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EPA moves to close loopholes in permits

June 19, 2020 -Vol. 22 No. 24

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Online readership yesterday 160,604

Elections n o Declarati .. on hold.

Lowenfield holding Guyana at ransom Motion filed in Appeal Court to stop Lowenfield's report to GECOM Chair Pres. Granger, Volda Lawrence “clear out” public offices

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield

Five teachers among 12 who test positive for COVID-19 - cases increase to 183 National Park to reopen today

Security team to monitor 90minute exercise

GPL buys 8 bucket trucks for $587M

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Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

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Postponed flights for Declaration on hold… stranded Guyanese Lowenfield holding to arrive today Guyana at ransom A Caribbean Airline aircraft

G

uyanese in Tr i n i d a d a n d Barbados who were placed on standby after two Caribbean Airlines (CAL) repatriation flights were postponed on June 11, will finally arrive later today.

An advisory issued by Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to its passengers explained that flight BW3461 will be used to repatriate passengers from both islands.

The flight will leave the Piarco International Airport in Port of Spain at 09:00hrs for Bridgetown, Barbados.

There it will have a layover for one hour and fifteen minutes.

The flight will then leave Barbados at 11:10hrs and is expected to arrive at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at around 12:30hrs.

Two CAL flights were earlier scheduled to repatriate Guyanese from the two islands who were stranded for more than three months.

However, officials had said that the flights were postponed because of insufficient passengers to complete the list for takeoff.

Those placed on standby were worried that the authorities would have instructed them to redo their Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19.

Moreover, they voiced concerns that their PCR tests was only valid for three days and explained that some won’t have money to redo the tests which costs some TT$1600 (G$50,000).

The relevant authorities considered their situation and made a decision that redoing the test won’t be necessary.

Authorities also did their best to make sure that the repatriation list was completed to book the flights in the shortest possible time.

As a result, they were able to secure a booking with CAL for today’s flight.

The advisory sent by CAL to its passengers.

Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Egbert Field, said that a total of 112 Guyanese are listed to arrive on this flight.

He noted that this number can be reduced if persons don’t show up or fail to meet requirements at the airport.

Field also informed this media house that another

Eastern Airline flight is scheduled to arrive today.

This second flight, he said, will repatriate Guyanese who were stranded on Royal Caribbean’s cruise liners.

Initial reports had mentioned that a total 70 Guyanese were stranded on various cruise liners belonging to the Florida, USA based company.

Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield has refused to submit a report on the results of the recount for declaration by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), despite receiving clear instructions to do so from the Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh.

Kaieteur News was informed by oppositionnominated commissioner Bibi Shadick, that Lowenfield told the Chair that he had not presented the report at 1PM yesterday, the deadline, because he had received notice of a filing in the Court of Appeal, which was meant to block his submission.

Lowenfield reportedly gave this excuse, even though the filing does not prevent him from handing in the report. He then, according to Shadick, said that he would show up at 2PM yesterday, but when that hour came, Lowenfield was nowhere to be found.

However, some argue that there is much hypocrisy in Lowenfield’s reluctance to submit his final report after bearing in mind that he had previously submitted a report to the Commission, despite an injunction filed against him by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

On March 7, two days after Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo had declared fraudulent elections results, Lowenfield prepared his final report on the March 2 General and Regional

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield

Elections and had called for a meeting of the Elections Commission to approve it even though, there was an injunction filed by the opposition, barring them from declaring the election results.

At the time his report had contained unverified votes in Region Four, the most decisive and contentious district. Upon seeing an invitation to attend Lowenfield’s meeting, the three opposition- nominated commissioners said in a statement, “We consider this invitation to meet as a flagrant attempt to breach the Order of Court aforesaid and a naked attempt by the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, to suborn us to breach an Order of Court and exposing us to liability for contempt of Court.”

On the other hand, there were not enough government-nominated commissioners at GECOM yesterday for a quorum, as

Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman were absent. The lone government- nominated commissioner, Vincent Alexander, could not inform the media for the reasons why his colleagues were absent, but added that they justified their absence with the GECOM Chair, and not with him.

Hence, Justice Singh made a decision to postpone the meeting to today at 1PM, as no decisions could be made in the absence of a quorum. However, late yesterday afternoon, Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward informed the press that that set meeting would no longer be held, as the Notice of Appeal for the matter Lowenfield referred to is set for a hearing at 01:30 pm. Despite there being no legal obstacle to GECOM receiving its report and making a declaration, GECOM has provided no timeline for the conclusion of the electoral process.

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Friday June 19, 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

Many rivers and mountains ahead A citizen, apparently acting in the interests of the Coalition, has moved to the Court of Appeal in an attempt to block this country’s scaling a monumental first hurdle in its reaching for democracy and the experience of its ideals.

The expected next step and closure of this stormy Elections 2020 has been delayed and derailed again. We look critically at this latest development, and ask: how long more will this charade go on, and to where next?

We are already on record as disagreeing fiercely and frequently with the bewildering stands and approaches tried before by the Coalition. Today, we are compelled to question, disagree, and criticise again at this latest reaching to the judiciary to thwart the will of the people, as recognised by the rest of the world, including those (CARICOM) in whom the Coalition had stated that it had every confidence, but now only to distance from its prior steadfast position of trusted reliance stated before the whole world. What will it take, where is the seriousness-given the gravity of the situation-on the coalition’s part to be realistic and responsible? If there is standing by promises made, then we have nothing, no leadership, no prospects that we will emerge out of this in one piece.

We present all of this today, because today, we recognise that what has been a hard fought electoral battle is still seen as unacceptable by the Coalition, in spite of the consistent and wise verdicts of honourable observers, acting without premeditation or prejudice for the most part. That we are going nowhere, not even with all deliberate speed, since there is no speed at all.

We here at this paper stood ready to extend a hand of patriotic brotherhood to our new government, our new opposition, and our hopefully new and reborn fellow citizens.

We have done it! We have made it to this stage, despite our numerous weaknesses and many missteps. But yet again, there is this incomprehensible and unwise step of heading to the court and stonewalling still again, the clear and convincing democratic expression of the will of the people.

There is this sheltering under the legal, this ongoing dodging and evading of its obligations by the Coalition leaders to all the citizens of this country. To say that we are disgusted would be more than an understatement, it would be diluting our discomfort and the growing distaste we harbour for what the Coalition is putting this nation through time and again.

As it knows fully well, that sharp anger and intensifying distaste is shared by very influential international watchers on the ways of Guyana, and those responsible for this deepening mess.

We can say this with a heavy heart: having contributed in a meaningful degree to the coalition’s return and presence to the governance ranks of this country, we feel betrayed that this is the result of the exposures placed on the table, and the pressures brought to bear for a better and cleaner kind of government, a more dignified and laudable manner of leadership. Well, what is happening today - the backdoor escalations, the last-minute appeals - are a far cry from what is acceptable for 21stcentury governance. We are ashamed of where things are, and we are alarmed at how things look.

For now, in this unsettling newest development, we have reached the once unthinkable and must record the unmentionable: from all indications, the Coalition is not prepared to demit office. It will not relinquish the reins of power under any circumstances, while it seeks favourable cover from any judicial tribunal that will give it the pass so desperately hunted for, but which is not forthcoming to bolster its clever manipulations.

The long and hard journey that we thought was almost at an end is now still far from over. It might be nowhere near to being over, now that the Coalition, through its standby boots on the ground, has reached to the courts. Our people need emergency relief, but what was placed before the Court of Appeals, represents the first step in what just could be a series of escalations towards the declaration of some form of national emergency situation of which the president himself hinted at during a press conference last Sunday.

The PPP needs to be democratized and more inclusive Dear Editor, Congratulations to PPP and incoming President Irfaan Ali. Because of the closeness of the elections, the country must have an inclusive government of all political parties. In looking at the numbers from the recount, the PPP won just over 50% against APNU 48%.

It would not be wise for one party to govern. The numbers provide an opportunity for some kind of shared governance.

Had there been any defection from the PPP side, as happened in 2011 and

2015, the party would have lost. So the PPP has to reform itself by allowing democracy to flourish inside the party and the way the government functions.

At a minimum, Jagdeo must reach out to the minor parties. Had it not been for the strong position taken by the leadership of TCI, TNM, ANUG, LJP, URP, CG, and others, there would not have a fair count to reflect the will of the voters.

Now the issue facing the PPP is whether it would be business as usual under Jagdeo. Would disrespect,

manipulation, and lack of democracy continue in the PPP system? One-man domination has hurt the party.

Because of the attempted rigging, the Coalition can’t stay together as an entity anymore. But the same can happen in the PPP. Fallout is inevitable. There are many young talented politicians of the Coalition that can’t gel with the corrupt group in the Coalition and are now available to form a party more acceptable to the country.

The same could happen within the PPP if the party is not democratized. There must

be reform on how leaders are chosen.

If objectionable behaviour continues in the PPP, a number of decent folks may join them to form a party that could capture the imagination of the nation.

Thus, PPP is advised not to marginalize people as happened during post-Jagan tenure. The party must make every effort to bring over decent politicians from across the divide into governance for the good of Guyana.

Yours truly, Boysie Mangru

The CARICOM Observer Report is self-contradictory and illogical Dear Editor, This letter is about deficiencies in the CARICOM Observer Report 2020. The first debatable issue is whether its 18% (423/2,399) sample size is a valid and reliable basis for its conclusions. One school of thought argues that a sample is adequate when expanding it adds nothing new to the pattern or trend of the findings. But to arrive at that correct size requires trials and errors. In many cases that is inconvenient to the researcher/investigator, and or costly in time and resources. Hence, based on experience and or intuition a researcher tends to decide on sample size. In some cases, sample size is determined by application of some formula.

The more important thing is the composition and method of the sample. A 30 % sample, for instance, would not necessarily be more valid than 18%. Generally, it is argued that the larger the sample, the more accurate the findings would be. But it is the composition of a sample that is more critical. Accuracy is

more dependent on the representativeness and purpose of a sample. If, for example, irregularities are concentrated in Grove Village, but the sample size for analysis is selected from the entire East Bank, there is no way what happened in Grove Village would appear significant. An 18% sample of Grove would be more accurate than a 30% sample of the entire East Bank.

Purpose is equally important. If we want to identify and particularize the pattern of irregularities, the samples must be based on the trouble areas with the larger lists or cluster of electors.

That requires prior knowledge of the potential problematic communities so that neither time nor resources are wasted.

Of the 2,399 ballot boxes, 153 of those boxes would not contain more than 50 ballots.

