Kaieteur News
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo sent on leave as GECOM considers motion for their dismissal The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has unanimously decided to send on Annual Leave Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield; Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers and Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo pending the outcome of discussions on a motion seeking their dismissal. The three officials who are currently before the court on charges related to electoral fraud, were cited for a series of grave violations connected to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and for their defiance of the instructions by the GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, who instructed that the recount figures be used for the final results of the elections. The decision to instruct the officers to proceed on annual leave followed a statutory meeting of GECOM Commissioners, which was held yesterday. According to a statement
Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo disseminated by the Commission, a decision was taken at the meeting for the three officers to proceed on leave with effect from Monday June 28, 2021. According to GECOM, the decision was necessary to facilitate the Commission’s deliberation on the three motions tabled
by the Government nominated Commissioners seeking the immediate dismissal of those persons as well as the course of action to be adopted afterwards to conclude this process. “The CEO will proceed on 42 days Annual Leave, the DCEO will be on 120
Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers d a y s l e a v e a n d M r. Clairmont Mingo will be on 35 days leave. The Commission intends to conclude these discussions within the shortest possible time,” the release added. The motions to dismiss Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo were tabled by P e o p l e ’s P r o g r e s s i v e Party/Civic (PPP/C) appointed GECOM Commissioners Bibi Shadick, Sase Gunraj and Manoj Narine at a statutory m e e t i n g o f t h e Commissioners, earlier this month. The motion against Lowenfield outlined that he failed and/or refused and/or neglected to ensure that the process of ascertaining the total number of votes cast in favour of each list of candidates for Elections District Number Four by adding up the votes recorded in the Statements of Poll was done without “inordinate or undue delay.” Specifically, the motion detailed among other things, what was referred to as Lowenfield’s open defiance of court orders in his “active pursuit to fraudulently declare” the APNU+AFC Coalition as winners of the March 2, 2020 Regional and General Polls.
Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield
Th e motion points to the CEO’s preparations of a final report pursuant to Section 99 of Representation of People’s Act containing all of the unverified votes as declared by Mingo in which he declared the APNU+AFC the winners despite the injunctions pending a decision of Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire. In another instance, the document outlined that the CEO was found in breach by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in relation to the recount report submitted on the 23rd June, 2020, “when he took it upon himself to invalidate such votes as he considered ought to be invalidated.” In a second motion, the PPP/C Commissioners note, inter alia, that the DCEO acted on her own volition when she facilitated a meeting on March 5, 2020, with a candidate of the contesting party, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karen Cummings, at the G E C O M ’s C o m m a n d Centre at Ashmin’s building. It noted too, that Myers acted on her own volition when she instructed police officers to remove Commissioner Gunraj, and others from the building on
March 5, 2020. This, according to the Commissioners, caused the loss of public confidence in the electoral process. Meanwhile, as it relates to Mingo, the motion points to his orchestration of the attempt to rig the elections in favour of APNU+AFC. Among other things, the document calling for Mingo’s dismissal notes that without any lawful authority or proper justification or excuse, the Returning Officer deliberately failed, refused and neglected to ascertain the total votes cast in favour of each list in the district by adding up the votes recorded in favour of the list in accordance with the Statements of Poll as is required by the Section and instead, he, whether by himself or those acting with his authority or under his direction, sought to use in the adding up process, figures. Taking into account the charges the trio face, the Commissioners said that regardless of the outcome, GECOM must take all necessary steps and action and dismiss them to restore and ensure impartiality, credibility, transparency, public confidence and public trust in its institution.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Coalition used $30B GuySuCo AG sues Ferguson over bond to repay lenders claims of Voter ID fraud NATION STUCK WITH SERVICING HIGH INTEREST RATE – FINANCE MINISTER By Shervin Belgrave Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, revealed during a recent sitting of the National A s s e m b l y, t h a t t h e APNU+AFC Coalition was using proceeds from a syndicated bond for the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) to repay the same lenders that provided it. Dr. Singh made this disclosure while he was being questioned about the bond by Coalition Member of Parliament (MP), Annette Ferguson. The bond was secured by State entity, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), in March 2018 while the Coalition was in power. It was announced back then by the ex-boss of NICIL, Colvin HeathLondon, that the company was successful in securing a $30B (US$150M) syndicated bond to revitalise GuySuCo. Kaieteur News had reported that NICIL had used its assets as collateral to secure the amount from the lender. During the 29th Sitting of the National Assembly which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre,
Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD), Ferguson sought to ascertain how much of the $30B bond was received by NICIL and how much has been repaid so far. In response, Dr. Singh told the House that out of the full amount, NICIL had drawn down a total of $17.5B at a net trustee fee of $121M. He had also detailed that to date, a total of $5.125B has been repaid to the lender and noted, that when his Government entered office in August 2020, it had discovered an “astonishing situation” in terms of repaying the bond holders. He said, “It might be worthwhile to note Sir (the Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir) that when we came into office, we discovered a rather astonishing situation, that NICIL was actually servicing the bond out of the proceeds of the bond...” The Minister pointed out too, that the bond was supported by an “unconditional Government guarantee,” which means that it will be required to “step into the borrower’s (NICIL) shoes, if needed.” Singh told the House that such a circumstance did arise, and the Government was forced to make
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh payments under the bond arrangement. According to him, his Government has paid a total of $4.019B to date. Out of the amount repaid by his Government, Singh said that the principal was $3.41B while the interest totalled $606M. He added too that in addition to this, payments of agency fees and trustee fees were made and had amounted to $1.75M each. Singh had also revealed that the interest rate that NICIL had agreed to pay on the bond is 4.75%. It should be noted that when reporters had asked Heath-London, the former head of the entity, what was the interest rate Continued on page 25
APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., has initiated legal proceedings against former Minister of Housing and A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, claiming in excess of G$20M worth of damages for libel. According to the Statement of Claim, Nandlall is seeking in excess of $10M for damages and in excess of $10M for aggravated damages on the basis that Ferguson on March 22, 2020, openly slandered him by accusing him of Voter Identification Fraud.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.
Nandlall has also requested an injunction to ban Ferguson and her staff or servants from further making any such statements. According to the document filed, Nandlall said that Ferguson accused him of taking part in the illegal distribution of Identification Cards (ID) during the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. He said Ferguson made the statement at a round table discussion
hosted by the European Union Observer Team on March 21, 2021, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. According to case drafted by the law firm, Satram and Satram, that is representing the AG in the matter, Ferguson is quoted as saying “you have people who are sitting in this room that were found distributing ID cards on Elections Day, not the APNU+AFC. It is Continued on page 23
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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
All about skin colour “It has everything to do with the colour of one’s skin.” That statement was said by Mr. Roger Ferguson, one of that rare breed: a black CEO of a Fortune 500 company. This was noted in a publication titled, “Are businesses really tackling racial inequality?” It was produced and carried by BBC on June 1. The since retired Mr. Ferguson must have been mighty lonely up there at the pinnacle of the corporate mountain, since there were only four others like him, that is, Black CEOs at the helm of the most reputable and wellperforming companies anywhere. It was and remains the best place, and the worst place, to be; and, regarding the latter that is driven home by that albatross around the neck, that mark of Cain (so to speak) branded square on the forehead. This means in other words, that the “colour of one’s skin” is all that matters when all is done. The presence of minority CEOs are too few, with Black CEOs, the fewest of the few - the numbers convey the message. And when the span of senior executives in upper management is considered, the point registers, beyond doubt. “In the US, there have only been 19 Black CEOs out of 1,800 bosses in the 66-year history of the Fortune 500 list. In Britain, there are no Black chairmen, CEOs or financial chiefs in FTSE 100 firms.” Four hundred years later in America’s battle with racism and race matters, 19 CEOs out of 1800 of such corporate superstars is one grain over one percent of this American Legion. But those are incontestable numbers of what can be quantified. There is the more unquantifiable nuance, the sometimes ignorant, sometimes deliberately subtle slights, of the culturally qualitative. The experiences of former CEO, Roger Ferguson, relay the reality at its heart, and of which he is not alone. Mr. Ferguson tries to hail a taxi from downtown Wall Street to midtown Manhattan, and he is ignored, an exercise in visual frisking and physical abandoning. He is not lonely, for there are others of his complexion, his look, who share the same degrading fate. Neither sparkling corporate attire (suits) nor prestige address (Wall Street or the Waldorf) makes a difference. For even in the bright glare of midday, it is still the blackness of midnight in the minds of too many. Who is blacker than whom? It is the same forlorn story with Black women managers in the office mistaken to be secretaries, and Black presences at glittering corporate dinners automatically stereotyped to be waiters. Mr. Ferguson has been there, seen it all, and lived with all that burdensome baggage loaded on him and his kind by the unwitting, the unwise, and the unwilling. This is what we face here in Guyana, are yet to come to grips with, because we permit the entrenched prejudices and passions that they generate to take hold of us, make us willingly surrender our minds. With the easy and conveniently racial and in that, which brooks little of the soul searching that contributes to a deepening maturity? It is the racial that props up our steely intolerances, for which we live, and which carries us somewhere from day to day, and dumps us right back where we began. In this country, it is not the starkness of white versus black, but brown against black, vice versa, and all those other shades of the colour of one’s skin trapped in the local social cauldron. The Indian man passes by in the successes of his endeavours, and he is not seen as a self-made citizen. He is a creature created by the corruptions of his own; therefore, he must be corrupt, too - a thief of the first water. In identical fashion, the Black Guyanese comes within the gaze, and he is the beneficiary of a crooked cabal that showers untold rewards upon him or her. In both the instance of the Indian and Black Guyanese inhabitant, his rise can many times be automatically attributable to his colour first, and nothing else. It is without merit, individual industry, aptitude, it is undeserving. There are those, for sure, from both groups, who have helped themselves and been so helped (at the expense of others), by our politics and our ingrained culture, but almost two centuries later, and 55 years post-Independence, we are still trapped, like Mr. Roger Ferguson, by mindsets that fill racial voids and foster new ones. Education, promises, and manifestoes only go so far. Thus, the reality reigns.
