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Electoral process NEWS free and fair; results must be respected - ERC

Thursday Edition

AIETEUR

March 05, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 09 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

Price $80

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Online readership yesterday 201,410

Region Four count to

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decide elections results

Parties’ supporters gather outside GECOM media centre

More shocking provisions in 2020 Policy...

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Guyana has to pay oil companies to implement their local content plans Gary Best Brazilian detained after helicopter released on half a million $$$ bail landed near seawalls p.16

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Discrepancies delay - Chief elections results Election - Region Four vote to be tabulated statement by statement p.

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Officer

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Brazilian detained after More shocking provisions in 2020 Policy...

Guyana has to pay Oil helicopter landed near seawalls Companies to implement their local content plans The helicopter preparing to land

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Diego Da Conceicao Sa

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anks at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary are questioning a Brazilian national who made a bizarre exit from a helicopter at t h e R u i m z e i g h t , We s t Coast Demerara foreshore at around noon yesterday.

The Brazilian, identified as Diego Da Conceicao Sa, was a passenger on the c h o p p e r, w h i c h w a s reportedly chartered to go to an interior location.

Brief security footage showed the chopper heading to the foreshore and then landing. The Brazilian is then seen exiting and

heading to the roadway.

According to a police official, Diego Da Conceicao Sa then entered a vehicle.

However, “he was followed by public spirited citizens and taken to the police.”

After realising that he apparently knew little English, he was handed over to investigators at CID Headquarters.

Asked why the Brazilian may have made the unusual landing, the official said, “We were told that he went to the interior and because he was not properly documented, they did not take him to Ogle.”

Officials from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have also reportedly been told that the pilot decided to make the emergency landing near Ruimzeight after the h e l i c o p t er's back door accidentally opened. It was then that the Brazilian reportedly decided to disembark.

The GCAA is also investigating the incident.

nce an oil company's Local Content Plan for the use of Guyanese goods, services and skills, has been approved by the Petroleum Minister, the Operator's costs for implementing the programmes in the plan shall be eligible for cost-recovery.

This is explicitly stated in Guyana's 2020 Local Content Policy which r eceiv ed its f in is h in g touches from ExxonMobil's c o n t a c t , D r. M i c h a e l Warner.

He is the consultant who received the blessings of the World Bank and the Energy Department to put together the document, despite not having any experience in independently drafting one.

Based on the provision in question, it is quite clear that ExxonMobil , and all other oil companies investing in the use of local goods, services, skills and the transfer of technology, are by no means doing Guyana a favour nor will they lose out in this regard since Guyana is essentially footing the bill for the companies.

In acknowledgement of this fact, the document states, “...Costs related to Local Content participation and capacity development

Energy Department Director, Dr. Mark Bynoe holding a copy of the Local Content Policy for Guyanese labour and suppliers, including those which are costs recovered by investors and therefore paid for by the people of Guyana, shall be seen by Guyana as its investment in its people.”

Even though Guyana is essentially paying the oil companies to use Indigenous goods, services and skills, it will not have access to the full reports on how these

firms have been spending their funds and where.

This is due to a provision in the policy which states that the local content plans and reports that are submitted by the companies shall be kept confidential by the Minister.

The said government official can only release a summary of the reports to the National Assembly.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

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

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Beware the unsavoury at this time It is reckless and dangerous territory that once some momentum is gathered, assumes all the elements of the runaway. That is, it is largely uncontrollable for an extended period of time, where much damage is inflicted, and which is accompanied by the usual ruin, recrimination, and regret that are now so characteristic of political and elections Guyana. Fake news is an unhealthy and unwise practice anytime it is introduced into the streams of conversation, contemplation, and conclusion.

As the nation awaits results, these ‘authoritative’ scoops are trash, and should be so dismissed. Nothing positive can come from such gossiping, never intended to be innocent. It is good that the Guyana Press Association (KN Feb 24) has sounded an alarm, as it is timely and cautionary.

Do not go there! Let us be smarter and more circumspect are the plain and simple messages.

It is too easy to interpret, convert, and translate fake news for all that is negative and impassioning and disastrous for the peoples of this society. We are a poor society on the doorstep of untold riches, now agonising of results almost foregone in finality.

Why spoil the pending arrival of this glowing moment by delving into and degrading into that which is destructive to this society? It does not need much to drag it down most willingly into the depths of the gutter. In fact, this is a society that seems to relish the dark muck and heavy devouring densities of the gutter.

The appeal of this publication is straightforward: Let us be sensible and not go where we could get singed, and very badly at that. We know better, at least that is what we think and hope that our brethren in this country, regardless of political and racial affiliations, possess in the quiet places of themselves. After all the public raging and agitating, there is that honest space and place deep within each Guyanese citizen, which says in warning, in good sense: if we go down certain roads, then the destinies waiting would only be of the most undesired variety.

If we cannot utilise the miraculous revolution, resource, and riches of technology through its social media offspring for purposes of the constructive and the uplifting, then we are not helping our party and group, but engaging in the self-defeating. It is but a short step to deteriorate from rumour and innuendo--and malicious posts and deliberately exaggerated choice of words intended for certain bitter partisan outcomes.The hard, suspicious, and embittered political and racial tents in this country do not need much to get them started down a bad road, do not require anything so much as a spark to get them going.

For the embers are always present, waiting to be stirred, longing to flame into the incendiary that takes to the edge.

This elections season is unprecedented in that it has oil, proven oil, and the fabled riches sure to come from them, contract impoverishment or otherwise.

The presence of oil in such unanticipated commercial quantities has made certifiable and committable madmen of almost all. That same oil has succeeded in contributing the missing volatile ingredient, that inflaming essence, which hurls into states of frenzied and unthinking reckless.

That is imperiling to all in these days graced and imbued with the anonymous, universal, nature of cyberspace and social media platforms. These same platforms provide the perfect cover for the dangerous and the purposeful to function, at will and without detection.

What used to travel by the grapevine of ancient people’s express through word of mouth, now has the energy and speed of electricity. It is instantaneous and it is widespread in the paths that it can carve, like a hurricane operating at full blast.

No Guyanese should need this reminder, but too much electricity surging into narrow channels can incinerate: 30,000 volts have a lethal, inhuman, and final quality about them.

None is left untouched or seriously unharmed. If anyone is listening, especially those who are piloting the ships of postelections plays, let sanity and good sense and sagacity prevail.

Results and reactions going beyond DEAR EDITOR, I say in advance that this writing may be dated by tomorrow. Even the norms of the day are tortured.

Whatever moves does so unenergetically, devoid of either motivation or drive.

This is what I see and absorb: a society in the throes of the many hallucinations that are also part of its severely distressed realities.

I watch and I hear sets of citizens tearing themselves apart psychologically, emotionally, even physically.

They are suspended in a tormented wait for results. The current component, this most crucial one, of our elections programme, which is focused on, consumed by, and overwhelmed by readying for results and reactions.

The latter two are indivisible. It is a roiling individual and collective state reflective of the agonies that flow from the regular anxieties of winning and losing, and of the seething differences that bedevil and cripple this country.

Crippled it is right now, as it limps along, and as it hops gingerly and nervously from one foot to the other. The peoples of this society - my brethren all - are so fixated on elections results that they are

mentally paralyzed; almost without exception frozen in bladder and gut and sight.

That primacy of interest may serve them well for elections purposes, but it is most hostile to what is needed in Guyana today for going forward.

Sure we need results; we need them accurately and timely.

And we must have them earlier than later, as in today and not Friday. That would be too late, with the creeping tenseness that has no more spaces to fill, no other places to inhabit.

I look on as a society bends itself double and hogties itself into uselessness. What I am concerned about now is how does it unwind and rebound, after such draining compulsions and wastages. To be sure, they are tinged with the usual poisons. I cringe.

I cringe because I behold a people that will neither be inclined towards nor interested in standing down in the post-result environment.

While everybody concentrates on the tardiness of results (not improperly in the least), I have already gone past that known bump in the road. I am in that unknown

and daunting place: the aftermath.

When so many have come out and lined up and done their duty, I am unable either to comprehend or appreciate who could appeal to them to stand down, what could be said to them that will lead to such a most vital necessity at this time.

I think we are too far gone to revert to some semblance of civility, some degree of internal peace, some iota of spiritual acceptance of the way things turn out, if they turn out to be against calculations and expectations.

The sober and temperate have called for understanding and the restraint of calm. I agree, but sense stuffed ears that can no longer hear, even if the owners of those ears command them to do so. That is how far down a certain road we have traveled.

This is what lives and thrives and excites and terrorises both sides. I see shells and shadows of people going about the day while waiting for that whisper leading to a roar or a groan.

What are we going to do with those groaning? As is now clear, it is the neck and neck of the first half and the second in this country barrel-

ing down the straightway to be first to the prize for power.

Nobody wants second place, since it is not worth a single minute of cellphone credit.

I wonder who is going to tell those coming up short by a hair that they must accept and respect those who nosed them out.

Those who are rising and trumpeting in this or that forum that things should be this way (and that it is this way), do not have what it takes to lean a b i c y c l e against a wall, will be unable to hold anything or anyone close.

It is why I say that, even as we rightly press for early and credible results, let us gird for what lies behind the numbers, what resides in the hearts of the people, what could make or break us, as we look past Elections 2020.

I am already past this time.

I don’t know that the peoples of this country are so ready, or so-equipped, to take themselves there.

As all of this is offered, I remind one and all: we have a country to build, a business to manage, and ourselves to govern.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

BUSINESS, PRODUCTIVITY, AND EDUCATION BEING AFFECTED BY POST-ELECTION DEAR EDITOR, There is so much stress in this country over the last several days. The elections have taken a toll on people’s lives.

Their normal routine is being affected. As I travel around Georgetown, I notice limited economic activities and movement of people. Businesses are losing money.

Georgetown is like a ghost town. Too many stores are closed; downtown is not a beehive of activities. Virtually no major shop is opened; markets have reduced activities.

Employees have not come out to work in their numbers.

Also, students have not turned out to schools or at the tertiary institutions as in a normal school day. People are on edge in town as they also are in residential areas just outside of the city. In rural areas, people have refused to make the journey to Georgetown. They are afraid of physical safety. It is likely to remain this way until the election results are officially declared. That may not happen soon. There is a fear that an attempt is being made to change the actual results.

There is a winner in the elections but there is a stalemate on verification of ballots.

Verification is needed in order to declare a winner. One side is attempting to stymie the

process. There is conflict on how the verification process can go forward. Once verification takes place with the SOPs of last Monday, there is a convincing or close winner. It would coincide with my projection of poll findings that one party would win about 51% to 52% with a margin of 3%. On declaration of results, I engaged international journalists, the diplomatic community, and foreign observers. It is generally acknowledged by everyone who has been monitoring the process that one party did indeed win the elections by two or three seats. This is based on SOPs provided to the international observers and the media.

