the election processes.

They are asking why the results have not yet being declared. Why are some supporters claiming the impossible? Why is the Coalition lying to its

supporters? What is stopping the declaration?

Some are questioning the operation of the rule of law.

They are asking: Why it is that the decision of the CCJ is being flouted?

Others are questioning the actions of persons. They are asking: Why is this person doing this or not doing that? Why is so and so not conceding defeat? Why is this person not doing the right thing?

To ask for truthful answers to those and the many other questions which are being asked is simply unreasonable. It is no different from the woman who asked the burglar what he was doing in the house and who gave him permission to enter.

There is an elephant in the room which renders irrational all the questions which are being asked about the elections. That elephant is what everyone knows but are fighting and arguing over everything else. The elephant in the room is the blatant and barefaced conspiracy to steal the elections.

Therefore, one should not expect morality or statesmanship from certain persons. One should not expect decency and integrity.

One should not predict that those acting in concert to steal an election would do so lawfully.

One should not expect legality in the actions of some persons, any more than one expects a thief to justify why he has intruded,

unauthorized, into a home.

The reason why there can be no sensible response to these questions.

There is a reason why morality and legality are being thrown through the window. There is a reason why foreign Prime Minister had to say that it is a concern when elections become a court matter.

The elephant in the room is that which everyone knows but is trying to dance around. That elephant is that there is state conspiracy to rig the elections and this conspiracy has tainted certain institutions of the state.

A burglar has intruded into Guyana's democracy. A thief is in the house. There is a state conspiracy to steal the elections and to rape representative government.

Electoral banditry is taking place before the people's eyes and the eyes of the international community.

In such a state of affairs, searching for a legal or moral justification for why things are the way they are amounts to an exercise in futility. It is no use debating whether X is right or whether so and so does not understand their role. It is a waste of time debating and countering the arguments of the riggers.

You don't debate with thieves.

It is a waste of time trying to convince these persons about the absurdity of their arguments. You don't try to find excuses for thieves.

Those who are engaged in obfuscation and

Dem boys seh...

Bingo and Lolo balla run out

D

em boys nah hear from de Bingo man fuh some time. Even though he name calling all de time. De man missing in action. Is like de man gone underground.

Dem boys wan believe dat de Rigadier hiding he in de basement. Or underneath he bed.

Dem boys hear how de Bingo man friend, de Lolo man, geh given a order fuh produce de election report by 2pm yesterday. De Iron Lady stop play. She getting serious now. She putting down she foot and it is wan heavy foot.

Dem boys hear a story dat de Claw-dette yesterday tell he to get it done by 11am today.

De Lolo, trembling, ask

she: "Yuh want it in English or Creolese?"

De Lolo man renege and nah produce de report when de clock strike two yesterday.

He seh he need clarity.

Dem boys seh is more than clarity he want. Dem boys wan know if he bin school pon Sunday alone mek he nah understand.

If dem boys ask dem grandchild fuh guh and bring a glass a water, dem child gon understand. But de Lolo man nah understand wha de Iron Lady tell he.

Dem boys wan know if he bin need mo clarity why he didn't submit he letter since morning rather than mek people come fuh de meeting fuh discuss why he nah submit he report.

He wasting a lot of big people time. But old people say time longer than twine and de Lolo man running out of balla.

De Iron Lady nah mekkin' joke. She immediately tell he dat wha she seh before stands. She tell he dat he gat until today fuh submit de report.

Dem boys hear through the grapevine, she also tell Lolo that she looking for a man who can be loyal to she, the way he loyal to the Coalition.

Dem boys hear through the grapevine, she also tell Lolo that she looking for a man who can be loyal to she, the way he loyal to the Coalition.

Talk half and wait fuh see who gon get knack off fuss.

undermining the election process, know what they are doing. They know exactly what they are doing.

They have an end-game to wear down the Opposition so that it will either quit or resort to violence. The latter is what the riggers are hoping for so that they can declare a

state of emergency and rule by decree.

The electoral bandits will eventually wake up to the reality that the whole world is now against them and has seen through their scheme. The struggle has to continue to unmask these electoral bandits.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Saturday July 11, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The people who claim to speak for Black people H

ere was a prediction of m i n e i n response to what David Hinds would say when he replied to my criticism of opportunistically introducing the event of slavery in all of his response to those who are accusing his party, APNU of rigging the

2020.

I wrote the following in July 8 column; “In his letter yesterday on me, it is the expected banal repetition – race, slavery, African Guyanese etc. It has become sad and tragic that an analyst can see only one dimension of Guyana‘s sociology.

Of course you cannot win once you are non-African because the fall back position is inevitable. It is saturated in people like David Hinds.

Here it is – we, nonAfrican Guyanese will never understand how African Guyanese feel, because we don’t have the background of slavery.”

My prediction was potently correct. The very next day, Hinds was at it again. Let’s quote him; “Freddie clearly does not realize that that is a privilege he enjoys simply because he is not Black. Black people do not have that privilege.

Freddie will never be a George Floyd who lives his entire life with a knee on his neck and begging to breathe.

Freddie enjoys privileges simply because he is nonBlack.

But race and racism are the greatest threats to Black humanity. Freddie can choose to ignore the fact that Black People are the only g ro u p w h i c h h a s t o constantly proclaim its humanity.”

This is sick, fetid

nonsense that has no place in modern discussion of race.

The stupidities in Hinds’ outpourings should obvious to any sane mind. Any nonwhite person can become another George Floyd. You do not have to be exclusively Black to face racist violence in the US. A video has gone viral all over the world two days ago where a white policeman pressed his knee on the neck of a Guyanese East Indian man. Why Hinds think that Indian man could not have died? It is completely asinine to reduce the tragic violence facing Black Americans and apply it to the African race around the world. This is not only foolish. It is indecent and dishonest.

