Kaieteur News

Mr. Lowenfield K NEWS your actions are treasonous - GCCI Head

Sunday Edition

AIETEUR

June 28, 2020

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Washington lawsuit reveals...

ExxonMobil hired scientists to spread confusion, doubt after learning about climate change p.

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Boy 14, mom and dad dies In blaze clinging to each other p.

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Firefighters looking at charred remains in the rubbles of Cummings Lodge fire

Worst case scenario:

Dead: Beverly Miller

Serial bike bandits - US Political US could freeze Consultant hospitalised after Guyana's oil fund failed robbery attempt p.

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Jagdeo puts oil traders on notice p.

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- says sanctions loom for engaging 'illegal' govt.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

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Boy 14, mom and dad Jamaica authorities forfeit dies In blaze clinging cash seized from extradited to each other…one arrested Guyanese businessman The blaze which consumed the two-storey apartment building

I

t was tragedy last night after the charred remains of a couple and their 14-year-old son were removed from the rubbles of a two-storey apartment building at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara.

Dead are 40-year old Beverly Miller, her reputed husband Marvin Lewis, 46, and their son Duwhaul Ifill, 14. Police and fire officials believed that the building was torched over a dispute.

They have detained a cousin of the property's owner who was reportedly seen in the top flat of the apartment where the fire is believed to have started.

The man was taken into custody after he re-visited the scene to investigate the blaze later that evening.

The apartment building located at E-Half Sixth Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD), reportedly caught fire at around 17:45hrs.

A tenant, who is also a sister to Lewis, claimed that she was outside having a chat when she heard screams. She ran into the building only to realize that it was on fire. The woman claimed that she rushed to a nearby pipe with a container to draw some

The man who was taken into custody by police water to extinguish the blaze.

However, the fire was spreading quickly and parts of the building started to collapse.

The woman was left with no choice but help rescue her children. She told reporters that the building was collapsing so fast that she was forced to “pass some of her younger kids through a hole in the fence located at the back”.

Eyewitnesses claimed that when the fire started another tenant said to be an elderly man tried to save his

belongings. The man brought out a “small center table, a television set” and returned to retrieve something else but was nearly trapped. He barely managed to escape through a back gate.

On the other hand, the family which perished was trapped in an apartment located on the bottom flat which was said to be heavily grilled.

Attempts were made by relatives and neighbours to rescue them but the fire proved too much. They were also hampered by the grills.

One relative told reporters that everyone was forced to listen to agonizing screams of the now dead family as the building came crashing down on them.

It was agony as helpless relatives and neighbours watch as the fire took over.

When firefighters arrived, they eventually managed to contain the blaze and then begun the hard task of combing through the smoldering rubbles.

They eventually confirmed the worst. The charred remains of the three would found close to each other. They appear, in the last moments, to be clinging to each other.

J

amaica (Jamaica Observer) — The F i n a n c i a l Investigations Division (FID) is reporting that proceeds of crime in excess of US$20,000 and an assortment of currencies amounting to over J$1,200,000 have been removed from circulation in separate cases through its use of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

The first matter concerns a joint investigation involving the FID, Hanover Police, and United States Postal Inspection Services (USPIS) which culminated in an alleged scamming victim receiving partial restitution of monies filched from her.

The division said the investigation commenced following reports that a 40year-old male resident of a Hanover address had received over US$71,000 via a wire transfer from a female United States citizen. The funds were allegedly to be invested in a business venture in Jamaica.

The funds were however converted to the personal use of the recipient resulting in detectives from the FID arresting and charging him for breaches of POCA and the Larceny Act. Chief Technical Director for the FID, Selvin Hay, says the joint investigation with USPIS confirms the outstanding and deeprooted relationship FID shares with our US counterparts in the fight against transnational crimes including all forms of scamming.

He added that recovering the proceeds of crime

Extradited to US: Shervington 'Big Head' Lovell cash seized under the POCA. On June 18, the Westmoreland Parish Court ordered the forfeiture of cash in the amount of J$163,750.

Police seized the cash and ganja w eighing 1,034 p o u n d s f r o m a Westmoreland businessman, Audley Gayle.

The cash was seized by the police under the POCA on the suspicion that it was derived from unlawful conduct.

It was then forfeited following his guilty plea to several breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act in December 2018.

Likewise, on June 25, the

Corporate Area Parish Court ordered the forfeiture of cash seized from Guyanese businessman, Shervington 'Big Head' Lovell, Steven Antonius and Ricardo Ramirez, otherwise called Argemiro Zapato-Castro, in the amounts of US$5,300, GY$24,600 and SRD$435, respectively.

The cash was seized on October 25, 2018, when a police party from the Fugitive Apprehension Team conducted special operations at the Norman Manley international Airport pursuant to a request from the United States Government and an arrest warrant pursuant to the Extradition Act of 1991.

Lovell, Antonius and Ramirez, Guyanese, Surinamese and Columbian nationals respectively, were located and arrested and their persons and properties searched. During the search, the cash was found and seized by the police under the POCA on the suspicion that it had derived from unlawful conduct.

All three men indicated that the cash was obtained from legitimate businesses to include gold mining and a car wash, but neither of them was able to verify the exis tence of the s aid businesses.

FID investigated and found that none of the alleged businesses existed and that none of the men were found to possess licenses for the operation of a gold mining business. The men have since been extradited to the United States.

On June 25, the Corporate Area Parish Cour (continued on page 16)

Serial bike bandits hospitalised after failed robbery attempt

F

Inconsolable relatives and others at the scene

through whatever lawful means is always a win in the fight against money laundering and other financial crimes.

Hay said this was a busy week for the FID, culminating with several forfeiture orders being granted by local courts on June 18 and June 25 respectively in respect of

our days after he and a friend brazenly relieved another motorcyclist, a suspected serial robber ended up in hospital while attempting to rob another biker.

Police said that the suspect, a 22-yearold East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme resident, and an accomplice, were apparently targeting individuals on motorcycles.

Last Monday, the robbers, who were on a motorcycle, cornered another motorcyclist in Albouystown.

A CCTV recording showed robbers ramming into their victim.

When the man falls, one of the robbers relieves him of a haversack and other

belongings before escaping with his accomplice.

T he robbers appeared undeterred that their brazen attack was widely circulated on social media.

O n Friday, they targeted another motorcyclist in Cooper Street, Albouystown, but luck was not with them. According to a police release, “the suspects attempted the same stunt as seen in the video, last evening, but fell off their motorcycle and injured themselves.”

T he 22-year-old was arrested, while his accomplice “was reportedly whisked away from the scene and is currently being pursued by investigators.”

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

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: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

After the CCJ, four groups in the spotlight This week begins with expectations that after the CCJ rules on Guyana’s elections, that this national horror story would be over. Rather regrettably, we struggle to fathom how it could be so, since every time there were beliefs that the paralysis was over, and that this country could start again, hopes were smashed.

As much as we wish that sickening elections winds are gone, and we could move forward, this has not happened.

With so much uncertainty present we feel compelled to ask: after the CCJ rules, then what and to where? More pointedly, after whichever way the CCJ goes, what kind of complying will occur with its orders?

On this Sunday we wait on the CCJ. It is guaranteed that many would be disappointed, since men operate differently over there. The disappointments and disturbances would flare from men right here, who may go against what is handed down, through failing to adhere to the tight preciseness demanded in each letter, then by distancing from the spirit of the court’s decision(s). We have more than adequate grounds on which to rest and justify such an uncharitable and unhelpful conclusion. We only ask this: remember Achilles of Greek fame, the excesses to which men are prone, the fate of recklessness. Also remember the boy, who cried wolf once too often. Toying with the brink and playing with the Fates in serial misjudgments usually result in the worst outcomes. May it not be so in this wheelchair-bound Guyana of ours. Yet, as we briefly look back at what has transpired since the finish of the original count and then during the process and since the end of the recount, it has been nothing but the troubling.

In past Sundays, there were these unbelievable developments, where many of the conscientious people, who were appointed or volunteered their good offices, and became close to this process have been tarnished. First was the chair of GECOM, who bore the brunt of the blows, both directly and by other means, and mostly wrongly.

Second, the documented work product of assessments and conclusions of those not attached to GECOM, but mostly of foreign origins came under withering fire and scornful dismissal. There were allegations about bias and collusion, about lack of judgment and an absence of the kind of leadership required at the helm of GECOM. The kind of leadership looked for from GECOM had to match unmoving partisan leanings, or it was condemnation to the gallows.

Then, the recount, no matter how seen by a host of neutral observers, had no merit, no standing. Again, this was seen coming, given the daily chorus of disputes and objections plucked out of thin air, and which were expected to be relied upon and acted upon on the basis that the allegations of improprieties were made, and with nothing else behind them. The coalition standing on the thinnest ground, widely suspect ground, would tolerate no other position other than outsiders joined in the frauds and camouflages. This set the stage for delay and court action, then repositioning for more objections and further delays while more senior courts were approached.

From all of this, it became increasingly evident that time was being cunningly bought, with political objectives now slowly coming to light. Now options are about exhausted, the endgame takes complete shape. Even though we have asked repeatedly how much longer, the evasive tactics of the coalition cannot continue forever. Its real hand will be shown later this week, or not much longer.

CARICOM did show its hand with a report that was compelling in its force. The hedging language that is customary in sensitive matters like these was missing. The report of the regional agency spoke bluntly and weightily on matters of the overall process and its credibility.

Nonetheless, this was greeted with silence at the highest leadership level in this country, and scant regard by those making the most noise in the trenches. It is as if the work of CARICOM had absolutely no significance, and that its Continued on page 5

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Granger pretends to be above the fray while directing the show from behind DEAR EDITOR, Mr. David Granger knows very well that the PPP/C won the elections; he knows that his APNU+AFC Coalition lost the elections. He and his party, like the PPPC, would have known the results from their polling agents in the 2,339 stations from all the Statements of Poll when the count was finished on the night of March 2, 2020.

If Presidents Hoyte and Ramotar could have known within 3 days of the elections in 1992 and 2015 respectively with less available technology, there is no way that Mr. Granger does not know the results. That is why his party in cahoots with GECOM’s Lowenfield have refused to release their and GECOM’s Statements of Poll, as it would have ended once and for all the suffering and

anxiety that the people of this country have endured for the last 118 days.

He knows the results of the recount 3 weeks ago which proved for the second time that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336, with 15,416 votes more than the APNUAFC Coalition. Twice he and his Coalition have been defeated in the last 118 days. He does not have to wait for the official results.

Were he a man of honour and valour, he would have acted in a principled and dignified manner to accept that he and his party lost the elections. But no, that has not happened; the opposite has happened. He has dug his heels in and intends to remain in office “come hell or high water.”As l write this letter, his leaders are out in the field and on the social media

deliberately misinforming their supporters using Lowenfield’s fraudulent figures of the recount.

After the end of the recount on June 9th, Granger gave away his game plan during the June 12th interview, when he said, “We are also committed to ensuring that every legitimate vote is counted, but at the same time, we’re committed to removing the illegitimate votes. We are committed to ensuring that bogus votes, that people who were not in the jurisdiction, people who have no form of identification will not be allowed to vote. …It is my hope that the report of the CEO to the Commissioners would indicate that there has been a number of irregularities and those irregularities have impaired

the credibility of the electoral process”. This ‘dog whistle’ to Lowenfield was fulfilled the next day.

The June 15threport of the CARICOM Observer Team caused a problem to Granger’s plan as it concluded 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 the results of the March 2, 2020, elections”.

This was greeted with icecold silence from the de facto President Granger who had personally took credit for bringing the CARICOM Observer Team to witness the recount, and baptised the CARICOM as the “legitimate interlocutor.”Following this Continued on page 7

Sunday June 28, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox Keith Lowenfield is out of order with his figures

DEAR EDITOR, It has been over 110 days since Elections Day when 464,565 Guyanese people stepped forward to cast their ballot on March 2, 2020. As this nation found out from the Elections Day count and the recount exercise conducted at the Arthur Chung Convention Center, 460,352 or approximately 99.1% of them successfully completed valid votes while 4,213 or approximately 0.9% of them

saw their votes rejected for a variety of reasons by the GECOM staff under observation by the relevant stakeholders.

Those elections day activity and the subsequent recount exercise produced a clear winner – the PPP/C. It has become apparent that the only reason Mr. Mingo chose to alter the vote count of the PPP/C by decreasing their tally by 3,847 valid votes (see table -

Column J less Column I) was to give a fraudulent advantage to the APNU+AFC at these elections. But when you think Mr. Mingo appears to have the characteristics of an electoral racketeer, one is now faced with the figures offered

by Chief Election Officer Mr. Keith Lowenfield.

Because of Mr. Mingo’s fraud, we had a recount exercise, which lasted some 34 days. During that process,

the GECOM Staff counted, ascertained, and verified the votes from the 2,339 ballot boxes and the totals were compiled on Statements of Recount, which were then aggregated into ten (10) District Tabulation Certificates authenticated by the GECOM staff. The outcome of that exercise illustrated that the APNUAFC received 217,920 valid votes, which translate to 31 seats, while the PPPC

After the CCJ, four groups in the spotlight From page 4 earlier heralded pride of place disappeared overnight or was merely an exercise in buying time.

As said earlier, this game has to end soon, and then this nation will know, who is really whom, and what were the real objectives all along.

We say this because the future of Guyana’s 2020 elections rests with the CCJ. Whether it upholds or overturns what has been placed before it, the CCJ will set a clear path for four sets of people on how each should be, with one of those sets standing all by herself.

In order of importance and timing, the four sets are the chair of GECOM, the two political leaders, the wider circle of advisers and supporters, and the international community.

Retired Judge, Ms. Claudette Singh, must act efficiently and authoritatively.

There must be an end to the resisting and stonewalling that have featured prominently around her. We hope that she acts decisively.

Nevertheless, however

the CCJ rules, and it is hoped that it would be before the end of this week, Chairwoman Singh must move with the alacrity and strength befitting her high and crucial office, as well as herself. Should the role of the CCJ be totally completed on or before the end of this week, we expect and insist upon a declaration, in the swiftness allowed by circumstances. We do not wish to speak of declaration next Sunday. Or afterwards, since there are many other urgent matters that wait for immediate attention. Just do it.

Next, regardless of how and what the jurists of the CCJ hand down, political leaders must accept and concede no less rapidly.

Specifically, we speak to President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo.

This country needs this kind of mature leadership, this degree of sober statesmanship, like never before in our terrible history.

The anticipation is that the words coming out of this editorial page next Sunday

will be about the positive, the gracious, and the national.

We have had too much of the carping and the selfdestructive, of which more than enough has been spoken and written.

Leaders must do part, whatever the disappointment.

They must manifest that they are men of law, and not men consumed by the paranoias of ambition and self-inflicted madness.

The third set of Guyanese involved in any post-CCJ reception circles the tribes of supporters on both sides of the divide. Responses, of necessity, must be temperate, with the respect due to the law and its orders of prime importance. Notwithstanding individual and sectional deflation, disillusionment must not take hold.

There is a country to restart, reengineer, and reinvigorate towards its great prospects. Such a spirit must cascade down from leaders to loyalists, particularly the diehards and reckless, with leadership insistence on the firmest following of what is lawful and constructive.

We trust that next Sunday, and thereafter, there will be no need to condemn any group, for a start would be made with leaders.

Last, the international community, through sustained vigilance, has held Guyana closer than most of its children have done. It must continue to watch carefully, and already the Americans, British, Canadians, and Europeans have signaled their unwavering interest on an early and exemplary declaration from Chairwoman Singh.

The international community, too, will be subjected to the closest scrutiny, if only to ascertain the purity of its purposes, and the truths of its words and positions. The Sundays to follow should confirm bona fides.

It has been the longest of journeys to nowhere; the positive must come. The world is at the feet of Guyanese. May we be ready to seize it and get the best out of it. By all and for all. We are ready to do more from next Sunday, then beyond.

received 233,336 valid votes, which translate to 33 seats.

However, what has happened since that recount exercise is that the CEO of GECOM unilaterally choose to abrogate the Constitution and the Representation of the People’s Act (ROPA) to firstly invalidate 275,092 valid votes (Column A less Column C) on June 18, 2020, and then again on June 23, 2020, he attempted to invalidate 115,844 valid votes (Column A less Column D). What is absolutely clear in law is that he cannot legally proceed upon such a path and only an Elections Court has the authority to inquire into and to pronounce upon the validity of votes already counted and certified under the ROPA. And such a court can only be established after the swearing-in of the new

President. So Mr. Lowenfield is out of order and can be accused of being delinquent, grossly negligent, and insubordinate in following a direct instruction from the Madam Chairperson of GECOM. In the Termination and Severance Pay Act, such an action on the part of a worker necessitates summary dismissal and even criminal proceedings being instituted against him under the electoral laws.

What constitutes a rejected vote or for want of a better word invalid vote is clearly outlined in Article 87 of the ROPA. Under the law, an invalid vote is one that does not bear an official mark (e.g. the six-digit stamp), unmarked or voided for certainty, marked for more Continued on page 6

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox An election is arithmetic – a poem DEAR EDITOR, I believe this piece titled “An election is arithmetic” captures some aspects of the issues currently at hand: An election is arithmetic But tricksters would like us to believe otherwise An election is arithmetic It is not whether you miscalculated By sitting on your ass For five years Because you thought Forfeiting the people’s oil wealth Would bring you victory An election is arithmetic It is not whether a green house Is somehow better than A red house When our architectural history And our future Are left to rot In the rising Atlantic An election is arithmetic It is not whether the opposition Is worthy Or worse than They were before An election is arithmetic It is not a time for your lawyers To buy time When Guyana is already living On 50 years of wasted time An election is arithmetic It is not an obscure exercise To prove whether 33 Is bigger than 32 Or were you unsure Whether it was 4,000 Or 7,000 Families you threw onto the

streets An election is arithmetic It is not whether you stand to lose Your seat In a Land Cruiser Or a Lexus When your level of public service Deserves you sit on a bike An election is arithmetic It is not whether the winner Will give you a job A job you know you do not deserve Or whether you will have to suck Salt For the next five years An election is arithmetic It is not whether the winner Will steal our oil wealth Or forfeit 55 Billion US dollars Like you did An election is arithmetic It is not a beauty contest Between Mother Therese and Stalin Or between Forbes and Cheddi An election is arithmetic It is not whether you can create An alternative To adding up votes For Region Four Or whether you perfected Burham’s dictatorial tactics Tactics you seem intent On unleashing Against this grotesque stunted Baby of a nation Regards, Jan Mangal

Keith Lowenfield is...

From page 5 than one party symbol and marked so that the elector can be identified. In the final analysis, a credible and transparent process witnessed by all the relevant stakeholders identified and categorized 4,213 rejected ballots. What this nation does not know is what sort of illegal process Mr. Lowenfield secretly utilized to personally invalidate 115,844 valid ballots.

It is clear as day that the CEO of GECOM has chosen to do his own thing with a national process and in so doing has chosen in his hallucination to repeal and annul the Constitution, the Rule of Law, the work conducted by hundreds of Guyanese and non-Guyanese in that 34 days recount exercise and most importantly to actively engage in electoral malpractice and voter suppression, which is a criminal act. It is now clearly established that the GECOM Secretariat has officially gone rogue on this nation.

It is the sacred duty of the Madam Chair as the head of the GECOM Commission to prevent this nation from sinking into the abyss as a renegade nation that subscribes to a dictatorship rather than the principles of one person: one vote.

I am trusting that after she has had an opportunity to gather the right knowledge during the recount process, she will use such knowledge to do right by Guyana; that is my prayer.

Yours truly, Sasenarine Singh

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Now is time for stronger action against the APNU+AFC Coalition DEAR EDITOR, I noted earlier this year that the incumbent APNU+AFC will not voluntarily demit office. I believe that many political observers and, more importantly, the Guyanese public feared this outcome from as far back as 2015 (when some decided to cast their vote for the incumbent regime because change was needed).

From March 2, 2020 to date, we have been treated to a spectacle of degeneracy: the APNU+AFC desperately clinging to power, ably assisted by members of GECOM and now, in the words of John Beale, “two favoured judges” of the Court of Appeal.

The Trinidadian lawyer, Christopher Hamel-Smith, in a June 25, 2020 post on Facebook and LinkedIn, noted his … “clearest recollection of one presentation made [at a Trinidad & Tobago Bar Association conference on human rights] by the late David de Caires, the

Guyanese patriot, lawyer, and founder of the Stabroek News.” He said that “David clearly demonstrated that it was the lack of courage and independence displayed by the Guyanese judiciary at the time that had enabled the Burnham regime to undermine democracy and deny the Guyanese people the right to choose their government through free and fair elections.”

Unfortunately, what is evolving in Guyana seems to be reminiscent of what the late David de Caries lamented on nearly forty (40) years ago.

Where are we to go from here?

The OAS, CARICOM, and the ABCEU ambassadors have all spoken, on multiple occasions, and in stern language, that credible results must be declared, and that the will of the people must be respected.

Some like the OAS have gone further to indicate that results of the national recount show unequivocally that the opposition PPP/C has

grossed the majority of votes at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

However, the incumbent regime has shown scant regard to the statements issued from international quarters. They continue to abuse the state media, publishing patently false information, and informing their supporters that they (APNU+AFC) won the elections.

The actions of the APNU+AFC, in this regard, set the stage for internecine conflict amongst the peoples of Guyana. Such a situation cannot be allowed to come to fruition. At the same time, the APNU+AFC cannot be allowed to bully the population and remain in Government. Guyanese cannot eject them alone, and must not be abandoned to these retrograde characters.

The international community took a long view of the situation and gave the APNU+AFC regime enough opportunities to have a face saving and graceful exit.

However, such a strategy will only work with people who are inherently disposed to doing the right thing. There is nothing in the actions of the incumbent and their abettors, both in GECOM and beyond, that would support such a position.

The time has come for stronger actions. The Barbadian PM, Mia Mottley, has been candid enough. We need all members of CARICOM and the international community to be bolder and more outspoken.

Now is the time for personal sanctions to be levied against all those who are party to electoral fraud, including spouses, children and relatives who currently reside in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.

These must be public in nature so as to serve as a lesson to those who continue to support regressive and antidemocratic forces. The time to act is now.

Yours truly, Kowlasar Misir

The validity of votes cast cannot be determined after the fact by Lowenfield DEAR EDITOR, The Court of Appeal recently returned a ruling to the effect that the term “more votes cast” in Article 177(2) of our Constitution shall be construed to mean “more valid votes cast”. On the face of it this appears to be a trivial ruling since it is doubtful that the framers of this particular clause would have ever contemplated the use of invalid votes in determining the election of a president.

However, there may be more to this decision than meets the eye. Defenders of the Coalition have been quick to claim that this decision confers upon the Chief Elections Officer an added duty to apply, to votes already deemed valid, an additional test to determine voter credibility. The order of the Court of Appeal does not, however, specify what criteria are to be used in carrying out this test.

It must be remembered that election results are determined through a series of processes on polling day which include establishing the bona fides of each voter presenting themselves at the polling station and the counting process after the close of polls. With regard to the bona fides of the individual voter, it would have been the duty of each party

polling agent during the course of the poll to satisfy themselves as to the identity of each voter using the data provided on the list of electors and the folio displaying the photograph of each person on that list. A visual check of the voter’s fingers would have determined whether or not that person had already voted.

The counting process is stipulated in the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03 which specifies the sequence of each of the steps to be taken in arriving at the final figures that are to be entered on the Statement of Poll. Once the Statement of Poll had been prepared each party polling agent, along with the GECOM personnel present during the count, would have then attested to the correctness of the Statement of Poll by affixing his or her signature to that document.

Each party polling agent would have then been provided with a copy of the signed Statement of Poll. At this point, the polling agent for each political party would have been satisfied that the signed Statement of Poll in his or her possession accurately reflected the total amount of valid votes cast for each political party.

The processes, carried

out in accordance with the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03 , up to the point of the signing of the Statement of Poll, would have ensured the validity of each vote contained in the totals therein. It is at this point that the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03 mandates that a copy of the signed Statement of Poll is to be displayed in a prominent place outside the polling station.

After this would have been done the various essential electoral materials would have then been placed in the appropriate envelope which in turn would have been placed in the ballot box.

The affixing of each party’s seal on the locked ballot box would have completed the process.

From a logical point of view, nothing omitted from the box either intentionally or in error could therefore have had any bearing on the validity of votes contained in the totals on the signed Statement of Poll since the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03 mandates that this would have had to have been prepared, signed and posted outside the polling station prior to the packing and sealing of the ballot box.

The signed Statements of Poll delivered to the

respective Returning Officers would have then been used to arrive at the totals for each electoral district which in turn would have been used by the Chief Elections Officer to determine the overall result of the election. The additional duty conferred upon the Chief Elections Officer, which, Coalition defenders argue, is implied in the decision of the Court of Appeal, seems to suggest that from henceforth an audit of the ballots must be carried out before any declaration of election results can be made.

How else can the Chief Elections Officer insert him or herself into the process in order to administer the additional test of voter credibility?

If the decision of the Court of Appeal is to be interpreted this way, then it renders the process of counting at the place of poll redundant and makes a mockery of the entire section of the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03 that mandates this process.

Surely it behooves the Chief Elections Officer to satisfy himself as to the credibility of each voter prior to the election and not afterwards as the decision of the Court of Appeal appears to suggest. This can be done by ensuring that the voters Continued on page 7

Sunday June 28, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Granger pretends to be above the fray while directing the...

From page 4 report and June 24thstatement by the Head of the CARICOM, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, he let loose his party “bulldogs” to accuse Mottley and the CARICOM, like all others before, of “foreign interference in the internal affairs of Guyana.”

Again intransigent in holding onto power, Lowenfield on June 23rd( despite a stay of execution) produced a new set of figures giving Granger 33 seats in the legislature, while disenfranchising 115,000 voters. Mr. Granger has pretended to be above the fray while in fact directing the show from behind the scenes.

His paranoiac, delusional state cocoons him in the belief that defeat is not an option as he has some special entitlement: he has won once, thus he is entitled to remain in office regardless, and the whole world is against him and his party. One only has to recall that at his swearing in ceremony on May 16, 2015, he quoted from the Psalms, “As the Lord hath called me to triumph, this is the day which he hath appointed for that purpose.” Few noticed the messianic choice of words.

He has been impervious to the findings of the international and regional Electoral Observer Missions on the March 2, 2020 elections and its aftermath, the appeals and repeated cautionary statements of the various political leaders outside the region – US State of Secretary Pompeii, Assistant Secretary of State Kozak, US Congressmen and Senators, the UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, as well as statements by the highest officials in international and regional bodies such as the OAS, CARICOM, the European Union, and individual countries, as well as highly respected nongovernmental organizations such as the Carter Center and The Elders. Calls by old friends, such as Sir Sridath Ramphal, to comply with the rule of law for Guyana’s sake have been disregarded.

Dominic Gaskin, his sonin- law and executive member of the AFC, has exposed the real danger:”The APNU+AFC has no intention of relinquishing control of government. … Even in the height of this uncertainty, President David Granger has remained silent and from all indications has not changed his position to concede defeat and allow the PPP/C, who are the legitimate winners of the elections, to be sworn in.”

Gaskin has proven to be a man of honour and valour.

Mr. David Granger has known all along that the 4,500 votes (less than 1% more votes) that put him in office on May 16 2015 was at best tenuous, and, therefore, his chances of winning in 2020 would be very slim. The fact that the PNC alone has never won an election prior to and since independence could not have escaped him. Thus the conspiracy to tamper with the 2020 elections began in earnest long before the Non Confidence Motion. It has failed. He now bears full responsibility for the present loss, and for his and the Coalition’s fate.

We, and the rest of the world leaders who have spoken, have had enough of this deception that has ensnarled our people in a state of mental anguish, economic uncertainty and increasing poverty in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is not the first time we, as a country, have transitioned from one ruling party in government to another. President Hoyte relinquished to Dr. Cheddi Jagan following the first free and fair elections on October 5, 1992 and President Ramotar handed over to David Granger on May 16, 2015.

These former Presidents proved that they were far superior in their commitment to democracy and nation than Mr. Granger.

On October 7, 1992 (2 days after the elections), the Chairman of the Elections Commission Ambassador Rudy Collins publicly reported that with 95% of the ballots counted that the PPP/ C had won 54% of the votes.

On the same day the Chief Elections Officer Stanley Singh had reported to the Chair and the Commission the results and the seat allocation, the PPP/C with 163,579 (28 seats), the PNC with 136,403 votes (23 seats) and one seat each for the TUF and the WPA. The other 12 seats would come from the regional seat allocation. That very afternoon, a two-man transition team was set up comprised of Ambassador Cedric Grant appointed by President Hoyte and Dr. Roger Luncheon by President-Elect Dr. Cheddi Jagan which began meeting the next day.

On the same day, October 7, 1992, Hugh Desmond Hoyte issued a statement as President of the Republic of Guyana and Leader of the People’s National Congress, from the Office of the President in which he declared “… on the basis of the numbers supplied to the

PNC Campaign Headquarters by our agents, it appears that the People’s Progressive Party will have a majority and it does not appear that votes not counted would materially alter the outcome….

In keeping with the requirements of democracy, the People’s National Congress will accept the results of the poll…

In the meantime, I would urge all Guyanese… to accept the results of the elections we were determined to ensure their transparency and we have succeeded. ….

I expect all citizens to accept these political developments, maintain a peaceful and harmonious climate in the society and keep the welfare and the good name of Guyana foremost in their minds”.

Dr. Jagan was sworn in on October 9, 1992.