But an attempt is being made to derail the process.

Before the results are declared all the SOPs have to be verified. And there is a stalemate in declaring a region over verification of the data. Once that is done, there will be no dispute on the winner. There is a report that an official is unwilling to sign a verification sheet. This has led to a fear of skullduggery or machination of the results. Will proper verification take place? Can ballots suddenly appear or disappear?

Results can miraculously change in this land as happened before. The will of the

electorate could be frustrated.

Will the announced outcome reflect the actual verdict of the voters?

GECOM must do the right thing. GECOM has all the SOPs. It knows the preliminary outcome. It should verify the count on the SOPs and proceed to officially declare the winner. The longer it takes to declare a winner,

rumoUrs will spread of fraud.

This can lead to social problems. The Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, must do the right thing. Give instructions to verify the SOPs and proceed with the count. Then declare the results. Once SOPs are verified, the country will know the winner.

Yours truly Dr. Vishnu Bisram

My advice is better to be safe than sorry DEAR EDITOR, The Coronavirus spreading globally caused the US Federal Reserve to lower interest on 3 March 2020 by 0.5 %. This was to help the economy and stock market. Ironically, it had the reverse effect.

The broader S&P 500 (SPX) closed 2.8% lower, only a day after the index logged its best day in more than two years. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) closed nearly 3% lower. This reminds me of 1929, but it is China not the US who is the central player. In 1929, the US was the world’s cheapest producer of goods in agriculture and the factory of the world. In the 1930s, the Great Depression occurred.

The Coronavirus has pulverized the automotive sector in China, Germany, South Korea, and the rest of the world. The automotive industry is the heart of industrial manufacturing.

This phenomenon has affected computer production, luxury goods and every aspect of the global supply chain. This is affecting tourism, which is about 8% of Guyana’s GDP, globally. Australia is losing about 1 billion a month because of cancelled flights. My advice is better to be safe than sorry.

The Central Bank of Guyana should buy gold for foreign reserves. Prepare for a global recession or depression; my calculus says there is a 70 % chance within the next 10 months.

Yours truly, Brian E. Plummer

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Kaieteur News

No poll for Guyana’s poll! Reluctance to predict underlines complexity of country’s Elections!

DEAR EDITOR, Guyana presidential elections now over, there’s an anxious wait for the result. It can be a close call, or a far cry from the one-seat-majority norm that plagued previous parliaments following recent elections.

Guyana three times larger than England (83,000 square miles) and votes to be counted across regions as far flung and apart as needing to be flown, driven and transported by river or across mountains by foot, votes cast in hinterland areas will take longer to arrive for the final count.

It was yet another straight fight between the two main political parties – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the People’s National Congress (PNC), each aligned to a coalition partner, the PPP with its Civic component, the PNC leading A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) with the Alliance For Change (AFC).

NOTALLTHE SAME… Everything was the same, say some who closely observed the campaign forced by the APNU/AFC alliance

having lost its one-seat majority in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018 after the opposition won a No Confidence Motion by one vote.

But not everything was really the same, this time around.

The issue on every party and voter’s mind this time that was nowhere on the agenda the last time they went to the polls was not the economics or declining national incomes from sugar, rice or bauxite, not how best to share existing growing gold and diamond wealth, but oil.

Parties a n d p o l i t i c a l leaders promised, not to pull Guyana out of the mire of poverty it sank into after sugar lost its sweetness, but to in different ways share what the Intern a t i o n a l Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates will register 86% GDP growth in 2020 through oil revenues – the highest ever by any country in world history.

IT’SALLABOUTTHE OIL… Not that the parties ignored local politics, or that race, religion and culture didn’t play their part in how

Expectations of the next Government DEAR EDITOR, Guyanese expect their next Government to: 1) Reduce Personal Income Tax and Corporation Tax to 25%, which can be offset by oil revenues.

2) Privatise State Media (NCN and Guyana Chronicle) so that they are not used in a partisan manner.

3) Renegotiate the ExxonMobil Oil Contract for a Signing Bonus of US$250M to US$500M and Royalty of 10%.

4) Implement Constitutional Reform to reduce the power of the Presidency and give more power to local governments.

5) Execute a job creation plan needed to reduce unemployment.

Yours faithfully Sean Ori

Guyanese voted Monday; or that the parties didn’t go after each other with swords and daggers in all the marked trenches.

But it was all about the oil, much deserved hype having been made about the country’s recent export of its first million barrels at a time when it was also emerging that the country could have signed up to a US$500B loss on a deal it signed in the dark without the full extent of its actual size and total value having been brought to light.

It was difficult to get even the most celebrated Caribbean pollsters to venture any prediction; and no poll findings were published ahead of the vote.

Not even Guyanese abroad dared or cared to venture predictions or express their wishes for any party to be the victor.

REASONABLE RELUCTANCE In this day and age when information is at everyone’s fingertips some even claimed not to have ‘the facts on the ground’, their real reluctance instead having more to do with not wanting to be proven wrong.

But there’s reason.

Elections in Guyana have a long history that extends way beyond its borders, even producing a BBC Panorama documentary featuring investigative reports suggesting horses may have voted in a highly controversial poll back in the 1970s.

The army was also once accused of intervening in a local government election, with published photographs of soldiers carrying ballot boxes.

But such embarrassing electoral excesses were eventually cleaned-up and 1992 saw the first acknowledged democratic electoral change of government after 28 years, the PPP/Civic taking office after almost three decades in the political wilderness.

MOTHERAND FATHER OFALL… Fast Forward another 28 years, when the two major parties led their respective campaigns for The Mother and Father of All Guyana Elections in 2020 after sharing successive one-term governments.

Both have transitioned from the parties they used to be under Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, respectively.

In the 1980s, joint opposition calls for a Patriotic Coalition for Democracy (PCD) largely fell on deaf government ears and a photo opportunity of a meeting between the two maximum leaders was a very rare expectation.

But under President David Granger and ex-President Bharrat Jagdeo, the two parties met as Government and Opposition following the 2018 No Confidence Motion to offer joint assurances on issues ranging from protection of territorial integrity to preservation of constitutional authority, until elections.

HAUNTING TRUISMS Guyanese naturally have high expectations that high revenues from oil will filter down the pipelines to their pockets, the APNU/AFC administration having reportedly commissioned respected economist Clive Thomas to find a working formula.

But in all the excitement about which party will lead the transformation of the oncepoorest CARICOM nation to its richest, some historical and actual truisms ignored on the campaign trail will inevitably haunt whichever new government emerges from Monday’s poll.

Guyana is entering the oil world at a time when trends are trending away from fossil fuels.

Exxon, Hess and China’s national oil company are among the lead investors in its oil and even while the contract is heavily tilted in their interest, recent revelations that Exxon may have misled the government and/or inveigled it into signing a smaller contract for a bigger deal are matters that the next

Guyana government will have to face, one way or another.

Fact is, in very few exceptions (like Libya under Gadaffi), revenue benefits do not trickle-down directly to citizens of oil-rich nations.

Contracts today are always between experienced multinationals and governments, based on deals involving everything from longterm extraction exclusivity to investors benefiting from exclusive royalties and special arrangements, including receipts for taxes not paid.

ExxonMobil, as the world’s most powerful oil company with decades of accumulated experience in playing local politics in scores of countries, will also have invested in how best to play its Guyana cards well ahead of Monday’s poll, hedging bets without hedging funds — and even possibly supporting both major parties if projections didn’t allow for a definite call.

And then there’s the reality that people and countries don’t simply change (Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

Guyana is a broken country… ABC and EU, please help DEAR EDITOR, Guyana’s Office charged with responsibility to conduct elections (GECOM) is definitely broken. People voted, polls closed at 6:00 pm Monday – and as of writing this yesterday, still no result had been announced.

Let us assume (reasonably) counting of a few hundred, or even a few thousand paper ballots takes a maximum of an hour to tally and record.

Votes won by each party are then called in via phone and/ or sent by text messages to a Returning Officer (RO) who then tallies up the numbers of all polling stations of his/ her region.

These numbers are than called in to GECOM Headquarters.

One hour to count and call into Regional ROs; another hour to tally up at Regional level and call into GECOM Headquarters in Georgetown. So, at 8:00 pm, Headquarters should have the numbers from all 10 regions.

Gecom Headquarters now have four hours till the midnight hour to tally up the numbers from ten regions – prepare the tables showing votes won by each party etc. – and announce the results to the nation.

What is so difficult about what I have just outlined?

Hard copy Statements of Poll (SOPs) whenever they arrive can only do one thing: confirm the numbers that have already been called in and recorded.

There should be no reason why votes of just about 400,000 people cannot be counted and tallied – and announced by the midnight hour on the day of polling.

Guyana is proving that it is a sick society at too many levels.

Pundits tell me results cannot be announced until hardcopy SOPs are received in Georgetown from hinterland areas. If that takes three days or one week, so be it.

That is absolutely crazy. Presiding Officers and ROs must be professional and trained folks, sworn to perform a job under penalty of law. I have read of one RO who suddenly complained of tiredness – and went home. And, worse there is no deputy to take over and complete the job. So, the whole country had to be waiting and wondering what was going on.

Guyana is an awful country - to say the least offensive thing of the place of my birth.

Meanwhile, I have been

advised that party scrutineers at each polling station know the number of votes each party won – these numbers have been reported to their party headquarters. They have done their own tallying – and both major parties know

who won the elections. I have been further advised that these numbers have also been reported to all the Western Embassies in Georgetown. So, we have a situation where the diplomats in Georgetown know the re-

sults of Guyana’s national elections – but the Guyanese people themselves don’t know.

The situation I have just described makes Guyana a broken country. It is my fervent hope that the liberal de-

mocracies - ABC and EU countries – will play an enlightened role to help Guyana become a country where the Rule of Law takes hold – and become a force for developing a stable democracy.

Mike Persaud

No poll for Guyana’s poll! Reluctance to predict...

From page 5 overnight.

VICTORS AND VANQUISHED… One party (or side) will win and the other will lose; and while the victors thank the people, the vanquished will cry both foul and fowl. But no matter when announced, the final result will bring a new Guyana government with all the same old problems.

Rice and sugar exports and incomes will remain the same and there’ll be no change either in the prices of cocoa, coffee or tea.

The only difference will be that Guyana’s politics will continue henceforth to be lubricated by political discourse about the economics of oil and the socio-economic factors associated with the inevitable intercourse between petrodollars and people in nations emerging from the periphery of persistent poverty.

HOPEFUL OR HOPELESS? Naysayers will point to model failures and cases of excessive enrichment of emerging minorities from within local political and/or family elites in developing nations that either recently broke free from colonial rule and/or finally took control of their oil wealth.

Others will understandably bow to the uncertainty of a wait-and-see approach to decide whether to become hopeful or remain hopeless.

Those beaten, bruised and burned will continue to bear their scars and/or nurse their wounds, and it will take more than just talk for them to even try to erase the pain for the national gain.

