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AIETEUR Guyana witnessed NEWS the most alarming
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Monday Edition July 20, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 30
instances of “squandermania”
Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80
p.7
under Granger administration
- Financial Analyst
Online readership yesterday, 164,929
OAS Permanent Council could authorize all member states to sanction Guyana p.3
... Decision would be binding for CARICOM states
- Sir Ronald Sanders
ExxonMobil fails to come clean on number of Guyanese trained for senior positions p.8
Magnitude of alleged City Hall to save millions fraud is immaterial to on garbage contracts with p. 14
p. 3
elections results - Ramkarran acquisition of new trucks
Guyana likely to see increase in case backlog due to insufficient judges, prosecutors SARA has nothing to show after spending over $600M in three years p.8 - UNDP Report warns
p.2
- Ram says agency has been a “complete and expensive failure”
Illegitimacy, sanctions attract corrupt business partners in oil sector - transparency advocates
Monday July 20, 2020
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Kaieteur News
OAS Permanent Council could authorize all member states to sanction Guyana – Sir Ronald Sanders The Organisation of American States (OAS), the world’s oldest regional body, could authorise all of its member states to sanction Guyana as they see fit, if what is currently happening in the country is determined to have constituted a violation of the democratic principles of the region. Such action would have repercussions on CARICOM as well, since all CARICOM states are also member states of the OAS, and its resolutions would be binding on them. So says internationally respected journalist and diplomat, Sir Ronald Sanders who has extensive, valuable experience working with the OAS, even serving as President of the Permanent Council in 2016. His comments were made in response to questions from Kaieteur News, ahead of a meeting of the OAS Permanent Council scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to discuss Guyana’s electoral situation. Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro had written to the Chair of the Permanent Council, Luis Fernando Cordero Montoya requesting the special meeting on Guyana, when it became evident that the
- Decision would be binding for CARICOM States
Diplomat, Sir Ronald Sanders
OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro
CARICOM Chair and PM of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves
elements actively working to frustrate the electoral process had infiltrated the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at every level. The country’s general and regional elections were held on March 2, with no result yet declared four and half months later. The delay is owed to numerous attempts by stakeholders allied with the APNU+AFC coalition, to have the results of the elections fraudulently altered in its favour, despite it being
evident that the PPP/C has won. Sanders told Kaieteur News that the matter is extremely serious, and that if a Secretary General or member state decides to place a country on the Permanent Council’s agenda, “it means that conditions within the country have reached a stage that alarms the OAS about the adherence to democracy and the rule of law by the authorities in the country.” He explained that every member state’s representative
will receive reports on what has transpired in Guyana since March 2, including the constant court battles and the fact that the Guyanese people have gone without a Parliament and elected government for a very long time. “Regrettably, they might reach the conclusion that constant returns to the Court represent an abuse of process,” Sanders stated. In its public releases on the Guyana situation, the OAS has referred to the InterAmerican Democratic Charter. Sanders said that it
is the standard by which the Organisation measures adherence to democracy and the rule of law. If what is happening in Guyana is found to be in violation of that Charter, the diplomat said the Council will immediately summon “A Ministerial Meeting of Consultation” which could decide to suspend Guyana’s membership until the violation(s) of the Charter are remedied. It is at this point that it could authorise its members to, as their laws deem appropriate, sanction the offending country. “Every OAS member state would be empowered to demonstrate their displeasure,” Sanders said. The repercussions of such action on CARICOMGuyana relations could kick in very quickly, he indicated. “Since every independent CARICOM state is a member of the OAS, the decisions would be binding on all of them.” Those binding decisions would come into play later this week, as CARICOM leaders are expected to
Magnitude of alleged fraud is immaterial to elections results – Ramkarran Former Speaker of the House and Presidential Candidate of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Ralph Ramkarran, has opined that the fraud which some allege was committed during the March elections would not be substantial enough to materially affect the elections results, if it were true. Ramkarran made this statement in the most recent edition of his column, Conversation Tree, in response to a letter to the editor from Government Commissioner on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Vincent Alexander. The Commissioner had said in his letter that 61 death certificates were availed to GECOM during the recount as evidence of dead persons for whom votes were cast. Alexander said that he had listened to the press conference of the United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch who, when asked about alleged fraud impacting the credibility of the recount results, relied on the pronouncements of the CARICOM Scrutineer Team. The Team had stated that no evidence was provided by the APNU+AFC coalition to support its allegations of
electoral fraud by voter impersonation. Commissioner Alexander contended however that the death certificates he referred to, or any other materials tendered in support of the allegations of electoral fraud, were not shown to the CARICOM team. In response, Ramkarran asked “If the Caricom election observers were not informed of the 61 death certificates, whose fault was that? And if they were, what would have been the consequence?” Ramkarran explained that the acknowledged principle in determining the veracity of election results generally, as well as judicially, is to determine whether the act(s) of fraud – in this case, the alleged fraud – are likely to have affected the results. “If the answer is no, then the alleged fraud is not considered to be material.” Ramkarran said. In this case, Alexander’s letter referred to 61 death certificates, though his colleague on the Opposition side, Commissioner Sase Gunraj has responded to state that no evidence was tendered to support the allegations made during the recount, “except a few death
certificates presented in isolation and without nexus.” WhileAlexander’s allegation is that 61 fraudulent votes were cast in this regard, the margin of victory the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has gained over the APNU+AFC coalition, evidenced by the national recount, is 15,416 votes. When Kaieteur News reached out to Alexander yesterday, the Commissioner pointed to a document he tendered at the Commission, titled ‘The Case for a NonDeclaration’ and said that that points to tainted ballots affecting somewhere in the vicinity of 14,000 votes. That document, seen by this newspaper, alludes not only to allegations of ‘dead’ voters but allegations of ‘migrant’ voters as well as irregularities uncovered during the recount, such as missing oaths of identities and certificates of employment. A summation of those cases of irregularities and allegations of fraud, sourced by Alexander to Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, were thousands short of 14,000. Lowenfield had used a novel approach to determine how many votes were impacted by the alleged fraud
GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander ANUG Presidential Candidate, Ralph Ramkarran and irregularities. Instead of counting each case of irregularity or alleged fraud as one tainted vote, Lowenfield had decided that, if one vote is tainted, then all ballots included in its box are tainted as well. This method had led Lowenfield to first attempt to invalidate more 269,619 votes – more than half of all valid votes cast in the election. Kaieteur News pointed Alexander to Article 163 of the Constitution, which gives the High Court exclusive jurisdiction to determine the
validity of an election. He responded that the language of the Article implies that it gives the High Court exclusive jurisdiction only after a declaration is made, and not before. That argument has been defeated by the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which stated in a release “Unless and until an election court decides otherwise, the votes already counted by the recount process as valid votes are incapable of being declared invalid by any person or authority other than the High Court through an election petition.”
convene a special meeting to address the Guyana situation. Recently installed CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves said on a Jamaican radio programme last week that the assembly would be scheduled and convened after the decision of the Chief Justice, Roxane GeorgeWiltshire is handed down on the recount case tomorrow. Gonsalves penned a scathing editorial last week, in clear condemnation of the APNU+AFC coalition, calling its attempts to rig the elections ‘vile’, ‘frivolous’ and ‘vexatious’. “Look, we have to defend democracy,” the CARICOM Chair said on a radio programme last week. “This thing is taking too long. It is a blot on Guyana. It is a blot on CARICOM and we can’t be indifferent to what is happening.” The OAS and CARICOM fielded observer missions to Guyana’s electoral process, also ensuring that they observed the transparent national vote recount. Notably, CARICOM’s role was elevated during the recount. The three-member CARICOM team acted as Scrutineers, and handed a report to GECOM shortly after the recount concluded. The OAS had endorsed the findings of the CARICOM Scrutineer Team, which stated that Guyana’s elections were credible and that the recount results are completely acceptable. In doing so, the CARICOM team had said that a declaration should be made on the basis of those results. President, David Granger had referred to CARICOM as the “most legitimate interlocutor” on the Guyana situation, before its report was published. However, he has since misrepresented the findings of the CARICOM Team’s report, and his coalition has opted not to respect CARICOM’s interlocution. The OAS has warned Guyana that a declaration must be made on the results of the recount, and that no alternative would be acceptable. However, the governing coalition, in yet another attempt to rig the elections, has thrown its support behind a court action which seeks to force GECOM to reject the credible results of the recount, and instead use district declarations which include a false Region Four result produced by the notorious Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.
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Monday July 20, 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
Racial dog whistles
Anything and everything ever said at one time or the other is fair game to attack and minimize, even liquidate opposing positions. In the climate lived in today, it would appear that no adult has ever uttered a misplaced word; has never called anyone a fool or idiot. By this standard, it would be criminal to call someone a racist. That is reserved for only the so-called pure and clean people - the rarefied intellects, the extraordinary spiritual agents - to weaponize and unleash against those who stand against their agendas. Something is wrong with that picture, lots of things. Courtesy, yes; studied hypocrisy - well… Correctness taken to an inhuman level, definitely; but the height of unreality, beyond a doubt. By such standards, no honest and outraged citizen, no well-meaning and objective public commentator, could speak to anything about rigging or corruption or incompetence. By such yardsticks, it could be a crime to opine that this country is riffled and bedeviled with racist politics that discriminates and marginalizes. Rudyard Kipling could have written about the “White Man’s burden”, and onetime American Governor General of the Philippines (and later US President) William Howard Taft spoke of “our little brown brothers” requiring some “fifty or one hundred years” heavy guidance to begin to come remotely close to something approaching and “resembling Anglo-Saxon political principles and skills.” President Taft was speaking of Filipinos, but he might as well had been speaking of Guyana and Guyanese, who have already squandered 50 years, and so have another 50 to go before acquiring the basics of sound democratic governance and the individual obligations that come with them. In today’s world, it would be quickly condemned as racist or paternalist. But what is our reality right now? What has been our vulgar political and governance history? Too often truth hurts because it lays bare the incestuous nature of what passes for intellect. As usual, there is coverup and pretense and the prioritizing of keeping up appearances. If nobody sums up the courage and the conscience to call things as they are (truly are), then what takes charge are the worst of hypocrisies. We end up living a lie, many of them. It is what we Guyanese have been good at doing for the last sixty years when we content ourselves to sweep our racial problems and divisions under the carpet.We who, through the motions of being a nation, stand weakly under the limp flag of One Nation, One People, One Destiny that buries all in the deep ground of deviousness. Speak to that here and there are stretched in denial: we are one. We are liars and frauds. Our leaders lie, our friends and neighbours lie, and when we go along with the charades, we end up being the biggest liars around. No! We will not kowtow to the crowd of comforting public sentiment and gloss over with cosmetics what are the hard facts, what is the real truths of our times. The coalition has committed electoral fraud. The opposition did engage in one bureaucratic and governance fraud after another. And many of our fellow citizens, from both sides of the racial divide, participated to the full, and enjoyed themselves with gorging from the national treasury. It is why we expose shoddy work and contractual cost overruns. We have no friends when wrongdoing has to be presented to the public. We look for neither allies nor benefactors when the Guyanese political crowd mangle the public trust and engage in behaviours that diminish the national promise and drain both individual and national hopes. We at this paper do not owe either the coalition or the opposition. We owe them the favour of pointing to the chronic errors of their ways. And we owe the Guyanese public and our own consciences to speak accurately and sharply, but always in a measured manner, to the truths of our circumstances, particularly, the political, racial, and professional. This business of trolling through mounds of past materials to extract an errant word or an out-of-place phrase and wave like a pickaxe over the head to cower and stifle must be resisted. We will speak to fact and truth, as they are, and let the chips fall.