Following the May 11, 2015 elections, the CEO Lowenfield on May 15th, 2015, during his announcement of the results, admitted he had some concerns with some counterfeit statements of polls from districts across the country; some of thestatements that were delivered to GECOM were not on the same quality of paper on which the original statements were printed and some were void of specific security features that characterize GECOM’s official paper. However, the Chief Elections Officer said that the votes contained on those statements were not enough to change the outcome of the elections( note this was Lowenfield’s position in a close run race with less than a 1% difference of votes between the PPPC and the APNU+AFC).

Both CEO Lowenfield and GECOM Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally were quoted in the media as saying that the votes reflected on those statements

could not change the overall outcome of the elections, “no change would deprive APNU+AFC of a victory.”

As a result of the closeness of the votes, President Donald Ramotar called for a full recount and subsequently on May 15, 2015 called for recount of 30 boxes. Both requests were rejected by the Chairman and the GECOM. On May 15th , President Ramotar made a public announcement, wherein he stated, “The results of the 2015 General and Regional elections have been declared by the Guyana Elections Commission unfortunately these results have been shrouded in controversy…..

While we are disappointed, hurt and aggrieved, I urge you to remain calm in the face of widespread provocation associated with triumphalism…

My Party remains convinced that a recount would have proven beyond any shadow of doubt that the electoral processes had been compromised and the PPP/C would have won… We have agreed to pursue options for the redress under the constitution and the law including an elections petition.”

A large transition team was set up and commenced meeting on Monday May 18th, headed by Dr. Luncheon for the outgoing administration and Mr. Joseph Harmon for President Granger This is the third transition of government.

Mr. Granger must live his own words of June 14: “My concern is for Guyana, what is best for Guyana. I would swim any river, climb any mountain, go into any alleyway to ensure that the interests of the Guyanese people are protected. The

The validity of votes...

From page 6 list is maintained on an ongoing basis so that it is credible on the day of the election. This, in conjunction with the various checks and balances put in place on election day at each polling station in accordance with the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03 , will ensure that only valid votes are counted at the place of poll.

All the signs, at this point in time, lead the ominous conclusion that it is the intention of some person or persons to have us return to a system of centralized vote counting. We have already witnessed the suppression by GECOM of the Region Four Statements of Poll which forced the recount, in reality an audit in disguise, upon us. GECOM has yet to explain to the people of Guyana the reason for not using these Statements of Poll when they made their first declaration of the election results earlier in March.

It cannot be stressed enough that the Statements of Poll are vital to the integrity of the electoral process and that dispensing with their use makes counting at the place of poll superfluous. Centralized counting is a retrograde step and is to be regarded as yet another nail hammered into the coffin of democracy in Guyana.

Yours truly, Marcel Gaskin

welfare of the Guyanese people is my greatest concern. I am Guyanese… I want to see future generations happy. Guyana is my whole life.”

If these words are true, Mr. Granger must now tell his supporters and the country the truth, no matter how much it hurts. By this act alone Mr. Granger will release GECOM from the tentacles of the

rigging cabal and allow it to execute its constitutional duties unhindered; it will allow for the transition preparations to commence.

There is a small window left, Mr. Granger, unshackle our people, let us breathe again, the people and country will thank you; your legacy will be redeemed.

Yours truly, Gail Teixeira

We must prepare to embrace truth no matter our race or personal preference DEAR SIR, Please allow me to add my voice to the national debate (or debacle) surrounding our electoral process. I am neither a politician nor an attorney, nor do I have authority nor sufficient knowledge to pronounce on these lofty matters. I’m simply a concerned citizen, and like the rest of the population, am looking forward to the end of this strategically sustained saga.

My purpose for writing this letter is to encourage us all to look beyond race and personal preferences and seek to embrace truth. Truth is absolute. Its out-workings do not always support our ideas or ideals, but if we are to embrace truth and national healing, we must be prepared to applaud the true winner and encourage the loser while we all work together for the good of the Nation. With such an attitude, we will all be winners.

More often than not, our actions are propelled by racial

insecurity which causes us to eye another race with suspicion. I therefore plead with all and sundry to put aside trepidation and tribalism; to encourage love and racial harmony instead of hate.

There have been many painful racial utterances on social media. This is a grievance to me. No person chooses his/ her race, so why should anyone display such backwardness as to denigrate another person on account of his/ her race. That’s beyond foolish!

Finally, as we await the final declaration, I urge us all to follow this Biblical injunction: “...let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1: 19-20 ).

Righteousness (not race) exalts a Nation! ( Proverbs 14:34) Yours truly, Claudia Heywood

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox It is either we reject Lowenfield’s figures or face the end of democracy DEAR EDITOR, Today marks 118 days during which Guyanese have been waiting the results of the General and Regional elections of March 2. Guyana wins hands down the prize for the longest delay in the declaration of the results of any elections anywhere in the world and the elections with the most number of attempted declarations.

The first was by R 4 Presiding Officer Clairmont Mingo at the Ashmins’ Building and then there was Mingo at the GECOM Headquarters. Then there was the first of four by Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield in March which GECOM is holding in abeyance.

Then on the 13th June, Lowenfield submitted what amounted to three declarations – one a tabulation of the valid votes giving the PPP/C a clear victory; a second, narrative report in which he stated that the results of the elections could not be ascertained because of anomalies and impersonation; and yet another where he adjusted the tabulation by deducting 275,092 votes or close to 60% of the votes cast thereby giving the APNU+AFC a huge victory.

Then taking his cue from a Court of Appeal decision which he appeared to have anticipated, he made a further declaration citing the CoA’s decision itself. This time, in an act of generosity with which he was not usually credited, Lowenfield reenfranchised 159,248 of the 275,092 which he had previously disenfranchised.

What is remarkable is that within one day, Lowenfield was able to review the entirety of the 275,092 votes which he had previously rejected to make such a wonderful change. And he did this all by himself with no observer, no instruction and no assistance! What a man,

what a feat! He will either end up among the pantheon of election geniuses, or in jail.

Then taking its cue from Lowenfield’s later figures which give them a narrow oneseat majority, the APNU+AFC has been going around their strongholds with Lowenfield’s ‘declaration’.

The APNU+AFC having previously failed to convince even its diehard supporters of its victory, now hopes to feed them the Lowenfield lie. All of which only serves to make the options facing Guyana being civil unrest if the PPP/C comes out the winner or sanctions if the APNU+AFC manages to have Granger sworn in.

This is the background against which the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will be hearing arguments in an appeal brought by Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali against a decision of the Court of Appeal in the matter brought by Eslyn David, yet another supporter of the PNC-R/APNU with the sole purpose of delaying the results of the March 2, 2020 elections. The substantive matter is an action brought before the Court of Appeal in which the APNU+AFC succeeded on a 2:1 vote, as it did in the GECOM Chair James Patterson and the No Confidence/majority of 65 case.

In each of these cases, the decision of the Court of Appeal was overturned but once again Attorney General Basil Williams exudes tremendous confidence, telling the CCJ that it has no jurisdiction in the matter! He is not only an optimist but a masochist basing his argument on Section 4 (3) of the Caribbean Court of Justice Act and completely overlooking Section 6 of the very Act. There is a lot of talk and much hope for a decisive outcome from the CCJ in this matter. I am less optimistic.

The first has to do with my own experience with the CCJ in the No Confidence Vote case and I recall the absence

of precise, definitive and clear orders which the APNU+AFC used to perpetuate itself in office. Had there been a clearer judgment by the CCJ, the current issue might not have arisen in the first place.

In this David’s case, the CCJ has to consider essentially two matters: whether the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to hear the case and second whether the court’s insertion of the word “valid” in Article 177 of the Constitution of Guyana in the context of “more votes are cast” really adds anything as Williams, Lowenfield and the APNU seem to think.

There are a number of possible outcomes in this matter, including holding that only one or the other issue stands. For example, the CCJ can rule that the CoA had jurisdiction but that it exceeded its powers or wrongly decided the interpretation issue under Article 177 (4) of the Constitution. Or it can rule that given the absence of any legislation to give effect to Article 177 (4), the CoA had no jurisdiction. If the CCJ finds that the CoA had no jurisdiction or its insertion of the word “valid” in excess of its jurisdiction, then Lowenfield’s June 23 report also fails. Of course, the CCJ’s own jurisdiction in this matter is being called into question, a position which I think will not succeed. Now, having stated that I am less than optimistic, I do find it hard to see the CCJ ignoring the impasse which has now gone on for three months or the results of the recount in which the region’s legitimate interlocutor participated and concluded as constituting valid votes.

Whichever way the Court goes however, the matter will go back to GECOM which has a constitutional duty over elections, including powers to exercise control over the Chief Election Officer.

Lowenfield is not the allpowerful unbridled horse that he thinks he is, nor can those who benefit from his misdeeds immune him from the consequences of his misadventures.

For now, Guyana remains a constitutional democracy and all Guyanese have an interest to see that it remains that way.

Lowenfield’s/APNU+AFC’s alternative is far too frightening to contemplate and must be avoided at all cost. It would not only be the end of democracy as contemplated by our Constitution, but the very end of our country as we know it.

Yours truly, Christopher Ram

JAGDEO PUTS OIL TRADERS ON NOTICE - says sanctions loom for engaging with ‘illegal’ Govt.

PPP/C Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

By Mikaila Prince Leader of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C), Bharrat Jagdeo, is sounding a warning to all of the oil traders who are vying to market Guyana’s crude.

The Opposition Leader was keen to highlight that sanctions loom for those oil companies and/or traders who are forming ties with an “illegal” government.

Jagdeo was alluding to the 19 shortlisted oil traders who have been selected by the Department of Energy (DoE) to market Guyana’s oil from the Liza One Destiny Floating Production and Storing (FPSO) vessel, the first oil production ship offshore of Guyana.

Kaieteur News, in a previous report, had disclosed that 15 out of the 19 shortlisted companies have been linked to scandals, bribery and widespread corruption..

These well-documented malpractices, which have resulted in convictions and fines, have ensnared senior executives of these oil companies and traders, while others are still under investigation.

Public documents show for example that three of the world’s largest commodities trading firms – Vitol SA, Glencore PLC and Mercuria Energy Group – have used intermediaries to funnel over US$31 million in bribes to corrupt Petrobras employees.

This was done in order to win massive contracts, along with acquiring other benefits, and resulted in one of the largest corruption scandals in recent history.

Dubbed ‘Operation Car Wash’ affair, the fallouts saw hundreds of indictments, and over a hundred corruption convictions including that of former President of Brazil, Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva.

Sharing his perspective on the matter, Jagdeo told this publication on Friday: “They (oil traders) should avoid forming ties with any

The list of 19 oil traders which have been shortlisted by the Energy Dept. to market Guyana’s crude. government that is attempting to steal an election, and that could very well mean sanctions, should they persist.”

He continued: “To move ahead at this point in time when a new government has not yet been sworn in is callous, and I hope that the companies that are interested would also understand that.

While we want a long-term relationship with everyone, the timing is very bad. It would not be seen as transparent.”

Jagdeo is firm of the view that now is certainly not the ideal time to be signing onto international contracts, especially considering the impasse the country has been caught in for the past 117 days due to unfortunate events that stemmed from March 2nd General and Regional Elections.

Many transparency advocates have also expressed reservations on this matter given the corrupt past of many of these companies and traders.

In their view, no agreements should be signed as they can provide fertile grounds for corruption.

Speaking on this matter was PPP/C member and

petroleum academic, Charles Ramson Jnr. The attorney-at-law was keen to note that all the companies seeking to market Guyana’s oil should lend serious consideration to the authority of the administration to even enter into such contracts at this point. His comment was also hinged on the fact that it was President David Granger who, some months ago, said that his government would not enter into any new contracts.

Further to this, Ramson said there is no immediate need to run to market at this point especially when one considers that prices are at its lowest.

“So there are several elements to be considered, whether they have the authority to be engaging companies in this manner, and in my opinion, they don’t.

And they need to be concerned about what can happen if there is a new government.”

Nonetheless, the 19 shortlisted companies will progress at the next phase of the procurement process and exclusively and at the same time, receive the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Mr. Lowenfield your actions are treasonous – GCCI Head The actions by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, where he sought to invalidate 115,844 valid votes and hand the victory of the March 2nd, 2020 General and Regional Elections to the incumbent APNU+AFC Coalition could be described as “treason.”

In an open letter to the CEO dated June 26th, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) responded to L o w e n f i e l d ’ s pronouncements that he “acted in conformity with the law”, defending his position to submit his final report to the GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, using alternate figures than those of the recount.

He failed to pinpoint in his defense, the section of the Constitution which grants him that power.

The CEO had said: “At all times, I have acted in conformity with the laws and therefore my action cannot be ‘seen as clear act of insubordination…While the Commission makes certain policy decisions and provides guidance to the Chief Election Officer for implementation by the Secretariat, I have to execute my duties as a Constitutional Officer, particularly in the conduct of elections.”

The GCCI, however, noted Lowenfield disregarded key lines in the Constitution.

“While its certain,” the City Chamber said in its statement yesterday, “from the release that you have read the Section 177 (b) of the Constitution, we wish to call to your attention the third and fourth paragraphs of the Preamble which says, “WE,

Treason?: Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield THE GUYANESE PEOPLE, forge a system of governance that promotes concerted efforts and broad based participation in national decision making in order to develop a viable economy and a harmonious community based on democratic values, social justice, fundamental rights and the rule of law.”

The chamber noted that Section 9 also reads: “Sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under this Constitution.”

Those rights, the GCCI stressed, were violated by Lowenfield after he attempted to scrap 115,844 valid votes, “taking away the rights, afforded under Section 160 (b) to all citizens, from one hundred and fifteen thousand citizens” with the resulting repercussions painting a dark future for business, the economy and the wellbeing of Guyana.

The City Chamber made it clear that the CEO’s actions have “violated Sections of the Constitution” in a deliberate overt act “to overthrow the core principle of the

Sovereignty of the People and the Electoral System of P r o p o r t i o n a l Representation.”

“Your reports,” they told Lowenfield, “seeks to install a Government that has not been democratically elected by the will of the people.”

In that report, Lowenfield scrapped 115,844 votes, tabulated during the recount and reducing the total valid votes cast in the General Election from 460,352 to 344,508. Those figures gave the win to the incumbent Coalition with 171,825 votes while he claimed the Opposition attained 166,343 votes.

Referencing Section 318 of Ch: 8:01 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, the GCCI posited that Lowenfield committed treason.

“These actions can be construed as treasonous, using Section 318 of Ch: 8:01 The Criminal Law (Offences) Act, which states that “Any person owing allegiance to the state who, whether in Guyana or elsewhere – forms an intention to levy war against the state or to overthrow the Government or the Constitution of Guyana by force and manifests such intention by any over act;” would have committed treason.”

The CEO, has one final opportunity to “redeem” himself, according to the City Chamber.

“If the Caribbean Court of Justice overrules our local Court of Appeal’s ruling, and you withdraw your report, then you should submit the correct report, which is in keeping with the will of the people.”

That report would consist of the valid figures from the national recount with the opposition’s People’s

Dem boys seh...

Ogle will be the Manhattan of Guyana Dem boys see wan piece of land on Regent Street, de busiest street in Georgetown. De land small. It only about 2400 square feet.

It far smaller dan a normal house lat. Dem boys ask de owner of de land how much he want fuh it. He seh, “US$7M or G$1.4B.” Dat should give you an idea of de value of commercial land in de heart of the city.

Ogle, pun de East Coast gan be de next city in the country. Ogle gan be the Manhattan of Guyana. It dun start develop. People who gat land deh nah selling. Dem holding fuh when de price go up mo. Ogle gan be a highend commercial and residential city.

Dat is why when dem boys hear guvment scampering fuh conclude transaction fuh sell cane lands in Ogle, dem boys antenna raise up. Dem boys wan know wah is the mad rush fuh legalize de sale of dem lands.

Dem boys does get concern when outgoing guvament hurrying fuh sell off ting.

Dem boys does be afraid dat is more than selling tekkin place.

But dem boys worry mo about something else. Dem boys wan know de price wah de land sell fuh. Because de cane lands in Ogle nah worth millions. It nah worth hundreds of millions. It gat value in de billions. So dem boys seh hurrying fuh sell it off quickly nah de best idea. A even wusser idea is de big misinformation campaign dem boys see Soulja bai and people dem going on.

More news page and suh springing up pun de Facebook than fly pun wet cowdung – we got de Hap New/ Hay Heff See vershan of CNN, GNN and Village Vice and all of them trying fuh kerfuffle people with chupidness.

Dem boy see we gone from Rushans to Mercury now to big kidnap plot nonsense.

Demy boys seh all we got leff to hear bout is dem big head alien coming out and saying, ‘Take we to your leader, but the leader got to be Granger.’

Talk halk and wait fuh de new govament to tell GNN about the price for dem Ogle land.

Progressive Party (PPP) emerging the victors with 233,336 votes, giving it the one-seat majority in Parliament.

The City Chamber told Lowenfield that his “treasonous” report, if it is allowed to stand, “shall have

one of the most lasting negative impacts on our society and future generations, as well as your legacy.”

Further, they stated: “Rest assured that when all of this comes to an inglorious end, you will face the

consequences of the law if you dig your heels in to plunge off a cliff with our country in tow; instead you can change course and do the right thing to let our nation move forward with a genuinely ‘credible’ election cycle and heal.”

11 HEALTH WORKERS ISOLATED IN BARTICA

...3-yr-old tested positive for COVID-19 Eleven healthcare workers, comprising of doctors and nurses, are now in isolation after coming into contact with Bartica’s first recorded case of COVID-19.

There are now concerns among the residents of that Region Seven Township of the Health Department’s capacity to handle the rapidly rising number of positive cases.

The 11 healthcare workers, comprising of five nurses, two doctors, one lab technician and two porters, were placed in home isolation for 14 days after they came into direct contact with Bartica’s first positive case last week.

The situation would highlight the growing strain on the country’s capacity to deal with the pandemic with resources, beds and protective clothing in demand. The healthcare workers were said to have failed to follow the necessary guidelines, set out by the Ministry of Public Health and the local health department, and dealt directly with the patient, who exhibited symptoms closely related to malaria.

The patient was treated and sent home but later returned after his symptoms became more severe. It was also revealed that several health personnel refused to turn out to work after accusing the health department of failure to put systems in place to safeguard them.

A source revealed that it was after the patient returned to the hospital, that a test was conducted which showed that that patient was positive for the Novel Coronavirus.

The patient was then immediately transferred to an isolation facility in Georgetown for further management and care.

A source revealed to this publication that the regional hospital in Bartica, which was understaffed long before the COVID-19 pandemic reached the shores of Guyana, remains in dire need of staffing and supplies from the National COVID-19 Taskforce in order to combat the spread of the Novel Coronavirus.

Kaieteur News reached

Region 7 RHO, Dr. Edward Sagala out to the Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr. Edward Sagala, for a comment on the matter. However, he refused to comment.

With limited resources to its disposal, residents are now concerned whether the local Health Department will be able to contain the spread of COVID-19 after it was revealed yesterday that a total of five persons had tested positive in the mining town of Bartica, including a three year old child.

Kaieteur News reached out to several residents of Bartica who all shared similar concerns.

One resident in particular, noted that the residents of Bartica were not taking the warning seriously after number of persons were seen gathered and “sporting “at a popular beach on Father’s Day. The resident added the COVID-19 patient was among the persons seen at the gathering.

The Regional Health and Emergency Committee (RHEC) headed by the RHO

issued a press release yesterday admonishing person for their careless behaviour.

“What is sad and of increasing concern is the fact that Barticians are continuously flaunting/ ignoring the advisories that the Health Department, time and time again, has been preaching, and no one seems to be listening, showing care or even bothering at all. Face masks are not worn; instead individuals keep them in their bags and pockets. Social distancing is not being observed at all. Small children can be seen wandering on the road unsupervised. Where are the parents? Barticians still continue to be casual and unconcerned, despite our constant reminders that we are facing a deadly disease,” the release stated.

Furthermore, the RHO in the press release urged person to adhere to the precautionary guidelines set out by the Ministry of Public Health as well as the National COVID-19 Taskforce.

“Please continue to pray for us, the medical staff and all those affected by this dreadful virus. Please stay safe, observe the curfew, stay at home if you are feeling unwell or unless it is necessary to go out…and, of utmost importance, show special care and attention to small children to keep them out of harm’s way,” the RHO added.

The number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb rapidly in the mining town of Bartica with the mining community of Aranka remaining the epicenter of the virus in the region.

The Bartica Hospital

PAGE 10

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

LABOURER, 48, FOUND DEAD IN TRENCH

Guyana retains ‘Tier 1’ ranking in latest US Trafficking in Persons report

The Ministry of Social Protection.

The home in which Rajanauth Daljit lived.

The lifeless body of a labourer, 48, was found floating in a trench on the Essequibo Coast on Friday afternoon.

The man, who was identified as Rajanauth Daljit, was found dead in a trench which runs parallel to the New Road public road.

Daljit’s neighbour said that she last saw him leaving his New Road home, sometime around 07:00hrs. Friday afternoon.

The elderly woman said: “Yesterday morning early around seven o’ clock, he went out because when he leaves home he calls out for me and he says Chachi morning.”

Based on reports reaching Kaieteur News, Daljit left for the home of a farmer who was identified as Koomar.

The farmer said that he last saw Daljit washing some paddy bags in the trench.

The farmer reportedly left Daljit and went in search of cow manure.

Upon returning home, he realized that Daljit’s cigarettes and lighter were on his verandah, but the labourer was nowhere to be seen.

After searching for some time, Koomar said that he saw something floating in the front trench. Upon investigating, the farmer realized that it was the body of Daljit, floating face down.

An alarm was raised and neighbours and relatives rushed to the scene.

A neighbour who spoke with Kaieteur News said that the man lived alone and suffered from epilepsy, commonly known as ‘fits’.

Residents also mentioned that the man was an alcoholic.

Police later arrived on the scene, and the body was taken to the Oscar Joseph Hospital, Charity.

Guyana has retained its Tier 1 ranking for the fourth consecutive year according to the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report of the United States Department of State, which was released on Thursday.

The annual TIP Report ranks countries across the globe based on their efforts to combat “trafficking in persons,” with Tier 1 being the highest-ranking a country can attain.

Countries given the ranking are those who have “made efforts to address the human trafficking problem that meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) minimum standards.

Guyana and The Bahamas are the only two Caribbean countries with a Tier 1 ranking.

The report applauded Guyana for its efforts in “demonstrating serious and sustained efforts by completing a draft amendment of the Combating Trafficking of Persons Act; sentencing a convicted trafficker to a total of 15 years imprisonment; drafting a national action plan to eliminate child labor; completing standard

operating procedures for investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases, and opening its first trafficking shelter outside of the capital area.”

In the period covered by the report, law enforcement authorities in collaboration with the Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) Unit, Ministry of Social Protection investigated 27 cases of alleged trafficking in persons.

In addition, 112 alleged victims were identified and provided with psychosocial support from the Ministry of Social Protection (MoSP) and its partners.

According to the ministry, it notes the US State Department’s prioritized recommendations in its 2020 TIP Report and wishes to state that it concurs with those recommendations as areas that need to be bolstered.

“In fact, the Ministry through constant monitoring identified these and other areas that needed to be strengthened to alleviate the anxieties of victims and survivors. For example, on the recommendation of providing specialized services to

migrant victims of TIP, the Ministry established a halfway home in June 2019 to cater specifically to adult migrants (male and female victims) of trafficking.”

The Ministry said it also recognized the need to have staff who are bilingual hence, a bilingual staff was employed and assigned to the C-TIP Unit in February 2020. Other frontline officials – including members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the C-TIP’s Unit - are currently participating in Spanish classes, an initiative funded

by International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“It is the Ministry’s vision to expand on this initiative to include other languages.

Additionally, on the recommendation to strengthen the capacity of Labour Inspectors to identify and refer victims of labor trafficking, MoSP has conducted a number of training with the Inspectors over the years. The next training is scheduled for October, 2020.”

On the recommendation of tracking reports, the Ministry said it also activated a system Continued on page 55

Man arrested 5 months after fatal hitand-run that left Guyanese teen dead Canada (www.cp24.com/news)- A 21-yearold man has been charged in connection with a Brampton hit-and-run in January that left a 16-year-old girl dead.

The crash happened near Gore Road and Queen Street at around 12:20 a.m. on Jan. 5 Peel police said a passing motorist found the victim lying in the eastbound lanes of Queen Street and suffering from a head injury.

The teenager was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was identified as Toronto resident Dianna Manan.

Police said the vehicle involved did not remain at the scene.

“Whatever happened to her, she didn’t deserve to be thrown like an animal or something. Even animals don’t die that way,” Savi Lakeram, Manan’s mother, told CTV News Toronto the day after the crash.

Lakeram said Manan was a “happy kid” who dreamed of being a doctor.

Following an investigation, police said Vaughan resident Adhinath Sankar was arrested on Thursday.

Sankar was charged with fail to remain

DIED: Dianna Manan causing death. He was scheduled to appear for a bail hearing on Friday.

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

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PAGE 12

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Washington DC lawsuit reveals…

ExxonMobil hired scientists to spread confusion, doubt after learning about climate change

By Kiana Wilburg More than five decades ago, ExxonMobil and three other major oil companiesChevron, Shell and British Petroleum (BP)- were told by their in-house scientists that climate change is an indisputable fact.

Importantly, they were told that their products would play a key role in heightening the catastrophic consequences of this phenomenon. But revealing to its consumers the environmental dangers associated with its products meant sacrificing billions of dollars in profits. So what did these fossil fuel polluters do next? They invested in a lean, mean confusion machine.

According to the details of a lawsuit that was brought last week Wednesday against the fossil fuel polluters by the Attorney General of Washington D.C, it was noted that these oil giants funded and controlled a special group of scientists whose purpose were to create doubt and sow seeds of confusion about the science of climate change.

The class action, that is 101 pages long, exposed that those scientists who were part of the oil companies’ campaign of deception, obtained part or their entire research budget directly or indirectly from companies like the American Petroleum Institute (API) which defended the interests of the defendants for decades.

ExxonMobil CEO and President, Darren Woods The lawsuit stated that in the 1990s for example, both Exxon and API funded and promoted the work of two physicists, Fred Seitz and Fred Singer, as well as Singer’s Science and Environmental Policy Project (“SEPP”).

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) contended that neither Seitz nor Singer was trained in climate science.

This publication understands that both had previously been hired by tobacco companies to create doubt in the public mind by questioning mainstream scientific conclusions.

Further to this, the OAG noted that in 1998, Seitz helped to organize and distribute a sham petition “refuting” global warming.

The petition was formatted to look like it was sanctioned by the National Academy of Sciences and sent to thousands of American

scientists. This newspaper understands that the petition claimed to find “no convincing scientific evidence that human release of . . . greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.”

Although supposedly signed by 17,000 “scientists,” the list of signatories was filled with fictitious names, deceased persons, and celebrities.

The OAG said that the petition was so misleading that the National Academy of Sciences issued a news release stating that: “The petition project was a deliberate attempt to mislead scientists and to rally them in an attempt to undermine support for the Kyoto Protocol. The petition was not based on a review of the science of global climate change, nor was its signed

Washington DC’s Attorney General, Karl A. Racine experts in the field of climate science.”

The Office of the Attorney General stated that the defendants’ disinformation campaign regarding the existence and dangers of climate change was not only successful but created a false sense of disagreement among the scientific community despite the clear consensus previously acknowledged by its own scientists, experts, and managers.

HOW MUCH DID THEY KNOW? According to the lawsuit, scientists who were working for the oil companies or their industry trade associations predicted with precision when global temperature rises would occur and by how much.

In this regard, the Attorney General’s Office pointed to a 1968 report that was paid for by the American Petroleum Institute — the

leading industry trade group at the time was funded and controlled by the defendants.

The report projected that atmospheric carbon dioxide (“CO2”) concentrations would rise from 280 to 370 parts per million (“ppm”) by 2000. Years later, this was proven to be true with actual concentrations in 2000 at 369 ppm. It was further noted that by 1982, Exxon’s scientists in particular, predicted that atmospheric carbon dioxide would reach nearly 415 ppm by 2019. This also proved true for on May 11, 2019, atmospheric CO2 surpassed 415 ppm. This was Earth’s highest level in three million years.

The OAG categorically stated that ExxonMobil and the other oil companies were and are fully aware that the effects of a warming planet from massive fossil fuel combustion include, but are not limited to: increased sea

levels; increased ocean temperature and acidity; extreme weather including heat and drought, as well as extreme precipitation events, wildfires, flooding, and more frequent, longer-lasting, and more severe storms.

These events threaten human health, food security, agriculture, economic productivity, water supplies, national security, and labour productivity. The effects of climate change also damage public infrastructure and social systems, and exacerbate economic inequality. Furthermore, a warmer planet poses a significantly increased risk for biodiversity, species loss and extinction, and ecosystem impacts, as well as enormous economic injuries and losses on individuals, communities, and public and private institutions.

The Attorney General’s Office was keen to reiterate that the defendants knew all of the foregoing. They knew that these increases in greenhouse gas concentrations would increase global temperatures, which would in turn wreak havoc on the planet, resulting in severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.

But instead of sharing what it was acutely aware of, the OAG stated that ExxonMobil and its counterparts hid the information and choose to deceive the public about the threat of global warming.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 13

CJIA readies for proposed July 1 reopening CMO, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, and airport and other officials during a demonstration of equipment that will test body temperature at the CJIA

Stand in line: CJIA staff demonstrates how passengers will be allowed to stand in line at the airport in observance of the social-distancing rule

A sign at the airport, in the baggage retrieval area

I

n preparation for the phased reopening of the international airports, the Guyana Civil Av i a t i o n A u t h o r i t y (GCAA) teamed up with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to ensure that the airport is up to par with the guidelines to protect passengers against the spread of COVID -19.

A team from the MoPH, the GCAA and Immigration conducted a walk through and site visit at the CJIA on

Friday to have a firsthand view of the COVID-19 measures that have been put in place ahead of the proposed July 1 reopening.