Guyana’s post BurnhamJagan era has produced some notable shifts in political tides and currents that have seen bitter enemies become close friends while professed friends-of-all and enemies-ofnone seek ways and means to position themselves as kingmakers should the two old horses again gallop across the finishing line with noses a hair’s breadth from the tape.

But the Guyana that produced Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Forbes Burnham and Walter Rodney and which transitioned from Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar to Desmond Hoyte and David Granger, also has among its sons and daughters those on all sides of the political and economic, racial, cultural, social and other divides willing and able to dig deep and try their best to overcome historical divisions and embrace

new challenges and opportunities to build the elusive New Guyana that all have promised and worked toward.

Oil or not, what will matter after the next Government of Guyana takes office is the extent to which the political and executive leadership are prepared to suck salt and bite the bullet — from Day One — to use this rare but wide window of opportunity to ensure all of Guyana’s five peoples and nine Amerindian nations in ten districts unite around a common goal of ensuring enough fresh breeze flows through all its three main rivers and across all three counties, before the next usual but unexpected thunderstorms of global petroleum trade hits.

OIL ON FIRE Oil is literally on fire in Libya today and Saudi Arabia is selling shares in ARAMCO while introducing taxes.

China, Russia and Iran are standing with Venezuela, which has by far the most certified oil reserves worldwide and is also naturally concerned about Exxon’s exploits in disputed waters still subject to potentially troublesome international judicial arbitration.

Besides, those and other nations are actively working to replace the American dollar as the currency in which oil is traded.

The continuing crisis in Yemen continues to make Saudi oil facilities vulnerable and events after the recent US assassination of top Iranian and Iraqi generals have rendered American soldiers and facilities more vulnerable than ever before.The US has all eyes on Venezuela’s endless reserves, which, if successfully harnessed alongside Guyana’s by Exxon and its other North American partners, will have conquered new worlds of wealth – and so much closer to home.

The next Government of Guyana will have two chances — before the end of March — to state where the country stands on Washington’s plans for Venezuela.

First will be when CARICOM member-states attend talks in Mexico to discuss the non-interventionist Montevideo Mechanism brokered by Uruguay and Mexico, then at the March 21 meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) in

Washington, when and where the US will be counting on CARICOM support to secure the re-election of its preferred candidate, current Secretary General Luis Almagro, for a second term.

CARICOM nations, including Guyana, are being lobbied to vote against the candidate nominated by two fellow member-states (Antigua & Barbuda and St. Vincent & the Grenadines), seasoned Ecuadorean diplomat and former UN General Assembly President Maria Fernandez Espinoza, in favour of Washington’s man.

With US presidential elections in November and an increasingly unpredictable President Donald Trump still holding military intervention as his trump card on the negotiating table regarding Venezuela, Guyana’s next government will also have to face the fire of possibly eventually being called upon by Washington to allow use of Guyana’s territory (land, sea or air) to pursue interventionist Pentagon objectives across its borders.

But this is also the Guyana that produced E.R. Brathwaite, the author of ‘To Sir With Love’, the book that spurred the movie that so tellingly told the story of how racial tolerance and intolerance could coexist in Britain; which birthed Ivan Van Sertima, who let the world know, quite early, that Africans came this way long before Columbus; and gave life to the likes of writers and researchers like David Dabydeen, who, while Guyana’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), also trekked to Xiamen City in Fujian province, from whence cometh the ordinary migrant parents of Guyana’s first President, Arthur Chung.

The minds and the will for positive, progressive and sustainable change exist in Guyanese at home and abroad.

It still remains, however, for these basic and essential ingredients to be oiled together, an elusive task that can – yet again – be overcome if only the victors don’t see and treat the vanquished as losers, but instead as essential partners in the process of national reconstruction, together aiming for one victory at a time, all the time!

Earl Bousquet

Thursday March 05, 2020

Kaieteur News

Discrepancies delay elections results

PAGE 07

- Chief Election Officer

- Region Four vote be tabulated statement by statement Minister Basil Williams

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo speaking to the media outside of the GECOM Media Centre

By Shikema Dey and Mikaila Prince

W

ith anxiety h i g h i n Guyana as every citizen sits on edge awaiting the announcement of the March 2, 2020 results, Guyanese will be forced to wait a bit longer after the Guyana Elections Commission yesterday discovered a number of discrepancies during the tabulation process of the results for Region Four.

The issue emerged after the Returning Officer for that region; Mr. Clairmont Mingo fell ill earlier in the day.

Mingo was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital after he complained of feeling unwell. This halted tabulations temporarily.

But according to reports, shortly after, he was up and back at the GECOM Media

Centre to resume verifying the election count.

Kaieteur News was reliably informed that in Mingo's absence, an unverified spreadsheet system was introduced to continue tabulations but this process was stopped after it was discovered that the numbers on the spreadsheet and the ones on the approved SOPs did not match.

Party Candidates and officials from the various Observer Missions called an emergency meeting with GECOM and this resulted in the spreadsheet method being scrapped.

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, explained that the RO's clerk was told to resume the halted tabulations.

He said, “The process of verification commenced in earnest at around 2:00pm and during the process, some errors were found.”

“ We w o u l d h a v e completed some eight statements and there were some errors contained in six of them. The representatives from the parties and the observers spoke with me and we stopped the process.”

A c c o r d i n g t o Lowenfield, the tabulation process will be reverted to its initial method; using just the SOP's.

“We agreed that we will do the verification statement by statement so I take out my statement and you take out your statement…

We go through the numbers on the statement and if there continues to be errors, there is a procedure prescribed for us to do that.”

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo in his comment to the media at the Centre expressed his satisfaction that the spreadsheet system was (continued on page 20)

Electoral process free and fair; results must be respected - ERC

T

he Ethnic R e l a t i o n s Commission, (ERC), has said that having observed the electoral process in some polling stations in parts of Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten, it has found that, despite some minor hiccups in a few instances, the elections to be free, fair and transparent.

“Overall, voters were able to cast their ballots in an atmosphere of peace while few instances which necessitated the intervention of law enforcement, were timely resolved.

“The Commission commends the collective efforts of all involved for

ensuring that democracy was safeguarded and prevailed during the electoral process.

This is heartening and vital to the promotion of harmony and good relations.”

According to the Commission, as the country awaits the final results, the Commission remains mindful of prevailing anxieties.

“It fervently hopes that the results will be announced within the shortest possible time and that it will be respected.

“The Commission is also mindful of racially inciting exchanges on social media.

Such posts are extremely harmful to the process of

building harmony and tolerance which are crucial during this sensitive period.”

ERC urged all to act in a responsible manner and to be reminded of consequences that can be brought to bear through the Racial Hostility and The Representation of the People Acts.

“The rejection of hatred and intolerance take the collective efforts of all. The Commission encourages all, especially during this period, to do the best we can to ensure that peace and harmony prevail.

A more detailed report will be provided after the completion of the entire process.”

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Thursday March 05, 2020

Protect yourself from the coronavirus - CMO

G

uyana and other countries across the globe ar e witnesses to the daunting impact of the novel coronavirus [COVID-19] which emerged last year in Wuhan, China.

This virus has since expanded its reach to more than 50 countries. More than 80,000 persons have been confirmed infected with the virus and in excess of 2,000 deaths have been linked to it.

The local health sector has put measures in place that are expected to help reduce Guyana's potential of being faced with an outbreak.

Although there have been some suspected cases, Chief M e d i c a l O f f i c e r, D r.

Shamdeo Persaud, assured recently that Guyana has not confirmed a single case.

As he spoke of a contingency plan activated to deal with the health threat, Dr. Persaud said, “We are looking

WHO has recommended the N95 type mask to guard against the coronavirus

at beefing up our system altogether”.

He, however, noted that the onus is on individuals to also take responsibility for their own health. In so doing, Dr. Persaud, who was at the time speaking on Kaieteur Radio's [99.1, 99.5 FM] Your Health Matters, stressed the importance of hand-washing.

“We cannot overstate that you must wash your hands as often as you can... You go out, you go into the public

domain, you travel in a bus, you hold a door handle, you v i s i t a p u b l i c o ff i c e ; transmission of these organisms go by touch,” the CMO explained.

Based on information released by the World Health Organisation [WHO], Dr. Persaud said that the virus may have a life span of about four to six hours outside of the body.

And since it requires a cell within a specified timeframe to unleash its potentially deadly scourge, persons have to be especially wary about being exposed.

Detailing a scenario that could lead to infection, Dr. Persaud said persons could become exposed to the virus if they come in contact with the cold or mucus of someone infected with the virus.

That infected person, he explained, could aid transmission by touching a door handle with their unwashed hands.

“If you come after them, you may never even come in direct contact with that person, but you held the same door handle they did and if you put your hands on your face, rub your eyes or something and it gets into your body that can be the start of an infection.”

With transmission being so easy, Dr. Persaud said that hand-washing is viewed as particularly critical in the fight against the coronavirus.

“We know the usual drill: wash your hands before eating, after using the toilet but now we are saying expand that a little...wash your hands as often as you can, especially when you come into contact with things like keys, money, coins, objects that we share with each other such as pens.

This is how this virus can be passed on...you can't be too

Dr. Shamdeo Persaud careful,” said the CMO. Added to this, he said that the Ministry is emphasising “good cough etiquette”. The coronavirus is said to manifest with symptoms ranging from a cough to pneumonia. Once a cough sets in, Dr. Persaud's warned, “Don't cough about, and everyone should cover their mouth [when they do cough].

“Use your sleeves, a paper towel, try not to use your bare hands [to cover your mouth] as far as possible and even if you do cough or sneeze, you discard of it [paper towel] and you wash your hands.

“Some people would rinse their face, mouth, and those kind of measures, I think, would go a far way,” said Dr. Persaud.

He is urging that young children, especially those in schools, be taught and encouraged to practise handwashing.

WHO has also been advocating for persons to be cautious when it comes to their food intake in light of the fact that initial indications suggest that the virus entered human being via animal sources.

Despite ascertaining that the virus is now being transmitted from person to person, WHO has continued to emphasise the need for food safety.

“Ensure you eat freshly prepared foods and if you have to store it, within two hours, you should put it into an appropriate container in your refrigerator.

“If you are going to use that food subsequently, make sure to heat it thoroughly whether it is in the microwave, whether it is on the stove top, heat thoroughly so that you can get rid of any o r g a n i s m s , ” s a i d D r.

Persaud.

According to the CMO, “This is a good chance for us to really up our game when it comes to personal hygiene and hygiene generally.”

In an attempt to safeguard themselves, too, some persons have been buying up face masks but, according to Dr. Persaud, “at this point, we are not emphasising that persons go around wearing mask; most of the masks available offer limited protection against these small organisms [viruses].”

He added, “If we do need to go there, we will advise the public but for now those measures are secondary.”