What privilege do I enjoy as a non-Black over Black Guyanese like Hinds who chose not to live in Guyana?

I grew up and have spent my entire life in a country where half the population is Black.

What privilege the nonBlack population receives in Guyana? Thousands of Guyanese Amerindians are far worse off that African Guyanese and it has been like that for over a hundred years.

Hundreds of thousands of poor East Indians live in Guyana with not an ounce of privilege more than what African Guyanese enjoy.

Hinds is confusing class and colour.

A fundamental flaw for someone who said Walter Rodney influenced him. Yes, there is a rich, Indian capitalist class In Guyana but they do not share that money with poor Indians.

The more Hinds writes, the more his fundamental dishonesty is showing up. He said non-Black people will never face what happened to George Floyd.

That is pathetic asininity.

An East Indian teenager was killed by Black policemen protesting rigged election by an African Guyanese elite cabal in March of this year.

This is a repeat of 1973 when soldiers shot three East Indians protesting rigged elections by the very African elite cabal.

This African elite cabal has rendered the live of 28, 000 East Indians unbearable by the closure of the sugar estates.

Since then there have been a number of suicides relating to the social crisis that have followed The dishonesty of Hinds has no limits. He is trying to transport the suffering of Blacks in the US to Guyana where the sociology is completely different.

Guyanese have been afraid since March that this African elite cabal will unleash

Frederick Kissoon violence on non-African Guyanese if this African cabal loses the election. In other words, many nonAfricans are afraid they may die in mob violence. Yet Hinds has the temerity to tell non-Africans in Guyana there are privileged because they are not Black.

African people all over the world should confront Hinds with his vulgar use of African civilization to justify rigged election in Guyana.

African Guyanese, especially young educated men and women must come out and denounce Hinds for his ugly actions in defence of fraudulent elections in this country and using the wrongs Africans in the US face to justify the electoral insanities in Guyana.

It is simply amazing that no one in this country has not watched Hinds in his face and did what Andaiye did.

When the violent gunmen were killing East Indians under the pretext of African liberation, she wrote, “not in my name.”

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

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Suspect in cellphone store robbery released on bail - File to be re-sent for further advice

The cellphone store that was robbed

The armed suspects with the employees to the left bending over

I

nvestigators yesterday released a suspect on bail who was apprehended in connection

with an armed robbery of a cellphone store located at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara. On June 27, two

men entered Celltronix Guyana Cellphone Sales and Repair Center and looted it of a number of cellphones

and cash before escaping on a XR Honda motorcycle.

The men posed as customers at the store with one

of the suspects handing a cellphone to a store employee for a supposedly brief analysis on repairs.

Af t e r a t e n - m i n u t e consultation, the phone was handed back to the suspect but instead of leaving, he whipped out a handgun and he and his accomplice jumped over the counter.

They ordered the two store employees present to kneel behind a desk before proceeding to empty a showcase filled with cellphones into a red haversack.

The suspects also stole cash before exiting the store and riding away on their motorcycle.

On July 3, police were able to nab one of the two suspects, whom evidence gathered was implicated in the crime. A file

was then immediately prepared and sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice. Since the file took some time to return, and because the suspect was already held for more than 72 hours, police were forced to release the suspect on bail.

The bail was initially set at GYD$150,000 but the suspect could not afford to post the bail. Police then decided to drop the bail amount to GYD$100,000.

This amount also could not be afforded. To assist the suspect, the bail was dropped by $50,000 more which the suspect made.

The file was returned with the DPP asking investigators to correct some aspects and resend it for further advice.

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

Digicel donates $8M in masks, face shields to Education Ministry - CSEC students, invigilators to benefit Digicel’s CEO, Gregory Dean, hands over the donation to representative of the Education Ministry, Ms. Viola Rowe

D

igicel Guyana is once again honouring their corporate social responsibility with a donation of 13,000 reusable face masks and 2,500 face shields to the Ministry of Education.

These will be used by the close to 15,000 students and invigilators across the 10 regions during the CSEC exams commencing July 13.

In a statement, Digicel Guyana’s Chief Executive Officer, Gregory Dean said, “We know it is a challenging time for all, so we thought it best to reach out to provide whatever support we could

to the Ministry.

We are happy that the Ministry responded favourably to our interest in partnering with them and we hope that this donation will provide some level of comfort to the students and invigilators”.

Ms. Viola Rowe, who is performing duties for the Chief Education Officer Ag., who is on annualised leave, noted: “This donation will certainly go a far way in helping to protect our children and our future.”

She indicated that protective gear will be disbursed to several

locations across the country starting today, with efforts being concentrated on regions that are more vulnerable and have limited resources at this time. These will be distributed to the Regional Education Offices then to the individual schools.

Ms. Rowe expressed her thanks on behalf of the Ministry of Education, to Digicel for their continued interest in the advancement of education, and in this instance, for the timely contribution towards the health and wellbeing of CSEC students in a COVID19 environment.

PAGE 13

Remove persons obstructing electoral process - OAS to GECOM Chair

T

he Organization for the American States (OAS) has made an appeal to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to exclude those who display bias and thereby hinder the progression of the electoral process.

The OAS in a statement to the press last evening stated that “regrettably” the developments over the last two days suggest that efforts continue to avoid compliance with these obligations and to further prolong the term of the current government.

“The OAS,” the statement read, “notes that one of the principal obstacles to completing Guyana's current electoral process is a person whose duty it is to

defend Guyana's democracy through ensuring respect for the results of elections.”

The organisation called on GECOM to “exclude from the current electoral process, and indeed from all future electoral processes, those persons whose actions display clear partisan bias, and who apply this bias unreservedly in hindering the natural unfolding of the democratic process in Guyana,”—as previously mentioned in a statement from the OAS on April 15.

