Kaieteur News

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Constitutional Thursday Edition p. provisions on 7 NEWS protecting national

AIETEUR

June 25, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 25

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

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assets not being honoured

- Conservationist, Int’l Lawyer

Online readership yesterday 163,688

Lowenfield’s report ‘shocking and frustrating’ p.

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- level of “gamesmanship” in Guyana not - CARICOM Chair portraying Caribbean region in best light Mia Mottley

Govt. pays BK Int’l $74M more than his bid price p.

8

– Company bid $278M, but contract signed for $352M

March 3 to June 22…

Lowenfield’s actions Billions Private Sector in projects Commission calls contrary to fundamental awarded for Lowenfield’s principles of 54 states of

by Govt. suspension the Commonwealth Secretary General says...

p.

17

p.

3

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US, UK, Canada, EU call on GECOM to declare results using recount figures p.

- Reminds Granger 11 that CARICOM is “most legitimate interlocutor”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 02

Thursday June 25, 2020

COVID-19 task force seeks 20 repatriated Guyanese who gave incorrect contact information

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he Ministry of Public Health has discovered that some of the persons that were stranded in other Caribbean countries and begged the authorities to be repatriated have provided incorrect contact information to the COVID19 task force.

The task force made an announcement which stated that they are trying to contact some of the passengers and that more than 20 of the 100 Guyanese who returned to Guyana on Friday and S a t u r d a y g a v e

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Boyle

misinformation.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr. Karen Boyle, told Kaieteur News that some of the passengers who returned to Guyana over the weekend gave the task force wrong phone numbers and addresses. Dr. Boyle explained, “Some gave phone numbers but when we call we are not getting onto them…while others gave us wrong addresses.”

The DCMO added that only two persons have reached out to them since the task force made it public that some of the passengers gave

misleading data.

“Two persons have since reached out to us…a man told us that his phone is destroyed that's why we were unable to contact him,” Dr. Boyle said.

Dr. Boyle said that they are hoping that when the names of the persons are published, the passengers reach out to the task force.

Dr. Boyle also stated that the persons who the task force is unable to contact could put their families at risk.

The first repatriated flight arrived in Guyana on Friday and the second flight

on Saturday carried more than a hundred Guyanese who were stranded in other Caribbean countries. The repatriated flights were granted after months of the passengers pleading with the authorities to allow them to return home.

The names of the persons who returned on the repatriated flights are: 1. Richard Persaud 2. Troy Simon 3. Andre Hally 4. Gordon Dufort 5. Shawn Hopkinson 6. Shondell Sampson 7. Ivan Graham 8. Debra Barrow-Graham

9. Benn Michelle 10. Prince Berkshire 11. Onica Barclay 12. Marisa Alana Edwards 13. Gowmattie Singh 14. Ina Dorita Cheddie 15. Saleema Christine 16. Bevon France 17. Vonetta Throne 18. Vaneeta Adojhea 19. Edward Ramroop 20. Chilhu Yeapersaud 21. Madramuthu Viramuthu 22. Karen Wilson Bruce 23. Chatram Ram 24. Marlene Handat The task force is urging these persons to contact the Ministry of Public Health immediately.

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

PAGE 03

Lowenfield's report 'shocking and frustrating' - level of “gamesmanship” in Guyana not portraying Caribbean region in best light - CARICOM Chair Mia Mottley

By Shikema Dey

C

ARICOM Chair, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley has conveyed her concern over the actions of Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield to scrap over 115,000 votes from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

She has deemed the drawn out political process “gamesmanship” that does not portray the Caribbean region in the “best light”.

On Tuesday, following the ruling by the Appellate Court, Lowenfield submitted his final report to GECOM Chair, Ret'd Justice Claudette Singh.

However, contrary to the Chair's instructions, the figures in Lowenfield's report did not emerge from the recount.

Instead, Lowenfield's new numbers handed the victory of the March 2 polls to the A Partnership for

National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition with 171,825 votes – giving them a one-seat majority in Parliament. The recount figures would have given the win to the

stressed were also witnessed by the CARICOM Observer Team, who travelled to Guyana, “in spite of the pandemic and the risk to themselves and they scrutinised the recount

“

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

- CARICOM Chair, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

”

Opposition People's Progressive Party (PPP) who attained 233,336 votes.

The CARICOM Chair, in her statement yesterday, said the numbers presented by the CEO “do not reflect the results of the recount process as certified by the very staff of the GECOM and witnessed by representatives of the political parties.”

The recount figures and their certification, Mottley

process.”

“The CARICOM O b s e r v e r Te a m , ” t h e CARICOM Chair noted “was of the unshakeable belief that the people of Guyana expressed their will at the ballot box on March 2 and that the results of the recount certified as valid by the staff of GECOM led to an orderly conclusion on which the declaration of the results of the Election would be

made.”

Taking this into account, the Chair questioned the CEO's decision to discard 115,844 votes.

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

Mottley pointed out that aggrieved parties who wish to question the validity of the March 2 Elections can do so via an “Elections Petition.”

“We must remind all that if there is any evidence of fraudulent or improper conduct then there is a clear and well accepted route to deal with these matters,” she said.

“Any attempt,” Mottley continued “to provide numbers different from those certified by the staff of

Private Sector Commission calls for Lowenfield's suspension

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he Private Sector Commission is now calling for the suspension of Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, as he has displayed conduct so partisan that it is tantamount to “criminal malfeasance”.

The statement follows Lowenfield's submission of a report to the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, with unjustified numbers, not reflecting those which were determined and certified as valid by the National Recount of votes.

While the recount shows the PPP/C to have won the elections with 233,336 votes, ahead of APNU+AFC's 217,920, Lowenfield's revised numbers seek to dump legitimate General Election valid votes cast by 115,844 voters, to give the coalition a victory and a one-seat majority in Parliament.

The PSC condemned Lowenfield's actions and call for a full and independent investigation into his conduct.

In the cover letter

accompanying the report, Lowenfield referred to the “guidance of the Court of Appeal” despite there being a three-day stay on the Court's ruling and no reference to the order for the recount in the Court's written ruling.

As the PSC pointed out, Lowenfield sought to “determine the final credible count” as has been touted by

the coalition, and by the applicant, Eslyn David to the Court of Appeal, despite the Court refusing to grant the order referring to that, as it could not grant injunctive relief.

The PSC also noted that, in doing so, Lowenfield acted to disregard the instruction of the Chair of the Elections Commission (continued on page 8)

PSC Chair, Gerry Gouveia

CARICOM Chair, Barbadian Prime Minister, Mia Mottley GECOM has left many in shock and wondering what next will happen to frustrate the will of the Guyanese people.”

According to her, the role and focus of political parties must be “useful” and not “obstructive” in embracing and promoting the clear and expressed will of the people.

When parties attempt to “confuse and frustrate that will”, is when, she stressed, “we begin to sow the very seeds of discord and acrimony that we are sworn to dissuade and discourage.”

The CARCIOM Community holds the strong view that “no voter must be disenfranchised in determining the credibility of this or any election.”

“It is this commitment to a fair and transparent political process that led us

to send two Electoral Observation Missions – one for the Elections and one for the recount. In addition, four Prime Ministers accompanied me to talk to both sides and to urge patience especially after the death of one person,” the Chair stated.

She added that no electoral process can replace the life of any Guyanese, citing that “there must be room for all regardless of who wins and who loses.”

“I assure you that the Community remains committed to the people of Guyana and remains resolute that the report of its Observer Mission was very clear in its conclusions as to the will of the Guyanese people as reflected in the recount which they monitored,” Mottley ended.

PAGE 4

Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

The Lowenfield Report - the latest chapter Clearly it is a well thought out and cunningly premediated exercise by Mr. Keith Lowenfield, Chief Elections Officer of GECOM. He has traveled so far down a dark and dangerous road, that he has now entered a space that any sane citizen would consider criminal. In the latest chapter from the unfinished volume of the Lowenfield Report(s) delivered to the Guyana Elections Commission, the very resourceful CEO has created a jackass with a jamboree of numbers that would mean mandatory and lengthy jailing in any civilized and lawabiding society that observes reasonable norms and standards of democracy.

The newspaper headlines blared on Wednesday with the latest in this fantastical kneading of elections voting numbers. They furnished more than another example of the utter farces relative to matters in Guyana about elections and voting and manufacturing a winner. It is of the calculated capriciousness of man’s minds. Still, it is beyond that, because what Mr. Lowenfield hand delivered on Tuesday is tantamount to a felony. And by now, it ought to be obvious that the CEO is not acting alone, which was the same sordid story with one Mr. Mingo.

According to our headline, “Lowenfield discards 25% of valid votes to give Coalition win” (KN June 24). That is one of every four votes cast and, if there were any doubts before, those very meaningful expressions in Guyana’s should now return and register irreversibly and reinforce themselves chillingly in the minds of all citizens. The expressions are “disenfranchised” and the “will of the people” and “democracy.” When “25% of valid votes” (1 in 4) are nullified as having no bearing, then “disenfranchised” is no longer the abstraction of a figure of speech, it is hard reality articulated, documented, submitted, and last proven.

For this magical moment in Guyana’s electoral history, this nation owes its thanks to the CEO. In the next instance, 25%, or over 115,000 voters reduced to the ashes of nonexistence by the stroke of Mr. Lowenfield’s fertile mind are sure to consider cursing him only. A number of coalition agents had taken to the public to complain of and condemn phantom votes and voters. Now, on behalf of their party, the Chief Elections Officer has proved to be the biggest phantom of all. Mandrake the Magician must be green (an apt colour) with envy, which could be the same feeling harboured by all of our spiritualists, whether obeah practitioners, or Kali Mai pretenders, or from the assorted company of witch doctors and operators who deal with darkness and the dead.

The coalition had rallied against the presence of dead voters, as it should when such is the case. Now here is the nation’s top electoral professional manifesting that he is more dead than all the dead in this land. Dead towards what is conscientious. Dead to the fair art of counting honestly. Dead to the demands of fairness and the call of character that goes hand in hand with it.

In Guyana, for the eternity of many long decades, this is how the will of the people was trampled upon time and again. We talk loudly and proudly about regard for the law, yet we bow willingly, cravenly, and unconcernedly to the vulgar lawlessness that has long been the settled and accepted culture of this land. Our national elections stand as monuments to leadership deviousness, and to the related colluding personal and professional corruptions. In aggregate, this is what inevitably climaxes in the kind of handwork produced and delivered to GECOM on Tuesday.

This is how democracy and its ideals are subverted forever and ever, it seems here.

We do not think that the CEO has handed over his last written electoral proclamation. Though the CCJ has granted a stay on GECOM’s declaration of a result, the belief is that CEO Lowenfield has other so-called “valid” recount reports to submit. In the nature of elections in Guyana, there is enough cleverness to ready for such contingencies, with more outlandish efforts. This elections business still has a way to go, and with overseers like Mr. Lowenfield, it could

Concede with dignity and you may also be honourably rewarded DEAR EDITOR, I am very disappointed in President Granger’s behaviour on the recount and his silence in the submission of a yet again fraudulent declaration (this time by Lowenfield saying the Coalition has won the elections).

It is un-godly for the President and the Coalition to claim victory amidst deliberate fraud to undo the verdict of the people. In their hearts, the President and those in the Coalition know they lost. The supporters also know and accept defeat. The President’s son-in-law and family members concede that we lost. Why is the President entertaining those bent on perpetuating fraud and misleading our supporters? Why prolong this agony fooling the supporters that we won?

The President should have disallowed his party to appeal the recount (seeking clarity for meaning of ‘more votes cast for President’) and encouraging Lowenfield to fabricate numbers showing

APNU-led Coalition has won.

The Caricom recount confirmed we lost. This fraud would not be accepted by the international community. Our country would become blacklisted and face sanctions. We will become a pariah state in the mould of apartheid South Africa, racist Rhodesia, and corrupt Zimbabwe. Even Caricom has hinted it would have nothing to do with Guyana and an illegal regime that emerges from fraud. Can you imagine the embarrassment that will come from sanctions from the ABCE countries and the Commonwealth? We will have to rely on Venezuela for survival like under the Burnham dictatorship.

Mr. President, your behaviour and actions are dehumanizing party supporters. You and the party have provided us with so many versions of the elections. Our party claimed victories five times with five different numbers. The versions and narratives keep changing with dizzying

frequency that we can’t cope any longer. It is becoming laughable and people are mocking us. We are embarrassed to walk the streets. We put our heads down when walking near supporters of the opposition.

At one time we used to walk proudly head high up while they looked down embarrassed at the corruption of their party in government.

Today behaviour mode is reversed. We are in a different mode, an embarrassed people, thanks to your silence on this fraud.

How can supporters sit as a family and accept this fraud and how can we watch ourselves in the mirror? What are we as adults telling our children? Is it okay to condone fraud? Are we saying that it is okay to change narrative when cornered with lies exposed?

Rather than be remembered in history as a rogue President in charge of a rogue regime in the mould of Mugabe and Maduro, why don’t you, Mr. President,

behave like F. W. DeKlerk (of South Africa) and accept defeat? DeKlerk, a white man, could have rigged elections and stay on as his predecessors did, but he allowed multi-racial democracy, free and fair election to triumph. He accepted the election result and ended one-race de facto dictatorship. He honourably exited the scene in true democratic spirit and was rewarded the Noble Prize given jointly with Mandela.