Where are the genuine and humble among sources; so, we example that good could be our wise and learned?political pretend at something about done. A close American DEAR EDITOR, I speak about shared governance of the widest breadth, and the reflexive passionate condemnations rage. I think I have a better sense of what it is to be a child molester, betrayer, and collaborator; a serial one and the worst of them. This is what our racial politics does to us. As I talk of inclusive and national, I ask simple questions. First, where among the many learned and wise (we have some) among us? What about the doctor dolittles (speak and write much, but do nothing) chartered accountants adept at figures (but disfigured otherwise), and legal eagles aspiring to luminosity (yet unlit in enshrouding darkness)? They tell me and the world about all the weaknesses of the winner-takes-all system, and then they resist mightily that which could shed some light, just a little for a way forward? Where is the genuineness and humility to look inward, away from the noisome crowd, and distance from what destroys us, and now worse than any time prior? All stand as majestic monuments for constitutional
reform but are inseparable from the losing winner-takesall situation. Whither constitutional reform when coalition or opposition is in power? We speak the celestial and reap the diabolical; I say we need more than reform; we need a brand new one. But how do we ever get anywhere near there, even to starting to there, with one or the other racial political behemoths at the helm? There is the record of their intransigence, and of our ceaseless circumstances, of which I speak no more. Clearly, we set ourselves for more of the same, and to repeat the same warping cycle every five years. Then, we flourish oratorically about Truth and Reconciliation, but remain fixed in racial silos of who cheated, who won, and who lost. We cannot speak of truth nor reconciliation unless we denounce racial allegiances. I identify not with such, so I can speak to truth. The truths of this or that commission set up for Lindo, and Linden, and Rodney and look at the many mysteries, and few revelations. But we want more of the same selfserving hypocrisies from the same unreconstructed racist
truth and reconciliation. Count me out of that abject foolishness leading nowhere. We have been widely and rightly disparaged as mudheads; what is in our heads? Unless we separate from what has wounded soul, we intensify wretchedness. How we love to quote and cite Mandela and Martin and Mohandas. We have to live like them. Me and you can be. We can be more Sadat and less Stokely or Subhas or Sharon; Rabin and not Rudolph (Hess). Ponder this: once, I lauded publicly political stalwarts Sam Hinds and Roger Luncheon; and the rush came: he has cloven hooves and horns on head. Today, I parse for positives (self-determination, fixing our house) from Minister Raphael Trotman recent comments, and I am the foreman in the devil’s workshop. I must be doing something good to have incurred broadsides from both warring factions. A good friend (I hope I still am to him), Dr. Thomas Singh warned years ago to be careful with politicians; he was right. But there comes a crossroad, where writing must stop and doing start. I hope I did some good, through an
friend living counselled: lie with dogs and fleas follow. He, too, is right; but it is part of life’s lessons and growing. When I question the involvement of foreigners (my fellow Americans cherished), I am a communist, a reactionary. No less a person than Cheddi Jagan labelled them, “the juggernaut of the north.” Where are his people now? I hear of a military base denied to the US, and I recall the plenipotentiary visiting local leaders, and I wonder what was promised, who bartered. My point is this: when we are divided and ruled, we continue the hatreds, the untruths, the unconstitutional, and being unreconciled. Yet we insist on staying the course with what has failed (with foreign assistance). When I advocate heads together, curses cascade. If this is price, let it be. For all their flaws, I want to live like Nelson and Luther and Karamchand. Mia Mottley said, “truth hurts.” The truth is we stay with what is there, and we go nowhere. That is my truth. I grope in the darkness amidst the hornets. Sincerely, GHK Lall
In a virtual political stalemate, winner-takes-all governance is definitely not a solution DEAR EDITOR, The Political Stalemate: The 2020 election recount results have confirmed that there is a virtual political stalemate in Guyana. The PPP/C won with 50.69% of all the votes and 33 Parliamentary seats. The PNC/R got 47.34% of all the votes and 31 Parliamentary seats, and the LPJ, ANUG and TNM alliance got 1.13% of all the votes and 1 Parliamentary seat. Altogether, the parliamentary opposition parties and the other small and new Parties got 49.31% of all votes. The PPP/ C’s margin of victory is just 1.38% and only one (1) Parliamentary seat! This is not a large margin by any stretch of our imagination. For the near future, neither the PPP/C nor the APNU/AFC could win any free, fair and transparent election by more than one or two seats or by more than one or two percentage points of total votes! This stalemate has been evident since 2011. The PPP/ C won 32 Parliamentary seats in 2011, 32 seats in 2015 and 33 seats in 2020. Together, the other Parties, primarily the APNU and AFC, won 33 seats in 2011, 33 seats in 2015 and 32 seats in 2020. Over the 2011, 2015 and 2020 national elections, the
PPP/C won an average of 49.5% of all votes and the other Parties, primarily the APNU and AFC, won an average of 50.5% of all votes – a difference of 1%! Why is this happening? One of the main reasons is that there have been significant changes in the ethnic composition of the nation. According to the National Censuses, between 1966 (year of independence) and 2012, the Indian community decreased by 11%, the African community decreased by 2% and the Portuguese, Chinese and European communities decreased by 1.2%. On the other hand, the Amerindian community grew by 6% and the Mixed community grew by 8%. However, aware of this significant growth of the Mixed and Amerindian communities, both the APNU+AFC and the PPP/C intensely campaigned in 2020 in these two communities. The PPP/C won the support of 70% of all Amerindian voters and 33% of all Mixed voters. The APNU+AFC won the support of 66% of all Mixed voters and 25% of all Amerindian voters. All the other Parties won 5% of all Amerindian voters and 1% of all Mixed voters.
Winner-Takes-All is not a Solution: With the political stalemate, the reality of the conundrum of inter-ethnic rivalry between the African and Indian communities, and unfair ethnic and class competition, most Guyanese realize that, based on their previous experiences, the solution is not an elective despotism (a winner-takes-all government), nor a dictatorship. Either situation would definitely widen ethnic and class disparities with grave consequences. Unquestionably, there must continue to be free, fair and transparent national elections every five years, so that every adult person from every ethnic community can express their preference for any political party. However, neither a winner-takes-all PPP/C government nor a winner-takes-all APNU+AFC government could nationally unite Guyanese to develop national strategies: [1] for building a diversified and sustainable economy, [2] for ending corruption, [3] for eradicating poverty in all ethnic communities, [4] for tackling income inequality in each ethnic community, [5] for overcoming fears of public insecurity, [6] and for supporting the cre-
ation of jobs for every Guyanese in all ethnic communities.These strategic issues impact the development and economic growth of the whole Guyanese nation. Therefore, what is essential is a national inclusive process for decision-making on the key national strategies. In other words, there must be inclusive governance (not the government alone) that would ensure the government is accountable for implementing the national strategies, respects the rule of law, makes the best use of our natural resources, protects the environment, and effectively delivers the goods and services that all ethnic communities in Guyana expect. In this inclusive governance, political parties and civil society organizations must fully participate. Therefore, with 33 seats of the 65 seats in Parliament, a PPP/C Government cannot be successful if it monopolizes governance. That would be a zero-sum situation like in the game of ‘Monopoly’ where whatever is gained by one player is lost by the other player(s). But a country’s society (and economy), is not a board game of winners and losers! Geoffrey Da Silva
Monday July 20, 2020
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Kaieteur News
Political dynamite loaded with Those whom the gods wish to terrifying and horrifying brutish destroy they first make mad DEAR EDITOR, recognized as legitimate by 4, to declare Granger Presithe letter columns from the imprisonment of consequences When I first called David the Coalition Government”. dent. what he labelled as dogma, subjectivity,
DEAR EDITOR, Vincent Alexander’s letter of Saturday July 18, published in three of the dailies is indicative of the strategic thinking by the three plus seven cabal. By now, Alexander’s letter must have set off alarm bells in certain quarters nationally and internationally. If it didn’t, then it means we have become so numbed and traumatized by a combination of elections fatigue and the vagaries of the COVID-19 timorous lockdown, that we have either failed or are not alert enough to recognize the coded message Alexander’s letter is telegraphing to the nation The first and last paragraphs of Alexander’s letter is as scary as it is portrayed in the macabre and terror-filled work of Edgar Alan Poe’s ‘Tales of Mystery and Madness.’ Published on July 18, the day the world observed ‘Mandela Day,’ Alexander’s letter stands out in stark contrast to what this South African giant of a man sought to instill in the thoughts and actions of mankind; “It is not our diversity which divide us; nor our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us...there can only be one division amongst us: those who cherish democracy and those who do not.” Mandela’s message to humanity is relevant to Guyana’s present day situation. There is no need for further elaboration. Addressing the editors of the three dailies, in the opening paragraph of his letter, Alexander reveals his disdain for freedom of expression and public opinion; ‘I find no comfort in discourse in the Letters’ Column since it is often used to personalize issues as well as to spew dogma and subjectively pontificate.’ I concede that Alexander is entitled to his view on this particular matter but that doesn’t mean he’s right in categorizing the letter columns is such a nasty way as he did. Alexander’s comments are not only disparaging of letter writers, they are the antithesis of freedom of expression and smacks of an open resentment of letter writers. In the circumstances, we are reminded of Nelson Mandela’s words of caution; “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it would kill your enemies.” Since Alexander in my view, finds the letter columns boring, what he should have committed himself to, rather than berating the contents, he should seek to liberate, as it were,
pontification and the ad hominem issues, by following in the footsteps of his colleagues, unless he considers them just as guilty of dogmatism, pontificating, subjectivism and the personalization of issues. Alexander’s resentment of letter writers aside, the most troubling in his letter is to be found in the last paragraph where he wrote: ‘There is a song sheet out there that reminds me of the Weapons of Mass Destruction that was the reason for the invasion of Iraq. Alas, no such weapons were found or evidence of their existence. But regime change was achieved; thousands were killed and Iraq is yet to return to stability and civility.’ This is a case of both the message and the messenger. The two are inextricably linked. We know messenger, he has long been established as the boundary marker for the APNU+ AFC at GECOM. And the message/narrative here is clear; no electoral fraud, call it WMD, has been perpetrated by the ruling coalition administration. Therefore, the call for regime change viz; for the Granger led coalition administration to ‘step aside’ is misguided. Thus, as Alexander’s narrative goes, any outside intervention; read statements and visa restrictions, aimed at bringing about regime change in Guyana, if successful, would come at a heavy price, resulting in ‘thousands killed’ and a loss of ‘stability and civility’ read Guyana, instead of Iraq. This gloomy and implicitly destructive vision of Guyana’s future, were the APNU+AFC not be allowed to get away with the rape of democracy in Guyana, should be viewed of a declaration of strategic intent by one of the more vocal and high profile representatives of those who doggedly cling to state power in Guyana. The cabal of three plus seven must not be allowed to ridicule Vox populi so transparently manifested in the count at the place of poll and the recount at the convention center. Alexander’s threat of what would befall the nation were it not to bend and allow Granger to be declared the President of Guyana, should be considered political dynamite loaded with terrifying and horrifying brutish consequences, with a wick that is as long as twelve months and as short four months. Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee
Granger a hypocrite, a month ago on 17th of March, and then questioned “his personal credibility and honestly”, on the 22nd March, I was severely criticized by former senior colleagues in the PNC and subject to insults and abuse on Facebook by the likes of Mark Benschop, Rickford Burke and Mark Devonish, who all conveniently live in the USA and England, and who must not escape the sanction list. David Granger’s hypocrisy, but much worse, his manifest duplicity and deceit and just plain lying has now come full circle. This is a man, desperately holding onto power in the face of his party’s defeat at the election, who persistently claims, that his party and his government is innocent of wrong doing and has never intervened or interfered in the decisions of GECOM. This is the man who has publicly sworn, more than once, that no matter what, he, his government and his party, would abide by the decisions of the Chairman of GECOM. Granger’s exact words were: “as President of Guyana and Leader of the Government, it is my policy that any declaration coming from the Chairman of the elections Commission would be
The Chairman of GECOM has, in fact, just declared through her lawyer, Kim Kyte-Thomas, before the Chief Justice (ag) that she expects the Chief Elections Officer, Lowenfield, to submit the elections results from the Recount and that the case before her brought by Granger’s party representative, Misenga Jones, be thrown out. It is, however, much worse than Granger failing to deliver on his promise to respect the position of the GECOM Chairman. Granger now has his Attorney General, supported by high-priced Trinidad lawyers at Court, before the Chief Justice (ag) arguing that the Recount Order (Order 60) is itself illegal and that the results of the entire 33 days recount cannot be used by GECOM. Adding insult to injury, Granger now has his AG arguing before the court, that the Chairman of GECOM is obligated to accept the declaration made by Lowenfield based on the fraudulent Mingo tabulation of District
This is the same Granger, that, on 15th March, signed an Aide Memoir, together with Bharrat Jagdeo, “facilitated by Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados” witnessed by Secretary General of Caricom, Ambassador Irvin La Roque and also witnessed by Joe Harmon and Raphael Trotman, to “supervise the recount of ballots…from all electoral districts in Regions 1-10 …in accordance with the judgement of the Court issued by Roxanne George, Chief Justice (ag), on 11th March 2020” and to “abide by the outcome of a fair and transparent process for the recount”.Today, as you read this, once more, Granger and his lawyers, have the nation before the Courts, this time actually attempting to throw out the Recount to which he agreed to abide, and return us to a Lowenfield declaration of the count which the entire world, including this writer, witnessed and has condemned as fraudulent. The words of an ancient proverb come to mind “those (Continued on page 6)