Death of a comrade DEAR EDITOR, I pen this letter being in an unhappy state, as I join my fellow Lindeners and residents of Region 10, as we mourn the death of our very young, vibrant and peoplecentered servant, ViceChairman, Mr. Douglas C. Gittens. It is always difficult when one has to write about the passing of someone so young, especially one who was a dear friend, brother and comrade. Douglas Gittens fondly known to many as “dougy,” was a remarkable human being. He possessed an effervescent personality that always carried a smile and an occasional unique and distinctive outburst of laughter. A very jovial,
humble and helpful individual. I have known dougy since childhood, as a colleague in the teaching profession and as a comrade in the political arena. In all those phases of life, he was a beautiful human being, who loved life, people and service. In many of our political sojourns in and around the region, we engaged in conversations about business, politics, service, community development and generally about life. I told him once in his usual over exuberance to give service, that politics and people are not always what they may appear, and it may lead to hurts and disappointments; but despite this, you have to stay true to
who you are, and hold on to the principled position of giving service to the people. This is what dougy did to the end, he has given and lived a life of service to our people, to this town, region and by extension Guyana. As we mourn Mr. Douglas Gittens, let us also celebrate his life. Celebrate the fact that we were blessed with so rare a gift of a fellow human being, a son, a Lindener, a leader, teacher, an activist, patriot, a friend, a brother and a comrade. Mr. Gittens presence was always felt and could not be ignored; his contributions and ideas were transformative and developmental. An individual whose life was lived giving his
best, giving his life to serve others. In the words of the British poet and playwright, William Shakespeare, “All that live must die, passing through nature to eternity.” Death is indeed our earthly human end, but the lives we live can make us live forever in the hearts and minds of those we love and those who loved us. Linden and Region 10 loved our brother, friend and comrade, who will surely be missed. His legacy of service will forever be permanent in our hearts and mind. Rest in peace comrade, and may you rise in eternal glory. Sincerely, Jermaine Figueira Member of Parliament (Region 10)
Nagamootoo’s vanity and vacuity DEAR EDITOR, Moses Nagamootoo’s otiosity continues. This wastefulness of a now ‘mere shadow of a man’ was adumbrated as far back as 1895, when Anton Delbrück’s clairvoyance spotted the likes of him, and now Guyanese are experiencing Nagamootoo’s tendencies to mythomania and pseudologia fantastica. His recent article, “Vaccines, Vultures and Victims” leaves a lot to be desired and smacks of a schoolboy, who ‘cusses out’ instead of making a point. I will only address his first two complaints. Nagamootoo says, “Serious allegations have been raised that the Guyana Government has run afoul, by overspending public funds, to buy vaccines, and mis-
directing flood disaster relief.” Let me address these, since Nagamootoo, for sure, could not have been following recent developments. A March 15, 2021 Managed Healthcare article notes, “So far, governments around the world have been the only purchasers of the COVID-19 vaccines, so the price has been set by government contracts. But different countries are paying different prices. The EU is also paying less for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine than the US, $14.70 per dose versus $19.50. On the other hand, the US is paying less for the Moderna vaccine (about $15) than the EU (about $18). The contribution governments have made toward vaccine
research is the explanation for the price differences. Moderna is charging the US less for its vaccine, because the US government funded research that led to the vaccine’s development. Similarly, the EU supported research that led to the development of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, thus the lower price for that vaccine for the EU.” In other words, the vaccines, irrespective of the type, can run to approximately US$20 and so far, we can surmise that some 250,000 in Guyana have received vaccines, at least the first dose, and around 100 the second dose. This means, on the average, some 300,000 vaccines have been used, which means using up some
six million dollars. Remember, we are not tallying accompanying expenses here, such as shipping and storage. So, when Nagamootoo talks about “… deals with questionable foreign sources, as red-lighted by the Sputnik V vaccines controversy, in which private operatives in Saudi Arabia and Norway were named,” we are shell-shocked, and I am sure I speak for the majority. This kind of wild saying run parallel to Joseph Harmon’s outbursts, when, just a few days ago, he railed that the vaccines were not authentic, yet he himself took both doses of the said ones he was smearing. Now concerning his blast (Continued on page 5)
The weaponisation of employment contracts DEAR EDITOR, I listen, I learn. Though I had a strong sense before, it is confirmed again, how democracy has lengthened darkness and oppression in this land. Take working, as an example. PPP leaders took the long view with the Guyana public service, and moved smartly, determinedly. Leaders dismantled the traditional public service brick by brick, and introduced citizens to the demolished structure that now exists. When I say ‘brick by brick,’ I mean rules and standards, professionalism and documenting and accountability. Regarding personnel, there were many embedded benefits that beckoned from reengineering and restructuring the public service architecture. First, this infiltrates and undermines a traditional opposition bastion. Second, it reinforces political power
with bureaucratic power. Third, the first two objectives are realised with re-peopling with those of certain ethics, known loyalties, and definite hunger. These three qualities together meant that there is cover for the corruptions that now rage. Out with PNC agency tyrannies, in with PPP conjured monstrosities. And the way to do it was in the employment documentation. The old Civil Service Rules were refurbished and then relegated to the library, where dust evidenced lack of use. Along came that seductive figure called employment contract. It was a wizard’s stroke doing away with pay scales and tenure and proceedings. Remember: the long view and energies devoted to systematic destruction. For the employment contract also had a magic bullet to settle political scores, score racial points, and point the way for corrupt
people to rule public service roost. In the standard employment contract, there is that protective (and destructive) termination clause. In one word: Notice. In another: legal. Now two more: final solution. The PPP has exhibited a degree of vindictiveness that is part payback for sugar, part for elections injuries. Termination through notice has sent mainly Black public servants home. Termination with notice has opened the door for trusted Indians to fill the void, with a few black faces thrown in for cosmetics, and who play the game. In the house, there is always room for particular shades of servants. Adds nicely to the colour scheme, good for PR. What is revealing today, is that people who worked under the prior PPP government, performed, survived, are now transformed into redundancy
due to failing the perceived, unsaid, loyalty test. The job that was required to be filled then, and for which they were hired under the then PPP government, they suddenly can’t deliver any longer, or is not needed anymore, or they should not be trusted with today. Given the visions harboured and plans that are afoot, I gather that more and more Black public servants in this country are an endangered species. The required notice of employment termination is confirmation that they are the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time before the wrong masters. It is not the job itself, but the kind of people holding it. Notice follows. From the oppressive underbelly of democracy comes the weaponisation of employment contracts. Sincerely, GHK Lall
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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So much more to Rodney, now convenient, now skillfully used DEAR EDITOR, It is the month of June— the month when the media are inundated with commentaries about the life, activism and legacy of Dr. Walter Rodney. At one level, this is a healthy development because long after Rodney was assassinated only the WPA and Rodney’s staunch admirers had the courage to write and speak about him in the public space. One could have lost employment, suffer harassment and worst, face elimination. Even when the government changed in 1992, the custodians of the power that Rodney died fighting for steered clear of his name and legacy, because to them he was a good scholar, but a poor politician whose
sacrifice did not measure up to the winners of the 1992 elections. It is only in recent years that non-WPA people have begun to publicly show Walter Rodney some love. Mrs. Jagan told his son, Shaka, to go home when he picketed the PPP government in 1993 pleading for a Commission of Inquiry into his father’s death. The PPP promptly declined Shaka’s request. Dr. Jagan wondered aloud—what would a COI do? It was the WPA that stood with Shaka. It was the WPA, through Eusi Kwayana, that brought a private murder charge against the alleged assassin, Gregory Smith. When the French Government requested of the Jagan Government an
Use Botswana as the model followed DEAR EDITOR, Many people are fond of portraying countries such as Singapore and Ghana as having some substance to which Guyana can formulate a model to emulate. As a matter of fact, not a small minority use diction indistinguishable from the aforementioned African country. Perhaps
descendancy may be a factor here. I humbly suggest everyone take a look at the country of Botswana as being one more suitably comparable as a practical example to emulate if it is that maximisation of the nation’s resources is desired. Yours faithfully John De Barros
...Nagamootoo’s vanity From page 4 that there is a ‘mis-directing of flood disaster relief,’ Nagamootoo is a lone wolf baying in the dark. All he needs to do is to visit the many news outlets and note what is taking place. The situation in Guyana is of such, that President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, had to officially declare “… a disaster in Guyana due to flooding.” The proclamation notes that as of June 7, 2021, a total of 28,228 households were affected by flooding, some with water entering their homes, domestic animals and livestock in distress or farmlands inundated.” This tragic emergency inspired external bodies to lend aid in a most unquestionable manner. The situation is so dire that there is no room for even contemplating anything untoward. Just a few weeks back, the Government of Guyana was forced to intensify distribution of food and sanitary supplies to flooded households and persons who have been relocated to shelters. On one occasion,
Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, visited the National Gymnasium to lend aid, as truckloads of supplies were being packaged for distribution by ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), with critical support from civilian volunteers. Just this weekend, the French Red Cross’ Regional Intervention Platform for the Americas and the Caribbean rushed 9.45 tons of various items aboard a French military vessel, Dumont d’Urville, to Guyana to assist with flood relief. We can see then, that Nagamootoo’s nauseous ramblings manifest a deeper condition. He needs a lot of help. He is still to recover from the toppling of the APNU+AFC. His ship has long floated away. Guyana is rapidly moving far away from the world of Moses Nagamootoo, and it seems as though he will end his time on earth, steeped in ‘mythomania’ and ‘pseudologia fantastica.’ Yours faithfully Matthew Hendrix
undertaking that Gregory Smith would not be given the death penalty if found guilty of Rodney’s murder, the government dithered until the matter was forgotten. I don’t quite remember at that time any chorus about anyone betraying Walter Rodney. I cite the above not to deny anyone the right to celebrate Rodney today, but to set the record straight for younger generations and for older strangers to the history of and truth about Rodney. What is unhealthy about much of the commentaries in recent years is that they reflect an intentional and malicious attempt to drive a wedge between the Rodney legacy and the party to which he belonged, the WPA. This is part of a larger attempt to misappropriate Rodney’s activism and legacy as part of one of the ethno-political poles in our ongoing divisive politics. In so doing, these advocates are wittingly and unwittingly isolating Rodney in one section of our ethnic divide and in the process, setting him in conflict with the other major section. It is a development that runs against one of the important elements of Rodney’s broad and varied political praxis—a multi-racial or “jointness” solution to Guyana’s ethnic problematic.
But it is a development that is inevitable given the inflexibility of the top postCorbin PNC leadership on the “Rodney question” and the concomitant readiness of the PPP to take full political advantage of that inflexibility. The PPP’s attitude is driven by two objectives—partly to erase its own earlier reluctance to engage the Rodney question and partly to embarrass its opponents— the PNC and the WPA. This is not to say that there are not individuals in the PPP’s leadership who genuinely admire Rodney and want to help cement his rightful place in Guyana’s national consciousness. But political parties generally do not commit to big change on controversial issues if there are not benefits for the organisation. It is against the above background that one should analyse the PPP’s decision to hold the 2014-15 Rodney Commission of Inquiry and to agree with Rodney’s to pursue the more recent initiatives announced by the Attorney General in the National Assembly. As one reads the outpourings these past weeks, the silencing of huge chunks of the Rodney praxis is evident. It has been so difficult to come to grips with. His activism in Guyana has
been pigeonholed to “fighting for free and fair elections” and “fighting Burnham and the PNC.” This was not the sum-total of Rodney’s activism in Guyana. This was the PPP’s agenda— free and fair elections were the sum-total of that party’s agenda because it was their route to power given the demographics of that time. Rodney and the WPA’s agenda and struggle were much broader. They struggled to dismantle post-colonial authoritarianism in Guyana, for bread and Justice for the poor and the powerless, for a genuine multiracial democracy, for a democracy that went beyond elections and for a power-sharing government that was broader than a PPP-PNC Front. It was no accident that Rodney’s battle cry was People’s Power - No Dictator and not People’s Power - No Election Rigging. For Rodney, election rigging was a symptom and not the cause of the problem. It is for that reason that Rodney and the WPA characterised the PNC government as a dictatorship period, the PPP characterised it as a “creeping dictatorship.” While Rodney and the WPA placed a condition on alliance with the PNC, the PPP placed no condition. While Rodney and the WPA opposed the
1980 constitution as a recipe for dictatorship, the PPP opposed Burnham governing under the constitution rather than the constitution itself. While the WPA boycotted the 1980 election on the grounds that it would be massively rigged, the PPP participated in those elections. What now? For me, the struggle to disentangle Rodney and his legacy from political intrigue must be joined in earnest. I intend to play my full part in that struggle. As a teenager, I sacrificed my education, a career and my liberty, put my life at risk and caused my family untold misery to, along with others; fight with Rodney and for the Rodney. That must count for much and should be respected by those who now revere Rodney but did not revere his struggle enough to join it. As a mature adult, I supported a conditional alliance aimed at healing our nation. It failed and I supported a withdrawal. In politics, one must make judgments based on concrete reality and not based on “parked history.” The Rodney I knew and have studied was a concretist who was never a victim of parked history. Yours faithfully David Hinds
The facts speak for themselves DEAR EDITOR, In response to the WPA’s spokesperson who stated that he was not referring to Wales, which we all know the closure thereof was a GuySuCo board decision. Please note what WPA’s leadership stated as quoted in the Chronicle (the government-controlled paper): “The proposed courses of action are to amalgamate [merge] Wales Estate with Uitvlugt Estate and reassign its cane to the Uitvlugt factory, since the estate is operating at 50 percent capacity. Sixty percent of its drainage and irrigation infrastructure is in a dilapidated condition. The corporation furthermore seeks to divest itself of the Skeldon Estate. The estates of Albion and Rose Hall are to be amalgamated and the factory at Rose Hall is to be closed.” It is clear that the restructuring of GuySuCo cannot be discussed without including the decision made on the closure of the Wales
Estate. Furthermore, the CoI into the future of GuySuCo, which is supposed to be the basis of the white paper submitted to the Cabinet and laid before Parliament has to have the input of the Board of GuySuCo. The Board was Chaired by WPA’s leadership, and the creation and presentation of the White Paper was led under the guidance of WPA’s leadership. Let’s speak to the facts and not avoid the very serious discussion as to why such a biased (Anti-Indian) and reckless decision was made under the leadership of the WPA. A number of pro-worker alternatives existed to make the industry profitable, many of which were not implemented under the WPA’s leadership. The recent biased commentary in the media and on social networks by WPA’s leadership has also shown clearly how Anti-Indian their organisation has become. During the last Administration, the WPA’s leadership implemented hefty wage increases for themselves while GuySuCo was struggling to pay their
workers and cover their financial obligations. Such selfish acts preceded the closure of Sugar Estates in predominantly Indian communities. The WPA cannot with a clear conscience state that the workers in the fields and the factories were their top priority while the Board took home-inflated wages during the making of these reckless pro-management decisions. One would think that these decisions, which have a significant impact on the political future of the WPA, would not have been unilaterally made. For the record, this is not commentary on specific individuals. It is CRG’s perspective and impression of the actions taken by the WPA’s leadership during the last Administration. Many
other Guyanese also share this perspective. The WPA’s leadership neglected the workers and Rodney’s legacy to fill their own pockets while implementing an Anti-Indian agenda. Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
Former President, Donald Ramotar, responds to Freddie Kissoon again DEAR EDITOR, I am once more forced to respond to the Freddie Kissoon column on issues he raised involving me in June 6 and 17 issues of Kaieteur News. On June 6, 2021, Mr. Kissoon in an article headline “Perhaps, I’m the only Guyanese entitled to be hate filled.” In that piece, he raised three issues, which involved me. I. That he was dismissed from the University of Guyana. II. That his wife was pressured out of her job at GO-INVEST. III. That my son had struck down his nephew with his car. On June 16, 2021, the media published my response to the three issues raised by Mr. Kissoon. I showed on those issues no victimisation nor was persecution ever carried out against Mr. Kissoon.