Mr. President, why don’t you also behave honourably?

Concede with dignity and you may also be honorably rewarded!

Mr. President, APNU supporters are largely Christian followers. It is contrary to our belief and practice to lie to our supporters. It is destroying our value system. Stop fooling our supporters!

Listen to the religious leaders! Let us accept electoral defeat and move on!

Yours truly, Bro. Joshua Emmanuel

From the grotesque to the gaudy DEAR EDITOR, The newest submission from CEO Lowenfield went from grotesque to grim. It should bring delight to Coalition supporters, except for one. As I have said early in what is now a fullfledged farce, count me out. I will not be a part of recognition or celebration of what is obviously filled with elements necessitating scorn and ridicule. I am so scorn.

I say this because to disqualify and discard over 115,000 is beyond the shocking.

It reeks of the sinister, as in arranging a continuing holding on to power for the Coalition by any perverse manipulation. I have serious issues with such flagrant disregard for what citizens lined up for, toed the line for patiently, and placed their mark between the lines for on Monday March 2.

I say this because what

Mr. Lowenfield did was to condemn those voters to non-entities and dismiss them to the void of non-persons.

In a flash of fevered imagination, he has made dead people of 115,000 followers and voters.

I believed in a process, one that was largely fair. Yes, I appreciate that cheating has occurred, as alleged by both sides; it is embedded in Guyana’s electoral DNA. But not to the degree or materiality asserted during the actual balloting regime. Not when the agents of both majors were present (or should have been). Not when they were expected to be honest for their group’s interests (or should have been).

Not when the Commonwealth, EU, and OAS all pronounced as credible the process in unanimity: passes smell tests, eye tests, and reasonableness tests.

Surely, the singular mathematical brilliance of the CEO of GECOM does not

go anywhere chosen, which is part of the tragedy of this society.

In an effort to convey the sense of national outrage, foreign history is revisited. Officials from Florida, who were involved in the extremely close 2000 US presidential election presented the world with something called “hanging chads”.

What was presented to GECOM on Tuesday amounted to no less than an arithmetical hanging of a quarter of Guyana’s voters. Those squeezed out voters can’t breathe, not when their aspirations and that of the overall collective will of the people are thwarted with such callous and cavalier contempt.

In some jurisdictions, what was placed before GECOM would constitute a hanging offense, when democracy is suffocated like this with the vile placed on its neck.

surpass that of the combined wattage of veterans from international fields.

I am willing to award Mr. Lowenfield the Nobel Prize (Guyana’s prestigious, lucrative equivalent) for displaying a beautiful mind, a most beauteous one, indeed.

Though I could have gone against (and I was weighing the merits) the persuasive reporting of the Commonwealth, EU, and OAS, especially the latter due to its troubling leadership, I could not go against one set of people. Meaning, the small group of observers from CARICOM. I thought and felt that they would do justice to any claim by the Coalition that it was a victim of exploitation through wholesale cheating.

I also trusted the three of them to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons.

They did and in the most convincing fashion for me.

This is what matters to me: how I could look at their effort and report, its honesty and theirs, too; how I could work my way through it, as to its pros and cons, and whether I could stand for in belief, or against in disbelief; and, last, how I can think, not only of what that team of three shared, but how I can think for myself and of myself.

As I placed my trust in CARICOM, I did the same with the president. He failed

me, and I failed myself. I can live with myself, but the president has to live before a nation.

He, too, attested that he trusted CARICOM. And then he faded. For today, there is forced resorting to the CCJ. The question I ask myself continually these days is this: why did I allow myself to be anywhere near to such a culture, such citizens; indeed, such a country.

But here I am, and I want to be clear: I am not of what the Coalition thinks or wishes to guide others in thinking.

When the party’s thoughts are towards what is clean and national, then I am all for that and it. I have no interest in any other thing or any other way.

By the same token, I care not for what the opposition is thinking on things elections, since it and the Coalition are of the same band of dirty brothers.

I think it prepared well, did a number on the Coalition, and now stands poised, in the absence of any meaningful evidence to the contrary, on the threshold of power. I wish it well, but I want no truck with it, or any damn one of the others. I regret where I am, but it is how I view most of them. I will take Venezuelans.

Before I leave, something else must be shared. In this backward country, anyone hoping and trusting, and (Continued on page 6)

Thursday June 25, 2020

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

Depoo’s last act was for free and fair election DEAR EDITOR, Randy Depoo took his final breath two weeks ago in Guyana championing free and fair elections (FFE). He wanted the right winner to be declared but did not live to see it because of what, he described, were the shenanigans of GECOM. He cast blame for the ongoing fraud on the CEO, Dep. CEO and Chair; the latter he felt could have put an end to the fraud months ago and hopes that she still would do the honourable thing.

Randy migrated to New York in mid 1970’s and decided to remigrate to Guyana months before the March 2 elections contributing to the struggle for FFE. He gave solid support to the FFE movement between 1985 and 1986 (when he became a US diplomat) and over the last several months.

I was closely involved in the FFE movement since my arrival in NY in 1977 to study medicine. At City College, I

encountered Randy’s younger brother Reynold (who worked at Jamaica Hospital) who was a few years my senior in science studies. A few others and I founded a West Indian Club at CCNY and Reynold used to occasionally attend our activities (Guyana Day, Christmas, Eid, Diwali, Phagwah, etc. that I jointly coordinated with other Indophile students). Reynold interacted occasionally showing little interest in Guyana affairs; he was immersed in his studies to become a doctor. But older brother Randy developed an interest in Guyana affairs and joined the FFE movement around 1985 long after he finished law studies. Randy and family (several brothers) and the Depoo clan (of cousins) lived in the Ridgewood section of Brooklyn, adjoining Queens. He studied at Brooklyn College obtaining a BA degree and later got acceptance to read law at Rutgers, one of the leading law colleges in America.

He settled there with his wife and kids for a while.Another brother, Sherlock, obtained an MA at Rutgers. And I met yet another brother Tilokee at New York University when I was pursing doctoral studies in Political Science; he studied economics.

Clearly, Randy came from a family of academic achievers.

Randy was called to the bar in Jersey and clerked briefly for a Judge in that state. He took the exam to work with the US Foreign Service. He succeeded and was hired for a State Department posting being sent to Manila, Caracas, Toronto, and Port of Spain for various stints. He also briefly worked at the State Department and acquired a home in neighbouring Virginia. His assignment ended when his posting in Trinidad was extended and came to an end around 2000 when he ended his diplomatic career. In Trinidad, where he retired, he practised immigration law (beginning around 2001) and deeply immersed himself in Guyana affairs as he was no longer a US diplomat. I used to

Unique national truths – elections ones DEAR EDITOR, The more I learn about this society during its elections’ travails, the less regard I have for what so many of my fellow citizens represent. It is what is so much an inseparable part of Guyana’s elections underbelly, its way of life.

Many citizens, not just the loud visible ones pontificating back and forth, put their lives on hold, and breathe one and one thing only -elections. It’s as if all that is sacred depend on the outcome of this national contest for power, what rises today to the level of mortal combat. Many moons ago, a political street player (I later was made to understand, he was a guerilla presence) proudly shared with me that ‘during elections times, mother and family do not exist’. Nothing does for too many here. Long before the world was introduced to such labels as fundamentalists and the like, we had them here.

Something is wrong with this picture…

Here elections outcomes are so much a matter of life and death that some distraught supporters are driven to the point of bitter tears when the prospects of loss become more obvious.

Tears? Over elections? This should convey how much I am acculturated to matters related to Guyanese elections brawls. I would venture that the tears of earlier give way to the gloom of clinical depression. This is bad, when this Guyana of ours is in such a tragic state, when its sons and daughters could be so

lost, when the bottom drops out of calculations, and electoral triumph look bleak.

And here I was thinking that it was only the nine-digit (hundreds of millions) cash contributors, who had gone overboard and advanced what was not fully theirs. My reaction is, surely no one can be this bad, this limited, this far gone… That is, until I remember how party leaders make mincemeat of them first, and utter fools of them again and again. Some country this is! What kind of people are these?

With these ruminations in mind, I can only surmise that many men and women in his country look for their daily bread-present and future, as counted by them-and existence itself to the results of national elections. This much can be gleaned from the mindless passions exhibited, the energies wasted and, last, the dirges of the many spirits crushed. Now that I am taking these into account, there is no longer astonishment at the hatreds and divisions that flash so fluently, and that are buried so deeply. These are the elements that last all the way into the next political cycle and contest when they are fully recharged to the point of overflow.

Before it slips me, I now introduce something else.

According to a development made public, one busy political character beating the rhythmic drums of triumph made clear his personal priority in no uncertain terms.

It was for one of the plum jobs in this town. It was reported

that when he was shown the error of his ambitions, exposure of rigging was threatened. Therein lies the fevered clash between personal paramountcy (what is in it for me) and that of ‘honour, duty, country’; the former always wins; the latter does not stand a chance. This is what passes for patriotic ideals in this country and the sacrifices associated with genuinely humble servanthood. If this is from the ranks of the newer faces in established party ranks, then not much must be expected from the newer younger wave.

On people like these, Guyana must build a viable foundation. May divine providence help us!

I read when we spout off about freedom and democracy, and the relevance of both here. But, at the core, we live in a state of bondage.

It is bondage to the most bitter partisan politics, of the ugliest racial hates, of intellect subverted, of character drowned, the emotional excesses, and the low (or high) personal ambitions, to which the wreckages of this society testify. Issues? There is the stockpile of suspect local political content I present for inspection. It is the equivalent of go for broke.

Give it all to get all that can be grabbed. It has already started. We need so much help; we are so deficient in what it takes, that the world recoils. I do, too. These are but a snapshot of unique national truths, elections ones.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

write on US immigration matters and I sought clarification on certain issues on sponsorship and citizenship.

In Trinidad, Randy organized varied activities and did fundraising drives for political forces in Guyana. I attended some of his Guyana Day activities in Trinidad and even met two of his brothers who had also lived there for several years at various functions before their re-migrating to the US and built careers in academia.

From Trinidad, Randy closely followed the CCJ matter relating to the so-called Jagdeo Third Term and subsequently the no confidence motion case. In my final encounters in Trinidad late last year, he told me he was re-migrating to Guyana. He sought my guidance on political issues relating to Guyana.

Several months ago, I met

Randy in Guyana where I was conducting surveys to predict the outcome of the election. And we also spoke on the phone on election day matters. He was posted as an observer on the East Coast.

He narrated a tale of election day abuses, intimidation, and fraud involving supporters of one party. He said he tried as best as he could, with limited support, to limit ballot stuffing and voter impersonation. He also gave support to some polling day workers and tried to offer protection to some poll workers and polling agents whose lives were threatened.

After the Mingo fraud, Randy spearheaded a movement to demand its reversal and declaration of the rightful winner of the election as per the count of SOPs that were confirmed by the recount. He obtained some

10K signatures that were presented to the US State Department calling for sanctions against those who were behind the Mingo fraud.

Clearly, Randy was very passionate about standing up for free and fair elections and democracy in his homeland.

He provided me with a lot of anecdotal incidents of fraud; these need eyewitness confirmation from other sources. We had agreed to meet after the COVID to examine the litany of incidents of election day abuses.

Regrettably, this would not be. The nation would miss Randy’s passion and dedication to the movement for free and fair elections. His parents and Guyana produced a good son to be remembered for his contributions to the nation.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

We must have the resolve to find a better solution DEAR EDITOR, The spirit of fair play seems to have been put aside by a number of persons involved in the elections process. As unsavory as some individuals may seem to others, if they have been selected by the democratic process, then we should as a democracy accept what the majority has decided.

If the democratic process is going to be neglected and the country is to be ruled by unilateral decision-making, then that decision has its own implications as to the type of society and country that will develop. It is not possible to have both structures of society peacefully coexist. This we have seen from the history of our country.

Fair play exists in a democratic system, but doesn’t in a power monopoly. Trade and development in the international community also develops differently and plans for such development will have to be considered if fair play is discarded in the elections process.

Many have attempted to mask unilateral rule with democratic systems, but none have been successful, with the exception of The

Monarchy. Even in situations of Military dominance, the long-term change has always reverted to the democratic system due to external pressure.

The crossroads are before us and the division in society is becoming more evident.

A solution can be developed that allows for peaceful mutual development, but does the will truly exist in what is now becoming a very polarized society with the added complexity of race and culture. These obstacles are not insurmountable, but they are difficult to navigate when emotions are high. Some serious thought should be given to these issues before a declaration is made. My recommendation is that the two leaders of the major parties meet in a calm setting and have a very direct and open discussion on what could be a possible resolution. The historical approach that has been taken only ends up punishing the entire country. We must have the resolve to find a better solution.

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

PAGE 6

Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

A source of relief to the dependants of police ranks who were killed in the line of duty DEAR EDITOR, Recently, I read with keen interest an article in the local press entitled, “The Execution of Big Six.” The missive recounted the slaughter of police constable 15418 Adrian Williams called Big Six on Saturday, July 6, 1996. The article brought back memories of Big Six, his murder and some important developments that followed.

Please permit me to share them with your readers.

I knew Big Six well. As the Force Training Officer, I interviewed and recruited him.