But should persons prefer to wear masks, the CMO said that the ideal type that the Ministry and PAHO/WHO have recommended for use is the N95 type.

“The others, the cloth type [for example], just stick on, and you see people walking about with them but it might just give a false sense of protection because it d o e s n ' t o ff e r t h e f u l l protection against small organisms like this coronavirus,” said Dr. Persaud.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

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TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE A

local content policy is toothless without local content legislation. Unless backed by local content laws which impose legal requirements and sanctions, it makes little sense having a local content policy.

The situation at present with the local content policy is akin to a school telling its students that they have to attend classes each day from 8 am, but not having any sanctions imposed on those who frequently turn up late.

In that instance, the policy does not act as a deterrent since students will know that there are no sanctions for late attendance.

While the administration of the local content policy is entrusted to the Minister with responsibility or Petroleum, it is also proposed in the plan that this may be bestowed to a regulatory body. Until such time as this body is established, the Minister shall establish a Local Content Oversight Body.

But what is the legal standing of this body? Why

establish an oversight body which is toothless poodle? It has no bite and maybe, not even a proper bark. And to make matters worse, it is expected to be stacked by representatives from the government.

The oversight body should be a PUC-type body.

It should be regulatory in nature, have powers to compel and penalise the oil companies and should be independent of the government. It should ideally be headed by a person at or above the rank of a judge.

It is for this reason that this column had taken the position that it makes no sense having a local content policy without a local content law. This law should have been passed months after oil was discovered so as to ensure that locals benefit.

These laws should have specified that a certain percentage value of all contracts should be sourced from companies with local shareholding.

It makes little sense d o i n g s o n o w. T h e government failed to ensure

local content requirements in its oil contract with ExxonMobil, relying instead on broad and general provisions within the Petroleum Act. As a result, it is the foreign firms, which are reaping the benefits of the opportunities in the local petroleum industry since the necessary legal mechanisms to enforce local content are not in place.

As I mentioned more than one year ago, there are a variety of ways in which the government could have promoted local content in the oil industry. A misconception is that local companies need to have capacity in order to benefit from local content. This is not necessarily so. Local content policies can be made flexible enough to allow for local firms to form partnerships with foreign firms.

This will assist them in overcoming the handicap of a lack of local capacity by allowing partnerships with foreign firms from which local firms benefit. At present, part from the shore base facilities provided by

Dem boys seh...

Don't wait pon GECOM

P

eople don't like w a i t a n d Guyanese more than anybody else don't like waiting fuh nutten, unless is food, and unless dem deh in anodda country. When a man go to pick up a woman to carry she out and he got to wait, he is de most restless person.

Some people does grumble if dem have to wait on transportation. Women does complain de most when dem pregnant. Dat is when dem mood does be all over de place. Is de waiting does have dem bad.

Dem boys seh some women does can't wait fuh de baby born. In de old days, dem didn't know wha dem was getting. Dem had women who was waiting fuh one baby and get two.

But when it really come to waiting GECOM tek de cake. From de time de elections done, GECOM had people waiting. It is now Eday plus 3 and de people still waiting.

It mek dem boys remember when people waiting to dead. Of course, dat is when people does sorry because dem seh de person who dying,

punishing.

GECOM and de elections result is just like when somebody waiting fuh death. And de wait nearly kill some people. People blood pressure go up; some people couldn't eat and some get diarrhoea while waiting.

And a strange thing happen while GECOM had de whole country waiting.

Without anybody knowing how de vote count was going, people was accepting congratulations. One man call a certain Minister to congratulate him on his new

position.

Before de man seh it li'l early fuh dat, de man seh thank you like if he done get de new position.

Dem boys seh de way things going, he might have a very long wait. One man went to de toilet de morning after de elections. He seh he gon sit down and wait fuh de results. He is a skeleton, today.

Lolofield had black hair when de count start. He got gray hair now.

Talk half and don't play waiting game wid GECOM.

local companies, not many benefits are flowing into the hands of Guyanese businesses because of local content in the petroleum sector. And the government did not have the foresight to recognise this need early.

The foreigners are grabbing the greater portion of the spin-offs of the oil and gas industry.

Foreign firms are dominant in providing goods and services for exploration and production. And the trend will continue.

Foreigners are pouring into Guyana to do business.

They are making hay while the sun shines. Guyana companies are much too small and much too poor to compete with these firms.

And this was all the more reason why local content legislation should have been put in place even before the Exxon Mobil contract was renegotiated.

This would have allowed local firms more time to build partnerships and linkages to benefit from contracts in the petroleum industry.

The local content policy is too little, too late,

especially coming after oil production commenced instead of before when there was sufficient time to put the necessary legislation in place. It has been one of many missed chances, for which the country has paid a US$55B price.

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

Kaieteur News

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Thursday March 05, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

I hope there has been space for third parties

E

ven before the 2020 election was ever on the horizon, I wrote that I would vote for a third party, specifically for Lenox Shuman's outfit. I did last Monday. I don't know the election results at the time of penning this piece (Wednesday afternoon) but I hope that the third parties did put in a plausible

performance.

I believe third parties are good for Guyana. It was a third party that led to the international fame of Bill Clinton. He would never have made it to the presidency but the party of Ross Perot took conservative votes that would have gone to George Bush, Senior.

Al Gore barely lost the election to Bush's son but if

there wasn't the party of consumer advocate, Ralph Nader, Gore would have won.

Nader took votes from him that in such a narrow race, the result would have put Gore past Bush. Guyana's track record of successful third parties is tiny.

The United Force of Peter D'Aguiar did well in 1964 and the Alliance For Change in 2011 but since then it has not

been a forceful visibility for third parties. WPA got a seat in 1992 and 1997. ROAR, under Ravi Dev, did secure a seat too. Interestingly ROAR votes came from the Jagan heartland of Berbice.

In the recent general poll, a number of small parties contested. It appears that three of them did not disappear – Shuman's outfit of the Liberal and Justice Party; ANUG of Ralph Ramkarran; and Robert Badal's Change Guyana.

Badal's deputy appeared by telephone on Kaieteur Radio where I was a panel yesterday and said that his outfit turned up in third place.

We have to wait and see if that synchronises with official GECOM results. But if the above named three managed to secure a parliamentary seat that will auger well for pluralistic politics.

The question is – are they in for the long haul? They should be. Whichever one of the big two giants wins this week, there is bound to be voter fatigue in 2025 and there are bound to be profound governance mistakes.

I repeat over and over since my Tuesday column – I don't know who won the poll but this I can tell my readers who I know would expect it of me; I will analyse why the PPP lost or the APNU+AFC wasn't the victor.

In pursuing that

assessment, I would think the factors hold lessons for the third party leaders to internalise.

Oil money dominated Trinidad for over 20 years now. Most observers who passed through Trinidad agreed that it was a small, developed economy that no longer had Third World status just like Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea etc.

But there have been changes of government while oil money made Trinidad rich.

The point is even with a resourceful economy, voters cannot be taken for granted.

Parties fall to the ugly temptation of power and they do stupid things even with plenty money to spend.

My consistent contestation is that whichever of the two leviathans (and from what I have seen so far from preliminary results, the fight is between PPP and APNU+AFC) wins power, oil money will not be carefully spent. There is no one who can change my mind about this feeling.

Politics in the 21st century is very fluid. Parties that no one knew about can come up and win handsomely. It happened in Italy. It was bizarre there but it happened.

Parties that are small, endure, bear up and persist have had rewards.

What has happened in Ireland was incredible. Sein Fein, the party associated with the Irish Republican

Frederick Kissoon Army, considered itself too small to break through the 100-year-old cordon of the two traditional parties.

Then two weeks ago, they did. Had they contested all the constituencies, they would have won the government.

So the question is – will Shuman, Ramkarran, Badal, Ruel Johnson and others stick around until 2025. Time flies, 2025 will be upon us soon.

They should be in for the long haul. They should not be daunted. Oil money will not guarantee that whichever party controls the economy later this week will not selfdestruct. Guyana has not been blessed with good, fantastic, phenomenal leadership.

I am not going to go back in history. I am not going to name names. But brilliant, dedicated, competent, political leadership has not been readily available in the history of this country.

By this afternoon, we should know the standing of the third parties. Whatever happens, it would be better for politics in general if they stick around for the 2025 battle.

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

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Commonwealth Observer team calls for implementation of electoral reforms

T

h e Commonwealth E l e c t i o n Observer group has released its preliminary findings of the Guyana 2020 Regional and General Elections.

During a press briefing at the Cara Lodge Hotel, yesterday, Head of the Commonwealth Team and former Prime Minister of Barbados Owen Arthur noted a significant increase in the number of political parties and presidential candidates contesting the elections, although the campaign was dominated by APNU+AFC and PPP/C. “These were highly contested elections,” Arthur said. The Observer Group Head noted that whilst the environment was tense and divisive, overall, fundamental freedoms of association, expression, assembly and movement were generally respected.

However, the former Barbadian PM noted that a key issue repeatedly raised in our interactions was the urgent need for constitutional and electoral reform to address what stakeholders view as a complex and multi-faceted polarisation of the nation.

“These divisions are reflected in the composition, structure and operations of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) itself.

“It is essential that electoral processes be fully i n c l u s i v e o f d i ff e r e n t political stakeholders and minority groups.”

The Commonwealth Mission was not the only observer team that

“The current limit on expenses ranges from $25,000 to $50,000 or the equivalent of US$125 or US$250.

“This is clearly outdated.

Current legislation neither makes provision for disclosure of sources of contributions, nor provides e ff e c t i v e e n f o r c e m e n t mechanisms. Further, no guidance on the use of state resources exists in

Former Barbados PM Owen Arthur recommended reform of the composition of GECOM. The team of observers f r o m O rg a n i z a t i o n o f American States, (OAS) also m a d e s i m i l a r recommendations.

The OAS noted the polarisation among members of GECOM and the challenges it creates in arriving at consensus on most issues. The division appears to exert undue pressure on the Chairperson and the use of his/her casting vote to resolve decisions before the Commission.

The mission therefore recommended that Guyana engages in a multistakeholder discussion on the structure of the electoral authority in order to enhance the deliberative nature and decision -making process of the commission.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth observer t e a m m a d e recommendations for a comprehensive reform of the voter registration system, including legislative reform,

is required.

The team noted that the Official List of Electors, containing 660,998 names, is clearly high in relation to the estimated 785,000 population of Guyana.

The Commonwealth observers pointed out, too, that the attempts by GECOM to create a new National Register of Registrants Database between July and August 2019 were not completed.

Additionally the group expressed concerns over delays in the determination of election petitions by the Court.

“Election petitions are handled by the High Court, and must be filed within 28 days. We were informed, for example, that an election petition filed by the PPP/C following the 2015 election is still pending before the High Court.”

The need to revise, update and implement campaign finance laws and regulations was highlighted by the Commonwealth team.

legislation.”