The decision of the

Yatee

Ena

Bhena Surajdai

Caribbean Court of Justice on July 8, 2020 confirmed that GECOM has the final authority to declare these elections and that the Chief Elections Officer is required to comply with the Commission's directives in this regard. The OAS notes and commends the instructions of the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh (ret'd), issued on July 9 and reiterated on July 10, that the Chief Elections Officer should prepare and submit his report using the (continued on page 15)

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

City collecting increased taxes illegally - Former AG Anil Nandlall A

ttorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall, in an interview on Kaieteur Radio Wednesday evening, stated that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) collected increase in taxes illegally when they failed to gazette the 10% rates and tax increase back in 2017.

Nandlall, in an interview on Kaieteur Radio's Room 592, explained that the M&CC can only levy taxes by legislation. He added, however, that taxes can be increased by a mean of subsidiary legislation and this is required to be published in the official gazette.

“A regulation can only take effect upon its publication in the official so

the increase can only take effect after it would have been published,” Nandlall said.

Expounding further, he noted that if the official gazette was published in the month of July, it is only from then can the increase take effect.

On the contrary however, the Georgetown M&CC had announced back in 2017, that it will be increasing the rates for residential properties and commercial properties by 10%, moreover , the M&CC failed to publish to the order in the official gazette.

The former Attorney General explained that, “You cannot levy taxes retrospectively.

That's a universal principle of law.

That would amount to the

unlawful deprivation of private property which is protected under the constitution.”

Nandlall explained that in order for the increase to take effect, the publication had to be made in the official gazette of the same year, which the then M&CC, failed to do. He added that any increase charged to taxpayers would be deemed illegal.

However, the Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, in a telephone interview sought to bring about clarity on the situation. Narine stated that the council's decision in 2016 to increase the taxes in the following year, was legal and in accordance to the Municipal and District Council's Act,

Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine Chapter 28:01.

Narine reiterated also that the Mayor and City Council is an autonomous body with the authority to

make decisions in regards to levying tax rates.

“The June 27 Gazetted Order served as a direct reminder of the Council's decision taken in 2017, wherein, residential and commercial General rates were subjected to 10% increases on the previous rates e.g. from 40% to 44% and 250% to 275% respectively,” Mayor Narine stated.

The Mayor further reiterated that the order does not imply an increase in the current residential and commercial rates and taxes since the current rates remain at 44% and 275% respectively. When asked why the order was only published now, the Mayor responded that since he took

Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall office in 2018, it was his intention to set the record straight.

He added that he does not know why the previous council failed to gazette the order, but his Council had decided to do so. Narine also added that there are more orders that have been in effect and not Gazetted, but the M&CC is working towards publishing them.

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

Bail granted for Plaisance woman accused of killing husband Accused: Melissa Playter

T

wenty-five -yearold Melissa Playter, a mother of three of 41 Prince William Street, Plaisance East Coast Demerara, who is accused of killing her reputed husband in December 2018, was yesterday granted $300,000, High Court bail by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.

The condition of the bail is for the accused to lodge her passport. However, it was explained to the Court that the deceased allegedly burned Playter's travel document when she tried to leave him. After spending more than a year on remand for the offence, two nongovernmental organizations were able to raise the bail money for Playter.

The CEO of You Are Not Alone (YANA) Foundation, Melissa Atwell and Women and Gender Equality Commissioner, Vanda Radik earlier this year embarked on a campaign to raise funds to secure Playter's pretrial liberty via a bail application to the High Court which was yesterday granted. As such, they were able to secure donations of over $700,000.

Playter was charged in December 2018 for the murder of Victor Roberts, the father of her youngest child.

However, with the help of her then attorney Sanjeev Datadin, the charge was reduced to manslaughter.

Playter made her first appearance in the Sparendaam Magistrates' Courts before Magistrate Alisha George on December 5, 2018. Playter was not required to plead to the indictable offence, which stated that on December 2, 2018, at 41 Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, she murdered Victor Roberts, 38.

According to information on the day in question, Playter and Roberts had an argument at their residence when she became annoyed and stabbed Roberts, once, to the region of the heart with a knife.

Roberts fell to the ground and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The matter was then reported and Playter was arrested.

Remove persons...

From page 13 results generated by the national recount.

They further stated that the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice on July 8, 2020 confirmed that GECOM has the final authority to declare these elections and that the Chief Elections Officer is required to comply with the Commission's directives in this regard. “The OAS notes and commends the instructions of the GECOM

Chair, Justice Claudette Singh (ret'd), issued on July 9 and reiterated on July 10, that the Chief Elections Officer should prepare and submit his report using the results generated by the national recount.�

The OAS emphasized that a credible conclusion of the 2020 elections is essential if Guyana is to remain a democracy while adding that they will continue to support the efforts of the people of Guyana towards this end.

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Saturday July 11, 2020

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Lowenfield bound to use Recount...

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From page 3 petition.”

Following the publication of the report, all international observers endorsed its findings and held their support for a swift declaration of the recount results to bring a resolution to the protracted electoral process.

Justice Singh, in her submission to the Court of Appeal had made a similar observation to the findings of the CARICOM Team, on claims of electoral fraud. She asked the Court to strike down the motion brought before it, arguing that, “any challenge to the validity of an election and any dispute or claim of any irregularities or illegalities in relation to an election can only lawfully form the basis of an election petition after the result of the election has been made known.”

“The forum of the elections court is the appropriate place to assess the evidence,” Singh had submitted, “to determine if it has crossed the threshold of sufficiency to vitiate the 2020 Election. It is respectfully submitted that GECOM does not have that jurisdiction.”