He told me that since he was a little boy he wanted to become a policeman. I was responsible for his initial training as a recruit. During that period of training, I discovered that he was well disciplined, very active and had a perpetual smile. He had

a very serious addiction for learning the job of a policeman. He graduated with high marks and excelled in the field of drill and weapon training. His instructor wrote, “A well disciplined trainee. He has the potentials to become a very senior police officer.” We developed a strong father/son relationship. We had numerous confabulations on various topics. After graduation, he was posted to Brickdam Police Station and then to East Ruimveldt Police Out Post.

Flashback! On Friday July 5, 1996, I chaired a closing ceremony for a Supervisors’ Course at the Felix Austin Police College, Georgetown.

Commissioner Laurie Lewis delivered the feature address.

In his address to the participants, he posited ”Whenever a policeman leaves his home to

go to work he does not know whether or not he will return home alive.” Those words would come back the next evening to haunt the Commissioner.

During the evening of Saturday July 6, 1996 while Big Six and Rural Constable Sean Jack were responding to a report in their station district, they came under attack by armed bandits. The gunmen riddled Big Six with bullets. He died at the scene.

He was the only child for his mother who by then had passed child-bearing age.

R.C. Sean Jack dropped his bicycle and bolted faster than Usain Bolt. He survived unscratched. He later moved to Berbice.

During the preparation for the wake and the funeral arrangements, I spoke with Commissioner Lewis. I reminded him of the words he uttered at the Felix Austin Police College and requested of him not to

repeat them again. He agreed, although he still held the view that no matter how routine the assignment might seem, a police officer life is often at risk. Death lurks around the next corner.

Deputy Commissioner Edward Wills who was responsible for overseeing the financial arrangements for the wake, the funeral and compensation to be paid to the mother of Big Six discovered to his chagrin that the money available was a mere pittance.

The compensation approved by the government was equated to that paid out to the families of policemen 4412 Inspector Whittington Brathwaite, 4590 Sergeant James Anderson, 5611 Constable James McKenzie and 5691 Constable William Norton who were killed during the 1969 Rupununi Uprising.

Wills was ashamed to offer it to the mother. Commissioner Laurie Lewis was perturbed but as usual, he saved the

The majority of Guyanese who cast their vote, expect and will accept nothing less than the swearing in of the elected President DEAR EDITOR, From the day I witnessed Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent tabulation of the District 4 balloted votes and the obvious endorsement of this naked attempt to rig the Elections in favour of APNU+AFC by Keith Lowenfield that I decided to add my voice to the demand that democracy prevails in our country.

It was evident, from the very day after the Elections, from the Statements of Poll, that the PPP/C had won a credible majority. The

Statements of Recount of every ballot cast have matched the Statements of Poll, establishing beyond doubt, that the PPP/C has been chosen by the majority of Guyanese to govern our country.

Yet, as he did with the No Confidence Motion, David Granger has again resorted to the Courts in a fruitless attempt to deny the will of the people. In fact, the same Court and the same Judges that were overruled by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the matter of the No

Confidence Motion.

I listened intently to the ruling of the Appeal Court, which, not surprising, ruled with the same division by the same Judges as occurred when first overruled by the CCJ. This further terrible waste of money and time financing enormous fees of Senior Counsels from Trinidad and Tobago and at home to further delay the inevitable, is shameful beyond forgiveness. It is David Granger who must bear this responsibility beyond all others.

It would be an appalling travesty of justice if the ruling of the Appeal Court was to somehow lead to a GECOM decision to put David Granger back in office by disenfranchising the vote of over sixty percent of the electorate. I cannot believe, even now, that David Granger would succumb to such a travesty.

A travesty of justice because not an iota of evidence has been put before GECOM to support the

spurious accusations invented by APNU+AFC that the ballots counted from the ballot boxes are anything but credible and valid.

All that the Court of Appeal has done is to rule that the majority of the votes cast are valid. No Court has been asked to rule on whether the allegations advanced by APNU+AFC are either credible or valid.

The total valid votes cast for each list of candidates have already been counted and confirmed by the Chief Elections Officer. It remains only for the number of seats to be officially calculated by him to be reported to GECOM and then for GECOM to formally declare PPP/C the elected government. The international community, the Caribbean Community, but, much more important, the majority of Guyanese who cast their vote, expect and will accept nothing less than the swearing in of Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali as the elected President of Guyana.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

day. He went outside of the box and brought sanity to the sad state of affairs. He thereafter pledged to thrive for a better package for the dependants of policemen killed in the line of duty and those who died while being a serving member of the Force.

Sometime later, with the financial assistance of members of the business community Commissioner Lewis established the Police Disaster Fund popularly called Benevolent Fund. The fund was established to assist the families of police ranks killed in the line of duty and those who died while serving.

Years later, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud took a page out of the book of Commissioner Laurie Lewis. He engaged the business community and members of various religious bodies and formedtheFallenHeroesFoundation Inc., which is intended to provide financial and other support for the children of the police ranks killed in the line of duty.

During the crime wave popularly called ‘The Troubles’, President Bharrat Jagdeo established a fund whereby the families of each police rank killed in the line of duty were awarded G$1M. Several policing establishments have similar facilities for their ranks. In the United States of America, there is the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit Programme. This programme awards death, disability and education assistance benefits to the

survivors of law enforcement officers killed or permanently and totally disable on the line of duty.

Another USA resource is the Concerns Of Police Survivors (COPS) Inc. The stated mission of COPS is to provide resources to assist in the rebuilding of lives of families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty as determined by federal criteria.

Perhaps, the Guyana Police Force can learn a few things from the American System to broaden and strengthen their benefits package.

Big Six did not live long enough to realise his true potentials. Bandits abbreviated his inning. However, his death influenced Commissioner Laurie Lewis to establish the much needed Police Disaster Fund or Benevolent Fund. As alluded to above, Commissioner Seelall Persaud replicated the work of Commissioner Laurie Lewis by establishing the Fallen Heroes Foundation Inc. These packages are playing a great role in bringing some amount of relief to the dependants of police ranks who were killed in the line of duty or who died while serving as members of the Force.

When I remember Big Six, tears will not come to my eyes, but a smile will emerge on my face. May he continue to rest in peace.

Yours respectfully, Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

Imagine this!

DEAR EDITOR, I got out and vote properly doing my part. Then GECOM fails to do its part.

Does this mean my vote is invalid? If the Guyana Constitution allows my vote to be invalid through no fault of my own then it is severely

flawed. MY VOTE can only become invalid through a fault of my own making and not through the actions of others.

That is what One Person, One Vote means.

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

Pharaoh Granger; let my people go DEAR EDITOR, Some people feel that they cannot get to heaven so they accept what hell has to offer, the trappings of this world.

So it would seem with

David Granger. Is he settling for what the world offers?

Pharaoh Granger, Let my people go!

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

From the grotesque...

From page standing for, this or that party is lauded by supporters of the side supported and despised by those not favoured.

That is normal, understood, and expected, though it should not be to the degree exhibited here. What is offensive to me, and in the extreme, is that when I stand for the conviction that the elections is/are over, then this is the equivalent of crossing the

floor. In other words, ‘eh, eh, like hee is now ah PPP maaan.’

With a national mentality and character like this, it is why we are where we are, when nothing else matters. And of such ugliness and vapidity, the CEO of GECOM stands as a sculpted and statuesque marvel to Guyanese shamelessness and disgracefulness.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

PAGE 07

Constitutional provisions on protecting national assets not being honoured - Conservationist, Int'l Lawyer A

By Kiana Wilburg

rticle 36 of the Constitution clearly states that the well-being of the nation depends upon preserving clean air, fertile soils, pure water, and the rich diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems. But when one considers this provision alongside the treatment of Guyana's oil assets, two of Guyana's key transparency advocates are of the firm belief that the said constitutional provision in being honoured is breached.

The two women making this point during a recent interview on Kaieteur Radio's programme, Guyana's Oil a n d Yo u , w e r e Conservationist Mrs. Annette Arjoon-Martins and I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a w y e r, Melinda Janki. They were in agreement that enough is not being done to ensure ExxonMobil's operations are not a clear and present danger to Guyana's environment.

In providing her perspective, Arjoon-Martins said, “I believe we have done extremely poorly on this

front. If you look at the three Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) that were done by ExxonMobil for their three projects (Liza One, Liza Two and Payara), it is clear that they have not had the most basic and rudimentary baseline studies done.”

The Conservationist argued that without these studies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the country at large, is unable to understand the animal life that is at risk once the three projects are brought on board.

“If you don't know what is there, then you have no idea of what compensation the country is entitled to when they are damaged…I think in the years we have attended consultations on these EIAs, and we highlighted this problem, it is a crying shame that it is not corrected,” the Conservationist stated.

As for Melinda Janki, she said that it is time the EPA starts using the powers

Conservationist, Annette Arjoon-Martins entrusted in it by its governing legislation and hold ExxonMobil and other oil companies accountable for their actions.

Expounding further, the attorney-at-law said, “…The Act gives the EPA great powers but they are not being used. It is not being enforced as it should…There is no reason for example, why ExxonMobil should be allowed to burn over nine billion cubic feet of gas and still operate.

The EPA is accepting that

Region One sets up isolation tents as space runs out in Moruca

H

ealth authorities of Region One, N o r t h We s t District (NWD) in conjunction with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) are now setting up eight isolation tents in Moruca as space runs out at other facilities.

The tents were installed yesterday at Sheba Ground, Santa Rosa, Moruca and are said to be equipped with special sanitization sensors.

Senior Response officer of the CDC Captain Salim October told Kaieteur News that the eight tents were donated by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He said that they will increase the capacity to isolate Covid-19 infected patients. “This new tent facility will serve as a back-up isolation centre to the Aquero Guest House and the Moruca District Hospital.”

October added that the tents will be monitored and managed by health officials attached to the district hospital. He explained that the number of infected persons to be isolated at

Isolation tents being set up at Sheba Ground, Santa Rosa, Moruca, Region One Sheba Ground will be determined by the region's Health authorities. Reliable sources told Kaieteur News that Santa Rosa's capacity to isolate Covid-19 cases is currently overwhelmed.

Authorities are currently grappling to find more space, according to sources.

H o w e v e r, R e g i o n a l Health Officer (RHO) of Region One, Dr. Steven Chefoon declined to confirm these reports, but said that a press release will be issued.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) Dr. Karen Boyle also told Kaieteur News that she is awaiting an update on the situation at Santa Rosa.

The DCMO added that if the reports are true then “government buildings in the Moruca district will have to be converted and used as isolation centres”. Moruca recorded its first case on May 21, when a former school teacher died of Covid-19.

Since then, there has been a significant increase in cases.

The Education Ministry subsequently stated that 11 teachers from that district had tested positive.

Within days of this announcement, Moruca reported 18 more positive cases taking the total to 45 in the region. This has now increased to 48 with three more new cases in the region.

EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams it's happening because of mechanical issues...” The international lawyer said that the EPA needs to stop accepting excuses from ExxonMobil and ensure there is corporate accountability. Further to this, the lawyer said that the EPA needs to ensure it has a 24/7 presence on the Liza Destiny so that it can avoid being in a position of simply accepting ExxonMobil's version of what is happening offshore Guyana.

IMPROVING

International Lawyer, Melinda Janki PERMIT When the Environmental Protection Agency learnt last year that ExxonMobil was releasing toxic chemicals into the atmosphere by burning significant amounts of gas, it did not believe that the situation would go beyond a few days, much less closing in on six months.

H e a d o f t h e Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Vincent Adams had told Kaieteur News that he was indeed embarrassed by the way things have

panned out and promised to ensure more accountability, starting with the closing of loopholes which allowed ExxonMobil to flare in the first place.

According to the permit, ExxonMobil is allowed to flare or burn some amount of associated gas during the start up of its operations. However, the permit is silent on what action the EPA should take if the operator experiences mechanical issues during start up.

In light of this loophole, ExxonMobil was allowed to burn associated gas while working towards fixing its “mechanical issues” being experienced with the gas compressor system for the Liza Destiny oil vessel.

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

The EPA Head said, “The flaring is now down to about 12 million cubic feet of gas per day. It is not where it should be but we are taking action…”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Thursday June 25, 2020

Govt. pays BK Int’l $74M more than his bid price

By Mikaila Prince

D

espite being the highest bidder for a project awarded last week by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Brian Tiwari's BK International Incorporated was, nonetheless, awarded a contract to the tune of $352M, some $74M more than its already relative high bid offer.

In a previous article, Kaieteur News had highlighted that NPTAB, and by extension the Ministry of Finance, had awarded a contract to construct rip-rap sea defences at Content, Mahaicony in Region Five, following massive floods within the district late last year.

BK International was one of the three companies who bid to secure the contract; the other two companies being MB Construction who bid $235,744,500 and Colin Talbot Contracting Services who submitted a bid of

- Company bid $278M, but contract signed for $352M $247,599,600, while the engineer's estimate was $184,521,000. BK's bid was $278,876,300 – some $31M over the next highest bid and more than $90M over the engineer's estimate.

Notably, procurement laws stipulate that when it comes to large scale contracts like the one BK was granted, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board is recommended to choose the lowest bidder.

Despite being the highest bidder for the contract, with a significant margin between what BK International bid and what was asked for by the engineer, the company was still awarded the contract.

This decision in itself raises concerns, taking into consideration that Cabinet is needed to approve these multi-million dollar contracts

A copy of the contract awarded

by NPTAB last week

and that constitutional body fell with the dissolution of Parliament in December of last year. Even with the unusual decision by NPTAB to award to the highest bidder, the award letter for this contract shows BK being granted the contract at a price of $352,121,250.