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Monday July 20, 2020
Kaieteur News
Guyana is not holding its breath to know the ruling from the High Court because the result is as clear as the unwritten word “valid” DEAR EDITOR, Last Wednesday, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo announced visa sanctions for Guyanese Officials and their families that took immediate effect for “undermining democracy.” The United States announced that it takes two to play a game and they also know how to play this game of cricket. It was quite a fast paced delivery from the US that yorked the middle stump of the APNU+AFC Party. They were totally upset as they were celebrating their captain’s birthday and they wanted to prolong playing for time so that the party can continue. Their hopes were shattered as the wicket came tumbling down and they didn’t expect the sudden delivery for a gift. They were beaten for pace as the most powerful bowler shortened his length and pitched a deadly line of deadly. They were expecting a tall bouncer as a bluffer so that they could duck and allow it to go sailing overhead harmlessly. The cannon ball, instead, came crashing down with a last minute change in flight on the toes, menacingly, with immediate effect as a result. As the batsman hurried to shuffle his bat down to defend his wicket, he was mesmerized by the speed of the ball that went right through his bat and pad and ended up splitting the middle stump, right on target where it hurt his ego the most. The batsman looked back at the horrible scene, lost for words, couldn’t believe what he saw, his eyes in total disarray and wondered how that could happen, but, stood his
ground in complete shame and waited as he tried to recompose his damaged pride. Immediately, the rest of the team in the pavilion shouted “not out, no ball, that’s not fair, not creditable, not free from honesty.” Schooled from their captain, Mr. “G,” ( a one-time soldier indoctrinator and teacher for political propaganda), the chief spokesman, Mr. Full Of Harm, immediately tried to brain washed the crowd by shouting, “We are not aware of that type of delivery in our communication programme with the US team and so that should not be allowed as a fair and just ball. The delivery was not creditable and so the batsman should be free of any delinquency and should remain intact. If we the APNU+AFC team had received any formal communication and notification in advance that the US intended to bowl that type of delivery, then, we would have known when, where and what type of action they would have conveyed. They should have advised us to the timing and its nature.” Unfortunately for him, the crowd refused to believe a word, was not riled up nor fired up by his speech but instead, looked at him in dismay and couldn’t believe their ears that they heard him correctly and that he could have said that. Everyone wanted to know if he was in his sound mind or if that was his best line of defense to offer an explanation for the team’s demise. Meanwhile, the batsman wouldn’t move and the umpire had to tell him in no
uncertain terms to “step aside,” move out, pack up your traps and ask their captain to hand over the cup to the next team because his team’s side are all out, failing to overhaul the opposing team’s score by 15,416 points and this game is over. They can try again in another five years, this game was played fair and square, free and creditable, their certainly were no encumbrances, no wicket was allowed with any no ball and the match was also played back and reviewed by the third umpire via the UDRS. Mind you, all umpires were foreign and there were national and international observers and spectators. Objections were immediately raised as an alternative to switch game tactic with fraud and corruption when their statistician and scorer, Mr. Low and Mr. Go, (after quickly colluding with bogus fictitiousness, adding runs to the APNU+AFC score and deducting runs from the US score, none of which matched in totality with the individual 11 batsmen), pronounced that according to their count, the APNU/+AFC won instead. But because the spectators, other stakeholders, audiences at home and abroad and the umpires were keeping tab and had their scoring sheets, they refuted this claim and asked Mr. Low to produce his scoring sheet. Mr. Low of course refused, sought police protection and Mr. Go went in hiding. The result from the game remains in limbo as one of their officers is challenging the official scorer’s sheet in court, which the umpire is using to declare the legitimate winner of the match that was played flawlessly and without any material and questionable discrepancies. APNU+AFC wouldn’t give up the cup and is holding on to it. Surprisingly, their chief (cheat) spokesmen, King David, King Henry and President Lincoln are staying quiet and avoiding any confrontation by not narrating their versions of that last and wicked delivery from the Team USA. Perhaps, the rippling effect can ricochet back to them and their families in a boomerang catapult, so, they prefer to let the captain and his vice handle the heat with, “I gone, yu try deh, I ain’t messing with no marines.” Mumbling under his breath afterwards, it was overheard the captain resorting to another tongue twister excuse saying that, because he did not allow the US to use a radio station for their announcers to broadcast outside Bourda,
the border, Team USA decided to apply a low blow under the belt. Back on the global stage, the international community witnessed for themselves, the daylight rigging of the election by APNU+AFC Party’s architect, Mr. Bingo, with his fraudulent figures manipulating an unjustified win in favour of his master, the de facto ring leader. They further acknowledged the veracity of the CEO’s farce monopoly to bulldoze GECOM’s Madam Chair and exert a superior autonomy by attempting on four different occasions, enforcing an invalid report, not inconformity with the Madam Chair ’s instructions. The ABCEU, OAS, UN, Elder, CARICOM, Commonwealth and GECOM are all peeved, flustered, angry, upset and fed up with the APNU+AFC Party and their affiliates in trying to derail democracy in Guyana with election fraud, perpetual interruptions to the election
process and frivolous and vexatious court proceedings. After weeks of advanced, repetitive warnings and advices from the national and international communities to concede defeat, uphold democracy and desist from their flagrant attacks on anyone who dare speak out against the APNU+AFC Party’s misdemeanors, they continue to flounce these notices and pay no heed nor give them any attention. After deliberately refusing to allow GECOM to declare the PPP/C as the legitimate winner of the election and continue to squat in office, the US has had enough of this nonsense and decided to implement sanctions as a preliminary catalyst to allow the caretaker management team of rogues to come to their senses. The US therefore, did not have to directly advise Mr. “G” or anyone else simply because they did not recognize the APNU+AFC Party as the
legitimate negotiator for governmental affairs any longer. This opinion is fully endorsed by the rest of the international community and so they have no reason to deal with the APNU+AFC Party for any official communication or business as the legal representatives or guardians of Guyana. What further embarrassment the APNU+AFC Party is waiting for, they will certainly receive in no uncertain terms. As usual, this simple English language is too complicated for them to understand and they will once again need the service of the CCJ to explain to them what “step aside” means! Today, the entire Guyana is not holding its breath to know the ruling from the High Court because, the result is as clear as the unwritten word “valid.” They are more anxious to skip and gallop on to the next move by GECOM. Respectfully, Jai Lall
Guyana: I can’t stop loving you DEAR EDITOR, I am a music lover and when I listen to the song “I can’t stop loving you” composed and written in 1957 by country singer Don Gibson in 1957, I remember my days living at Perth Village, Mahaicony among mostly Afro Guyanese looking out for and protecting one another. Those were the days when we attended Sunday school at the small Pilgrim Holiness Church pastored by Brother Waldron. We catch fish with our bare hands, shared out of love, climb the tallest coconut tree for fun but after our country gained independence, some of our own people decided to destroy that culture of genuine love and successfully turned us against one another for their own selfish reasons and we were and are still stupid enough to allow wicked fellow Guyanese to use us as sheep for the slaughter for their own satisfaction. I look at how we have navigated to becoming an embarrassment to our maker, but God is not to be blamed because as the wise king Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7: 10: “This is what I found. God has made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.” As a result we have embraced different movements organized by well-educated wicked people who successfully provide their own narrative to indoctrinate us to believe that one race is superior than the other and now we are at a stage where we have started to despise one another
to our own destruction. Can you believe that God has blessed us with gold, timber, bauxite, rice, oil and the most hospitable people on the planet earth and now we are so ungrateful to almighty God that instead of exploiting these resources for our benefit we are fighting over our country’s wealth and have turn against one another destroying ourselves and country? When I read Dominic Gaskin’s recent post I felt the passion in the words “for God’s sake” which indicates to me that he is warning all of us of the consequences of sleeping during this critical time of our nation. Gaskin’s post is the reason for my contribution because I fully support his passion to save our nation from sure destruction unless we change our ways and refuse to be influenced by those who have their own axe to grind and goal to accomplish. God has blessed Guyanese with great intelligence, and we should not allow ourselves to be manipulated by others but to reason out the facts and make our own determination based on truth and for that reason. I pledge loyalty to no man or political party and I will never advocate an Afro Guyanese Government nor an Indo Guyanese Government but a Government that is elected by the those of us who voted on March 2nd 2020. I compliment those who fearlessly and passionately embrace love for country and are willing to risk the consequences of speak-
ing the truth. We all know those who have willfully placed our country in limbo since our election. We are fully aware that they have hatched a plan knowing the pain that is being imposed on us. I hate or despise no one but I pray that they will accept the folly of their ways, repent and willingly reverse their course for if they refuse to release their grip on our country God says in Proverbs 29:1: “ Anyone who remains stiff necked or stubborn after many rebukes will suddenly be cut off without remedy.” I again repeat that I wish harm to no one, but it behooves each offender to seriously take God’s warning. God has given me a solid and unshakable love for Guyana and divorce is never an option. Guyana, “I can’t stop loving you” and I want every Guyanese to join me in protecting the resources that God has put into our care and resist anyone or thing that attempts to rob us of His blessing. We are One people. Harold Beharry
Those whom the gods ... From page 5 whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad”. David Granger and his immediate family, with the marked exception of Dominic Gaskin and his wife, have earned themselves the place at the head of the list of the sanctions by the Americans, once they continue with this madness. Kit Nascimento
Monday July 20, 2020
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Guyana witnessed most alarming instances of “squandermania” under Granger administration Upon analyzing statistics recently published by the Bank of Guyana, Financial Analyst, Sasenarine Singh is of the firm conviction that under the coalition administration, Guyana has witnessed the most alarming instances of “squandermania.” In a letter to the press, Singh highlighted that total current expenditure between April 2015 and March 2020 was $938.3 billion. He was keen to note that this is a 65 percent increase in current expenditure under Granger compared to the previous five years under the PPP/C. Singh said that this situation can only be described as “squandermania” while noting that it helps to explain why the government’s main checking account – the
- Financial Analyst
Financial Analyst, Sasenarine Singh public deposit at the Bank of Guyana, now has an overdraft of over (minus) $91 billion as at June 24, 2020,
compared to real cash left in that account by the PPP/C Government at the end of March 2015 totaling (positive) $15 billion. Further to this, Singh said it should not escape the attention of the public that there was an 88 percent increase in rental and maintenance of buildings and state-owned properties and infrastructure. The PPP aligned member also noted that there was a 57% increase in personnel cost which he said was mainly to facilitate a massive army of “high priced political flunkies” all over the state establishment. The Financial Analyst also expressed with great
Contact tracing is an effective method to tackle Guyana’s rise in COVID-19 cases — PAHO Rep. The Pan American Health Organization has noted its support for the Public Health Ministry to conduct a wider scope of surveillance, in wake of an increase of COVID -19 cases countrywide. In this regard, Pan American Health Organisation /World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO) country representative to Guyana, Dr. William AduKrow explained that the international health organizations have been pushing for contact tracing initiatives to be implemented as a more effective method of addressing issues of COVID -19 in the Regions of the Americas – of which Guyana is included. Adu-Krow said that a case for contact –tracing was presented to Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) — the committee which is directly responsible for the testing and monitoring COVID-19, across the ten administrative regions. According to him, while the HEOC agrees with the recommendations for more follow -up surveillance specifically contact-tracing of coronavirus cases, the initiative will require a more intense strategic and investigative approach. Dr. Adu-Krow noted however the local health sector is faced with a limitation in this regard. “What is happening is that most of the frontline health workers are currently occupied in some way or the other in the efforts to beat COVID-19, so there are fewer people available to train,” he
PAHO/WHO country representative to Guyana, Dr. William Adu-Krow explained. The official also noted that while health officials have been able to conduct surveillance of confirmed cases to a certain degree; a national response team is needed for contact -tracing activities across the country. Adu Krow stressed nonetheless that the unavailability of personnel should not be viewed as a hindrance implementing the initiative. “We understand the limitations but this should not stop those in charge from reaching out to retired nurses, community health workers, and even security personnel and have them trained to do the job,” Adu – Krow added while noting that PAHO is ready to provide technical and other support for the contact- tracing initiative.