According to a video released by the Ministry of Public Health, the GCAA joined in helping to form and stipulate requirements by which the airline operators, airport staff, passengers and other stakeholders are Av i a t i o n s e c u r i t y Manager Abraham Doris noted that the intention is to

enforce safety and hygiene practices. He noted the GCAA will also have a surveillance team present to ensure that the regulations are adhered to.

Chief Medical Officer, ( C M O ) D r. S h a m d e o Persaud noted that CJIA has outfitted with the necessary equipment and labels to help safeguard workers and passengers against the spread of the infectious disease.

Last month, the National

COVID-19 Task Force set into motion a blueprint for the 4-stage phased reopening of the country's airports to international travel.

The GCAA, the aviation body submitted the blueprint to 48 local, regional and international stakeholders.

Director-General of

GCAA, Egbert Field had noted that critical planning, as outlined by Phase 1 of the blueprint, is essential to the airports' resuming international travel.

During this phase 1, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be developed to guide health,

safety and security at the airports and aboard flights in light of COVID-19.

Further, the GCAA has already drafted regulations that will bolster the SOPs by applying penalties to individuals and entities should there be any infractions.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Sunday June 28, 2020

… is k ee W e th of r ke or W e in tl on Fr r Ou

Dr. Nichole Nedd-Jerrick At church, with her Adventurer Class

Dr. Nichole Nedd-Jerrick

By Sharmain Grainger

W

e are not all cut from the same cloth. If we were the world would have been an especially dreary and bleak place with robotic and expected outcomes rather than spontaneous ingenuity manifested here and there bringing with it awe to our existence.

So clearly, although we all represent a part of the human race, we recognise, and should accept that each have traits that demonstrate our uniqueness and importance. Though we may not always be receptive of another's or even our own distinctiveness we are what we are and sometimes

[

“

propel her into the medical field to help make better the injured and the infirmed.

In fact, these days she is outfitted with insurmountable zeal that has made her suitable to be on the frontline to combat one of the most dreaded public health threats the world has ever seen – COVID19.

The unction, she recalled, was awaken when she witnessed a health worker care for a patient.

That health worker was her own maternal grandmother – Ms. Melisha Toney. Dr. Nedd-Jerrick recently reflected on that defining moment.

“I wanted to become a seamstress but one of my primary

[

My role is as a medical practitioner and institution head at the primary care level. At the Polyclinic, I started by preparing a policy document to guide our response. As a clinic, we have sought to take steps, to reduce and prevent the spread of COVID, by ensuring hand-washing before entering the compound, patient screening, management and referral.

We also promote prevention through education.

“

must struggle to fit in to prove we belong.

For some of us our true potential, our absolute reason for existence, befuddles, but then an encounter, an experience even, brings us to the realization of our purpose.

While the young version of Dr. Nichole Nedd-Jerrick, bursting at the seams with 'fashionable ideas', was convinced that she was born into this world to become a seamstress, it was an encounter that brought her to the realization that she had so much more gusto within.

What she possessed was enough to

school teachers encouraged me to become a doctor or lawyer. Well, that's the story in a nutshell – the longer version is more interesting.

A few years later, my interest in the medical field was further stimulated as I observed my grandmother, who was a Medex at the time, care for a trauma patient.”

Because of that exposure she decided to acquire knowledge and, ever since, has been honing skills to become an outstanding medical practitioner who has today taken a lead role in the fight against COVID-19 in our dear land.

But must, however, be noted

Garbed in an outfit she created

that, deep within, she s t i l l possesses astounding creative talent which s h e unleashes, occasionally, to enthuse a world thirsty for some spontaneity.

FOUNDAT ION D r. N e d d Jerrick's entry into the world was on April 23, 1975. She and her younger brother, Ossie Nedd, were privileged to be raised by parents Aubrey Nedd, a former Deputy Headmaster of the Cove and John Secondary School, and Genevieve Whyte-Nedd, a former Chief Education Officer (ag). Back then, home was Two Friends Village on the East Coast of Demerara although, she recalled, a few years of her upbringing were spent in Linden.

She attended the Clonbrook Primary School also on the East Coast of Demerara and the then Watooka Day School in Linden before claiming a place at The Bishops' High School where she completed her secondary education. Her favourite pastimes as you probably guessed was sewing. Calligraphy consumed some of her time as well.

But after being enticed by things medical she decided to delve into the Medicine programme (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery - MBBS) at the University of Guyana and later completed a Master's at the University of London, UCL. To complement the knowledge she possesses, Dr. Nedd-Jerrick is currently reading for a postgraduate diploma in Mental Health Policy and Services at the Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health, NOVA Medical School located in Portugal.

Her specialty as a medical practitioner is primary health care which she executes effortlessly at the Enmore Polyclinic which falls under the purview of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Dr. NeddJerrick has been at the East Coast Demerara health facility for 15 years now and has, for the past 13 years, sat at its helm.

She is dedicated to primary (continued on page 52)

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Jamaica authorities forfeit...

From page 3 also ordered the forfeiture of cash in the amount of J$148,000. The cash was seized from Evroy Rowe on October 4, 2016 during an intelligence driven operation.

Rowe was stopped on Laws

Street in the vicinity of Pearnel Charles Arcade, downtown Kingston and later transported to the Kingston Central Criminal Investigations Branch office where the car he was driving was searched and a quantity of Western Union

receipts in the names of several Jamaican recipients found.

Rowe was unable to satisfactorily account for the seized cash. The cash was therefore seized pursuant to the POCA as it was reasonably believed that the cash was recoverable property or was intended for use in unlawful conduct.

Sunday June 28, 2020 In all three applications for forfeiture of seized cash, the FID said the courts found that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the cash seized was derived from unlawful sources or was intended to be used for unlawful conduct.

The forfeiture applications were made pursuant to Section 79 of the Proceeds of Crime Act,

which permits the Parish Court to order the forfeiture of cash if satisfied that the cash is either recoverable property or is intended to be used by any person in unlawful conduct.

Hay says this provision properly allows the FID to properly accomplish a key goal of taking the profit out of crime.

Kaieteur News

Divya Yabindranauth

Sunday June 28, 2020

Meet the dazzling Miss Divya Yabindranauth. Divya is an aspiring model, humanitarian, and dreamer who is always eager to represent Guyana on the international platform.

One of her favourite quotes is, “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.�

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Sunday June 28, 2020

Prolific self-published author,

Geary Reid,

By Rehanna Ramsay

W

ith over thirty s e l f published books under his belt, Guyanese author, Geary Reid, continues to push the status quo. His aim is to become one of the most prolific and diverse selfpublished writers in the region, if not in the world.

With this objective in mind, Reid has published thirtyfour books in one month -the smallest book 50 pages and the largest has 220 pages.

The books, published under genres of Academic Professional /Business; General Knowledge and M o t i v a t i o n ; Christian/Religion And Family Life, made their debut in February of this year.

His latest release of two more books, just this week, has brought the feat to thirtysix self –published books.

The newest additions to the collection of books are, Teachers are the key to the future and Finish Strong all of which are available for

is a 'Special Person' sale in E-format on Amazon.com. The books can also be reviewed on his w e b s i t e a t WWW.REIDNLEARN.CO M. Reid, who describes himself as a bookworm and an academic said that he developed an urge to write during his years of studying.

Guyana's public and private sectors.

The author is the holder of a Master of Business Administration (MBA); is an Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) member; Master Project Manager (MPM) and Fellow of the American Academy of Project

“

The early mornings are quiet and I'm well rested and energized and I can spend time drawing inspiration, especially from the Creator to put my thoughts into words.

He said that the books are a product of over two decades of studies combined with the personal experiences.

ABILITY AND KNOWLEDGE This week's 'Special Person' has spent over twenty –five years working in management positions in

Mr Reid with his beloved wife Claudette; son John and daughter Ariel

”

Management (FAAPM).

In the modern environment, where there is a need for adherence to corporate governance, leadership, financial management, human resource management, strategic management, operation management, marketing and information

systems, he provided support in those areas, within several organizations.

These wide ranges of qualifications have equipped him with the ability and knowledge to assist many organizations to become successful and improve in their profit growth.

In addition his list of qualifications, Reid is a certified Reverend of the New Testament Church of God. But above his accomplishment, Reid is husband to Claudette Patricia Providence-Reid and father to two children John Isaiah Reid and Ariel Sarah Reid - his greatest treasures.

Speaking to Kaieteur news about his efforts, Reid explained how he managed to balance his career, family life and studies and spiritual life towards achieving his goals.

The Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke/Linden Highway resident is of the view that people must work hard and smart if they want to become successful.

He stressed that “everyone is likely to achieve success if they know what they have and work towards achieving those things that they will like to have.”

As a Pastor/Family Life Advocate, Reid said that while he presses towards his dreams, he strives to make sure that his family is well taken care of.

“My first four books were written as result of studying and seeing the new for material in a more simplified format. So I

Self-published Guyanese Author, Geary Reid

developed a regiment to balance my job, studies, family and church life in a way that I could have still had time to write.”

“Every day, I would work my regular nine to five job then go home, deal with my family, ensure that their needs are covered, then I would get about four to five hours of sleep and wake up at around 1:00 am to work on my books,” he explained.

The author noted that he found the wee hours of the morning as the best time to focus on his writing.

“The early mornings are quiet and I'm well rested and energized and I can spend time drawing inspiration, especially from the Creator to put my thoughts into words,” he explained.

He noted that weekends were not excluded.

“I chipped in some work in between church activities,” Reid said of his efforts to becoming a self published author.

SELF-PUBLISHED According to Reid, the road to becoming a selfpublished authored was not without its challenges. The books were written over a 17-year period but were all published this year.

In addition, to developing a work regiment that would permit him the time to write, he had to make time to study.

“So I wrote the first four books between 2003 and 2005 while I was studying.

Then, I took a break to focus on my studies; that from 2005- 2016. Then, after I graduated, I focused more on writing and I was able to complete the thirty other books, “he said.

Reid explained that by then, he had gained a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Before the books were released, Reid solicited the advice and critique of over forty local reviewers; each having the wealth of experience and knowledge in various fields.

He noted that the books were reviewed by trusted names in management, academics, Christian leadership and social work.

After the books were reviewed locally, the author said that he sought around the globe for a company equipped with professional proof reading and editing skills to help strengthen the content.

The writer eventually (continued on page 47)

Two of Reid's self –published books available on Amazon

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 19

Granger should disassociate himself from the attacks on Mia Mottley

P

resident David Granger has said that he was going to accept the Guyana E l e c t i o n s C o m m ission (GECOM')s declaration of the elections results. He is also a signatory to an agreement which binds him to accepting the results of the recount of the ballots cast at the elections of March 2, 2020.

The two are not mutually exclusive. The winner of the recount is the winner of the elections and it is the recount votes which have to form the basis of any declaration by GECOM. The President of Guyana cannot therefore on the one hand agree to accept a d e c l a r a t i o n if that declaration is not consistent with the recount results. Any declaration which is outside of the recount results nullifies the recount results which the President agreed in writing to accept.

Leadership is about taking a stand even if the rest of your colleagues are against you.

There is nothing preventing President Granger from publicly announcing his acceptance of the results of the recount.

He can bring an end to the country's electoral crisis if he does this. After all he committed to accepting the results of the recount.

The President also has a responsibility to restrain his supporters from attacking

the Caribbean Community and in particular the Chairperson, Hon. Mia Mottley. Criticism of her is one thing but these have careened into distasteful and abusive personal attacks.

Caricom is not interfering in Guyana's affairs. Guyana is a member of the Caribbean Community. In 1998, the St. Lucia Statement expressed the Community's resolve to be in the forefront of efforts to assist Guyana as part of its own family. This Statement was signed to by the leaders of both the People's Progressive Party and the People's National Congress.

As with any family, if there is a problem then it is the responsibility of family members to get involved. It is moral obligation to assist and this is what has been happening. The sentiments therefore being expressed by APNU+AFC supporters calling on Caricom community to butt out of Guyana's affairs are misguided.

Guyana is a signatory to the Charter of Civil Society of the Caribbean Community. The Charter expressly obligates member state of Caricom to “ensure the existence of a fair and open democratic system through the holding of free elections at reasonable intervals, by secret ballot, underpinned by an electoral system in which all can have

confidence and which will ensure the free expression of the will of the people in the choice of their representatives.�

Caricom is not interfering when it therefore takes an interest in democratic processes. It is upholding the political rights which it has vowed to do under the Charter of Civil Society.

But there is also another fundamental reason why the President should intervene to halt the ad hominem attacks on the Chairperson of Caricom, some of which are homophobic. Caricom's involvement in the recount process was at President Granger's invitation. The Community did impose this solution on us. It was President Granger who made the proposal and therefore he is obligated to protect Caricom's right to pronounce on the process to which it was invited to oversee.

There was widespread local support for recount. An opinion poll conducted, and reported on in the Trinidad Newsday, found that nine out of every 10 Guyanese, supported the recount. It also found a similar support for the Caricom Chairpersons' role.

Why then is she now being vilified in the most scandalous manner by supporters of the APNU+AFC? The Chair of Caricom is

a legal luminary. She is a Queen's Counsel, the equivalent of a Senior Counsel. Mia Mottley is the youngest person in her country to have become a Queen's Counsel and the youngest persons to assume a ministerial portfolio. She was also the former Attorney General of her country.

When she therefore asks by what executive fiat Guyana's Chief Elections Officer arrogates to himself the right to disenfranchise one, much less 115,000 voters, she is speaking from a position of authority on matters concerning the law.

Criticism of her should

not descend into personal vituperation. And this is what the APNU+AFC supporters are engaged in at the moment. Somehow many of them had expected some sort of ethnic loyalty from the Caricom team and therefore anticipated that the report of the Caricom Team would have supported their dishonest and despicable narrative that the elections was tainted by fraud to the extent that it did not express the will of the people.

They were sadly disappointed by the team's report. As such, they are taking out their frustration through venomous attacks

on the Chairperson.

The President should put a stop to these attacks. He should publicly disassociate himself from and discourage this assault on Mia Mottley.

He swore to accept the results of the recount. He has promised to accept GECOM's declaration. But surely this cannot be taken to mean a declaration outside of the recount.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Sunday June 28, 2020

CCJ offers parties in Guyana pathway to rule of law

By Sir Ronald Sanders

T

here have been unhelpful and destructive attacks by leading members and zealous supporters of the APNU+AFC caretaker government in Guyana against all with whose position they disagree. The targets are international

organisations, CARICOM Heads of Government, other governments that have been major partners with Guyana and their diplomatic representatives.

All these institutions, governments and their representatives have urged that the political parties in Guyana accept an undertaking they solemnly

gave. That undertaking was to accept a national recount of the votes cast at the March 2 general elections as the basis for the election result.

Apart from its paid lobbyist in Washington, DC, Bart Fisher, who succeeded in printing an Opinion in the obscure publication, Washington Examiner, research has not revealed

any credible supporters of the belligerent stand that APNU+AFC has adopted of rejecting the national recount which President David Granger helped to initiate and to which he said he would be bound.

The APNU+AFC stand is unfortunate. The party, or at least its two main components, the Peoples National Congress and the Working People's Alliance, have legitimate places in the political life of Guyana.

These are places that should be preserved, because every country needs political parties that offer ideas for good governance and hold themselves ready to form a government at the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box.

These parties also need the recognition of the Caribbean and international community that they are democratic entities, prepared to advance their ideas vigorously and ready to accept the judgement of the electorates.

They squander the respect and the encouragement of the regional and international

community when they resort to slurs and calumny against Heads of Government and institutions as the only defence for refusing to accept a transparent and fully supervised recount that does not suit them.

The recent assaults on Barbados' Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, as Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is loathsome.

Ms. Mottley carried out her duty to member states of CARICOM, including the nation of Guyana and to the Charter of Civil Society of which Guyana is a signatory.

She expressed “sadness” over events in Guyana that have caused the result of an election, held on March 2, not to be declared more than three months later, and she repeated that the report of the CARICOM scrutineers “reflects the result of the recount process as certified by the very staff of the Guyana Elections Commission and witnessed by representatives of political parties”.

Nothing Prime Minister Mottley said was untrue.

Therefore, it is distressing

Sir Ronald Sanders that President Granger was encouraged to say that her statement “appears to be designed to exert undue pressure on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)”. To impute to Prime Minister Mottley such a disreputable motive is unacceptable and unjust.

The CCJ has been brought into this matter as Guyana's final appellate Court. The opposition, People's Progressive Party (PPC/C) and others are appealing a decision of the Guyana Court of Appeal, which ordered an interpretation of the words 'more valid votes are cast' and a stay of its decision for three days.

The applicants claim that the decision was wrong for many reasons, including that the Court of Appeal did not have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the Notice of Motion.

The APNU+AFC has been adamant that the CCJ has no jurisdiction to hear the case, claiming that the Guyana Court of Appeal's decision is final.

Not content with making legal arguments to the CCJ to establish their case, zealots of the APNU+AFC turned to broadening their attacks to include the President of the CCJ, Adrian Saunders.

In a webpage constructed for political propaganda with an undisclosed writer, they claim that St Vincent and the Grenadines' Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, the longest serving Head of Government in the region who led his country to election to a nonpermanent seat of the UN Security Council, is biased against them and that Justice Saunders will be influenced by his friendship with Gonsalves to rule against the APNU+AFC surrogate in the case.

The attack on Justice Saunders is reprehensible as it is baseless. In the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, S au n d er s tw ice f o u n d against cases in which Gonsalves was the lead attorney.

F u r t h e r, S a u n d e r s ' judicial independence is recognised internationally, (continued on page 44)

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---

This election has changed Guyana for the worse Nobody can say with any confidence when and how Guyana’s current political impasse would end.

This is partly because we have not been down this road before and partly because the final outcome is linked to factors that are not electoral in nature.

I have argued all along that this election is the occasion for the settling of other non-electoral scores, some old and others new.

It is, therefore, not accidental that after almost four months, the imminent end may not be that imminent.

It is also not surprising that external forces have become more embroiled than normal in the situation.

But the greatest rupture has occurred among Guyanese. We have in the last four months deteriorated into two separate and hostile countries. One just has to check the letter pages of the newspapers or worse peruse social media.

The divide is frightening.

Not simply because people have competing views of reality, but because those views seem immovable. There is little or no space to speak across the political aisle

except to abuse the other. A country that was always divided is now being sensationally ripped apart.

This election has destroyed friendships, institutions, organizations, and trust among the citizenry at large.

Our fragile ethnic relations have taken a beating to the point that one worries whether they can be mended when this is all over. It is difficult to watch and listen to what passes for commentary and analysis. In all of my almost five decades of observing Guyanese politics, I have never seen the level of hypocrisy that is currently on display. The ease with which persons and institutions ignore the narrative of the other side is at best shattering.

Yet we press on. The matter is now before the CCJ. That institution which has not earned the trust of two-thirds of the CARICOM member of states is itself on trial.

Those member states have chosen to retain the Privy Council as their court of last resort while some of their leaders are urging acceptance of the rulings from the CCJ.

Those countries have stayed away from the CCJ because they fear the court would be subjected to political interference. I reject that position. But these Guyanese elections have raised that question anew within the integration movement. One must speculate whether CARICOM would be the same when these Guyanese elections are over.

Character assassination in the media has become the preferred mode of discourse.

I have always felt that that form of discourse is dangerous to the health of the country.

These elections have normalized it. I have respect for the media’s right to take partisan political positions.

The media are owned and operated by real people with real biases. To expect the media not to reflect these biases is to be naïve. But the depth of the bias shocks even realists like myself. I struggle to read the papers these days because I have never been turned on by uniformity and willful exclusion in media content.

The concourse of ideas in the media has gone on vacation. Media houses which yesterday cherished my commentary shun me today because that commentary does not validate their current narrative. To paraphrase Bob Marley, we are what we are and that is the way it’s going be.

What would Guyana look like when all of this is over?

Will we be able to look one another in the eye and say, “hello sister, hello brother”?

As much as I would like to be hopeful and positive, something tells me I am fooling myself.

We have entered the phase of a new Guyana which we have crafted with our very actions. Our penchant for fooling ourselves that we are doing noble work even as we turn our country into an ignoble place is palpable. But elections must be won, and scores must be settled.

Everything else matters little.

This election has changed Guyana for the worse.

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

Dr David Hinds opinions of this newspaper.)

More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ GuyanaCaribbean Politics and on his website www.guyana caribbeanpolitics.news. Send c o m m e n t s to dhinds6106@aol.com.

PAGE 22

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Death came knocking at her door – a former Governor’s daughter mistakenly let her killer in

By Michael Jordan When I went prowling around Quamina Street many years ago where she had once lived, not a single soul had anything bad to say about old Miss Dorothy King. She was kind, some said, she reached out to the less fortunate, others recalled.

But the cynics like to say that no good deed goes unpunished, and back in 1999, there was someone who had it in for 84-year-old Miss King.

A lot has changed in Quamina Street since then.

For one thing, the huge, sprawling colonial-style house which was Dorothy King’s last home has been torn down. That old house had a certain touch of grandeur about it; fitting, I guess, for someone of Dorothy King’s background.

Dorothy Rosabelle Napleton King was born on March 22, 1913 and was the

daughter of the former Governor of Her Majesty’s Penal Settlement, Mazaruni (now the Mazaruni Prisons).

She spent most of her childhood there before heading for Georgetown, where she attended the Ursuline Convent School.

The young Dorothy King then attended school in London, England, where she was trained in ballet.

Returning to Guyana, King opened her own ballet school at the sprawling Quamina Street residence.

In 1942, she joined the teaching profession, becoming the Drill Mistress at The Bishops’ High School.

King retired from the teaching profession in 1977, but continued to live an active life. She had a keen interest in art and Guyanese history and ironically, it now seems, was also a member of the Guyana Human Rights Association.

Like I said, the old house had a touch of grandeur. But

it was not the sort of house in which an elderly woman should have lived alone. From reports, some of Miss King’s close friends had expressed concern about this situation, since that section of Quamina Street was crime-ridden then.

But Miss King brushed off these fears.

It has been suggested that King’s days at Mazaruni had given her confidence to deal with criminals. It was said that on many occasions, she had actually encountered criminals at her Quamina Street home – she would patiently speak with them, and sometimes even offer them a meal before showing them to the door.

The retired schoolteacher had established a certain routine that some of her neighbours knew of.

At 17:30 hrs every day, she would always close two side windows at the eastern side of her house.

But at 18:00 hrs on

Wednesday, January 27, 1999, a neighbour observed that King’s windows were still open. The neighbour called a guard who worked nearby.

The guard went over to King’s house and noticed that her front door was slightly ajar. He summoned a friend and neighbour of King’s. The friend arrived at 19:05 hrs and, on entering the premises, almost immediately realised that something was terribly wrong.

Miss King’s broken spectacles lay on the floor a short distance from the door.

There were also spots of blood on the floor.

Summoning another acquaintance, the friend went further inside, and now the friend observed marks on the floor that led to the kitchen.

And that is where they found King. She was lying face down on the floor, with her hands outstretched.

Someone had bashed in her skull. A piece of wood about 18 inches long was resting on her back. An autopsy would later reveal that she was also strangled.

Robbery was clearly the motive, since the house was ransacked. A safe that had contained valuables was open, and the contents were missing. There was no sign of forced entry, and it was surmised that she had opened her door for someone she had

known.

King reportedly would look through her window when anyone rapped and then open the door, but only for people who she recognised.

From the blood and the smashed spectacles near the door, it was believed that King was attacked as soon as she opened the door.

Detectives immediately began enquiring about any unusual movements around the murdered woman’s house. They learned that on the Wednesday evening that King was slain, a known sex worker was twice seen rapping at the elderly woman’s door.

The detectives surmised that King might have let the young woman in and that the woman, perhaps with an accomplice, may have murdered King.

However, despite their best efforts, the investigators were never able to locate the ‘street walker’. Other sex workers reportedly went into temporary hiding for fear of being questioned.

There has never been an arrest warrant for King’s murder.

I had visited the area over twenty years ago when she was slain. I returned to the scene of

M i s s K i n g ’s m u r d e r a decade later because this was one of the cases that remains stuck in my memory.

One person in the area had hinted that the killer(s) might be from a neighbouring community. Pressed further, he said he had given a statement to the police back then and suggested that I check with them.

The killers were still around and he refused to say anything further, but gave the impression that he knew a lot.

Well, I guess I was hoping for too much. I guess that twenty years is too long a time to find out who entered that old house on that fateful Wednesday evening and killed a Governor’s daughter…

If you have any further information on this case or any other, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office or by telephone.

We can be reached on telephone numbers 592-2258458, 592-225-8465, 592225-8482 or 592-225-8491.

You need not disclose your identity.

You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: kamarangnight @gmail.com.

Sunday June 28, 2020

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Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

Nigel Hughes, fin de siècle, and my admission of schadenfreude One evening a few years ago, during the Ramotar presidency at a public meeting at Stabroek Market square, Basil Williams was being his usual humorous self. I have known Basil since we were student-contemporaries at UG; he can be hilariously funny. With a naughty smile on his face, he came up to me while I was talking to David Hinds.

He asked me how I can write that Nigel Hughes is the inheritor of Walter Rodney’s legacy and overlook David.

Basil was simply being comically mischievous but David didn’t react. I still stand by that assessment. I think Nigel is essentially a Rodneyite that has good ideas on how state power can be used for the creation of a new Guyana. I was with the AFC when he was its chairman.

Nigel stood out in that party as the only mind with ideas on how power should be used to transform Guyana.

I was not surprised he opted out of the AFC literally months after the 2015 victory.

I saw a few nights ago, he

gave an insightful and incisive analysis of how the APNU+AFC lost its way after 2015. He opined that the goodwill the APNU+AFC received after the 2015 victory was of the optimal highest for any political party but they failed their supporters.

As I listened to his articulation of how the APNU+AFC faltered as the months and years wore on, I thought of the particular issue that caused me to break with the AFC in virtually days before it took office.

I repeat here that repugnant saga which based on the depths of its depravity should permanently disbar such immoral minds from ever being part of any government.

Nigel has listed roads not travelled by the APNU+AFC. Here is one such road.

After the 2015 results was officially announced days after the election, the AFC leaders gathered in their head office to assign Cabinet positions.

During the deliberations, AFC wanted a Ministry of the Environment. Right there and then three leaders decided

that they would offer the post to a complete stranger to politics but a very close friend of the AFC’s middle class leaders. They called her on the phone. She refused the offer.

This was done in the presence of many persons who were completely overlooked. Some of these persons told me they never heard of the woman and they were in the AFC from the start.

After the Cabinet assignments, I had lunch with a number of top AFC activists at Le Excellence restaurant on Charlotte Street. There and then, on that day, I had no more respect for the AFC and my support ended. I wanted them out of power. It was heart-breaking to hear the views of these educated AFC cadres on how they were overlooked for a complete stranger. These things do not happen in politics. The PPP and PNC would never go in that direction.

I wrote about this degeneracy and David Patterson emailed me a response on Friday, April 16, 2016. He said the ministry was offered to the lady because it

was a decision agreed to in 2014 to give a civil society person a Cabinet position if the AFC ever got power. No one could have corroborated Patterson’s statement. It was just not true. Plus the lady did not belong to any civil society grouping. Plus there was no discussion on who from civil society should get the position.

On that fateful day in May 2015 at that restaurant, I saw before my eyes the worst political party this country produced, a party I helped to propel to power and a party I would like to think I played a part in seeing it fall. I am glad I helped to undo what I helped to birth in 2015. I confess that there is a feeling

of schadenfreude in the tribulations that are now visiting the AFC. I could go on to describe many more deep-seated acts of immoralities and insanities that the AFC perpetuated on the poor activists that work tirelessly to bring the AFC to power.

Raphael Trotman and Khemraj Ramjattan have gone beyond the betrayal of any unpatriotic politician any other party has produced in Guyana since the birth of Guyana’s first political party in 1926.

The PNC and the AFC ruthlessly used feelings, hurt, fear and emotions that the Guyanese expressed over the excesses of the PPP regime to

Frederick Kissoon drink at the altar of power. The Guyanese people never forgave them. Their era is over. Their century is over.

The fin de siècle is here. Right now insanities have taken hold of them. They can’t believe they lost power.

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

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Scientists just beginning to understand the many health problems caused by COVID-19 CHICAGO (Reuters) Scientists are only starting to grasp the vast array of health problems caused by the novel

coronavirus, some of which may have lingering effects on patients and health systems for years to come, according

to doctors and infectious disease experts.

Besides the respiratory issues that leave patients

FILE PHOTO: A health worker takes care of a patient infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), inside an Intensive Care Unit of the University of Chile’s clinical hospital in Santiago, Chile, June 18, 2020.

REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo gasping for breath, the virus that causes COVID-19 attacks many organ systems, in some cases causing catastrophic damage.

“We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas.

It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidney and other organs. We

didn’t appreciate that in the beginning,” said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California.

In addition to respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that

can lead to strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems. The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache, dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion.

And recovery can be Continued on page 25

Banks DIH donates to Santa Rosa

Ms. Shenisa Fredericks of Banks DIH Limited makes the presentation to Ms. Miranda La Rose of the Santa Rosa Steering Committee.

Banks DIH Limited recently made a donation of Triskits Crackers to Santa Rosa in Moruca, Region One (Barima/Waini). This was following a call for assistance for the community which has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Shenisa Fredericks, Brand Manager of Triskits Products, made the presentation to Ms. Miranda La Rose, of the Santa Rosa Family and Friends (SRFF) Steering Committee during a presentation at Thirst Park on Thursday June 25th, 2020.

Ms. La Rose said to date, 23 residents of the community were tested positive for COVID-19 including one death, and the pandemic has had a negative impact on the livelihood of residents in that region.