Upon noticing the significance variance with what was asked for by the company and what was awarded to them by the government, Kaieteur News reached out to the Deputy Chairman of NPTAB, Mark Bender. In an email that was dispatched to Bender yesterday afternoon, Kaieteur News requested an explanation for the inconsistencies with the costs.

However, up to press time, there was no response.

Non-adherence to Covid-19 precautions could leave Guyana with fewer frontline workers - Deputy CMO “ W

ith the recent spike of Covid-19 cases the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr. Karen Boyle is warning that persons who are ignoring Covid-19 precautions are putting a strain on Guyana's medical system.

Dr. Boyle said that the pandemic has already placed additional pressure on the nation's medical workforce.

This is because it is mandatory that a health worker who comes into contact or treats an infected person be isolated for 14 days. During this period, there is need for a staffer to replace that individual, and

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Boyle the cycle goes on.

“In order to maintain staff,

we have to rotate them regularly. We do this by sending some to areas where there are few or no Covid-19 infections,” Dr. Boyle said.

However, the recent spike has raised some concerns that the situation may be getting out of hand. Within the last seven days, Guyana's positive Covid-19 cases has jumped from 171 to 209.

This means that within the last week, 38 new cases have been reported. If this trend continues, according to Dr. Boyle, the medical workforce will be affected greatly.

She noted that Guyana cannot depend on retired nurses and doctors.

“We do not have a reserve of retired nurses and doctors that can be called out to work because they are more vulnerable to contracting the virus because of their age.”

Questioned as to what might be the cause for the recent rise in cases, the DCMO responded that persons are not adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines. “Persons are taking this thing for granted; people are still travelling, going to parties and not using masks.

Persons are taking this thing for granted; people are still travelling, going to parties and not using masks. They are even forgetting to social distance.

”

“

We do not have a reserve of retired nurses and doctors that can be called out to work because they are more vulnerable to contracting the virus because of their age.

”

They are even forgetting to social distance.”

Dr. Boyle even told Kaieteur News that the Ministry is spending money to procure tests and even investing in transportation for these tests to be available in all regions.

Despite this, persons are refusing to be tested while others don't even want to be isolated. She asserted that if there is no responsibility taken by citizens, then there is not much that can be done to avoid the situation spiraling out of control.

Private Sector Commission calls for Lowenfield's suspension From page 3 which has general supervisory authority over the process, as stated in the recount order.

“Instead of carrying out the request of the Chairman of the Elections Commission made to Mr. Lowenfield in her letter of 16th June, 2020,” the PSC stated, “to use “the results of the Recount for the

consideration of the Commission”, in his Report, Mr. Lowenfield attached a Table which he arbitrarily and unilaterally seeks to disenfranchise some… 25% of the persons who legitimately cast their votes in a completely valid process on Election day…”

It pointed out that Lowenfield's report is “clearly fraudulent and

represent[s] a blatant, if not criminal, attempt by Keith Lowenfield to manipulate the results of the Elections in favour of the APNU+AFC and to subvert the very responsibility of the Commission of which he is an officer and bound to serve professionally.”

Also notable, according to the

PSC, is that Lowenfield's apparently biased conduct did not begin at the submission of this report.

Lowenfield had attempted twice to present for declaration a report on the elections results to the Commission, including fraudulent declarations made by Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont

Mingo, despite widespread international condemnation of Mingo's flagrant breach of the law.

The PSC said that it expects the Chair to conform to the order of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) by refraining from making any declaration until the hearing and determination of the case, and its final orders.

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 18, 2020

PAGE 09

Land belongs to the people T

he lands which are held by the State, whether through a public corporation or otherwise, essentially belong to the people. Governments are just trustees of the assets of the people. As agents of the people, they have to act in the best interests of the people.

When it comes to State lands therefore, it is necessary that these lands are disposed in a manner that is transparent and otherwise ensures the best possible deal for the people.

Prime lands have recently been disposed of by the government. Questions are being asked – and answers should be provided - about

these transactions to ensure that the best prices were obtained.

The mudflats of the former Guyana Rice Board were formally leased to a business concern. Full title has now been passed to that business. The transactions took place just prior to the March 2 elections. This ought not to have happened.

No government should be selling State lands days before an elections.

It was said that the lease arrangement had given the business an option to buy. But as was pointed out before in this column an option to purchase does not accrue an automatic option to sell on the part of the State. In other

words, not because there is clause providing such an option means that the government is obligated to sell.

The property is located in a prime location. There is a high demand for such prime real estate and there are not many riverside properties available. One estimate has put the market value at close to US$5M. However, the details of the sale have not been made public and therefore it is not clear just how much the government has received for the mudflats.

The public has a right to know. Public lands belong to the citizens of a country. The least which can be done is for

the government to make public the price at which the land was sold so that the public can assess whether that price approximated to its market value. Members should not be kept in the dark about these matters since the public can act as watchdog to ensure that there is value for money.

The second set of prime lands, which were sold recently were 132 acres at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.

Given the proximity of the lands to the Eugene Correia International Airport and the proposed Headquarters of Exxon Mobil, these lands would have a high market value.

The National Industrial

Duo jailed 2 years, fined $99M for trafficking cocaine

Jailed: John Da Silva and Kevin Fitz Gordon (right)

A

lmost three years after being charged for trafficking over 210 lbs of cocaine, John Da Silva, called 'Martin,' and Kevin Fitz Gordon, 34, have been

sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined $99,701,700.

Da Silva, Martin,' of Grant Strong Hope, Lower Pomeroon and Gordon, of Jib Housing Scheme,

Essequibo, were sentenced

by Magistrate Esther Sam in the Suddie Magistrate's Court.

In handing down her ruling, Magistrate Sam noted that the prosecution proved every aspect of the matter and as such, she found the defendants guilty of smuggling the narcotics in a vessel.

The men were both released on $1M bail in September 2017.

After the Magistrate handed down her ruling Gordon, via Skype indicated to the Magistrate that he is in Aranka. The Magistrate however, told Gordon to present himself to the nearest police station so that

Dem boys seh...

An election coup tekkin place A chicken see a goat running down the road at top speed. De chicken tun to de goat and ask: “Why are you running?”

De goat reply: “The police arresting all pigs.”

“But you are not a pig,” replied the chicken.

“Dat is true,” says the goat.... “But it will take 20 years to prove that in a Guyanese court.”

Upon hearing dat, de chicken buss a sprint too.

Dem boys seh de election case gon drag out lang, lang.

Some of dem Ministers already pack up dem stuff and seh goodbye to dem senior staff.

But it look like dem gon

gat to be giving instruction from home because de election results still in court and it nah look like it gon finish any time soon.

Dem boys rememba wha Keith De Row- lee talk. He talk dat yuh does gat to be concern when elections become court matter.

Dem boys seh dat what we witnessing in Guyana is an election coup. It is the most brazen and barefaced attempt to steal an election.

Dem boys believe dat nuff people and institutions dun get taint and compromise.

But dem boys nah running. Dem staying right hay wheh dem navel string

bury.

Dem know dat de rightful winner of de elections gon eventually be declared.

People can huff and puff all dem want. Yuh can’t defy de world and get away with it. Two big lady done talk yesterday.

De Caricom lady talk and de Commonwealth Lady talk. Dem nah mekkin joke.

Dem send dem people hay and now it look like GEECum trying fuh mek dem a fool.

But is only a matter of time before dem visa get pull and bankbooks get freeze.

Talk half and remember who laugh last does laugh de loudest.

he can begin serving his sentence.

Da Silva and Gordon had denied the charge, which stated that on July 17, 2017 in the Pomeroon River, they trafficked 94.954 kilogrammes (210 lbs) of (continued on page 16)

Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) should make public the valuation of the lands, the prices at which it was sold and the amount which will be remitted to the Guyana Sugar Corporation.

The investors are going to make a ton of money when they develop these lands.

There was no reason why, therefore, the sugar company could not have themselves sold or themselves developed these lands.

It seems as if the thinking within the government is that the sugar company should only be producing sugar. But what is there to stop the sugar company from being involved in real estate development? GuySuCo can make far more money by developing its lands than by simply disposing them.

Land sales should not be used to cover operating expenses. The sale of lands should be used strictly for investments. If you have to sell your property just to pay your electricity bill, then you are effectively decapitalizing your business.

The land sales should be invested and the proceeds from that investment should then be used to meet capital expenses.

This is what Norway does with its Natural Resource Fund. It invests the monies and only spends the interests of profits it makes from the investments.

When the State sells properties, this money should benefit the people. It should not all be put at the disposal of the government. The government should create a special fund and put 50% of all land sales into this Fund.

After the Fund has accumulated a fair sum of money, the proceeds should be divided among the people.

After all, the land belongs to the people. It should not benefit a few private individuals when there are thousands of landless persons in Guyana and thousands of persons who should be able, over time, to receive a cheque in the post each month from the sale of public assets.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Thursday June 25, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Lo Lo playing his stereo low while the world watches him M

y belief is that the CCJ will rule against APNU+AFC. I don't know what orders are being asked for. If the CCJ upholds the PPP's request then we return to the position before the intervention of the court of Appeal, meaning that GECOM has to consider the current report of Lowenfield.

The lawyers for the opposition parties could also ask the court for certain orders one of which could include compelling GECOM to accept the recount based on

the CARICOM report. One thing is certain, absolutely definite and scientifically conclusive – if Claudette Singh accepts the current submission of Lowenfield, then Guyana will face terrible consequences from disapproving international forces.

What Lowenfield submitted is only found in comic books. Powerful countries will consider the acceptance of the Lowenfield document a grotesque insult to international norms guiding democracy and a

personal affront and thus will not continue to do business with Guyana. Once Singh votes in a four versus three formula for the Lowenfield report, the world will reject the Granger presidency.

The Lowenfield account of the 2020 election is so incredibly gruesome and horribly grotesque that no influential government that is friendly with Guyana will accept a Granger presidency.

After what Barbadian Prime Minister, Mia Mottley said yesterday, it is clear that she will not be one of the CARICOM countries to recognize a Granger presidency. It is definite another CARICOM state, St. Vincent will not accept Granger as the president of Guyana.

Mottley asked a question that Singh will find impossible to answer - Who gave Lowenfield the right to dissolve 115, 000 votes? Here is the answer to that question.

Guyana has 10 regions. In each region in a national election, there is a Returning Officer (RO) and a Deputy RO. When each RO submits his/her report, the Chief Election Officer (CEO) can

only change those numbers based on investigation and resulting evidence.

So the CEO takes away 100 votes from Xanadu school in Region 1; 400 in Manadu school in Region 2; and 500 in Kanadu school in Region 3. This is a total of 1000 votes the CEO has rejected. But he can only do so after consulting with the ROs in those three Regions and showing them the evidence he has that those 1000 votes were fictional.

What Singh has to demand from Lowenfield irrespective of what is going on in the CCJ, because it is her obligation as chairperson, is to ask Lowenfield why he scrapped 115, 000 votes and where is the corroborating evidence from the ROs and DROs. What will take place in the CCJ on Wednesday has no bearing on what Singh has to do. She has the CEO's tabulation in front of her that differs immensely from what the recount as certified by the CARICOM recount team.

She has to demand an explanation.

A good example is the votes for the joint list team of A New And United Guyana (ANUG), The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TMN).

The CARICOM supervised recount team came up with about 5000 votes. In the current report by

Lowenfield, they got about 3000. How did those 2000 votes vanish? These are the questions Singh must ask ASAP from Lowenfield.

It is stupid for any lawyer, academic, politician and educated person to think that you have an election commission and it must accept the report of its Chief Elections Officer and legally there is no way that his report can be refused. It means then that elections are essentially a process that has no meaning and the only meaning given to it is by the Chief Elections Officer.

If Granger thinks that the CEO's report is final and cannot be rejected even though it conflicts with the CARICOM team he invited, and whose professionalism he told Guyanese he recognizes, then not only the term 'sanctimonious gangster' is appropriate when applied to him but he is a basic fool.

Lowenfield has reduced Guyana, Granger, the PNC and AFC to clowns. You can

Frederick Kissoon tell by the tone of Mottley that she thinks that the election masquerade here has embarrassed the CARICOM region when she said, “it is not our finest moment.”

Lowenfield has now emerged as one of the most detestable citizens the world has produced. But he is also one of the silliest humans the world gave birth to. This man does the grizzliest things and believes the world will accept them. He wanted five months to recount 400, 000 ballots.

Now he has taken away 115, 000 votes from an election with just the stroke of a pen.

LO LO has stooped far too low to do his thing. He will be the subject of a criminal investigation for sure.

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

Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Thursday June 25, 2020

Cops release Road deaths climb to seventy, suspects in Tain bikers account for 30 victims pensioner's murder

M

T

he four men who were arrested in connection with the murder of 83-year-old Chandradai Bhudu have been released.

Police have been unable to unearth any evidence linking them to the crime.

This publication was told that while the woman's home was ransacked, it was impossible to determine if anything was missing.

Bhudu was found dead in her bedroom in the bottom flat of her two storey wooden home at Tain Settlement, Corentyne, Berbice.

Her limbs, mouth and neck were tied with pieces of cloth and her nose was bleeding when she was discovered by a neighbour who would normally help her with chores and cook for her. The entire building was ransacked.