Historically, polling stations of these boxes would not be manipulated because of the small numbers. If the purpose is to determine the significance of the irregularities as a percentage of the whole electorate, only

This is wrong. It is wrong in principle. It is wrong in the contemplation. It is wrong in the action taken. We detest and disagree and denounce this step seen as necessary by the Coalition. It opens the door wider to transform the existing nightmare that has been our elections disaster into a fullscale societal tragedy.

To President David Granger we say: with each such step taken, the fate of this nation is placed in deeper jeopardy.

With each such succeeding action that assumes this disreputable mantle, there is only personal discredit and group dishonour that accrues. We appeal that there be an end to these games frivolous, specious, and potentially disastrous.

We trust that some level of sanity will return and at the soonest.

We close with this timely and stark reminder of what the former Barbadian Prime Minister and head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission warned: Guyana can’t withstand the fire of the entire global community. It is why we urge and with only the most nationalistic visions at heart: do not play with that kind of fire, since all of us will get scorched, perhaps irreparably. It is not too late for some commonsense to return and take firm hold.

in that sense a broad-based random sample would be an efficient method. Thus, it is important to ask, 18% of what?

Does the sample capture the regional and community variations? Would cluster sampling or stratified sampling have been more efficient?

By what characteristics were the samples selected? Why is there no consistent pattern of sampling across the regions?

One sees no scientific parameter by the observations that were done and findings interpreted.

It is important to realize that winning the elections is one aspect of the issue. The balance of parliamentary power is another. Even if irregularities are insignificant to change who wins, they could make a difference in terms of the legislative balance of power. One cheated parliamentary seat could make a whole lot of difference.

Unawareness of this is one of the critical deficiencies of the report. In a proportional representative system every irregularity and vote matter, unlike the constituency system.

Further, one revelation of implicit bias is in the emphasis that the process was an audit instead of recount, yet the vigilance of party operatives is described as a fishing exercise.

Heightened vigilance, wrong or right at times, is normal to these political processes, especially when the players are accustomed to “guerrilla politics”. Note too, that on page 3 the report recognizes that the Gazette Order required an “audit” rather than a recount, yet on page 6 it states that ”GECOM’s elaborate an unnecessary checklist … was suggestive of audit rather than a recount”. Technically, this alone qualifies the report as a C-grade report as it suggests that the observer team operated with confused or conflicting purpose, mission, and perspective.

Furthermore, it is an inherent contradiction for the team to argue that the recount reflects the will of the people, and that it “categorically rejects” attempts to discredit the 2020 polls, yet describes the (Continued on page 5)

Stop trying to subvert the will of Guyanese people Dear Editor The 2nd March 2020 elections, which official results are eagerly awaited, have more drama than a soap opera. Everyone, except the PNC led APNU+AFC and their ardent supporters, knows the PPP/C won the election. Yet, they are either in denial or something else. What do people expect from the PNC-led

APNU+AFC? Common sense? There is a motion asking for the meaning of the words “more votes cast”.

REALLY? Back in May 2015, they knew the meaning of those words but in June 2020 they asking for clarification?

The Coalition needs to stop trying to subvert the will of the Guyanese people.

Yours faithfully Sean Ori

Friday June 19, 2020

Bert Wilkinson’s Washington Post report was filled with misinformation Dear Editor, Writing on Guyana’s Elections 2020, Associated Press accredited journalist Bert Wilkinson made the bizarre assertion that ”Following a recount of some districts, Granger’s party was almost 160,000 votes behind the main opposition People’s Progressive Party”. The article entitled ’Guyana in crisis due to dispute over election fairness’ was carried in the Washington Post on the 16th June and is riddled with similar inaccuracies from start to finish, so much so that one comes away with a new understanding of the American news phenomenon described as ‘alternate facts’.

The certified tabulation of a recount of every single ballot cast in the election showed the People’s Progressive Party won by 15,416 votes.

Wilkinson falsely contends that ”the head of the Elections Commission argued that the March 2 vote was badly flawed and should be thrown out” while in fact, the head of the Elections Commission Chairman Claudette Singh has directed the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield to prepare the final report for the March 2nd general elections using the data from the recount of votes.

Wilkinson also describes the recount as an ”audit” which ”found so many irregularities that the

vote in the small South American nation can’t be described as “credible.”. There was no audit as that would have to be done by an external agency (The Elections Commission cannot audit itself) and what has been described as “irregularities” by Lowenfield were described by The CARICOM high-level team which served as the scrutineer for the national vote recount as ”a fishing expedition”.

“The Team viewed much of the exercise as a fishing expedition designed to gather data for a possible election petition and which resulted in considerable time being wasted during the recount,” and “Further, the net was cast extremely wide in the hope of at least making a small catch and at times the anticipated harvest ended in slim pickings.” The team also noted that ”the numerous requests for information on serial numbers were so bizarre, that on one observed occasion, an APNU+AFC agent was prepared to query serial numbers on the Official List of Elections in a Work Station where no one had voted.” The CARICOM Team concluded that it did not view the objections raised by APNU+AFC as materially relevant to the recount of the ballot.

Wilkinson mentions two of the observer missions, the Organization of American States and the Carter Center

in his article as part of “international pressure” to certify the electoral victory by the People’s Progressive Party; Wilkinson makes no mention of the local observer missions who have all made the same call; The Private Sector Commission, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce Guyana; Wilkinson also omits the European Union and Commonwealth Observer Missions who have all been pellucid in their reports that the elections are credible and were only marred by the attempted fraud of one official, Mr. Mingo, the Returning Officer for District Four, the country’s most populous area.

Guyana is not in the midst of a ‘crisis due to dispute over election fairness’; Guyana is in a crisis manufactured by a small group of people willing to go to any length to subvert the will of the people as expressed on ballots.

Wilkinson, a Guyanese native, seems to have taken a conscious decision to aid the cause of subversion with his presentation of their alternate facts.

Anyone seeking the truth about Guyana’s elections 2020 can read the reports prepared by any/all of the Observer missions, international or local; they do not alternate in their facts and findings.

Yours truly, Robin Singh

The imminent closure of remaining GuySuCo estates comes as no surprise Dear Editor, The recent revelations in the press regarding GuySuCo points to imminent closure of its remaining three estates.

This situation comes as no surprise to citizens who follow the industry and its developments.

The impending closure is a direct result of gross negligence, incompetence and malfeasance in public office.

I say this because this nation was lobbied by the Board of Directors and Management Committee of the Corporation to close four estates (Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales) and retain three (Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt). The tagline used by the Corporations’ executives during the lobbying masquerade was

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Kaieteur News

“Transforming GuySuCo into Resilient Business”.

All executive managers of GuySuCo were in on this masquerade. There was zero tolerance for anyone that questioned the concept. In fact, the new administration was praised for their decisive position to “save” sugar.

Here we are less than five years later, and GuySuCo has been reduced to complete bankruptcy instead of a thriving resilient business.

Significantly, the administration of GuySuCo managed to destroy its premier sugar producers namely Albion and Blairmont estates. These two units have always been GuySuCo’s top performers. For e.g., in 2015 Albion and Blairmont produced 61,910t and 36,695t

sugar respectively. It 2019, sugar production slumped to 46,651t and 23,325t respectively.

This is a whopping decrease in production of 25% and 36% respectively in 4 short years. No one should be surprised that the business is going bankrupt with this (Continued on page 6)

The PPP/C flourished via a deficient tax system Dear Editor The American Revolution didn’t start because its people were yearning for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

It kicked off in Boston in 1773 when a bunch of merchants refused to pay taxes on their tea imports.

Meanwhile, race has always been the dominant narrative in Guyanese politics and indeed it is an important method of analysing the past 50 years. Nevertheless, one must also view politics, especially since the late 1990s and the rise of Western neoliberal economics and the creation of a wealthy local elite, through the ever useful framework of the class struggle. Under President Bharrat Jagdeo, the PPP/C discarded its socialist roots and evolved into the party of business supporting the small but unified business class through the selling off of cheap State land, preferential contracts, low taxes and the suppression of public sector wages so as to keep employment costs down for the private sector. In return, the business elite generously supported the party’s political campaigns and held off criticism of corruption and extra judicial killings among other well-documented human rights atrocities.

The rise of the Alliance For Change was a major blow to this cozy alliance and after a beleaguered minority government (2011-2015), the party lost to the APNU/AFC coalition. Since then, we have seen a massive increase in public sector wages (77%) and some improvements in health, education and infrastructure although too

slow in significantly improving the livelihoods of Guyanese partly due to a lack of revenues.

Meanwhile, the business class has spent the last five years fuming over the sudden efficiency in tax collection by the Guyana Revenue Authority and this is really the crux of why they have been so forceful in trying to force this government out of office. How little tax had the business class been paying under the PPP/C? Well for the incorporated businesses, in 2013 the bulk of taxes came from only a handful of reputable companies - only 992 out of 2618 registered firms actually filed a return, just one in three. For selfemployed people, about half paid taxes and their average contribution was about $98,000 per year. Many simply have not and do not pay any tax while benefiting from the services of (and complaining about) the police, roads, or education (at QC of course).

And one might have also noticed how vocal lawyers have been in this recent election: Back in 2013 only 170 doctors, lawyers and other professionals applied for

professional certificates as part of regularising their tax status. Those consultation fees you pay in cash to see the doctor or lawyer? Statia can’t see any of that.

The GRA has been going after all businesses without fear or favour to pay their fair share and rather embarrassingly several supposedly upright and vocal captains of industry and yes even media houses, have been found to owe hundreds of millions in arrears. As for businesses paying City Hall their rates? That’s a joke.

And that is why this March 2 election was not a triumph of democracy, it was never about lifting all Guyanese up. That’s a sham.

Quite the opposite. The people have been fooled by the PPP/C’s propaganda paid for by the business class who have triumphed over the working class. The rallying cry of those involved in the Boston Tea Party was “no taxation without representation. In Guyana, the wealthy will once again have representation without taxation.

Yours sincerely Frederick Singh

The CARICOM Observer...

From page 4 elections as reasonably credible which is subjective and ambiguous in meaning.

In addition, the team cannot determine who benefitted from the “ghost voting” and voter impersonation but recommended a new voter list as priority.

This suggests compromised logic. It is either that the elections were

compromised but insufficient to undermine the will of the people, or that they were so reliable and credible that the results could be categorically defended.

One cannot logically or morally defend an outcome categorically when the process at arriving at the results was compromised.

Yours truly, Lin-Jay Harry-Voglezon.

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Friday June 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

The hope and the dream Dear Editor, It is Thursday morning as I write, as a nation waits with indrawn breath for the coming of 13:00hrs and whatever lies beyond. I trust that it is only of the positive and the nationally helpful, and that is what I greet my fellow Guyanese with on Friday morning. Against all hope I hope, in spite of the harrowing daily nightmares of the last 18 months, I dare to dream many dreams, which I share now with my fellow citizens, be they Brown or Black, Indigenous or foreign, the rich mixtures of our soil and blood or the pureness of our human streams.