On June 17, 2021, Mr. Kissoon responded to me in a manner that he knows best, slander and mudslinging. That has forced me to once again clarify the issues. 1) I insist that Mr. Kissoon had reached retirement age and his contract was not renewed at UG. To give you a full picture of what took place, I hereby quote from a statement made by four UG Council members on the issue. That statement formed the basis for stories in the media (Stabroek News and Kaieteur News) on February 1, 2012. Here is what the statement said in part “…the Council recognised that Mr. Kissoon, a retiree and a lecturer, failed to meet the University policy with regards to retention of academic staff: 1. Have a healthy academic record to wit research and publications reviewed by academic peers are a requirement.
What will it take? DEAR EDITOR, Another speeding vehicle, another horrific accident, another life snuffed out, following on the heels of another horrific accident only last week. What will it take?
When will we learn, speeding kills? My condolences to grieving families and a speedy and full recovery to those injured. Sincerely Shamshun Mohamed
2. Have to face a competitive process with other applicants. “The Council was unimpressed and not a single member of the 14 Council members present at that meeting, including the UGSS and fellow colleagues of the academic staff, not a single member supported his retention...” Clearly, therefore, to blame the Government at that time for his removal, and to claim persecution is absolutely false. The Executive was not involved in Kissoon’s UG affairs. His second charge was that his wife was pressured out of her job at GO-INVEST. I insist that that was not the case. Indeed, an attempt was made by the Chairman of the GO-INVEST board, Mr. Burrows, to get her to withdraw her resignation. That failed. Mr. Burrows was told by Mrs. Kissoon that she found a higher paying job. I noticed that Mr. Kissoon said his wife “…lives a quiet life and does not want to be in the public’s eye…” well I am sorry for having to refer to her, but it was Mr. Kissoon who initiated this, thus forcing my response. In relation to his claim that my son had hit down his
nephew, Mr. Mark Benschop, BS, MA, MS, chose to respond. I would note that he produced no evidence that my son was wrong. I repeat that the car driven by my son did not hit Mr. Kissoon’s nephew. If he did, it would have suggested that Mr. Kissoon’s nephew was hit by the front of the car. He was not. In fact, he, along with another man, was lifting a transformer out of a GPL truck and he stumbled on the side of the car. Mr. Benschop asked me to say if my “son was ever charged by the police and the victim ever received justice…” The question is, what should he have been charged for? He was in no way responsible for any injury to Mr. Kissoon’s nephew. Therefore, no compensation had to be paid. The real victim in all of this is Mr. Alexei Ramotar who has been slandered. Mr. Benschop taking a page from Mr. Kissoon’s book slandered my son in relation to the cyber optic cable. Let me try to put the record straight, Alexei Ramotar is a computer engineer; he was hired as the Project Manager of the EGovernment project. He fulfilled that task on time and
on budget. Since 2015, the EGovernment project has been serving this country extremely well. The APNU+AFC government of 2015-2020, which Benschop supported even, built a huge unit around this project completed by the team headed by Alexei Ramotar. That project stands out as testimony of the quality of work of the unit he headed. In relation to the cable from Brazil, it should be noted that the project was completely new for Guyana. It was to bring the cable at a distance of more than six hundred kilometers through rugged terrain and dense jungle. The contractors chosen to work on the project were all selected by open tender. Moreover, they were supervised by one of Guyana’s outstanding and experienced civil engineers, the late Walter Willis. Mr. Willis had successfully completed many projects in Guyana. However, due to lack of experience, it appears that the contractors underestimated the nature of the work. Only $5M dollars were allocated. Moreover, none of the contractors had the equipment needed, since no such undertaking was ever
attempted here before. That project was given to the unit, which Alexei Ramotar headed because of the outstanding job that he did in bringing in the EGovernment project on time and on budget. The regular attacks on Mr. Alexei Ramotar are no doubt due to the fact that his father is a political person, a former President, so it is clear that the blows are really directed to me. I would say it is certainly unfair to Alexei. It is even cowardly to attack a person’s children to get at him/her. That happened to all three of my children. Finally, let me re-state that Mr. Kissoon’s departure from UG and his wife’s resignation from GO-INVEST had nothing to do with discrimination or victimisation. I would never have condoned that! Moreover, my son was not responsible for any injury that Mr. Kissoon’s nephew sustained. Indeed, he is a victim because his name is Ramotar. Lastly, Alexei Ramotar did an outstanding job for what he was employed to do, that is, to build the infrastructure for E-Governance. It is there for all to see. Sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President
T N U L B . . . T B N U T L N T B . U . L . L T B . N . U . N U T L N B . U . T . L N T U N B . N U . L U L LUNT. B . T . . T T N N B U B . U . L . L T B . B . . N . . . T U T L N N T U U L N L B U . B . . L . . . T B T . . N . N T U L N LU B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . NT LUNT...B NT...BLU N U L B . . B . U . . T L . N T B . . U N . L N T B U N . . L . U T L B . . N B . . . T U . L N T B U . . L . UN T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L B U UN .BLUNT. . . L . T B . . N . T U . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . LU ...BLUNT LUNT...B NT...BL T B U . . L N . T B BLU T...BLUN BLUNT... UNT...B . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B BBLU T...BLUN BLUNT... ...BLU . T . N . N T T U L U L N L B U T...BLU U B . L . N . B T . . . N T U N N N L U U U B L . L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
The Agri. Minister said this flooding is worse than the one from 2005. We agree. The President said that this is a national disaster. Again, we agree.
But when they go to beg for billions to bail us out from the floods, we cannot agree. We will NEVER AGREE TO THAT, when we have all this wealth, and are giving all of it freely (or secretly and roguishly) to Exxon and others. We can have our own rainy-day fund, with no need for borrowing billions of which no Guyanese knows how many billions and on what terms. All we know is that we are doing bad all over, and the one blessing we have to give us a way forward is being squandered by leaders in bad deals and worse indebtedness.
When will our leaders get some sense? Face reality? Be honest with themselves and Guyanese?
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly The good news is that the global coronavirus pandemic is coming to an end. The bad news is that it will not end in Guyana anytime soon; and the ugliness of it all, is that the outbreak may never fully go away because of extreme high levels of vaccine hesitancy. Most persons follow the daily infections and deaths both of their respective countries and of the world. However, this can be terribly misleading and at times be tortuous because the numbers tend to decrease very slowly and over a long period of time. The pandemic numbers – for both deaths and infections – tend to follow a slightly skewed bell curve (skewed to the right mainly) or normal distribution. The skewed to the right is indicative of the extended period it takes for infections and deaths to plateau. Thus, by examining the bell curve assessments can be made about the state of the pandemic, and estimates made about particular waves. The present shape of the bell curve indicates that the global pandemic is coming to an end. Vaccinations are working and are crushing the pandemic. The pandemic should be over by the end of September. Total daily deaths have almost halved since the end of April, reducing from an average of 15,000 to just above 8,000 this week and from an average of 900,000 daily infections to around 400,000 for the same period. So
Dem
boys seh...
globally, we are witnessing a downward trend, which suggests that the pandemic, as we knew it, will end sooner rather than later. This however does not mean that the virus will disappear. Given the scale of the pandemic and the highly transmissible nature of the virus, it is most likely that there will be periodic outbreaks. The countries, which for months had been the prime drivers of the virus, were the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom. We can now say that the pandemic is now under control in the United Kingdom with only five coronavirus-related deaths reported Monday in a country, which on January 23 of this year recorded 1,823 deaths. Many states in the USA are now fully reopening as the numbers plunge. The USA recorded a mere 213 deaths on Monday as compared with 4,463 on 12th January this year; and it registered 9,306 new infections. Caseloads and deaths are also falling in India and Brazil. However, Brazil remains a major cause for concern. Once the numbers continue to fall in these two countries, and once the virus spread is checked in emerging hotspots such as Colombia, the World Health Organisation (WHO) should be able to declare the pandemic as over. The bad news is, that Guyana is in poor shape. Deaths and infections have surged since January and have gotten worse with the
increases in arrivals from overseas. The tale of the tape suggests that we are not likely to exit this pandemic until next January, unless there is some dramatic intervention. The public should not be fooled by the plunging number of active local cases. There is a serious problem with testing as evidenced by the positivity rate, which still remains stickling at over 10 percent. By now, all the Regions should have had their own independent capacity to test and pronounce on the results of those tests. By now, it should have taken two or more days for test results to be determined. By now, mass testing should have been completed to allow for a better estimate of the incidence of the virus. Recovery is being affected by poor enforcement of COVID-19 regulations. The government is breaching its own regulations. Those regulations provide for rotation within government agencies, which is not taking place. The government had promised an increased presence of police and army to enforce the regulations; this is not visible. The regulations prohibit recreational activities along rivers and creeks. Yet, our leaders are engaged in midnight fishing. There has been a scarcity of vaccines globally. The rich countries monopolised vaccine stocks and starved the rest of the world of vaccines. They are now pretending to be good Samaritans by pledging to
Discipline gat to be preceded by an investigation
When somebody get rob, de police does gat to investigate, arrest somebody, sometimes have a confrontation between de accused and de complainant, and prepare de charges. De case does den be put in front of de magistrate who does den determine whether de person innocent or guilty and, if guilty, what punishment de robber gan receive. Is de same thing with de local government workers. Dem does wuk fuh de local authority including dem municipalities. And when dem accused of wrongdoing or negligence, dem officials does gat to investigate, put de allegations to de accused persons and den send dem recommendations to de Local Government Commission fuh disciplinary action. De same things does happen in respect to
de Police Service Commission, de Teaching Service Commission and de Public Service Commission. Fuss de employing agency gat to investigate de matter before sending it fuh adjudication. So dem boys surprise when dem read a report recently how a Town Clerk tell de Local Government Commission dat is not de purview of de Town Clerk to discipline dem sluice workers who get accused of negligence on de job. Dat is true but it also true dat de Town Clerk who gat fuh investigate de complaints and mek out de charge sheet. And if dat not done, den de Commission itself can appoint somebody fuh investigate why dis was not done. Talk half and remember de difference between a charge and a conviction.
donate one billion doses to poor nations. But when the world needed vaccines, they were not sharing. They are only doing so now to benefit their companies, which manufacture the vaccines. But like Guyana, the rest of the world is being confronted with vaccine hesitancy. Even in the United States, which has the highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths globally, vaccine hesitancy remains high. This is affecting their vaccination campaign. Even though the United States has sufficient vaccines for its entire population, the rate of inoculations have declined from 3.5M doses
administered on 13th April to a mere 610,000 doses on Monday, and this despite the fact that only 53.4 percent of its population have so far received their first doses and 47 percent both doses. Vaccine hesitancy which refers to the delay in being vaccinated or the refusal to be vaccinated – is a problem globally not only in the United States. Surveys had pointed to high incidence of vaccine hesitancy in minority groups and even though a recent survey suggested that this is waning, there has been no corresponding uptake in inoculations. But vaccine hesitancy is only one aspect of the
ugliness of the vaccination process. The other is that there remains an acute shortage of vaccines. It is estimated that the world requires 10 billion doses. However, global vaccine production is still struggling at a mere 1.73B doses. As Bob Marley sang, “Many more will have to suffer. Many will have to die. Don’t ask me why.” (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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Wednesday June 23, 2021
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Interview with Leyland DeCambra, founder of the WPA UK branch I
met Leyland DeCambra at the beginning of the 70s. It was a friendship that has lasted ever since. He left Guyana shortly after and has since settled in the UK. Together with one of the famous names in the Guyanese diaspora, Ann Braithwaite, they formed the UK branch of the WPA. It is a historical gem to have the recorded analysis of people from the 70s who were part of the WPA, interacted with the now infamous names of the WPA leadership, and are prepared to reflect on the insane, unbelievable degeneracy of those who were Walter Rodney’s comrades. Not many persons from that period are alive; those that are have achieved advanced age. It doesn’t appear they will publish anything about what happened in the 70s. What people like DeCambra and Braithwaite have to say therefore is a priceless gem.