Used latex rubber gloves were found at the s cen e. Th eir p r es en ce suggested that the killers

Killed: Chandradai Bhudu may have worn them to avoid leaving prints.

A post mortem revealed that she died from asphyxiation due to strangulation, compounded by blunt trauma to the head.

H e r n e p h e w, A s h t o n Deonarine had told the media that she was robbed and beaten twice before.

otorcyclists account for 30 of the 70 road accident victims for this year. This was disclosed by Traffic Chief Linden Isles, who says that this high number of deaths is due to the presence of more motorcyclists on the roadways, and the fact that many riders refuse to wear helmets.

He pointed to the fact that many of the victims suffered head injuries.

The Traffic Department recorded 53 road deaths for a similar period last year.

Isles described recent days as “horrible�, in which four people, including a police sergeant, perished last Sunday.

Three of the victims were motorcyclists. At around 15:00 hrs last Sunday, 19year-old Mickle Jones of Middle Road Pourderoyen, West Bank Demerara and 21-year-old Shar Scott of Samaroo Dam Pourderoyen, died after their motorcycles crashed into a car.

That same day, Sergeant

Dead: Shar Scott, 21

Dead: Mickle Jones, 19

Police Sergeant Lakhan Persaud Lakhan Persaud, 24, died after his car swerved off the Land of Plenty Public Road, Essequibo. He crashed into three parked vehicles.

And around 19:00 hrs that night, Sheldon Major, 16, was killed when an unidentified vehicle struck the motorcycle he and his 14-year-old cousin Christopher Pollard were riding.

Police are still to apprehend the driver.

Sheldon Major (dead) with his injured cousin, Christopher Pollard (Photo courtesy of Inews)

Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday June 25, 2020

Kupanda Sisters Inc. celebrates first anniversary this week K

upanda Sisters Inc. will be celebrating its first anniversary on Saturday June 27, 2020 from 15:00 hrs. to 16:30 hrs. via Zoom under the theme “Literacy is a Human Right.”

The anniversary event will be a reflective celebration of the challenges and opportunities, which the organization has encountered over the past year. It will also be a time to recognize those who have measurably contributed to the success of the organization and gather support for the work that needs to be done.

The anniversary event will be graced by the Ms. Noella Coursaris, a Congolese/Cypriot philanthropist and international model and the Founder and CEO of Malaika.

This is a grassroots nonprofit organization that educates and empowers girls and communities in the

Democratic Republic of Congo, and is also a voice for the power of girls' education worldwide.

Founded in 2007, Malaika's education and health programmes are offered free of charge and today impacts thousands of lives.

Musunka has shared her insight at a number of worldclass forums spanning the Concordia Summit and the World Economic Forum in Davos to the university halls of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In 2017, she was named one of the BBC's 100 Most Influential and Inspirational Women of the year, and in 2018, she received an award at the 100 Year of Mandela celebration.

Also present will be A n d r e w K a y A n d r e w, founder and CEO of the Wo r l d Literacy Foundation, a global notfor-profit charitable group that strives to ensure that

youths, regardless of geographic location, have the opportunity to acquire literacy and reading skills to reach their full potential.

Andrew worked in the NFP sector for 30 years with a passion for education for all. In 1998, he was awarded citizen of the year for his service to the community.

Also present will be: *Ms. Audrey Sue, headmistress of Sophia Primary School. *Neville A. Welch, who was born in Albouystown and grew up in Tiger Bay. He graduated from the Dolphin Primary School and subsequently Charlestown Secondary School.

Mr. Welch later graduated from Kingsborough Community College after migrating to the United States. Neville has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration ( M B A ) f r o m Wa l d e n University. He was later enlisted into the United States Marine Corps where he graduated from the School of Infantry.

More recently, Neville was a military advisor to a member of the United States congress. Over the past 18 years, he has served in the Marine Corps with courage and distinction. Neville is extensively involved in the local community, he has

many personal decorations and he enjoys spending quality time with his family. *Autum Rose is a twelve-year old Fashion Designer and CEO of her brand d'ObviousRose launched in 2016. Through her “Heart full of Dreams” project, at least once a year, she has been taking some time to remind young children of the importance of having DREAMS. Anaya Lee Willabus is a thirteen-year old award winning author of four books. Her first book, “The Day Mohan Found His Confidence” was written after her inaugural trip to her parents' homeland of Guyana in 2014. She went on to publish a book on May 30, 2015. Anaya believes that children should always incorporate reading into their daily lives for their success.

Kupanda Sisters originated from the childhood experiences of its founder who grew up in illiteracy and poverty.

As a child, Ms. Charles spent many days memorizing passages rather than learning to read. Her lowest point came when she failed the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) exams, which caused her to feel the burden of disappointing her entire family. Ms. Charles then began to take private literacy lessons, which marked the

Noella Coursaris

Andrew Kay beginning of her literacy renaissance.

The Kupanda Sisters was launched in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, South America, on May 25, 2019, and it was incorporated in New York in April of 2019.

In Swahili, “Kupanda” means “rise.” The mission of Kupanda Sisters is to uplift women and young people in underserved communities by providing them with quality literacy resources and skills that would equip and empower them to become meaningful contributors to their communities and world.

A release from the group stated that: “Similarly, Kupanda Sisters envisions a world in which people of underserved communities have free, timely, and reliable access to quality educational resources.

“Kupanda Sisters will deliver quality and effective literacy programming, resource allocation, mentorship, literacy and personal development, and community stewardship.

It stated that Kupanda Sisters partnered with Sophia Primary School in Georgetown, Guyana. The pilot programme began in 2019, as the inaugural class consisted of 10 academically at-risk students and 10 high achievers. Through a series of workshops and teambuilding projects, all participants will learn the value of teamwork, leadership, respect, and compassion.

“This curriculum is consistent with the Ministry of Education targeted Literacy Standards and Benchmarks for Phonemic Aw a r e n e s s , P h o n i c s , Vo c a b u l a r y, F l u e n c y, Comprehension and Written Expression, and is structured into six modules.

The students meet every (continued on page 16)

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

PAGE 15

WHO predicts more widespread coronavirus cases in Central & South America - countries deprived of oxygen concentrators as demands outweigh supply, says virus has not peaked yet

T

he World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday reported that the situation in the Americas (Central, South and Latin America) has not yet witnessed its peak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and is expected to see more widespread cases in coming weeks.

Currently, the Americas account for half of the coronavirus cases globally (4,507,006 out of 9,129,146 cases) with Brazil having more than one million cases.

“The epidemic in general in the Americas is still intense. It is particularly still intense in Central and South America […]and we've seen a steady and

worrying continuation of the trend, with many countries experiencing between twenty-five and fifty percent rise in cases over the last week,” Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of Health Emergencies Programme of WHO said.

Dr. Ryan described the situation in the Americas as “still evolving” since it has not yet reached its peak and is likely to result in a sustained number of cases and continued deaths in the coming weeks.

It was noted that countries in this region are not reaching a low transmission level that would allow for a sustainable exit from

lockdowns. As such, governments were called on to have an “all-government approach” and clear communication with their citizens on measures taken for self-protection and community response.

The need for sustained investment in public health infrastructures and the capacity to trace and isolate suspected cases and the capacity to quarantine their contacts, to avoid or slow the manifestation of the predictions was also emphasised by Dr. Ryan.

“It is very difficult to take the sting out of this pandemic or this epidemic in a country unless you can successfully isolate cases

and quarantine contacts. In the absence of a capacity to do that, the spectre of further lockdowns cannot be excluded,” he stated.

As the situation worsens, the global need for oxygen ventilators and concentrators for critically ill patients continues to rise.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, DirectorGeneral of WHO reported that the need for oxygen concentrators for critically ill COVID-19 patients is at an all-time high.

Patients with severe COVID-19 cannot get enough oxygen into the blood by breathing normally and need higher concentrations of oxygen

WHO's Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of Health Emergencies Programme and support to get it to their lungs. If left untreated, severe COVID-19 can lead to organ failure and result in death.

With WHO's figures reflecting a current rate of

one million new cases a week, the world needs about 620,000 cubic metres of oxygen a day or about 88,000 large cylinders.

Eighty percent (80%) of the world is owned by a few companies. Given the fact that demand currently outweighs supplies, several countries are not able to get the much-needed supplies.

TVET classes online, learning packages also available

T

he Ministry of Education's Technical a n d Vo c a t i o n a l Education and Training (TVET) department has been reviewing their teaching methods to ensure they can continue to reach their students during the COVID-19 pandemic and after.

Deputy Chief Education Officer (Technical), Patrick Chinedu told DPI that currently, some TVET instructors are conducting their programmes online while some institutions have also designed “learning packages”.

“The learning packages are distributed to students who are unable to access the internet especially those in the hinterland regions and those in the Region 5 riverain communities,” Chinedu disclosed.

Deputy Chief Education Officer (DCEO), Patrick Chinedu He explained that online teaching has formed part of the curriculum in several TVET institutions for the last three years.

Therefore, during the pandemic,

several teachers continued their programmes via this method.

The DCEO also disclosed that the department has been working to determine how best they can consolidate these methods of teaching, especially in like of the pandemic.

“We have been meeting and discussing various formats to enhance what we are doing.

Therefore, going forward, we are going to be using a blended method. This means interventions will be implemented to streamline online teaching as well as enhance our preparation for learning packages,” he explained.

Among these interventions is online registration; Chindeu said of M a y, m a n y o f t h e T V E T institutions have moved away from the “face-to-face hard copy

application process.”

Additionally, a decision will be taken as to which preferred platform will be used by the institutions to host online programmes. Currently, instructors are using either Zoom or Edmodo.

There is also a plan to have each TVET institution furnished with their own website by the end of 2020.

Chinedu said to ensure these objectives are met, they have already requested full access to the internet for their instructions to enhance their work and several pieces of equipment.

“We have also requested laptops and tablets for teachers as well as projectors and television recorders to assist in the classroom.

Whenever school reopens, we will have to implement social

distancing, therefore in our classrooms and labs, there will be no more than 10 students while the rest will join the classroom virtually. So, these tools will be necessary.”

The department has also reached out to TVET teacher in secondary schools to ensure they have the necessary equipment and training to use the online platforms.

Finally, Chinedu said the department is currently conducting a survey to ascertain what are some of the concerns facing the students it relates to the online programmes – for example, whether they have any access to the internet, and if they do, the stability of the service provided.

This data he noted will inform them as to what interventions will need to be implemented.

PAGE 16

Minnesota sues Exxon, others over climate change

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www.msn.com: The state of Minnesota sued Exxon Mobil and other players in the oil and gas industry on Wednesday over climate change, claiming they knew about the impacts fossil fuels would have on the environment and misled the public.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) filed the suit against Exxon, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and three Koch Industries entities.

The defendants are accused of making inaccurate statements that were "part of a conspiracy to defraud consumers and the general public, including consumers and the public in Minnesota, about

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Trinidad & Tobago- Caribbean Airlines has reported that the first quarter of 2020 was on course to be another successful period of performance, prior to the impact of COVID-19 in March.

Caribbean Airlines performance for January and February 2020 surpassed the previous year 2019.

Earnings before interest and taxes increased by 2.5% or $662.5k TTD with revenues increasing by 5.3% or $21.8m TTD. “This increase in revenues was resultant from better passenger numbers of 5.8% or 21,112; and cargo services have continued to operate throughout the year.”

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climate change and the role of fossil-fuel products in climate change."

Ellison's suit cited scientific evidence allegedly provided to the groups going back as far as the 1950s.

"By 1965, Defendants and their predecessors-in-interest were aware that the scientific community had found that fossil-fuel products, if used profligately, would cause global warming by the end of the century, and that such global warming would have wideranging and costly consequences," the suit said.

It also accused them of funding "fraudulent scientific research" in an attempt to create uncertainty.

Paul Afonso, API's chief legal officer and senior vice president, told The Hill, however, that the industry has provided "affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint."

"Any suggestion to the contrary is false," Afonso said.

Exxon spokesman Casey Norton told The Hill in a statement that the suit's claims are "baseless and without merit" and said the company "will continue to invest in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting society's growing demand for energy."

This is not the first lawsuit accusing Exxon of downplaying the impacts of climate change.

New York sued the company in 2018, accusing it of deceiving investors, but a judge ruled in Exxon's favor in December. Massachusetts has also sued Exxon over climate change.

"The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry has achieved its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint. Any suggestion to the contrary is false," Afonso said.

TT govt. to bail out CAL as COVID-19 halts strides

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Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 (1)Two bedroom apartment for Rent Durban Street $60,000 per month.Tel#666-9494.

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Figures for March or the first quarter overall have not been stated due to the abnormal impact of the lockdown.

Marina Chase, Chief Financial Officer, said: “The first two months of 2020 were very encouraging, with load factors and overall performance for the period trending better than

Kupanda Sisters Inc....

From page 14 Saturday for two hours. A typical session is focused literacy: where the students spend time improving on their reading skills, comprehension, writing, vocabulary, phonics, storytelling, and interactive educational games. In addition, we invite motivational speakers to encourage participants to harness their passion for literacy and personal development.

Ms. Charles stated, “The leadership team at Kupanda Sisters is excited about the upcoming anniversary celebration. They are also grateful for all the support and resources donated to the organization as it strives to uplift women and young people in underserved communities through quality and reliable educational resources.”