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On June 22, the Appeal Court handed down a ruling, purporting to assume jurisdiction granted to it by Article 177 (4) of the Constitution to determine a question of the validity of the election as that question depended on the interpretation of the Constitution.

It gave an interpretation of Article 177 (2) of the Constitution – which speaks to the criteria for the identification of the President-Elect – stating that “more votes are cast” means “more valid votes are cast” in a move which gave Lowenfield the latitude to revise the results of the recount.

Consequently, Lowenfield handed a report to GECOM on June 23, which sought again to hand a false victory to APNU+AFC by dumping 115,844 votes. This was seen as a clear act of insubordination, but Lowenfield resisted such reasoning, arguing that he has to execute his duties as a constitutional officer.

On that very day, PPP/C's presidential candidate, Dr. Irfaan Ali moved to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to challenge the ruling of the Appeal Court.

On the following day, outgoing Chair of CARICOM and Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley condemned the attempt by Lowenfield to unilaterally invalidate 115,844 votes. Building on the findings of the CARICOM Team, the then Chair said “we must ask – on what grounds and

by what form of executive fiat does the Chief Elections Officer determine that he should invalidate 1 vote, far less over 115 000 votes when the votes were already certified as valid by officers of the Guyana Elections Commission in the presence of the political parties.”

Mottley reminded that if there is any evidence of fraudulent conduct, then there is a clear and well accepted route, an elections petition in an election court.

The Caribbean Court of Justice assumed jurisdiction over the appeal brought before it by Irfaan Ali, on July 8 and ruled that the Appeal Court did not have jurisdiction to rule in the manner in which it did. As a consequence, the Court struck down the Appeal Court's ruling and invalidated Lowenfield's report.

“By the unnecessary insertion of the word 'valid',” the Caribbean Court said, “the Court of Appeal impliedly invited the CEO to engage unilaterally in a further and unlawful validation exercise that trespassed on the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court established by Article 163.”

The Court held that any question of the validity of an election should be handled by the High Court, as Article 163 of Guyana's Constitution grants it the exclusive jurisdiction to do so.

While the CCJ did not grant any orders, as it did not have the jurisdiction to do so,

the President, Justice Adrian Saunders said, “It is for GECOM to ensure that the election results are swiftly declared in accordance with the Laws of Guyana.”

Justice Singh acted in accordance with the guidance of the CCJ, and instructed Lowenfield on July 9 to submit a report on the results of the recount.

The Chair qualified her request for the recount figures, by saying that they should be the “valid votes counted in the National Recount” – not by his own metric – but “as per Certificates of Recount generated” from the recount exercise.

Justice Singh reminded Lowenfield that as CEO, Section 18 of the Election Laws Act No 15 of 2000 stipulates that he is subject to the direction and control of the Commission. With a deadline of 2 pm yesterday, media operatives flocked to GECOM's Kingston HQ, only to find out that Lowenfield opted not to hand in the report, and claimed that he needed clarity on the Chair's instruction.

The Chair's response was that her previous letter of instruction for the submission of the recount results stands.

Though Lowenfield avoided receipt of that letter yesterday, by leaving GECOM on the claim that he received a death threat, the Chair put her words in writing and gave Lowenfield a new deadline of 11 am today.

Police to investigate circumstances surrounding teen's death The Guyana Police Force has decided to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a 19-year old miner from Bydarado Road, Bartica, Region Seven.

The miner identified as Rickford Newton died on Wednesday last at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) while receiving treatment for severe injuries.

Police were told that Newton had received these injuries on July 3 during a football match at Armu Backdam, Cuyuni River when he jumped to receive a pass and injured himself in the process.

Claims were that he could not move and had to be assisted. Noting the severity of

his injuries, colleagues transported him immediately to the Bartica Regional Hospital.

Doctors realizing that the young man's condition was critical, admitted him and made arrangements for him to be air-dashed to city hospital.

His mother was informed by the relevant authorities and rushed immediately to accompany her son.

At the city hospital, doctors acted immediately and carried out a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); it was discovered that Newton suffered a fractured skull, neck and a broken left-hand.

Not long after, the teen died while receiving treatment for the injuries sus-

tained. An autopsy was subsequently conducted and the pathologist said that Newton died because of a fractured spine. Considering the autopsy report, police believe that such an injury is consistent with a jump.

However, family members believe otherwise and are suggesting that the teen might have been murdered.

Due to Newton's critical and semi-unconscious state, he was unable to give police a statement and relate to his mother what really happened to him that day.

As result of this controversy, a team of investigators will be heading to the scene of the incident to clarify how Newton was fatally injured.

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

PAGE 17

Granger's newly appointed Army Chief tells ABCE countries, he will abide by the Constitution

O

n the same day CEO Keith Lowenfield was tasked with submitting his report, triggering in the declaration of elections results and the formal installment of a President and Commander-in-Chief, Guyana's military leadership met with the emissaries of Guyana's four main Western allies.

Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Godfrey Bess, in a meeting yesterday with senior diplomats of the USA, the UK, Canada and the EU, pledged the GDF's continuous adherence to its role as set out in the Constitution of Guyana.

Bess was appointed less than two weeks ago by de facto President David

Granger after his predecessor, Brigadier Patrick West was sent on preretirement leave.

Brigadier Bess also affirmed to the United States Ambassador, Ms. Sarah-Ann Ly n c h , B r i t i s h H i g h Commissioner, Mr. Greg Quinn, Canadian High Commissioner Ms. Lilian Chattergee and European Ambassador Mr. Fernando Ponz-Canto that the GDF will continue to execute its mandate as a politically unbiased entity.

Correspondingly, the ABCE heads pledged to continuously provide military support to the GDF. The meeting, which was held as a courtesy call, was conducted at the Defence Headquarters, Base Camp Ayanganna.