As I hope, my first action starts with a bow to Dr. Irfaan Ali, who I believe is this country’s new president. My position on him does not matter; what does is what he now must come to epitomize.

I encourage him and I wish he and his team the best in the days ahead, with the many challenges that are part of the path before them and us.

I believe that with a cleanliness of vision much could be achieved. I hope that Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, himself a former head of state, can find it in himself to be partner and leader from the back (from the back) to help navigate the powerful rapids along the way. He must rise up above himself, beyond

those characteristics that he knows too well, and which could hinder more than help, harm more than heal.

This society is in urgent need of much healing, of this, I hope, and I dream. That the tents will be folded, that the trumpets will be muted, and that there will the first early rustles of what is acceptable and calming.

And with all of this in mind, I cast my eyes first to the two leaders already named, and now on my former commander-in-chief, Mr. David Granger.

It has been a most battering struggle, and from which much has been learned, I hope and sense that so much could be gained. I did learn (to my regret), but I do sense (in my hope) that greatness could be gained (I so dream).

It is why I am here, at this time, in this stormiest of passages, when I have choices not available to too many.

I want to learn and hope and dream some more. By some blessing, I think that we can do it, but only if we do so together. This is the only public service in which I am interested today and evermore; that I could lend voice and pen and energy (such as they are) to the unity and harmony that holds some promise to take us someplace.

On this Friday, still ahead of my writing at this time,

some first form of democracy should have prevailed. I so hope. But there is so much more: tougher, more frustrating, definitely draining, but infinitely worth more to stir in dedicating towards the struggling for the harmony distanced from, trampled upon, and mocked over thoughtlessly and unknowingly. We may have all the oil, but if we have no peace, then what do we have, other than the hatreds that hurt us mortally?

I would not want to be part of that, but I go nowhere.

It is why I hope and dream on Thursday before 08:00hrs that after 13:00hrs on this same day, there will be readying to greet the grandeur of a different new day on Friday morn.

I have been disappointed in this local life so often, what is one more, should my hopes fall on stony minds, and my dreams shatter on rocks of resistance. I am confident that the grace to manage will come.

As for this society and its prospects-its future, I would have to think again, if only the old is what is new.

I say let it be a different time starting this Friday. It might be difficult, but for the first 100 days, I will try to say nothing about any new governance developments.

That much is owed, that much must be delivered. To the new leaders and their groups, from government to opposition, I send my best.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

We appear to be heading towards a Caesarian dictatorship Dear Editor, A few millennia ago, an ambitious Roman general was given control of the province of Gaul. Among the wealthiest, it was considered a plum political position. He previously had a brief tenure as governor of Spain, a much smaller province. While in Gaul, he exploited tribal differences, acquiring plunder and amassing tremendous power through wealth and a well-trained military. When he was eventually summoned to Rome by a Senate that queried his rapid acquisition of military might, the general marched his army across the Rubicon and seized control of Rome. Installing himself as ‘dictator for life’, using a series of legal manoeuvres, he managed to turn Rome into an autocracy for about a year.

Perhaps this is what we are facing in Guyana. A series of events that are leading to the attempted establishment of an illegitimate government with an almost pharisaical approach to governing by the rule of law. While we do not appear to be encountering any generals such as the brilliant, clever and ambitious Gaius Julius Caesar, we certainly do have a situation whereby the current outdated and outvoted leadership is seeking to be proclaimed ‘Dictator perpetuo’ rather than the more mundanely democratic ‘duly elected leader’.

What is happening in Guyana is nothing short of a

slow-moving coup, a term heard often to describe the mostly bloodless seizing of power by those who hold officialdom’s reins. It is born of a madness that has clearly consumed those in Guyana who purport to be in ‘government’ at the moment.

By even using the word ‘government’, one needs to ignore the threatening nausea caused by the thought that Guyana does not have elected officials with ‘lawful control over the affairs of a nation’ (ref Webster’s), but rather a group or cabal with dominion that hopes to reign over whatever hell they continue to create in the nation.

Mind you, unlike Caesar’s time, when a ‘dictator’ was technically a magistrate who ruled for a prescribed period, after which power would be surrendered, it does not appear as though power will be willingly surrendered, even after an election that has verifiably demonstrated that over 50% of the electors voted for someone else.

When did we decide that ‘dictator perpetuo’ would be Guyana’s established method of government? Did we not conduct this experiment before? Wasn’t an attempt already made to conjure up the ghost of the most famous-est past dictator? That didn’t seem to work, unless one counts the current legal voodoo-istic measures that invoke Guyana’s legal system. An institution within which, somewhat ephemerally, arbitrarily, the practitioners are free to pronounce like wizards.

Truly, I have wondered at the magical legal system in Guyana, as to mere mortals, it does appear to be a bastion of ‘summoning’ rather than the practice of mere law.

Really, what could be more tortuous than what is currently being experienced at the hands of the ‘legal system’ right now? Does it not smack of devilry rather than ‘the law’?

Dredging up Julius Caesar as a last resort to understanding why anyone would want to subvert a Republic and the wishes of its populace have got to be a new low. Rome’s wanna-be dictator, at least, had a number of notable achievements for the state under his belt. He efficiently conquered errant peoples in the provinces and brought Rome enormous wealth. He consolidated personal military power, but was a genius at military campaigning. None of this is evident in the current dispensation that comprises the ‘government of Guyana’.

There are no useful words to describe what is currently happening here. A country that has already had its psyche and sense of self strafed by one would-be dictator, finds itself 35 years after his death facing a prolonged strafing by a poor man’s junta. Disgusting and shameful, as if Jonestown was not enough, we will go down in history as having had a leader that preferred to be known as Saturn, devouring his children one by one.

You, Guyana’s leaders, those who would hold our country hostage via the magical realm of the courts...none of you are Julius Caesar, and Guyana is no Rome. We have no vote by landed gentry or a highfalutin Senate. We have the vote of the people and they have spoken since March 2, 2020. Leave. Go. Take your ill-begotten or legal gains, whatever they are, let our country be. Let it heal, let our many races and ethnicities and peoples start to face a future together...a future that has been dramatically altered by a modern plague. Do not let us remember you as being the same or worse yet, as a hideous, grotesque, malevolent god who is so frightened of them, he prefers to eat his own children.

Yours truly, Scheherazade Ishoof Khan

The imminent closure...

From page 5 rate of decline. What should be surprising is that no one is held accountable for the destruction of sugar estates that are capable of aiding a rebirth of the sugar business.

GuySuCo is currently placing heavy emphasis on building a plantation white sugar plant at Albion with a capacity to produce over 50,000t sugar annually by end of 2021. From all appearances, the estate is now facing difficulty to meet the 50,000t mark for this new project.

This will certainly place the project in jeopardy. Over

at its Blairmont facility, production of packaged and bagged sugars is remarkably low due to massive 36% decline in sugar production.

This means the estate cannot capitalize on higher priced products because it is simply unavailable.

The constantly declining production coupled with a top heavy bureaucratic management that adds zero value to its business is a major contributor to present state of affairs.

Yours truly, Sookram Persaud

Friday June 19, 2020

APNU+AFC supporters protest GECOM H/Q unhindered - police later threaten charges in press release Scores of supporters of the A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition are expected to be charged for breaching the COVID-19 order after they staged protest action in Georgetown yesterday.

Protest actions also occurred in Berbice yesterday and in Linden the day before.

Although there was heavy police presence, no attempts were witnessed by this newspaper to disburse the protesting crowd gathered near the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Kingston, Georgetown headquarters.

Police in a belated press release said that, “The

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Kaieteur News

Guyana Police Force wishes to categorically state that no permission was granted for anyone to flout the COVID19 Orders.”

The release continued, “Police were able to identify a number of individuals in the gathering and summons are being prepared for charges against them for breach of the National Public Orders Restriction.”

In May, two protestors were arrested and charged for breaching the COVID-19 restrictions after police disbursed a protest action in front of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

But from all indications, the COVID-19 pandemic measures restricting

gatherings of more than five did not stop the supporters gathering in their numbers to march and dance yesterday.

They protested the decision of the GECOM Chairman’s decision to order the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, to prepare his final report on the March 2, 2020 elections using the figures from the national recount.

That report would pave the way for Dr. Irfaan Ali to be sworn in as Guyana’s next President. Figures from the Recount show that the PPP/C has won the March 2, Elections with a grand total of 233,336 votes against the APNU+AFC Coalition’s 217,920 votes.

Police presence evident as the supporters protest outside the GECOM H/Q

Body with plastic bag over head…

Construction worker’s alleged killers for court today - evidence of possible bloodstains found in house The two men who allegedly bludgeoned construction worker Andy Williams with a hammer and dumped his corpse in a trench are scheduled to appear in court today.

Police yesterday received legal advice to charge a 34-year-old fisherman from De Willem Squatting Area, West Coast Demerara, and his 29-year-old friend.

Investigators have established that Williams, 45, was slain in the fisherman’s house on June 6, after being lured there with offers of a drink.

Police have still not retrieved the hammer from the trench in which it was disposed.

However, crime scene ranks unearthed what appeared to be evidence of blood in the house where Williams was slain.

The samples are still to be tested.

According to the police, the fisherman has said that he killed Williams over an altercation they had two months ago, when Williams had punched him and broken one of his teeth.Police have established that Williams, whose wife and four daughters are in Venezuela, was murdered on Saturday, June 6, shortly after he left a rum shop in Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara.

In their confession, the fisherman and his alleged accomplice said they were at ‘a corner’ in De William Housing Scheme when they saw Williams passing with his liquor and asked to join them.

Williams then joined his alleged killers in a drinking session at the same corner.

As it grew darker, the fisherman, his accomplice and Williams went to the fisherman’s house, where they continued to consume alcohol.

But then the fisherman allegedly struck

Slain: Andy Williams Williams with a piece of wood. When he collapsed, the fisherman repeatedly struck Williams in the head with a hammer on the head until his skull cracked.

The killers then put a plastic bag over the slain man’s head to stop more blood from leaking onto the floor.

They then dumped the body in a nearby trench, before returning to the murder scene to clean up all evidence of their crime.

The confession came after detectives traced Williams’ last movements from the Zeeburg, West Bank Demerara home of relatives, to a rum shop in the area, then to the house where he was killed.

Williams had worked with a cousin at a construction site on the East Coast of Demerara.He left his sister’s Zeeburg home on Saturday evening, June 6. When he failed to return, family members assumed that he was staying at the worksite.