My questions and his answers cannot fit into one column. I will have to do part two on another occasion b e c a u s e L e y l a n d ’s pronouncements are too precious to be left unpublished. This part begins with the first few questions and his answers. Part two should cover most of his thoughts. I hope to publish the reflections of Ms. Braithwaite too. FK - I have been asked the question countless time since 2015 - why the WPA, those in Guyana, and abroad, became so supportive of the PNC and rigged election, what is your take on that? LD - I feel that for many people race is the main reason. For others it was opportunism, a selfish desire to gain office/benefits by associating with APNU+AFC (Rupert Roopnaraine comes into this category). For others it was a historical dislike of the PPP. Although we were far away in London, we got a
good sense of how the leaders of the WPA felt on many issues. Apart from the party literature and other correspondence that we received, there were regular visits by party leaders. Andaiye spent a year in London in the early 1980s, working with the Support Group. Rupert visited once sometimes twice a year, his parents, son and brother lived in London. We also had visits from Clive Thomas, Nigel Westmaas, Moses Bhagwan and Eusi Kwayana. When I left Guyana in April 1974, I was disenchanted with the racial polarisation. I had a good level of political awareness. Within a year of Rodney’s return in late 1974, I found out that the WPA had begun to chip away at the racial division. By the time the WPA became a political party in 1979; great strides were made in breaking down racial barriers.
It was the news that the WPA was successfully promoting socialist and multi-racial politics that inspired me to join with a few others to form the WPA Support Group in London in early 1980. Josh Ramsammy
Frederick Kissoon w a s i n London at that time and he worked with us to get the group going. I feel that Rodney was the key to the transformation in Guyana. We know that he was passionately committed to
multi-racial politics and from his academic work his class analysis of society. I also feel that he had a soft spot for the PPP and Cheddie. A key achievement of Walter was to get ASCRIA to adopt a less antagonistic approach to the PPP, to move from essentially a race to a class position. By 1992 it was almost back to square one in Guyana. The WPA did not take their poor results in the 1992 elections very well. A clear indication for me was when the PPP government, after the 1992 elections, offered Clive Thomas the position of Minister of Planning and Development. The WPA turned it down on the spurious grounds that the WPA had to decide. In my view, they could not stomach the fact that the PPP had won and did not want to be a part of a government led by the PPP. I remember Rupert attempting to explain
their rationale for rejecting t h e o ff e r, i t w a s n o t convincing. I feel that the aggressive and antagonistic relationship with the PPP that existed pre Rodney time (1974) returned with a vengeance. From the conclusion of the 1992 elections, the PPP came under sustained attacks. These culminated in the Buxton violence in the early 2000s. The PPP also blundered after 1992. It seems to me that people like David Hinds, Ogunseye and Kwayana returned to their ASCRIA roots, joined by others like Ronald Waddell. This is my take on how the WPA was slowly integrated into the PNC. What I still cannot comprehend is why they abandoned such Rodneyite principles as democracy, multi-racial and working class politics. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
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Ex-cop charged for not appearing in court to give evidence in murder case E
x-member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Henry Clement, yesterday appeared before a City Magistrate for obstructing the course of justice by not appearing to give critical evidence in a 2019 execution case. The defendant appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan. Clement denied the charge which alleges that between July 15, 2020, and October 21, 2020, at Georgetown, he willfully obstructed the course of justice by absenting from court despite being warned to appear to give evidence in the case of the State versus Devon Allen aka “Bighead,” and Rodrick Thomas aka “Roger” for the offence of murder committed on Kelvin Walters. According to facts, Clement during his tenure at the GPF, between the dates mentioned in the charge, was warned multiple times to
Dead, Kelvin Walters. attend Court Three at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to give evidence in the murder case. However, he had failed to do so. An investigation revealed that Clement willfully stayed away from court, which caused the murder case to be discharged against Allen and Thomas. Advice was sought from the Director of Public
Former murder accused, Devon Allen. Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C and she recommended that Clement be charged with obstruction of justice. He was subsequently arrested
and charged for the offence. The Chief Magistrate placed him on $70,000 bail with the condition attached, that he report to the Criminal Investigation Department
Former murder accused, Rodrick Thomas.
(CID) Headquarters every Monday until the completion of the matter. Clement is expected to make his next court appearance on July 8, 2021. On October 23, 2020, former murder accused, Allen, 31, of 148 Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, and Thomas, 29, of William Street, Kitty, Georgetown, had the murder matter discharged against them due to lack of evidence. Kaieteur News had reported that Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus had upheld a no-case submission that was presented to the court by the accused attorneys, stating, that there is not sufficient evidence against their clients. According to reports, on January 22, 2019, at Eccles
Public Road, East Bank Demerara, Allen and Thomas allegedly gunned down Walters, a taxi-driver, in front of his five-year-old daughter and wife, in the middle of the busy traffic. This publication had reported that both men, who were nursing broken left legs, were injured, when Walters rammed his car into their motorcycle just as they shot him. Walters was gunned down around 19:30hrs on the day in question, while driving south along the eastern carriageway of the East Bank Demerara Public Road. He was in the vicinity of Two Brothers Service Station when two men, on a motorcycle, turned in front of his vehicle. The pillion (Continued on page 22)
Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Health Ministry records three more COVID-19 deaths, 90 new cases The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday announced that three persons who tested positive for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease have died. According to the Ministry, the latest fatalities are that of a 48-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), a 74-year-old woman from Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) and a 32-year-old woman from Region Nine ( U p p e r Ta k u t u - U p p e r Essequibo). All three persons died on Sunday while receiving care at a medical facility. As a result of this, Guyana’s COVID-19 death toll now moves to 452. Further, the MoH via its daily COVID-19 dashboard
recorded 90 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 19,234. A breakdown of new cases per Region, shows that Region Four leads with 36 new cases, Region Nine with 28, Regions Three and Eight with eight each, Region 10 with five, Region Five with three and Region Seven with two. The dashboard also revealed that 21 patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 106 persons are in institutional isolation, 1,414 are in home isolation and seven are in institutional quarantine. To date 17,241 persons have since recovered from the virus. From Monday to yesterday, a total of 66 persons have recovered.
18-year-old who thought he killed his brother hangs self An 18-year-old man, who thought he had dealt his brother a fatal blow to the head, hung himself on Father’s Day. This publication understands that the deceased and his brother were having a drink at their home for Father’s Day when an argument ensued. It is alleged, that the deceased hit his brother to the head with a piece of wood, after which, he (the brother) fell to the ground in an unconscious
state. Fearing that his brother may be dead, he ran to the back yard. In the meantime, efforts were made to revive the injured brother, who subsequently regained consciousness. After noticing that the suspect had not returned, a search was made and persons found that the 18year-old had hung himself. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Haitians turn out to be adults and not juveniles as claimed-cops Kaieteur News has been able to confirm with investigators that the 10 Haitians who had been found last Thursday in the Swiss Hotel located at Skeldon, Berbice, are all adults. It was reported by this newspaper last Friday that the group comprised of five females and five males, all of whom had claimed they were all juveniles. It is believed that the Haitians are victims of human trafficking. Sources close to the investigations had related that some of them looked older than 18, but there was no way that their ages could have been correctly verified because they did not have any legal documents in their possession. One of the Haitians, who spoke English, had told the investigators that the person who had dropped them off at the hotel had taken away their passports, other documents, money, and other personal belongings. Over the last six days however, investigations have been ongoing and detectives were able to confirm that they are adults and not juveniles. Police have also received vital information, which supports the theory that the Haitians are indeed victims of human trafficking. In fact, sources revealed
that the investigators have been able to identify a suspect who they believe is the mastermind behind the trafficking ring. The Haitians had related that they were brought from neighbouring Suriname via speedboat and were left at the hotel on Monday June 14. They are currently in the custody of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Protection, and are being housed at the Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration In a statement the Government had sent out last Thursday, it was noted that that there is a huge human smuggling ring in the Region and Guyana is being used as a transit point in this racket. The Government further pointed out that it is believed persons, including children, are being trafficked through Guyana to various parts of the world. It had added that the foreigners being trafficked through the country includes Cubans, Nigerians and Haitians. Suriname had reportedly shared intelligence with Guyana that suggests the trafficking in persons’ racket exists there too. This newspaper had reported as well, that other key agencies were contacted for their assistance in this matter.
‘Bumble Bee’ knifed to death after abusing reputed wife A 23-year-old man was stabbed to death on Sunday after allegedly abusing his reputed wife. Dead is Junior Singh also known as “Bumble Bee.” The incident occurred at 12:30 hrs. at Blackwater Landing area, Kurubrong Backdam, Region Eight. Reports are that the deceased and his 26-year-old reputed wife worked as a pork-knocker and a cook, respectively. About five days ago, the now dead man and the suspect decided that they were leaving the Backdam to head home, but due to transportation difficulties, a room was given to them by a businesswoman to stay until they were able to organise transportation. On the day in question, the suspect was at a
b u s i n e s s w o m a n ’s s h o p assisting her with cooking while the deceased was at a shop at Blackwater landing imbibing with friends. His reputed wife had later joined him and spent about 20 minutes, after which, she returned to the woman’s shop. Investigations further disclosed that the victim subsequently went to the shop and began to abuse the suspect verbally. They went to their room where a physical altercation ensued between the two. The woman then stabbed the deceased to his left side chest with a knife. The police were summoned to the scene and the suspect is currently in custody assisting with the investigation.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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Adolescent mothers in Region One being trained in Cookery - To receive small business start-up kit upon completion
The participants in Mabaruma during the first day of their training yesterday. National Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) Coordinator, Ms. Colleen KingCameron, has commenced a training programme in Mabaruma,
Region One, under the theme “Young mothers on the move; I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” This initiative is part of the
M i n i s t r y o f E d u c a t i o n ’s Reintegration of Adolescent Mothers into the Education System Policy. The main objective of this training is to reach adolescent
mothers who have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise began yesterday and will conclude on Friday July 2, 2021. Participants are expected to go through 20 hours of training. Kaieteur News understands that the training will be conducted in collaboration with the Carnegie School of Home Economics, which will provide Skills for Life Training in the field of Cookery to the 30 mothers. After successful completion of the course, the young women will receive a certificate, given a startup kit to aid in the start of a small business in cookery, and a care package for their children.
HFLE Coordinator, Ms. Colleen King-Cameron
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
Enrico Woolford asks Court to require Ramsammy to make appearance in libel case After attempts to serve on Dr. L e s l i e R a m s a m m y, f o r m e r Minister of Health and Government Advisor, documents related to a libel suit proved futile, veteran journalist and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Communications Network (NCN), Enrico Woolford, has applied to the High Court to execute personal service on Ramsammy by way of advertisement in the newspapers. The plaintiff has also asked the court to require Ramsammy to make an appearance in the matter
within no less than 14 days after the service is made. The service relates to the Statement of Claim filed by Woolford against Ramsammy in which he is claiming in excess of $185M for libel. The application for service was filed after attempts made to serve Ramsammy the statement of claim document at his home and office proved unsuccessful. Woolford claimed that no less than four attempts were made to serve Ramsammy but he has refused to either respond or come out of his office or home.
Citing the new Court rules, the claimant explained that his inability to serve the lawsuit on Ramsammy continues to impede his pursuit of justice. He emphasised that unless Ramsammy is served the documents, the case cannot move forward. In this regard, Woolford said that the orders are necessary. He specified that the order must allow him to publish or advertise the Statement of Claim in the Stabroek News, a popular and widely circulated local newspaper. He requested that the publications be made on two
consecutive Sunday editions of the Stabroek News as a way of executing service on Ramsammy. He also asked the court to require Ramsammy to make an appearance in the matter in no less than 14 days after publication is made. According to court papers drafted by his attorney, Eusi Anderson, Woolford is suing Ramsammy over an article printed in the Guyana Times in which he alleges that he (Woolford) colluded with the APNU+AFC to rig the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.