Earlier this year, PAHO released a document recommending the implementation and management of contact tracing for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Region of the Americas. In the context of COVID19, the document is intended to complement the interim guidance by WHO on contact-tracing. The document which incorporates WHO recommendations as well as those from other international agencies and public health institutions aims to provide guidance for implementing contact- tracing for COVID19 in the Americas. By definition, contact tracing, also referred to as contact investigation, is the identification, monitoring, and support of the individuals (contacts) who have been exposed to the patient and possibly infected themselves. This process prevents further transmission of the disease by separating people who have (or may have) an infectious disease from people who do not which includes asking cases to isolate and contacts to quarantine at home voluntarily. Contact tracing is regarded globally, as an effective disease control strategy to identify cases and their contacts to then work with them to interrupt disease transmission. As such, the technique is listed by PAHO/ WHO as a key strategy to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
certainty that when the history books are written and the performance of the political leadership in the Ministry of Finance is evaluated, Singh posited that it will, without question, secure an “F” grade. While Singh and other stakeholders with close ties to his party share these views, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan recently n o t e d i n t h e p ress that accusations of “squandermania” are nothing but malicious claims against the Granger administration. Jordan said that while expenditures have increased, as is to be expected, these have been in the context of strategic plans and developmental needs. Expounding further, the Finance Minister pointed out that prudent financial management has ensured that the fiscal deficit over the past five years, has remained within the bounds of what is expected of the country at this stage of development. He was keen to note as
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan well that the Government responded positively to meet the needs of its people, as evidenced by the budgeted numbers for current expenditure growing by 30.1 percent and capital expenditure by 32.8 percent, from 2016 to 2019. The Finance Minister also pointed out that increases in current expenditure were largely attributed to increases in wages and salaries, old-age pensions and social
assistance. Expounding in this regard the economist said, “For instance, total employment costs increased by 40.6 percent in 2019, when compared with 2016, reaching $70.9 billion in 2019, with significant growth in the public sector minimum wage. The increases led to higher household income, particularly among those earning within the lowest income brackets, thereby reducing poverty. The public sector minimum wage (also) increased by over 70 percent between 2015 and 2019, to reach $70,000.” In addition to this, Jordan said that expenditure on oldage pensions and social assistance increased by 26.4 percent in 2019 when compared with 2016, reaching $14.8 billion. Jordan also noted that between 2015 and 2019, old-age pensions increased by 56.2 percent to reach $20,500. With these and other factors in mind, the Finance Minister said that the Government is unapologetic in pursuing a policy to redress the historical wrong and neglect of those most in need.
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Guyana likely to see increase in ExxonMobil fails to come clean case backlog due to insufficient on number of Guyanese trained for senior positions judges, prosecutors - UNDP Report warns While Guyana has no shortage of criminal a t t o r n e y s - a t - l a w, t h e buildup of cases which has been affecting the judiciary for decades, is due to the fact that there are only two Criminal Courts and not enough judges and prosecutors. This is according to a recent report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), titled Caribbean Justice: A needs assessment of the judicial system in nine countries. The report was written to provide an up-to-date view of the present state of play in the administration of justice systems in nine Caribbean countries; to identify practices and areas for improvements; and to make recommendations for strategic interventions. The report noted that instead of having the required complement of 20
judges, Guyana only has 14, as well as three of the expected five Court of Appeal Judges. The report highlighted that despite advertisements, there are only two judicial research assistants. It was also noted that there are several districts Magistrate’s Courts that deal with criminal matters. The report said that even though temporary judges have been used in the past at the Court of Appeal, it is not seen as a permanent solution. Wi t h r e s p e c t t o t h e backlog, the report said that civil matters have been reduced. It was keen t o n o t e h o w e v e r, t h a t criminal cases will slowly raise the backlog since the original backlog that was addressed was more of a one-off exercise that depended on the goodwill of judges who took on extra caseloads. “If the present cadre of
judges is not increased, then the issue of backlogs will not be addressed. It is recommended that further options for increasing the human resource capacity including for judicial legal research assistants, Judges, prosecutors and trained mediators be explored,” the report stated.
Since beginning its operations in 2015, ExxonMobil has boasted about the number of Guyanese it has hired. In fact, the oil giant has voluntarily disclosed that more than 50 percent of its workforce is made up of locals. But when it comes to providing a breakdown on the positions these Guyanese occupy, the American multinational is yet to break its silence. Last week, Kaieteur News reached out to Exxon requesting information regarding the training of local personnel for the oil and gas sector specifically, the number of locals trained for jobs in the sector, along with a breakdown of the levels of training provided. Deedra Moe, the company’s Senior Director for Public and Government Affairs, responded saying that more than 50 percent of the company’s total workforce is Guyanese. She said, “Approximately 2,200 of the ExxonMobil employees, contractors and subcontractors supporting its activities in Guyana are Guyanese—more than 50 percent of the total workforce. This number will continue to grow as additional operations progress.” Moe added that over 350,000 hours of training have been provided to Guyanese staff working on ExxonMobil Guyana activities since 2018. She pointed out that more
Deedra Moe, ExxonMobil’s Senior Director for Public and Government Affairs than 70 Guyanese have had or are currently benefiting from hands-on oil and gas experience through overseas training in Brazil, Canada, Singapore and the United States. She said that in terms of a breakdown of the type of training provided, “through the end of 2019, more than 50 percent of training hours were on technical and professional subjects.” She failed to answer the question, however, of “specifically how many persons were trained for senior positions.” Kaieteur News brought this to the attention of the ExxonMobil employee and up to press time, there was no response.
In Guyana’s Local Content Policy, companies like ExxonMobil are asked to have Guyanese assigned to senior management positions such as General Managers, Directors, Vice Presidents, members of the Executive Board among others. The document also stipulates that operators must submit a Local Content Plan to the subject Minister within 60 days prior to the beginning of each year and it should be updated annually. This plan which covers the period January to December 31 and should include project-specific estimates on the utilization of Guyanese workers, suppliers and subcontractors, the training of Guyanese persons, the capacity building of Guyanese Suppliers, and other capacity building initiatives to support the objectives of Government policy for Local Content in the petroleum sector. Regrettably, this information is only available to the Minister with portfolio responsibility for the oil and gas sector and not to the public due to confidentiality clauses in the Policy. Kaieteur News would have reported extensively that this clause is not in keeping with international best practices and practically erases the level of transparency and accountability that should govern all activities in the industry.
Food for the Poor delivers five new homes to Corentyne families Food for the Poor Guyana on Friday said that it handed over five newly built houses to low income families living in Corentyne, Region Six. Project Manager of Food for the Poor, Jiya Edward, represented the NonGovernmental Organization (NGO) at the handing over which took place at the St. Francis Community Developers Head-quarters. Edwards stated that the organization was happy to hand over the five houses to the families. These families range from Kilcoy/Chesney, Albion, Port Mourant and Williamsburg in Corentyne. She also informed this newspaper that the St. Francis Community Developers Headquarters has been assisting with vetting applications in Region Six and once they are approved, construction will swiftly commence. In addition to that, she
President of St. Francis Community Developers, Alex Foster noted that the houses comprise of two bedrooms, a rain harvesting component, and an up to standard lavatory. Each family also received two beds, a table, a table top gas stove, four chairs and a solar panel. The families
consist of 25 children and 10 adults. Alex Foster, Head of the St. Francis Community Developers Headquarters said that since the NGO’s General Housing Project, they have built 355 homes for residents of Region Six. He thanked Food for the Poor Inc and everyone else that came on board with the project to make it a success and also made it his duty to enlighten the parents in receipt of these homes that they should try their utmost to ensure their children are properly educated. He believes that if their living conditions see improvement, this will encourage more effort being placed into bettering themselves and securing their families a happy future. His goal is to equip parents with the ability to be productive citizens who in turn will raise productive citizens of the country.
Monday July 20, 2020
Kaieteur News
VOA is not all propaganda Before television came to Guyana, radio was popular. There was hardly a home without a radio. In my home there was a radiogram - consisting of a radio and a gramophone or record -player. The radio unit on my radiogram had shortwave, medium and long wave bands. Every morning apart from listening to the local radio, I would tune in on shortwave to listen to the BBC World Service, Caribbean Service. There was a one-hour news programme of the main news stories around the world. There were also interesting programmes, including, at times, live coverage of Test Match and county cricket. The Caribbean Service would end around 10am each morning. If you wanted to continue listening to the World Service you had to use another shortwave band but unless you had an external antenna, the reception usually was very poor. The Caribbean Service would resume in the afternoons and go way into the evening. It was among the staples of lovers of radio before the advent of television. Voice of America (VOA) was also available on shortwave throughout the day. But the reception was better at nights. During the dark days of political repression, Guyanese would be forced to listen to the Radio Antilles newscast each evening in order to get the truth about their country’s politics. The statemedia then, as now, was totally controlled by the government and was biased and partisan and very often twisted the facts. Radio Antilles operated out of Montserrat. It stopped its service in 1995 by which time there were two independent newspapers in Guyana, the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News. But without Radio Antilles, Guyanese would have been in the darkness about much of what was
taking place in the country. Prior to the advent of television, the main source of information came from the radio. Guyanese tuned in to foreign radio broadcasts from the BBC, VOA and Radio Antilles for news and information. VOA is owned by the American government but, like the BBC, it is not about solely disseminating the American viewpoint. When it does provide the perspectives of the American government in a commentary, it informs the listener that the views expressed on the programme are those of the US government. It can and does provide in most instances fair coverage. VOA is a valuable source of information of a variety of issues and it does have excellent features. The first time I heard Chick Corea was on a late-night VOA programme. The VOA still has excellent arts and culture features as well as a international news programmes which bring news from all around the world. This is not to suggest that the VOA does not have a political role. It does. The VOA is seeking to reach audiences in countries where there is no free press or where the press is being suppressed or there are such perceptions. VOA, because it is a liberal multi-media service, has attracted its fair share of accusations that it is a propaganda arm of the United States government. It has been accused of having a political agenda. VOA Persia Service has been accused of vilifying Iran. It has also been critical of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. But most western media can be similarly accused. But similar criticisms cannot be made of much of most of the content of the VOA. With the Internet, one no longer needs a shortwave radio to listen to programmes of the VOA or the BBC. The state-owned NCN used to relay BBC programmes, mostly
late at night. It also did the same with Chinese stateowned television network. With the internet, you no longer need a shortwave radio to listen to programmes aired by the VOA or the BBC. These are now streamed online and you can actually download programmes or otherwise listen at your own convenience. The internet has changed radio and it has certainly changed, for the better, the programming which listeners can access from services such as the BBC and the VOA. Those who are tired of television news – and especially of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News – may wish to consider radio once again. The BBC has multiple radio channels which are available online. And the VOA is also streaming its programmes. VOA is not all propagana. Its news reporting does embrace, generally, journalistic standards. The VOA conveys the American liberal values of a free press and a democartic government. And are those not the same values to which our local politicans claim to subscribe. Guyanese, if they wish, can opt to view foreign radio stations such as the BBC and the VOA as instruments of western propaganda. But in so doing, they will be missing out on some quality programming, from which the older radio-listening generation benefitted. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Dem boys seh ...