They became concerned next day after he failed to answer his cell phone. Last Saturday, relatives learned that police had fished out a man’s body from a canal at De Willem. Williams had re-migrated only four months ago from Venezuela after spending some 26 years there.

He had intended to send money back home for his family.

Kaieteur News

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Friday June 19, 2020

EPA moves to close loopholes in permits Flaring by ExxonMobil…

By Kiana Wilburg When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) learnt last year that ExxonMobil was releasing toxic chemicals into the atmosphere by burning significant amounts of gas, it did not believe that the situation would go beyond a few days much less closing in on six months.

H e a d o f t h e Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Vincent Adams

said that this state of affairs is indeed embarrassing but he was adamant that the regulatory body will be putting measures in place for more accountability, starting with improving the permit that allowed for ExxonMobil to flare in the first place.

Speaking on Kaieteur R a d i o ’s p r o g r a m m e , Guyana’s Oil and You yesterday, Dr. Adams said the regulatory body has learned that it is the broad

language in ExxonMobil’s permit that gave the oil giant the leverage to flare over 12 million cubic feet of gas per day without a single repercussion. According to the permit, ExxonMobil is allowed to flare or burn some amount of associated gas during the start up of its operations. The permit is silent on what occurs during the case of mechanical issues and how long a start-up period is expected to last. In

the absence of those clear terms, ExxonMobil was allowed to continue its business as usual and burn the associated gas until it can fix the issues it is experiencing with the gas compressor system for the Liza Destiny oil vessel.

Dr. Adams revealed that ExxonMobil has been informed that such loopholes in its current permit will be closed. He also said that future permits will also have much tighter and clearer conditions for flaring.

The EPA Head said, “The flaring is now down to about 12 million cubic feet of gas per day. It is not where it should be but we are taking action. We are in contact with them (ExxonMobil) and they are aware that we are unhappy about this state of affairs. We have already contacted them and said that we will change the language in current and future permits to ensure there is more accountability…”

Contrary to the perception some may have, the EPA Head said that ExxonMobil is indeed embarrassed by this matter and is working very diligently to address it. “…We appreciate them doing all that we asked for but we need more accountability hence we have informed them that we are tightening the language in the current permit and future permits where there is going to be no room for misinterpretation about what the intent of the permit is,” expressed Dr. Adams.

Over the last few weeks, Kaieteur News would have reported extensively on the mounting criticisms the EPA and ExxonMobil would have faced on the matter of flaring.

On the local platform, Conservationist Annette Arjoon-Martins spoke about the dangers of flaring which

EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams

releases harmful toxins into the atmosphere. She also reminded of treaties Guyana signed onto which require that it keeps its carbon emissions low. With this in mind, the Conservationist asserted that Guyana’s authorities have to ensure that the nation upholds its obligations and get ExxonMobil to cease flaring forthwith.

On the global platform, an organization called the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL) s a i d t h a t G u y a n a ’s authorities are perhaps oblivious to the harms of flaring while noting that the authorities need to be more aggressive on the issue.

During an exclusive interview on Kaieteur R a d i o ’s p r o g r a m m e , Guyana’s Oil and You, CIEL’s President, Carroll Muffett had said that the flaring of over nine billion cubic feet of gas is equivalent to more than a kilogramme (kg) of Carbon Dioxide (C02) for every Guyanese. At room temperature, one kg of CO2 can occupy the trunk of a large car. Taking this into consideration, he too insisted that Guyana makes every effort to bring an end to the flaring by ExxonMobil.

In a brief comment on T u e s d a y, P u b l i c a n d

Government Affairs Advisor for ExxonMobil, Janelle Persaud said that the company has been able to reduce flaring to a significant degree while noting that it is working attentively towards addressing the matter.

Persaud had said, “We continue to safely complete final commissioning of the gas handling system. We have two of the three gas handling systems online and are currently injecting or using 85 percent of the produced gas from the r e s e r v o i r. Wi t h g a s reinjection online, we are able to ramp up production and reduce flaring. Once the system is fully commissioned, we will be able to produce at full capacity.”

Persaud was also keen to note that both the safety of the people working on the Liza Destiny and the c o m p a n y ’s e f f o r t s t o minimize flaring are key priorities for ExxonMobil G u y a n a . “ … We w i l l continue to work with the Government of Guyana, including the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, to operate safely and in accordance with our environmental impact assessment and permit,” the ExxonMobil official concluded.

Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

PAGE 09

WHAT IS HARDER TO FIND THAN LOVE?

M

y first job interview required that I produce some form of identification and proof that I was of working age. Since I could not locate my national identification card at the time – it was misplaced – I took along my driver’s licence and my birth certificate.

I hoped that the former would identify me and at the same time allow me to get into the transport section, while my birth certificate would show that I was of working age.

The interviewing officer took my driver’s licence and wrote something down on a piece of paper. He then picked up my birth certificate and took a long time looking over it. So long that I decided to ask, “Is anything wrong, sir?” To which he replied, “Yes, I cannot find the expiration date.”

From the number of applications which the General Register Office

receives monthly for birth certificates, one may be tempted to believe that birth certificates now carry an expiry date. The problem is that too many persons in Guyana are no longer taking care of their important documents. They are misplacing them much too easily, with the result that every few years they need to apply to have replacements issued.

The large number of applications for birth certificates places pressure on the system. It means that those who are applying for their initial birth certificate would have to wait longer than expected since there are so many applications to be filled. The wait can be as long as 3 months in some cases. This is unacceptable but the only persons to blame are those who are losing their certificates.

This was hardly the case up to thirty years ago. People took good care of their documents. Many of them

may not have had even a file folder to store their documents, but they resorted to keeping them in plastic bags or used envelopes.

More importantly, they had a fixed place, usually some drawer, where all their important papers were kept.

And keep them safely, they did. Today, there are persons who still have their British Guiana birth certificates.

Somebody should runoff a competition in Guyana to see who can produce the oldest birth certificate. I am sure that quite a few birth certificates dating back to the early 1900’s can still be found.

Unfortunately, not many of these older certificates are accepted for use. There are many places in Guyana, including embassies, which refuse to accept a British Guiana birth certificate as proof of birth.

It is not clear what position the Registration Office took during the national registration

Dem boys seh...

HAP-New playing God with Guyana Dem boys keep remembering wha dem various Prime Ministers talk. Keith de RowLee of Trinidad seh how he concerned when elections become a court-house matter.

Dat was one month after de Guyana elections. Is now three months later and de elections now back to de court again.

Elections should be simple 1-2-3.

Dat is what a former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and de Grenadines talk pon Kaieteur Radio.De man talk how elections is like English exam and Maths exam. De English part, he explain, was de election campaign when you gat to write yuh essay fuh convince de people fuh vote fuh yuh. De Maths part is about counting de votes. De Lolo man can’t get he Maths right up to now. De man confuse since Nigel seh dat 33 is not a majority of 65.

Dem boys remember too wha de Chairperson of Caricom, Mia, seh about de Maths exam. She talk how there are ‘forces’

in Guyana who nah want no recount. Dem boys know dat dem ‘forces’ is nat only in de HAP-New; dem forces also deh in GEECum.Dem boys remember also wha Ralphie de man from St. Vincent talk. De man seh how de loser of de election must tek he licks like a man.

Ralphie fail to consider de kind of people dem got in de Coalition.

In Guyana is de loser who does want share de licks.Right now de loser trying fuh play God. Dem trying fuh defy de whole world wha dun know who win de elections on March 2.

De HAP-New lose and trying fuh play God as if it gat a right fuh determine de will of de people. Dem boys wan tell HAP-New dat when Man try fuh play God, de Creator does tun he back pon dem.

Talk half and tell Soulja Bai dat he legacy at stake.

exercise, but no one should be denied registration simply because they have a British Guiana birth certificate. In fact, anyone who can produce such a certificate should be given an award for being able to safely keep that document.

In the old days, there was no photocopying and persons had to take their documents, for example, when applying for a passport. They did not lose these documents.

Yet today, with the luxury of photocopying, people are still losing their original documents. Perhaps it is because replacements come too easily. All it takes, according to the General Register Office, is for an application to be made and an inexpensive fee to be paid

for a replacement copy.

I f , h o w e v e r, t h e replacement fee was $10,000 then perhaps persons would lose their original certificates less. It is something that should be considered, for in as much as Guyana would like its citizens to be able to afford to have replacements of important documents such as birth or marriage certificates, there needs to be some controls and disincentives against persons losing their original documents. An increase in the cost of these certificates will do the trick, because if there is anything that dissuades Guyanese from losing anything, it is the high cost of replacement.

Guyanese need to keep their documents safely and ensure they are stored in an easily accessible place. A

good way to know how organised someone is, would be to see whether when at home they can find their birth certificate within five minutes. If they cannot, then it says that they need to get themselves better organised.

Former President of the United States Barak Obama quipped at a dinner that there were a few things in life harder to find and more important than love. Then he added, “Well, love and a birth certificate.”

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

Kaieteur News

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Friday June 19, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

APNU+AFC is hoping for NCM2 There is a distinct trait in humans that seeks to avoid using strong language to describe the unpleasant nature of their fellow humans. This disposition is inherent in Homo sapiens.

PPP commissioner, Sase Gunraj, displayed that trait yesterday.

When asked if the lack of GECOM quorum was deliberate, he chose not to answer. Like most people, he wanted to avoid unpleasant adjectives. The brutal reality that was on display

yesterday was that the lack of quorum was planned. It is foolish to think otherwise but then again, the world has its equal quota of naïve, foolish and wise people.

So one more day has passed and there is no official declaration of the election results. I cannot see how Guyanese could be upset or aggrieved at yet another delay. The nation has been waiting for more than three months. What is the fuss if a week or two or another month passes

without the declaration?

The inevitable is around the corner. The APNU+AFC government has ignominiously passed into history. It has happened.

What has not occurred as yet is the legal exit. That is coming. It may be a couple of days. It may be a couple of weeks. The APNU+AFC has lost the election and will move out of office.

If you think Granger and the APNU+AFC will remain in power then ask the question why after three

months Granger has not been sworn in. Let’s go back to March 4. The only reason why Granger was not sworn in on Friday, March 7 when Lowenfield had summoned a statutory meeting to make the declaration of an APNU+AFC victory was the court order.

Mingo claimed he adhered to the court order on Friday, March 13, when he did his corrugated, psychotic tabulation at GECOM’s head office in Kingston. It meant that there was now an official tabulation and Granger should have been sworn in the Saturday or the Sunday.

But he wasn’t. Why? It is when you understand why Granger was not officially declared the president on the weekend of March 15 then you will be comforted by the fact that Granger and APNU+AFC are gone so there is no point fussing about one delay after the other.