2019, which itself was a strong year for Caribbean Airlines.

The Airline was well poised for another great year prior to the advent of Covid-19.”

COVID 19 has impacted airlines and air travel globally with Caribbean Airlines being no exception.

The airline said it continues to manage its financial and operational situation on a short-term basis.

“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has guaranteed a US $66.5M loan to the airline, to assist in alleviating some of the cash-flow shortfall originating from the lockdown and global economic impact.

This loan is currently being arranged with financial institutions and will be repaid

out of future income.”

According to the airline, from the onset of 2020, the airline maintained a firm approach to cost management and with the technology implemented in 2019, such as the Mobile App and products like Caribbean Explorer and Caribbean Vacations, customers can more easily customize their travel.

“Branded fares offered more choice and greater flexibility, allowing customers to pay only for the amenities they need. These are just some of the elements that would have contributed to increased passenger demand. Additionally, new cargo interline partners expanded the airline's network for freight shipping and handling.”

Duo jailed 2 years, fined...

From page 9 cocaine.

According to the details of the charge, which was presented by Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) prosecutor Konyo Sandiford, on the day in question, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard ranks came upon a vessel offshore and the occupants attempted to flee.

Da Silva and Gordon were later arrested and subse-

quently charged for the offence.

Gordon was charged by CANU for a similar offence in 2015. However, he was acquitted for the 2015 narcotics charge.

He was later arrested by CANU after he was found with a large quantity of US currency in his possession and he was handed over to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

US, UK, Canada, EU call on GECOM to declare results using recount figures - Reminds Granger that CARICOM is “most legitimate interlocutor”

A

mbassadors to major Western countries are trusting the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to use the results of the National Recount of votes to make a declaration, and bring Guyana's protracted electoral process to an end.

A joint statement came from Ambassador of the United States of America, Sarah-Ann Lynch; the British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn; the Canadian High C o m m i s s i o n e r, L i l i a n Chatterjee; and the Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Fernando PonzCanto. “It is important in our view,” they said, “that every vote, cast by every voter, be reflected in that declaration, in order to ensure that the will of the people of Guyana is respected.

That respect includes an election declaration of results that mirrors the order and integrity displayed by the people of Guyana, GECOM and party officials, as witnessed by domestic and international observers during the 2nd March General and Regional Elections.”

The statement is a direct response to news of a report submitted by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield to the Elections Commission, which seeks to rob 115,844 voters of their franchise in the General Election, and hand a victory to the APNU+AFC Coalition.

Lowenfield has provided no explanation for his numbers, which stand starkly in contrast to the results of the recount, which hand the

British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn

US Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch

Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee

European Union, H.E. Fernando Ponz-Canto

PPP/C a General Election victory of 233,336 votes, over the Coalition's 217,920 votes.

The Ambassadors reminded President David Granger that it was he who referred to the CARICOM team that hailed the results as credible, as “the most legitimate interlocutor” on the Guyana situation.

That team has reported on its observation on the National Recount and has said that, “nothing we witnessed, warrants a

challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of results of the March 2, 2020 elections.”

The President had committed to respecting the judgment of the CARICOM team, but he has been silent on the report since it was handed over to GECOM, while members of his party and the Commissioners who he nominated to GECOM continue to cast aspersions on the conclusions reached by the team.

T h e W e s t e r n ambassadors made sure to applaud the Guyanese public for their patience and peacefulness, having had to wait more than 16 weeks for the electoral process to conclude.

Pending the outcome of the appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the ambassadors await the Elections Commission to fulfill its constitutional duty by ensuring the democratic choice of Guyana is fulfilled.

PAGE 17

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Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

Thursday June 25, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Secretary General says...

From March 3 to June 22…

Billions in post-elections Lowenfield’s actions contrary to fundamental principles of 54 projects awarded by NPTAB States of the Commonwealth Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield’s attempt to alter the results of the National Recount to favour the APNU+AFC coalition, has met the ears of the Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Baroness Patricia Scotland, who has responded to say that his report is contrary to the fundamental principles of the 54state family, enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

Democracy is one of the core values and principles of the Commonwealth, as declared in its charter.

“The Commonwealth Charter recognises the inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which they live and for this right to be protected and respected,” Scotland noted.

“It has recently been reported,” Scotland said, “that the Chief Elections Officer has presented results to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) that do not reflect that which was certified at the end of the recount process.”

The recount has shown the PPP/C to have won the General Election with 233,336 votes, ahead of APNU+AFC’s 217,920 votes. Lowenfield has presented an unjustified revision of the results of the recount, which

Commonwealth Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland

seeks to place victory into the hands of the APNU+AFC coalition, and disenfranchise 115,844 voters.

Scotland said that this is concerning, and called on all stakeholders to ensure that their duty to a fair and transparent political process is upheld.

“Guyana is a valued member of our Commonwealth family,” Scotland said.

In this regard, as well, she said that there are consequences to be considered, to Guyana’s reputation as a democratic country, if Lowenfield’s departure from the results of the recount is allowed to stand.

Scotland welcomed the

statement by CARICOM Chair, Mia Mottley, made yesterday, which touted the integrity of the CARICOM report which pronounced that Guyana’s elections were credible and that the recount results are “completely acceptable”.

“The CARICOM Report was clear,” Scotland said, “that the recount results represented the will of the people of Guyana as expressed on 2 March 2020 when they exercised their right to vote.”

She commended the Guyanese people for their continued patience and peace, and encouraged them to continue in that manner.

Between March 3 to June 22, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) awarded over $2B in contracts for just over 45 governmental projects, according to information gleaned from NPTAB’s website on contracts awarded during that period.

The $1B contract to retrofit the Ocean View Hotel on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD); the $352M awarded to BK International Incorporated to construct rip rap sea defenses in Mahaicony, Region Five; the 130 acres of prime land which is also situated on the ECD, and which have carried a price tag of millions of dollars, are just some of the big-money projects that have been awarded by the tender administration board since March 2, the date of the Guyana’s General and Regional Elections.

Other contracts, which are smaller when compared to the enormous contracts listed above, include $107M awarded to General Engineering Supplies for operations and security of National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) mobile and fixed pumps within Regions Two, Three and Four; $84M awarded to Ramapign Wilson Construction for the remodeling and rehabilitation of two police stations, one in Wismar, Region 10 and the other in Mahdia, Region Eight; and $60M awarded to Memorex Enterprise for operation, servicing and monitoring of heavy-duty equipment under the NDIA. These contracts listed are just three of some 43+ contracts, which carry a price tag of $838M in total, as NPTAB data shows.

The award of such contracts in a post-election environment is problematic, as Section 54 of the Procurement Act of Guyana

NPTAB Chairman, Berkley Wickham specifically states that, “The Cabinet shall have the right to review all procurements the value of which exceeds fifteen million Guyana dollars. The Cabinet shall conduct its review on the basis of a streamlined tender evaluation report to be adopted by the authority mentioned in Section 17 (2).”

The Act went on to state that, “The Cabinet and, upon its establishment, the Public Procurement Commission, shall review annually the Cabinet’s threshold for review of procurements, with the objective of increasing that threshold over time so as to promote the goal of progressively phasing out Cabinet involvement and decentralizing the procurement process.”

By taking into consideration that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) dissolved Parliament in December of last year, thereby resulting in the fall of Cabinet, it leaves questions regarding which constitutional body the government received approval from to award contracts such as the $1B

renovations to the Ocean View Hotel, the $352M sea defence project, as well as the contract to market Guyana’s portion of oil.

Even as the Procurement Board had announced that it had raised the threshold for ministries and State agencies for goods and services to $10M, while the limits for construction contracts would be $15M, these projects go way above that threshold.

Notably, two days ago when Kaieteur News visited NPTAB’s website in search of projects that were opened and awarded during the postelection period, it found that some of the contracts were restricted from public viewership and some sections of the page, specifically the page to view ‘Tenders awarded’, were outdated, as the last update was made on 2016. This publication subsequently highlighted the concerns it found on the site.

Yesterday morning, however, it was discovered that not only did NPTAB grant access to the previously hidden documents, but they had also updated their lists of awarded contracts.

U.S. navy ship navigates near Venezuelan coast after Iranian cargo ship arrives CARACAS - (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy ship navigated near the Ve n e z u e l a n c o a s t o n Tuesday in what the U.S. m i l i t a r y ’s Southern Command called a “freedom of navigation operation,” a day after a cargo ship from U.S. foe Iran docked at a port of the South American country.

In a post on its website, the Southern Command said the USS Nitze, a missile destroyer, sailed in an area outside Venezuela’s territorial waters - which extend some 12 nautical miles from its

coasts - but within an area the Venezuelan government “falsely claims to have control over.”

The move comes after the Trump administration in April said it was deploying more U.S. military assets to the Caribbean in part to disrupt alleged narcotics shipments

by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a socialist viewed as illegitimate by the United States and dozens of other mostly Western countries.

With U.S. sanctions on its key oil industry leaving Venezuela increasingly

isolated, Maduro last month turned to Iran - another country under heavy U.S. sanctions - for fuel shipments. Washington said it was considering a response to those shipments but took no military action.

On Monday, the Iranianflagged cargo ship Golsan docked in the Venezuelan port of La Guaira carrying what Iran’s Embassy in Caracas said was food to supply the South American nation’s first Iranian supermarket. There was no indication that the Golsan and Nitze confronted each other.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

Thursday June 25, 2020

Grand Slams plan ahead to avoid Djokovic fate (Reuters) - Days after a handful of the world’s leading tennis players hugged and high-fived on court in front of packed stands and partied together in carefree fashion some - including world number one Novak Djokovic - were struck down by the COVID-19 virus.

As a cautionary tale, it could hardly be more stark.

For while the images from the Adria Tour exhibition tournament in Serbia and Croatia were no doubt a fillip for some fans starved of topflight tennis action, the organisers also tempted fate with the lack of precautions.

Though the players were not breaking government protocols during the tournament, which was

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Kaieteur News

organised by Djokovic, it highlighted the risks of athletes from different countries mingling without adhering to what have become social distancing norms.

Few were, therefore, surprised when Djokovic contracted the virus with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Croatia’s Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki having already tested positive after playing in his Balkan event.

Hindsight offers clarity, but organisers of the world’s biggest tournaments say they will not make the same mistakes as they reopen the sport and seek to keep the players safe.

“There were a fair few learnings that have come out

of that (Adria Tour),” Tennis Australia’s (TA) Chief Operating Officer Tom Larner told Reuters.

“And whilst, certainly the whole event was actually really well-intentioned in terms of raising money for charity, the execution was clearly not great, as were the processes in place.”

Australia had successfully curbed the virus spread but a double-digit increase in new cases recently has triggered fear of another wave due to apparent community transmission.

TA gave a glimpse of the biosecurity protocols that could be in place for next year’s Australian Open while announcing measures for the domestic UTR Pro Tennis

Thursday June 25, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) The financial picture continues to improve. At some point during the day, you might have the feeling that you aren't working hard enough to keep the forward motion going, and you might feel panic rise.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) The astral energy indicates positive financial news. A settlement, grant, or bonus of some kind that you've anticipated for a long time may finally manifest.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you'll put a lot of energy into business, personal, or romantic partnerships. They're likely to be especially beneficial now.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Too much work and the resulting pressure over the past few days could have you feeling too tired to do anything more, Cancer, although your optimism and enthusiasm are still intact.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Romance blossoms for you tonight, perhaps after a long period of standing still. A new sense of stability and security may settle on love relationships and close friendships.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Tonight you might host a virtual social event, perhaps for business associates. You could be nervous at first, Virgo, wondering if all will go as well as you hope, but your efforts should produce the results you want.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Paperwork, perhaps contracts or other legal documents of some kind, might need attention so you can move ahead with some of your projects.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The financial picture continues to improve, Scorpio. At some point during the day, you might have the feeling that you aren't working hard enough to keep the forward motion going, and you might feel panic rise.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) The financial picture continues to improve. At some point during the day, you might have the feeling that you aren't working hard enough to keep the forward motion going.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Trying to get too much work done in the course of one day might prove self-defeating today, Capricorn. Your energy isn't what it usually is, and you're probably operating on nervous energy.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) A depressed friend may need cheering up. Your ability to nurture and listen sympathetically will prove beneficial, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Too many projects to complete might have you feeling just a little bit pressured.

However, your innate determination is likely to drive you on to try to get it all done even if it seems impossible.

Series, which will be played at closed stadiums.

Players would have to bring their own towels and will be encouraged to shower off-site. On-court personnel would be limited to an umpire, minimal line judges with no ball-kids.

NO SPECTATORS First up, though, will be the U.S. Open, scheduled to be held in New York from Aug. 31. Organisers have come under fire, including from Djokovic, who initially called their measures “extreme”.

They will now feel vindicated.

“This situation is exactly why we have created a comprehensive health and medical plan... that was approved by New York State,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told Reuters.

“The creation of a controlled U.S. Open environment, including official hotels, transportation, food, medical and safety protocols, enables us to mitigate potential risk, and appropriately respond to any issues.”

The U.S. Open will have no spectators, there will be limitations on players’ entourage and everyone must wear masks when onsite unless practising or competing. Testing will be conducted before travelling to the United States and at least once per week along with daily temperature checks.

New York City has witnessed an easing of lockdown restrictions in recent days but residents have been asked to follow social distancing norms and cover faces in public.