The team noted too that the Secretariat staff witnessed early voting of members of the disciplined forces on February 21, 2020.

“This exercise was undertaken in an orderly manner, with most procedures followed. We commend the Guyana Elections Commission for the facility of early voting, which enfranchises those

who would be on electionrelated duty on the main polling day “ We are concerned, h o w e v e r, t h a t c i t i z e n observers were not accredited to observe this important part of the e l e c t o r a l p r o c e s s . We encourage early accreditation of citizen observers to enable them to observe early voting in future elections.”

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Thursday March 05, 2020

Adjustments to GECOM's structure, transparent public relations plan among key recommendations in Carter Center interim report

I

nternational observer mission, the Carter Center, made some strong recommendations for

the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in its recently published interim report.

During the press engagement yesterday, Chairman of the observer mission, Jason Carter,

(From left to right) Carter Center team member, Carlos Valenzuela; Former Prime Minister of Senegal and Co-leader of the Carter Center team, Dr. Aminata Touré; Chair of the Carter Center's Board of Trustees, Jason Carter, Carter Center team member, Brett lauded the Elections Commission for the efficiency, smoothness and professionalism of the operations during the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

He added that GECOM utilised its strong base of electoral expertise to conduct well-managed voting day operations.

However, the Carter Center was keen to shed light on some key findings made during their mission and suggested pertinent advice to GECOM. The Carter Center echoed sentiments posited by the Organisation of American States (OAS), which stipulated that GECOM should adjust its current structure to increase its independence, effectiveness and professionalism.

Carter noted the method of appointment of GECOM commissioners was based on a recommendation made by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter for the 1992 elections.

That has come to be known as the “Carter Formula” which was later integrated into the constitution.

The formula gives GECOM a partisan structure that has resulted in a highly polarized and sometimes ineffective board of commissioners. It also advantages the major parties and excludes newer parties.

With regards to the transparency in GECOM, it was advised that they should adopt a public relations plan to increase the clarity of the commission's work.

This recommendation followed after the commission conducted decision-making processes in private meetings and only a few of those decisions were publicly explained. This

became fertile ground for misinformation to disseminate.

It is important to note that it was only a few days ago that President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir, slammed the Yolanda Ward, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of GECOM, for her slow responses to critical matters of the election.

On the issue of voter registration, which has been a source of controversy throughout the election period, the Carter Center's observation on Election Day indicated that GECOM's efforts to compile the list appeared to have been successful.

A total of 660,988 registered voters were on the final roll, an increase of 15.5 percent from the 2015 election. The increase in registered voters from 2011 to 2015 was similar in absolute terms – to approximately 90,000 voters.

The number of registered v o t e r s s e e m s disproportionate to Guyana's estimated population.

Against this backdrop, the Carter Center recommends that before the next election the government should reassess and overhaul both the process and the technology used to create and manage the voter registration database.

With regards the preparations for Election Day, the Chairman shed some light on questions raised regarding the reduction of polling of places in private residences, which the opposition felt was being implemented in a discriminatory manner.

The issue was resolved, but only a few days before the election. Some stakeholders linked this issue to Carter Center

r e p o r t i n g a n d recommendations from 2015.

The Carter Center noted in its 2015 report that 166 polling stations were located in private buildings and residences, and suggested that GECOM ensure that citizens can cast their ballots in a neutral environment.

While the Carter Center s t o o d b y t h i s recommendation, it has noted that the use of private buildings may be necessary in some areas and does not necessarily undermine public confidence in the process.

Regardless, the debate about this issue contributed to delays in the finalisation of the list of polling stations.

To rectify this, it was advised that in the future, any changes to polling locations should be completed well in advance of Election Day. Even though these recommendations were made in multiple prior reports, the Carter Center hopes that GECOM will implement it as soonest.

“In the days to come, the Center urges the key political leaders to act responsibly and in the interest of all Guyana's people, consistent with the spirit of the code of conduct signed by all parties.

“It is important that any disputes be addressed through appropriate legal channels,” Chairman of the international observer mission said.

He added, “The Carter Center urges Guyana's political leaders to commit to reform the “winner-takesall” election system currently in use.

They should make critical issues of constitutional reform an urgent priority and commit to completing key reforms well before the next general election.”

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Thursday March 05, 2020

Gary Best released on half a million $$$ bail F

ormer Chief of Staff, Gary Best, yesterday made his first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts and was released on $500,000, bail for causing death by dangerous driving.

He was granted self-bail for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Best first appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan who then transferred the matter to Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty.

Best was not required to plead to the indictable offence, which stated that on February 8, 2020, at Clive Lloyd Drive, Georgetown, he drove motor vehicle PRR 8182 in a manner dangerous to the public thereby causing the death of Jude Bentley, a

Rear Admiral (ret'd) and Former Chief-of-Staff Gary Best at the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts yesterday The wrecked vehicle national cyclist.

Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes is representing Best.

The attorney disclosed that his client has served his country for nearly 35 years.

The lawyer went on to tell the court that Best also

served as a presidential advisor, a member of the legal aid clinic and is the recipient of a Medal of Service.

Hughes highlighted that his client is married and a father of one who resides at

108 Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara with his family.

Hughes added that his client is not a flight risk and that he has co-operated with the police with the investigations. However, police prosecutor Delon

Sullivan made objections to bail being granted to Best based on the prevalence, nature and the penalty, which the offence attracts.

The prosecutor also highlighted that when the defendant was tested moments after the accident, he was over the legal limit of alcohol which is .35, since the breathalyzer test revealed that Best had .85 of alcohol in his system which is twice the legal amount.

Principal Magistrate McGusty then noted that she is satisfied by the bail application made by Hughes. The Magistrate added that the defendant is well known and even if he tries to escape, it would be difficult for him to hide.

The prosecutor then asked for the defendant to lodge his passport and that he report to the Traffic Headquarters once per month at 9am to the Officerin-Charge until the completion of the matter.

Principal Magistrate McGusty then granted the defendant bail and transferred the matter to the Chief Magistrate.

Gary Best was then handcuffed and made his way through the prisoners' chute from where he was taken to the Traffic Court to answer to another charge.

Best then appeared before Senior Magistrate Clive Nurse who read the other charge. It is alleged that on February 8, 2020, at Clive Lloyd Drive, Georgetown, he drove motor vehicle PRR 8182 while his blood alcohol level was at .85 micrograms.

A not guilty plea was entered by Best who was then granted self-bail on his own recognizance by Magistrate Nurse. Best is expected to make his next court appearance on March 17, 2020.

Kaieteur News has reported that the tragic

accident occurred at around 5:00 am on February 8, 2020. According to reports, Jude Bentley was struck by a black Land Cruiser which was being driven by Rear Admiral (ret'd) and Former Chief-of-Staff Gary Best.

Reports indicate that Best and Bentley were heading in the eastern direction when the former slammed into the cyclist, taking down a utility pole located on a median at the same time.

Traffic Chief Linden Isles disclosed that Best was arrested at the scene and two breathalyzer tests were administered. Both tests revealed that the former Chief-of-Staff was way above the legally prescribed alcohol limit.

Best was arrested and released on $100,000 station bail and appeared in court almost one month after the incident.

Dead: Jude Bentley

Thursday March 05, 2020

Kaieteur News

New GMC launches branded plantain chip T

he Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) on Saturday marked another milestone with the commissioning of its agroprocessing facility at Parika, on the East Bank Essequibo; and the simultaneous launch of the corporation's Hana brand Plantain Chips.

The new agro-processing facility is an extension of a pre-existing facility and a manifestation of GMC's determination to continually upgrade local facilities for the enhancement of agroprocessing in Guyana. The project cost approximately $50 million; in addition to the equipment that were received as gifts from the Ministry of Business.

A noteworthy feature of this initiative, General Manager of GMC, Ida Sealey-Adams, explained at the commissioning of the facility, is the opportunity it affords for the plantain chip [Hana] initiative to source plantains from farmers in the Region.

"At Guyana Marketing Corporation, one of our roles is to promote sustained market linkages between buyers and sellers. As such, this was seen as an opportunity to truly practice what we preach by engaging plantain farmers to enter a formalised agreement to have a consistent supply of plantains," Mrs. SealeyAdams further explained at the commissioning ceremony, held in Parika last Saturday.

The Parika Agroprocessing facility will benefit approximately 100 plantain farmers primarily in Region Three, since approximately 6,000 pounds of plantains will be utilised in the facility weekly and by extension approximately 24,000 pounds of plantains

monthly.

"Today, I am extremely elated to have reached this juncture." Mrs. Ida SealeyAdams told the gathering.

"We have a very good team with continued support from our Consultants. While we are commissioning this facility with the lightlysalted flavoured plantain chips, we will be embarking on other flavours.

Eventually, we will be conducting experiments on other types of chips," she added, as she expressed thanks to those who played a critical role in the launch of the facility and the development of the Hana Plantain Chips.

A l s o a t t h e commissioning of the facility and the launch of Hana was GMC's Board D i r e c t o r , M r. D a v i d Fernandes, who expounded further on the Hana Brand.

Mr. David Fernandes said the Corporation collectively selected the name "Hana" after further research was done with a Marketing Specialist from Canada, a potential market for Hana.

"The name was changed to “Hana” after market research was done by a team from the Guyana Marketing Corporation led by Marketing Specialist, Peter Kibiuk of Canadian University Services Overseas (CUSO) International Consultants.

He had a six-month volunteer stint at GMC from October 2018 to March 2019,” Mr. Fernandes explained.

“Hana” means river in t h e G u y a n e s e Wa r r a u language. The name was selected last year since 2019 was designated the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Ye a r o f Indigenous languages.

With regards to the

marketing of the new plantain chip, the GMC will make Hana available on the local market in its initial stage while it finalises its export markets; the ultimate aim is to primarily supply to the export markets.

A component of the processing line for the agroprocessing facility was gifted to the GMC by the Ministry of Business.

Minister Noel Holder and staffers with the 'Hana' plantain chips

The agro processing plant that was commissioned In pursuit of the realisation of its plantain chip product, the GMC also benefitted from technical support provided by various agencies including the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Cuso International, Partners of the Americas, and PROPEL, all of which provided specialists and other forms of technical support.

During his feature a d d r e s s a t t h e commissioning of the Parika Agro-processing facility, Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Noel Holder, stated that, “the next step is to move to processing, via this AgroProcessing Facility that will focus on the production of value-added products; chips

that will targeted mainly the export market.”

Some of the expected benefits of the facility, Minister Holder added, include, "Increased exports of local products and increased investment in the agro-processing industry; an improved business model for enterprises in agroprocessing; new employment opportunities for vulnerable groups such as women and youth and more agro-processors to benefit from a facility with improved production and (continued on page 20)

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Thursday March 05, 2020

Be calm, have patience...

Coalition challenges results in several regions - Granger tells supporters

A

Partnership For N a t i o n a l Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) coalition has challenged results from several regions.