She noted that the virus has directly

affected Santa Rosa, a community with a population of over 10,000 - the largest Indigenous peoples’ community in Guyana.

“We would like to thank Banks DIH Limited for its timely donation but we continue to seek further assistance of non-perishable food items, sanitizers and toiletries to support close to 500 families,” Ms. La Rose said.

Mr. Troy Peters, Communications Manager said the management of Banks DIH Limited is very concerned about the well-being of the residents of Region One and hopes that the situation improves soon.

The Company recently made a donation of products to the Lethem Town Council for its Food Donation Drive to residents affected

by COVID-19.

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

Scientists just beginning to understand the many...

From page 24 slow, incomplete and costly, with a huge impact on quality of life.

The broad and diverse manifestations of COVID-19 are somewhat unique, said Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

With influenza, people with underlying heart conditions are also at higher risk of complications, Khan said. What is surprising about this virus is the extent of the complications occurring outside the lungs.

Khan believes there will be a huge healthcare expenditure and burden for individuals who have survived COVID19.

LENGTHY REHAB FOR MANY Patients who were in the intensive care unit or on a ventilator for weeks will need to spend extensive time in rehab to regain mobility and strength.

“It can take up to seven days for every one day that you’re hospitalized to recover that type of strength,” Khan said. “It’s harder the older you are, and you may never get back to the same level of function.”

While much of the focus has been on the minority of patients who experience severe disease, doctors increasingly are looking to the needs of patients who were not sick enough to require hospitalization, but are still suffering months after first becoming infected.

Studies are just getting underway to understand the long-term effects of infection, Jay Butler, deputy director of infectious diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters in a telephone briefing on Thursday.

“We hear anecdotal

reports of people who have persistent fatigue, shortness of breath,” Butler said. “How long that will last is hard to say.”

While coronavirus symptoms typically resolve in two or three weeks, an estimated 1 in 10 experience prolonged symptoms, Dr. Helen Salisbury of the University of Oxford wrote in the British Medical Journal on Tuesday.

Salisbury said many of her patients have normal chest X-rays and no sign of inflammation, but they are still not back to normal.

“If you previously ran 5k three times a week and now feel breathless after a single flight of stairs, or if you cough incessan t l y a n d a r e t o o exhausted to return to work, then the fear that you may never regain your previous health is very real,” she wrote.

Dr. Igor Koralnik, chief of neuro-infectious diseases at Northwestern Medicine, reviewed current scientific literature and found about half of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had neurological complications, such as dizziness, decreased alertness, difficulty concentrating, disorders of smell and taste, seizures, strokes, weakness and muscle pain.

Koralnik, whose findings were published in the Annals of Neurology, has started an outpatient clinic for COVID19 patients to study whether these neurological problems are temporary or permanent.

Khan sees parallels with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Much of the early focus was on deaths.

“In recent years, we’ve been very focused on the cardiovascular complications of HIV survivorship,” Khan said.

PAGE 25

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

A reminder of the world’s debt to persons of African descent (A Review of David Granger’s Crime against humanity: The Trans-Atlantic Trade in Captive Africans, 1440-180. ISBN 978-976-8178-15-2.)

David Granger’s Crime against humanity: The TransAtlantic Trade in Captive Africans, 1440-1807 offers a panoramic view of the slave trade from its initiation in the 15th century, through intensification and competition to its abolition in the 19th century. The book forms part of the author’s trilogy on aspects of human enslavement, emancipation and reparations.

The Trans-Atlantic Trade in Captive Africans has been the subject of numerous books and treatises. Most have examined the trade’s role in economic underdevelopment of Africa and to the industrialization and enrichment of North America and Western Europe.

Voluminous as they are, reading could be tedious and is likely to be ignored by the non-academic seeking a comprehensive but concise overview of the slave trade.

David Granger’s Crime against humanity: The TransAtlantic Trade in Captive Africans, 1440-1807 satisfies the need of the general reader. It is a sweeping, simplified and succinct recounting of the

trade in enslaved Africans over a period of more than 350 years.

Granger displays his craft as a versatile writer with the ability to distill the essential elements of a subject without diminishing the substance of its argument. The book’s special attractiveness is its compact and coherent treatment of this subject in six sections, each named after a book of the Bible: . Genesis traces the origins of the slave trade to maritime exploration by Western European states along the coasts of North and West Africa and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, beginning in the early 15th century. It explains how Roman Catholic Popes, through a series of Papal Bulls, sanctioned the oppression of Africans and how the development of Caribbean plantations intensified the demand for cheap labour; . Exodus outlines the roles played by Portuguese explorers and Dutch Trading Companies in the early development of the slave trade; . Chronicles examines the

development of the triangular trans-Atlantic trade between Europe, Africa and the Caribbean; . Lamentations highlights the horrible treatment of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic voyages which transported them to America, the Caribbean and Europe; . Numbers quantifies the cargoes and deaths involved in the trafficking of enslaved Africans; and . Apocalypse details the factors which led to the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807.

David Granger has mined a rich vein of sources – including Philip Curtin’s The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census; Ralph Davis’s The Rise of the Atlantic Economies; Richard Dunn’s Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 16241713; Joseph Inikori’s The Slave Trade and the Atlantic economies 1451-1870; and Hugh Thomas’s The Slave Trade: the history of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 14401870 – among others in compiling this highly informative book.

Granger situates the trade

in enslaved Africans within three major developments in the international political economy. The first was the trade’s role as a consequence, initially, of the Western European maritime exploration of the early 15th century. The second was the trade’s pivotal role in the emergence and expansion of Europe’s seaborne economic empires – especially those of England, France, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The third was the trade’s role in shaping the system of mercantilism and consequently the international division of labour and the creation of the Atlantic economy, shifting economic forces from the Mediterranean.

Granger details how the triangular trade between Africa, the Caribbean and Europe remodeled the international trading system.

He states: “The transport of goods manufactured in Europe to be traded in Africa and, in turn, the transport of Africans to the Caribbean and the Americas to be traded for tropical products which were then taken back to Europe, came to constitute a ‘great circuit’ of commerce, better known as the ‘triangular trade.’ This provided a triple stimulus to British industry – captives were acquired in Africa by exchanging them for European manufactured goods. They were taken to the plantations of the New World where they produced

tropical goods, including cotton, molasses, rum, sugar, and tobacco, which were then shipped to Europe where they were processed, creating new industries there. By stimulating shipping, manufacturing, marketing and production of agricultural goods, the triangular trade came to constitute a large volume of overall international economic transactions during the period 14511870.”

David Landes, in The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (1998), acknowledged the horrors of the slave trade and human enslavement but pointed, also, to the trade’s instrumentality in ensuring high intensity sugar production, the enrichment of planters and merchants and the increase in European exports to its colonies.

Landes argues that the system stimulated industrialization but asserts that industrialization would have occurred even without human enslavement. Implicit in this argument is that that Europe would have become rich even without the slave trade. Ironically, it was this process of industrialization and the social relations which it spawned which, according to Granger, were the decisive factors responsible for the abolition of the slave trade.

Granger does not dismiss, but discounts, the influence of humanitarian and religious concerns in the decision to abolish the trade. He places

greater emphasis on economic factors, arguing that work done by free labour was cheaper than that performed by slave labour and that the trade was no longer compatible, or even competitive, with the emerging era of private property, free enterprise and open markets.

Granger overlooks the fact, however, that slavery continued in some parts of the British Empire after the trade ended in 1807. If economic arguments were persuasive in the debate in the British Parliament, then these were rendered otiose by the continuation of slavery after 1807. It was not until three decades later that slavery was finally abolished in the British West Indies and, later still, in America, Brazil, Cuba and elsewhere in the New World.

Crime against humanity: The Trans-Atlantic Trade in Captive Africans, 1440-1807 was first published in 2007, the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

The book in its ‘foreword’ highlights the demands which have been made for a “complete and unequivocal apology” for the greatest crime against humanity – human enslavement.

The book is a monument of remembrance.

Remembrance, however, is not simply about recounting or revising past occurrences.

At the heart of the act of remembrance is a cry for recognition and reconciliation.

The world is yet to reconcile itself with the descendants of the victims of that greatest crime against humanity. The protests which are sweeping the western world are sufficient evidence that the memory of what occurred more than 350 years ago continues to lacerate the human spirit and western civilisation. Monuments are being toppled, defaced and destroyed today because of the memory of past wrongs for which there has neither been justice.

KazuoIshiguro, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2017 in his acceptance address asked whether free nations can truly be established on foundations of willful amnesia and frustrated justice.

David Granger with this book reminds the world of its debt to persons of African descent – whose ancestors were the principal victims of humanity’s shameful crime of human enslavement.

Sunday June 28, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Coronavirus: It has mutated and is now even more infectious

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Scientists have found that the coronavirus has mutated and it is spreading more rapidly than previously. They are calling it the D614G mutation and this has made the virus more efficient and effective at binding onto our cells.

The studies have found that this strain of the virus began spreading in Europe in February 2020 and became the dominant strain around the world by May 2020. It is now found in the Middle East, India, Iran and Brazil.

What is more alarming, is that they found this new strain in 70 percent of the samples that were sequenced in North America and Europe.

Given the potency of this strain, we need to be even more cautious in Guyana.

Today I will explain what this new mutation means for us in Guyana and how we should respond to this new information.

WHATARE VIRAL MUTATIONS? Mutations are an integral part of the cycle of viruses.

As time progresses, viruses will naturally change their structure. This change in structure is called a mutation and it can make them weaker or stronger against their host (human beings in this case).

This new coronavirus mutation is called the D614G mutation because scientist found that there was a

structural change occurring on the 614th position of the protein binding site of the original coronavirus that started the Pandemic.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Unfortunately, the structural change in the coronavirus called the D614G mutation, has made it more potent for now and it has led to a surge in cases of COVID19 worldwide.

This strain of the virus spreads more easily and is responsible for the recent rapid spread of new cases in the US. What is more alarming, is patients that were previously infected, are now getting re-infected with this new strain of virus. Scientists are hoping that this strain will mutate into a weaker form in the near future before it causes worldwide devastation.

WILLTHISAFFECT US IN GUYANA? While it seems that we were lucky and would have been exposed to a weaker strain of the virus in Guyana, I am worried for us given this new development. This new

strain is very close to us in Brazil. We have heard about the devastation it is causing there.

There has been a recent upsurge in cases in Guyana which has been more rapid than usual. This upsurge has been more noticeable in the

hinterland regions. My biggest worry is that this new strain of virus has made it across from Brazil and is responsible for the recent surge in cases in our hinterland regions.

While this is only a theory, I cannot come up with another explanation for the recent rapid surge in cases in the hinterland especially given the slow nature of spread along the coast where our population is denser.

OUR BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS WILL SHAPE OUR DESTINY I cannot continue to emphasize how important it is to practice preventative measures. By now most should be aware of

preventative measures such as staying at home, social distancing, mask wearing for all and practicing good hygiene.

Unfortunately, while these preventative measures are widely known, they are not widely practiced. Many of us still choose to be irresponsible and put ourselves and others at risk.

It doesn’t matter if the virus has become stronger, once we practice preventative measures, we will be able to curb its spread.

Our country has been plunged into a political crisis and it is negatively impacting livelihoods. We all need to put Guyana first as it is the only way we can all benefit. I am

Dr. Zulfikar Bux therefore urging our leaders to behave responsibly and encourage their support network to do the same.

Positive change cannot be effected if our leaders are not practicing and advocating for what is best for our country. So today, I am calling out all leaders: Be responsible and encourage your followers to be responsible. Let us fight this pandemic together! Let us do what is best for Guyana while we still have time.

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

SUNDAY CLAUDETTE SINGH, KEITH LOWENFIELD GIVE CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS ON FAILURE TO SUBMIT REPORT Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, and Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield have given conflicting reports on the failure of the CEO to submit his report on the results of the recount last Thursday.

Lowenfield has claimed that by refusing to submit the report on the results, he was acting on the advice of the Chair. However, the Chair is quoted in another section of the media saying that she told Lowenfield to bring the report to the Commission and he didn’t come.

The CEO It all started on Thursday when media operatives were camped out at the back of the GECOM headquarters, on Fort Street, Kingston waiting to find out what GECOM would do after receiving Lowenfield’s report.

The CEO was expected to submit the report at or before 1:00 pm, but repeated checks to GECOM indicated that he did not. At 2:15 pm, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward told the press in a WhatsApp Facebook group that Lowenfield was restrained from submitting the report by a notice of motion filed in the Appeal Court.

Ward stated that, “A Notice of Motion was filed in the Court of Appeal and served on the Chairperson and CEO. The Notice was served on the CEO before 13:00hrs (deadline for submission of report). The Notice restraints the CEO from ‘complying with the directions of Chairperson’ and as a consequence, a report was not submitted.

The Commission will meet as planned. Decisions on the outcome would be communicated immediately.”

Half an hour later, Commissioners began to exit the GECOM headquarters. It was evident that there was no GECOM meeting to speak of.

GPL FAILS TO JUSTIFY PURCHASE OF EIGHT BUCKET TRUCKS FOR $587M State-run company, the Guyana Power & Light Incorporated (GPL), has failed to justify the purchase of eight bucket trucks, which carried a price tag of some $587 million, despite promising to do so on Saturday June 20, 2020.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Albert Gordon, had promised to dispatch a press

release to the media on the evening, of June 20, 2020 which was aimed at explaining why those maintenance trucks were purchased at such a hefty price, whether the trucks were acquired through the required procurement laws, who signed for the vehicles, which company the trucks were purchased from, among other concerns.

Early afternoon on Saturday June 20, 2020 Kaieteur News had reached out to Gordon seeking answers, but he informed this publication that he wished not to comment on the issue, since his agency was planning on releasing a statement to the press. Subsequent to that phone call, Kaieteur News liaised with the GPL Public Relations Officer (PRO), Shevion Sears, who maintained that a statement would be issued.

Up to press time, Kaieteur News was in receipt of no statement.

GPL paid $253,337,460 for four IVECO trucks. These are the “Versa SST 40 Bucket Truck (45 feet)” models. This meant each cost $63,334,365. According to quotes from suppliers, one of the new trucks could be acquired for less than $25M. GPL would therefore, for these four trucks, paid more than $30M each or $130M. Kaieteur News, as of Saturday June 20, 2020, did not receive the quotes for the bigger, longer-reach IVECO/VST 5500 Utility Truck (65 feet) models, acquired at a total cost of $333,766,320or$83,441,580 each.

The price difference, though a few millions more, would definitely not attract the $83M that GPL said it paid, the newspaper was told.

DE FACTO GOVT. IN MAD RUSH TO LEGALIZE LAND DEALS – HUNDREDS OFACRES OF PRIME EAST COAST LAND INVOLVED As Guyana gets ready for a long-overdue and contentious declaration of the March 2 General Elections, there is evidence

now that moves are underway to sign away large portions of former sugar lands on the East Coast of Demerara. According to a number of vesting orders, transactions were signed by the Finance Ministry and others for the transfer of immovable property starting from Goedverwagting, in the Ogle airport going east.The lands are former lands of the Guyana Sugar Corporation and lie near the former headquarters of the Guyana Sugar Corporation at Ogle.

These are prime spots that are located near a major planned highway that would link the East Coast to the East Bank transportation network.

These lands form almost 1,000 acres of prime lands have been opened by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) for commercial development, said to be worth billions of dollars. Kaieteur New understands that this month alone, several persons were contacted by government officials with offers to purchase what amounts to hundreds of acres of land.

Earlier this year, just days before elections, the Granger administration had announced several major projects – including the sod turning ceremony of what was promised to be three international brand hotels – to be developed in the area.

The opposition as well as public accountability advocates had argued at the time that the government, being in caretaker mode, could not be involved in such deals.

This month’s offers, including several transactions that Kaieteur News understands are ready to be gazette as early as tomorrow, come in the wake of government having even less legitimacy than it enjoyed in December after the elections recount exercise has shown the People’s Progress Party beating the Granger coalition by some 15,000

votes.

MONDAY WITH WORKS STILL SUBSTANTIALLY INCOMPLETE…OCEAN VIEW ‘RETRO FITTING’ CONTRACTORS PAID $650M OUT OF $1 BILLION PROJECT Seven contractors sole sourced by the Public Health Ministry to complete the ‘retro fitting’ or furnishing of the Ocean View COVID-19 Hospital have reportedly been paid roughly 65% of the US$5Million (G$1B) sum despite, a substantial amount of work still left incomplete.

Sources close to this project have revealed to Kaieteur News that the contractors were paid sums amounting to more than $600M two Thursdays ago.

Kaieteur News is in receipt of the Memorandum to the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, from the Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry, Collette Adams in correspondence to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Berkley Wickham seeking approval to ‘single source’ bidders for the conversion of the old Ocean View International Hotel into a state-of-the-art Hospital for the incubation, isolation and quarantine of persons infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) along with the documents from the Finance Ministry giving approval.

Single sourcing is spelled out in the Procurement Act 2003, Section 28. An excerpt from that section says “The procuring entity may engage in single-source procurement when – (a) the goods or construction are available only from a particular supplier or contractor, or a particular supplier or contractor has exclusive rights with respect

to the goods or construction, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists; (b) the services, by reason of their highly complex or specialized nature, are available from only one source; (c) owing to a catastrophic event, there is an urgent need for the goods, services or construction, making it impractical to use other methods of procurement because of the time involved in using those methods.”

US SCIENTIST CAUTIONS GUYANA… WAIT FOR LATEST CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT BEFORE GRANTING PAYARA PERMIT TO EXXONMOBIL American oil giant, ExxonMobil is eager to get the blessings of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to move ahead with its third project in the Stabroek block. That project is called Payara,and is expected to come on stream by 2026 and will produce at peak, 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

But before the super major can get its go-ahead, there are a few critical factors that the EPA must consider, says US Scientist, Dr. Mark Chernaik.

According to Dr. Chernaik, one of the factors the regulatory body should consider is the extent to which Guyana’s carbon footprint would increase via the Payara project. To do this, Dr. Chernaik said that the EPA would have to be equipped with the latest report of Guyana’s climate change vulnerabilities. That report is still receiving the finishing touches by the relevant authorities. The only document available in this regard dates back to 2012 and the US scientist advised against relying on same.

Should the EPA press ahead with granting the approval in the absence of the document, the scientist categorically

stated that it would, without question, be making an uninformed decision that could have implications for the country’s future.

Even as the nation awaits the latest report, Dr. Chernaik said there are critical admissions made in the last document that are worthy of attention. According to the 2012 report, Guyana is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts because of its narrow, low lying coastal zone that hosts over 90% of the population as well as the main livelihoods, economic activities and infrastructure of the country. This zone is threatened by sea level rise, increase in storm surges and changes in rainfall patterns.

The document states that any impact on the coastlands will have serious consequences for the country’s economy, basically sustained in the sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishing, which are also economic activities highly sensitive to changes in climate. The 2012 report goes on to state that the agriculture sector, especially sugarcane, is very likely be negatively affected by climate change through decreasing yields caused by greater drought like conditions mainly. It noted that rice production would be less impacted, since it relies heavily on irrigation.

TEEN FISHED OUT OF BERBICE RIVER… BOYFRIEND TELLS COPS HE STRUCK LOVER WITH PADDLEAFTER SHE DANCED WITH ANOTHER MAN Incensed that his girlfriend Melissa Soman had danced with another man, a 22-year-old farmer clubbed her with a paddle near the Berbice River, where she jumped overboard and failed to resurface.

Police reportedly received (Continued on page 29)

Sunday June 28, 2020

From page 28 this confession Sunday June 21, 2020 from the suspect, who took them back to the area where he had killed the 17-year-old, whom he had known a mere four months ago.

The suspect was arrested after Melissa Soman’s body was fished out of the Berbice River.

Soman, who had been reported missing, is survived by a two-year-old son.

According to individuals close to the investigation, the 22-year-old suspect alleged that he had attended a birthday party Wednesday at Gaettroy Village, Berbice River, and had seen Soman gyrating on a boat owner (who is also in custody).

He began to beat Soman and the boatman attempted to rescue the teen.

The boyfriend alleged that he then grabbed a paddle and repeatedly struck Soman and the boat owner.

Both victims reportedly jumped overboard to escape the assault, but Soman never surfaced. The slain teen’s mother, Raquel Soman revealed that her daughter was pregnant at the time of her death.

The teen’s eldest sister said that the boyfriend appeared to be a controlling individual.

According to the sister, Melissa had confided that she wanted to break off the relationship “because she don’t know how long she gon rally out with him and his behaviour.”

Melissa was staying with

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Kaieteur News

her boyfriend in Gaettroy Village, Berbice River.

Her father, Paul Soman had told this publication that his daughter had lived with them at 58 Stanleytown but then moved to the prime suspect’s home.

It was Thursday morning that someone told Mr. Soman that his daughter had ‘jumped overboard’ on Wednesday night. Her disfigured body washed up around 15:00 hrs that Thursday.

TUESDAY APPEAL COURT RULES LOWENFIELD MUST CALCULATE ELECTION RESULTS BASED ON VALID VOTES In a majority decision, the Court of Appeal Monday ruled that the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission Keith Lowenfield must determine the results of the election based on a calculation of valid votes.

The order is in keeping with the request outlined in the Notice of Motion filed on behalf of Eslyn David. David had approached the Appeal Court seeking orders in several matters including one which sought to prevent Lowenfield from submitting the recount report to make way for the final declaration of the winner of the 2020 Regional and General Elections. The applicant had also asked for the Court’s interpretation on a number of matters including the question of if the phrase

“more votes are cast” in Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution should be interpreted to mean “more valid and credible votes cast” – an issue which was contemplated by order number 60 for the elections recount.

The 2-1 decision in the case was rendered by the Appeal Court’s President Justice Dawn Gregory, High Court Judge Brassington Reynolds and Appellate Judge Rishi Persaud Monday.

Justices Gregory and Reynolds both agreed that

the Appeal Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the case under Article 177(4) of the Constitution.

Both Judges alluded to the exclusive jurisdiction of the constitutional provision in Article 177(4), which states, “The Court of Appeal shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any question as to the validity of an election of a President in so far as the question depends upon the qualification of any person for election or the

interpretation of this Constitution; and any decision of that Court under this paragraph shall be final.” $587M BUCKET TRUCKS… GPL SAYS NO MONEY PAID TO CONTRACTOR; PURCHASE ORDER SAYS OTHERWISE State- owned company, the Guyana Power & Light Incorporated (GPL), in response to an article published by Kaieteur News, says that it has not yet made

any payments to Massy Motors, the contractor selected to procure eight bucket trucks at price tag of $587 million, despite a purchase order illustrating otherwise. In addition to this, GPL highlighted that the total does not only cover the cost of the vehicles.

According to documents seen by this publication, GPL had paid $253,337,460 for four IVECO trucks. These are the ‘Versa SST 40 Bucket Truck (45 feet)’ model, or $63,334,365 per vehicle. However, (Continued on page 30)

PAGE 30

From page 29 according to quotes from suppliers when that article was published, one of the new trucks could be acquired for less than $25M. GPL would therefore, for these four trucks, paid more than $30M each or $130M. Furthermore, more research would later reveal that these trucks, could be procured in the United States for as low as USD$40,000, or as high as USD$90,000— figures that carry a significantly less sum than what was stated on the document seen by Kaieteur News.

Kaieteur News has not yet received the quotes for the bigger, longer-reach IVECO/ VST 5500 Utility Truck (65 feet) models, acquired at a total cost of $333,766,320 or $83,441,580 each. The price difference, though a few millions more, would definitely not attract the $83M that GPL said it paid, the newspaper was told.

It is in response to the paper’s reporting that the company, in a statement issued to the press Monday, explained that the cost of the trucks constitutes approximately 35% of the overall cost of the equipment to be supplied. They stated that the balance is made up of the cost of the lifting equipment, ancillary equipment, retrofitting costs (installing the lifting equipment onto the trucks), and the freight and insurance costs to deliver the lifting equipment and trucks from USA and Europe, respectively, then retrofitting, certifying and commissioning in Guyana.

UNDERSTAFFEDAND UNDERFUNDED EPAWILL ALWAYS BE AT EXXONMOBIL’S MERCYCONSERVATIONIST Guyana has been an oilproducing state for over six months yet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is tasked with ensuring ExxonMobil’s operations are not a clear and present danger to the nation’s environment is severely understaffed and underfunded. In such c i r c u m s t a n c e s , conservationist Annette Arjoon-Martins recently noted that the EPA would always be at the mercy of the American oil giant.

Arjoon, known for her staunch environmental advocacy protection, made these and other remarks during an appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s show, Guyana’s Oil and You. There, she was asked to comment on the preparedness of the EPA to monitor the growing oil

Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

industry. Arjoon-Martins was keen to note that if the EPA were given adequate resources such as those required to properly scrutinize Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), then Guyana would not be in a much better position.

“I recognize,” ArjoonMartins said, “that while we had Dr. Vincent Adams take over the helm of the EPA and he brings years of experience, without the resources to get the assessments he needs, he will always be hamstrung. He has also been honest about the challenges he faces but unless we have an EPA that is staffed and resourced, we will always have an agency that is at the mercy of ExxonMobil.”

In agreement with her was international lawyer, Melinda Janki who stated that the agency is totally unprepared.

Janki said that the EPA has an impossible task to monitor what ExxonMobil is doing offshore Guyana, much less other companies.

The lawyer said, “I mean how many boats do they have? How many drones?

How many environmental officers are stationed on the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel? What equipment does the EPA have to test water and air quality? How much does the EPA know about the damage that is being done to the species on the sea bed?”

WEDNESDAY LOWENFIELD DISCARDS 25% OF VALID VOTES TO GIVE COALITION WIN Just one day after the Court of Appeal ruled that “valid votes” must be used to determine the winner of the March 2, 2020 Elections, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, submitted his final report to the GECOM Chairman, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh with what he purports to be “valid votes”.

In so doing he discarded more than 115,000 votes to hand the A Partnership For National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) a victory and a one-seat majority in Parliament.Lowenfield, in the cover letter of the report, stated that he has taken note of the guidance of the Court of Appeal in Eslyn David v Chief Elections et al in the preparation of his Report under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act and providing advice as required by Article 177 (2) (b) of the Constitution. His submission of this report, however, breaches the threeday stay of the judgment handed down by the Appeal Court following the ruling in

the David case. Additionally, a stay on GECOM’s moving to declaration is expected to be handed down by the CCJ following an application made

by Opposition Leader Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and PPP Presidential Candidate Dr. Irfaan Ali.The Appeal Court in a 2-1 majority decision ruled that that in determining the results of the March 2, 2020 Elections, Lowenfield must do so based on which party received the most “valid” votes.

Lowenfield’s new numbers The CEO was instructed by the GECOM Chair to compile his final report under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act as stated in the gazetted recount order – using the figures from the National Recount.Those figures show that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) won with a total of 233,336 votes, handing them a victory for the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

The APNU+AFC managed to attain 217,920 and the Tri-party Joinder – A New And United Guyana (ANUG), The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TMN) – 5,214 votes.

The figures in his new report differ entirely from the recount numbers submitted in his preliminary report to the Chair, with no explanation offered by the CEO in his report, to account for the vast difference.

GOVT. SIGNS AWAY 130 ACRES OF PRIME EAST COAST LANDS IN A DAY – NICIL SAYS DEALS TO FINANCE $30B GUYSUCO BOND De facto Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, signed away 130 acres of prime lands situated on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) to several entities, all on the same day – June 11, 2020.

Information about the sales was posted and circulated on Facebook, with concerns that the Coalition Government may be engaging in a massive giveaway of lands before demitting office.

The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) responded to the matter, to give context to the sales and to state that Minister Jordan had no involvement in the selection process.

NICIL is the entity charged with handling investments on behalf of the state.

The first post appears to have been made by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C’)s Facebook page, which states: “The

APNU+AFC is engaged in large-scale corruption and massive transferral of state lands. Here Winston Jordan signed off on the transferral of land to cronies of the coalition.”

Attached were photos of the vesting orders, signed off

by Minister Jordan.

The lands were handed over to Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Incorporated (General Manager, Eric Yu); Premier Sales Incorporated; American Marine and Services Incorporated; Trinuyana Investments I n c o r p o r a t e d ( D i r e c t o r, John Aboud); Cardiology Services Incorporated; Supergraphics Enterprise ( O w n e r, E t o n C o r d i s ) ; Navigant Builders (Owner, Danny Sawh); Caribbean Marketing Enterprise I n c o r p o r a t e d ( D i r e c t o r, Mike Elliot); GUYOIL (CEO, Renatta Exeter); and Earl’s Court Incorporated.

Kaieteur News spoke to a principal of one of the companies mentioned, who said that his company had made an initial payment earlier this year.

Another principal, Sawh, told Kaieteur News that he has not made any payments on the acreage for Navigant Builders, a subsidiary of Windsor Estates.

$352 MILLION ‘SEA DEFENCE’ CONTRACT AWARDED TO BK The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has awarded a major ‘sea defence’ contract to BK International Inc. According to the Ministry of Finance’s NPTAB, the award was made Tuesday June 23, 2020.

According to a NPTAB approval addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the approval was for the “Construction of Rip Rap Sea Defences at Content, Mahaicony, ECD Region No. 5 to be awarded to BK International Inc,” for the sum of $352,121, 250.

In recent months, there have been concerns about large projects being awarded at a time when the country remains in elections phase.

More than 110 days after the March 2nd general and regional elections, there has been no declarations with court cases and delays marring the process.

The Opposition’s People’s Progressive Party/ Civic which recount figures show is ahead and poised to form the next government, has made it clear that it will not honour any projects that it believes was improperly and

illegally awarded.

Under the regulations, a government in transition can only spend 1/12 of the previous year ’s annual budget with the brakes placed on capital projects.