Restaurants and bars began offering outdoor service and many retailers started to allow patrons back into their stores.

Serbia introduced a state of emergency soon after the pandemic broke out, including daily curfews for 12 hours, but gradual easing of measures saw 25,000 fans flock to a soccer derby between Belgrade rivals Red Star and Partizan on June 10. A sellout crowd of 4,000 attended both days of the Belgrade leg of Djokovic’s tournament, staged at his tennis centre by the Danube River.

Croatia, where the tournament’s second leg was held in Zadar, still had social distancing norms in place and the Visnjik tennis complex, with a capacity of 9,000, hosted half as many spectators.

It did not stop Djokovic and his fellow players from playing basketball there, images of which were jarring to many as the majority of the world continued to battle the virus.

Djokovic, who heads the players council of the men’s ATP Tour, said he was wrong and “deeply sorry”.

No positive COVID-19 tests for England ahead of West Indies series (Reuters) - England’s 30man training group for the upcoming three-test series against West Indies returned no positive tests for COVID19, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday.

The ECB said in a statement that a total of 702 tests were conducted from June 3-23 on players and match officials plus ECB, venue, hotel and support staff, with all of them negative.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer has been delayed in joining the squad after he had a precautionary test for COVID-19 when a member of his household felt unwell last weekend. The result of that test is expected to be announced today.

The first test match is scheduled to begin in Southampton on July 8 without spectators followed by games in Manchester.

England will then host

General view of cricket ball during England nets. (Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/File Photo) Pakistan in three tests and three Tw e n t y 2 0 internationals starting on July 30 but doubts remain over whether the tour can go ahead after the Pakistan Cricket Board said 10 of their players tested positive for the virus.

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Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

Bubba Wallace ‘pissed’ Rashid Khan set for Barbados Tridents, Chris about attacks on Lynn heading to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots character following investigation into noose in his garage stall Yahoo Sports - Bubba Wallace said Tuesday night he’s “pissed” that some are attacking his character following the determination that no federal charges will be brought after a noose was discovered in his garage stall at Talladega.

Wallace, the only Black driver racing full-time in NASCAR, was informed by NASCAR president Steve Phelps early Sunday evening that a crew member on Wallace’s team had discovered the noose.

Wallace — who isn’t allowed to go to the garage because of NASCAR’s coronavirus social distancing protocols — said Phelps called him and told him that he wanted to talk in person.

Wallace said he at first wondered if he had said something wrong to get suspended or punished by NASCAR. Then he realized that was not the case when he went a n d m e t w i t h Phelps.

“The look that he had on his face alerted me in a way I’ll never forget as well and I’m still thinking ‘OK what did I do, let me k n o w, ’ ” Wa l l a c e t o l d CNN’s Don Lemon. “ …

The conversation I had with Steve Phelps I would say, and I’m speaking for him, probably one of the hardest things if not the hardest thing he’s ever had to tell somebody.

Tears running down his face. Choked up on every word that he was trying to say, the evidence he brought to me that a hate crime was committed, quote unquote.”

“And I immediately thought my family was in danger and so I was about ready to call my mom and dad and make sure everybody was OK. But it was in the garage stall where our car was at so I was kind of taken aback and not really comprehending everything.”

Wallace made clear what has been publicly reported numerous times but seems to still be causing confusion among those

attacking his character on social media.

He did not see the noose on Sunday and he was not the one who reported it to NASCAR. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and the FBI said in a joint statement that the noose had been in Wa l l a c e ’s g a r a g e s t a l l since the October race at Talladega in 2019. Phelps said Tuesday that there were no other garage stall rope handles made into nooses at Talladega and Wallace said on CNN that he realized that it was not targeted at him because of when it was tied.

Paul Menard’s No. 21 car occupied the same garage stall Wallace’s car did this previous weekend.

A crew member for M e n a r d ’s t e a m s a i d h e remembered the rope being tied like a noose in the fall when the No. 21 car was using that garage stall.

And while it’s clear that the rope was tied into a noose long before Wallace’s car occupied the No. 4 garage, Wallace is adamant that it was, in fact, a noose like both the FBI and NASCAR have said.

He was asked by Lemon if he’s ever seen a garage pull tied like that.

“Don, the image that I h a v e s e en of what was hanging in my garage is not a garage pull,” Wallace said.

“I’ve been racing all my life.

We’ve raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that. People that want to call it a garage pull put out old videos and photos of knots as their evidence, go ahead.

From the evidence that I have, it’s a straight-up noose.

The FBI has stated that it was a noose over and over again.

NASCAR leadership has stated that it was a noose. I can confirm that.

I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage over my car around my pit crew guy to confirm that it was a noose. Never seen anything like it.”

ESPNcricinfo - Australia batsman Chris Lynn, Afghanistan spin twins Rashid Khan and Qais Ahmad, and South African batsman Rilee Rossouw have been picked up by various franchises as overseas signings ahead of the CPL 2020 players’ draft which was scheduled for yesterday.

The draft, which will be a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has attracted 537 players.

The CPL is scheduled to be played between August 18 and September 10 behind closed doors in Trinidad & Tobago, subject to the permission from the local government.

E S P N c r i c i n f o u n d e r s t a n d s Ly n n h a s been signed by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, while Rashid has been snapped up by defending champions Barbados Tridents.

Rashid’s Afghanistan team-mate Ahmad will play for Guyana Amazon Warriors while Rossouw has been hired by St Lucia Zouks. These signings were possible only because for the first time the CPL allowed the six franchises to sign overseas players outside of the draft.

Other foreign players that are understood to be have been signed include New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim

Seifert (Trinbago Knight Riders), South Africa wristspinner Ta b r a i z Shamsi (Jamaica Ta l l a w a h s ) , a n d h i s national team-mates Anrich Nortje (Zouks) and Rassie van der Dussen (Patriots).

It is understood that some of the names like Rashid and Ahmad were originally supposed to be part of the draft.

H o w e v e r, o n c e t h e Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to send an enlarged squad for the upcoming England tour, there were issues over the availability of some of the original picks like Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz and Shadab Khan.

While Shadab and Malik were meant to represent Warriors, Riaz is understood to have been initially signed by Tridents.

Another Tridents signing that did not eventually go through was South Africa white-ball captain Quinton de Kock, who was meant to be the marquee player for the franchise.

B o t h Wa r r i o r s a n d Knight Riders have the least number of slots to fill - three each. In contrast, Tallawahs have 11 vacant spots, Patriots six, while Tridents and Zouks have five each.

As for the draft itself is

concerned, players from 23 countries, outside of those from the Caribbean, have registered, including two names from India.

Forty-eight-year-old Pravin Tambe, the former Mumbai legspinner, is the oldest player in the draft.

He had recently played the T10 league in 2018 for the Sindhis and was a regular in the Rajasthan Royals line-up between 2013 and 2015. More recently, Tambe was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the 2020 IPL auction, but was forced to withdraw later after the BCCI pulled him up for playing in unsanctioned cricket leagues like the T10.

Asad Pathan a hardhitting batsman, who had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in t h e I P L , i s t h e other Indian in the draft. The 36year old is part of the cluster without a base price.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is the only player listed in the highest base price bracket of USD 160,000 while England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan features in the USD 130,000 bracket.

Morgan’s England teammate Tom Banton, New Zealand seamer Tim Southee, and Australia allrounder Ben Cutting have been slotted in the

USD 110,000 bracket.

Some of the other noteworthy players that have registered for the draft include South Africa batsmen Faf du Plessis and David Miller, Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi, Australia batsman D’Arcy Short, Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (all USD 90,000).

Former West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite, who had captained the Patriots in the 2019 CPL, features in the USD 70,000 bracket with England batsman Alex Hales while South Africa strike bowler Kagiso Rabada along with Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi are listed in the USD 60,000 bracket.

As for availability, the only question mark remains over the players picked to feature in the series between England and Pakistan scheduled between August and September.

Those players have notified the CPL that international cricket would remain their preference.

The CPL has told all franchises to assemble their squads from August 1 with the players and support staff having to undergo two-week period in quarantine before the tournament gets underway.

Sammy says Gayle will be difficult to replace KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – St. Lucia Zouks captain Darren Sammy says Chris Gayle has left some big shoes for the franchise to fill, with his sudden decision not to play in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and it will be a task to find his replacement.

However, the former West Indies captain said, the show would go on.

The 40-year-old Gayle, who was earlier this year signed as the Zouks’ marquee player following his falling out with Jamaica Tallawahs, has pulled out of the regional T20 tournament because of a desire to spend more time with his family.

The development was first reported in the media o n M o n d a y, t w o d a y s before the players draft.

Speaking to the Jamaica Gleaner a day later, Sammy admitted that it would not be easy to

find someone to take the place of the most successful T20 batsman in history.

“It’s always going to be difficult to replace a player of Chris Gayle’s calibre, especially the Zouks team, which was so excited to have Chris who would have brought his experience and match-winning abilities,” he said. “The show still has to go on and, hopefully, we can find someone who can come in and have an impact for us.”

The CPL is scheduled to be played from August 18 to September 10 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Despite the disappointment of not having the T20 star in his squad, Sammy said he understood the reason for his decision.

Due to the restrictions put on travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jamaican big hitter – who has amassed over 13

000 runs and 22 hundreds in T20 cricket – had been unable to fly to St. Kitts where his family, including a young child, lives.

“I support and respect his decision. Especially as athletes, we hardly get time to spend with our families. It is even more important in this COVID situation where Chris has not seen his family for a while.

I would definitely give him my blessings and support and, hopefully, he gets the quality time with his family that I have been getting with my family here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said.

Gayle and Sammy were among eight Caribbean players signed or retained

by Zouks, with Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kimani Melius and Kavem Hodge also included.

They are expected to complete their roster after Wednesday’s

draft.

After it was announced that he was joining the Zouks in this year ’s CPL, Gayle had a c c u s e d Ta l l a w a h s o f “playing games” with him and had launched a scathing attack on coach Ramnaresh Sarwan in a series of YouTube videos, accusing the former West Indies captain of “vindictiveness”.

H o w e v e r, h e e s c a p e d sanction over the incident.

Although neither the Zouks nor the tournament organisers have issued an official statement about Gayle’s abrupt departure, ESPN Cricinfo, quoted a CPL spokesman as saying: “We understand that Chris has decided to not take part in CPL for personal reasons.

We wish Chris all the best for the rest of 2020 and hope to see him back at CPL in 2021.”

Thursday June 25, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Mooniram Persuad making a difference as a grass roots Coach - Revamp of the school’s system needed for local sports to improve

Persaud (2nd left stooping) with the Versailles team, National player Rupert Gomes is standing 3rd from left.

By Sean Devers In Guyana, the grass roots of coaching generally goes unnoticed by those who are directly not involved in it.

Grass-root Coaches like 67year-old Mooniram Persaud most times are never acclaimed which means they are hardly likely to become famous or even well known.

But what it does is provide the satisfaction knowing that they are helping to make a difference in the lives of many young people.

Persaud was born on January 5, 1953 at the Schoonard hospital in the West Bank of Demerara and grew up in Goed Fortuin Housing Scheme, a stone throw away from where the Versailles Community Centre Ground was once located.

He had three children, but only two are alive and they were not competitive in any sports. However, his grandson Alexandre DeAbreu made the national Mini cadet under elevens

team that toured Jamaica in 2016.

“I attended Goed Fortuin Government and secondary schools. I started playing cricket in the school yard and then went to the Versailles Community Centre Ground and saw the seniors playing cricket and table tennis. I played cricket at the boy’s club level and was soon captain of my school.

I then was selected to the senior team because of the talent that I showed as a sixteen-year-old, I then joined the Malteenoes in 1972 and played at the Case Cup (first division) level under Rex Collymore’s captaincy,” Persaud recalled of his days of as a Cricketer.

He was among the best young players in Guyana and was invited to Bensons and Hedge Regional U-19 trials in 1972-1973 and managed to make the standby list.

“After I was not selected for the Guyana under 19 team and was not invited to the

Demerara senior trials, I decided I wanted to be a cricket coach,” Persaud explained how he got involved in Coaching cricket.

Persuad said he was motivated by former West Indies batsman Joe Solomon whom he feels was one of the best cricket coaches in Guyana.

It was when he joined Mae’s primary school at Carifesta Avenue in 1995 that he developed an interest in being a Table Tennis Coach.

“At Mae’s school I would conduct coaching for cricket at the Guyana Softball Association groundand after a couple of weeks at Mae’s School I became aware that the kids loved table tennis and cricket. The school offered me the opportunity to attend several coaching seminars in cricket and table tennis.

After the school won the school’s National Table Tennis championship in 1997 [as a primary school] I was

offered opportunity to do level 1 ITTF table tennis coaching certificate and was successfully in doing so.

I was then selected along with Linden Johnson for a five-week programme in 2007 in the People’s Republic of China. I was also offered to do the 2 [two] certification and was successful along with Linden Johnson and Raynor Copter Anderson,” continued Persaud who has been the Physical Education teacher at Mae’s school for over two decades.

According to the hard working Persaud, some of the players that represented Guyana who came through his tutelage are Azruddin Mohamed, Jonathan Sankar, -Trennace Lowe, Zack Gonzales, Brandon Baldie, Nigel Bryan, Shemar Britton, Miguel Wong, Yeudister Persaud, Navindra Persaud, Brandon Jaikarran, Niran Bishu, Kayson Ninvalle, Krystian Sahadeo, Jonathan Vanlange, Alexandre

Persaud (right) with the Mae’s school Table Tennis Nat school’s Champions.