The disclosures were made last evening by President David Granger to supporters and coalition officials at his campaign headquarters on Lamaha Street, Cummingsburg.

Scores of persons converged on the location where Granger announced that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not received all the statement of polls.

He said that the Coalition has challenged results from a number of the regions.

Granger also told his supporters that the People's Progressive Party/Civic has also wanted recounts in some areas. Those recounts are underway.

Granger, who is facing being described as a oneterm president if the Coalition loses the presidency, made it clear that he had hoped for an official declaration by GECOM by yesterday.

APNU/AFC supporters gathered around the Lamaha Street, Cummingsburg campaign headquarters yesterday.

This is not possible with the recounts ongoing.

He said that the verification would be going on throughout the night.

The President appealed

to his supporters to be patient with the hope that an announcement could be made today by GECOM of the results.

As of last evening, no

one knew the final score, the President said. “Tonight, I asked you remain calm…”

General and regional elections were held last Monday after more than a

year of legal battles following a no-confidence motion that was passed against the government on December 21, 2018.

The next government

that is sworn in will manage Guyana's oil wealth.

Production commenced last December on one of the biggest finds in years in this part of the hemisphere.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

PAGE 19

EU Observer Mission blasts APNU+AFC, PPP/C for abuse of state resources - Lauded Kaieteur News, Stabroek News for unbiased, balanced reporting

B

oth major political players in Guyana A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) and the People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) have over the years continued to point fingers at each other when it comes to the abuse of state resources for campaigning with none willing to accept blame.

But, the European Union Elections Observer Mission on Wednesday blasted both parties for their blatant abuse of state resources for the March 2, 2020 elections.

Head of the Observer Mission, Urmas Paet, at a media briefing yesterday, stated that his observers noted “misuse of state resources by the ruling coalition”. They used the advantage of “incumbency to appeal to voters through development programmes.”

Paet reported that the EU observers saw governmental donations provided in the context of APNU+AFC campaign events particularly

The heads of the European Union Elections Observer Mission at the media briefing in the Region Nine area.

The opposition PPP however, he noted, was observed using state resources at a regional level.

Further, Paet pointed out that both parties are known for their “in-kind vote buying” in many indigenous communities.

Guyana's Biased Media The political parties were not the only ones on the 'hot seat' as Guyana National

Broadcasting Authority was also called out for its inability to effectively monitor the media during the intense campaign season.

The EU head explained that the media was able to freely cover the campaigns.

However, while the law stipulates that broadcasters provide a fair and balanced coverage of national politics, the broadcasting authority did not conduct thorough monitoring to ensure that

Detective sergeants charged for stealing $11.3M from GPF Finance Department

T

wo detective sergeants were yesterday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts to answer to 21 fraud charges. They allegedly stole millions of dollars from the Guyana Police Force Finance Department in one day.

Thirty-five-year-old Jermaine Fraser, and Michael Corbin, 29, both serving members of the Guyana Police Force were jointly charged.

The defendants are attached to the Finance Office of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and were charged for defrauding $11.3M from GPF. Fraser and Corbin were not required to plead to the indictable offence which stated that on April 4, 2019, at Eve Leary, Georgetown, while being employed as a clerk or servant at the GPF Finance Office, with intent to defraud, they willfully made false entries into the accounts of their employer.

The charge stated that they falsely entered the sum of $11,385,000 into the integration and finance management system without the existence of payment vouchers.

Police prosecutor Delon Sullivan made no objection to bail being granted to the defendants. Attorney-at-law Latchmie Rahamat who is representing the defendants then made an application for her clients to be relased on a reasonable amount of bail.

Michael Corbin (Front) and Jermaine Fraser Principal Magistrate McGusty then granted the defendants bail in the sum of $250,000 bail each and the matter was adjourned to March 25, 2020.

this was so.

Guyana's media environment was described as “highly politicised”, with very few independent media and the majority of media outlets being either directly affiliated or leaning to one of the two main political camps.

It was highlighted that

both state broadcast and state print media, which benefit from the widest reach in the country, showed open bias to the government and ruling coalition.

Previously, Kaieteur News had pointed out that for this campaign season, the National Communications Network (NCN); the

Department of Public Information (DPI) and the Guyana Chronicle showed open biased to the ruling coalition and the same was highlighted by the EU EOM. According to its report, “the state-owned TV Channel 11 devoted a total of 60 percent of its news (continued on page 23)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Over a month later…

Still no charges for Chinese national who fatally struck down pensioner on pedestrian crossing

Thursday March 05, 2020

THREE GUIANAS FOCUSING ON GOLD MINING IN PROTECTED AREAS Team from Guyana

I

t's been over a month since a Chinese national fatally struck down 81-yearold Parvidi Ramcharan on a pedestrian crossing. Police are still to file charges in the case.

The report was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about two weeks ago. Traffic Chief Linden Isles said that they are still awaiting legal advice.

The driver has been identified as Ying Guomin, and he is said to have a Robb Street address.

Isles had told Kaieteur News that he had ordered his ranks to expedite their investigation following concerns from the victim's family that the probe was stalled.

Parvidi Ramcharan, of Albion Front, Corentyne, was struck down on January 7, 2020, by a Chinese national, who was driving a car bearing licence plate number PPP 1008.

The accident occurred while Mrs. Ramcharran, who had just uplifted her pension, was heading home, via a pedestrian crossing near the Nigg, Corentyne, Post Office. She succumbed three days later.

Surveillance footage showed the elderly woman making her way across the pedestrian crossing when the vehicle struck her.

The driver was detained at the Albion Police Station. He was subsequently released on $100,000 station bail after 72 hours.

T

Pravidi 'Marina' Ramcharran

Discrepancies delay elections results From page 7 scrapped.

However, Jagdeo told reporters that he is baffled as to where and why the spreadsheet system was introduced since the law stipulates that SOP's be used.

“They have to go back to the law…We don't know who generated this list that they started using.”

H o w e v e r, A t t o r n e y General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, who was also at the Centre opined that the “objections being raised were not valid.”

Basil said, “We don't think so…the spreadsheet is something that was inherited from their

t i m e … We h a v e n o objections…Let us just get this over with.”

Jagdeo noted that his party will remain patient as GECOM continues the tabulations to deliver the final and official results for the elections.

However, later in the evening, the tabulations process was stalled once again, further delaying the process.

Kaieteur News was informed that after the tabulations continued from the previous stop, party officials were reassured t h a t t h e proces s w ill continue unhindered.

It was said that later on, a fifteen-minute break was taken and then the process

resumed.

But according to information received, the Clerk of the Returning Officer who is pregnant asked for another break but this was objected to since it was not part of the initial agreement.

Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (ret'd) Claudette Singh, granted the break due to the condition of the clerk much to the annoyance of the representatives of the political parties there.

It was said that members of the coalition left the media centre while officials from the PPP and other smaller parties remained to ensure that a replacement was sent so that the stalled process could continue.

New GMC launches branded...

From page 17 marketing standards."

Minister Holder also noted, "Many times we struggled to compete in international markets due to a limited ability to comply with sanitary and Phytosanitary standards, deficient logistical infrastructure, and weak links to key export markets.

Therefore, the Government has invested in this facility to be a pilot for the snack food

industry."

Minister Holder added that the facility will have a close private sector partnership.

It will therefore, demonstrate that Guyana can compete in the snack industry.

Further, plans are also in place to develop a model, which will allow for the utilisation of this facility by agro-processors who produce chips and require a

facility.

Minister Holder expressed his gratitude to the team at GMC for their time and expertise in developing the facility.

"I urge you to continue to effectively coordinate all the relevant resources for the maintenance for its sustainable functioning."

He also urged all stakeholders present to work together to ensure that the facility remains successful.

he Protected A r e a s Commission (PAC) with local and international support continues to enhance its skills and capabilities to manage Guyana's protected areas.

Recently, focus was placed on mining in protected areas.

The focus came in the form of a regional workshop on strategies against the threats from illegal gold mining in the Protected Areas of the Guianas. The workshop was held in French Guiana over three days from Wednesday February 12.

It was attended by technical personnel from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Its aim was to improve the management of protected areas through the sharing of best practices and experiences between stakeholders and communities on strategies to address illegal mining in Protected Areas of the Guianas.

The Workshop was the third Regional Workshop organised under the

R E N F O R S A P (“Strengthening the Network of Protected Areas in the Guiana Shield and t h e i r c o n t r i b u t ions to sustainable development in respect of local cultures, values and lifestyles”) Project.

This project is a multistakeholder and transnational approach amongst protected area managers of French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana.

Opening remarks at the workshop were delivered by PAC Commissioner, Denise Fraser, on behalf of the Protected Areas Commission, a partner in the project.

The Commissioner noted the international significance of the Guiana Shield, its geology, and biological and cultural diversity.

Mrs. Fraser noted that the Workshop brought together a range of persons working in the field with d i ff e r e n t e x p e r i e n c e s , strategies, and lessons learnt that could contribute towards developing more effective ways to deal with

illegal gold mining in the Protected Areas of the three Guianas.

She called on all participants to take part and expect rich and fruitful discussions in the workshop.

PA C C h a i r p e r s o n Raquel Thomas-Caesar also represented the PAC, as well as the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development at the three-day workshop.

Further, the team from Guyana included not only the PAC but representatives from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission ( G G M C ) , t h e Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Core of Wardens, Ministry of Natural Resources, and Conservation International Guyana.

The completion of the workshop saw the beginning of a synthesis on strategies against the threats from illegal gold mining in the protected areas of the Guianas and the identification of potential opportunities for cooperation.

Doctor introduces herbal beverage as healthy alternative to alcohol for men From page 11 overall, it stimulated them better,” said Dr. Easton.

While the beverage is being promoted as a healthy option that can replace alcoholic beverages, Dr. Easton made it clear that “I don't want people to say I'm not going to have an unhealthy dependency on alcohol beverages and I will use the AlphaMale instead. I want this to be used as a healthy option...use this because it is healthy,” he insisted.

By virtue of being a non-alcoholic beverage, Dr. Easton said that it can be used

safely by men of all ages.

“Even if you are 17 and you want to try it, you can.

Any age can use it and especially since it is low in sugar, anybody with certain ailments can use it, as well, such as diabetics who run away from things that are high in sugar because this [AlphaMale] is very low in sugar,” assured Dr. Easton.

The production of the products AlphaMale and Alka Plus – have both received approval from the Government Analyst Food and Drugs Department, Dr. Easton said.

Thursday March 05, 2020

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

CARICOM Chief Observer slams authorities for failing to implement recommendations

2020 Elections…

Cynthia Martyr, the Chief Observer of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) Election Observer Mission blasted the Government of Guyana for letting dust settle on reports and recommendations by the observer mission submitted to them in previous elections.