De truth hurts Dem boys does gat fuh laugh at some of de things dem does read and hear people talk. Some people vex with the Waterfall paper fuh standing up fuh what is right. Dem same people fuget dat de waterfall paper bin doing dat fuh de past 26 years. De motto of de paper is if yuh nah stand up for something, you gan fall fuh anything. Dem boys hear de man wah stand up in front of Eve, accuse de boss man of de Waterfall paper of nah liking certain people. De same man wah seh duh was one of dem certain people. So dem boys gat fuh ask how come he feel dat way and still wuk fuh de boss man fuh 25 years. And how come dem used to be like batty and poe. Dem boys bin remember how much money de Waterfall boss man bin lose because he stand up fuh de same man wah now throwing shade. Was de same Rubberstamp bin tell de
boss man dat so long as de man, wah deh front of Eve, wukkin at de waterfall paper it will not get a single government advertisement. And it never did fuh ten years. Dem boys want know if de man wah deh in front of Eve fuget who bin stand up fuh he. Dem boys remember dat another man, who recently get kick out he wuk in de government, did try fuh mek de same accusation against de Waterfall paper. And dem boys bin had to remind he dat de entire pressroom ,except Gildarie, was of one the ethnic groups. Suh dem boys seh dem can throw all de shade dem want. None nah sticking. De truth is de truth. And de truth hurts. Talk half and rememba wah old people seh about burning de bridges wah yuh dun cross.
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THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
People like Jeffrey, Hinds and the ordinary Joe Every academic in and out of Guyana should see the four-month election impasse as a priceless fountain of information that takes in psychology and philosophy. If there weren’t these four months, the hidden destructive traits buried deep in the psyche of so many popular, eminent, educated, or status-possessed Guyanese would have never been revealed and Guyanese would have gone on respecting them for traits they do not possess. As both an academic and social activist, these four months have been an exceptional learning period for me that have no parallel in my life in Guyana. I have become an instant iconoclast and revisionist after what I saw from sections of the Guyanese nationality. One of the most researched areas in history is the role of the educated person in the promotion and spread of evil. This area of scholarship took on a
fascinating curiosity after the Nazi defeat at the end of World War 2. There are countless studies which showed that it was highly educated men in Germany that promulgated theories of race superiority and genetic inferiority among human beings of different ethnicities. It will remain a mystery in philosophy as to why the author of one of the greatest philosophy books ever written - Martin Heidegger’s “Being and Time” – could have shown sympathy for the Nazi regime and dislike and contempt for another race group, the Jews. You read this book, and it is a phenomenal explanation of the existential nature of life. How could such a deep mind be bigoted? This is a country with one of the youngest populations in the entire world, with 70 percent being under 35 and half of it being around 18 years old. These young people will be the future leaders for a long time to
come. One hopes that the lessons learnt from the four months of evil that this country has been drowning in, they will internalize the priceless lessons that they would have seen and are seeing. One of these lessons I will now offer them. Here is my little piece of scholarly advice to 70 percent of the people of my country. The danger in this evil that currently surrounds us has not been generated by those gesticulating semi-educated folks who surround the buildings of GECOM and State House shouting; “Swear in Granger.” You find such misguided people throughout history. These kinds of people clamoured for Socrates to be executed. But it was the intellectual class whose condemnation of Socrates the ruling class listened to. It was these types of learned persons that instigated the masses in Athens.
Tomorrow, the crowds will gather again at State House and the sermon will be; “Swear in Granger” but they are also those who don’t take to the streets, who are armed with a higher education but it is through their writings that the evil of the past four months is still alive. I confess I became cold when I read GECOM Commissioner, Desmond Trotman, citing Walter Rodney’s endorsement for Trotman’s conduct in GECOM and he ended his unapologetic epistle with the words, “Walter Rodney Lives!” Mr. Trotman said that he believes what he is doing in GECOM will find acceptance by Dr. Nigel Westmaas and the iconic Moses Bhagwan. I wrote to both of them telling them they owe it to Rodney to denounce Trotman for the use of their names. They simply wrote back to say, “I got your mail.” When the Americans
announced visa sanctions, Dr. Henry Jeffrey responded with a statement that such a policy could intimidate the judiciary. It was immense ignorance on two levels. First, the case was already decided by Guyana’s highest court, the CCJ, therefore it was an abuse of the judicial system. Secondly, the stratagem is to prolong the four months of evil by going to court for frivolous reasons. Dr. David Hinds with each expression on the election crisis is sprouting unmitigated racism and promoting dangerous incitements. Trade union leader, Lincoln Lewis, is an unashamed embracer of the March 13 declaration which includes scientific evidence of illegal conduct by Mingo. I am still at a loss at what Eusi Kwayana has become. He replied to me asserting that he is not in possession of the facts to denounce rigged elections in Guyana.
Frederick Kissoon Drs. Alissa Trotz and Arif Bulkan wrote a long sermon to remind us what party domination has done to Guyana but not one word was assigned to the four months of evil that is smothering Guyana. Dr. Bulkan is a law professor. Our women group put more emphasis on Ruel Johnson’s behaviour than the four months of evil. There is a fault line in anthropology. Its name is the Guyanese nationality. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
COVID-19 CASES MOVE TO 336
Guyana continues to see a steady rise in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed another nine positive cases, bringing the national count to 336. The Ministry through its COVID-19 dashboard reported that the number of persons in institutional quarantine has increased to 14 while the number of persons in institutional isolation also saw an increase of nine, bringing the total to 154. Additionally, Five persons remain in the
COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).The number of recoveries also remains at 163. To date, there has been 19 fatalities. Recently, the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) took a collective decision to lock down all 21 communities in the district with effect from Wednesday, July 15, 2020. According to the council, it made the decisions along with its constituent villages, in light of test results confirming five positive cases in three of the villages.
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Protecting Local Manufacturing in the height of... From page 12 several recommendations, some of which state that local public companies have a responsibility to the public and should be driven to sustainably alleviate the impact on the citizenry without endangering financial viability. The task force in its recommendations was keen to note that the COVID-19 constraints provide an imperative to seek technological solutions to drive efficiencies and reduce costs while adding that it also opportunities to partner with non-traditional partners to seek solutions that are both business oriented and socially conscious. Narine pointed out that none of the recommendations are limited to only Morning Glory Inc., but can be employed by all Guyanese companies at this time. REDUCING PRICES In keeping with the first recommendation of the task force, Prof. Narine said that earlier in June 2020, Morning Glory decided to steeply reduce its pries so that more Guyanese could afford the very nutritious cereal, which is a complete meal replacement, even if it is consumed without milk. Indeed, the Company worked with its retailers and
distributor ANSA McAL Trading Ltd. to reduce the price of the product on retail shelves from an average of $600 - $650 per 225g box to approximately $350 per 225g box. This represents a 46% decrease in retail prices. The IAST/Morning Glory task force recommended this change based on its direct observation of at-need and atrisk communities, encountered during the team’s involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility outreach into such communities. According to Narine, Morning Glory has already begun to see the impacts of this socially conscious decision. Due to the price reduction, Kaieteur News understands that the cereal is reaching more income brackets and there has been a 29% increase in retail sales, which although it cannot make up for the loss in income due to sales to the National School Feeding Programme, is evidence that the primary goal of the strategy; to have a finite social impact on the nutrition of Guyanese, is being successful. PARTNERINGWITH CGX &FRONTERA ENERGY The IAST/Morning Glory task force observed first hand, the growing level of need in
lower income communities in Guyana in relation to accessing good nutrition. As a result, the task force reached out to CGX Energy Inc. to seek ways in which the Oil and Gas Explorer could work with Morning Glory Inc. to enable households in at-risk communities as well as regional health centres, orphanages, shelters and retirement homes access to the full meal replacement nutrition that Morning Glory provides. This news agency understands that CGX Energy Inc. partnered with its Joint Venture Partner, Frontera Energy Corporation and Morning Glory Inc. to enable the donation of 30, 000 225g boxes of Morning Glory Cereal to families and institutions, at a cereal cost of $10, 538, 500. Indeed, these companies were able to partner with several local organizations and individuals to ensure that the donated cereal reached directly to atrisk organizations and individuals without any additional cost. Among others, staff of the Morning Glory Inc. and IAST were able to collaborate with Air Services Limited, religious organizations in Herstelling, the Agricola Development Association, the Hindus for Selfless Service, the Berbice
Chamber of Commerce and Development Association, the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and the Region Five Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Cereals were also donated to at-risk communities and organizations in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Eight. Narine said that Morning Glory will continue to seek additional partners to reach Guyanese in need at this difficult time. TAKING CARE OF EMPLOYEES COVID-19 travel and shipping impacts have also caused the Morning Glory Plant to halt production during the months of June and July, as such; essential packaging materials were not delivered in time due to these delays. This resulted in members of the production staff were laid off and some of this time was used for retooling and maintenance. This has had an impact on both the financial health and the emotional health of the company’s employees. One of the most important strategies of coping with COVID-19 stresses communities around the world are finding, is to engage with each other in conversations so that stresses and solutions can be
19 officers to participate in GDF senior management training programme
discussed. On this note, the company has ensured that it is using social media to allow all employees and management to interact multiple times a week and is already beginning to appreciate the role camaraderie plays in alleviating stress. In addition, Morning Glory has ensured that it provided food hampers to all of its affected employees during this period. The company expects to resume production in August when the packaging materials have arrived. These are expected in late July, 2020. In the meantime, here is what two staff members had to say about dealing with COVID-19 pandemic. Tamika Richardson, Food Processing Technician, Queenstown, 20 years old:
“Working during the period of COVID in the manufacturing sector has exposed me to a great experience most of which we were already practicing at Morning Glory Inc especially good hygiene and safety attire. I started working with the company in September 2019 and since then, I have been busy helping in the production of cereals. The job has been my first one so I tried my best to ensure that I adhere to all safety measures. I was very fortunate to be in the team to manufacture a large number of cereals mainly for donations- this made me feel good. However, in June, when our Director announced during a meeting that we will be closed for maintenance, it
was heartbreaking. I was accustomed to waking up and go to work and helping to feed the nation. I accepted the decision but being home is very hard, the feelings of being laid off are the worst. I am however thankful that the company has provided food vouchers for staff to assist us and our families. I must end by saying this is the worst period I have experienced in my career life and the effects of COVID are saddening.” Trevon Richard Balgobin, Food Processing Technician, Henrietta Village, 20 years old: My
experience during this entire COVID period has taught me to never take things for granted. I have started to work with Morning Glory Inc in 2019 and I was exposed to the most amazing experiences that have groomed me into a better individual. Having completed my studies at the Guyana School of Agriculture, I was happy to attain a job that deals with food science... Being laid off for approximately two months, it’s been a challenging period for me and my family. I am however thankful that the Management at Morning Glory has assisted in helping us with food vouchers. As an employee, I understand that management had done all it can to keep the staff such as reducing the price for a box as well as other measures. However, the effects have still gotten to us and we are facing the harsh realities- I just want this to be over.” To be continued…
City Hall to save millions... Officers at the opening ceremony of the 12 week Senior Command and Staff Course training Programme. Nineteen officers from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will soon be embarking on a 12 week Senior Command and Staff Course which will allow them to be versed in several areas including communication, tactics in open and close country warfare, military law, history, administration, and logistics. During the opening ceremony which was held on July 16, last, officers were charged by Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, to become critical thinkers by going beyond the digestion of materials presented in the modules. “You must do that in order to be the quality of senior officers the GDF needs for its future development. You must therefore become critical thinkers. Learn to deconstruct ideas and concepts in order to gain the fruit of knowledge contained therein,” Brigadier Bess expressed.