Enrico Woolford, Former CEO of NCN
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Government Advisor In a Statement of Claim, the veteran journalist outlined that in March 18, 2020, in a column titled: “Ramsammy’s Ruminations” the former Minister of Health in his capacity defamed him. In the circumstances, Woolford is seeking more than $185 million in damages from Dr. Ramsammy and Times Media Group Inc., publisher of the Guyana Times newspaper. He is also seeking a mandatory injunction compelling the new s paper and Rams ammy whether themselves, or their servants, to immediately remove the libelous article from the online edition of the newspapers. Woolford also asked the Court to order Guyana Times and Dr. Ramsammy to publish a retraction and an apology to him in the print and electronic/online version of the newspaper for the false, malicious and defamatory statements impugning his character and reputation. He is also asking the court to award him costs, interests on all monetary awards for damages and any such or further orders the court deems just. In a document to support, Woolford on March 18, 2020, said Dr. Ramsammy made defamatory statements about him and his family concerning the March 2020 elections.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Exxon financial statements Ali approaches Islamic vague; not in keeping with Development Bank for aid to international standards support farmers, strengthen national drainage system - Chris Ram
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram After reviewing the 2020 financial statements of ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Inc., the largest of three partners in the Stabroek Block, Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, said he could only describe it as vague and certainly not in keeping with International Financial Reporting Standards. In his most recent writings, Ram first pointed out that one ought to bear in mind that Esso is the Operator of the Stabroek Block as it holds a 45 percent working interest and is therefore charged with conducting day-to-day activities. He noted however, that this crucial or fundamental point was not even acknowledged by Esso in its financial statements. It was also not recognised by Esso’s other partners on the block, Hess
G u y a n a Exploration Limited and C N O O C P e t r o l e u m Guyana, in their 2020 financial statements. With respect to Esso’s income statement, Ram said what stands out is that not a single line item of income or expenditure carries a note to explain or expand on what they are for. He said readers are therefore left to figure out for themselves what comprises these numbers and what they mean. Ram noted for example that as presented, no transactions are carried out with related parties, production is sold to non-Exxon companies, there is no cost for management support from Exxon and that the only related parties are Hess and CNOOC. “If that is not the case, then, again, the financial statements do not comply with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS),” the Chartered Accountant stated. He further noted that the income statement is so bare that the reader has no idea what constitutes Esso’s $18.3B exploration costs or the composition of its $20.8B administrative expenses, which were incurred in 2020. Overall, Ram noted that the financial statements by the Stabroek Block partners share one troubling characteristic—to disclose as little as possible, if not to mislead. Ram noted that he will conduct a more detailed analysis on the financial statements this week but for now, “it seems clear to me that the three entities are not in compliance with the relevant International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) governing such operations.”
Yesterday, Dr. Irfaan Ali met virtually with the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Bandar Hajjar, and his team to discuss intervention measures, and the Bank’s support in the wake of the recent floods across Guyana. The Head of State raised the need for aids to farmers to restore their productive capacity, support for drainage and irrigation initiatives, and further strengthening of the national drainage system. Discussions also centered on assistance for the affected hinterland and riverine communities. These areas, the President explained, depend predominantly on the mining and forestry sectors. Other critical interventions identified, were the restoration of river dams, hinterland roads and bridges, many of which were destroyed and remain submerged. The President of the Islamic Development Bank assured that no effort would be spared to support Guyana’s rebuilding efforts, and enable more resilient infrastructure. Dr. Hajjar added, that a technical team will be in contact with Guyanese officials to develop the response mechanism and to mobilise resources needed under these very “urgent circumstances”.
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali The Head of State said that a technical team from Guyana would mobilise and gather all the necessary information to accelerate the implementation of the interventions raised. He also thanked The Islamic Development Bank for its commitment to working with the Government and the people of Guyana and for its overall support.
Kaieteur News
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Road work commences in Region 10
The Washer Pond Road in Linden.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
House thief attempted to rape student on second break-in - cops turn up unprepared
The Washer Pond Road in Linden, Region 10, in the vicinity of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was closed to vehicular traffic yesterday at 1:00pm for one week as road works are being carried out by the Ministry of Public Works. In an interview with Kaieteur News, Chairman of Region 10, Deron Adams, stated that a letter was written directly to the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, requesting that emergency work be done on a number of roads in the Region. Adams said that he is happy that approval was given to begin the road works in the area where the general offices are located and hopes that the team working on the road will do so to the best of their ability.
Kaieteur News understands that the Washer Pond Road will be closed for one week and all traffic will be diverted along the Noitgedacht Road, which was recently rehabilitated. The Regional Chairman said he is urging all residents of Linden to be cautious and patient with the process as the work is being done to provide a better quality of road in that area. He stated additionally that he hopes the other projects that were highlighted will also be approved since drivers are complaining about the money they have to spend on their vehicles to repair the damages caused by the roads that are in need of immediate intervention.
Thandi McAllister resigns from PNCR - says leadership is ‘ill-suited’
Former PNCR member, Thandi McAllister
T
handi McAllister, an Attorney-atLaw and Legal Counsel at the Maritime Administration Department
(MARAD), has confirmed that she resigned from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) party, which she served for over 25
years. Her decision to leave is premised on her conclusion that the party’s leadership is ‘ill-suited.’ According to a press release issued by McAllister to this publication, she stated, “After very careful and agonising consideration, I concluded that the present direction of the leadership is ill-suited to the fulfilment of the aspirations of young people in Guyana, the enhancement of the party’s supporters, and the advancement of the nation.” She further stated that she could no longer accompany a process that in her view has departed from serving the interests of the many who had reposed faith in the PNCR to champion their causes, and to offer constructive pathways for the development of Guyana.
Two medical students, ages 23 and 24, are deeply concerned about their safety after a house thief attempted to rape one of them during his second break-in at their Castello Housing Scheme apartment. Kaieteur News understands that reports were made at the East La Penitence outpost about the two incidents. Following the first report, the victims said the cops showed up unprepared to do a preliminary investigation while adding that a follow-up was never done after the second report. The first incident occurred less than one week after the victims moved into their new two-bedroom apartment. The 24-year-old stated that on June 5, she was home alone and went to bed at approximately 23:00hrs. after she had completed her studying for the night. The victim said she left her laptop in the living room as she intended to continue studying the next morning. But she was left in a state of shock after she woke up the following morning and found that the laptop was missing. After a few minutes of searching, she noticed that the television in the living room was also missing. At this point, she made contact with her roommate who was in Linden at the said time, to confirm that she was not responsible for moving any of the missing items. The young woman said she then made checks to other parts of the apartment only to discover that the door of her roommate’s bedroom was opened when it was previously locked. She concluded at that point that an intruder entered the apartment via her roommate’s bedroom window. She said the
The injury sustained by the 23-year-old student.
items stolen are worth $154,350. After a report was made, the young woman intimated that a male cop showed up hours later and claimed that he is unprepared to carry out an investigation but would return the following day. More than two weeks later, he is has not returned. But the troubles for the medical students did not end there. Last Friday, a second report was made after there was a break-in and an attempted rape at the same apartment at 4:00hrs. This time, the incident occurred when the 23-year-old roommate was home alone. In an interview with this publication, the roommate stated that she had just woken up to turn off her phone’s alarm when she turned and noticed a shadow by her window. Upon taking a closer look, she realised that someone was in her room. Before she was able to raise an alarm, the suspect threatened her by stating that he had a gun in his possession. He then demanded that she hand over all her valuables, to which the victim tried to comply by stating that they were in another room. At this point, the man placed a knife at the victim’s throat and demanded to have sexual intercourse as he claimed he did not have any in a long time. In an attempt to outsmart the suspect, she agreed but told him that he would have to take a shower first and use a condom. The suspect complied with her request and proceeded to another room in the apartment to take a shower. The victim then used this opportunity to escape via her bedroom window but broke her right foot in the process. After raising an alarm, neighbours who were alerted to what was taking place, contacted the police. Despite making subsequent reports, the assurances by the police that a follow up would be done, are yet to be honoured. As the police force continues to delay the investigation into this The laptop stolen from matter, the medical students are living in fear of the suspect is the 24-year-old student. walking free and may return soon.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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2017 attempted Republic Bank robbery…
Three freed, one to lead defence Three of the five men accused of attempting to rob Republic Bank in 2017 were yesterday freed by Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The three men freed are former Republic Bank employee, Shawn Grimmond, of Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown; exPolice Constable, Anfernee Blackman, 24, of Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown; and ex-Rural Constable Gladstone George 27, of Princess Street, Lodge, Georgetown. Daly upheld a no-case submission made by their attorneys and dismissed the matter against them. However, she made out a prima facie case against the fourth accused and he is expected to lead his defence. Senior Magistrate Daly in her ruling stated that she upheld the defence
(From left) Anfernee Blackman, Jamal Haynes, Shawn Grimmond and Gladstone George. a t t o r n e y ’s n o - c a s e submissions since there is not enough evidence against the trio for a prima facie case to be made. However, the Magistrate ruled that sufficient evidence was provided to the court against the fourth accused, Keron Saunders, 27, of Burnham Boulevard, Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD). As
such, a prima facie case was made out against Saunders, who is expected to lead his defence on July 14, 2021. The defendants had denied the charge, which alleges that on July 4, 2016, while being armed with guns, they attempted to rob Republic Bank’s Water Street, Georgetown branch. They were placed on
$500,000 bail each, pending the outcome of the trial. The botched robbery attempt on the financial institution had left 25-year-
old agronomist, Elton Wray, dead. He was shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire between his alleged accomplices, police, and
To lead defence, Keron Saunders guards attached to the Professional Guard Service (PGS).According to reports, Wray was the best friend of (Continued on page 22)
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
Pensioner dies in boat crash T
he family of 87year-old Richard Bowen has been thrown into a state of mourning after he reportedly lost his life on Monday morning following a horrific boat accident in the Essequibo River. Kaieteur News was informed that before the tragic incident, Bowen had
not too long departed Bartica after purchasing some groceries from the market. Bowen who lived alone would usual leave his River View residence and make his way to Bartica when in need of goods. According to the police, sometime around 10:45hrs., while in the vicinity of the Bartica Stelling a passenger
boat driven by 50-year-old Jules Benjamin crashed into Bowen’s small wooden boat on the river top. Based on information received, Benjamin told investigators that around 09:45hrs. he had departed the Parika Stelling with 23 passengers en route to Bartica. He further reported that
The boat Bowen was travelling in when the accident occurred.
Dead, Richard Bowen.
nearing Bartica, he saw Bowen’s boat some 700 meters in front of him. As he reached closer, Benjamin claimed that the man suddenly changed his direction and the two vessels ended up colliding with each other. Due to the impact of the collision, the elderly man fell forward into his boat where he received injuries about his body. His boat engine, a (15 HP) fell off the stern and into the water.
Kaieteur News understands that Benjamin did not stop to render assistance but instead, headed into the Stelling and discharged his passengers. The police report states that a nearby boat immediately went to the elderly man’s rescue and rushed him to the Bartica Hospital. While receiving medical treatment Bowen
passed away. His body was later transported to the hospital’s mortuary where it is awaiting a post mortem examination. Benjamin was later apprehended and is in police custody assisting with the investigations. The dead man leaves to mourn his 11 children and other relatives.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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Kaieteur News
Russia confirms authenticity of country’s Sputnik V vaccines The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday released a letter from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Director-General, Alexander Christyakov, which dismisses Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon’s malicious and reckless statements that the Sputnik V vaccines in Guyana are fake.
According to a press release issued by the Health Ministry, the batch numbers issued by the RDIF matches that of the vaccines the Ministry has received, indicating no uncertainty about the authenticity of the vaccines. The release further states that Harmon has demonstrated
that scoring cheap political points trumps the wellbeing and welfare of citizens. The Ministry in its release called on Harmon to publicly withdraw his irresponsible statements and to publicly apologise to the Guyanese people for the irreparable harm he has done to the national vaccination programme.
Documents from Russia confirming the authenticity of the Sputnik V vaccines.