The reason is that the major donors to the Guyanese economy and the major countries that can ruin Guyana with sanction do not accept that APNU+AFC won the election and will not accept the continuation of APNU+AFC in office. This brings us to the way that the APNU+AFC looked to remain in power – the recount.

Make no mistake. There was a plan to derail the recount because on the morning of March 3,

APNU+AFC leaders knew they lost the election. From March 3, APNU+AFC had to find a route to prolong its tenure while looking for ways to present to the world a credible victory. It was an impossible task but the APNU+AFC queens and kings had to keep dreaming.

First Lowenfield submitted a timeline of 156 days for the recount. Then when that was shortcircuited to one month, the plan was put into effect. Cite immense depravities on voting day like multiple voting, dead people voting, immigrants voting. The key here was to create oceans of confusions that the CARICOM team would pronounce an uncertain, unreliable election.

Lowenfield’s report of ghastly irregularities was drafted before the CARICOM report.

Lowenfield had no idea of what the CARICOM folks would pronounce on so he kept within the script that APNU+AFC wrote. The end came when CARICOM reported that the election was free, fair, credible, and reflected the will of the electorate.

What happens now?

APNU+AFC is hoping for NCM 2. The passage of the no-confidence motion (NCM) in December 2018 should have brought about election in March 2019. The APNU+AFC defeated the purpose of the NCM by

Frederick Kissoon remaining in power for an entire year. In going to the Appeals Court this afternoon, the APNU+AFC bosses are hoping for NCM 2.

How will NCM 2 work?

If Granger loses, he goes to the fully constituted Court of Appeal. If he loses there, he goes to the Caribbean Court of Justice. During this time, he achieves NCM 2 because he remains in power. But there is a large missile waiting to be fired on Guyana whether he wins or loses in the Court of Appeal this afternoon or in days to come.

CARICOM, the OAS, the Commonwealth, international lending agencies and the western powers will impose sanctions on Guyana if Granger and APNU+AFC do not concede defeat. This is inevitability. I would suggest Guyanese stay home and avoid COVID-19 and wait for the eventual exit of APNU+AFC which is around the corner.

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

Friday June 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Friday June 19, 2020

Motion filed in Appeal Court to stop Lowenfield’s report to GECOM Chair … PPP says will not stop declaration

A

ttorney-at-Law M a y o Robertson, on behalf of his client, Eslyn David, has asked the Court of Appeal to prevent the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield from submitting a report of the recount results to the Chair, Justice Claudette Singh; and in so doing, prevent her from declaring the results of the National Recount. Those results place the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) well ahead of the governing coalition, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).

The filing was done yesterday, just as Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield was supposed to submit the report to the Elections Commission. No injunction was granted to halt the submission of that report, but Lowenfield refused to submit it anyway.

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield The Appeal Court has agreed to hear the matter at 1:30 pm today, against the respondents, the Chief Elections Officer; the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh; the Guyana Elections Commission; and the Attorney General of Guyana, Basil Williams.

The notice of motion purports that the Court is to take up the exclusive jurisdiction conferred upon it by Article 177(4) of the Constitution of Guyana, to

determine the question of the validity of the elections.

The motion seeks to compel the court to make a declaration that GECOM failed to act in accordance with the recount order, in that it “failed to determine a final credible count and or the credibility of the result” of the March 2 polls.

The coalition’s perspective on a “final credible count” of the election had became evident when it supported Lowenfield’s insertion in his first report on the recount, a

The Kingston Appeal Court suggestion that GECOM should discard more than 269,619 of the 460,352 valid votes cast in the elections.

Based on trumped up claims of irregularities and voter i m p e r s o n a t i o n , Lowenfield’s revision would give the coalition a 68,000vote lead and a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

In lieu of this, the Coalition would prefer if GECOM were to declare that the March 2 polls were not credible, as also asserted by

Lowenfield in his first report.

This was also put to the Commission when Government nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander posed a motion for annulment and fresh elections. That motion was rejected by Retired Justice Singh.

After doing so, the Chair had instructed Lowenfield to compile a report for the Commission so it could declare the elections results.

The motion filed in the Court of Appeal asks the Court to restrain Lowenfield from obeying Justice Singh’s instruction to submit his report, unless he determines the “final credible count” or the credibility of the elections.

Justice Singh had explained that GECOM could not clothe itself as a Court of Law to determine the validity of an election.

She had said that such a (Continued on page 18)

Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

Pres. Granger, Volda Lawrence “clear out” public offices - but party still attempts to prevent declaration

Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence De facto President David Granger and Minister of P u b l i c H e a l t h , Vo l d a Lawrence, have cleared out their respective public offices in preparation for transition to the incoming government.

This is according to credible information provided to this publication.

D e s p i t e t h i s development, some within the ranks of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) are still pursuing efforts to prevent a declaration of the March 2, 2020 Elections.

According to reports, the President cleared out State House since Wednesday, while Lawrence, who serves as the Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), cleared out her office, and even had a farewell thrown in her honour, subsequently.

Notwithstanding this, the Coalition has again attempted to block the declaration of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections results which show a clear win for the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Figures from the National Recount show that the PPP has won the March 2, Elections with a grand total of 233,336 votes against the APNU+AFC Coalition’s 217,920 votes. Those figures are sufficient to declare Dr. Irfaan Ali as Guyana’s 9th Executive President.

Incumbent President David Granger However, the Coalition members have maintained that no declaration can be made on the basis that the votes cast were “not valid” due to the high number of irregularities uncovered during the recount. This includes their allegations of dead and migrant voters, none of which was substantiated. Additionally, top brass members of the Coalition have continued to publicly denounce the figures of the recount.

The Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, was expected to submit his final report to the Commission yesterday pursuant to Article 177(2)(b) of the Constitution and Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act Chapter 1:03. This did not happen.

That delay was due to the fact that the CEO and the GECOM Chair, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh, were served with a ‘Notice of Motion’, meant to prevent Lowenfield from submitting his final report.

The Coalition had also requested that the Chairman annul the March 2 Elections, but it was made pellucid that GECOM has no authority to execute such action. Such a matter would have to be ventilated at the level of the court in an election petition.

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Kaieteur News

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Friday June 19, 2020

Coalition supporters stage “illegal” protest in Berbice - Protest leaders to face court action for breaching COVID-19 orders - Regional Commander Several supporters and party members of the APNU+AFC yesterday staged an illegal protest.

They marched through several streets of New Amsterdam and were also seen opposite the Guyana Elections Office (GECOM) office at Prince Elizabeth Road, New Amsterdam.

Although there are restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Public Health in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic preventing public gatherings, the group nevertheless defied the orders and marched through the town with the police diverting traffic to allow the (Continued on page 16)

The gathering at the APNU office Protesting APNU+AFC supporters were urged to support GECOM’s CEO

A police woman was seen walking with the protestors

Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

PAGE 15

National Park GPL buys 8 bucket to reopen today trucks for $587M

- Security team to monitor 90-minute exercise The Protected Areas Commission (PAC) in a press release yesterday revealed that the National Park will be opened to the public from today (June 19, 2020). This initiative follows on the heels of the National COVID-19 Task Force’s announcement of a six phase re-opening of the country, with the first phase, starting yesterday.

The National Park will be opened from 6:30 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday but will remain closed on weekends.

In its statement, the PAC noted that access to the park is permitted only through the Thomas Road and Carifesta Avenue gates.

“Admission to the park will depend on the number of persons already in the park, so as to ensure that physical distancing is adhered to and maintained at all times,” the statement noted.

The opening of the park came after an amended Gazette Order for the curfew that is now allowing persons “90 minutes of exercise from Monday to Friday only in parks, on roads, seawalls, beaches and by rivers and creeks.”

Gyms are to remain closed.

The park can be used for walking and jogging, which shall be done in an anticlockwise direction, and guidance will be provided by a “Security Team”. Also no contact sport, cycling or

special events will be permitted, the statement added, pointing out, h o w e v e r , t h a t “athletic/sports fields, tarmac and Play Land will remain closed”.

No gathering of more than five persons at anytime will be allowed and the Commission said that it is encouraging patrons to avoid unnecessary loitering or lingering as this opening of the park is to facilitate those desirous of taking advantage of the 90 minutes exercise permit. Persons are therefore asked to be mindful of each other and complete their exercise routine within a reasonable time to ensure others can benefit from the use of the park, the statement outlined.

It added, “Free parking is available and should be used to minimize or reduce human to human contact.

Two sanitized washrooms will be available to the public and the staff at the

GPL paid over $587M for eight maintenance trucks, according to documents.

park will continue to follow sanitization protocols.”

Parks provide a connection to the outdoors and green space as well as opportunities for physical activities, which may reduce stress and improve mental health.

As such, the PAC noted that “Information and notices of changes to the rules and procedures will be communicated as the National Task Force make changes to the national measures.”

Parks and other public spaces were closed and nonessential services were halted as measures were being put in place to reduce and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease.

As it is, only the National Park will be opened to accommodate the exercise allowance.

The Botanical Gardens, Zoo and the Joe Vieira Park will remain closed to the public until further notice.

As Guyana waits in bated breath for the results of elections 2020 to be announced, it is business as usual at a few State companies.

The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) on Tuesday approved almost $600M in payments for eight utility trucks. The payment of $587M to Massy Motors (Guy) Limited would have come after a Local Purchase Order was issued on January 31, 2020.

While GPL is a state-owned company with Board of Directors, with the elections process ongoing, there has been deep worry by opposition parties about last minute spending.

The order said that GPL paid for four IVECO trucks with “Versa SST 40 Bucket

Truck (45 feet)” for $63,334,365. The four trucks cost $253,337,460.The same Local Purchase Order also said that four IVECO/VST 5500 Utility Truck (65 feet) were ordered. They cost $83,441,580 each for a total of $333,766,320.According to the order, GPL paid Massy Motors 30 percent in advance with 60 percent of the monies after the trucks would have arrived. The remaining 10 percent is due after 30 days of receipt of the trucks.The trucks are said to be all part of the fleet maintenance for GPL and to be used by the Generation Department.It is unclear what procurement procedures were used for the procurement of the trucks.

PAGE 16

Friday June 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

SVN organizes COVID-19 relief for affected families

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HEALTH Welder.Contact:223-5273/223Herbal Remedies- Diabetes, 5274.

Hypertension, Hyplori, Gall & Kidney Stones, Respitory Cook.Contact:223-5273/223illness, PCOS etc. Contact 5274.