UN Secretary-General calls for swift election declaration

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

T

he United Nations SecretaryGeneral, António Guterres, on Thursday called on all of Guyana's political leaders and their supporters to “recognize and accept” the final official results of the March 2 elections.

Guterres, through a spokesperson, was at the time responding to questions concerning the political situation in Guyana, referring to 8th July ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice, as a “final instance.”

The Secretary-General stressed the importance of announcing the final official results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections to the Guyanese

people as soon as possible, stating that the declaration will bring an end to an impasse that has lasted more than four months.

Guterres encouraged Guyanese to refrain from any act or statement that may fuel tensions or incite violence.

The Secretary General's call for a quick end to the political impasse is just one of many from the international community over the past four months.

Other international bodies such as the Organization of American states (OAS), The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, The Elders, and Carter Center, were just a few to come forward with their call to action.

Meeting with heads of ABCE Countries

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Kaieteur News

Stuart Broad ‘frustrated’ and ‘angry’ at being left GBA coaches for out of England side for first Test ABC virtual seminar ESPNcricinfo - Stuart Broad has described himself as “frustrated” and “angry” at having been left out of England’s side for the first Test of the series against West Indies.

Broad, the second highest wicket-taker in England’s Test history, said he found the decision “difficult to understand” and suggested he had sought clarification on his future from Ed Smith, the national selector.

“I’m not a particularly emotional person but I’ve found the last couple of days quite tough,” Broad told Sky Sports shortly before play resumed on the third day. “To say I was disappointed would be an understatement; you’re disappointed if you drop your phone and the

screen breaks.

“I’m frustrated, angry and gutted. It’s difficult to understand. I’ve probably bowled the best I’ve ever bowled the last couple of years, I felt it was my shirt. I was in the team for the Ashes and going to South Africa and winning there.”

Broad was England’s leading wicket-taker in their previous Test series - he claimed 14 wickets at a cost of 19.42 apiece in South Africa - and in the Ashes series of 2019, when he claimed 23 wickets at 26.65.

“I spoke to Ed Smith [the national selector] last night, he said he was involved in picking the 13 and this side was picked purely for this pitch,” Broad continued. “I wanted clarification on my the

THE Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has selected five coaches to participate in a virtual seminar to be run by the Americas Boxing Confederation (ABC).

The seminar will commence at 2:00pm today, July 11, and will be conducted

by Jose Laureno of Puerto Rico. The main topic is returning to training after the pandemic. Three Star

Stuart Broad wearing his new-look bandana. (Getty Images) future going forward and I was given pretty positive feedback going forward.

“So yes, I was frustrated in the fact that I felt like I

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deserved a spot in the team.”

Despite that frustration, Broad accepted the bowlers picked in front of him also deserved their places and accepted that the current competition for places was probably a healthy thing for England.

“You can’t argue the bowlers walking on that field don’t deserve to play,” Broad said. “Everyone deserves to play. Chris Woakes, Sam Curran were bowling really well and probably deserve to be in the XI. It’s just annoying when it’s not you that’s in that XI. Very rarely do you get guys fit and available for each Test match.

That’s where selection has been tricky.

“It’s great to see strength and depth in the fast bowling ranks. It’s the only way that England cricket moves forward and gets better. And with high competition in squads it keeps the standard high. Everyone is under pressure for their spots.”

Broad’s omission broke a run of 51 consecutive home Tests dating back to 2012.

coaches Terrence Poole MS and Sebert Blake will be joined

by Orlon Rogers, Clive Atwell and Joseph Murray.

ABC vice president and president of the GBA Steve Ninvalle were tasked with organising the participation of the English-speaking Caribbean. Ninvalle said that this region will be represented by over 80 coaches from 15 countries.

South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers to begin in October Following consultation with the South American member associations, FIFA and CONMEBOL have agreed to postpone the upcoming South American qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 initially planned to be played in the international window of September 2020.

The qualifiers are now planned to start in October 2020.

Taking into account the outcome of the discussions

held in the COVID-19 FIFAConfederations Working Group, the CONMEBOL Council has yesterday requested FIFA to include a replacement international window in January 2022 in the International Match Calendar in order to complete the South American qualifiers in March 2022.

This request will be dealt with by the Bureau of the FIFA Council at the next possible occasion.

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Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

Max Verstappen fastest in Styrian GP practice as Daniel Ricciardo crashes BBC Sport - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen headed Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in second practice at the Styrian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman pipped Bottas by just 0.043 seconds, with the Racing Points of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll third and fourth.

Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo had a heavy crash at Turn Nine early in the session, and limped away from the car.

World champion Lewis Hamilton was only sixth, unhappy with both the balance of his Mercedes and his fastest lap.

Teams were trying harder than usual in the session as there is an outside chance of it defining the grid order if cars cannot run in the predicted rain today.

That is still an unlikely scenario, however, as there a number of potential solutions if qualifying is washed out.

Verstappen was impressive on both short and long runs, beating Bottas on his qualifying simulation lap, and then lapping at very similar pace when they switched to race preparation, despite being on the harder medium tyre with the Finn on the soft.

Hamilton said: “It felt relatively normal but it was quite far off. There is a lot of work needed to do to find out why. I was feeling pretty good in P1 and at the start of P2 but then it started to drop off. It does seem the others are pretty quick or we have slowed down.”

Racing Point’s pace was a further emphasis of their rise

Drivers participate in the Styrian Grand Prix practice session yesterday. (AFP) to become real contenders this season with a car that has been dubbed the ‘Pink

Russia to allow spectators at Sochi Formula One race (Reuters) - Russia will allow spectators to attend its Formula One grand prix in Sochi in September after the season started behind closed doors in Austria last weekend, race organisers said yesterday.