Highlighting the significance of the capstone military course, Bess emphasized that the course in itself is exemplified by its terminal objective to train officers to function as unit commanders and senior staff officers through the full spectrum of military operations. These functions, he noted, are grounded in the skills and knowledge to be acquired throughout the duration of the course. “We are the guardians of Guyana’s patrimony, including her territorial integrity, and her safety and security. We are operating in the 21st century and you must gear your minds and harness your energies to deliver 21st century service to our nation and her people…,” Bess stated. Once completed, the officers will be one step closer in the pursuit of Senior Command and Management positions.
From page 14 per month to Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons’ Waste Management for their services. Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine also confirmed that the Council has a five-year contract with the two contractors which will end on October 5, 2020. He said that the Council is looking to lower the monthly cost of garbage collection services from some $32 million to just over $14 million. The cash strapped council has a history of grappling with ways to cover the multi –million expenditures for garbage collection. On more than one occasion, the Council has received assistance from the Ministry of Communities to help foot the bill. However, in November 25, 2018, the major solid waste collectors withdrew their services, after months of operating without being paid. This left the Council with no other alternative than to explore other avenues of keeping the city clean.
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(From left) de facto Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence, and head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo From March to July, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the COVID-19 National Task Force (NCTF), have both conducted only four engagements with the members of the media on issues relating to the novel coronavirus. Guyana recorded its first COVID-19 case and first death in March. The victim, Ratna Baboolall, said to be in her 50s and suffering from underlying conditions, was pronounced dead on the morning of March 11 at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Following her death, the newly established Ministerial Task Force had conducted a virtual press conference on March 17. This task force, established by the incumbent President David Granger, comprises of Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, who is the head, and includes Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence; Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry; Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams SC; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan and Minister of Citizenship, Win-
ston Felix. The NCTF, through its head Nagamootoo had subsequently conducted two virtual engagements, one on April 4 and the other on April 16. However, these virtual press conferences — which included but were not limited to information on beefing up the country’s security at entry ports, what campaigns would be launched to enforce the COVID-19 restrictions and regulations, the closure of schools, special approved flights among other key issues — had ceased when the former Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP), Joseph Harmon, had assumed the position of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the COVID-19 task force on April 24. At the time, the Health Ministry had promised to conduct daily updates at noon with the media, but it was quickly scrapped and morphed into a recorded video featuring the Minister of Health; the Chief Medical Officer, Shamdeo Persaud; or the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr.Karen GordonBoyle. These are aired between the hours of 03:0006:00 PM, and were broadcast via the National Communications Network (NCN) television and the Health Ministry’s Facebook page. This format does not provide the option
for the media, or even the citizens, to ask pressing questions. On days when the videos are not released, a basic daily situational info-graphic report is published. To compound these issues, calls made out to the head of the NCTF and the Health Minister have continuously gone unanswered. No responses were provided for those calls and emails which have also been dispatched to other health officials and members of the NTCF. In fact, the only employee who answers calls is the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Health Ministry, Terrence Esseboom. Quite often, he never has information to share and usually directs members of the media to speak with his superiors. At the moment, the media, and by extension the country rely on the situational reports produced by the ministry, which can go days without being published, and in some cases, the data is regurgitated from prior days. This is in stark contrast to frequent press conferences that are held in other Caribbean territories, conducted by the health officials, and where a detailed breakdown of the cases is provided to the public. Guyana has recorded 19 deaths thus far, with over 300 confirmed cases.
Bermuda to lift curfew today HAMILTON, Bermuda - CMC — Bermuda is to lift its coronavirus (COVID-19) curfew today, but premises with a liquor licence must close at midnight, the government has announced.Public Works Minister David Burch said the decision to end the midnight to 5.00 am (local time) curfew would be reviewed on a weekly basis .It was also revealed that two new cases of the disease had been reported — taking the island’s total to 152, including nine deaths — and that one had broken quarantine restrictions and gone to work. Six cases — all returning residents — have been recorded since the airport was reopened on July 1. Five have been on Delta Air Lines’ flights from Atlanta and one from Toronto. The government also unveiled new legislation in the House of Assembly on Friday to include a US$25,000 fine and/or six months’ imprisonment for a breach of the requirement for travellers to quarantine as they waited for the result of the mandatory airport COVID-19 test. “The ending of the curfew not only represents a major landmark in the reopening of our economy, but it will also create more opportunities for employment,” said Premier David Burt, adding “this is something that many of us will welcome, but it must not be taken as a licence to lose our minds. Simply put, as I said before, please don’t tear it.”
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Illegitimacy, sanctions attract corrupt business partners in oil sector - transparency advocates F
By Mikaila Prince ormer Petroleum Ad visor to the Granger Administration, Dr. Jan Mangal and University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro, are in agreement that an illegitimate government suffering from the imposition of sanctions can easily attract members of the petroleum underworld. These experienced consultants posit that a country in such a weakened state is likely to give almost anything to such elements for their suvival. The industry stakeholders made these and other comments during an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News on the effects Guyana’s oil industry would feel following the imposition of sanctions by the USA on Government officials. Last week, the United States foisted sanctions – currently in the form of visa restrictions – on those who have been complicit in undermining Guyana’s electoral process. Such persons include the incumbent President David Granger and the executives of his party, the A
Former Petroleum Advisor to the President, Dr. Jan Mangal Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). The sanctions can also extend to the party’s financiers and family members. These sanctions were imposed following attempts by the coalition administration via its surrogates, to avoid the declaration of the elections results. The results clearly show that the APNU+AFC faction lost the March 2, General and Regional Elections to the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) by some 15,000 votes.
Trump Not Ready To Commit To Election Results If He Loses WASHINGTON - (AP) — President Donald Trump is refusing to publicly commit to accepting the results of the upcoming White House election, recalling a similar threat he made weeks before the 2016 vote, as he scoffs at polls showing him lagging behind Democrat Joe Biden. Trump says it’s too early to make such an ironclad guarantee. “I have to see. Look ... I have to see,” Trump told moderator Chris Wallace during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News Sunday. “No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.” The Biden campaign responded: “The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”Trump also hammered the Pentagon brass for favouring renaming bases that honour Confederate military leaders — a drive for change spurred by the national debate about race after George Floyd’s death. “I don’t care what the military says,” the commander in chief said.The president described the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, as a “a little bit of an alarmist” about the coronavirus pandemic, and Trump stuck to what he had said back in February — that the virus is “going to disappear.” On Fox, he said, “I’ll be right eventually.” The United States tops the global death toll list with over 140,000 and confirmed infections, with 3.7 million.It is remarkable that a sitting president would express less than complete confidence in the American democracy’s electoral process. But for Trump, it comes from his insurgent playbook of four years ago, when in the closing stages of his race against Hillary Clinton, he said he would not commit to honouring the election results if the Democrat won.Pressed during an October 2016 debate about whether he would abide by the voters’ will, Trump responded that he would “keep you in suspense.”Trump has seen his presidential popularity erode over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and in the aftermath of nationwide protests centered on racial injustice that erupted after Floyd’s death in Minneapolis nearly two months. Trump contends that a series of polls that show his popularity eroding and Biden holding an advantage are faulty. He believes Republican voters are underrepresented in such surveys.
University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro
Some have argued that if the Granger-led government refuses to step aside, the US administration would not hesitate to impose further penalties which could be economic in nature. While such sanctions could have a crippling effect on the country, Dr. Mangal is of the view that oil majors like ExxonMobil which are extracting and exporting Guyana’s crude, would not be affected. The Petroleum Consultant said that ExxonMobil is a “very important company” to the US, as such; its sanctions would be executed in such a way that it protects the oil giant’s profits. He also argued that Guyana being in such a weakened state would become an ideal playground for ExxonMobil. Dr. Mangal stressed that the American company thrives in countries which are falling apart. He said, “Look around the world in places like Chad in Africa and elsewhere. They (ExxonMobil) actually do better commercially in those en-
Petroleum Academic and Lawyer, Charles Ramson Jr.
vironments. They do better in places which are falling apart, in places where there is civil war, in places where there is an illegitimate government, where there is dictatorship.” The petroleum consultant is of the view that if the APNU+AFC fraudulently remains in power, then it will receive international and regional backlash from many. As a result of this, he said that Guyana will be desperate to form new relations—which will be quite difficult. The Petroleum Consultant said, “Everyone will be giving them a hard time because they (APNU+AFC) are illegitimate and they will give Exxon whatever they want in order to survive. Even though they have already given Exxon US$55B already through our poorly signed oil deal, they will give Exxon even more because they are an illegitimate government and they need friends.” University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro shared a view akin to Mangal’s. While Mitro posits that the
lack of international confidence in the government and the elections are harmful to the confidence of any foreign investor, he said one has to keep in mind that the oil industry is used to doing business around the world in many countries that are perceived as being less than democratic or transparent. The Instructor said that most of companies recognize that their ability to make money in a country rarely has to do with the level of democracy. Mitro said there are some cases whereby, having an open democracy makes it harder for companies because any agreement with the government requires some level of transparency such as open debate in Parliament. In Guyana’s case, Mitro said that any sanction by the US government could cause problems for the country’s oil industry as it could eventually lead to restriction of sensitive technology being exported to Guyana. He explained that in some cases, it may even lead to imposing
tariffs on imports or even restriction of travel for oil workers or executives. In other cases, it may even result in more intense scrutiny by US regulatory agencies on the movement of money. Petroleum Academic, Charles Ramson Jr., shares a perspective contrary to the foregoing opinions. During his interview with Kaieteur News, the lawyer contended that no company, corrupt or not, would wish to invest into Guyana if it believes that it would get no returns due to the government’s illegitimacy and sanctions that have been imposed. The consultant was keen to note as well that the current sanctions by the USA are just a precursor of what would follow should the APNU+AFC be sworn in on the basis of fraudulent figures. The lawyer said that if more sanctions are imposed, the oil industry could come to a complete halt “even before it begins to fly”. Ramson argued that “no foreign company would want to touch us with a 10-foot pole and no Guyanese could do it on their own.” Further to this, the Opposition Member said that Guyana’s search for a crude marketer would also be in jeopardy if more sanctions are applied since the winner would be deemed as financing an illegitimate government in its illegal activities. In light of this perspective, Ramson opined that oil majors like ExxonMobil would be forced to reconsider their investment options.