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SVN Principal sorting groceries

One cleaner & One cook Saraswati Vidya Niketan wanted to work in interior, cook must have food handler (SVN) is currently engaged in certificate. Contact#658-7732 a major relief programme to alleviate families affected by Live-in Domestic , the ongoing covid-19 Georgetown. Boys & Girls pandemic. The staff has been for the interior. Tel # 684-7960 consistently involved in organizing hampers which 1 Diesel Mechanic to work in include grocery items and the interior, interested cleaning agents. Rice, flour, persons. Tel#625-5136 Mon- dhal, sugar, salt, potatoes, Fri 8am-4pm onions, garlic, fabuloso (a type of detergent) and soap Wanted- Security Officers: powder are only some of the Great Career Prospects, items included in these Excellent salary and hampers. promotion opportunities.

While 250 hampers have Apply online: https://siag- already been distributed prior, security.gy it is expected that an 1 Working female to share additional 500 hampers will be distributed by this weekend. apartment.Tel#669-2686.

This relief has been extended 1 Night Guard Preferably from to areas from Stewartville to the Ogle Area.Call#623-4242. Cornelia Ida in conjunction with the local NDCs. Laborers for wood concession Emphasis has been placed on $5000 per day.Call#662-6227/ providing assistance to 630-1831/604-9570. those suffering from loss of Experienced saw men for wood concession.Call#6626227/630-1831/664-9570.

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employment due to the virus, single-parent households and the elderly.

The items for these hampers have been obtained through significant donations from N&S Mattai & Company, Najab Trading Enterprise, Survival Supermarket, DeSinco Trading, MC & RS Samaroo Wholesale Grocery and Prem’s Electrical. Monetary donations have also been received from Siri Persaud and Roop Persaud.

This programme follows SVN’s tradition of giving back to the community under the stewardship of the Principal, Swami Aksharananda. The teachers have also been committed to ensuring that these hampers are packed and distributed to local communities. It is indeed heartening to witness members of the business community play a vital role in relieving impoverished areas.

As our country continues to experience these u n p r e c e d e n t e d circumstances, we look forward to encouraging this type of support and providing assistance.

Senior citizen receiving hamper

Heart patient and mother receive hamper.

Coalition supporters stage “illegal”...

10 K Sq ft, 25 Public Rd, Agricola. US 3K Neg (Long From page 14 Term Avail). Tel or Whatsapp procession. They began at #647-572-3378/289-980-2711 the GECOM office location and concluded with speeches PLANNING AN EVENT? at their party office on Strand BIRTHDAY PARTY, Road, New Amsterdam.

G R A D U AT I O N , At the office of the W E D D I N G S , APNU+AFC, former ANNIVERSARY, ETC. - APNU+AFC Member of ParCALL DIAMOND TENTS: liament, Barbara Pilgrim, 216-1043; 677-6620 urged the supporters to be 1 bedroom apartment for “stiff and peaceful until...” working couple/single person She encouraged them to $32,000 & $35,000 monthly, “don’t listen to other people light & water included,2 because when we say this is months security.Tel#623- so, that is so”.

Pilgrim earlier on in her 0076. speech also encouraged (3)2&(1)3 bedrooms , those gathered to support Providence Herstelling New and stand behind the Chief scheme $80,000,$120,000.Call Executive Officer (CEO) of Roy Tel#698-0015.

GECOM, Keith Lowenfield.

“The person that we have Apartment for rent,Eccles to rally behind is Keith bottom flat,two bedroom.T el Lowenfield, he has already #233-2227. submitted his report and that (1)Two bedroom apartment for is the report that we are goRent Durban Street $60,000 ing to accept,” she said. Supporters present were told that per month.Tel#666-9494. since “Guyanese could handle their own affairs” forPEN PAL eign powers should not interMale seeks female (18-35) to fere in Guyana’s affairs. live with or marry. Call: 643Meanwhile, the adminis0067 trator attached to the Skeldon

Public Hospital and APNU+AFC member Shurla Scott Richardson said that, “fraud is fraud and only valid votes must be counted”.

Richardson, who was also a counting agent at the recount process at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, said that the party stands by the constitution because “it speaks to valid votes”.

He too impressed the need to “stand by CEO Lowenfield because he is the only legal accredited elections officer that can give a report to GECOM, not the Chairman of GECOM”.

The gathering of protesting supporters together made a call to GECOM to “get it right”. Richardson stressed, “we are the legal citizens of Guyana” and she therefore encouraged the others to “wait, we will listen and wait in readiness to defend the true and real democracy of Guyana because fraud is fraud and only valid votes count”.

Meanwhile, when contacted the Regional Police Commander, Calvin Brutus,

said that permission was not granted to carry out the protest activity. He, however, said that he was informed that the leaders of the protest had indicated to the supporters that they were granted permission.

In a video clip, police ranks were seen walking alongside the protesting supporters rather than dispersing the crowd as instructed

by Brutus.

When questioned about why police ranks were seen guiding them on the roadway rather than halting the protest, Brutus stated that he personally requested from the senior officers who were present “an explanation”.

He stated that when he learnt about the protest, he immediately gave instructions to ranks to descend to where they were to disperse the crowd.

According to Brutus too, the persons who were leading the exercise will be prosecuted for breaching the COVID-19 orders.

The protest lasted nearly an hour.

Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

PAGE 17

Five teachers among 12 who test positive for COVID-19 -cases increase to 183 Guyana has another 12 new cases of the COVID-19 disease. Chief Medical O f f i c e r ( C M O ) , D r.

Shamdeo Persaud, announced that the new cases were discovered among 42 tests conducted.

The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases to 183.

All the new positive cases yesterday are from Region One, which showed a 100 percent increase in that Region’s number of positive cases.

Kaieteur News understands that about five teachers from Moruca are among the new cases.

Giving a breakdown of the COVID-19 situation in Guyana, Dr. Persaud noted that there have been 2,048 tests so far with 1,865 being negative.

According to the CMO, 102 persons have recovered to date. “In institutional isolation, we now have 69 active cases and 24 cases in institutional quarantine. The number of COVID-19 deaths remains at 12. An analysis of all the positive cases indicates that 52 percent are males and 48 percent females.

The age groups with the most cases are the 20-29, 3039 and 40-49; in essence, we are talking about the adults.

Of those groups, the 20-29 has the highest number.

Region Four has 56 percent of the cases, followed by Region Seven with 16 percent and Region One with 13 percent. The three regions represent 85 percent of all the COVID-19 cases. The other five regions combined have 15 percent of the cases,” he said.

Dr. Persaud said too that the conclusions from this analysis clearly indicate that there is a need for behaviour change among the adult population especially men in the 20-29 age groups.

As such, the CMO noted the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) continues to implore citizens to take stock of their actions. “Our numbers indicate very clearly that our behaviour is still out of order. We are in COVID times and so it requires COVID behaviour adjustment. Hand washing, wearing a mask and practising physical distancing,” he said.

Added to this, Dr. Persaud said that trends in the Caribbean and the rest of the world show some of the countries that managed to stop transmission have reported the emergence of new cases - a clear indication in most instances persons have returned to the practices of life before COVID-19.

He noted that Guyana will begin the process of relaxing some measures and the experiences of countries that have embarked upon this before us must be taken into consideration.

“We must use their lessons as a guide; worthy of note is the recognition that Guyana’s cases have never stopped climbing. We need you to understand that you are much more vulnerable than those countries that were able to reduce their cases,” said the CMO. He added, “We continue to plead with our residents in the hinterland communities to act responsibly, your health as well as that of your family is at great risk, for studies have shown that for every person that is positive, approximately three persons will be infected by that individual. We ask that you seek medical attention immediately so that the essential care and treatment you need can be provided.”

Meanwhile, the CMO reminded that Guyanese, who are returning home,

must observe certain g u i d e l i n e s o n disembarkation and arrival at the airport points of entry.

He noted that temperature, symptomhealth questionnaire and other COVID-19 specific entry screening will be done adding that “the facial mask must be worn at all times; it must not be removed throughout the process except for providing care; any other measures deemed necessary by the country

including disinfection by cabin spraying before arrival will be carried out and information on anyone with cough; fever or other respiratory symptoms must be provided to Port Health Authority on arrival.”

He said too, “In addition to this, upon arrival, travellers who have negative PCR test results will undergo a day’s quarantine.

Others who would have had the PCR test done on the day of flight and the results

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud are not available will be subject to a 14 days’

quarantine until further advised.”

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Kaieteur News

Football needs to evolve to combat discrimination - Paul Elliott

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo is the only BAME manager in the Premier League, which has not adopted the Rooney Rule. (Getty Images)

Friday June 19, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You are very interested in technological breakthroughs and innovation, Aries, especially if it has some benefit for individuals.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You're a reasonable, generous person, Taurus. Your altruism plays a big part in your life. This is why your friends will be amazed to see you express a lot of personal desires now.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today, you'll need to come up with the answer to an important question, Gemini.

What do you really want?

Events might compel you to choose between your current way of living and a more stable life.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Your calm will be put to the test today. Try not to fall into this trap. You should try to show people that you're a thoughtful person and your past experiences have given you wisdom.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You tend to think that you're the only person on this planet born under a lucky star, Leo. Try to trust the ones you love, because they might not appreciate having to deal with your anxiety.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You're an eccentric person, Virgo. Yet you also feel the need to be loved and feel the approval of those around you. It isn't always easy to think differently from other people or to feel completely different.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your altruism and ability to listen to others will greatly influence the day, Libra.

Someone close to you is having difficulties and doesn't know how to explain the problem.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The day belongs to you.

The celestial movements encourage you to think about your future. Don't be afraid. With your usual selfconfidence and dynamism, you're in the best position to have a head start.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) There's a radical change taking place in the Zodiac.

The changes in the economy and society seem to suggest that now is the time to think about how your actions impact the lives of your loved ones.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Capricorn, the atmosphere of the day gives you the impression that there could be a lot of changes waiting to unfold in your personal life. Most of them will concern your relationships.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You're the type of person who loves knowing a lot of different people. You feel that you must help your friends communicate so that they have a better forum in which to express themselves.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You should make more of your own decisions, Pisces.

Don't let others have so much control over your life.

When in a relationship, for example, you tend to let your partner dominate.

BBCsport - Football needs and is trying to “evolve” to combat discrimination, says the chair of the Football Association’s inclusion advisory board.

Paul Elliott spoke after asking clubs at any level to join a voluntary code for equality in football leadership.

“The FA is leading the way and wants to take the rest of the football clubs with us,” he told BBC Sport. Meanwhile, to ensure diversity, the Professional Footballers’ Association wants an EFL “loophole” closed.

In 2019, the English Football League adopted a mandatory recruitment code aligned with the NFL’s Rooney Rule. It means clubs must interview at least one BAME candidate for a managerial vacancy.

But EFL clubs are only obliged to follow this when there is a short-listing process and more than one candidate is interviewed, not when clubs target specific managers.