The Sept. 27 race will be round 10 of a championship which has had its schedule ripped up and rewritten due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This will be an incredible festival for the widest audience possible,” said Alexey Titov, chief executive of promoter ROSGONKI, in a statement http://

www.sochiautodrom.ru.

“The event attendance remains at a good level year on year, and we are confident that the difficulties of this year will not become a special obstacle for motorsport fans.

“We are meticulously preparing to receive spectators safely and looking forward to seeing everyone in the Olympic Park,” he added.

Tickets for the race went back on sale after confirmation of the date yesterday.

Russia’s death toll from the novel coronavirus edged past 11,000 yesterday, with

the country reporting 174 new deaths in the past 24 hours.

The nationwide tally of infections stands at 713,936, the world’s fourth highest case load.

Formula One started the season under strict health and safety conditions with teams distanced from each other in ‘bubbles’ within the paddock.

No spectators, sponsors or VIP guests have been allowed to attend but Formula One has said it hoped that might change later in the year.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crosses the finish line in the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom. (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)

Mercedes’ for its likeness to last year ’s world championship-winning car.

Perez was just 0.217secs off the outright pace, with Stroll his usual 0.3secs or so behind his team-mate.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was fifth, ahead of Hamilton and the second Red Bull of Alexander Albon, who had two spins in the course of the day.

Sainz’s team-mate Lando Norris was eighth fastest, limiting his running because of some pain he was experiencing when braking.

The Briton, who scored his maiden podium last weekend, was also handed a three-place grid penalty for overtaking while passing yellow caution flags in first practice.

He said: “I’ve been struggling a bit physically with something; I don’t know what it is. It’s been pretty painful, particularly in the high-speed corners and when I’m braking.

Something in my chest or something. I don’t know where. I hit the brakes and the compression it spikes up massively.”

Ricciardo said the crash was his mistake.

“I’m OK,” he said. “I hit my knee on the steering column but it’s just a bit bruised. It went so quickly.

“A little bit of wind and probably coming in with a little bit too much speed for the conditions.”

Charles Leclerc was the fastest Ferrari in ninth place after trialling a new front wing

and new floor, the first of a series of developments scheduled to come to the car aimed at reducing the performance shortfall it suffered at the opening race of the season.

He and team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who was 16th fastest after having his best lap deleted for exceeding track limits, said the upgrades were “positive” but that the team still needed to work out how to get the best out of them.

This is the first time in F1 history that a circuit has hosted two races in a single season, this weekend’s event named after the region in which the Red Bull Ring is situated, following on from last Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Norris handed three-place grid drop for Styrian GP SPIELBERG, Austria (Reuters) - Lando Norris’s hopes of a repeat podium at the Red Bull Ring faded on Friday when the McLaren driver was handed a threeplace grid penalty in practice for tomorrow’s Styrian Formula One Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old Briton celebrated his first F1 podium last weekend when he finished third in the Austrian season-opener at the same circuit after starting in third place.

Race stewards found Norris had overtaken AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly while yellow warning flags were being waved in first practice.

Norris was also handed two penalty points, his first of the current 12 month period.

“The whole day’s not been quite so smooth as last weekend was,” said Norris.

“I was on a push lap at the time and two of the other

McLaren’s Lando Norris during practice, following the resumption of F1 after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

(Darko Bandic/Pool via REUTERS) guys were on a slower lap.

They pulled over to let me past... I saw the yellow flags and I braked, I just hadn’t braked and completely gone to the same speed as them.

“I did what I had to do in terms of driving cautiously and being prepared to stop and whatever but I just rolled a bit more speed than the other guys and ended up passing them. The rules are the rules.”

Norris said he had also been on pain-killers for a back problem and had not felt confident in the car, limiting his track time in the afternoon.

“I feel fine now and walking around, but when I am driving it is something that causes me a lot of pain particularly in the high speed corners and when I’m braking,” he told Sky Sports television.”

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 23

Brathwaite, Dowrich fifties keep Windies ahead

Kraigg Brathwaite bats against England. (Getty Images) SOUTHAMPTON, England, CMC – Opener Kraigg Brathwaite snapped a run of poor form with a half-century while wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich got his first fifty on English soil as they helped West Indies carve out an invaluable first innings lead on the third day of the opening Test here yesterday.

Replying to the hosts’ first innings of 204, West Indies marched to 318 all out, to secure a 114-run advantage and remain in control heading into today’s critical penultimate day of the contest at the Ageas Bowl.

Brathwaite, under the microscope after failing to pass 50 in his last 21 innings, top-scored with 65 while Dowrich, who managed only 24 runs from six innings on his last tour here three years ago, stroked a polished 61.

But England then staved off a 10-over burst from West Indies pacers to reach 15 without loss at the close, setting up an intriguing fourth day.

Blessed with welcomed sunshine for the first time in the game, West Indies flourished also through the efforts of Roston Chase who gathered a patient 47 and Shamarh Brooks who chipped in with a classy 39.

The Caribbean side appeared poised to build an even bigger lead when they reached tea on 235 for five with Dowrich and Chase well set, but lost their way in the final session as captain Ben Stokes ran through the lower order to finish with four for 49.

Veteran seamer Jimmy Anderson picked up three for 62 while off-spinner Dom Bess claimed two for 51.

Resuming the morning on 57 for one, West Indies owed much of their enterprise to Brathwaite w h o s e 1 8 t h Te s t h a l f century required 125 balls in slightly over three hours at the crease and included six fours.

On 20 at the start, the right-handed extended his second wicket stand with Shai Hope (16) to 59, f r u s t r a t i n g E n g l a n d ’s hopes of an early breakthrough.