T&T left out Barbados’ travel bubble programme Trinidad and Tobago is not part of the Caribbean travel bubble expected to the instituted at the end of the month in Barbados. Over the weekend, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced the new travel bubble coming into effect at the end of this month for fully vaccinated travellers with negative PCR tests. Travellers from countries named in the bubble will not be required to do PCR tests or quarantine upon arrival in Barbados. However, citizens from T&T, Jamaica, Belize, Guyana and the Bahamas were not included in this rejuvenated travel bubble, which means
vaccinated citizens from these nations will still be tested at the Grantly Adams Airport and unvaccinated travellers will be required to go into a five-day quarantine. In her address to the nation on Saturday, Mottley listed the countries outside the bubble and what their citizens will be required to do on entry to Barbados. “But guess what? They’re subjected to the same protocols that would have existed before, so if they are vaccinated persons, come with a negative PCR and land at our airport, they’ll have to have the second PCR test as all other vaccinated persons do
now and then they’d be free to come into the country. “If they are unvaccinated, you know the drill, it’s a longer period, five days before they have the PCR test in the quarantine,” Mottley said, adding that this gives layers of protection among the layers of risk.This is the second such attempt at a Caricom travel bubble. Last September, Barbados’ ambassador to Caricom David Comissiong laid out the framework for the travel bubble and the countries in and out of the safe travel sphere. A major factor of that initial bubble was that citizens of the included nations were
not required to take PCR or COVID-19 tests before or upon entry. Those citizens are also not required to undergo any quarantine. The bubble was initiated on September 18, 2020. At that time, T&T was not included in the travel bubble either but was given clearance to enter by the following month once COVID infection numbers remained low.Guardian Media reached out to both the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Amery Browne yesterday but neither responded. On Saturday, Rowley said that T&T is still on track to reopen borders in July. (Guardian)
Argentina plans partial payment to Paris Club, averting default Argentina will make a partial payment to the group of wealthy government creditors known as the Paris Club of an outstanding debt of US$2.4 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.The club will spare Argentina from default in the understanding that the country can rework a US$45-billion credit with the International Monetary Fund, said the person, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. The South American nation has used a 60-day grace period to try to reach an agreement with the group after failing to make the
payment by May 31.The Economy Ministry press office and the Paris Club secretariat didn’t immediately reply to a comment request. Economy Minister Martín Guzmán is expected to give a press conference on the topic in Buenos Aires, initially scheduled for 3pm.Argentina’s global bonds due in 2030 pared an intra-day decline to trade at 37.23 cents on the dollar on the news. Presid ent Alberto
Fernández’s administration is seeking to avoid a damaging default so it can refinance this debt after reworking a deal with the IMF.
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Kaieteur News
Ex-cop charged for not...
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From page 12 rider then whipped out a handgun and shot Walters in his face. Although wounded, Walters struck down the suspects, who fled the scene on foot, leaving their motorcycle and a .9mm Taurus pistol, with 14 rounds, at the scene. Walters was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The injuries the men sustained were said to be consistent with that of a motor vehicle accident. CCTV footage reportedly showed an individual hopping north along the East Bank Public Road. Moreover, Walters was the key witness in the June 2016 Kaieteur News grenade attack case. It was reported that a grenade was thrown in front of the vehicle of the newspaper’s publisher, Glenn Lall, but failed to go off. The grenade was later removed by explosive experts and detonated safely. A number of persons were arrested for that matter. VACANCY Vacancy exists for one office assistant.Must be computer literate with organiztional skills.Send application:innovationsamericamng@gmail.com. E x p e r i e n c e Seamstress.Call#6911918. Factory workers.Must have a sound secondary education.For more information,please call:223-0090. Maid to cook and clean for East Bank call: 6159132.Female cleaner for office call: 642-9823. Labourers and maintenance worker to work with P.S.G.C.S.Serious enquiries o n l y. C o n t a c t : 6 2 1 6969,615-7784. Porters.Apply at:Lens 136 Sheriff Street C/ Vill.Tel:227-2486. Male Bond Clerk.Apply at:Lens 136 Sheriff Street C/Vill.Tel:227-2486. Truck Driver.Apply at:Lens 136 Sheriff Street C/Vill.Tel:227-2486.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Three freed, one to lead defence From page 19 Jamal Haynes, a former Republic Bank employee. On Haynes’ first court appearance, he admitted to the charge and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on
charges of attempted robbery under-arms, possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition, and unlawful restraining. According to reports, on
the day in question, around 07:30 hrs, a report was made
to the police of a robbery in progress at the bank. The ranks responded promptly. When they arrived at the scene, the alleged perpetrators discharged several rounds in their direction. In an attempt to escape, Haynes reportedly begun running through the arcade, but was later apprehended by police during an exchange of gunfire. He was found hiding in a stall in the arcade.
The facts of the charge revealed that the illegal gun and ammunition were found lying on the ground next to him. Moments after Haynes
was apprehended, Saunders, a cousin of Wray, was also apprehended by police, after he was observed
to be acting in a suspicious manner. Haynes and Saunders then implicated the others in the robbery attempt on the financial institution.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
AG sues Ferguson over claims of... From page 3 the very Attorney General, Mr. Anil Nandlall, who was found distributing ID Cards in the lower East Coast Demerara corridor.” In a document to support his case, Nandlall said that h e b e l i e v e s F e rg u s o n intended to suggest that he
committed a criminal and electoral offence, one that is punishable by law. In the circumstances, the AG said that he believed that his reputation “was seriously harmed.” He claimed too that he has suffered considerable hurt, embarrassment,
distress and anxiety. Nandlall therefore asked that the court grant him the award amounting to in excess of $20M as well as the injunctative relief to ban Ferguson or anyone acting on her behalf from causing him any further distress.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
Coalition used $30B GuySuCo Bond to... From page 3 agreed to, he had refused to disclose the information and had assured that the deal was a good one. However, Singh told the House that it must note that the bond “was not raised through a competitive process as far as can be ascertained” and argued that the arrangement c o m m i t t e d t h e Government to pay a 4.75% interest rate “at a time when its treasury bills would only have cost 1% or there about.” The Minister with responsibility for Finance continued, that had the then Government raised the bond at 1% instead of 4.75%, “the cost savings that would have been incurred would have been around $2.1B.” He continued, “That bond includes a clause that
prevents or penalises early repayment of the instrument (bond) which effectively means, that we are stuck with this 4.75% interest rate that was committed to by the APNU+AFC while in Government.” Singh upon request by the opposition had also divulged that at the end of 2020, a total of $11.471B was disbursed to GuySuCo. Out of that amount, $8.978B was related to current
expenditure – meaning, that it was spent to keep the c o m p a n y ’s o p e r a t i o n s running - while the remaining $1.293B was related to capital expenditure, meaning, that this amount was used to purchase assets for the company. NICIL had disclosed in 2018 that the facilitator of the bond arrangement is the Republic Bank Limited (RBL) of Trinidad.
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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Kaieteur News
...England beat Czech Republic to win Group
Raheem Sterling is only the second player to score each of England’s first two goals at a Euros tournament after Alan Shearer in 1996. (Getty Images)
Wednesday June 23, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Keep your cool if something goes wrong today, Aries. Don't be so impatient about fixing a problem that you end up doing something rash.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) It may be extremely hard for you to make decisions about anything today. Don't stress about work or the things you need to get done.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Play the lottery today. The concept for you is profit with no effort. The windfall will come when you least expect it. The less you try to shape things, the more they will generally flow in your favor.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today should run quite smoothly for you, Scorpio. You will find that there's a great deal of power fueling your emotions and that you're able to take that power to the extreme.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) If you meet someone new today, Gemini, break him or her in gradually. Don't spill all the beans at once. Let the person warm up to your intense emotional nature before you unleash it full force.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Don't get upset if people don't take you quite as seriously as you'd like today. It's in the nature of the day to keep things light and uplifting. Come out of the intensity of the last couple days and laugh out loud.
CANCER(June21–July22) Spare no emotional or monetary expense today. Whatever you put into this day will come back to you tenfold. Feel free to indulge and delight in your fun-loving nature. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today isn't a day to stay inside and sulk, Leo. Put the past behind you and move on. Grab opportunities with both hands and rev your engine into high gear. Stop looking at what lies behind and focus on the wide-open horizon in front of you. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Get your favorite music out of the closet today, Virgo. Have a dance party in your living room and liven things up with some freshly cut flowers on your table. This is a great day to direct your energies outward into the world.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) You might find that something or someone is purposefully trying to make things difficult for you today, Capricorn. It might seem like you're trying to get a handle on the issues. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You might find that something or someone is purposefully trying to make things difficult for you today, Capricorn. It might seem like you're trying to get a handle on the issues PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Inspire others to come out of their shells today, Pisces. Have them join you on the sunny side of the street. Share your cheer with other people and lead them into boisterous discussions about the world.
From page 26 games take place on Wednesday, with Germany facing Hungary and Portugal playing France (both 20:00 BST). Grealish and Saka shining lights The enforced absence of Mount created an opening behind captain Kane in England’s side and, with Phil Foden left out, it gave a big opportunity to Villa captain Grealish and Arsenal’s 19year-old Saka. And while neither can regard themselves as having a guaranteed place when the knockout phase starts, both can be very happy with the impact they made as England opened with vigour before losing impetus. It was perfectly illustrated by the decisive moment in what turned into an attritional encounter as Saka drove at the Czech defence with positive intent before Grealish delivered an inch-perfect cross to the far post for Sterling to score and retain his status as the only England player to score in the tournament so far after his winner against Croatia. Grealish was a popular choice, his name being cheered loudly by England’s fans when it was announced, and he delivered a vibrant first-half performance in which he was a constant threat, demanding the ball and always attempting to pose problems for the Czech defence. This was a big chance, and perhaps a surprising one, for Saka but this gifted teenage took the man of the match honours and looked perfectly at home on this elevated stage. It remains to be seen whether they have done
...Hutson re-elected to From page 31 not see the smooth transition to the elite level. Other elected Executives were Rtd. Colonel Paul Arthur (Second Vice-President), Dwayne Carter (Treasurer), and Elton Bollers (Assistant Treasurer). The Committee Members are Keith Campbell, Linden Phillips, Telson Williams, Niall Stanton, and Major Tyron Smith. The Secretary and Assistant Secretary are appointed by the Executive which will be completed at their first statutory meeting of this term. The Returning Officer for Sunday’s election was President of the Guyana Olympic Association, K.A. JumanYassin.
enough to force their way into Southgate’s starting line-up for the last 16 but they have certainly given England’s manager food for thought. Now it gets serious for England England have hardly illuminated Euro 2020 with their three Wembley performances so far but they can point with satisfaction to seven points from three games without conceding a goal. Everton keeper Pickford has maintained excellent form throughout while the sight of Maguire coming through this first test after a lengthy absence will have delighted his manager, who regards him as one of his most trusted and important leaders. As well as his defensive abilities, Maguire adds another dimension to England’s game with his ability to come out of defence and pick a pass, as he demonstrated with a superb delivery to create Kane’s firsthalf chance.
Kane’s lack of goals remains a worry, although there was no shortage of effort. Southgate has given total backing to his striker and he will be hoping he is saving his best for the sharp end of Euro 2020. Sterling is another in whom Southgate has demonstrated great faith and it was rewarded once again with a goal and performance that earned him an ovation when he was substituted. In many parts, this was a colourless England display after they started on the front foot but the results have been delivered in a manner Southgate and his players would have happily settled for when Euro 2020 got under way. Now the real test is likely to come in the shape of world champions France, defending European champions Portugal or the everdangerous Germany. England will have to improve but they have done what has been required so far.