There are six black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) managers across the 91 clubs in the Premier League and EFL. The Premier League has not adopted the Rooney Rule.

With 70% of the current EFL managers appointed during the season, when a full recruitment process is less likely, the PFA’s equalities coach Iffy Onuora said this potentially means clubs “miss the opportunity to use the rule as it is intended”.

In an interview with BBC Sport’s Laura Scott, the former Swindon manager said: “That for me has got to be looked at. Is it mutually exclusive that you want a quick appointment but you don’t run a recruitment process?

“Can you not do both? Is there a way to marry both those things? I understand and I’ve been there myself as an ex-manager and probably benefited at one point from needing to make an appointment quite quickly that someone might step into those shoes on a caretaker basis, if that club has the foresight to do that.

“But then behind-thescenes there can be a recruitment process going ahead.” When the EFL introduced the policy last summer, it said at the time it hoped it would “help address the under-representation” and would be “mandatory when clubs consider multiple applicants for a role”.

The EFL will not gather data for the full season until it is completed but the early indications are that since the recruitment code came in, 60% of appointments have followed an open recruitment

process.

Earlier this week, Kick It Out’s Troy Townsend told BBC Sport: “I’m not saying clubs are not following a process but they aren’t nailed on to a process because there is a little bit of a loophole there. You aren’t going to be held accountable. It’s like dipping your toes in without going to swim.”

The players’ union told BBC Sport that they consider “necessary first steps” to be BAME representation on the EFL Recruitment Code steering group by January 2021 and “substantive” BAME representation on the boards of the Football Association, EFL, League Managers Association and Premier League for the 202021 season.

Onuora said: “We’ve kind of moved away from targets but we do think there is some low-hanging fruit here and you could actually do some of these things relatively quickly.”

Several high-profile

players, including Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, have called for greater diversity in the hierarchy of sports organisations.

In terms of the voluntary code for equality in football leadership, England manager Gareth Southgate is one of a number of names to give it his support in Elliott’s open letter.

“When you think about what’s been said and the current modern day players your Marcus Rashfords, Raheem Sterlings, Jordan Hendersons - they’ve spoken with so much eloquence and maturity, and they have got a great social responsibility,” said Elliott.

“I think what they’ve said fundamentally is that they want one thing - equality of opportunity. That’s why this recruitment code is so significant and important.”

He added: “Individually and collectively, given the reach of football, we can impact society in a way that no other sport can.”

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Friday June 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaepernick joins Medium, will World Athletics launches create content on race and civil rights Fitter With Friends campaign Reuters - Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has joined the board of directors of Medium and will work on content focused on race and civil rights, the U.S.based online publishing platform announced yesterday.

Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested against racial injustice by kneeling here as the U.S. national anthem played during a game, will be publishing across Medium’s platform and sharing thoughts on anti-Black racism in society, the company said.

Medium allows users, including companies and media outlets, to post blogs that readers can annotate.

“I know he will bring valuable insights and leadership to Medium, especially in this moment when the world is finally catching up to his vision on racial justice,” Ev Williams, chief executive of Medium, said in a statement.

“I couldn’t be more happy to welcome Colin to Medium.

He’s an incisive, independent thinker, whose integrity has inspired so many. The world

Colin Kaepernick needs more of that.”

Kaepernick’s protests, aimed at drawing attention to police brutality against minorities, began in 2016 when he popularized the gesture of kneeling during pre-game renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” while a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

He became a free agent after that season, during which he went 1-10 as a starter, and has since been unable to find a team to play for. Many experts attribute his political activism as the key reason teams are wary of signing him.

The action of kneeling

during the U.S. national anthem had all but disappeared from the world of sports, but returned recently following the death last month of George Floyd at the hands of a white policeman, which sparked protests across the United States over police brutality.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week he would encourage teams to sign Kaepernick, adding the league would also welcome his off-the-field guidance on social justice. Kaepernick launched a publishing company in February which is also part of the partnership and will help create and feature stories on race and civil rights in America, and elevate emerging voices from communities of color.

“I am excited for Kaepernick Publishing to partner with Medium to continue to elevate black voices in the news and publishing industry,” said Kaepernick. I also look forward to creating new opportunities and avenues for black writers and creators with my new role as a board member.”

World Athletics yesterday launched a sixweek global campaign, Fitter With Friends, to assist runners around the world to stay motivated and continue their health routines as the world emerges from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Research conducted by RunRepeat.com across 139 countries in the early stages of lockdown found that 88 percent of people who normally exercised once or twice a week had increased their exercise routine. Of more than 12,000 people surveyed, those who went for a run once or twice a week more than doubled their efforts (117% on average).

More recent research has confirmed this trend to a greater focus on health and fitness within our communities.

In line with the vision of World Athletics’ new strategic plan “to use the power and accessibility of athletics and our athletes to create a healthier and fitter world”, we want to encourage those who have established a better exercise routine during the pandemic to remain motivated as they return to a

Fitter with friends © Copyright more normal life, and to engage their friends who, like us, they have missed spending time with during lockdown.

As many parts of the world are entering the post pandemic phase, people now have a chance to combine their new fitness routines and getting together with their friends (at a social distance).

To help everyone keep moving, World Athletics will offer an exclusive opportunity to tap into the inspiration and knowledge of six Olympic, world and continental champions from six continents.

Each week, a different athlete will set a fun fitness

challenge to complete, by video, and offer workouts and wisdom to help everyone complete the challenge and improve their fitness.

To take part simply sign up for the challenge on World Athletics’ website for exclusive access to these challenges. From 25 June to the end of July, six of the world’s best athletes invite you and a friend to take the weekly challenge to get “Fitter with Friends”.

The programme is free and offers rewards to inspire and motivate participants to keep active. Six weeks, six challenges, six athletes – it’s that simple. (World Athletics)

Soccer: Brazil president’s decree changes media, sponsorship rules Reuters - Brazilian soccer clubs are free to negotiate broadcast rights for own home games without requiring a green light from their opponents, according to a new decree issued by the country’s president yesterday.

The law had previously only allowed transmission of games when both teams were in agreement. Matches at neutral venues will still need an accord between both sides. The decree issued by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro also knocks down a 1998 law banning media companies from advertising on team uniforms and clears the way for new shirt sponsorship deals.

It allows clubs to sign players on 30-day contracts, down from the previous minimum of 90 days. Players will also automatically get 5% of the revenue from TV deals. The decision comes a day after Bolsonaro, a keen

President Jair Bolsonaro soccer fan, appeared with a Flamengo badge on his suit and the same day Flamengo restart the Rio de Janeiro state championship after a threemonth hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hours before the game was due to kick off Flamengo had not reached an agreement with their opponents Bangu over whether the match was to be televised. The restart –

the first of the traditionally important state leagues to begin playing again - has been criticised by players and clubs, some of whom think Brazil is not ready.

Brazil has had more deaths from COVID-19 than any other nation except the United States, with 1,269 reported on Wednesday, taking the overall death toll to 46,510.

Friday June 19, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Qualification was much more than football to Trump backs ex-QB... us, it was a test of strategic discipline - Forde - GFF hail Historic 2019 Gold Cup Team on 1st Anniversary June 18, 2020 marked the first anniversary of Guyana’s historic appearance at the Concacaf Gold Cup when the ‘Golden Jaguars’ took to the Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA to take on defending champions USA. The performance of the debutants was heart-warming despite the 0-4 loss to the USA. The second match at the FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio saw Guyana putting on another robust performance even as they went down to Panama 2-4 when this nations fist Gold Cup goals were scored, Neil Danns netting both.

The third and final match in their Group D sojourn at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City saw the Guyanese coming up against neighbours Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana drew first blood through A Neil Danns goal but the ‘Soca Warriors’ hit back minutes later to equalise, the match ending 11. GFF President Wayne Forde reflects on the historic journey.

Your thoughts on the 1st anniversary of our Golden Jaguars Gold Cup debut?

WF - June 18th will remain a day of National significance and all of Guyana should be proud of what were able to achieve. When I reflect on how it felt to be singing the National anthem while looking out on the faces of the players and staff who were all beaming with pride and a sense of mission, I can still feel myself fighting back the tears.

It don’t get any better than to debut against the defending Champion – the USA, considered the second strongest team within our Confederation, with an annual budget of 100 million United States Dollars.

How significant was this achievement in the context of our new development thrust?

WF - Getting to the Gold cup was much more than football to us. It was a test of strategic discipline, which demanded great risk and even greater faith, which certainly played a role in the fortuitous circumstances that led to our qualification.

We made bold decisions, such as hiring a new Coaching staff, doing a Camp in Brazil, encamping our team at one of Guyana’s finest hotels. While none of this was easy, it infused a sense of confidence and belief in everyone involved, but for me on a personal level – I fully

understood the risk we were taking and the potential impact failure could have had on the morale of the organisation – this was an albatross that I wore with a reassuring smile. Thank God it all worked out in the end, since I did not have a plan B. How excited were you to finally be with the big boys in Concacaf?

WF - There is always a measure of vanity associated with these occasions, despite how short lived it might be.

We were in one of the toughest groups; USA, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago which have all played at the FIFA World Cup and boost an advanced national Football machinery. Despite this, we finished third and played some really good football in the process.

How challenging was it to put together a competitive team and what was the investment like in terms of preparing?

WF - It was the most challenging campaign Guyana has ever undertaken and the most demanding financially. The preparation for the Nations League, playing the Nations League and the Gold Cup, would have cost the GFF in excess of 500,000.00 USD.

Your thoughts on the team’s performance during their three matches?

WF - There is no question that the team rose to the occasion and played well against superior opposition.

I still believe we should have ended with a win again T&T but in all, I am very proud of the performance and general conduct of the Staff and Players both on and off the field of play.

Do you feel a sense of pressure now to ensure that Guyana always qualify going forward?

WF - No I don’t, and the reason for this is because we have invested well in a professional structure that is geared for optimum performance, which will continue to grow and produce excellent National teams consistently, hence, Gold Cup appearances would become less effortful..!

Are you satisfied that the Technical structure of the GFF enables future qualification form a youth development perspective?

WF - I speak from a position of evidence, we have a solid National Team structure and it will only get better in the coming years.

The investments we have made in Coaching education,

infrastructure development, administration etc., will continue to pay dividends.

With Covid-19 jerking the developmental thrust, what are your plans to pick up the slack and continue consolidating?

WF - This set back has given us an opportunity to reexamine our plans and identify new opportunities.

Football will return much stronger and with special emphasis on correcting some of the areas that were particularly problematic over the past few years.

From a financial perspective, how do you see the GFF coping with the challenges ahead, ensuring programmes at every level inclusive of male and female football?