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Chelsea pounce on De Gea errors to book Cup final berth
Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes scores their first goal from the penalty spot, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Pool via REUTERS/Alastair Grant) coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Pool via REUTERS/Alastair Grant) LONDON (Reuters) Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-1 yesterday to book
their place in an all-London FA Cup final, helped by two errors from United goalkeeper
David de Gea and an own goal by Harry Maguire. Chelsea, who will face city
Monday July 20, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) New opportunities to advance your professional standing may arise, Aries. The aspects bode well for business and money. Promising new projects may present themselves. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Today is a terrific day for you, Taurus. You'll find that you can get quite a bit done using your quick mind and sharp wit. Information is flying fast and furious. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You have been at the heart of a cosmic storm for the last few months, Gemini, and now that Venus is direct in your sun sign, you can breathe a sigh of relief (solar first house). CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today your powers of persuasion are at an all-time high. This is a good day to ask for a raise or promote a new project. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) This day bodes well for accomplishments in business and finance. Long-term investments of either time or funds may finally pay off. VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Your insight, creativity, and inventiveness are in full swing, Virgo, and new ideas come thick and fast. However, you might find yourself too caught up in boring, mundane tasks to do very much about it.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) As a natural healer, you might find yourself experiencing a rush of transformative energy today, which you should put into practice. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Be prepared to work diligently toward making your dreams a reality today, Scorpio. Success is definitely on the way, though it may not be approaching quite as quickly as you might like. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You could find it harder than usual to wake up this morning, Sagittarius, as your energy may be flagging. Personal or professional pressures might stir feelings of futility, but don't fall into this trap. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today it might suddenly hit you that you have a lot of unfinished tasks that need to be completed, and this might lead to a case of the blues. Take heart! AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Business and financial matters look promising today, Aquarius, but you could find yourself torn between the need to attend to these matters and the desire to relax at home. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today, Pisces, matters surrounding business and finances need immediate attention, and this could prove a bit disheartening. Do you have a lot of unfinished tasks that have piled up?
rivals Arsenal in the Aug. 1 showpiece, had lost to United three times this season but
looked brighter from the start at Wembley and took control with goals either
side of halftime from Olivier Giroud and Mason Mount. United were forced into a change at 0-0 late in the first half when Eric Bailly was carried off after clashing heads with fellow defender Maguire. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought on Anthony Martial to create more attacking threat. But it was Chelsea who took the lead 11 minutes into first-half stoppage time when Giroud flicked a cross by Cesar Azpilicueta at De Gea who failed to get enough of a hand on the ball to stop it spinning over the line. Chelsea doubled the lead a minute after the restart when Mason Mount pounced on a poor pass by Brandon Williams to shoot from the edge of the box. It looked like De Gea would make a comfortable save but he could only steer the ball into the net. United struggled to c r e a t e a n y c h a n c e s to narrow the deficit and Chelsea sealed the win when Maguire, under pressure from Antonio Rudiger, connected with a cross from Marcos Alonso with his studs and diverted the ball past the hapless De Gea. United scored a consolation goal when Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty in the 85th minute.
Roland Butcher Calls Archer... From page 27 defend what he did as nothing too serious? asked Butcher. Archer who played at U19 level for the West Indies made his Test debut against Australia in August last year after playing the first of his 14 ODIs against Ireland in May 2019. (Sean Devers)
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Stuart Broad & Chris Woakes keep hosts’ hopes alive
BBC Sport – An explosive spell from Stuart Broad on the fourth evening kept alive England’s hopes of winning the second Test against West Indies at Emirates Old Trafford. Broad, who said he was “angry, frustrated and gutted” to be left out of the first Test, took three wickets in 14 deliveries with the second new ball to inspire the home side after West Indies looked to be batting towards a position of safety. Kraigg Brathwaite made 75 and Shamarh Brooks 68, but when Brooks was trapped lbw by Broad it began a slide from 242-4 to 260-8. Roston Chase’s 51 dragged the tourists past the follow-on mark, only for Chris Woakes to remove him and Shannon Gabriel in the same over to bowl West Indies out for 287, 182 behind. The sight of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler striding out to open the batting for England 40 minutes from the close was thrilling, evoking memories of the World Cup final super over a year ago. However, in a chaotic eight overs, Buttler fell for a duck and Zak Crawley 10 to leave England 37-2, leading by 219. They will continue the quest for quick runs today, setting up a declaration before looking to take the 10 wickets that would level the three-match series at 1-1. England pace bowler Jofra Archer, who was dropped from this Test for breaching the bio-secure protocols, returned to training by bowling in the nets. England set up victory push With the third day lost to rain and West Indies blunting England’s attack for most of the fourth, this match seemed destined to meander to the draw that would see the tourists retain the Wisden Trophy. Indeed, for so long yesterday’s most noteworthy
West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite drives during his top score, as West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite in action, as play resumes play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Jon Super/Pool via REUTERS) disease (COVID-19). (Jon Super/Pool via REUTERS) Woakes took over, enticing Jason Holder to edge to second slip, correctly using a review to have Chase lbw and, five balls later, bowling Gabriel. Windies defiance eventually broken A week on from a superb run-chase that won them the first Test at the Ageas Bowl, West Indies were once again looking to repel the England attack. In avoiding the follow-on, they have at least removed England’s quickest option of winning the game, and the tourists will need more defiance on Monday to keep their lead intact. Opener Brathwaite was characteristically determined,
Shamarh Brooks steers one through cover © Getty Images
occurrence was Dom Sibley absent-mindedly breaching coronavirus playing conditions by applying saliva to the ball, resulting in the umpires having to sanitise it. That was all changed by Broad’s brilliant burst and the contest is now set for an intriguing conclusion today. Although West Indies have been solid with the bat in this series, England will feel they have a genuine chance of bowling them out on a pitch
that is starting to show uneven bounce. England captain Joe Root will have to calculate his declaration carefully, not only to give his bowlers enough time, but possibly leave West Indies a target that could tempt them into a run-chase. West Indies are likely to be focused on survival, but they will know victory would secure a first series win in England since 1988. Broad ignites England hopes
Stuart Broad celebrates after bursting through Jermaine Blackwood © Getty Images
After West Indies resumed on 32-1, England were frustrated by the stubbornness of the batting, the lack of pace in the pitch and several halfchances that were missed. The pace bowlers were struggling to find movement and off-spinner Dom Bess could not find a consistent length, even if he had nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph turn to short leg before Shai Hope was caught behind off the wholehearted Sam Curran. Stokes did not bowl until after lunch, and the sight of him banging in short ball after short ball during a tireless 11-over spell highlighted the absence of Archer’s pace. Stokes eventually got his reward when Brathwaite patted back a return catch, meaning England had opened an end just before the second new ball was due. Broad took it and brought the game to life with a full length, some variable bounce and nagging consistency. Both Brooks and Shane Dowrich were trapped on the crease to be lbw either side of Jermaine Blackwood being bowled by one that kept low.
playing some sweet ondrives and punches through the off side, while Brooks needed moments of fortune, particularly when he was being peppered by Stokes. Chase, who took 5-172 in England’s first innings, overturned being given lbw to Curran on 14. When Holder fell, West Indies still needed 10 to avoid the follow-on with two wickets in hand, only for Chase to get them to 270 with two fours off Curran.The tourists could have been severely pressured by Buttler and Stokes, but Kemar Roach held his nerve. Buttler dragged on and Crawley was bowled having a wild swipe as England got carried away.
Monday July 20, 2020
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Kaieteur News
Hamilton dominates in wet-dry race, Verstappen recovers to second Lewis Hamilton leads from the start of the wet-dry Hungarian GP.
Lewis Hamilton dominates wet-dry Hungarian GP. Autosport - Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton dominated an otherwise breath-taking wetto-dry 2020 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen held off a charging Valtteri Bottas to take second for Red Bull. Verstappen made a twostop strategy work after the early running on a wet track, which followed the Dutchman crashing on his way to the grid and needing urgent repair work in the minutes before the lights went out. At the start, Bottas appeared to move before the lights went out and he and Sergio Perez were then slow away from second and fourth, while Hamilton and Lance Stroll leapt clear, with the faststarting Verstappen and Ferrari drivers charging up the order.Hamilton pulled away from Stroll through the opening corners while Verstappen sealed third going into Turn
2 after Sebastian Vettel slid on the exit of the first turn, losing momentum. At the front, Hamilton raced to a 3.1s lead at the end of the opening tour, with the frontrunners starting to shed their intermediates for slicks at the end of lap two of 71, led by Charles Leclerc and Bottas, who took the softs and mediums respectively. Hamilton and Stroll came in for their own mediums at the end of the following tour, with Hamilton rejoining in the net lead, while Verstappen stayed out for one more lap and used his time in the lead to jump past Stroll when he took his own mediums at the end of lap four. While Hamilton quickly retook the lead ahead of Verstappen, Stroll found himself running behind both Haas cars after Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean pitted at the end of the formation lap
to take mediums. By lap six and the end of the early pitstop chaos, Hamilton led Verstappen by 7.8s, which he set about extending with a series of fastest laps. Stroll dispatched Grosjean with a bold move aided by DRS into Turn 1 and the set about catching and passing Magnussen, which he did after a brief pause to take third at the same spot at the start of lap 16. As the drivers were regularly told of the threat of more rain, Hamilton continued to extend his lead over Verstappen - while Stroll did not immediately close up on the Red Bull, instead coming under increasing pressure from Bottas. The second Mercedes driver had followed Stroll through the field after a brief off-track excursion at Turn 2 when he slide wide while fight-
Forte, Thompson-Herrah dominate field at Velocity Fest SportsMax - Jamaica’s Julian Forte claimed the men’s 100m race in a brisk 10.02, the second-fastest time recorded over the distance this year, at the Velocity Fest meet, on Saturday. Forte, the MVP representative, was well clear of GC Foster’s Romario Williams (10.33) who was second. Nesta Carter was third in 10.35. In the women’s equivalent, Elaine Thompson-Herah (11.19) was the comfortable winner, finishing ahead of Sprintech’s Sashalee Forbes (11.49) and MVP teammate Srabani Nanda (11.78). Over double the distance, it was Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who reigned supreme. Her 22.74 finish was well clear of Anthonique Strachan (23.05) and Forbes who was third in 23.39. In the men’s 200m, Yohan Blake took first place with a time of 20.62. Sprintec’s Rasheed Dwyer was second in 20.66 and GC Foster’s Williams took third spot in 20.89. Rusheen McDonald claimed the men’s 400m after stopping the clock at 46.39, while the women’s equivalent went to Shericka Jackson (52.00).
Elaine Thompson-Herah In the men’s long jump, Tayjay Gayle finished a long way ahead of the field with a leap of 8.13m.
ing Leclerc, who quickly began to struggle for grip on his softs. As the promised rain failed to appear, Bottas pitted first of the leaders for a second time on lap 33 and used the clear air to jump Stroll, who came in two laps later and rejoined well adrift of the Mercedes in fourth. Verstappen and Hamilton came in on lap 36 and 37 respectively, going for the hard and medium tyres in turn, and while they stayed in the same order, Verstappen was immediately in danger from Bottas’s rapid pace on fresh mediums. While Hamilton was busy extending his lead up above 20 seconds, Bottas homed in on Verstappen with his softer rubber with a series of fastest laps.By lap 45 he was within striking distance, but after falling back in traffic Mercedes opted to bring Bottas in for a third time and switch him to the hards, with a 22-second gap to close to take second. Although the Finn tore chunks from Verstappen’s lead in the early stages of his
final stint, he did not close in as quickly as might have been expected despite his fresher tyres.After they had dodged their way through traffic it all came down to the final lap, but although Bottas was finally within DRS range he was not close enough into Turn 1 and could not find away by, coming up 0.7s short.At the front, after some confusion with his engineer about a late stop and which tyre to take, Hamilton swapped his massive lead over Verstappen to come in a take fresh softs at the end, which he used to break the fastest lap twice - for the second time on the final tour. He won by 8.7s at the flag to take his eighth win at the Hungaoring. Behind the top three, Stroll finished 57.5s behind Hamilton to score his best result for Racing Point. Alex Albon went from 13th on the grid to take fifth ahead of Vettel, who shortly after team-mate Leclerc made an early second stop despite the possibility of rain.