The sea defence would be considered a capital budget project.

THURSDAY LOWENFIELD’S REPORT ‘SHOCKINGAND FRUSTRATING’ – LEVEL OF “GAMESMANSHIP” IN GUYANANOT PORTRAYING CARIBBEAN REGION IN BEST LIGHT – CARICOM CHAIR MIA MOTTLEY CARICOM 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 (Continued on page 37)

Sunday June 28, 2020

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We should not take for granted the right to due process, judicial recourse and Rule of Law

T

he political challenges in Guyana at election time is not new.

What is new is the reaction and responses by trusted allies which give rise to concern whether at the end of the process this nation risks being rend asunder, beyond repair.

It is the right of the Opposition parties, as they advance their election interest, to approach the courts for judicial review.

The same right must be respected for every citizen and organisation, including any supporter of the government and the parties within the coalition.

Our courts function to ensure legal justice and aid in bringing resolution to grievances through peaceful means. The reality recognises that they are instances where either of the litigating parties may not be satisfied, but this does not mean or lend justification to

treating the court with contempt.

The court is the only even-handed approach to balance any outcome in a modern society. It is the only place where you can get a fair outcome. It may not be perfect, but it is as fair as we can do in the moment. If there are weaknesses in our laws that need adjusting or correcting we can move to address these after, for they cannot be addressed at the time of application to an extant issue.

The law is the only way for us to come to some commonsense, plausible, realistic conclusion in a chaotic situation. Even if we are all fighting for our own beliefs the laws keep us together as a country.

Though in politics the environment is supposed to be civil, oftentimes it ends in confusion, but the laws tend to pull us back to civility.

Therefore, the judicial system is critical to every

modern society. A society without law is chaotic, lawless and primitive.

We are facing threats from outside forces that do not want to respect our laws (sovereignty) as they respect theirs and expect all others to do so.

The law of the land is the law of the land. Even the good book admonishes respect for the law of the land. We might have cultural differences with another country's law, but it is important to recognise that each country's laws are unique for them.

We also need to do some introspection. We cannot ask for help from others without recognising they are inclined to tell us what to do, not necessarily mindful of or respecting our laws. We are witnessing our laws being supplanted by gut-feelings.

Making decisions or speaking out of emotions is undermining the Rule of Law. The dysfunctionality

is being allowed to run rampant, encouraged, and supported by external forces.

The challenges Guyana faces with sections of the international community go back to the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in December 2018. The moving parts could leave one to think what is unfolding may be bigger than us or driven to achieve a desired outcome not consistent with our collective interest.

The NCM moved through the High Court, Court of Appeal and court of last resort, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). On 18th June 2019 the CCJ ruled the vote was validly passed, upheld Article 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution of Guyana.

On 12th July 2019 the Court issued Consequential Orders to guide its ruling.

There was non-compliance with the order to return to the National Assembly to secure the two-third vote to hold the

election beyond the three months as per Article 106(7).

Calls by the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) to respect this fell on deaf ears.

Instructive also was the disregard for the order by forces, local and external, for the continuity of the government (President and cabinet).

As per the order even though resigned as per Article 106 (6) government was allowed to continue to function as per Article 106(7), albeit operating at a different level. There was no international support to ensure the enforcement of these Orders outside of the demand to move to election.

We fast forward today to the election process and witness this continuous disregard for our laws. It is one thing when disregard is shown by internal forcesthough it does not make it acceptable- but more egregious when external forces feel they could escape

accountability. Those who disregard our laws would not be allowed to get away with the misconduct in their countries, for the wrath of their citizens will be brought down on them, and their laws will be used to hold them accountable.

The foreign investors, some within the privileged local private sector, together with the foreign interferers did not cater for the understanding and resilience of a large section of the Guyanese community.

This community is not prepared to be disrespected, have our natural resources raped, our laws trampled on, nor dictated to.

Though they may operate within and out of Guyana but as citizens of the world, regardless of where they reside, they feel Guyana and Guyanese are equally deserving to be respected and treated with dignity.

They see activism as vital to (continued on page 46)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 34

K O O

B

Book: Ernest Palmer's Dreams and other stories Author: Earl McKenzie Critic: Glenville Ashby, PhD

E

arl McKenzie proves his salt as the consummate raconteur. In Ernest Palmer's Dreams, every tale speaks to the human spirit, a spirit harangued by the complexities of life. No one is spared, but not everyone folds.

Therein lies the existential quality of McKenzie's writings.

In 'Ras Baga,' the protagonist is ever optimistic. To a question on his well-being, he responds, “Ever living, ever faithful,

Sunday June 28, 2020

The Art of

Storytelling

ever s u r e . ” H e i s philosophically-minded and industrious, embracing the religious message of Rastafari. The artistic Ras Baga painfully recalls a chapter in his life. Very much in the vein of Helen Keller, he demonstrates that there's light in every darkness.

Always, he has sourced from the well of creativity, not unlike other pioneers in the art world. On the cusp of international recognition, though, he is felled by the ugliest side of fate, a victim of man's spite.

In the eponymous, 'Ernest Palmer's Dream,' a fool and his money is soon parted. Ernest pays dearly for his child-like innocence, his gullibility and, arguably, his illiteracy.

'On Sylvan Hill' is where the fate of Busha Brandon

unfolds. He is a man of m e a n s , a f a t h e r, a n d husband. But lonesome he is, stumbling through a beleaguered life.

“His daughter Cynthia rejected marriage proposals from several prominent professionals and businessmen, and left the family home to live with a Rastafarian in a hut in the bush,” while his son succumbed to alcoholism.

And of his wife, Busha conceded that “she married him, not for love, but for financial security and status.”

He longs for solace, for peace. In death, he hopes for salvation, but a vicarious kind. Heaven, he will find in his desired resting peace, a place of awe and mystique, a place of transcendence, away from life's mockery.

This place is Sylvan Hill, his final abode and redemption. It is a story of karma and a meed that awaits the selfless and the gracious among us. It's a reminder of

the inherent goodness in friendship and community.

In 'She Knows his Body,' Mass Boysie experiences the agony of time. In a world that pays lip service to eldership, he finds himself competing for relevance in a field where youth and brawn are valued.

In this cold, self-serving world, he is now dispensable, a relic of his combative, robust past.

But he toils for meaning and, predictably, falls short.

A once thriving periodicallyhired farmer in the United States, he boasts of his time there even donning its seasonally layered attire in the tropical heat. As his body wanes, so does the opportunity for overseas employment.

The writing is on the fall despite his braggadocio. “No point sending young fellas who don't know anything and have to learn from scratch,” he confidently reassures his wife. “They should send men who know the place and the language.

Men like me.” He punctuates his comments by “flexing his biceps and throwing back his head.” But Boysie fails his physical. He returns home, crestfallen, a man vanquished, a mere shadow

of himself.

Social toxicity brims over in 'Miss Inez.' The incredulity of a brutal sexual assault in plain sight and, uninterrupted, speaks to a (continued on page 48)

Sunday June 28, 2020

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THE

PAGE 36

Sunday June 28, 2020

STORY WITHIN THE

One people, one nation, one destiny…not!

By Leonard Gildarie

F

o r m e r U S president, Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”

In a few days' time, it will be four months since March 2nd, 2020.

That day and the ones that followed will forever be etched in the minds of world.

That is because at the crossroad, we took the wrong fork.

Our leaders decided to do the unthinkable. We will come back to this.

Yesterday, I was stuck for hours on what to say. We have since December 21st, 2018, when the country experienced the passage of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, been stuck in a hole.

Every week that goes by, it becomes even more harder to justify giving our people hope.

The entire world gaped at us as the story…denials, court cases, public statements, diplomatic aggression…played itself out.

Today, we should not be a proud people.

O u r n a t i o n a l motto…One People, One Nation, One Destiny…has been dumped and discarded.

Moral values, legacy, the respect for the laws and greed have taken the lead.

There are arguments that a few politicians have split our people and there is no “one people”.

It would not be too difficult to think that we are being forced to think: 'what is our destiny?'

There can be no other explanations for what played out in the last 18 months.

Yes, it has been 18 months since the December 21, 2018, no-confidence motion.

The COVID-19 lockdown could not have come at a worse time though, it was clearly capitalized on.

People have become jaded and distracted, with tens of thousands of our people barely scraping by.

For many, it is a shame to beg but the options are running out.

I turn my head and ears away sometimes to the pleadings of people that I know intimately who are asking for help. Teachers, office staffers, everybody…they are feeling it. There is little I can do.

It would take an entire country to solve the problems.

I could not help but reflect on the very pertinent quote from former US president, Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”

Guyana looked on with shock as chair of CARICOM, Mia Mottley, who is also Prime Minister of Barbados, issued a strong statement on Guyana's elections.

CARICOM has found itself in a very uncomfortable position.

It has one of its founder members, Guyana, almost at rogue status. The headquarters of CARICOM is located right next door to where the national recount of ballots cast for March 2nd, was taking place at the Arthur Chung International

Leonard Gildarie Conference Centre.

How dare Mottley? She was hanged out to dry.

Overstepping her boundaries. The accusations were coming fast and furious.

Other diplomats have been accused and encouraged to leave Guyana.

Never mind we invited Mottley and CARICOM to intervene in our elections.

The CARICOM is not alone. The US, Canada, Britain and the European Union, along with Commonwealth, the Organisation of American States, The Carter Center, and a slew of respected diplomats have all joined the calls.

The entire world, it seems, are at the throats of the coalition.

Again, we come back to legacy.

The coalition, and I have many dear friends in them, must be mindful that Guyana needs a strong, vibrant opposition to police the administration.

We need to look at our contracts, our oil money, our gold in the backdam, our bauxite.

It will be a one-seat majority. The options are tantalizing. Use the time to regroup, coalesce.

There are young, energetic bright new leaders from the emerging parties.

Can we dare to dream about the slate being erased and sins forgiven, all for the sake of the country?

As FDR so rightly said, the voters have the power, not the politicians.

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

Sunday June 28, 2020

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON PROTECTING NATIONAL ASSETS NOT BEING HONOURED CONSERVATIONIST, INT’L LAWYER

From page 30 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 Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) who attained 233,336 votes.

The CARICOM Chair, in an her statement, 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 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 process.”

“The CARICOM Observer Team,” the 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.”

US, UK, CANADA, EU CALL ON GECOM TO DECLARE RESULTS USING RECOUNT FIGURES – REMINDS GRANGER THAT CARICOM IS “MOST LEGITIMATE INTERLOCUTOR” Ambassadors 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, SarahAnn 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 Ponz-Canto.

“It is important in our

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v i e w, ” t h e y s a i d , “ t h a t 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 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.”

Article 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 eco-systems. 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 and You, were Conservationist Mrs. Annette Arjoon-Martins and International Lawyer, 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.

FRIDAY EXXONMOBIL HID TRUTHABOUT RISING GLOBALTEMPERATURE FOR DECADES; SLAPPED WITH LAWSUIT BY WASHINGTON D.C ATTORNEYGENERAL ExxonMobil, along with other major fossil fuel polluters such as Chevron,

Shell and British Petroleum, was slapped Thursday with a lawsuit by the Attorney General of Washington D.C, Karl A. Racine, for engaging in a massive campaign of deception on climate change.

The details of the court action note, among other things, that the four companies “systematically and intentionally” misled consumers in Washington, DC about the central role their products play in causing global warming so that they can continue to rake in billion dollar profits. The Attorney General is of the firm belief that had the oil companies revealed what they knew since the 1950s about climate change, consumers’ appetite for crude would have declined.

Going back more than half a century—long before “global warming” was a common household term— the Office of the Attorney General said (OAG) that the defendants knew “with astonishing accuracy” that their crude oil, natural gas, and related hydrocarbon products , releases greenhouse gases which in turn, increases the temperature of the earth.

Expounding further, the OAG said that scientists who were working for the oil companies or their industry trade associations predicted with precision, when global temperature rises would occur and by how much.

They also predicted the catastrophic harm that would result. The Attorney General’s Office pointed to a 1968 report that was paid for by the American Petroleum Institute (“API”) — the leading industry trade group at the time was funded and controlled by the defendants.

The report projected that atmospheric carbon dioxide (“CO2”) concentrations would rise from 280 to 370 parts per million (“ppm”) by 2000. Years later, this was proven to be true with actual concentrations in 2000 at 369 ppm. It was further noted that by 1982, Exxon’s scientists in particular, predicted that atmospheric carbon dioxide would reach nearly 415 ppm by 2019. This also proved true for on May 11, 2019, atmospheric CO2 surpassed 415 ppm. This was Earth’s highest level in three million years.

“WE SAID WHAT WE HAVE SAID” – CARICOM CHAIR MIA MOTTLEY – SAYS COMMUNITY PAYINGKEENATTENTION TO GUYANA’S ‘BIZARRE’ POLITICAL SITUATION CARICOM is standing by the strong pronouncements

made by its Chair, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who weighed in on Guyana’s political situation, expressing concern over the actions of Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, in his attempt to scrap a total of 115, 844 votes cast in the March 2, 2020 elections.

Hours after releasing her statement, Mottley appeared on Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) CNC3 News where she said that CARICOM is keeping a watchful eye on the situation.

“We’ve said what we have said for now. We are watching the situation – The heads of government are particularly, particularly attuned to the fact that these situations are difficult,” the Chair said during the interview.

According to her, the three-member CARICOM Observer Team was satisfied that the March 2 Election recount process was certified by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and stood as a credible basis for the declaration of results.

Those results are not what were used when the CEO presented his report to the GECOM Chair, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh and the Commission.

“What is going on,” the Barbadian PM noted “is a little bizarre to say the least but we shall wait and see and let the process play out over the next few days but suffice it to say that there is a Charter of Civil Society within Caribbean Communities that causes us to have to aspire to a very high level of behaviour with respect to free and fair elections and with respect to giving full effect to the will of the people.”

No election, according to Mottley, is “worth the life of a single human being…there is no election that is worth damaging the reputation, not only of one country but our community.”

LOWENFIELD’S REPORT BELONGS AT HAAGS BOSCH DUMPSITE – FITUG The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) does not approve of the elections report submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Justice Claudette Singh by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield. It said that the report, part of “naked attempts to thwart the will of the people”, belongs at the Haags Bosch dumpsite.

FITUG noted the report purports to dump more than 115,844 votes which were (Continued on page 38)

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From page 37 validly cast at the March 2 polls “without any explanation”. It also seeks to erase the lead the PPP/C has amassed, as tabulated and certified at the National Recount, granting the victory instead to the APNU+AFC coalition.

Though it recognises that the consideration of the report must await the pending case at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Federation is of the view that Lowenfield’s report should be rejected outright, just like his previous report in which he had attempted to dump 269,619 valid votes, as well as the two fraudulent declarations made by Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.

It is of the view that the persons who are a party to acts of electoral fraud should face the full brunt of the law.

“The record-speed in which Mr Lowenfield submitted his report,” FITUG said, “in our view, demonstrates his active participation in seeking to undermine our democracy.

His actions have only further cemented the strongly held view regarding the partiality of the Secretariat of the Elections Commission.”

FITUG is not the first to condemn the Chief Elections Officer for apparently partisan posturing. He has also been condemned by the political parties, People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) and A New and United Guyana (ANUG); as well as the local elections observers, Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

FITUG said that the Guyanese people have grown upset about the “shenanigans” at full display during this electoral process “seemingly as the behest of the incumbent Administration to perpetuate its grip on power.”

SATURDAY US SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE CALLS ON GRANGER TO CONCEDE – SAYS RECOUNT RESULTS SHOULD BE DECLAREDAND TRANSITION BEGUN The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee is calling

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Kaieteur News

on President David Granger to concede, since his party, the APNU+AFC coalition has lost the elections. The senators say that the results of the recount reflect the will of the people and should be used to make a declaration, before a democratic transition of power.

The statement comes from U.S. Senators Jim Risch (Republican) and Bob Menendez (Democrat), Chairman and Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively; and Marco Rubio (Republican) and Ben Cardin (Democrat), Chairman and Ranking member respectively of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues.

“We share in the frustration expressed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of American States (OAS), and other international stakeholders,” they said.

The CARICOM Chair and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley spoke in support of the report which was

produced by the CARICOM Scrutineer Team, who pronounced that the elections were credible and that the recount results are “completely acceptable”.

The report drew commendation from several international organizations which had observed Guyana’s elections, including The Carter Center and the OAS, but condemnation from elements within the APNU+AFC coalition.

GECOM Chair, ret’d Justice Claudette Singh had attempted to move toward a lawful declaration of the results, but was inhibited by resistance from the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield and coalitionendorsed Court action.

“Recent reports suggest,” the senators stated, “questionable maneuvers by interested parties designed to continue forestalling a final declaration of results, which members of the press say indicates a defeat for the incumbent government.”

ENERGY DEP’T SELECTS EVERALTAINTED OIL TRADERS TO MARKET GUYANA’S OIL The Department of Energy (DoE) has shortlisted 19 oil

traders out of 35 applicants to market Guyana’s share of its light sweet crude from the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, the first oil production ship offshore Guyana.

H o w e v e r, upon examining the list of traders which was publicized by the Energy Department, Kaieteur News found that 15 out of the 19 shortlisted companies have been linked to scandals, foreign bribery and widespread corruption—as previously highlighted in extensive articles published by this newspaper.

These well-documented malpractices, which have resulted in convictions and fines, have ensnared senior executives of these oil companies and traders, while others are still under investigation.

Public documents show for example that three of the world’s largest commodities trading firms – Vitol SA, Glencore PLC and Mercuria Energy Group – have used intermediaries to funnel over US$31 million in bribes to corrupt Petrobras employees.

This was done in order to win massive contracts, along with acquiring other benefits, and resulted in one of the largest corruption scandals in recent history, the Operation Car Wash affair, the fallout of which was hundreds of indictments, and over a

hundred corruption convictions including that of former President of Brazil, Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva.

When the Energy Department had advertised a few months ago for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to market Guyana’s crude oil, it had asked all applicants to provide details of any pending litigation or to state if they are under investigation. What remains unclear, however, is if evidence pointing to a corrupt past would be seen as an immediate reason for disqualification, the DoE said in their statement Friday.

A five-member Evaluation Committee was formed and tasked with producing a shortlist of companies, after a “detailed check” of each firm’s EOI for general and technical data in relation to qualifications and experience pertinent to the assignment at hand, and as was required to be submitted in the request for EOI. LOWENFIELD SAYS I ACTED IN CONFORMITY WITH THE LAW BUT CITES NO PROVISIONS SUBMISSION OF THIRD REPORT ON ELECTIONS RESULTS… In attempt to defend his actions as it relates to the submitting an elections results report to the commission, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission

(GECOM) Keith Lowenfield Friday noted that he acted in conformity with the law.

In a release to the press, Lowenfield sought to defend his position to submit a report in which 115,000 votes were invalidated from a count of the March, 2 Regional and General Elections. The CEO however failed to pinpoint which legal provisions give him the powers to act outside of the direction of the Commission.

The report represented a third document submitted by Lowenfield which placed the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+ AFC) administration in a considerable lead ahead of the Opposition, People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C). Lowenfield was initially instructed to submit a report based on the CARICOMsupervised election recount.

That report places the PPP/C in the lead by some 15,000 votes.

In a response to an article published in another section of the news in which he is accused on acting insubordinate of the instructions of the Commission, Lowenfield said that the accusation seem to have come from a source that only read the Constitution in part.

He claimed that the article conveniently failed to recognise the sections that dictate the functions of the Chief Election Officer.

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Herbal Remedies and Health Benefits of Neem Neem Tree, also known as ‘Azadirachta indica’ is a tree native to India. In Sanskrit, neem is arista, which means something that is perfect, imperishable and complete.

Not only its leaves, but the tree’s seeds, roots and bark also contain important compounds that have many medicinal and beauty properties. The tree is supposed to denote ‘good health’ in our Ayurveda.

Neem is best known for its anti-aging properties. Due to its antioxidant properties, neem protects the skin from harmful UV rays, pollution and other environmental factors. The vitamins and fatty acids in neem improve and maintain the elasticity of the skin, reduce wrinkles and

fine lines. This make you and your skin look rejuvenated and youthful.

Neem is also beneficial in fighting against fungal infection. Its anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties keep the harmful bacteria and fungi at bay. Thus, it protects the skin and keeps the skin related diseases away.

Ayurveda, which follows the natural ways for treatment and medicine, has been using extracts of neem tree as a key ingredient, for good health and well being. Here are some of the herbal remedies, health benefits and magical properties of neem…

1. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit: One tree pharmacy Not only in Ayurvedic

medicines, neem tree extracts have been a part of many home remedies that Indians have been following since time immemorial. We use neem to treat hair and skin issues.

2. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Anti-fungal and anti-bacterial Neem leaves are used to treat fungal and bacterial infections. They are used to treat warts as well as chicken pox. Either the paste is applied on the affected area or the person is made to bathe in neem water. It can also treat foot fungi.

3. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Insecticide You can keep neem soaked cotton near your windows or burn neem leaves

to ward off insects. It is extremely effective and is used to fight mosquito menace.

4. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Increases immunity Many Ayurveda experts recommend daily intake of neem capsules. Neem tea is also widely prescribed to reduce fever, especially the malaria one. Since neem tastes bitter, the tea acquires a similar taste but works magically.

5. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Nature’s toothbrush Chewing neem twigs for dental hygiene and care is an age-old Indian tradition. In Indian households, people used to brush their teeth

SKIPPING ROPE VS RUNNING http://watchfit.com: If you want a workout that delivers cardiovascular benefits, strength benefits, and the nostalgia of being a kid again look no further than a jump rope!

Studies have shown that jumping rope burns about 720 calories in an hour (based on about 120 to 140 turns per minute and varies with intensity, type of rope, height and weight) and provides improvement in strength, agility, coordination and endurance.

The question most people ponder when deciding if they should invest time jumping rope is the whether or not it will deliver results. Most want to know if jumping rope is as challenging and/or better than running.

The answer is simply…yes! Jumping rope works most of the muscles in your body. Your arms, shoulders, core, and legs are engaged when jumping rope which provides a more efficient workout than jogging on a treadmill. When given the option of jumping rope vs. running, I prefer the rope!

Although the muscles in your calves are exerting most of the energy, your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glute muscles are also working. Regularly jumping rope will increase leg and knee strength, jumping ability, and running speed.

Now that we have established the lower body muscle recruitment and benefits of jumping rope, let’s discuss the upper body involvement. As you jump and keep balance, you are using your chest, back, and core muscles.

As you are turning the rope, you are utilizing your forearms, triceps, biceps, and

- An Expert’s view

shoulders. Using a weighted rope is a great way to increase the upper body recruitment and energy you exert while jumping.

When it comes to weight loss, it is important to burn more calories than you take in. This is where jumping rope can be a great benefit. There really is no way around that equation. Because you are working so many muscles simultaneously in the body, the calorie burn during rope jumping is high.

There is one downside to jumping rope and that is the joint pain associated with jumping on hard surfaces.

Joints in the knees, hips, and

ankles can become achy. In order to counteract this, you can do the following: 1. Take an over-thecounter pain reliever 2. Wear shoes with good shock absorption 3. Use arch supports if needed – a doctor can advise on this 4. Jump on soft surfaces such as grassy areas, running tracks, and wood floors when possible 5. Cross-train with lowimpact cardio choices such as walking, swimming, and elliptical If, after reading this article you are still conflicted about jumping rope vs. running, I

will leave you with this last bit of information.

According to Jump Rope Institute (founded by former Olympian Buddy Lee), “research has shown jumping rope for a minimum of five minutes a day can improve physical fitness and when you build to ten minutes of nonstop jumping at 120 RPMs it can provide the same benefits as the following”: 30 minutes of jogging, two sets of tennis singles, 30 minutes of racquet and handball playing, 720 yards of swimming and 18 holes of golf.

Give jumping rope a try and decide for yourself!

using twigs of neem. And these days you find neembased toothpaste to ensure good dental health. Due to its antibacterial, antiinflammatory and antifungal properties, it keeps away all sorts of dental infections and diseases.

6. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Strong and long hair Neem also helps in strengthening hair quality and promotes growth of hair.

Neem paste is also used as a hair conditioner. Due to its antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties, neem is an excellent way to curb dandruff.

This makes hair follicles stronger, thus encouraging hair growth too. It provides the required nourishment and conditioning to the roots, making them stronger and shinier.

7. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Treat skin disorder There are many formulations in Ayurveda that are used to treat skin issues.

It is because it has a detoxifying property. It is used to treat sczema and other skin infections.

8. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Healer Neem can heal wounds without leaving any ugly scars. It also prevents septic infections.

Neem is commonly used to heal wounds because of its antiseptic properties. Apply a little amount of neem oil onto the wounds and on scars, daily. Neem Oil contains the necessary fatty acids, which

also promote wound healing and make your skin healthy.

9. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit : Acne relief Neem also has antiinflammatory property that reduces acne. The neem oil is believed to relieve skin dryness, skin itchiness and redness. It also prevents pimples and skin blemishes.

10. Neem Herbal Remedy and Benefit This is not it. Neem is also used in organic farming. The popular neem seed cake, which is basically a neem seed residue which is left after oil extraction, is extremely beneficial for enriching the soil. It also brings down nitrogen loss and works as a nematicide.

OTHER BENEFITS Neem is also an excellent source of moisturizer for the skin. By applying neem oil, the fatty acids and vitamins in it moisturize and condition your skin, making it clearer and youthful.

The vitamin E in neem oil repairs the damaged skin and also limits the effect of environment changes that can lead to skin damage.

You will commonly find neem used in products such as bath powders, shampoos, skin lotion, toothpaste and many companies have even started marketing neem leaf capsule for better immunity.

With the dengue menace round the corner, it also works as a brilliant source to repel insects. (https:// neemfoundation.org/herbalremedies-20-health-benefitsof-neem/)

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Kaieteur News

Drawing date for Ansa Mcal’s Enetworks to air South African Stag-errific Father’s Day Thriller Trackers this Friday at 10PM Promotion set for July 4 For Father’s Day which was recently celebrated, the management team for the Stag beer that is distributed at Ansa Mcal Trading Limited, launched the most awesome “stagerrific” promotion.

To enter, all patrons were required to purchase a six pack of Stag, write their name, address and telephone number at the back of their bill, and place it into entry boxes that are available at outlets in

Georgetown, East Bank Demerara, East Berbice, East Coast Demerara, Essequibo coast, Bartica and Linden.

The prizes up for grabs include a bar-bque grill, coolers filled with stag, two cases of stag and one 125 Honda Motorcycle.

For those who have yet to participate in the exciting event, the promotion runs until month-end. The drawing date however is set for July 4, 2020. Best of luck guys!

This Friday at 10PM, Enetworks will be airing Trackers, a South African crime thriller series produced by Scene 24, Three River Studios, Helle Media, and Scribe Studios. It weaves together three stories about South Africa involving organized crime, smuggling diamonds, state security and an international

terrorist plot.

It is an adaptation of Deon Meyer’s 2011 novel of the same name and was adapted for television by Robert Thorogood. It is the first co-production between South Africa pay-TV channel M-Net, HBO’s sister network Cinemax and German public broadcaster ZDF. Do enjoy.

Enetworks to air Veronica Mars at 9PM

WINE REVIEW:

Barefoot Pink Pinot Grigio

The Barefoot Pink Pinot Grigio is dry, crisp and fruity in style. Its palate is full of tart apple, peach and raspberry flavours, making it the perfect summer tipple.

Wine experts recommend serving this chilled or even over ice. With a dash of cream soda it becomes a uniquely refreshing take on the standard spritzer with indulgent, velvety sparkle and fruity upper notes.

It’s definitely on the sweet side, so you could throw in some raspberries and have

it with dessert. If you want a cocktail with bite, mix it with Absolut Raspberry and serve over ice.

Food-wise, this goes great with seafood and salads. Tomatoes, watermelon and Stilton would all make a good match and bring out the best in the wine.

Or you could try a lightly spiced Thaiinspired prawn and coconut dish, with the fruit complementing the coconut well. (https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/ wine-review-barefoot-pink-pinot-grigio)

If you’re looking for a television show that leaves you at the edge of your seat in bliss and excitement then this week’s episode of Veronica Mars is guaranteed to meet your needs.

If you are new to this enthralling series then allow the Kaieteur Entertainment team to fill you in. Veronica Mars is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas.

The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The character Veronica Mars is a student who progresses from high school to college while moonlighting as a private investigator under the tutelage of her detective father.

In each episode, Veronica solves a different stand-alone case while working to solve a more complex mystery. The first two seasons of the series each had a season-long mystery arc, introduced in the first episode of the season and solved in the season finale.

The third season took a different format, focusing on smaller mystery arcs that would last the course of

several episodes. The next episode on the adventures of Ms. Mars will be aired tonight

by Enetworks at 9PM.

PAGE 44

Brazil strikes deal to produce Oxford test vaccine RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - (AFP) — Brazil said yesterday it had reached a deal to produce up to 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University, which the country is helping to test.

The vaccine, which Oxford is working on with pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca, is one of the most promising of the dozens that researchers worldwide are racing to test and bring to market.

Under the US$127million deal, the Brazilian g o v e r n m e n t ’s p u b l i c health institute, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), will acquire the technology and supplies to produce the vaccine, which is being tested in Britain and South Africa,

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Kaieteur News

as well as Brazil.

Health Ministry executive secretary Elcio Franco said the deal would give Brazil a head-start if the vaccine proves effective and safe.

“The transfer of this technology will give us production autonomy,” he told a news conference.

“Brazil is trying to avoid situations like the ones that occurred at the start of the pandemic, when high demand prevented us from accessing supplies and medicine. And we are avoiding the exorbitant profit margins being applied during the pandemic.”

The deal gives Brazil the right to produce an initial 30.4 million doses in December and January, while the vaccine is still in testing, for US$127 million.