During a press conference yesterday at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, the Chief Observer was quite passionate when she was enquired about her level of satisfaction regarding how the government dealt with recommendations given to them.

Martyr emphatically said, “The Mission has not been satisfied at all with the way that the government has been dealing with the recommendations that have been made.

“Suffice to say, CARICOM is not the only observation mission that has made recommendations, documented those recommendations, and yet, no one seems to pay any mind to those observations and recommendations.”

Martyr was keen to note, however, that progress in Guyana’s electoral system can only be seen with the desire by the authorities.

The Chief Observer disclosed that there are two prominent past Prime Ministers of CARICOM Member States, and at least one of them is a signatory to the CARICOM treaty, CARICOM

agreement, and CARICOM commitment to the democratic process.

According to Martyr, one of the high points of that CARICOM treaty was based on the settlement of disputes and based on mediation.

She explained, “So having attended with Chiefs of Missions to the Guyana Elections in 2020, I believe that it is not critical for them to start to play their parts, because clearly, the part that they played when they were leaders did not amount to anything.”

She further added, “It seems to be that they would have to go back to the basics because obviously what they have been doing is not working…

I even volunteered my services as a well trained mediator to assist them in that process in trying to do good for the Guyanese people, and to assist the leaders of Guyana to get something going.”

Guyana is still in the same situation, electorally, as it was all those years ago, she added.

“So, I am determined to impress upon these two leaders that they have to find some way to assist Guyana [and] it looks like we’ll have to actually hold Guyana’s hands,” Martyr said.

Nevertheless, she noted that CARICOM is committed to the preservation of the democratic process in Guyana, and therefore, the

Chief of Mission of the CARICOM Election Observation Mission, Cynthia Combie Martyr community can, through diplomatic interventions, assist Guyana in bettering its systems.

CARICOM impressed with election processes “The March 2, 2020 poll was free, fair and transparent and the [CARICOM observer] Mission expects that the results of the poll will reflect the free expression for the will and aspirations of the Guyanese people,” Martyr posited.

The 17-member mission comprised nationals from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

The delegation has been in Guyana since February 24 and has engaged in talks with several key stakeholders including electoral and government authorities, representatives of political parties, trade

“Better provisions needed for Local Observers” - Youth Challenge Guyana Local Observer for Guyana’s March 2, 2020 Elections, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) called for there to be improved legislative provisions for local observers.

Executive Director of YCG, Dimitri Nicholson, outlined this recommendation yesterday at a press briefing where the agency outlined their findings after observing the General and Regional Elections.

According to Nicholson, better provisions are needed for local observers to be able to conduct long-term observations of all processes and procedures of the electoral activities rather than just an accreditation for elections day.

“So for example, domestic observers were not accredited to see the disciplined services vote which we think is an important part of the process.”

The Executive Director added out that they were not accredited to observe the movement of ballots as they arrived and then onward to

their respective storage and polling facilities.

“These are all important parts of the electoral process that domestic observers should have the right to be able to review.”

Another recommendation made by the YCG is for better support to be made available for the smaller political parties to engage with the Guyana Elections Commission.

According to Nicholson, they met with several of the smaller parties during the period leading up to the election and noted that they were out of the loop.

“Many of them have stated that some of the things that the larger parties would be aware of because of experience and because of their place on the table at the commission, the small parties do not have access to that type of information.

“When things change, they often learn of it late.”

He said that there could be a method to improve the way that small parties are prepared for the General and Re-

gional Elections. This could be by way of groupings like the Civil Society, Government and other key stakeholders.

The Youth Challenge Guyana commenced its observer mission on February 6, last, with a total of 49 local observers being dispatched to Regions Three, Four, Six, Seven, and Ten. The domestic observers were assigned to over 260 polling stations across the Regions, which extended to the Returning Offices for the tabulation process in those Regions.It was stated that the YCG’s team of 42 accredited domestic observers began their observation process from 5:30 am, to witness and report on opening of the polls, voting, close of polls and ballot counting.

At the end, the YCG concluded that the March 2, 2020 elections can be considered adequate and acceptable due to the large participation of voters and the fact that voters were generally able to cast their ballot without fear or intimidation.

unions, civil society and religious groups and other election observer missions.

Deployed to approximately 360 polling stations across the country, the observers witnessed the election process and the conduct of

the poll from opening to closing through the subsequent counting of the ballots.

They described this process and free, fair and credible.

Largely satisfied with the pleasant atmosphere of peace and calm amongst electors, the observer mission noted that there was no sign of hostility among the electors on Elections Day. GECOM staff and polling agents were commended on a job ‘reasonably well done’

by Combie-Martyr who cited their experience, efficiency and professionalism.

“This is a demonstration of the level and standard of the training provided by GECOM,” she explained.

Reiterating the smooth-

ness of polling, the overseer mission revealed that the polling places have met GECOM standards.

While there were some concerns about access for persons living with a disability to exercise their franchise, CARICOM observer mission said they were impressed by special consideration and additional assistance given by Presiding Officers, other GECOM staff and Election Day volunteers.

“The CARICOM Election Observer Mission is committed to ensuring the preservation of the democratic process and to make certain that every valid vote cast must be counted, to be regarded as a vote for the party of the elector’s choice,” Combie-Martyr related.

Jamaica preparing to deal with possible COVID-19 outbreak KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – The Jamaica government says it has in place contingency provisions within the national budget to adequately deal with coronavirus (COVID-19) should the disease be detected here.

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke, said in addition, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), which has net international reserves totalling US$3.16 billion, has enough resources and the capacity to respond, “should the need arise.’

“The response would take the form of ensuring, for example, that we have adequate facilities for quarantining, which might mean preparing buildings (for that purpose), and that we have appropriate medication(among other interventions)”, he said, noting that consequent on Jamaica’s economic stability, “our options are [greater]”.

Responding to questions from members of the Standing Finance Committee of the Parliament, which is currently reviewing the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure, the Finance Minister said the Finance Ministry has been monitoring COVID-19 developments globally and is in touch with the principal Ministries that could potentially be impacted.

These include the Ministries of Tourism, and Health and Wellness.

He said while Jamaica hasn’t recorded any confirmed case to date, information, through the Tourism Ministry, from Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) agents in North America “[where] a lot of our [visitors] come from” suggests that bookings for March and April “remain robust”, based on the latest

Finance Minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke data.

“As at today…we are not seeing any cancellations in relation to forward bookings.

But the information presented to me by the Ministry suggests that these could change overnight,” Clarke said, adding that the Ministry, and by extension the government, is monitoring the situation “very closely” and is being “very cognisant of how this could evolve.

“We stand ready… and if the situation looks as if it’s likely to escalate [in] Jamaica, there are measures that we can take,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has developed a three-tiered Education in Emergencies response system to alert schools and other public education institutions on the protocols to follow in public health emergencies.

It said the system is aimed at protecting children in conflict and natural disasters and includes strategies to improve preparedness and ensure children’s right to continued education in times of crises.

According to the Ministry, at Level 1 or Green Alert, a bulletin is sent to all schools outlining tips/precautionary

measures to prevent the spread of communicable diseases such as COVID-19 as guided by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW); all schools in proximity to the COVID-19 quarantine facility are duly informed in writing and updates are provided and actions taken as guided by the MoHW. The Level 2 or Amber Alert, is an updated bulletin is sent to all schools outlining the epidemic nature of the COVID-19 to heighten awareness, to reiterate the seriousness of the threat and for all precautionary measures to be taken without compromise; parents are advised that students with flu-like symptoms should stay home until fully recovered and arrangements are made for all schools to be provided with J$30,000 to J$50,000 (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) to procure and make readily available to all student and staff hand sanitizers, hand washing soap and Lysol disinfectant. Updates are provided and actions taken as guided by the MoHW. The Level 3 -Red Alert ensures teachers and caregivers are provided with support for children’s continued learning regardless of where this takes place – in a classroom, at home or outdoors.

“Online learning kits are being prepared by the Ministry’s Curriculum Unit for uploads on the MoEYI websites. PEP Practices booklets and PEP Camp Workbooks have been prepared for electronic distribution to support continued preparation.

There will also be multisectoral partnerships to ensure consistency in messages and informed responses.”

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

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Thursday March 05, 2020

Thursday March 05, 2020

VIEWPOINT BY VIBERT PARVATAN “To Everything, there is a season; and a purpose to everything under the heaven.”

We have been in the season of National Elections – a time when Guyanese with hopes and fears, joys and sadness, emotions and logic are united and paradoxically divided as they focus on Elections.

Over the past several weeks, it was the time of electioneering when the old stalwarts of yesteryear, and newcomers entered the elections arena making promises, putting on their best smiles using persuasive language, and with humility asking voters for their support.

During such campaigns, elections fever traditionally climbs and the spin-off is sel-

“GENERAL AND REGIONAL ELECTIONS – 2020

dom that of consensus, but rather of arguments and controversy in a process of attacking, defending and even abusing others.

I was thrilled talking with a family where the household supported three parties. That difference in opinion never affected their family relationship, but highlighted the different perceptions and expectations leading to a common goal - of the advancement of Guyana.

The Electorate and all Guyanese won praise from the many local and International Observers for good conduct during the campaign period.

From the season of winning support, we move unto Elections’ Day. The weather was good. The mood of the people pleasant, yet reflecting their commitment to cast their

vote.

Persons in wheelchairs demonstrated national pride and commitment in going out to vote.

That should be a fine example to those who showed no interest in voting and did not vote.

The conduct of the Elections won praise and congratulations from local and International Observers. It was an orderly Elections’ Day. The many persons and organisations involved are to be congratulated including GECOM Staff, Polling Clerks, Voters, Observers, and security personnel, indeed everyone.

Our country and its citizens quite rightly deserve the congratulations from foreign embassies, the international community and observers.

EU Observer Mission blasts APNU+AFC...

From page 19 coverage to the government and the president, and 25 per cent to APNU+AFC.” “In addition, clearly misusing state resources, the Department of Public Information (DPI), a governmental agency, was extensively used to promote the ruling coalition's campaign activities.”

Further, the EU EOM outlined that Private broadcasters also showed a bias in their coverage of the election cam-

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

paign.

Namely, Channel 28 and the PPP/C affiliated TV Channel 65 devoted to this party 58 percent and 77 percent of their news coverage, respectively.

The report stated that by contrast, Channel 9 devoted a total of 57 percent of its news to the president and the government as well as 23 percent to APNU+AFC. The state-owned newspaper, Guyana Chronicle, provided extensive news cover-

age of the incumbent president, government and ruling coalition, offering considerable space to letters from readers critical towards PPP/C. Conversely, Guyana Times offered wide and positive coverage of PPP/C and substantial negative coverage of the government and ruling coalition.

Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News were the only two media entities singled out as proven to be rather balanced in their news coverage.

The next stage will be the announcement of the results which will determine who will form the Government and be the peoples’ representatives in the National Assembly.