With the England attack proving ineffective, West Indies safely navigated the first hour before losing Hope three deliveries after the drinks break, when he edged an ambitious drive at Bess for Stokes at first slip to snare an easy catch at 102 for two.

T h r e e o v e r s l a t e r, Brathwaite raised his first half-century in two years when he steered Bess for a

England’s’ Ben Stokes celebrates the wicket of West Indies’ Kraigg Braithwaithe with teamamtes, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Adrian Dennis/Pool via REUTERS) single to backward point, ending a frustrating run of low scores.

He had added a further 38 with Brooks when he became the second casualty of the morning, lbw to Stokes 10 minutes before lunch, after striking two fours earlier in the over.

On 159 for three at the interval, West Indies lost Brooks about half-hour following the resumption, feathering a catch behind off Anderson after adding a further 12 to his lunch time 27.

The right-hander struck six fours off 71 balls in nearly an hour-and-ahalf at the crease.

Brooks was one of two wickets to fall for 13 runs as Jermaine Blackwood followed cheaply soon afterwards for 12.

Starting his first Test in nearly three years, Blackwood never settled and eventually gifted his wicket by driving an innocuous delivery from Bess to mid-off after facing 22 deliveries.

Needing a partnership, the tourists found one in Dowrich and Chase who stitched up the innings in an 81-run, sixth wicket stand on either side of tea.

Dowrich, positive from the outset with two straight hits for boundaries off Bess in the first six balls he faced, survived a dropped chance on 25 off a return catch to the same bowler to notch eight fours all told off 115 balls in three hours.

In contrast, Chase soaked up 142 balls in nearly 3-¼ hours and hit six fours – two in one over through the leg side after tea off the ineffective Barbados-born seamer Jofra Archer who went wicket-less.

On 27 at tea, Chase was the first to fall nearly an hour after the resumption when he was struck in front

by Anderson and given his marching orders after England resorted to DRS. Dowrich completed his eighth Test half-century 20 minutes later but then watched as captain Jason Holder holed out to deep square off Stokes for five and tail-ender Alzarri Joseph lashed three fours in 18 before being clean bowled by Stokes.

Dowrich’s resistance ended when he walked after glancing a leg-side catch behind off a rising delivery from Stokes, to be ninth out.

Hamid’s Family dominoes commences today Exciting dominoes action is anticipated today when some of the top teams from West Demerara collide in the Hamid’s Family competition from 13:00hrs at Tarla Dam, Zeeburg.

Entrance fee is $12,000, while an additional $80,000 will be added to the prizes.

The competition will conclude tomorrow and the winning team will take home a trophy and $120,000, the

runner up a trophy and $60,000 and third place a trophy and $30,000. The MVP will also be rewarded.

According to organiser Mark Wiltshire, play will not exceed 18:00hrs on each day in

keeping with the curfew.

Among the teams expected to participate are West Side, Mix Up, C 7, Executive, Big Boss, Spartons, Turning Point and Zeeburg.

PAGE 24

Saturday July 11, 2020

Kaieteur News

Sachin Tendulkar lauds James Anderson’s ‘reverse’ reverse swing ESPNcricinfo - Fast bowlers are widely known to use three different methods to get the ball to swerve through the air: conventional swing, contrast swing, reverse swing. James Anderson, however, can lay claim to a fourth method: reverse reverse swing.

What’s that?

According to no less an authority than Sachin Tendulkar, who faced him in 14 Test matches and was dismissed by him a record nine times, Anderson has a way of confounding batsmen with his wrist position while delivering the outswinger with the reverse-swinging ball.

The conventionally swinging ball swings towards the rough side, and the reverse-swinging ball towards the shiny side. The ball’s orientation for the conventional inswinger, therefore, is the same as the one for the reverse outswinger. The two deliveries usually involve different wrist positions, but Anderson, Tendulkar noted

in a chat with Brian Lara on the 100MB app, had the ability to deliver a reverse outswinger with the wrist position of a conventional inswinger.

“With reverse swing, Jimmy Anderson was possibly the first bowler who bowled reverse swing also reverse,” he said. “What I experienced, over a period of time, [is] that he would hold the ball as if he was bowling [a reverse] outswinger, but [at] the release point, he would try and bring the ball back in, and [a] number of batters would look at the wrist position, and what he has actually done, he’s shown you that he’s bowling inswing, but the imbalance between both sides of the ball would take the ball away from you.

“What he has done is, he’s got you to commit to play, for an [inswinger], and the ball, after covering almost three-fourths of the length of the pitch, starts leaving you.

But you had already committed [to play], because you’ve seen that inswing

Lyles misses out on 200m world record after not running full distance

Noah Lyles Sports Max - Noah Lyles thought he had shattered the 200 metres world record on Thursday, but the American’s joy was shortlived as it transpired he had not run the full distance.

Lyles, running on his own in Florida as part of the Inspiration Games event, crossed the line in a rapid 18.90 seconds.

It appeared the record of 19.19s Usain Bolt set at the 2009 World Championships had gone, but BBC commentator Steve Cram was among those to question the time.

“That cannot be right,” said Cram. “Even he has got

his hands in the air wondering what is going on.”

It was then revealed that world champion Lyles had run 15m less than his opponents competing at other tracks, as he had started in the wrong lane.

The 22-year-old subsequently missed out on a $10,000 winner’s cheque, with Christophe Lemaitre taking victory in a time of 20.65 at Letzigrund.

Lyles tweeted: “You can’t be playing with my emotions like this.... got me in the wrong lane smh [shaking my head].”

James Anderson shatters Sachin Tendulkar’s stumps. (Getty Images) position, and that is something which was new to me. Nobody had done that.