That includes a US$30million fee for the rights to the

vaccine technology and production process, officials said.

If the vaccine passes clinical testing, Brazil will then have the right to make a further 70 million doses, at an estimated cost of US$2.30 each.

“Even if the clinical tests do not prove successful, we will learn, our (vaccine production) technology will advance,” said health ministry official Arnaldo Correia de Medeiros.

Researchers in Brazil began administering the vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, to volunteers this week.

Brazil was selected because it is one of the countries where the virus is spreading fastest.

It has the secondhighest caseload and death toll worldwide after the United States, with more than 1.2 million people infected and 55,000 killed so far.

Experts say undertesting in the country of 212 million people means the real numbers are probably much higher.

Blowout for bars: Minister warns of shutdown for non-compliance Trinidad Express - The Ministry of Health will be looking into stricter regulations for the operations of bars following reports of poor public health practices across the country.

This after bars were last week reopened by the Government in phase five of the lifting of COVID19 restrictions.

Speaking at a virtual media conference yesterday, Minister of Health, Terrance Deyalsingh indicated that the reopening of bars globally has prompted a return to lockdown protocols in some countries. This, he said, is because of the relaxed behaviour of patrons who may not strictly adhere to the measures in place.

“At an earlier press conference I did indicate that the nature of bars is not one that would lend itself to proper public health measures, If you look globally to what is happening when bars open one of the flash points for increased number of cases is in fact bars, beaches and so soon. In many countries, states, regions and sometimes entire countries have had to relockdown their economies, put more people out of work because of the behaviour of patrons in

bars,” he said.

He spoke of videos on social media of overpopulated bars and poor social distancing practices in Chaguanas and North Trinidad. In light of such reports, which he referred to as disturbing, he asked that owners and patrons abide by stricter distancing and hygiene standards.

“We are sadly noticing that happening in Trinidad and Tobago, more Trinidad. There is a video circulating about a bar in Chaguanas and a bar in North Trinidad where the bars are jam packed, people are in each other’s faces, partying and it’s very disturbing. So, we are going to do two things this morning.

We are asking both bar owners and patrons to please exercise some discretion in how you use and operate bars, it is for your own good,” said Deyalsingh.

He said that the Chief Medical Officer and the Ministry of Health will be looking into stricter bar operation measures to be enshrined into the existing COVID-19 Public Health Regulations.

“The Chief Medical Officer and myself, we are now looking

at what stricter measures we can put to manage the operations in bars because the free for all that is happening has the potential of taking this country back to where it was three months ago and we can’t allow that. We just heard the minister of Finance say how many hundreds of millions of dollars that the taxpayer is spending on all of these types of relief.”

“We can’t let one sector of the business community operate in such a way that will do two things, send us back to where we were three months ago, have more people unemployed, and put more strain on the healthcare system. So, in closing I am asking bar owners and patrons to manage their operations. I am asking patrons to exercise some caution but we are going to be looking, from today we have started already to see what special regulations we can put in to manage the operations of bars and to curtail the type of behavior we are seeing in bars,” he said.

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Kaieteur News

Barbados lifts curfew, reopens international airport July 15 BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - (CMC) — The Barbados government Friday announced the lifting of the curfew in place since March to stem the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as the island reopens its borders to accommodate regional and international flights.

Speaking at a news conference here, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that the lifting would take effect on July 1 and that the airport will resume normal operations when an Air Canada flight is due to arrive here on July 15.

She told reporters it would be followed by a British Airways flight on July 18, JetBlue on July 25 a n d Vi rg i n A t l a n t i c o n August 1.

The Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is to arrive sometime in midJuly while a meeting was held y e s t e r d a y, to “determine the future” of cash-strapped LIAT, which has already indicated that its services will remain suspended until July 15.

Mottley said that

tourism is Barbados’ core business and as a result, the island could not keep its borders closed indefinitely, noting that during meetings with the social partnership last week there had been no objections to reopening the island’s borders.

“The reality is that we cannot afford to keep our borders closed indefinitely.

However, I dare say that in examining our handling of the pandemic to date, we have been able to keep our number of cases and deaths at a manageable level, while at the same time keeping you informed and taking care of the vulnerable as well as providing safety nets for those of you out of work at the moment,” she said.

“To my mind, these are all pointers that indicate that we can create and implement a plan to successfully open Barbados for commercial travel.”

To u r i s m and International Transport M i n i s t e r, Kerrie Symmonds, said that

several protocols would be put in place before visitors could enter Barbados, declaring that the safety of airport workers and of the population was of paramount importance.

He said travellers from outside the Caribbean would have to take a COVID-19 PCR Antigen test 72 hours before they were scheduled to come to Barbados. That test will have to be accredited by a laboratory approved by the Ministry of Health.

Passengers from within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will have to take a test one week prior to departure.

He said failure to have a test done before arriving here would mean they would have to undergo testing when they land.

The testing will be done at the Concorde Experience museum, which is to be outfitted as a testing facility.

Symmonds said in an effort to facilitate larger numbers of visitors, hotels on the island had been earmarked for satellite

testing facilities. But visitors will have to pay to stay at those hotels.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mottley said that in addition to lifting the curfew physical distancing will now be three feet.

The authorities said that all day care centres will reopen to full capacity from next week and that

sporting events will be able to have spectators, once physical distancing and wearing of masks are observed.

Indoor events will be subject to density requirements.

The limit for outdoor entertainment and social events has been raised to 500 people, and those

indoor will be subject to density capacity and that from July 15, once the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit approves, that limit can go above 500.

The one-hour limit for church services will also be lifted, and baptisms will be permitted once people wear gloves, but the other protocols remain.

Pastor Accused Of Having Sex With Women To Cast Out Demons Gets Bail The Gleaner - A pastor accused of repeatedly having sex with two members of his congregation in order to ‘heal’ them of demons was yesterday offered bail on rape charges. On May 20, Bishop Winston Campbell, 56, was arrested and charged with two counts of rape.

He was yesterday offered bail in the St Catherine Parish Court in the amount of $2 million and ordered to suspend all preaching activities until the case is completed.

According to the allegations, the pastor began having sex with the women in 2014 after telling them that they were possessed by demons and needed a special kind of healing.

The women, who were both 26 years old at the time, reported that they accompanied Campbell to a guesthouse located on Port

Henderson Road, more popular known as ‘Back Road’, in St Catherine and engaged in sexual activities in order to get rid of their demons. He allegedly had other encounters up to some time in 2018.

In applying for bail, Peter Champagnie QC, one of Campbell’s attorneys, noted that there was no claim by the prosecutor that the women were suffering from any mental illness and were of sound mind and discretion.

As a result, Champagnie questioned the truthfulness of their accounts.

Attorney-at-law Kemar Robinson, who also represents Campbell, pointed out that the women did not make a report to the police until earlier this year.

The clergyman is scheduled to return to court in July 15.

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Kaieteur News

The Art of

Sunday June 28, 2020

Storytelling

From page 34 patriarchy turned on its head.

Multilayered in its message, the story of Miss Inez explores mental illness and the prejudice and abuse that victims face.

We i g h e d d o w n b y personal pressures, Miss Inez cracks. With her ego defenses crumbling, her s u b c o n s c i o u s e m e rg e s exposing harrowing images of fear and anxiety. She is fair game for the system and the twisted fantasies of others.

Of the cause and complexity of mental illness, there is no monolithic response, only probing questions. “Do you know that so far there is no general agreement on what it is exactly? Is it an inherited defect in the brain chemistry and therefore really a bodily diseases? Or is it a defect in the personality caused by faulty upbringing? Or is it simply socially deviant behavior?”

And the recurring response, “They used to think it was possession by demons, didn't they?”

Only the munificence of Deaconess Dora can salvage Miss Inez. Despite a chorus of naysayers, the Deaconess accepts the challenge, arguably tempting fate in the process.

The outcome is redemptive and a witness to humanity.

'Hurricane Story' is arguably the most provocative of McKenzie's offerings. It is defined by its rich, vividly metaphoric

language, best exemplified in a scene experienced by Patrick, the protagonist: “The following morning after breakfast he sat with his door open and watched the approaching storm.

The disheveled trees were like distraught mourners bending in distress.

He noticed a ripe passion fruit swinging on a vine which had almost covered a tree fall, but it held on tenaciously. Watching the tossing fruit, he remembered the peace and calm of the previous Saturday.”

In this tale, McKenzie raises perennial questions regarding the nature of God, boldly delving into the philosophy of religion.

As portentous weather bears down on the island, Patrick peruses a book by David Hume, his eyes capturing the most fitting of quotes. “Is he [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able?

Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?”

Amid the unbridled fury of nature and God's seeming insouciance, there is still “the impulse of religion.“ Of this striking paradox, Patrick seeks answers.

“There was life and death on the earth and the two were inextricably linked...it was probably the basis for all world's religions,” he reasons.

The delicate balance between skepticism and reality echoes in 'My Mother's Religion.' Daniel, a

physics lecturer raised in a devout home now questions the validity of church doctrine. Ironically, he is asked to deliver the homily at a Christmas service. His words are judicious.

N e g a t e t h e compassionate side of the Church, he can't, nor can he dismiss the faith that feeds his mother's strength, a faith that has served him well. But he is also pestered by the uncomely face of religion and makes mention of its indelibly dark history. His words are genuinely expressed, and are felt by the handful of congregants.

And in 'Baba,' the conflict of identity is a thorn in the side on a people tailored by Christendom.

They must answer the call of ancestry.

Here, in the chambers of the mind, Afrocentric traditions face off with Christian soteriology. It's a battle oftentimes settled at the cusp of death, for the fear sown by Christianity, it seems, wins in the end.

Equally captivating are 'The Ruturnee,' and 'Ancestors.'

No doubt, Ernest Palmer's Dream showcases the art of storytelling.

Seamlessly, McKenzie fuses levity and sophomoric bantering with the most complex of philosophical musings. And it works.

Publisher: LMH Publishing Ltd, Jamaica ISBN: 978-976-824531-1 Available Ratings: Recommended

We should not take for granted the right to due process, judicial...

From page 31 Guyana's quest for worldwide comity.

People today retrieve information through the tap of a finger. They are virtual observers, knowledge takers and participants of what is happening in society, theirs, and others. Whereas some may harbour the view that the leaders of the government are disorganised and will bow to pressure, they did not cater for the citizens. Though disparate in location and organisation it would be a folly to disrespect or take for granted their intolerance for being disrespected.

The struggle to ensure respect for our laws, due process, the right to be

heard, the integrity of the election, the rulings of the court is being waged primarily by the people. The international community has miscued and is underestimating the intelligence and resilience of the people.

The Court of Appeal has ruled on the issue of valid votes. This ruling is being challenged in the CCJ and the parties are being given the opportunity to have their side heard.

The CCJ is our final recourse to legal justice. The Judiciary is our last bastion of independent statehood.

Our legal system must be given a chance to work and we must respect its ruling as the prevailing law even if we

may find disagreement. We must move forward from this position.

Further, progressive thinking requires we use the rulings of the court to establish legislation to strengthen and tighten our structures. Guyana and Guyanese must be better served from these experiences.

It is the Rule of Law (Judiciary) that must determine the closure of election not the opinion of any other, local or foreign.

Guyanese demand and expect no more, no less.

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

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 47

Prolific self-published author,

Geary Reid, From page 18 settled on a company based in the United States. The company also helped design the E-books that are now available on Amazon.

Reid said that he used management experience in retail, education, agriculture, natural resources, manufacturing, insurance and motor industries to churn out material with titles

Standing behind the podium in his capacity as a Reverend of the New Testament of God Church

like Winning Your Next Interview; Managing Your Organisation; Simple Techniques For Managing Your Finances and his experience as a pastor and family man to write on topics like Why Attending Church Is Important; Care And Respect For The Elderly; Parenting Not An Easy Job; Fathers Are Important; Building Relationships and

Mr. Reid putting in the hours at his current job

Avoiding Extramarital Affairs.

The next steps to establishing himself as a writer, Reid said, are to have his materials available in audio and in hard copy.

FAITH AND FAMILY As a married man for two decades, Reid said fatherhood and husband duties, to him, are of paramount importance. He and his wife recently observed his 20th wedding anniversary.

According to the author, his family's support is integral to his success. As such, he reserves his weekends mostly for time spent with his family. He also connects with his extended families on a regular basis and would visit his father and father-in-law, to spend quality leisure time with them.

He noted that spending time with the elders helps him gain much wisdom about life. He stressed too that his role as pastor caused him to interact with persons from different walks of life, including various religions.

As such, the author sees everyone as important and knows that they have an important role to play on this earth. At his place of employment and within the religious groups, he provides mentorship for many persons, ranging from children to adults.

Reid noted that serving

the Lord is an important activity as he has rendered several years of teaching Sunday school to both children and adults. He became a Christian in 1986 and was baptized on March14, 1989.

He said that this has enhanced his knowledge and growth of faith as a Christian.

Before becoming a pastor, Reid occupied many roles within various religious groups during his early years. Some of these roles include Church Clerk (treasurer), President of Men's Fellowship, Worship Leader, Usher, a Pastor within the Pastor's Council, Convener of church services, Preacher, Evangelist, Pastor of the Family Life Ministry and many others.

To a d v a n c e h i s knowledge about his faith, Reid has written several Christian examinations and has acquired many Christian certificates from reputable religious institutions. He is also now a Reverend with the New Testament Church of God certified to preach internationally.

The author was keen to note, however, that he started working for the Lord, as the cleaner for the church building.

Reid believes that his love and work for the Lord has caused him to have much success both on the inside and outside of the Christian community.

As he grows in his faith, Reid noted that his love for people continues to grow, as he believes he has a duty of a servant to the Lord and also a

servant to those who are called to the Christian faith.

As, such, Reid said that he loves to interact with his neighbours. Even while travelling he takes the opportunity to interact with several persons, he is not able to see daily.

Among his hobbies, Reid said, is shopping and cooking for his family and friends.

He also finds listening to Christian songs, reading the daily newspapers, listening to news on the television, watching sports and relaxing. Reid says taking regular walks is something he does to keep himself fit.

He also loves to worship.

Our 'Special Person' also made it pellucid that he is not ashamed to dance and enjoy the atmosphere of worship, wherever he goes.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 48

Sunday June 28, 2020

Extension to Stay in U.S. during Coronavirus Pandemic

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram

D

uring this global coronavirus pandemic, many tourists with B-1/B-2 visas are not able to leave the U.S. before their given departure

time. Many airports and ports of entries are closed and travelers cannot return home.

If you want to extend your stay in the United States, you must file a request with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services (USCIS) on the Form I-539, Application to E x t e n d / C h a n g e Nonimmigrant Status before your authorized stay expires.

If you remain in the United States longer than authorized, you may be barred from returning and/or

you may be removed (deported) from the United States.

The date of departure should be written on the entry stamp in your passport or your digital I-94 can be accessed online at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/

and select Get Most Recent I-94.

We recommend that you apply to extend your stay at least 45 days before your authorized stay expires and ask for at least six month extension.

You may apply to extend your stay if: Yo u w e r e l a w f u l l y admitted into the United States with a nonimmigrant visa Your nonimmigrant visa status remains valid You have not committed any crimes that make you ineligible for a visa You have not violated the conditions of your admission Your passport is valid and will remain valid for the duration of your stay You may not apply to extend your stay if you were admitted to the United States in the following categories: Visa Waiver Program Crew member (D nonimmigrant visa) In transit through the United States (C nonimmigrant visa) In transit through the United States without a visa (TWOV) Fiancé of a U.S. citizen or dependent of a fiancé (K

Gail S. Seeram nonimmigrant visa) Informant (and accompanying family) on terrorism or organized crime (S nonimmigrant visa) Additional evidence will be required to prove the tourist is self-sufficient financially and will not rely on U.S. government benefits while in the U.S. during his/her extended stay.

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

Attorney Gail Seeram, LL.M., J.D., BBA Call | text 407-292-7730 WhatsApp 407-3531363 E m a i l : Gail@GailLaw.com L i v e c h a t : www.GailLaw.com Download FREE App: Gail Law Copyright © Law Offices of Gail S. Seeram, 2019. All Rights Reserved.

CCJ offers parties in...

From page 20 including by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on whose advisory board he serves. Justice Saunders will also be accompanied in the hearing by at least five other distinguished judges whose reputations are equally untainted.

Fortunately, those who were convinced that the judges of the Guyana Court of Appeal were compromised by familial and other links, did not similarly indulge in casting aspersions on their judicial integrity.

Luis Almagro, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States, summed up this sorry tale when he declared: “It is undeniable that this election has gone on long enough.

The process in Guyana must be brought to an end, based on the results of the national recount, and with respect for the will of the majority of the electorate”.

The justices of the CCJ offer that conclusive opportunity. They held a lengthy case management session on June 25, with all

the parties concerned except the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, who discarded the CARICOM report of the recount and invalidated more than 115, 000 votes. He chose not to make a submission or be represented by counsel, and therefore not to be questioned by the court when the case is heard. They will begin hearings, after written submissions, on July 1.

The CCJ hearing and, eventual decision, will give the parties in Guyana a chance to adhere to the rule of law, behave lawfully and salvage their own and the country's standing. They should take it.

(The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.)

Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

Cellphone store looted by gunmen The two bandits with the employees at left bending over

The Celltronicx store which was robbed

A

cell phone store located at Mon Repos East Coast Demerara (ECD) was looted on Friday last by a pair of armed bandits.

The Celltronicx Guyana Cell Phone Sales and Repair Centre was robbed at around 14:15Hrs. This publication was told that two men pulled up on a Honda XR and entered the cellphone store posing as customers.

One of the men greeted a female employee and handed her a mobile phone

that needed repairs. The female employee examined the phone for 10 minutes and then handed it back to the man.

However, while explaining the details of the repairs needed for the phone, the 'customer' jumped over the counter and pulled out a hand gun from his waist.

His accomplice also joined and they both held the female employee at gun point shoving her to the back of the store where a cell phone technician was

completing his work.

One of the men then ordered both employees to kneel on the ground behind a cubicle while the other stood watch. Both men then proceeded to loot the store.

In security cameras videos seen by this publication, the men opened the show cases grabbing handsets and packing them into a red haversack.

The bandits also emptied a draw which contained some $300,000 in cash before making their escape.

The owner of the cell phone store told reporters that so far it is discovered that a total of 25 cellular phones were stolen.

He estimates his losses to be more than $2M.

PAGE 49

PAGE 50

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

g ts in s... re ure e t at n I re C

S

Stingless

Bee

tingless bees, sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (about 500 species), comprising the tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors).

They belong in the family Apidae, and are closely related to common honey bees, carpenter bees, orchid bees, and bumblebees.

Meliponines have stingers, but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for defense, though these bees exhibit other defensive behaviours and mechanisms.

Meliponines are not the only type of "stingless" bee; all male bees and many female bees of several other families, such as Andrenidae, also cannot sting. Some

stingless bees have painful and powerful bites.

Stingless bees can be found in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world, such as Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and tropical America.

The majority of native eusocial bees of Central and South America are stingless bees, although only a few of them produce honey on a scale such that they are farmed by humans.

They are also quite diverse in Africa, including Madagascar, and are farmed there also; meliponine honey is prized as a medicine in many African communities, as well as in South America.

Being tropical, stingless bees are active all year round, although they are less active

in cooler weather, with some species presenting diapause.

Unlike other eusocial bees, they do not sting, but will defend by biting if their nest is disturbed. In addition, a few (in the genus Oxytrigona) have mandibular secretions, including formic acid, that cause painful blisters.

Despite their lack of a sting, stingless bees, being eusocial, may have very large colonies made formidable by the number of defenders.

Stingless bees usually nest in hollow trunks, tree branches, underground cavities, termite nests or rock crevices, but they have also been encountered in wall cavities, old rubbish bins, water meters, and storage drums.

Many beekeepers keep the bees in their original log hive or transfer them to a wooden box, as this makes controlling the hive easier.

Some beekeepers put them in bamboos, flowerpots, coconut shells, and other recycling containers such as a water jug, a broken guitar, and other safe and closed containers.

The bees store pollen and (continued on page 52)

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 51

Guyana among countries to be allowed under strict criteria to enter EU

E

uropean Union The ambassadors of the European Union (EU) member states have agreed on strict criteria by which they will remove entry restrictions, DPA agency reports.

The decision was made a c c o r d i n g t o epidemiological criteria.

There are two lists, one for those that will be

accepted, and one for those who will not.

The list has already aroused controversy after sources revealed that the United States - the worstaffected country worldwide

by COVID-19 with more than 2.4 million cases, is on the following list.

On Thursday, European officials failed to decide which countries will be

barred from entry after the bloc's external borders open, with an EU diplomat telling Euronews that officials "could not reach an agreement" and that talks would continue into Friday.

Euronews has obtained, from EU diplomatic sources, the full draft list of the countries for which Europe's borders will be open and can confirm what we reported on

Wednesday that Brazil, Qatar, the US, and Russia are indeed not on the approved list.

Sources also threw into doubt the border reopening date of July 1, suggesting agreements will not be forthcoming in time.

The full list of countries whose nationals will be allowed to enter Europe according to the draft list is

as follows: Vatican City, Monaco, Montenegro, Andorra, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Albania, Turkey, Kosovo, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, Bhutan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, India,

DDL donates sanitizing cleaner to 128 schools

D

emerara Distillers Limited (DDL) on Friday announced a donation of alcohol-based sanitizing cleaner, Environ, to the Ministry of Education to assist secondary schools with preparation for the upcoming Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Examinations (CSEC and CAPE).

One hundred and twenty-eight secondary schools across the country will each receive a 19-litres (5-gallon) bottle of the cleanser to ensure that the areas to be used by the examination students are cleaned to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

The first donations were on Friday delivered directly to three Georgetown secondary schools- St Joseph's High, South Ruimveldt and Richard Ishmael. The remainder will be delivered directly to the Ministry for distribution.

DDL's Chairman, Komal Samaroo, said that: “The students who are about to write these examinations are our next

generation of leadership and COVID-19 is the most recent addition to the challenges that they face on the road to development. As a company, we have remained focused on supporting education so this was an obvious decision for us to respond to the COVID19 challenge that our current students face.�

The company said it is now working on arrangements to provide similar support to schools at other levels prior to the planned opening of all schools in September.

This donation of 2,500 litres to secondary schools follows a donation of 15,000 litres in March to senior citizen's homes, orphanages, night shelters, prisons, and other facilities similar to these. In addition, the sanitizing cleaner was distributed to agencies that provide public services to assist in keeping counter surfaces clean.

These included the post offices, police stations, health centres, and public hospitals.

DDL Brand Manager Larry Wills with Head Teacher Melanie Jones of Richard Ishmael Secondary School

Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Palau, New Zealand, Australia, Dominica, Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Uruguay, Jamaica, Cuba, G u y a n a , P a r a g u a y, Ve n e z u e l a , N i c a r a g u a , Costa, Rica, Canada, Angola, Tunisia, Namibia, Uganda, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt.

Diplomatic sources also hinted to Euronews that there is a disagreement between nations on the criteria to use for this decision, with some maintaining that data about COVID rates is not reliable. They are asking the ECDC, the EU agency for disease prevention, to come up with more details, the sources said, adding that the lists will be reviewed every two weeks.

When EU guidelines were released two weeks ago, officials said the list would take into account the infection rate in countries concerned.

The criteria are based on epidemiological data, and at the time, we were told that 47 countries were on the list of acceptable countries and 54 nations on the barred list. From our source in Brussels on Thursday, there are now 54 on the acceptable draft list, and these numbers may continue to fluctuate. (https://www.news.az/news/ countries)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 52

Sunday June 28, 2020

Stingless Bee Dr. Nichole Nedd-Jerrick From page 50 honey in large, egg-shaped pots made of beeswax (typically) mixed with various types of plant resin; this combination is sometimes referred to as "cerumen" (which is, incidentally, the medical term for earwax).

These pots are often arranged around a central set of horizontal brood combs, wherein the larvae are housed. When the young worker bees emerge from their cells, they tend to initially remain inside the hive, performing different jobs.

As workers age, they become guards or foragers.

Unlike the larvae of honey bees and many social wasps, meliponine larvae are not actively fed by adults (progressive provisioning).

Pollen and nectar are placed in a cell, within which an egg is laid, and the cell is sealed until the adult bee emerges after pupation (mass provisioning). At any one time, hives can contain 300–80,000 workers, depending on species.

In a simplified sense, the sex of each bee depends on the number of chromosomes it receives.

Female bees have two sets of chromosomes (diploid)—one set from the queen and another from one of the male bees or drones.

Drones have only one set of chromosomes (haploid), and are the result of unfertilized

eggs, though inbreeding can result in diploid drones.

Unlike true honey bees, whose female bees may become workers or queens strictly depending on what kind of food they receive as larvae (queens are fed royal jelly and workers are fed pollen), the caste system in meliponines is variable, and commonly based simply on the amount of pollen consumed; larger amounts of pollen yield queens in the genus Melipona.

Also, a genetic component occurs, however, and as much as 25% (typically 5–14%) of the female brood may be queens.

Queen cells in the former case can be distinguished from others by their larger size, as they are stocked with more pollen, but in the latter case, the cells are identical to worker cells, and scattered among the worker brood.

When the new queens emerge, they typically leave to mate, and most die.

New nests are not established by swarms, but by a procession of workers that gradually construct a new nest at a secondary location.

The nest is then joined by a newly mated queen, at which point many workers take up permanent residence and help the new queen raise her own workers. If a ruling queen is herself weak or dying, then a new queen can replace her.

[Source: Wikipedia]

From page 14 health care here in Guyana to the point that she believes that “my medical and professional input is needed more here than abroad.”

SPECIALTY Explaining the importance of her specialty, she said, “primary health care is the main pivot of health care in any country. It provides the first level of care for all health needs for patients of all ages, and the focus is on prevention and treatment of various conditions. Since the care is continuous, patients are required to attend clinic regularly, for example: antenatal mothers, children for vaccinations, and chronic disease patients.”

But with efforts engaged to combat COVID-19, these days a typical work-day for Dr. Nedd-Jerrick begins with her “working with a nurse to screen patients for COVID before they enter the compound of the Polyclinic.

This is also a triage process, so it allows us to determine what type of care each patient needs – emergency, dressing, chronic disease, acute illness, antenatal, vaccination, etc.”

After she and a team of doctors manage the patients, Dr. Nedd-Jerrick then proceeds to complete work of an administrative nature.

“My role is as a medical practitioner and institution head at the primary care level. At the Polyclinic, I started by preparing a policy document to guide our response. As a clinic, we have sought to take steps, to reduce and prevent the spread of COVID, by ensuring hand-washing before entering the compound, patient screening, management and referral. We also promote prevention through education,” said Dr. NeddJerrick.

She has come to recognize that quick and continuous adaptation is crucial to the COVID-19 response. According to her, the response has seen the health facility “shifting care from the building to the open area in the yard of the clinic; changing our prioritization of care, and scaling back a few services such as phlebotomy; equipping ourselves daily with knowledge about the virus, since some of the information changes, and there is a lot that is not known.”

SUPPORT I n d e e d , D r. N e d d -

Jerrick's training in primary health care is always applicable in the delivery of health care and she knows this all too well. Pointing to this, she said, “primary care is essential, and needs to be provided despite any type of threat, hence we have had to adapt and have continued w o r k in g to p r ev en t a disruption in services.”

In this regard, she said, a team, complete with public safety officers, pharmacy staff, social worker, ancillary staff, HIV counsellor-tester, and doctors and nurses, was set-up at the Polyclinic dedicated to the care of patients.

The team is provided with administrative, logistic support and guidance from the GPHC. The response of the Polyclinic, Dr. NeddJerrick said, has also been well supported by members of the community. “We are profoundly grateful for the partnership...we received loans of tents from Mr. Tiwari, Mr. Jailall, and Mr. Harikishun; money for construction of a handwashing area from the NDC; masks from Mr. Nauth and Dr. Persaud, and cleaning supplies from the Rotary Club,” she added with delight.

BALANCE Although she gives her all as she aims for the best possible outcomes at the Polyclinic, Dr. Need-Jerrick recognizes the need to strike a balance between her profession and family life.

Resident at Ann's Grove with a family of her own – husband Raul and three children (sons – Dondre, 14, and Kadre, 12, and daughter Thalia, 10), she admitted that it is sometimes tough to

Attending to a patient balance work and family.

But she does try her best to get it right. “I attempt to do this by setting some boundaries and, over time, making some changes. I ensure that the administrative work of the clinic is done there, and not at home. I try to assign daily timetables for my children, which they often blissfully ignore. My dad assists me greatly with my children's schoolwork,” she shared.

In striving to be the best version of herself she compartmentalizes roles and responsibilities as she evolves.

In so doing she serves as a volunteer teacher at her former school, Clonbrook Primary, teaching basic music theory and recorder practice. “This would have been my 10th year teaching, but it was interrupted because of the pandemic,” With her family

said Dr. Nedd-Jerrick who also performs teaching duties in the Alpha Adventurer Club at her church, Ann's Grove Seventh-day Adventist.

Added to this, she serves as Head of the Training and Education Committee of the Guyana Haemophilia Society.

Dr. Nedd-Jerrick said she finds time too, though not much, to explore the baking of various cakes, girlishly adding, “they are quite tasty, most of the time.”

But nothing can compare to her ingrained passion for sewing. According to this fashionista, “I love to sew and would spend an entire day sewing if I could.” Her couture, though created mainly for herself and daughter, are glamorous enough to grace the runway of just about any fashion show.

Sunday June 28, 2020

PAGE 53

Kaieteur News

CONSUMER CONCERNS

Guyana/Venezuela Controversy and ICJ

By Pat Dial

This column has endeavoured over the years to keep before the public the importance of the Guyana/ Venezuela Controversy.