It looked like it had worked a treat for Vettel, but running deep into Turn 2 late on cost him against the Red Bull.Perez recovered to seventh at the finish ahead of the long-middle-stint running Daniel Ricciardo. Magnussen scored a magnificent ninth to take Haas’s first points of 2020 after sliding down the order as the quicker cars eased by across the race. But the Dane nevertheless held on ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr, who survived contact in the pitlane with Williams’s Nicholas Latifi (who finished 19th and last after two spins, one with a puncture immediately after the clash with the McLaren for which he was given a fivesecond time penalty). Sainz prevailed in a tight late scrap with Leclerc to take the final point. Latifi ended up as the final runner, with Pierre Gasly the only non-finisher as he retired after 25 laps with smoke pouring from his AlphaTauri in the pitlane.
NBA exhibition games to open with 10-minute quarters
The NBA will ease back into action with upcoming exhibition games to consist of 10minute quarters.As the exhibition-game schedule proceeds, the regular 12-minute quarters will return, but with players spending more than four months out of action, the initial practice games will move much quicker. The NBA reportedly wants to take it easy on teams not just because of time away, but also because some clubs do not yet have full rosters.The NBA exhibition-game schedule begins Wednesday with four games. The Orlando Magic will face the Los Angeles Clippers, the Washington Wizards will meet the Denver Nuggets, the New Orleans Pelicans will play the Brooklyn Nets and the Sacramento Kings will be matched up against the Miami Heat.The return of 12-minute quarters will come with each team’s second exhibition game. All teams are expected to play three
An NBA logo is seen on a chair at an NBA exhibition in Beijing, China October 8, 2019. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) games before the regular season resumes July 30.All NBA games from July 30 to the end of the season will be played in the Orlando, Fla., area as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that shut down the league in March. (Field Level Media)
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Kaieteur News
France’s Quartararo wins season-opening Messi brace gives Barca Spanish MotoGP, Marquez crashes therapeutic 5-0 final day win VITORIA GASTEIZ, Spain (Reuters) - Barcelona ended their disappointing La Liga campaign on a high as Lionel Messi scored twice in a resounding 5-0 win at Alaves yesterday, easing the pain of last week’s shock defeat by Osasuna. Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on yesterday. Alaves are 16th on 39. Teenage forward Ansu Fati put Barca in front midway through the first half after the visitors had hit the woodwork three times, while Messi and strike partner Luis Suarez further stretched their lead be-
fore halftime. Defender Nelson Semedo scored a fourth early in the second half before Messi struck again, scoring his 25th league goal of the season which is almost certain to land him the top scorer’s award for a record seventh time. Messi has four more goals than Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and is on course to win a record seventh Pichichi trophy — awarded for being top scorer in Spain — thus eclipsing the benchmark he shares with the late Telmo Zarra. “Individual prizes and objectives are secondary. It’s an important achievement to win it seven times but I would
have liked it to have been accompanied by the La Liga title,” Messi said. The Argentine had made headlines on Thursday following his angry post-match interview after the 2-1 loss to Osasuna, blasting the team as weak and inconsistent, also appearing to criticise the running of the club.But he was in a happier mood after the dominant performance against Alaves, saying the team felt more confident ahead of their Champions League last-16 second leg game with Napoli.“Today we saw something else, it was a difficult game due to the situation we were in and the kick off time and heat but the team responded with a different attitude and showed great commitment,” he added. “We took a long hard look at ourselves from the inside which is what we needed to do. We have not had a good season in terms of performances or results but today we took a step forward. “It’s an important step for what’s coming next.”
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi during the warm up before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (REUTERS/Vincent West)
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) (AFP) - Fabio Quartararo became the first French rider to win a Moto Grand Prix since 1999 as he took the flag in the seasonopening race in Spain yesterday after Marc Marquez had a heavy crash and broke a bone in his arm. Quartararo, 21, who rides for the Yamaha satellite outfit, had started on pole position and his main threat was removed when reigning world champion Marquez crashed out on lap 20. “It’s the most beautiful day of my life,” an ecstatic Quartararo said as his team celebrated.“We need to enjoy this, it’s not every day you have your first MotoGP victory!” he added. Six-time world champion Marquez had already come off the track on the fourth lap of a race held in sweltering conditions but just managed to hold on and get back in contention. But worse was to come on the 20th lap when the Spaniard, who was lying third, lost control and came off his bike which then hit him on the arm as man and machine bounced across the infield gravel. Marquez was taken away from the track in an ambulance and his Repsol Honda team later said he had broken his right humerus and would require an operation. “A fall at Turn 3 while fighting for the podium has resulted in a broken right
Frenchman Fabio Quartararo celebrates his triumph. humerus for @marcmarquez93, who will travel to Barcelona for surgery,” the team tweeted. Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales took second place and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso was third. The first race of a season delayed and truncated by the coronavirus pandemic was run without spectators. The riders observed a minute’s silence before the start in memory of victims of the virus.Marquez has already earmarked Quartararo as his most serious challenger this season and this first victory for a Frenchman in MotoGP since Regis Laconi in Valencia in 1999 will only confirm that view.Quartararo used the cornering ability of the Yamaha to pull away from his
rivals and had stretched his lead to as much as six seconds at one point.His victory was the first for a Yamaha satellite team in MotoGP.Along with Marquez, it was also a bad start to the season for Italian great Valentino Rossi as he came off on lap 19 when in tenth place, crushing his hopes of scoring points. Rossi, the 41-year-old nine-time world champion, has already been told he will be replaced in Yamaha’s main team next year when Quartararo steps up from Yamaha SRT. There was some success for the Rossi family though when his half-brother Luca Marini won the Moto2 race in Jerez.The next MotoGP will take place on the same Jerez circuit next Sunday.
GCF to contest online Chess Olympiad
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) has announced that twelve top chess players will represent Guyana at the revamped 2020 CHESS OLYMPIAD which will now be contested online by over 160 countries. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has invited member countries to participate after it disclosed last month that an online Chess Olympiad would be held beginning on July 22 and ending on August 30, 2020. FIDE has also implemented measures by utilizing chess software to prevent online cheating. The novel online Olympiad replaces the August, 2020 event in Russia, where hundreds of top chess players would have met face-to-face. But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed a stranglehold on the event in that country.
The Guyana team, consisting of six females and six males, is scheduled to participate on July 29 to August 2 in nine grueling rounds of fastpaced chess in cyberspace. Each player would be allotted 15 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per match to score victory over a foreign opponent. The quick thinking of players and their knowledge of chess theory will be put to the test as they seek to outmanoeuvre their opponents in the limited time controls. Leading the local men’s senior team is current National Senior Champion Anthony Drayton (FM). He is supported by Taffin Khan (CM), while Wendell Meusa (CM) and Loris Nathoo are the reserve players. The senior women’s team is led by Maria Thomas (WFM)*and she is supported by Samirah Gobin. Sheriffa Ali (WCM)
and Yolander Persaud are the reserve players in that category. In the junior league, Queens College student Rajiv Lee is taking up the challenge. He is supported by former Junior Champion Joshua Gopaul as reserve player in the Male Under-20 division. Sasha Shariff is confirmed for the Women’s Under-20 team and Angel Rahim is her reserve counterpart. All team members were selected based on their creditable performance in local tournaments during the past year. The Chess Olympiad is usually held every two years; the last one was held in 2018 in Batumi, Georgia, one of the former Soviet Republics. The Olympiad is the chess equivalent to the Olympics which is held every four years for the many other physical sports disciplines.
Kaieteur News
Monday July 20, 2020
Roland Butcher calls Archer an idiot - Says he Jofa Archer (RA Media)
Sixty-six-year old Barbadian Roland Butcher, who made history when he became the first black man to play Test cricket for England, was very critical of fellow Barbadian 25-yearold pacer Jofra Archer, the last black man to play Test cricket for England. Butcher’s comments on e-mail was shared to the media. Archer, who has 33 wickets including three fivewicket hauls from eight Test since making his debut against Australia on August 14, 2019, was fined and given a written warning by the England and Wales Cricket Board for breaching bio-secure protocols. The Bajan visited his home in Hove on Monday during his journey from Southampton, where the first Test against West Indies was played, to Manchester, the venue for the second. While all of the English players reportedly have GPS tracking devices, they were allowed to drive their own cars from the venue of the first Test to Manchester where the second Test commenced last Thursday at Old Trafford. Archer was dropped from the squad on the morning of the second Test which is scheduled to end today but re-joined the squad yesterday and is available for the third Test, which starts on Friday. But for him to be available he has to receive two negative tests for the COVID-19 during a fiveday period of isolation which began on last Thursday. Archer was fined his second Test match of 15,000 pounds. Butcher, who made his Test debut against the West Indies in Barbados on March 13, 1981, weighed in on Archer saying that he totally disagreed with what Archer did. “We are not dealing with
little children. Everyone in the England team knew the rules and Archer is the only one to break it,” said Butcher, who scored 71 runs from his three Test with a highest score of 32 after being dismissed by Colin Croft for 17 and by Viv Richards for two in his debut Test. “In actual fact I would say he was an idiot. All the England players have GPS tracking devices, so that they know where they are at all times,” he said of Archer who was due to be the only member of the England pace attack from the first-Test defeat, retained for the second. “He put the rest of the
Roland Bucher
would drop him for 3rd Test
tour at risk, his teammates, We s t I n d i e s p l a y e r s , officials and everyone else connected with Old Trafford. He was not dropped for this Test, he was not available for selection because of what he did and threw team selection into a panic situation,” continued Butcher who has one fifty in his three ODIs for England. “For me I would drop him for the 3rd Test. His actions lack discipline and was very unprofessional,” Butcher said of the Sussex speedster. B u t c h e r, w h o w a s appointed director of sports at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus in November, 2004, was also harsh on Bajan Journalist and Archer’s good friend, Alexis Nunes for her defence of Archer’s actions. “How can she try to (Continued on page 27)
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Márquez fractures right arm in crash at Spanish MotoGP MotoGP rider Marc Marquez of Spain steers his motorcycle during the Spanish Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Angel Nieto racetrack in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, Sunday, July 19, 2020. (AP Photo/David Clares) JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain (AP) — Six-time defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez broke his right arm in a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday. His Honda team said Marquez ‘’suffered a transverse diaphyseal fracture to his right humerus’’ and is expected to undergo surgery on Tuesday in Barcelona. The team said the 27-year-old Marquez will remain under observation for 12 hours but ‘’no other serious head or thoracic trauma’’ was discovered. The Spaniard went down hard with four laps to go and was carried off the track on a
stretcher. He started third but had to come from behind after losing control of his bike and avoiding an earlier crash that put him back in the pack at the beginning of the race. The team said Marquez’s ‘’recovery time is yet unknown.’’MotoGP will race again in Jerez de la Frontera next weekend. Yesterday’s race - won by Frenchman Fabio Quartararo - was the first of 13 in a reduced calendar that was originally scheduled to start in March but was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. The race was held without fans and under strict health controls.
Stuart Broad & Chris Woakes keep hosts’ hopes alive p.20
Kemar Roach celebrates after ending his wicket drought, England v West Indies, 2nd Test, Day 2, Emirates Old Trafford, July 17, 2020 Š Getty Images
t r o Sp Team Guyana in Georgia during the 2018 Chess Olympiad.
GCF to contest online Chess Olympiad Hamilton dominates in wet-dry race, Verstappen recovers to second Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8452, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.