WF - We are developing broad plans and models that are within our financial means, the next stage is to consult with the members and obtain their blessing to implement these plans.

Once this is done and everyone make a commitment to work within the resource and limitations we are forecasting, I believe we will be able to meet our football development goals for 2021, despite the setback of 2020.

From page 22 anthem to protest racial injustice.

“As far as kneeling, I would love to see him get another shot,” Trump said in an interview with Sinclair Broadcast Group. “But obviously he has to be able to play well. If he can’t play well, I think it would be very unfair,” Trump said.

As recently as Sunday, Trump said he would not watch NFL games if players did not stand for the national anthem.

He has said in the past it was disrespectful to the country.

Kaepernick’s kneeling protest came under renewed focus in recent

weeks, as demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality spread across the country after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this month that the league had made mistakes in not listening to players. He said on Monday he would encourage teams to sign Kaepernick, adding that the league would also welcome the quarterback’s off-the-field guidance on social justice.

Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL in 2017, claiming collusion after no teams signed him. He and the NFL settled in 2019.

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Friday June 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

US Open: Organisers confirm major will be staged but not everybody is on board BBCsport - The US Tennis Association played its trump card at the very first opportunity. At a news conference to confirm the US Open will go ahead in New York this summer, Serena Williams popped up on the screen to say she cannot wait to take part.

The six time champion, who has had the Flushing Meadows surface shipped to her home for practice, will be trying once again to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

Canadian Bianca Andreescu followed hours later with confirmation that she will defend her US Open title.

The USTA is hoping their confidence will rub off on others. There has already been strong public opposition to staging the US Open from Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios, and reticence from Rafael Nadal, Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep.

Their caution is understandable. If you were to take a holistic approach to the return of professional tennis, you would not start in the United States. Europe is currently a much better bet, as tournament directors in Paris and Madrid draw up plans that even include spectators.

Serena Williams They may remain uncomfortable with the number of Covid-19 cases the United States is reporting; they may not wish to spend weeks away from their family; or perhaps they would prefer to direct all their energies towards the French Open, which will start just 13 days after the curtain falls in New York.

But their sentiments should not divert attention from the fact that many other top 100 players are enthusiastic and relieved that the show is back on the road.

Expect a strong British contingent, for example. Both Andy Murray and Johanna Konta seem happy to travel, with Murray said to be keen to play both the US Open and Roland Garros if his gradual

recovery from hip surgery continues to go to plan. And Dan Evans would love to be there: he told BBC Radio 5 Live last month that a final without fans in the Arthur Ashe Stadium would soon become “iconic”.

Some big names, I am sure, will stay away. But with the US Open still 11 weeks away, and the daily number of reported new Covid-19 cases in New York now below 1,000 (from a mid-April high of over 11,000), others may come to assess the risks differently in time.

The initial safety protocols have already changed quite markedly.

There is no longer the need to catch a specially-chartered flight to New York, and those that have the budget will now

Trump backs ex-QB activist Kaepernick returning to NFL Washington (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be in favor of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick returning to the field. Kaepernick says no NFL teams have signed him since he left the San Francisco 49ers after the 2016 season because he knelt during the pre-game playing of the national (Continued on page 21)

Donald Trump-President USA. AFP via Getty Images

be able to bypass the official hotels by renting a private house.

So a player could then find space for their coach, hitting partner, physio, fitness trainer, agent, chef, partner, children and nanny, even if the USTA is yet to decide how many of those will be welcome on site.

And what happens, I wonder, if the 19-time Grand Slam champion Nadal decides to play? Does the 17-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic now think he can’t afford to stay away?

The top 128 or so players who are eligible for the main draw are the lucky ones. There will be no qualifying in New York this year, which deprives players ranked down to around 250 the chance to earn Grand Slam prize money and ranking points which can make or break a season.

There is a lot of

unhappiness among this group. “Cheers to ATP and US Open for further perpetuating my unemployment,” posted the American world number 195 Mitchell Krueger.

Canada’s top-10 doubles player Gaby Dabrowski, meanwhile, was pointing out how the absence of qualifying and the reduced size of the doubles draws “increase the lack of parity in tennis”.

“We don’t want to disproportionally move the needle even further, creating a bigger gap between those at the top and those who need the income and opportunity for growth,” she argued in a post on Twitter.

There will, though, be $6.6m in compensation for these players - either in direct grants or in the form of extra prize money for future tournaments. All the feeder tours will be up and running

by 17 August at the latest, but how the rankings will be restarted after a five month hiatus is not something the tours have yet figured out an answer to.

Looking further ahead, the WTA is pushing ahead with six weeks of tournaments in China, which are the lifeblood of the tour. The men may well head to Beijing and Tokyo after Roland Garros, but those events are yet to be confirmed.

The hope is, though, that the O2 in London will be able to round off the season by staging the ATP Finals for a 12th and final time.

Broadcast contracts mean playing behind closed doors could still be worthwhile, although there have recently been one or two encouraging noises from government that a limited number of spectators could still be welcome.

Not too late for Bonner, assures Estwick Manchester, England, CMC – West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick believes uncapped Nkrumah Bonner can still make an impact in the Test arena, despite his belated call-up at age 31.

The Jamaican strokemaker has been included in the 14man Test squad to face England in next month’s three-Test series.

Estwick said Bonner had deserved his place in the squad and it was now up to the right-hander to leverage the opportunity handed him.

“He’s worked hard to get here. At 31, you look back at the number of players who made their Test careers in the 30s,” Estwick told reporters. “ … so we’re encouraging him and saying ‘look, all is not lost, you’ve been given a great opportunity, you’ve just got to continue to work hard, continue to stay disciplined and continue to do the things you’ve been doing for the last two years’.”

He continued: “Over the last two years he’s averaged 40-odd – he averaged 50-odd this year – so obviously he’s in some kind of form.

“Some people tend to mature a little later and he seems to have done that, and at the moment in the nets we’re seeing a player who is willing to knuckle down and get accustomed to the conditions in England and obviously stake a claim for a Test play. “He’s got the opportunity and it’s up to him to grab it with both hands.”

Bonner played a couple of Twenty20 Internationals for

Nkrumah Bonner.

West Indies eight years ago but was never in the reckoning for the longer format. In the recent first class season in the Caribbean, however, he carved out over 500 runs at an average of 58 with two hundreds for his native Jamaica Scorpions, to get the attention of selectors.

The previous season he was limited to just four innings but still managed two half-centuries and an average of 44. Bonner is a product of the West Indies youth system, having represented the region at the ICC Under19 World Cup in Malaysia.

Estwick said despite his age, it was important Bonner used his call-up to gain precious international experience.

“Bonner has been around for a while. He was in the [High Performance Centre]

back with Jason Holder back in 2012 or thereabouts,” Estwick explained.

“He had a very good first class season … and obviously the selectors are rewarding people who have done well and Bonner has been given this opportunity and hopefully he can continue to work. “He’s 31 but he still needs to gain experience and continue to work.” Bonner is one of two uncapped players in the West Indies squad with fast bowler Chemar Holder also named in the unit.

West Indies take on England in the first Test at the Ageas Bowl starting July 8.

The second Test will be played at Old Trafford here in Manchester beginning July 16 with the third Test carded for the same venue eight days later.

Kaieteur News

Friday June 19, 2020

PAGE 25

Oranje crush bearing fruit for Sint Maarten

F

I FA - T h e Netherlands’ contribution to world football has been immense. Three FIFA World Cup Finals™ and historical home to the some of the finest footballers the world has ever seen. The Dutch pre-eminence in football’s firmament has been exponentially heightened in recent years with their women’s team crowned European champions, before reaching their own FIFA Women’s World Cup Final™ just 12 months ago.

With a relatively modest population just shy of 18 million, few if any nations across the globe can match the Netherlands’ achievements on a per capita basis. But the Dutch influence in world football extends way beyond their headline-grabbing feats at the highest echelons of the game. The past two decades has seen the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) take an active role in developing grassroots football across the globe in developing countries. That activity has heightened over the past decade through the KNVB’s WorldCoaches programme.

The raw numbers achieved by WorldCoaches in just over a decade is nothing short of extraordinary. Fifty-two nations across all corners of the world have experienced the programme, with well over half a million children participating.

One developing football outpost that has enjoyed significant support is Sint Maarten, a Caribbean-based constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Formerly part of the island group known as the Netherlands Antilles, it sits in the Leeward Islands and shares its modest landmass with the French territory of Saint Martin.

The nation’s association was founded in 1986 and has been a member of Concacaf since 2002, but recent years have seen significant increased activity for the island’s football scene. Sint Maarten returned to competitive international football in 2016 after a lengthy hiatus, notably taking part in the inaugural season of the Concacaf Nations League last year.

Sint Maarten’s battle at grassroots level was

heightened by the devastation wrecked by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The youth football program is at capacity with 800 children, and lack of playing fields remained a major stumbling block to further growth.

That is where KNVB’s WorldCoaches was able to provide tangible assistance with an artificial mini-turf pitch opened exactly one year after the hurricane cut its way across the region.

Some Dutch football royalty were on hand for the occasion, including 1974 World Cup Final goal scorer Johan Neeskens and iconic former Ajax goalkeeper Stanley Menzo.

The Dutch contribution is just one example of the difference that WorldCoaches is making in various parts of the world.

The concept is not just focussed on what happens between the white lines, but providing guidance off the field as well.

“We use a bottom of the pyramid approach and within this program we use a unique combination of football and life skills,” WorldCoaches manager Michael van der Star told FIFA.com. “Through the years we have increasingly realised and witnessed the results of using the power of the ball to change the lives of young people. Throughout this time the goals has always remained unchanged; to develop local youth and the community. “ W i t h i n o u r WorldCoaches program we have selected three main focus areas. Our projects are always related to one or more of three pillars, namely personal development, social cohesion and health.

“Our focus is not only on the technical side of football, but also on the social impact of our sport. Children all over the world need proper guidance in their development.

“You don’t need a lot of equipment to play the game, just space and a ball, so it’s easily accessible and also very useful in the empowerment of girls.

Football could be a very successful vehicle to inspire and guide children.”

This article is part of our ‘The Global Game’ series, which focuses on football in remote places away from the spotlight.

© Others

‘Golden Jaguars’ Captain Neil Danns in control against the USA on June 18, 2019 at the Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Entering the pitch to cement history.

rt o p S

Qualification was much more than football to us, it was a test of strategic discipline - Forde Guyanese fans await the kick off of the USA clash.

- GFF hail Historic 2019 Gold Cup Team on 1st Anniversary

Guyana’s starting X1 vs the USA on debut at the Concacaf Gold Cup played at the Allianz Field, St. Paul Minnesota. June 18, 2019.

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