Over the last year, the nation had been distracted by the difficult political problems with the Guyana/Venezuela Controversy and its long term importance to the very survival of the country had been placed on the backburner in the consciousness of most Guyanese.

The issue is coming up before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday, June 30th, when the Court will start determining whether it has the authority to hear Guyana’s filing which seeks to obtain from the Court a final and binding judgment that the 1899 Arbitral Award which established the land boundaries between Guyana and Venezuela remains valid.

The Court has to take this first step, of determining jurisdiction, before hearing the substantive filing because Venezuela has taken the position that the Court (ICJ) has no authority to adjudicate in this matter and has so far declared that it will not participate in the hearing.

Guyana’s legal team would be led by Sir Shridath Ramphal who would be supported by a number of international lawyers. Mr Carl Greenidge would represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Both the Government and Opposition are united in defending Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and are standing together. For the information of younger citizens, we will reiterate a synopsis of the controversy: In the early decades of the 19th century when the Spanish colonies in America were rebelling against Spanish rule, the United States adumbrated its Munroe Doctrine whereby they pledged themselves to oppose the founding of any new European colonies in the American Continent and the expansion of the already established ones.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, Venezuela, encouraged by the Munroe Doctrine, claimed most of the colony of British Guiana and the United States supported Venezuela’s claim against Britain. Relations between these two English-speaking countries became so tense that there was even talk of war.

Eventually, it was decided to refer the issue to International Arbitration.

At the Arbitration, Venezuela was represented

by the United States and both sides were represented by the best lawyers of the time and the Arbitrators were equally respected for their legal acumen and integrity.

The work of the Arbitration was thorough.

The archives of Spain, Holland and Britain were meticulously searched and the documentation recovered was voluminous.

Britain’s claim was for territory to the mouth of the Orinoco River and most of the present Venezuelan province of Guyana while Venezuela claimed Essequibo and all of British Guiana except Berbice.

The Arbitrators made their award in 1899. Britain lost territory to the mouth of the Orinoco River and its claims to parts of the present Venezuelan province Guyana while the Essequibo twothirds of British Guiana was confirmed as belonging to Britain.

The Venezuelans were jubilant at the Award and celebrated it as a victory even commemorating it with the issuance of postage stamps.

The land boundary of British Guiana was then demarcated by a joint team of Venezuelan and British surveyors and this boundary was recognized by Venezuela and internationally.

Then after 63 years, just as Britain was about to grant Independence to Guyana, Venezuela rejected the Arbitral Award and claimed two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. Many suggestions have been put forward to explain Venezuela’s actions but whatever they might be, it is clear they did not wish Guyana to be granted Independence and threatened not to recognize the independent state.

Britain was determined to grant Independence to Guyana and withdraw from the colony and came up with the idea of forming a Mixed Commission of Venezuela, Britain and Guyana to work for the settlement of the Controversy. Britain then granted Independence to Guyana in 1966.

The Mixed Commission deliberated for four years (1966-1970) without result and for the next half-a-century, Guyana tried to bring closure to the issue.

There was the 12-year Moratorium(1970-1982); the seven year Process of Consultation (1981-1990); then the 27-year Good Offices Process under the aegis of the Secretary General of the United Nations (1990-2017).

The Good Offices Process failed to bring about a solution to the Controversy then the Secretary General was charged with identifying any other methodology. The Secretary General ruled that it should be referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Guyana accepted the Secretary General’s ruling but Venezuela claimed that the Secretary General had no authority to make such a ruling and that the ICJ could accordingly not hear the case.

The ICJ invited Venezuela to prove its contention, giving it half-a-year to do so until November, 2019. Venezuela, however, made no submission or appearance.

During this period of seeking a solution, that is from 1966, Venezuela took a number of bellicose and hostile actions against Guyana: There was continuous hostile activity and threat to attack Guyana

Curlfete co-founder, Denisha Victor, dies suddenly Natural enthusiast and stylist, Denisha Victor, died suddenly on Friday evening at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Immediately after the news got public, messages of condolences poured in on social media, with many acknowledging her priceless contributions to the natural hair industry.

Victor, 31, was the owner of KOKO, a natural hair store that offered opportunities to other local female entrepreneurs to market their products. She was an award winning entrepreneur, community worker, teacher and fraud investigator.

Victor was most popularly known as the Co-Founder of CurlFete Guyana, an annual natural hair exposition.

PASSED AWAY: Denisha Victor

with its very superior military and this included overflying Georgetown, sabre rattling on the borders, and seizure and occupation of Ankoko island from Guyana (1966); attempting to dismember Guyana by instigating the Rupununi Rebellion (1969); the Leoni Decree when Venezuela attempted to seize Guyana’s territorial sea (1969); assault on Eteringbang outpost (1970).

They dissuaded investors from investing in Guyana by large advertisements in some of the main newspapers in the

Developed World warning them how unsafe their investments would be. This economic hostility took a new turn when they tried to hamper Guyana’s Oil and Gas exploration by the seizure of seismic vessels Technics Perdana in early 2018 and Ranaform Thetys in December 2018.

The Controversy should have come before the ICJ in March but owing to the constraints of COVID-19 it was postponed to June 30th where the proceedings would be employing ICT

technology. Guyana’s filing, we reiterate, is to obtain from the Court a final and binding judgment that the 1899 Arbitral Award which established the boundaries between Guyana and Venezuela remains valid.

The settlement of the Controversy would be in both countries’ interest - it would remove an issue which has bedeviled Venezuelan internal politics for decades and allow Guyana and Venezuela to grow in cooperation and friendship to their mutual benefit.

Over 200 prisoners released in last 3 months

Some 202 prisoners have been released in the last three months as part of efforts by the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) to reduce the population in wake of COVID19. Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, explained that the inmates are largely nonviolent offenders who were released on various grounds.

According to him, the GPS took into consideration the recommendations the healthcare officials attached to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), and the considerations of the court before discharging the inmates.

He said that the courts made careful considerations of the inmates’ behaviour before they were set free or had their sentences reduced.

According to the prison chief, repeat offenders were not eligible for release under the circumstances.

He explained, too, that a recommendation of good behaviour from the prison also aided the releases of some of the offenders.

“For example, when the Prison Service celebrated its anniversary, special remission was granted to some prisoners for good behaviour. Then, there are inmates who had just a short time left on their sentence, they too were released based on considerations from the prison and the judiciary,” he explained.

The Director of Prison said that there were other categories in which the longer serving prisonerss were given their freedom.

There were those who were up for parole and then there were other special considerations for prisoners over age 55 since the older persons are more susceptible to contracting the deadly COVID-19 infection.

According to Samuels, at least two prisoners over 55 years were recommended for release due to the fact that they are aged and nearing the completion of their sentence.

Additionally, he noted the GPS has worked diligently to

Prisons’ Chief, Gladwin Samuels keep the prisons in Georgetown, Lusignan and Mazaruni COVID-19 free.

Samuels said that while the release of prisoners within the past three months has helped to lessen the population to some extent, it was the systematic approach to ensuring that the staff and inmates of the prisons are kept safe that has been working in their favour.

“We have limited resources but we have ensured that the prisons are sanitized at all times.

The inmates practice proper social-distancing and hygiene rule and if for example we have fresh inmates we ensure that they are isolated for 14 days to monitor them before we allow them to integrate with the rest of the population,” he said.

In a previous interview,

Samuels told Kaieteur News that staffers of the Georgetown Prisons implemented a shift system in a bid to ensure that the disease does not enter the prison.

“The prison has been in line since February,” Samuels said, “However, given the COVID-19 situation, the administration has taken further steps to ensure that the prisons remain safe from the disease.

We have accommodation in the compounds, so that our staff is not required to leave the facility daily. We also have a rotation and shift system which helps minimize the movement in and out the prison.”

Since March, the prisons have been limiting visitors to the prisons, as part of the new dispensation of social distancing. Last month, to compensate for the change in prison visit rules, the Ministry of Communications contributed 30 Ipad tablets to be used by the prison service in facilitating communication between prisoners and their families and legal presentation.

Sinks and sanitizers have also been installed for visitors, while the time they are allotted to see inmates have been reduced. The prisons are being regularly sanitized, and lauded the inmates for their cooperation: to support this initiative, Demerara Distilleries Limited (DDL) handed over a significant amount of sanitation supplies to the prison system.

Gold miners tell cops they beat, robbed boss because he owed them Three gold miners are alleging that they beat and robbed their Brazilian employer because he had not paid them.

Police said that the men admitted to robbing Adam Da Silva, 62, of a quantity of raw gold at Sandhill/Oku Landing, last Friday. Da Silva, of Boa Vista, Brazil, is hospitalized with a broken leg.

Police said that the stolen gold has been recovered.

“The suspects who are all from the East Bank Essequibo and Essequibo Coast, told police that they committed the act because of not being paid for work done,” police stated in a release.

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Kaieteur News

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

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The grim reality is that the death toll is on the increase, particularly in low and middleincome countries like Guyana.

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relatively new management system standard on road traffic safety published in 2012 by the International Organisation for Standardisation.

This standard, ISO 39001: 2012 Road Traffic Safety (RTS) Management Systems Requirements with guidance for use, experts believe will play an important role in reversing the trend.

ISO 39001:2012 specifies requirements for a Road Traffic Safety (RTS) Management System to enable an organization that interacts with the road traffic system to reduce death and serious injuries related to road traffic crashes, which it can influence.

The requirements of the standard include the development and implementation of an appropriate RTS policy, development of RTS objectives and action plans, which take into account legal and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and information about elements and criteria related to RTS that the

organization identifies as those, which it can control, and those, which it can influence.

ISO 39001:2012 was designed for public and private organizations which interact with the road traffic system and is expected to be particularly relevant to organizations that possess a large number of vehicles.

These include freight and passenger companies as well as those with large fleets of private vehicles such as those used by engineers, sales people or supermarket delivery drivers. It will also be of interest to organizations that manage road networks.

Global research has shown that death and serious injury can be considerably reduced by adopting a holistic safe system approach to RTS. This involves a clear focus on RTS results and evidencebased actions supported by the right levels of organization management.

The incidence of road accidents cannot be reduced by the actions of Governments alone.

Organizations of all types and

sizes, as well as individual road users, have a role to play.

It is in this regard that the United Nations has been making considerable effort to save lives on the roads, by spearheading its “Decade of Action for Road Safety 20112020 resolution.” Launched in over 100 countries on 11 May 2011, the resolution has a clear goal in sight, which is to prevent five million road deaths by 2020.

Through the development of the ISO 39001 standard, ISO has made a significant contribution to that ambitious UN goal. The standard is expected to have a considerable impact on the future of traffic safety by addressing safety aspects relating to speed, vehicle condition and driver awareness. This will improve traffic safety and aims to overall reduce the number of persons killed or severely injured on the road.

For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190065, 219-0066 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

Sunday June 28, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Toddler drowns in bucket of water

The dead toddler, Tatiana Alexander

The Charity home where the incident occurred.

A mother, 20, is in grief after she discovered the motionless body of her 11month-old baby girl, in a bucket of water Friday morning. The dead toddler has been identified as Tatiana Alexander, the third child to her parents, Ruel Francis and Vanessa Alexander.

The family shares a home together at the Charity New Extension Scheme, located on the Essequibo Coast.

According to Vanessa, sometime around 10:00hrs she left for the canal, which is

located behind their home, to get the laundry done.

At that time, the toddler was left upstairs in the care of her husband.

The woman’s husband reportedly fell asleep, leaving the young toddler unsupervised.

Vanessa told Kaieteur News yesterday: “My husband does work as a porter at the Charity Hospital.

And the night he work late, he come home till 7 o’ clock in the morning, and he said that he tired and he gun try catch

some rest so he can go back to work.”

After washing for more than an hour, the woman said that she returned upstairs, but her baby was nowhere to be seen.

After searching around the home for a while, Vanessa made a shocking discovery that will scar her for the rest of her life.

With tears in her eyes, the woman said: “I check around and something tell me check behind the door. When I check I see me baby deh

Boyfriend charged with murder of pregnant teen who drowned in Berbice River A 19-year-old man of DeVeldt Village, Upper Berbice River and of Smithfield, New Amsterdam, was on Friday remanded to prison for the murder of his 17 year old pregnant girlfriend. Dequan Abrams was charged with the capital offence of murder committed on Melissa Soman, of 58 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam.

He made his appearance via Zoom at the Linden Magistrate’s Court where the charge was read to him by Magistrate Wanda Fortune.

Abrams was subsequently remanded to prison after he was not required to plead to the indictable charge and the matter was postponed to July 8th, 2020. Abrams was arrested after the body of Soman was discovered floating in the Upper Berbice River nine days ago.

According to the facts of the case, Soman was staying with Abrams in a village in the Upper Berbice River and had attended a birthday celebration in the village.

Abrams who was also present at the birthday reportedly noticed Soman in the

CHARGED: Dequan Abrams

DIED: Melissa Soman

company of another male.

Her actions angered him and he ventured over to her and began to assault her. The other male who saw the beating went over to intervene but he too was reportedly assaulted.

Abrams then grabbed a boat paddle that was nearby and dealt Soman several lashes about her body and head which caused her to tumble into the river.

The other male subsequently jumped in to rescue the teen but she had reportedly disappeared. This

was told to police by the suspect. The incident happened one day before her body was found.

When Soman’s body was hauled from the water, her face and right hands appeared to be eaten way by Piranha fish, police had said. A post mortem examination that was conducted on her body revealed that she died from drowning and blunt trauma to her head.

She was also pregnant at the time of her death and also leaves behind a two-year-old infant.

down in the bucket, and she bum bum deh up. I pull she out and try suck the water out she nose but was just slime.”

The mother said that she ran out of the home in a desperate cry for her, with nothing but her bath towel wrapped around her.

Neighbours reportedly took the unconscious toddler to the Oscar Joseph Public Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by a doctor.

Vanessa said that her daughter was apparently trying to reach for a cup, which had somehow fell into the bucket of water.

Mother: Vanesa Alexander (right) along with father, Ruel Francis and eldest daughter.

“My baby don’t go around water…is like she cup fall in the bucket and she lean in to grab the cup and she

couldn’t get out back.”

A post mortem examination is soon to be conducted on the body.

Deep anger as photo of slaughtered deers surfaces

Residents along the East Coast of Demerara are calling for the authorities to consider more monitoring after photos of several slaughtered deers surfaced yesterday.

It appeared the animals were killed with high-powered weapons in the East Demerara Water Conservancy area.

Yesterday, head of the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC), Alona Sankar, said she was unable to comment and will likely issue a statement as early as today.

There have been calls to restrict hunting in the EDWC area, an area known to be a habitat for deers and even wild cats.

The photos yesterday showed at least five of the deers killed. Calls to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority were not answered.

The slaughtered deers

Guyana retains ‘Tier 1’ ranking in...

From page 10 to track and report data on trafficking cases reported to the trafficking hotline and by the Inspectors. The Ministry is soon to launch a Spanish hotline for addressing reports of trafficking in persons.

“The Ministry remains committed to protecting victims and survivors and will continue its engagement with its local and international partners including the Guyana Police Force, the Together in Peace Home, Help and Shelter, and Food for the Poor Guyana Inc., to ensure best practices in

trafficking investigation and screening, including ways to maintain shelter location confidentiality.”

The Ministry said it encourages continuous reporting of suspicious activities by the public. Reports can be made to the Ministry’s 24 hour hotline numbers: 227–4083 or 623-5030; via Facebook or countertraffickinginpersons@gmail.com.”

Between 2013-2015, Guyana was on the Tier 2 Watch-list, moving in 2016 to Tier 2 and between 2017 to 2020, Guyana improved to Tier 1.

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WORST CASE SCENARIO:

US could freeze Guyana’s oil funds – US political consultant

Washington-based Political Consultant, José Cárdenas

By Kemol King A restriction of access to Guyana’s oil funds is entirely possible in the worst case scenario, if the will of the Guyanese people is not respected.

So says Washington-based political consultant, José Cárdenas.

Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund currently sits at a New York Federal Reserve Bank.

In an interview with local media yesterday, Cárdenas noted the restriction as an example of the measures Washington may take, and pointed to Venezuela as an example of the effectiveness of US sanctions.

SANCTIONS Cárdenas told reporters that if “there’s somebody that tries to thwart the will of the Guyanese people in that respect, Washington

De facto President David Granger absolutely has measures it can impose on that individual that relates to their ability to, for example, have a bank account in the United States or otherwise do banking in their private lives, that touch the US economic system.

That person can also lose their ability to travel to the United States. Their visas can be revoked.”

These sanctions, he explained, would be fit for specific individuals who are clearly conspiring to thwart the will of the people.

“If it is decided to be a larger conspiracy, and I’m just speculating here but it’s important to understand what the options are in the United States for all concerned, is that if there is determined to be a government-wide conspiracy to thwart the will of the Guyanese people, absolutely,

the US can place sectoral sanctions which would of course threaten the oil patrimony that Guyana now possesses.”

Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund was noted.

“If those funds sit in a US institution, they certainly can be frozen,” Cárdenas told Kaieteur News.

A Washington-based lawyer, Bart Fisher is quoted in the state newspaper as saying that talks of sanctions is “preposterous”.

Cárdenas made note of Fisher ’s comments, and responded “I think that’s completely erroneous.”

Fisher is a principal of JJ&B, a firm that is being paid by the incumbent APNU+AFC to defend its interests in Washington.

“It’s rather stunning,” Cárdenas said of Fisher, “that a Washington attorney would make such a statement. You pretty much have to sleepwalk through the last 10 years when it comes to your next door neighbour in Venezuela to, in any way, question Washington’s authorities to issue sanctions…”

Recently, Reuters reported that tankers carrying nearly two months’ worth of Venezuelan oil output are stuck at sea “as global refiners shun the nation’s crude to avoid falling foul of U.S. sanctions…”

The US federal government continues to tighten sanctions on the Bolivarian Republic, making it more and more difficult for Venezuela to make money.

What has resulted is a mass

GECOM officials at the centre of controversy [from left] Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, and Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield. exodus of refugees over the past few years, thousands of whom who have opted to seek greener pastures in Guyana.

‘GOOD DEMOCRACY’ The consultant, who has 30 years of exposure to Washington politics and inter-American relations, noted the controversy over Guyana’s protracted electoral process, stating that “it generates an amount of concern for the health of Guyanese democracy” in Washington DC. The US has received criticism from the coalition and its allies over its posturing, but Cárdenas refuted the claims of foreign interference. He pointed to the Inter American Democratic Charter signed in 2001 by countries across the hemisphere, in defense of the US. “In that document, it says… that other countries have an obligation to defend democracy wherever it is lacking or threatened or nonexistent.”

US Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch had responded to criticisms in April, reminding that Guyana strove to defend democracy in the hemisphere too when it refused to recognise the legitimacy of the presidency of Nicolas Maduro and declared, in concert with partners in the region, that the Venezuelan electoral process of May 2018 was not credible.

“Here in the Western hemisphere, we are a hemisphere of democracies and we’d like to keep it that way,” Cárdenas said.

For an individual to have bad intentions and bring those to fruition with impunity, Cárdenas explained, is dangerous and reckless. Since the March 2 polls, there have been several

attempts to present an election result that does not reflect the will of the voters.

In every case, the attempts sought to hand victory to APNU+AFC. Two notorious attempts came from Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, who made fraudulent declarations on May 5 and May 13. The National Recount of votes has proven his figures to be false.

A similar occurrence involved Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, who submitted a preliminary report to the Commission suggesting that 269,619 valid votes should be discarded, on trumped up claims of voter impersonation and irregularities. Lowenfield’s second attempt is now playing out, with another revision of the results of the recount. His report seeks to dump 115,844 valid votes, without justification.

The CEO claims he was guided by an Appeal Court judgment that “more votes cast” in Article 177 (2) of the Constitution means “more valid votes”, but the recount certificates had already certified the 460,352 General Election votes as valid.

The matter has been appealed to the Caribbean Court of Justice which is set to hold hearings on Wednesday.

It has been more 115 days since the elections.

‘PRESIDENT GRANGER WILL DO THE RIGHT THINGAND CONCEDE’ Cárdenas said that in observing President David Granger, he sees a man who has dedicated his life to making Guyana better for his people. The results of the recount show the PPP/C to have won 233,336 valid votes

ahead of the coalition’s 217,920 valid votes.

“The Opposition won the election,” Cárdenas noted yesterday.

He noted concerns that were raised over irregularities, but explained that every election has problems.

“If an aggrieved party can torpedo an election whereby the international observers have basically concluded a free and fair election, then you know, there is no election anywhere in the hemisphere that’s going to be able to pass the test of perfection,” the consultant said. He explained that that’s not a precedent that should be set. To concerns about the process, Cárdenas opines that they should be handled after the election.

Cárdenas hopes that the President will concede, then “begin the process of competing fairly and freely in the next election.”

He pointed out the US Presidential Election in 2001, in which the then Democratic Presidential Candidate, Al Gore lost to George W. Bush who went on to assume the presidency. The race was so close that the two men had a difference of just a few delegates between them.

“To his credit, [Gore] conceded because he did not want to put the country through anymore uncertainty.

And so I think that that should stand as a model for President Granger.”

Late last night, the Ministry of the Presidency stated “David Granger has reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to Western Hemispheric values and to the furtherance of mutual goals and ideals.”

No mention was made of the numerous calls for him to respect the will of the people.

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Sunday June 28, 2020

Sunday June 28, 2020

Sarwan says he was mentally ‘framed out’...

From page 63 believes West Indies can be competitive in England if they play as a unit and try to be as consistent as possible.

“I will forever be grateful for Cricket. Because off cricket I have gained recognition and fame but more importantly cricket has allowed me to make contacts and meet people from all over the world and develop strong friendships,” continued Sarwan.

“I am lucky to have married a good woman and am enjoying Fatherhood and being a good husband. She puts up with all my traveling and I have three kids and all of their names start with A,” said the proprietor of Fitness Gym 53 in Providence, named after his West Indies shirt number.

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Sarwan says being involved in the CPL will give him an opportunity to see the young West Indies and should do well to prepare them to play all formats.

Sarwan played the first of his 220 First-Class matches as a 15 year-old to become the youngest First-Class player in the West Indies before making a magnificent 84 against Pakistan in Barbados at 19, while at age 28 years, 228 days he became the youngest West Indian to reach 5000 runs when he scored a century against England in Jamaica in 2009.

The elegant Sarwan played his last Test against India in 2011 at a venue where he announced his arrival on the Test arena, his final ODI

was in 2013 when West Indies opposed India and the next year he said goodbye to first-Class Cricket when Leicestershire played Worcestershire in the English County Championships.

During his career which was plagued by injuries, he scored 5,842 runs at an average of 40.1 from 87 Tests with 15 centuries and a highest score of 291 against England, equalling the highest score for a West Indian in England made by Sir Vivian Richards.

His Test career spanned between March 2000 and June 2011.

After registering his first Test century against Bangladesh in 2002 after 28 matches, his next ton came in a match that has been etched

Sunday June 28, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today you might hear about opportunities to increase your income, Aries, either through your current employment, a new job, or perhaps a project of your own.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) All your relationships could be enhanced today by your increased sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Expect to find yourself ministering to the needs of colleagues and family members today. People around you might need to draw upon your insights into human nature in order to understand themselves and others.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today you might feel especially intellectually and creatively inspired, and you could discuss your ideas with others. The process of communication could open new doors in your mind.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) A close friend or member of your household could be having money problems, and want to draw on your good business sense in order to understand the situation and find ways to put it right.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Heightened intuition and ESP could lead to some interesting conversations with others who are blown away by your insights into their thoughts, feelings, and desires. You could also be feeling more expressive than usual.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) A higher level of intuition and inspiration than is usual for you could enhance your artistic talents, Libra. A powerful drive to express the stories, pictures, or music that may be flooding your mind.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Moving ahead is today's key phrase. You should be feeling very optimistic and excited about goals that you've set for yourself.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Inspiration is the keyword for the day . You may be feeling highly motivated to move on with what others consider impossible dreams.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) An increased understanding of distant cultures as well as curiosity about the people who live there could spur you on to further learning about those places.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) The opportunity to increase your income could spur you to channel more energy and inspiration into career and business matters, Aquarius.

Some vivid, intense dreams might reveal a lot about you and your motivations.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The desire for travel might hit you today, perhaps to visit a friend who lives far away, and you could set the wheels in motion to make it happen at some point in the future. Socializing could take up your evening, if possible, and you might talk to some interesting people.

in memory. West Indies successfully chased down 418 against the then number one ranked Test team, Australia in Antigua, a feat that has not been replicated as yet.

Sarwan scored 5,804 runs from 181 ODIs including five tons an averaged 42.67, while he has two fifties in 18 T2OIs. In First-Class cricket, Sarwan has scored 13,405 runs with 33 centuries between 1996-2014, while he led Guyana to the title in inaugural Stanford T20 tournament in 2006 in Antigua and the Caribbean T20 title in 2010 in Trinidad as Guyana qualified for the Champions League in South Africa the same year.

Sarwan also played in the 2008 IPL. The elegant right-hander last played competitive cricket in 2016 when he played two matches in CPL for Trinidad &TobagoKnight Riders against the Patriots in Florida and against the Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence.

In April last year ‘Ronnie’ was invited to work with the West Indies team ahead of the Tri-Nations One-day International Series in Ireland and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 England & Wales and again in September last year when he and Brian Lara were brought in to share their knowledge and experiences with Jason Holder’s side in a camp ahead of the first Test against India in Antigua.

Vettel expects tight margins at Austria...

From page 61 weeks. Four-times world champion Vettel and team mate Charles Leclerc hit the track in Ferrari’s 2018 car, the SF71-H, earlier this week in a test at Mugello as the Scuderia stepped up their preparations for the 2020 campaign.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race at the same track, as part of an eight-race European leg. “I have no experience heading back to the same track just a week after and having a second race, but I’ve been around for a while,” Vettel told Ferrari in an interview.

“I guess the level of perfection will be even higher the second weekend, the level of errors will be even smaller.

“I think there will be a chance to look at the race in particular, review the strategy and we get another chance just seven days after, so that’s a first, and we’ll see how we tackle that challenge.”

The eight races on the initial calendar will be held without fans present and in controlled conditions due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 493,000 people globally.

Vettel, who has already confirmed his departure from Ferrari at the end of the season, says racing in front of empty stands will be an unusual experience for all the drivers.

“I’ve never done it. I can’t really imagine how it will be,” the 32-year-old German said.

“I think it’s good to race.

It’s good to get going but if I could choose, obviously I would race with fans.”

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Mohammad Hafeez, five others return negative results in PCB Covid-19 retests ESPNcricinfo - Six of the ten Pakistani cricketers who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19 - Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Hasnain - have returned negative results when tested again, Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, announced yesterday. He added that Kashif Bhatti, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali and Imran Khan had tested positive again, as had team masseur Malang Ali. All the players and support staffers who had tested negative earlier were also retested, and there was no change in their status.

However, given players’ need to return two negative tests before being able to enter the UK, the six previously positive players will not be on the ECBarranged charter plane that takes the rest of the travelling party to Manchester today.

The PCB announced they will be sent as soon as they returned that second negative test.

There will be 20 players in the advance group: the 18 who have returned two negative tests, as well as two of the reserve players called up as cover earlier this week, wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir and fast bowler Musa Khan. One of the reserves, Imran Butt, returned a positive result. In addition, left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, who is already in the UK, will join the side and only be involved in prematch preparations.

Wasim said that Hafeez and Riaz had sought out tests from private laboratories independent of the PCB in the wake of them returning positive results. And though the retest came back negative, the board will not be considering them.

“The private test they decided to have carried out was outside the PCB testing process,” Wasim said. “So while they have now had two negative tests, they will have to get tested again to get two negative tests in a row that are in accordance with PCB’s testing process and the protocols we have set up.”

Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Hafeez, among others, tested negative for Covid-19. (AFP via Getty Images) Once the 20 players and 11 members of the support staff arrive in Manchester, they will be transported to Worcestershire, where everyone will be tested once more in accordance with the ECB guidelines and testing processes. They will then begin a 14-day quarantine

period, during which they will be permitted access to training and practice facilities.

Following that, the squad will move to Derbyshire.

Although it wasn’t set in stone, an earlier plan would have seen the Pakistan squad quarantined in Derby first.

Bowling coach Waqar

Younis, who has been in Australia, was tested there and returned a negative result. He will join the squad directly. Shoaib Malik, who was granted leave to spend time with his family and join the team later, will travel to England on July 24.

The PCB had briefly

entertained the idea of sending players who tested negative once after an earlier positive test, but that idea was swiftly put to bed, as an ECB press release on Friday confirmed that the ten players who had tested positive would not be traveling today.

“The ECB contacted us at first and said since the positive tests were carried out on the 21st, seven days will have lapsed and there may be an opportunity for players to travel on the 28th,” Wasim said. “Because in nine of the 10 players, we found antibodies, which suggested they were coming to the end of it. But we changed it because the ECB have now told us that based on UK regulations, anybody to have tested positive will need to provide evidence that they have had two negative tests before they can travel. We went on the advice they were giving us earlier, but since they told us the regulations had changed, we followed their protocol.”

The tour comprises three Test matches and three T20Is in August and September. All six games will be played behind closed doors.

Sunday June 28, 2020

Cameron to seek CWI support for bid to become ICC chairman KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Dave Cameron confirmed Friday he will be seeking to become the next head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and will be asking Cricket West Indies (CWI), which he led for three terms, to back his nomination.

“It’s been really about the big three for a very, very long time.

Hence, why I think I would definitely put my hat into the ring. But the other boards need to want to a change and need to want to move world cricket forward,” he said in an interview with Nationwide Sports here.

Cameron will require the support of two full members of the ICC in his bid to succeed Shashank Manohar of India as chairman of cricket’s world governing body.