“Now, [a] number of guys, you see their shine, and what they’re trying to do - I spotted even Stuart Broad trying to do that at some stage, but Anderson started

this [a] long time ago. So I rate him very very highly. One of the best exponents of reverse swing.”

One of Anderson’s best spells in reverse-swinging conditions came in Kolkata in 2012, when he took three wickets in each innings to

help England take a 2-1 series lead. Anderson had Tendulkar caught behind for 76 in the first innings with a reverse outswinger, but it’s unclear whether that ball was a reverse-reverse outswinger.

Nonetheless, if other bowlers can master

Anderson’s seeming ability to deliver reverse reverse swing, it gives batsmen one more thing to worry about, particularly when the ball is at that stage of its lifespan when it’s transitioning from swinging conventionally to reversing.

GraceKennedy signs Briana Williams as newest GK Foods brand ambassador Jamaica Observer - Grace Kennedy (GK) Group CEO Don Wehby has announced that GK Foods has signed sprinter Briana Williams as its newest brand ambassador, effective July 1, 2020.

The national under-20 record holder will represent the GK Foods brand locally, as well in the regional and international markets, over the next three years.

“We have been watching Briana’s performances for some time now and easily concluded that she would be a great addition to GraceKennedy. Her talent, discipline, and focus are beyond impressive, especially at such an early stage in her career. Briana’s passion, determination, and resilience are something special, and we’re proud to welcome her to the GraceKennedy family. We know that over the next three years her career will really take off,” Wehby said.

The 18-year-old sprinter is the youngest female ever to win both the 100 and 200 metres — a distinction she earned at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Finland.

She is also the first Jamaican since Usain Bolt to earn the Austin Sealy Award

Briana Williams (right) competes in the 200m for Jamaica. (Photo: Observer file) two years in a row (2018 and 2019) at the Carifta Games. At the 2019 Carifta Games, Williams secured three gold medals — in the under-20 category for the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relays.

“It really is an honour to represent GraceKennedy, a brand I admired growing up, and I am looking forward to a great partnership,” said

Williams. “I am also excited to announce that, as part of my new collaboration with GraceKennedy, I will be making a donation to a charity of my choice every year.”

Williams joins GraceKennedy’s outstanding list of ambassadors, which includes world-class athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Alia Atkinson, and Hansle

Parchment.

Jamaican entertainer Kemar “Ding Dong” Ottey completes the roster.

Under the three-year ambassadorship agreement Briana will represent GK Foods in Jamaica, Belize, Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Kaieteur News

Saturday July 11, 2020

PAGE 25

Ferrari warned over COVID-19 protocol breach

S

PIELBERG, Austria (Reuters) - Formula One’s governing body has warned Ferrari about the risks of breaching the sport’s COVID-19 protocol and protective ‘bubble’.

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel have been seen mixing with people outside their individual team groups.

Leclerc returned to his Monaco home after finishing second in last Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix while Vettel was shown on television talking to Red Bull bosses, without face masks, in the Red Bull Ring paddock.

“Ferrari have been issued with a reminder and warned that any further breaches of the COVID-19 code could be referred to the stewards,” said an FIA spokesman.

He added that the warning was about respecting the group system and need for social distancing rather than Leclerc’s travel movements.

The FIA’s COVID-19 code states that any time spent outside the closed

venue “must be spent with other members of the same group, keeping interaction with persons outside that group to a minimum.”

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who won last Sunday, also went home to Monaco after the opening race but the Finn remained within his ‘bubble’ by seeing only those within his existing group — his girlfriend and trainer.

Some team bosses also left the Red Bull ring, including McLaren’s Zak Brown.

“Zak had to fly back for business reasons but he was following all the necessary measures which are in place in terms of social distancing and isolating himself... I don’t see any safety risk,” said McLaren principal Andreas Seidl.

Racing Point principal Otmar Szafnauer told reporters he was worried that some people might not be sticking to the rules.

“I think the FIA should look further and make sure that everybody is doing it,” he added.

“We all have to stay vigilant because... if there is an outbreak here and we

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during practice, following the resumption of F1 after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Joe Klamar/Pool via REUTERS)

have to miss races, that would be disastrous.”

Formula One said 4,566 COVID-19 tests conducted on the drivers, teams and personnel between July 3-9 had all been negative.

Brathwaite relieved to put runs on the board West Indies opening batsman, Kraigg Brathwaite in action.

Sports Max - West Indies opening batsman, Kraigg Brathwaite, has admitted it was a bit of a relief to put runs on the board after heading into the ongoing series, against England, on the back of a lean spell.

With lots of talk heading into the Test focused around the ability of the West Indies top order, Brathwaite crafted an enterprising 65 from 125 balls. Prior to that, the batsman averaged just 16 from his last six Tests, to see his overall average drop to 33.

Since the start of the series, however, Brathwaite has looked more in line with the player who had a solid performance for the

West Indies in 2017, scoring 40 in the first Test, before adding scores of 134 and 95 in a surprise win for the team in the second.

“I’m very happy to have got a score. It was tough, I was obviously thinking about getting runs, personally, it was tough. What I tried to focus on was building that foundation for my team,” Brathwaite said of the innings.

“I know I could bat three hours in a game that’s what I was really focusing on. It was a tough period, but I have accepted that you have to go through these periods to be good or great. I just decided to keep my mind nice and strong and trust my ability,” he added.

port

S Shane Dowrich hits out © Getty Images

Brathwaite, Dowrich fifties keep Windies ahead

Kraigg Brathwaite celebrates his half-century, England v West Indies, 1st Test, 3rd day, Southampton © Getty Images

The organisers and sponsors with the prizes, from left Devon Allen, Bisram Thomas, Mark Wiltshire and Solomon (only name given).

Hamid’s Family dominoes commences today

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