Persaud & his grandson.

DeAbreu Tiara Narain and Danesh Persaud.

Yeudister Persaud, Navindra Persaud and Niran Bishu also play cricket for Guyana.

“I enjoy passing on my knowledge to the youngsters and get satisfaction when they are selected to represent Guyana.

I have been coaching for 24 years and my proudest moment is when my grandson Alexandre DeAbreure presented Guyana in the mini cadet competition in Jamaica,” disclosed the proud grandfather.

He said this generation feels they are entitled to everything and seem not to cherish the opportunities they are given.

“Sports in my time was easy to access through the school system and the (Bookers and later Guysuco) Sugar Estate sports

programmes. I was motivated by looking at the older guys practicing at the Versailles Community Centre Ground…. It was free of cost.

Now being involved in sports is expensive and the youths today seem not to cherish the opportunities and coaching that they are receiving.

Some of the things that can be improved in the standard of Guyana is a complete revamp of the school’s sports system from nursery school to secondary school and the availability of sports equipment at a cheaper cost, also the development of sports in the rural areas,” added Persaud.

“My biggest challenge as a grass root coach is to get young people to be more attentive during coaching sessions [explaining and demonstrating] I will continue to coach young people as long I am fit.

I wish to see Guyana win more medals at the Olympics and also to see West Indies cricket to reach to the top again. I have worked with cricket coaches as follows; Orin Bailey, Mark Harper, Mike Hayles Franco, Ravendranath Seeram and Kavita Yadram and in tennis Sydney Christophe, Linden Johnson and Dwayne Dick,” concluded Persaud whose wish is for Guyana to develop more in Sports and for the West Indies to win in England.

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Thursday June 25, 2020

Kaieteur News

Raymon Reifer takes five wickets on day two of tourists’ practice match BBC Sport - Left-arm seamer Raymon Reifer took five wickets in 11 balls on day two of the West Indies’ intrasquad match at Emirates Old Trafford.

Reifer claimed 5-60, reducing the side captained

by Jason Holder to 111-7 from 95-2 in the afternoon session.

Test captain Holder was one of Reifer’s victims, out lbw for a first-ball duck.

Holder ’s side were eventually bowled out for 193, 82 runs behind the total made by the side led by vicecaptain Kraigg Brathwaite on day one.

Sunil Ambris top-scored with 52 before falling to Chemar Holder, while seamer Marquino Mindley also claimed three wickets.

The three-Test series against England will begin on 8 July.

Earlier on Wednesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed players, support staff, match officials and staff at the two biosecure Test venues Manchester and Southampton - have all tested negative for coronavirus.

Action in the West Indies’ intra-squad warm-up match at Old Trafford. (ICC Twitter)

Former England captain Connor to become MCC’s first female president LONDON (Reuters) Former England women’s captain Clare Connor will become the first female president of the 233-year-old Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), it was announced at an historic AGM yesterday.

Connor, who was nominated by current president Kumar Sangakkara during the MCC’s first online AGM, will take up the role in October 2021, pending approval by the club’s members.

Former Sri Lanka international Sangakkara, the first non-British president, will likely remain in the role for a second 12-month spell because of the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic on the cricketing landscape.

“I am deeply honoured to be named the next President of MCC. Cricket has enriched my life so deeply already, and now it hands me this wonderful privilege,” Connor, managing director of women’s cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said in a statement.

“We often need to look back to see how far we’ve come. I made my first visit to Lord’s as a starry-eyed, cricket-obsessed nine yearold girl at a time when women were not welcome in the Long Room. Times have changed.”

The MCC is based at Lord’s, which it owns, and is

the most esteemed club in cricket, acting as custodian and arbiter of the laws of the sport. As well as playing around 480 games per year against schools, universities and clubs, it also invests 2 million pounds ($2.49 million) per year into youth cricket.

It currently has 18,000 full members although only welcomed its first female full member in 2018, 20 years after a vote to allow women to join.

All rounder Connor made her England debut in 1995, aged 19, and became captain in 2000. In 2005 she led England to a first Ashes series win over Australia for 42 years. ($1 = 0.8037 pounds)

Director of England Women’s Cricket Clare Connor poses after the announcement of new England Women’s coach. (Mark Robinson Action Images/Andrew Couldridge)

EA extends partnership with Spain’s La Liga for exclusive FIFA rights (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc yesterday extended its licensing contract with La Liga until 2030, allowing the video game maker to retain exclusive access to the Spanish top - t i e r s o c c e r league for its flagship football franchise “FIFA”.

The 10-year agreement is the longest renewal in the history of the c o m p a n y ’s p a r t n e r s h i p with La Liga, EA told Reuters, but did not

disclose the financial terms of the deal.

EA’s sports division, which also includes “Madden NFL” and “NBA Live”, thrives on licensing deals with sports leagues that allow exclusive use of the brand, its players and stadiums, in the company’s games.

Since it resumed matches on June 11, La Liga has been using here virtual images of stands in

television broadcasts with added “fan audio” produced by EA, in order to make the matches in empty stadiums more appealing to viewers.

Daily active players for “FIFA 20” have reached an all-time high, the company said, getting a boost from sports fans and players that have been forced to stay at home due to the coronavirus-related restrictions.

Viewership for “FIFA” on video game streaming

platform Twitch surged 260% in May, compared to a year earlier, EA said.

“FIFA” allows users to choose between different leagues and the various clubs within the leagues.

Spain’s La Liga includes popular clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, among others.

Besides La Liga, EA also has exclusive rights t o E n g l a n d ’s P r e m i e r League and Germany’s Bundesliga.

GOA to have six coaches in PanAm sports Psych course As the world celebrated Olympic Day on Tuesday with countless talks, online classes, seminars, trivia and demonstrations, PanAm Sports has chose that day to launch for the first time in history a free Virtual Training course for high-performance coaches in the Americas.

In a release to the media, PanAm Sports noted that the objective is to continue supporting and g u i d i n g c o aches and technicians and this interesting virtual course will undoubtedly be very helpful for the professionals who are in charge of the development of athletes.

With the name ‘Sports Psychology for HighPerformance Coaches’, the course will be led by the Spanish psychologist with vast experience and world recognition, Jose Maria Buceta. He has worked with various Olympic representatives as well as European club football giant, Real Madrid.

This 16-hour total online course will be absolutely free and will be presented in Spanish with simultaneous translation into English. It is made primarily for coaches, technicians and fitness trainers who work in high-

performance and are recognized by their National Olympic Committees.

There will be four sessions, with one airing each week throughout the next month. The live classes will be on July 8, 15, 22 and 29. In addition, reading and supporting documents will be used throughout the course and a Certificate of Participation from PanAm Sports will be delivered following its conclusion.

There is limited space in the virtual course, so a total of 6 registrations have been provided for each National Olympic Committee.

Registration began on Tuesday and will close on the deadline of July 3.

The PanAm Sports press statement outlined that, “We are very aware of the difficult time we are experiencing with the Coronavirus pandemic and the importance of this type of course aimed at coaches, but that also directly benefits our athletes. It is for this reason that we invite high-performance coaches to take advantage of this opportunity and register for this First Virtual Training organized by the Pan American Sports Organization.”

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 25, 2020

PAGE 25

BCB and RHTYSC, MS makes Liverpool move ever closer to title with 4-0 win over Palace donation to Cricket Development in West Berbice “As President of the Berbice Cricket Board, I have a policy that every subarea would benefit equally, whether they voted for my administration or not. The goal is to make sure that every talent is properly developed, so that overall structure of Berbice Cricket is strong. All five sub-areasWe s t B e r b i c e , U p p e r Corentyne, Central/Lower Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje and Berbice River would continue to benefit from the Berbice Cricket Board as long as I am President.”

Those were the words of BCB President Hilbert Foster as he handed over a donation of ten scorebooks, cricket law book and one hundred youth development booklets valued at over $100,000 to the West Berbice Cricket Association.

Foster, who was reelected to the BCB Presidency in December, 2019 by a 31-0 vote, disclosed that cricketers, clubs, schools and subassociations have benefitted from millions of dollars’ worth of items over the last two and a half years. The donated items included stumps, cricket gears, cricket balls, coaching equipment, scorebooks, weather coats, trophies, cricket uniforms, medals, educational materials, school bags, bicycles among others.

Noting that the majority of clubs struggles to keep

Crystal Palace’s Wayne Hennessey saves from Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (REUTERS/Phil Noble/Pool)

BCB President Hilbert Foster hands over the donation to Javed Karim of West Berbice. their head above water due to the high cost of playing the game, the President recommitted the BCB to assisting as much as possible.

The scorebooks would be distributed to the active clubs in the SubAssociation, while the hundred youth development booklets would be given to clubs that have junior cricket teams. The MCC Law of Cricket would be the property of the WBCA, to assist the Association in the development of the game.

Under Foster ’s

leadership, the BCB has invested heavily in the development of the game in West Berbice. Several cricket tournaments have been organised by the board for clubs in the subassociations, while they have also played in over forty tournaments which was county-wide. Clubs in the sub-association have also received balls, stumps, water pitchers, bicycles, educational posters among others. The BCB has also assisted in the hosting of several cricket academies in the area.

(Reuters) iverpool moved a step closer to the Premier League title with a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield yesterday that moved them within two points of securing the championship.

Juergen Klopp’s side could be crowned champions today if second-placed Manchester City fail to win at Chelsea.

Should Pep Guardiola’s side win at Stamford Bridge it would mean Liverpool could finish the job with a win in their next game, against defending champions City, on July 2.

L

After the Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was played in front of the empty stadium, Roy Hodgson’s Palace suffered an early blow when Wilfried Zaha limped off injured in the 15th minute.

Trent Alexander-Arnold fired Liverpool ahead in the 23rd minute with a perfectly-executed curling free kick.

Egyptian Mohamed Salah doubled the advantage, a minute before the interval, chesting down a cross-field pass from Fabinho before skipping goalwards and slotting home.

Brazilian Fabinho made it 3-0 with a thundering drive from 25 metres out before Sadio Mane added the fourth, finishing off a classic break from Liverpool’s front three.

Liverpool have 86 points from 31 games with City 23 points behind ahead of their trip to Chelsea.

Wednesday 24th June 2020 Results: Man Utd 3 - Sheff Utd 0 Newcastle 1 - Aston Villa 1 Norwich 0 – Everton 1 Wolves 1 – Bournemouth 0 Liverpool 4 - Crystal Palace 0

BCB honour’s Jerry Karim as its Brian Ramphal 2020 Father of the Year

T

he Berbice Cricket Board last Saturday honoured Jerry Karim of Blairmont Village as its Brian Ramphal Father of the Year as the active cricket board continues to undertake activities off the cricket field despite the corona virus shutdown of all sporting activities.

Jerry Karim is the father of Javed Karim, the captain of the Blairmont first division team. BCB President Hilbert Foster, MS handed over the award to the proud father and stated that Karim was a role model parent who should be emulated across Guyana.

Mr. Foster stated that every year, the BCB Under his leadership honours a special

mother and father in recognition of the outstanding work they do in the development of their children’s life.

The programme started when Foster was Chairman of the BCB Special events Committee under the Presidency of his elder brother, Keith Foster. The Awardee is selected based on personal discipline, role model status as a parent, support of their child’s career and support of Club/BCB activities.

Foster urged Karim to uphold the high standard he has set himself as a parent and to share his experience to the younger generation of parents. Noting, that indiscipline and disrespect for authority were major

problems in today’s society, the BCB President called on parents to instill the value of discipline into their children.

He also pledged that the BCB would work everyday to make a positive difference in the lives of every Berbician while fulfilling its mandate to uphold the high standard of Berbice Cricket.

He expressed frustration that the Corona Virus lockdown has stopped numerous developmental programmes that the pro-active BCB had in mind for 2020. These included a professional league tournament, cricket academy, award ceremony, coaching sessions and the construction of an allweather outdoor pitch.

Foster expressed confidence that with everything been

BCB President Hilbert Foster hands over Father of the Year Awardee to Jerry Karim, in the presence of his son Javed. equal, Berbice would be back to normal in 2021.

Father of the Year, Jerry Karim expressed gratitude to the BCB for honouring him and stated that the board is

doing a remarkable job in the administration of the game in the Ancient County. Javed Karim represented Guyana at the Under 15, Under 17 and Under 19 levels and also

plays for West Berbice in the GCB Franchise League. The Father of the Year received a trophy, medal, Certificate of Excellence and a collection of gifts.

rt Spo

Darren Sammy (left) and Chris Gayle when they played together for the West Indies.

Raymon Reifer takes five wickets on day two of tourists’ practice match All-rounder Reifer’s one Test came against New Zealand in 2017. (Getty Images)

Sammy says Gayle will be difficult to replace

GOA to have six coaches in PanAm sports Psych course

Rashid Khan is set to be one of the star attractions in the CPL again. (AFP)

Rashid Khan set for Barbados Tridents, Chris Lynn heading to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Mooniram Persuad Liverpool move making a difference as ever closer to a grass roots Coach title with 4-0 - Revamp of the school’s system needed for local sports to improve

win over Palace

Jose Maria Buceta will conduct the training.

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