Asked whether he would be approaching CWI for one such endorsement, the former ICC executive committee member responded in the affirmative: “Absolutely. Of course I will ask the West Indies Cricket Board.”

Cameron, who lost the

presidency of what was then called the West Indies Cricket Board to Ricky Skerrit in the March 2019 elections – in which he was seeking a fourth consecutive term – last month sent a legal letter to the regional body seeking a copy of the report that was submitted after an audit of the board’s finances under his tenure was done last year on behalf of the new administration.

The 49-year-old former cricket administrator has questioned the credibility and fairness of that report.

In his interview with Nationwide Sports, Cameron dismissed suggestions that he was arrogant in his running of CWI’s affairs, which may have contributed to his shocking loss to Skerrit, a former Cabinet minister in St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Jamaican insisted that his confidence was misconstrued as arrogance.

“I’m not arrogant, I just tell you that I have an idea of what I’m doing and I’m

confident of what I’m doing.

You call it arrogance, I call it confidence. It depends on which side of the thing you’re on,” he said.

“You can’t have more information than me, because I’m leading. I have all the information.

I’m telling you that what you’re suggesting to me was tried already and it hasn’t worked and you’re telling me well, it has to go that way and I’m saying to you well, I understand your views but I don’t have to agree with them but this is where I’m going.

Why is that arrogance?”

If Cameron is successful in winning the race for ICC chairman, he would become the second West Indian to lead world cricket.

Barbadian Clyde Walcott served as ICC chairman from 1993 to 1997.

International media reports indicate that England’s Colin Graves is the front runner to succeed outgoing chairman Manohar, who is not vying for the position again.

However, the US Cricket Hall of Fame – an organisation that honours cricket legends

– has written to the world body recommending Cameron as the man for the job.

“I am hoping that CWI can see the benefits of nominating Dave Cameron for this position. With the hope that India, Pakistan, or England would second the nomination,” said Executive Director Mike Chambers.

“Since 1997 we have not had any representation nor equal sharing of the wealth at ICC. If England is in charge we will continue to receive loans, India will continue to give us grants. Only if Dave Cameron is in charge will the bottom ten receive their just share.”

Noting that, since 1981, the US Cricket Hall of Fame has paid special attention to West Indies cricket although its emphasis is on growth and development of cricket in the US, Chambers added: “Cricket in the USA is struggling.

The US market has a potential to generate half a billion dollars each year. With Dave at the helm I believe this can be accomplished.”

No timeline for the ICC election has been announced.

GCOS support Eastveldt Football Club One of Guyana’s rising Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) the Guyana Committee of Services (GCOS) recently made a monetary donation to the Eastveldt Football Club aimed towards helping the club to ride the waves of challenge during these challenging times.

Making the presentation on behalf of the committee was member, Leslie Blacks to Coach of the club’s Under-19 team, Clive Smith at the club’s grou n d l o c a t e d i n E a s t Ruimveldt. Also present w e r e O w n e r of Payless Variety Store Joseph Ramkumar, Reginald Bichan and Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones.

Blacks in brief comments said that the GCOS was very delighted to be making the contribution to the club, stating that they have been supporting many sports ever since their establishment.

“In this instance, the presentation to Eastveldt FC, which is not the first time we are assisting them, was towards helping them to procure uniforms which we all know is always needed. Our entity is a non-profit organisation primarily tasked with the responsibility of raising funds which is then utalised to support

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GCOS Executive Member, Leslie Blacks (right) hands over the donation to Eastveldt FC U-19 Coach, Clive Smith in the presence of Joseph Ramkumar (left) and others. athletes, teams as well as other individuals.

Among the persons that we have assisted since being formed some three years ago, include boxer, Clive Atwell who was the first to benefit, veteran and multi-talented athlete Alisha Fortune and Aliann

Pompey who organises an annual Invitational Meet that attracts some of the best athletes from around the region and world.”

Meanwhile, GCOS in association with Payless Variety Store, Star Party Rentals and Guybisco recently distributed

hampers to members of the public outside their Vreed-enHoop Store. The Committee said that the hampers were a means to assist persons during these challenging times brought on by the coronavirus, noting that many persons and families are in need.

Phil Simmons enters self-isolation as Alzarri Joseph downplays disruption ESPNcricinfo - Alzarri Joseph has downplayed the significance of the n e w s t h a t We s t I n d i e s head coach Phil Simmons is self-isolating in his Old Trafford hotel room as a health precaution.

Simmons left the West Indies’ bubble to attend a funeral on Friday, and has been self-isolating since then in his room on-site.

He will watch the squad’s second intra-squad warmup game from his balcony this week, and will be permitted to join back up with the group on Thursday if he returns two negative Covid-19 tests.

That means that the burden will fall on assistant coaches Roddy Estwick and Rayon Griffith ahead of the fourday, first-class fixture that starts on Monday, with Floyd Reifer helping out as batting coach.

A CWI spokesperson confirmed that Simmons “is in self-isolation currently” yesterday after the Daily Mail broke the story, but Joseph said that it would not present the team with any major problems.

“That doesn’t really disrupt our preparations,” he said. “We have our jobs to do - we have our preparation to keep going with. We have a very big coaching staff here that are very supportive of each other, so that’s not really a problem for anyone.”

Joseph, who looks set to form part of a four-man seam attack in the first Test along with Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder, said that he hoped he could use any perception of him as a “weaker link” to his advantage.

“Obviously those three guys have a lot more experience than I do,” he

said. “I’d think more often than not, teams would see me as the weaker link. I think my job is to come in and just back those bowlers [up] and keep the pressure on.

“It’s not necessarily because of age, but because of the number of matches I’ve played compared to the other three bowlers. I could use it as an advantage - I know my abilities and they [England] might not know.

But once I turn up on the day and get the job done, I know I can get on top of any opponent.

“I see this tour as an opportunity for me to help the team to get higher up the rankings.

Any opportunity I get to play, I’ll take it, and whatever the captain and the team require me to do, I’ll put my best foot forward.”

Joseph took six wickets in this week’s warm-up game, including that of Shai Hope in each innings, and said that he felt as though he was hitting his straps well heading into the series.

“I’m just looking to stay consistent,” he said.

“I think I bowled pretty well [this week] so I’m just looking to repeat what I did in the last game. “[The 2017 tour] was a really big learning experience for me, my first time in England. So I have some experience here now - I know how to bowl in these conditions my second time around.

“The ball does a bit more here in England than in the Caribbean. It’s just some slight adjustments, nothing too big but some simple adjustments. For m e , I t h i n k i t ’s a b o u t being consistent round that good area, extracting whatever movement you can get off the pitch, and sticking to plans as long as possible.”

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Lewis Hamilton responds to ‘ignorant’ Bernie Ecclestone comments PA - Lewis Hamilton has branded Bernie Ecclestone’s comments “ignorant and uneducated” after the exFormula One chief waded into the Black Lives Matter debate.

Ecclestone claimed black people are often “more racist” than white people in an interview with CNN, also revealing his surprise that Hamilton had been affected by race issues in F1.

The 89-year-old Ecclestone stepped down as F1 chief executive in 2017, but his comments have now brought a stinging rebuke from the six-time world champion.

“So sad and disappointing to read these comments,” Hamilton posted on Instagram.

“Bernie is out of the sport and a different generation but this exactly what is wrong – ignorant and uneducated comments which show us how far we as a society need to go before real equality can happen.”

British star Hamilton has criticised F1’s failure to combat racism in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody in the United States.

The 35-year-old had specifically referred to an incident in Barcelona in 2008 when a group of fans dressed up in blackface and aimed derogatory chants at him.

Ecclestone insisted Hamilton had never discussed this with him however, leading to further condemnation from the English driver.

“It makes complete sense to me now that nothing was said or done to make our sport more diverse or to address the racial abuse I received throughout my career,” Hamilton’s social media post continued.

“If someone who has run the sport for decades has such a lack of understanding of the deep rooted issues we as black people deal with every day, how can we expect all the

Lewis Hamilton urged fellow drivers to join him in tackling racism in the sport (David Davies/PA) people who work under him to understand. It starts at the top.

“Now the time has come for change. I will not stop pushing to create an inclusive future for our sport with equal opportunity for all.

“To create a world that provides equal opportunity for minorities.

“I will continue to use my voice to represent those that don’t have one, and to speak for those who are underrepresented to provide an opportunity to have a chance in our sport.”

Current F1 bosses have launched a new #WeRaceAsOne initiative, to boost diversity and inclusion

Bernie Ecclestone stepped down from his role as F1 chief executive in 2017 (Nick Ansell/PA) in the sport, to which Ecclestone’s successor Chase Carey has personally contributed one million dollars.

The F1 chiefs distanced themselves from Ecclestone’s comments in a statement reading: “At a time when unity is needed to tackle racism and

inequality, we completely disagree with Bernie E c c l e s t o n e ’s c o m m e n t s that have no place in F1 or society.

“Mr Ecclestone has played no role in Formula 1 since he left our organisation in 2017, his title Chairman Emeritus, being honorific, expired in January 2020.”

Tennis: Wuhan’s spot on 2020 calendar offers hope for all, says organiser MUMBAI (Reuters) When the WTA announced a provisional list of tournaments for the remainder of a season that will be forever defined by the COVID-19 outbreak last week, one name above all stood out — the Wuhan Open.

It was in the central Chinese city, the home of China’s first Grand Slam champion Li Na, that the novel coronavirus first emerged before spreading to the rest of the world, forcing the suspension of professional tennis in early March.

Wuhan has accounted for the majority of China’s coronavirus deaths to date

and the city was subject to one of the strictest lockdowns in the world for 76 days.

“To go through that, to overcome that, I think it’s huge,” the tournament’s codirector Brenda Perry told Reuters from her home in Auckland.

“It’s huge symbolism and I think very inspiring for everybody there.

“At the moment that’s one of the first to experience the closest to being back to normal that we see around the world. It’s a very hopeful story for not just Wuhan but for China, for the world, of overcoming a huge challenge.”

After a cluster of new cases of the virus in May sparked fears of a second spike, Wuhan tested 9.9 million people out of a population of 11 million.

“I feel that Wuhan did some incredible job on recovery,” Perry said.

“I don’t think we hear much about that. Not as much as the fact that COVID-19 started in Wuhan. And they have almost everything back to normal, whether it’s transport or restaurants or cinemas, people going back to work in the offices or their industries.”

Perry said she had been in touch with the local organising team on a daily basis as they prepare to start the tournament on Oct. 19, pending government approval and confirmation that players will be able to travel.

“I’ve never heard from Wuhan, ‘we can’t do this’,” she said, adding that a final call on the event was expected by early August.

“In many ways Wuhan is fortunate that the tournament is toward the end of the calendar and it’s got the maximum time for recovery.”

‘ZERO HESITATION’ There are many roadblocks still and Perry concedes that convincing players to sign up will be a tall order.

The current top three in the rankings - Ash Barty, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova - were in the 2019

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic plays against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in the Wuhan Open Women’s Singles final. (REUTERS/Darley Shen/File Photo) field of the event.

Perry appreciates that athletes will have health concerns but she hopes to use her background as a former professional and a player representative on the WTA board to help convince them to play.

“It’s going to be very important that we communicate to the players,” she said. “(If it’s unsafe) I’ll be the first one to go ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be going there’.

“I have zero hesitation right now about going to Wuhan ... I believe it’s one of the safest cities to go to anywhere in the world because it’s probably the most tested city in the world.”

Because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on sport, Wuhan, like all of the WTA’s Premier 5 events, will see a 32% cut in prize money.

The Wuhan Open is currently committed to having no fans — 13,500 of

them turned out for the 2019 final — and negotiations with sponsors are expected to be tricky.

“It’s a very different conversation now and we are looking at trying to be innovative as to what we can offer,” Perry said.

“One of the things could be being associated with such a positive comeback. I think that will hopefully be a story of interest for our sponsors to be associated with.”

Sunday June 28, 2020

Bubbles within bubbles as F1 teams gear up for season start LONDON (Reuters) Formula One teams will operate in bubbles within bubbles when the season starts behind closed doors in Austria next week after being stalled since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will be no spectators, no sponsors or VIP guests wandering the paddock and limited social interaction even between team mates.

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies reckons the biggest challenge, for his mechanics at least, could be having to wear face masks at all times in the heat and tight confines of the garage.

“We have been starting to get used to it all of us now, because it’s becoming part of our normal life,” the Frenchman told reporters in a video call ahead of the July 5 opener to discuss the ‘new normal’ and safety protocols.

“Here at Ferrari it’s compulsory, so we wear it (the mask) at all times in the factory... but it’s one thing to wear it in the office environment, another to wear it when it would be 40 degrees at the racetrack.”

Ferrari will try to schedule regular breaks for breathing exercises.

Formula One will have three races on successive weekends to get the season started, with two at

Formula One teams will operate in bubbles within bubbles this season. (Singapore Grand Prix file photo) Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring before moving on to Hungary. Others will then follow in quick succession.

Teams are limited to 80 people each, with everyone having to register a negative COVID-19 test less than four days before arriving in Austria.

Testing will then be conducted every five days, rather than the two initially mooted.

“The Formula One paddock will be a bubble,”

said Mekies. “But inside... you will have an individual bubble for each team with pretty much no or minimum interaction between a bubble or a team and another.

“So you will not see, as we all like and as you used to see, people from a team having a casual chat with people from another team.

“Inside the team bubble, which is inside the F1 bubble, we will also do more bubbles,” added the Frenchman.

“So you will have

probably the car 16 (Charles Leclerc) bubble and the car 5 (Sebastian Vettel) bubble and inside them probably engineers and mechanics and so forth.”

The separation means anyone who tests positive will have had limited contact with others, with tested standins ready to be slotted in if needed.

Team members will also either spend their time at the track or hotel, with no going out.

FIFA postpones CONCACAF qualifiers, new format to be decided ZURICH, Switzerland, CMC – Football’s world governing body FIFA has confirmed that CONCACAF’s planned qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup have been postponed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCACAF’s Hexagonal was set to kick off during the September international window, but a statement issued after a FIFA Council meeting on Thursday said that window would be closed for federations outside Europe and South America.

CONCACAF will therefore be forced to alter plans in the run up to the World Cup, including changing the format of the qualification competition.

However, the decision to alter the match calendars was welcomed by the regional football governing body, which said many of its member associations and their communities continued to face significant challenges

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due to the spread of the highly contagious virus.

“The rescheduling of competitions, and agreements on new international match dates, provide some encouragement across the football world and enable CONCACAF to progress our planning to resume men’s and women’s international football when it is safe to do so,” CONCACAF said.

It added that it would work with its stakeholders to reorganize the CONCACAF Road to Gold Cup Qualifiers (originally scheduled for March and June 2020), its inaugural Nations League Finals, originally scheduled to be held in Houston and Dallas this month, and a range of other suspended competitions.

Given the elimination of the September window, the football body will be revamping the World Cup qualifying competition, nixing the Hexagonal which would have had to be followed by

playoffs in two international windows.

In the Hex, the top six ranked CONCACAF teams based on the FIFA rankings play home-and-away roundrobin matches. The top three teams would qualify for the World Cup, and the fourthplaced team would advance to the CONCACAF play-off round.

“The challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup Qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed. We will now work with the new framework provided and liaise with FIFA to finalize a new World Cup Qualification format for the CONCACAF region,” the continental body said.

FIFA had also announced that the June 2021 window would be extended by seven days for CONCACAF and other federations outside Europe and South America, so they can play four games instead of two.

Meantime, in its statement, FIFA announced that its Council on Thursday approved stage three of its US $1.5 billion COVID 19 Relief Plan which was created to assist the football community amid the pandemic.

In that stage, FIFA will provide national federations with grants and interest-free loans to cope with budget hits.

A universal solidarity grant of US$ 1 million will be made available to all member associations, with an additional grant of US $500,000 allocated specifically to women’s football.

In addition, each confederation will receive a grant of US$ 2 million.

Member associations will also be able to apply for interest-free loans.

Both grants and loans can be directed by member associations to the wider football community in their respective territories, including clubs, players, leagues, or others that have been affected by COVID-19.

Significant spread of COVID-19 in Orlando could halt NBA season, commissioner Silver says

NBA commissioner Adam Silver during a pre match press conference.

(REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo) (Reuters) - The NBA season could again be put on hold if there is a “significant spread” of COVID-19 among its players in Orlando, where the league is set to resume play on July 30 with no fans in attendance, commissioner Adam Silver said on Friday.

The NBA was the first major North American league to suspend its season in midMarch after a player tested positive for the novel coronavirus. It recently agreed a plan with its players to restart with 22 teams at Disney World in Florida.

But if the number of cases inside the NBA’s so-called “bubble” rises, “that may lead us to stopping” play, Silver

told ESPN. Silver said the record number of cases in Florida recently has raised the level of concern but added that the use of the campus - where players will live, practice and play - is designed to limit risk of exposure to the surrounding community.

Silver’s remarks came on the same day the NBA reported that 16 out of 302 players tested for COVID-19 on June 23 had tested positive. The league did not disclose the identities of the players.

Players are scheduled to begin traveling to Orlando on July 7 with tip-off set for July 30.

Vettel expects tight margins at Austria double-header

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel during the Media day at the Australian Grand Prix. (REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo) (Reuters) - Sebastian slim margins and his Ferrari Vettel believes the back-to- team will need to fine-tune back races in Austria at the their racing strategy to start of the Formula One remain competitive over two (Continued on page 57) season will be decided on

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New York Independence Cup Blindsided WADA demands corrections to U.S. anti-doping report called off, but Parasnauth confident (Reuters) - The World of Prime Minister’s T20 Cup Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Friday it was blindsided by a U.S. report that was riddled with misleading information and inaccuracies and which threatened to cut its funding.

In a strong rebuke to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) report to the U.S. Congress made public on Wednesday, WADA president Witold Banka accused ONDCP director James Carroll of knowingly ignoring errors in the document.

“You chose not to incorporate our clarifications.

As the saying goes, ‘why let the truth get in the way of a good story’?,” Banka said in the letter to Carroll seen by Reuters.

“I should think that you would want the U.S. Congress, and/or the appropriations committee, to deliberate and decide on WADA funding based on accurate information,” added Banka.

WADA produced a 46page rebuttal to the ONDCP’s 19-page report, Witold urging Carroll to make the necessary corrections and deliver the updated version to Congress and to let him know when done.

As the largest single contributor to WADA’s $37.4 million budget at just over $2.7 million this year, the ONDCP expressed concern over how U.S. taxpayer dollars were being spent and urged WADA to immediately act on badly needed reforms.

WADA insists the reforms are well underway and U.S. approved. They include term limits for all members of the Foundation Board, executive committee and standing committees, formation of an

WADA President-Elect, Witold Banka attends a news conference after World Anti-Doping Agency’s extraordinary Executive Committee (ExCo) meeting that has banned Russian athletes from all major sporting events in the next four years, in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 9, 2019. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo) Independent Ethics Board and the addition of two independent seats to the ExCo. The U.S. also complained that as WADA’s major benefactor, outside of the International Olympic Committee which contributes half the agency’s budget, it is under-represented and wanted a proportionate voice in the decision-making.

Banka said he was taken completely off guard by ONDCP criticism given that the U.S. in 2018 had approved WADA’s proposed governance reforms and more recently voted in favour of a new strategic plan for 20202024.

“The U.S.’s behavior around the Board table over the past years is simply irreconcilable with the allegations outlined within the report,” said Banka.

WADA reminded Carroll that the U.S. has a spot on

the Foundation Board and that it was outrageous to think rich nations could buy seats on various committees.

Banka noted that the U.S. government chose not to submit any nominations for the chairs to any WADA standing committees for 2020 yet still has greater representation (11) on governance bodies than any other nation.

Banka also warned the U.S. that before casting stones it should first get its own doping house in order, hinting the country has much work to do at home to ensure clean sport.

“One obvious way for the U.S. government to contribute more to the fight against doping in sport may well lie in increased efforts to protect young Americans that practise sport in an environment where the rules fall short of those established

by WADA,” Banka said.

Australians flock to tennis courts after lockdown relaxed SYDNEY (Reuters) Australians have flocked to tennis courts in record numbers since social distancing measures put in place to contain the COVID19 outbreak were relaxed, Tennis Australia (TA) said yesterday.

Australia has been generally successful in containing the new coronavirus, even if the populous southern state of Victoria on Friday experienced a 10th straight day of doubledigit new infections.

The relaxation of restrictions began in some

parts of Australia in early May and the government has pledged to remove the bulk of them by the end of July, although each state and territory is determining its own pace.

TA said data from its “Book a Court” online system showed a record 32,234 bookings made last month, with traffic doubling from a year earlier among venues that were using the system in May 2019.

“During the pandemic, we are seeing more people enjoying the social, mental and physical benefits of

(tennis) while maintaining strict physical distancing measures,” TA chief executive Craig Tiley said in a statement. “As restrictions in most of the country continue to ease over the coming months, we hope to build on these results as we approach our summer.”

Professional tennis also returns to Australia this weekend with the A$450,000 ($311,000) UTR Pro Series getting underway under strict biosecurity protocols at closed venues in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Veteran softball player Bobby Parasnauth says we have to deal with the new reality of COVID-19 which affects this year’s New York Independence Softball Cup slated for July 1.

However, he is very optimistic that softball players and adorable fans should get the chance to watch some actions in the 2020 Prime Minister’s T20 Cup billed for later this year in Guyana.

After the arrival of the pandemic earlier in 2020, no outdoor activities are allowed forcing the authorities from the New York Softball Cricket League to abandon the softball three-day extravaganza.

Teams from US, Canada and Guyana, on a yearly basis participated with the winning teams in the three categories receiving cash prizes and trophies. The three categories are: Open, Masters and the Legends.

According to the versatile all-rounder Parasnauth, a Canadianbased Guyanese player, he will definitely miss this year’s tournament.

“New York Independence Cup is a tournament that every softball player cherishes to be part of. Apart from the game itself, the

Bobby Parasnauth relationships and camaraderie between our fellow Guyanese is something we look forward to every year as we do for other softball tournaments. I have been participating in this tournament for the past 15 years and this year will be the first I will spend in Canada (July 1) in those 15 years,” Parasnauth related.

He further stated that because of the deadly virus he is urging people to practice social distancing and maximize on the use of sanitation, while he is hopeful that the annual Prime Minister ’s Softball tournament will come off.

“The future of softball cricket may change as the way things are changing during these unprecedented

times. There may be other costs that the Leagues will have to bear if and when we resume such tournament. For now the only tournament that looks a bit possible is the Prime Minister’s T20 Cup in Guyana since it is usually held in the latter part of the year; however that’s left to be seen.”

Regal of Georgetown won the open and masters categories of the NY Independence Cup in the 2016 and successfully defended their masters’ title in 2017. In an invited comment, Captain of the Regal Masters team Mahendra Hardyal said they will surely miss the tournament this year adding that his players were looking forward to competing.

In last year’s edition, SVC won the open category, New York Masters took the over45 title and Canadian Legends grabbed the over-50 accolade.

The Prime Minister’s T20 softball cup is being hosted by the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc and when contacted the organisers said they remain positive that this year ’s edition of the tournament will be played, but noted that the safety of players is priority.

Aspas strikes late to blunt Barca’s title bid VIGO, Spain (Reuters) Spain striker Iago Aspas dealt a fresh blow to Barcelona’s La Liga title hopes by striking a late free kick to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to the Catalans yesterday as Quique Setien’s side twice threw away the lead in a thrilling

match.

Luis Suarez headed Barca in front in the 20th minute thanks to a piece of ingenuity from Lionel Messi, who looked certain to fire at goal from a free kick but instead lofted the ball towards his Uruguayan strike partner.

Russia striker Fedor Smolov equalised for Celta early in the second half before Suarez again combined with

Messi to restore Barca’s lead in the 67th minute.

However, Aspas converted a free kick with two minutes remaining.

The draw put Barca back on top of the table on 69 points but Real Madrid, on 68, can go two points clear at the summit with seven games to go if they beat Espanyol away from home today.

Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas in action with Barcelona’s Gerard Pique, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)

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Sarwan says he was mentally ‘framed out’ of WI cricket

By Sean Devers Former Guyana and West Indies Captain Ramnaresh ‘Ronnie’ Sarwan, speaking with Alexis Jordon on the Jamaican Sports Max Zone TV programme on Friday Evening says he was ‘framed out’ of West Indies cricket.

“Throughout my International career I never felt the stress of people wanting you out of a system.

I have always played with joy and a smile on my face and I started to lose that.

And from that time I kinda lose it mentally. If we were playing in Trinidad, my mind was in Australia.

Mentally I was framed out and once I got to that stage it was very difficult for me to come back,” said Sarwan who was appointed Assistant Coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs for the last two seasons of the CPL. Sarwan, who turned 40 last week Tuesday, said while some people were vindictive and said negative things about him, which got back to him, he does not hold grudges against those players or against the Board.

Sarwan says he is willing to contribute to West Indies Cricket by being involved in any way he can help.

During the Presidency of Dave Cameron, Sarwan was dropped for lack of fitness but later won a TT$14

Ramnaresh Sarwan scored the only century on 2009 tour to England as Windies lost 2-0.

Gayle & Sarwan celebrate together.

Million law suit against the Regional Board on the same issue.

During the Sports Max interview, Sarwan spoke of his Primary school days and how the late Mr Headley and Miss Caroline (care-takers and Coaches at Stella Marris Primary school) shaped his formative years in the sport.

“During the break I saw a group of guys practicing to be picked for the school team and I asked to join in. After I had batted I heard Mr Headley call the late William Jeffery (Coach at the National Sports Council) and told him ‘I have found

one’ and I was taken to join the YMCA where Table Tennis, Karate and Cricket was played,” recounted Sarwan.

Sarwan was born in the Essequibo Island of Wakanaam and was viewed as young prodigy since he moved to Campbellville in Georgetown as a toddler and reeled off back-to-back centuries for his Primary School Stella Marris.

Sarwan spoke about the influence the late NSC Coach William Jeffery had in those early years when he would play Table Tennis (against National players)

Ronnie, Cindy & his 3 Kids.

and Cricket at the YMCA. He then joined the famous GCC where players like the late Dr Harold Dhanraj, Richard Jodah, Paul Persaud and Carl Hooper along with the late D e s m o n d Wa t k i n s , popularly known as ‘Watto’, aided his initial development.

“Going to GCC for a youngster back then was like going to Lords or the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Carl (Hooper) saw me batting in the nets at 14 and told me I would play Test cricket. At that time Carl was using the Slazenger brand and sent gears for me,” remembered Sarwan.

A year later Hooper played a major role in a 15year-old Sarwan making his Senior team debut against T&T at Bourda, while only in his first of four years playing U-19 cricket for Guyana.

Sarwan said when Shiv Chanderpaul made his Test debut as a 19-year-old at Bourda in 1994, he was 14 and watched his club mate bat that day.

“If I wanted my son to play cricket I would want h i m t o h a v e S h i v ’s temperament, dedication to batting and his tremendous work ethic. I sometimes think the bowling machine must be tired of seeing Shiv,” Sarwan said with a laugh.

Sarwan spoke of the help and encouragement he got from Clayton Lambert, Barrington Browne and Keith Semple when he made the Guyana senior team. His parents and close friends

also supported him.

Sarwan made his Test debut against Pakistan on May 18, 2000 in the second Test of the series and finished unbeaten on 84.

“I was disappointed not to make my debut in the first Test in Trinidad but I had made a century against Pakistan U-19s in 1996 and I knew the conditions there.

On my debut I was dropped on seven but when the butterflies went away I settled down and batted well after that, I have always been a team person and always wanted to win. If you play for yourself and do well but don’t try to win how will you be remembered?” Sarwan asked.

Many times, especially in ODIs, Sarwan would sacrifice a century for his team’s victory.

Sarwan is one of 37 players to captain the West Indies in Test Cricket and led the side four times.

Sarwan feels that people have to have an appreciation for plyers with different cultures in one dressing room.

“It was challenging, since it brought players from different Cultures together but the good thing for me is that I had played with most of them at the U-19 level,” informed Sarwan who played for West Indies, Gloucestershire, Guyana, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Kings XI Punjab, Leicestershire, Stanford Superstars and Trinbago Knight Riders.

Sarwan also informed

that he had not spoken Chris Gayle since the Jamaican’s outburst on Social Media calling him a snake.

“No I have not spoken to him since then and there is no reason to. He had his say, I had my say and like everything else, that’s now behind me,” revealed Sarwan.

Sarwan gave new CWI President Ricky Skerritt’s Administration, which is organising more ‘A’ team tours, a passing grade but would like to see better facilities in the Caribbean to produce more players who can produce at the International level.

“The young players don’t get enough experience to be ready for International cricket. I think the system we have in place is OK but I think there is room for improvement. I think if we have camps for the FirstClass teams around the region I think that would be able not only help to improve them mentally but also technically so they would be better prepared for international cricket,” said Sarwan, one of 52 Guyanese to play Test Cricket.

“Like I have always said, once you have a very sound and strong first Class level you would obviously be able to go on to make the West Indies team and to be better equipped to perform at the International level,” said Sarwan.

He feels the future looks good with lots of young players coming through and (Continued on page 57)

Spo

Phil Simmons is self-isolating after leaving the West Indies’ bubble at Old Trafford.

(Getty Images)

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Joseph took six wickets in West Indies’ first warm-up match. (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Phil Simmons enters self-isolation as Alzarri Joseph downplays disruption Cameron to seek CWI support for bid to become ICC chairman

Asst Coach of the Tallawahs Ronnie Sarwan works out during Covid-19.

Dave Cameron

Mohammad Hafeez, five others return negative results in PCB Covid-19 retests

Sarwan says he was mentally ‘framed out’ of WI cricket

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