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
England beat Czech Republic to win Group BBC Sport - Raheem Sterling’s second goal of Euro 2020 saw England beat the Czech Republic to win Group D and set up a last-16 tie against France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary at Wembley. In a performance that
developed into a slog after a bright start, Sterling converted at the far post in the 12th minute from Jack Grealish’s cross after fine work from Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka. Grealish and Saka were two of the hosts’ better
performers on a night when England were workmanlike and had to do without Mason Mount, self-isolating after coming into close contact w i t h S c o t l a n d ’s B i l l y Gilmour after the second group game. Southgate also had the
bonus of Manchester United captain Harry Maguire safely completing 90 minutes in his first game s i n c e s u ff e r i n g a n k l e ligament damage in early May. Captain Harry Kane is still seeking his first goal of
Euro 2020, although he was denied by a first-half save from keeper Tomas Vaclik. At the other end, Jordan Pickford was rarely threatened, although he did pull off a fine diving save from Tomas Holes in the first half on a night when England
got the job done - although a greater test than this now lies ahead. That will come in the shape of the runner-up in Group F at Wembley on Tuesday, 29 June (17:00 BST). The final Group F (Continued on page 27)
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Williamson 49, Shami four-for and Southee’s strikes set up intriguing final day
E
SPNcricinfo - A d e f e n s i v e masterclass from Kane Williamson all but eliminated a defeat for New Zealand in the World Test Championship final, but India were resolute in the session they got to bat, losing just the two wickets and ending the penultimate day 32 runs ahead. It needed Tim Sotuhee’s genius to prise out the openers in arguably the best conditions of a Test that has proved to be torrid for batters. So torrid that we can still think of a result despite only 225 overs of play in the five regulation days of the Test. As was the case in the two-Test series between these two teams in New Zealand, the contribution from the lower order proved to be the difference: New Zealand’s last five wickets added 114 to India’s 61. Yet their lead was only 32. New Zealand began the day - an hour after time because of a drizzle - 116 behind with eight wickets in hand, but India’s bowlers made sure New Zealand didn’t run away with the game. It was a masterclass in controlled bowling in helpful conditions, giving New Zealand nothing to score off and finding enough wicket-taking deliveries in between. In the second half of the innings, though, Williamson found support from Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, whose risks against a nowtiring three-man seam attack came off. New Zealand’s last five added 114 in 29 overs, which defied the prevailing run rate of around two in the rest of the match. Before the lower order got away from them, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma put in quite a shift to make sure New Zealand didn’t bat them out of the contest. They did it the hard way: not looking for magic balls but drying up runs with sustained, intense good bowling. Between them, the three bowled all the overs in the first session followed by a half-an-hour lull leading to the second new ball in the second session. A good indicator of the
quality of bowling and the surface is the rate at which Williamson is scoring because he is a masterful batter who plays according to the situation. His 49 off 177 balls was his slowest innings of 20 or more balls. The last time New Zealand scored fewer than their 152 here in the first 80 overs in an innings was way back in 2002. In the whole first session, you could count the number of ordinary balls on one hand: two inswingers down the leg side from Ishant that went unpunished and a halfvolley each from Shami and Bumrah. Just 34 runs came in that session for the wickets of Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls and BJ Watling. Taylor swung hard at the sight of the first full ball he got and ended up chipping to mid-off. Nicholls followed an around-the-wicket awayswinger. Watling got a peach from Shami, which pitched middle and hit top of off. At the start of the second session, India had to relent a little as the new ball was seven overs away. This is where the scoring rate started to turn, but with the new ball Shami trapped Colin de Grandhomme with an inswinger from wide on the crease to make it 162 for 6. Jamieson, though, used his reach well to go after the bowlers. A ball after he hit the first six of the match, he top-edged a hook to fall to Shami for 21 off 16. New Zealand were still 25 behind, and Williamson now upped his intent a little. He upper-cut Shami for a four, started looking to open the face a little whenever allowed to go back, but still picked boundaries only off poor balls, which increased now that the three fast bowlers were close to bowling two sessions just by themselves. Williamson will be cross with himself that in such a situation he followed a wide ball from Ishant with an attempted back-foot drive, possibly leaving a few runs out there. Southee, though, made sure they took the lead past 30, hitting two sixes, going past Ricky Ponting to move to No. 15 on six-
hitters’ list in Test cricket. However, it was Southee the bowler who kept New Zealand in the hunt for a win with highly skilful bowling. India began batting with the final session of the day, a situation reminiscent of their defeat in Christchurch where they lost six wickets in the last session of a day after the first innings of both sides had practically cancelled each other out. That pitch had steep and uneven bounce. This one was now finally settling down going into the third day o f u s e . T h e r e w a s n ’t anything off the pitch available for the New Zealand bowlers, but the swing with the Dukes was still a challenging proposition. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill looked in control, but Southee was just a little better. Gill was removed in the
Kane Williamson picked up his scoring pace in the second session. (Getty Images) 11th over when Southee followed up three outswingers with a change in seam position at the last moment, bowling his wobble-seam delivery, which swings in. Gill looked to flick to midwicket, which meant he was beaten on the inside edge and trapped in front. Rohit looked more
assured, and in the company of Cheteshwar Pujara was headed for stumps when Southee came back for a testing second spell. They had had to endure the Jamieson examination before Southee took over. Fifteen minutes before stumps, he took Rohit out with the inswinger, but this time with a seam-up
delivery, only with the shiny side outside. Rohit padded up, and was given out lbw. Virat Kohli and Pujara played out the tricky last 15 minutes, but knew they had serious work to do on the final morning, the reserve day. Scores: India 217 & 64/2 New Zealand 249 India lead by 32 runs.
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T&T pugilist arrives in Guyana tonight - Allicock set for training in Russia
Aaron Prince Guyana will host Trinidadian boxer Aaron Prince for one week as he ups his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics. The 35-year-old middleweight pugilist is expected in Guyana this evening, alongside his Coach and first Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Association (TTBA) Reynold Cox. According to Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) President; Steve Ninvalle, he is pleased that the TTBA selected Guyana for such an important mission. “We’re happy that they could’ve chosen Guyana. They’re many other countries in the Caribbean they could’ve chosen. It also shows the close alliance that we have,” Ninvalle posited. This is Prince’s first time qualifying for the Olympics after 4 tries. His journey to the World Games has been stretched out over 13 years and he is only the fourth Trinidadian amateur boxer in history to qualify for the
Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) President, Steve Ninvalle Games. Meanwhile, Guyana’s golden boy, Keevin Allicock, who will also be boxing at the Olympics, is expected to depart the Land of Many Waters next week, en route to Russia for a high- performance training camp. Ninvalle, speaking to the media noted that, “On the other hand, Keevin Allicock is preparing to leave Guyana early next week for Russia to engage in a three-week training camp and then leave from Russia to go to the Olympics,” Ninvalle informed this publication. As expected, the 22-year-old Commonwealth silver medalist will be accompanied by his long time Coach Sebert Blake, who has had a great influence on Allicock’s career.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
Daren Sammy appointed as the newest member of CWI Board of Directors ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Former West Indies cricket Captain, Daren Sammy OBE, is the newest member of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Board of Directors following his appointment as an independent non-member director, by the CWI Board at a meeting held last Thursday 17th June 2021. With over 14 years of international cricket experience, Sammy is celebrated by many in the region, and across the world, as a charismatic and inspirational figure, renowned for leading the West Indies to back-to-back ICC T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016. Daren is the first international cricketer from his native Saint Lucia where the national stadium has been named in his honour. He has captained the Windward Islands cricket team in addition to several domestic T20 leagues both r e g i o n a l l y a n d internationally. Sammy is an awardee of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, and a Goodwill Ambassador for St. Lucia. He is also the current Head Coach of Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League and a Cricket Consultant for the St. Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League
(CPL). Sammy’s appointment to the CWI Board of Directors is in keeping with two of the fundamental principles which have guided CWI’s improvement strategy for the past two years – increased utilization of regional technical expertise and the implementation of a Cricket First Policy. It is expected that Mr. Sammy’s appointment will add a fresh and more youthful perspective, as well as a high level of updated cricket know-how to enhance the existing expertise in the CWI Board room. Commenting on Daren Sammy’s addition to the Board, CWI President Ricky Skerritt said “I am delighted to welcome Daren Sammy as an independent, nonmember Director whose role will be to ensure that all the right questions are being asked while contributing to the shaping of new ideas and solutions. Daren’s fairly recent experience as a twotime World Cup winning captain will bring with him a much needed modern-day cricketer ’s perspective which should add valuable insights to Board discussions and decision-making. His appointment is testament to our commitment to strengthen CWI’s
governance, and to utilize expertise from across all stakeholder groups.” On his new appointment, Sammy said, “It is an honour to be appointed as a CWI Director; this is another great opportunity for me to give my best to West Indies cricket in a new way, off the field. All my local, regional and international experiences have prepared me to make a significant ongoing impact in West Indies cricket. I am excited and thankful for the chance to serve and look forward to giving back to the sport and region that I love so much.” Sammy is one of three (3) appointments of Independent Directors approved at last Thurday’s CWI Board of Directors’ meeting to serve for the next two-years. He joins Trinidadian Attorney Mrs. Debra Coryat-Patton and Jamaican Surgeon and University Administrator, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, who were both re-appointed to serve a second term. CWI’s Articles allow for up to four (4) non-member directors which means there is one (1) slot remaining which the Board intends to fill in the near future. All directors’ appointments will expire in 2023 at the conclusion of CWI’s Annual General Meeting of that year.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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‘Selectors went for experience with Guyana Jaguars’- Sarwan - Says Rutherford should be encouraged to play all formats By Sean Devers The Guyana Jaguars’ 15man Squad was selected last month for the 2021/2022 season and former West Indies U-19 batsman 20year-old Kevlon Anderson has secured a contract in theWest Indies Professional Cricketers Draft. The Berbician Anderson, arguable the most complete young batsman in Guyana, has not yet made his FirstClass debut and is the only new comer in the Jaguars list. West Indies left-handed all-rounder, Bajan Raymon Reifer was picked by his home Country after not being retained by the Jaguars, who he represented for the six seasons. Guyana Jaguars, led by Leon Johnson, won the Regional First-Class title for five consecutive seasons before being dethroned by Barbados in the 2020 season which was aborted after eight rounds due to the outbreak of the global pandemic Covid-19. New chairman of the Guyana Cricket (GCB) senior selection panel, former Guyana and West Indies Captain Ramnaresh ‘Ronnie’ Sarwan, who
celebrates his 41st birthday today, explained that the Guyana Franchise squad was selected based on experience. “The squad was selected more on experience since no Regional cricket has been played since March last year. If you look at our performances over the years we have problems with our batting. The biggest challenge has been with the bat so we give the more experienced guys a chance to set that right.The bowlers have been holding their own,” said Sarwan, who has scored 15 tons and 31 fifties from 87 Tests at an Average of just over 40. “Of course we have got some younger guys who are coming through as well so when opportunities present themselves we as selectors have got to make some decisions on moving forward on giving them the opportunity to perform,” continued Sarwan, who Averaged 42.67 from 181 ODIs in an International career that spanned from May 2000 to June 2013. Sarwan, who made his First-Class debut at 15 in 1995 to become the youngest
to do so in West Indies cricket, informed that the players have begun training with Coach Esuan Crandon. “They had some training sessions with Coach Crandon who has been doing a pretty good job. We have been using the Stadium to do mostly physical training since we have not had the opportunity do much practicing outdoors. I think Crandon has been focusing on getting their fitness standards to where he wants it to be and once there is the opportunity to get the practice sessions we will utilise the facilities we have got here,” added Sarwan, who led Guyana to their last Regional 50-overs title in 2005 at Bourda. Sarwan informed that the GCB has been trying to get the Stadium but because of Pakistan tour to Guyana for three T20 matches against the West Indies from July 31 to August 3, the Stadium has been closed to prepare for that. Former West Indies U-19 player Tevin Imlach played in the last Regional Surper50 in Antigua and Sarwan said that the selectors thought about including two Keepers in the event that something
happens to first-choice Anthony Bramble. “We did not pick a second wicket-keeper because the fixtures have not been set as yet and they do not know where the Jaguars will be playing,” disclosed the GCC member. The CWI has asked the Regional Boards to play practice matches called ‘the best versus the rest’ and the Head of the National selectors said those matches are a part of the programme planned. “Yes, we have spoken about it…the selectors and the Coach spoken about it but the rain has played a major part in us not getting to that in place. Once the rain eases and there is an opportunity to play it and it’s still valid, we will go ahead and play it,” said Sarwan, who retired from First-class cricket in June 2014 while playing in the English County cricket. It was planned for those games to be played in Berbice from June 24 but the adverse weather has disrupted those plans. The return of the senior I n t e r- C o u n t y f o u r- d a y tournament to be played in each of the three Counties is
Ramnaresh Sarwan also planned but consistent rain which caused a level 2 flooding in most of Guyana, has also put those plans on hold. On the topic of T20 specialist Sherfane Rutherford, who is presently participating in the Pakistan Super League in Abu Dhabi, and says he still wants to play for Guyana and the West Indies, Sarwan said nobody has been ruled out. “Of course he can be picked for Guyana despite him not being among the contracted players…we are not ruling out anybody. What we want to is form a core group of guys together and in the case of Rutherford he has a lot of cricket ahead of him. Not only white ball cricket, but four-day as well
once he gets himself together. I did reach out to him but he has been a bit busy and I will reach out to him again and try to convince him of the importance of him playing all three formats,” concluded the classy righthander who scored 33 centuries and 71 fifties at First-Class level. Guyana Jaguars squad: Leon Johnson ( C a p t ) , Ta g e n a r i n e Chanderpaul, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Vishaul Singh, Shimron Hetmyer, Kevlon Anderson, Chris Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Romario Shepherd, Keemo Paul, Ve e r a s a m m y P e r m a u l , Gudakesh Motie, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Keon Joseph
Fully vaccinated fans in Grenada get chance to see T20 World Champions West Indies
S
T JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket fans in Grenada will get the chance to see t h e r e i g n i n g Wo r l d T 2 0 Champions, West Indies, in action against South Africa in the upcoming five-match T20 International (T20I) Series. Following the request from the Government of Grenada to explore the opportunity to have fans at the matches, the Ministry of Health, in co-ordination with the Grenada Cricket Association (GCA) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) has made provision for fully vaccinated spectators to attend the five-match series. Fully vaccinated fans will need to have received their second vaccine dose 14 days before the game that they are attending to be eligible to purchase tickets. The first match will be at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday, June 26 with the second
following on Sunday, June 27; Tuesday, June 29; Thursday July 1; and Saturday, July 3. First ball daily is at 2pm local time (1pm Jamaica Time). Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI said: “Following the return of fans during the second Betway Test in St Lucia, we are delighted to gradually welcome back fans into the stands at the Grenada National Stadium. We know they will have a great t i m e w a t c h i n g o u r Wo r l d Champions take on our visitors from South Africa. This is a step in the right direction, and we again want to thank all the health officials and organisers who made sure all systems are in place to keep everyone safe for what promises to be an exciting series.” Fans must produce their vaccination documentation and national ID to be able to purchase a ticket. Fully vaccinated fans will be
seated in the top tiers of the Junior Murray/Rawl Lewis Stand and the Members Stand. Fans under the age of 18 years will not be allowed to purchase tickets or enter the stadium. The price of tickets is EC$50 per match day. Fans can purchase a five-match season pass for EC$200 at a special promotional price essentially getting one match ticket for free when you purchase four. There is also a special offer of any three matches for EC$120 applying to the second to fifth matches. Sales will run daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm at the main ticket booth at the Grenada National Stadium, concluding on July 2. This venue will be used for tickets sales on NON-MATCH DAYS. Details for ticket sales booth on match days will be announced at a later date. Fans will need to wear
facemasks to gain entry to the venue and then keep wearing masks throughout the match. They will also need to remain socially distanced at all times when seated. A limited number of vendors will be selling non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, and fans will be able to take their own small coolers into the stadium. For fans to get a ticket and gain access to the National Stadium, the following steps must be taken to meet COVID-19 match protocols Tickets will only be available to those who are vaccinated two weeks in advance of the game that they are attending. • Fans must bring their vaccination documentation and national ID when purchasing tickets, with tickets issued at the box office on non-match days • Fans can purchase tickets for a maximum of 4 friends and
family if they bring the vaccination documentation and national IDs for the family members they are purchasing tickets for. • All fans must bring their vaccination documentation, national ID and valid ticket to gain entry. • All fans must wear masks/face shields and be socially distanced at all times • Fans can bring in 12"x12"x12" coolers with: • food and non-alcoholic beverages in plastic/non-glass bottles • no glass, no alcohol, no knives/sharp metal objects • ice in bags (not loose) to allow for security searches • Security will be searching cooler for the above items • Tickets are nontransferable • No patrons under the age of 18
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Wednesday June 23, 2021
RHTYSC hosts first Tribute to Municipality Workers Programme for Rose Hall Town - receives donation from GK INC
GK Inc Managing Director Ramdeo Kumar hands over donation to Hilbert Foster.
T
he eleven cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club on Friday last hosted their first Tribute to Municipality Workers programme as the club blazed away to fulfill its target of seven hundred activities for the year. The programme, the brainchild of Club Secretary/ CEO H i l b e r t F o s t e r, m a i n objective is to recognise and honour the outstanding workers of the Rose Hall Town Council, who on a daily basis work beyond the call of duty in the development of Guyana’s smallest township. A total of ten workers were honored- five from the junior staff and five from the administrative section. Those honored were Town Clerk Natasha Griffith, Head of Market Section Shelly Clarke, Head of Security Sharon Mc Allister, Head of the Works section Travis McAllister, and Treasurer Seromanie Ramdhial along
with Miranda Rodney, Esther Fraser, Leonard Cooper, Drupattie Peters and Stephen Ramsingh. Foster in a short presentation stated that since the club was established in 1990 it had benefitted from the services of the Town Council and despite some rough periods, it has also enjoyed a good working relationship with the council and its leadership. He recalled that the management of the club had committed itself to working along with the council to make a positive difference in the township at the start of the year and has fulfilled that commitment with several major donations and installing close to forty street lights across the town. In the past, the club had spearheaded the restoration of the Area H Ground, construct a Children’s Playfield, raise funds for an all weather court, put up street signs, construct a charity kitchen and a 175th
Awardees of the Tribute Programme pose with Mayor Dave Budhoo. monument among numerous community projects in the township. Residents have also benefitted from numerous medical outreaches, youth fairs, musical evenings, clean up campaign, Christmas villages, job fairs while the club has organised the town anniversary celebration on five different occasions including a memorable 175th celebration of the formation of Rose Hall Village in 2017. Foster, who is one of three residents from the township to have receive a national award from the Government of Guyana, urged the awardees to uphold their high standards and to always be courteous and polite while serving the residents of the town. He congratulated the Town Clerk and Mayor Dave Budhu on their outstanding
leadership of the town with the limited resources at their disposal. He recommitted the club to assisting the council as much as possible and announced that the RHTYSC would continue to sponsor the Tribute Programme in the future. To the surprise of the Mayor and others present, the long serving Club Secretary also announced that the club would give a financial award to two outstanding workers at the end of the year. Town Clerk Natasha Griffith stated that the council was delighted to work along with the club, which is a household name across the county and hailed the cooperation of the management of the club in the development of the small town. Mayor Budhu stated that the council was very grateful
that the club would join hands with it to host the first major tribute programme for workers. He stated that the RHTYSC had expanded the programme at the last stage to include more workers after the initial propose was to honour just four workers. He wished the cricket teams all the best in the future and saluted them on been outstanding ambassadors of Rose Hall Town. Each of the awardees received a medal of excellence, framed certificate of excellence, a food hamper and a special gift. On the request of the Mayor, the club would next month donate a microwave to the council. Meanwhile, a delegation from the Georgetown based company, GK INC visited the office of the club and held a fruitful discussion
with Secretary Hilbert Foster and his deputy Simon Naidu on plans to make a difference in the lives of youths using the forums of sports and education. Managing Director of the Company Mr. Ramdeo Kumar stated that he was impressed with the work of the club and would like to join hands to make sure that youths who are involved in sports also understand the importance of education. Kumar handed a quantity of medical supplies to Foster for distribution. The items included face masks, face shields and blood glucose monitoring systems. The company also made a financial contribution of fifty thousand dollars towards a house restoration project, the club is currently undertaking for one of its junior members.
China’s Sun Yang to miss Tokyo Olympics after CAS verdict (Reuters) orld and Olympic champion Sun Yang’s hopes of competing at the Tokyo Games ended yesterday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the Chinese swimmer’s ban for doping violations to four years from eight. The shorter sentence, announced by the Swiss-based court in a statement, means Sun will be eligible for the Paris Games in 2024 when he will be 32 years old. The 200 metres freestyle champion was banned after he and members of his entourage were found to have smashed vials
W
containing blood samples taken at an out-of-competition test in September 2018. A highly controversial figure in swimming but with plenty of supporters at home, Sun had questioned the credentials and identity of the testers and has constantly proclaimed his innocence. The 29-year-old, who also won two golds at London 2012, had been boosted by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court last December upholding his challenge against the CAS panel on grounds that a judge had exhibited possible bias against Chinese people. The latest CAS panel, chaired
by a different president, found that Sun had “acted recklessly” in refusing to allow the blood samples to leave. It considered the circumstances surrounding the sample collection “merited a period of ineligibility at the lower end of the range”. “Consequently, the panel concluded that a period of ineligibility of four years and three months commencing on February 28, 2020 is to be imposed on Sun Yang,” it said. Sun served a three-month doping suspension in 2014 for taking the stimulant trimetazidine, which he said he took to treat a heart condition.
FINA said in a statement that it acknowledged the CAS ruling and would enforce it “according to its terms, and in accordance with its obligations as a Signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code.” “FINA remains committed to the protection of all clean aquatics athletes worldwide and will carefully consider the 90-page a w a r d , ” i t a d d e d . WA D A welcomed the ruling in a statement. “The decision by the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside the CAS award was limited to a challenge made against the Chair of the CAS Panel and had nothing to do with the substance of this case,” said director general Olivier Niggli.
“Today’s ruling reconfirms WADA’s position in relation to the original FINA ruling, which was that there were a number of points that were inconsistent with the Code. Today’s CAS ruling validates those concerns.” Australian Mack Horton, who called Sun a drug cheat at the 2016 Rio Olympics and refused to share the podium with him at the 2019 world championships in South Korea, will be at the Tokyo Games. He will not be able to defend his 400m freestyle title in Tokyo, however, after failing to qualify for the event in the Australian trials. He has been included in the squad as a relay swimmer.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday June 23, 2021
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Warner Brothers secure place in final; Shieldstown, Young Guns triumph Presentation to Headteacher of equipment to the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School.
Badminton’s Shuttle time programme held in Linden Warner Brothers of region six have secured their place in the final.
Potential Players of the MHS at the event.
Warner Brothers of region six have secured their place in the final of the WeCare Inter Region Independence 10/10 Softball Cricket Cup which continued on Sunday last at Goed Bananen Land in Canje. Warner Brothers beat Rohan Auto Spares of region four by 18 runs. Warner Brothers batted first and score 88 for 4 off their reduced quota of six overs. Martin Singh top scored with 28, David Lukenauth and Eon Hooper made 10 each. Rohan Auto Spares replied with 70 for 5. L. Alphonso scored 49. Martin Singh was named man of the match. Shieldstown of region five defeated Spartan Strikers of Region six by 35 runs. Shieldstown batted first and scored 102 for 1 off 6 overs with Zaheer (only name provided) made 78 and was named man of the match. Spartan replied with 67 all out off 5.1 overs. Young Guns of region four beat Bath
Young Guns of region 5 by six wickets. Bath Young Guns took first strike and scored 58 for 7 off six overs. Z. Khan scored 12. Chandar (only name given) claimed 3-3 to take the man of the match award. Young Guns of Region 4 responded with 59 for 4 off 5.2 overs. Warner Brothers overcame Shieldstown by 71 runs. Warner Brothers batted first and scored 106 for 4 off five overs. L. Sampson made 51. Sheildstown responded with 35 for 4. Eon Hooper captured 3-13. Sampson took the man of the match prize. Warner Brothers beat Young Guns of Region 4 by 23 runs. Warner Brothers batted first and scored 83 for 4 off five overs. J. Sampson made 30, K. Gangaram 17 and David Lukenauth 10. Young Guns of Region four replied with 40 for 6. K. Sinclair took 3-15 and was named man of the match.
The Guyana Badminton Association Team of President Gokarn Ramdhani, Vice President Ayanna Watson and Secretary Emelia Ramdhani along with National and International Champions Narayan Ramdhani & Priyanna Ramdhani introduced the Shuttle Time Project 3 & 4 to the Mackenzie High School and the Christianburg Wismar (Multilateral) Secondary School in Linden to continue the development of Badminton around the Country. This Project was organized by the Guyana Badminton Association and was conducted by our two top international players. Only last weekend, Shuttle Time Project 1 & two was conducted at two schools in Berbice. The GBA also presented the two Schools with the Shuttle Time Kits of Rackets, Shuttlecocks and Nets to help them with keeping the Sport of Badminton active at the
schools. Guyana’s Top players Narayan and Priyanna also made their personal presentation of 11-rackets to the potential players of both schools to encourage them to play badminton. The GBA with like to thank Headmaster Mr. Haslyn Small, Deputy Head Ms. Auja Sealey and PE Teacher Shavin Green of McKenzie High School and the Headmistress Ms. Shellanne Craigwell and PE Teacher Mr. Selon Peters of the Christianburg Wismar (Multilateral) Secondary School for arranging the large turnout of Students for this Shuttle Time Projects at their respective schools. The GBA would also like to thank Mr. Lindley Langhorne (Head-Physical Education Allied Arts) for arranging the two schools so that we were able to execute the Shuttle Time Projects.
Hutson re-elected to serve another term - Calls for all executives to pull their weight Aubrey Hutson was reelected President of the Athletics Guyana (AG) for a third consecutive term after the body held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Election of Officer Bearers last Sunday at the National Resource Centre on Woolford Avenue. Hutson won when First Vice-President, Sheryl Hermonstine, conceded after four consecutive rounds of voting were tied 5-5. Speaking to the media during the final day of the National Senior Championships (Sunday) at the National Track & Field Center (NTFC) Leonora, the President said he is happy for
Reelected head of Athletics Guyana, Aubrey Hutson the support of the clubs and he will aim to be as inclusive as possible even with those that don’t support him. He added, “Moving the sport forward is going to take a collective effort and you can’t sit on the sidelines and
wait for elections then show your face. Running Track and Field is serious business and we need to all put our pedal to the medal and make sure things happen for the sport.” Hutson further indicated there is a need for more collaboration since, “The athletes are running ahead of administrators,” and there are issues they need to address in terms of athletes’ contracts, substance, and programmes of getting them to the elite levels in Europe. The President said that unless they address those issues, they will continue to dominate at junior levels, but (Continued on page 25)
Presentation of equipment to Headmaster of McKenzie High School.
Potential Players of the CWSS at the event.