As I write this viewpoint, there are fears in some quarters of Post Elections disturbances. This should not be!

That must not be.

Guyana could ill afford such a response which will tarnish the image of this country in the eyes of people around the world.

It is now necessary for the Leaders of the contesting parties to demonstrate objectivity, maturity, and place the country’s interest above party politics and egos.

Politicians must behave as statesmen. James Clarke, an American Clergy observed: “A Politician thinks of the next Election; A Statesman of the next generation – A politician looks for the success of his party; A statesman for that of his country.

The Statesman wishes to steer, while the Politician is satisfied to drift.”

As the deadline for my submission of this article approaches, the results of the Elections have not been declared. Thus, I can only congratulate the winning party on its victory.

I commend the political leaders that in victory, they must be gracious and display respect for those who did not perform as well as they did.

Politicians from all of the parties must be magnanimous and commit themselves to nation building. They must advocate peace; promote unity and reflect the beautiful sentiments expressed in our national songs:“ONWARD UPWARD MAY WE EVER GO” AND “OH BEAUTIFUL GUYANA.” Leaders in every area of human activity can contribute to peace with sobering statements, instead of being antagonistic with its dangerous consequences.

The same applies to our men, women and children.

This is not a time for boasting about winning and being bitter about losing.

There are lessons to be learnt and positive programmes to be adopted.

The leaders of the small parties need to demonstrate commitment to the people of Guyana at all times and not awaken and surface only at the time of elections.

Indicating political aspirations, the winning political party (which will form the Government) must learn from mis-

takes of the past. Nation building demands integrity, honesty, impartiality, humility and awareness of obligations to every Guyanese. Guyana needs a strong, effective party.

The responsibility of any Government is to do several things including:-Regarding the manifesto presented to the voters as a contract they have with the electorate.

Slogans such as “One people, One nation, One destiny” need to go beyond words and should be always evident.

A snapshot of Leaders in the Ministries, Public Corporations, Government departments, in our Embassies overseas, etc., must portray to the casual observer that Guyana is a multi-racial, multi-cultural country.

Respect for the constitution. Democracy is not just about free and fair elections; it goes beyond that wherein the rights of every citizen are protected.

I extend Congratulations and Best Wishes and success to whatever party/persons that will lead Guyana over the next five years.

Long live democracy!

Long live tolerance, love and respect for others!

God Bless Guyana!

PAGE 24

Thursday March 05, 2020

Kaieteur News

Region Four count to decide Elections results

By Kemol King The results for the regional elections have been declared by the returning officers of nine regions, save for Region Four.

These results show that the election has become a two-party race between the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) and A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). The other parties have recorded mostly dismal performances for the regions in which they contested.

For those nine regions, the PPP/C has taken a commanding lead. What is now necessary is for APNU+AFC to outperform its 2015 performance in Region Four if it is to overtake the PPP/C. In 2015, the coalition secured 43,000 votes more that the PPPC in

Region Four.

Kaieteur News has observed stark differences in these two parties’ performances in certain regions in this year, from their 2015 performances. Some of those regions have also registered considerable turnout increases. Those increases may be attributed to the growth of the Official List of Electors (OLE).

In 2015, the OLE held 570,786 voters. Now, the OLE stands at 661,378. That’s a startling net increase of 90,592 voters.

For nine regions, leaving out Region Four, the PPP/C leads by 51,439 votes. In the regional vote, PPP/C won Region One with a margin of victory of 4,157. In 2015, that margin was 3,565.

PPP/C won Region Two with a margin of victory of 11,459 votes. In 2015, that margin was 8,809.

PPP/C won Region Three with a margin of victory of 24,066 votes. In 2015, that margin was 19,641.

PPP/C won Region Five with a margin of victory of 3,788 votes. In 2015, that margin was 3,270.

PPP/C won Region Six with a margin of victory of 22,870 votes. In 2015, that margin was 17,570.

PPP/C won Region Nine

with a margin of victory of 2,239 votes. In 2015, that margin was 2,211. The PPP/C expanded its margins of victory in all of those regions. As for APNU+AFC, it won three out of the nine regions.

APNU+AFC won Region Seven with a margin of victory of 1,144 votes. In 2015, that margin was 1,560.

APNU+AFC won Region Eight by a margin of victory of 45 votes. In 2015, the margin of victory was one vote.APNU+AFC won Region Ten by a margin of victory of 15,951 votes. In 2015, that margin was 13,908.

To sum up the nine regions, the PPP/C took an almost decisive margin of victory of 51,439 votes. In 2015, that margin stood at 39,644.

Kaieteur News stresses that the results provided are for the regional election, not the general election.

While the parties’ general and regional elections performances tend to differ, the differences are usually marginal.

Hence, these results present a fair idea of how the parties have performed in the general election as well.

Everything now boils down to Region Four, the final and most populous district. In 2015, APNU+AFC won the regional election for Region Four, with a margin of

Table showing the regional election results for nine regions. Region Four is yet to be included. victory of 42,271 votes.

In such a scenario, were it to maintain that difference this

time around, it would not be enough to allow APNU+AFC to overhaul PPPC. The party

would need to extend its margin of victory to 51,440 votes in Region Four.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

PAGE 25

Doctor introduces herbal beverage as healthy alternative to alcohol for men

W

ith a medical practice, a doctor can only do so much to cater to the health needs of people within the society. But a local physician, Dr. Ruackel Easton, has found a way to do even more. According to him, “If you want to reach more people, you have to be business-oriented.”

Dr. Easton has not only been practising medicine but he has succeeded in creating a product to help improve men's health. The product in question is a beverage called AlphaMale. He has also been producing Alka Plus, a type of bottled water especially suited for men.

Speaking of his AlphaMale concoction, Dr. Easton said, “This is a beverage that I created for males and why I decided to

do that is because in society, men are usually the only set of people who don't pay much attention to their health.”

Men, the doctor has observed, are the ones who are often too busy providing for the family and “they don't focus much on health.”

Added to this, Dr. Easton intimated, “When I looked around the supermarkets, to me, there are not many beverages that deliver nutritional value for men.”

It was against this background, he said, that he decided to produce the beverage.

AlphaMale, which is a herbal brew, contains ingredients which Dr. Easton said, are well known within the Caribbean for centuries.

Among these, he said are “barks that we love, sea

moss, horny goat weed, maca, capadulla, S aw Palmetto, monkey ladder and more...These have tremendous benefits for men.”

According to Dr. Easton, sea moss alone has 92 minerals of the 102 that the human body uses and the Saw Palmetto, he said, works to provide nourishment and protection of the prostate.

Maca, another herbal ingredient used by the doctor, provides energy and other benefits to the body.

He disclosed, too, that the barks he uses such as capadulla and monkey ladder are known to help men with their libido.

“I decided to go this route so that when men decide to drink something, they have value attached to it rather

Lindener charged for dousing prosecutor

S

eventy-one-yearold Sybil Graham, of 16 Green Valley, Wismar, Linden, was yesterday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts to answer to an assault charge.

Graham was charged for assaulting a state prosecutor, after the Judge imposed a life sentence on her 51-year-old son. The woman's son, Gavin Graham was convicted on three counts of murder for the unlawful killing of his ex-lover, Ta b o l a A b r a m s , h e r boyfriend, Shawn Whyte and stepfather, Clifford Sampson.

The three persons died of injuries, which they sustained after their home at Lot 636 'C' Field Sophia was set ablaze by Graham.

An unrepresented Sybil pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that on February 28, 2020, at Supreme Court, Georgetown, she assaulted state prosecutor Tiffini Lyken.

The police prosecutor objected to bail being granted to the defendant based on the seriousness of the offence and the fact that the prosecutor was doing her job when the defendant allegedly assaulted her out of anger.

However, Sybil Graham told the court that at the time when her son was sentenced

Charged: Sybil Graham at the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts yesterday to life imprisonment, he had a bottle between his legs, which contained a liquid.

The woman said that her son got annoyed and threw the substance on Lyken.

“After he threw the bottle, I went and pick it up to throw it in the bin but it didn't had any bin upstairs so I kept it with me and I exit the courtroom and went out from the courtyard.”

The woman added that while she was on the road, the prosecutor approached her and said, “I done jail your son…all y'all gon go to jail.”

Graham said that she was surprised at the behaviour of the prosecutor so she tipped the bottle and a little bit of water got onto the

prosecutor who was already doused with the water. “As I was on my way to catch a bus to go to Linden, two male police ranks approached me and said that I assaulted the prosecutor and that they have to take me back to the court.”

After listening to the woman's explanation, Principal Magistrate McGusty granted the defendant bail in the sum of $10,000, with the condition attached that she must report to the Wismar Police Station every other Friday in every month until the completion of the matter.

Graham's matter was then transferred to another court for a date for the commencement of trial.

Dr. Easton displays his products

than just drink a coke or sprite or even the energy drinks around,” said Dr. Easton.

He disclosed that while there are some other beverages on the market, which contain some of the barks he uses, “they don't have some of the other

ingredients that I use that can benefit men.

“It is low in sugar; it has added herbs [and] [AlphaMale] has added benefits for the body.”

Although production of his beverage only commenced a few months ago, Dr. Easton said that it is

already proving to be a big hit with the men.

“Some people enjoyed it, others have complained about it being too bitter; I guess they were hoping for a sweet drink. There have been quite a few reactions people have had after using it but (continued on page 20)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Tokyo Games boss says no thought of cancelling event due to coronavirus TOKYO (Reuters) - The president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee rebuffed speculation yesterday that the Games might be cancelled due to deepening concern about the coronavirus outbreak, declaring that was not an option.

“I am totally not considering this,” Yoshiro Mori told reporters at a briefing when asked about a possible cancellation. Asked when the organisers could decide on changes to the Olympics, he said: “I’m not God so I don’t know.”

But Mori, who repeated several times that the only plan right now was to hold the Games as scheduled, also emphasised that the organisers were listening to various opinions and would be flexible.

“The situation changes every day. It changes depending on the place. That’s why we need to respond in a flexible manner,” Mori said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan has topped 1,000, according to a Reuters calculation, of which 706 are from the Diamond Princess liner. A total of 12 have died, of which six were from the Diamond Princess.

This has fuelled worries the Games could be postponed or even cancelled. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has asked schools to close this month, companies are encouraging employees to work from home and sporting events are being cancelled or played in empty arenas.

Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto fuelled concerns

Yoshiro Mori President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee hold a news paper as he attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan March 4, 2020. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha) about a delay, saying on Tuesday that Tokyo’s contract with the IOC “could be inter-

Thursday March 05, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) There may be a stalemate when you're unwilling to express your feelings, Aries.

You might automatically assume that things will go smoothly if you leave the decisions up to someone else.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Decisions don't have to be as hard as you make them, Taurus. You may feel as if a strong force is pulling you in a clear direction, so don't resist it.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Look at things from a more philosophical perspective, Gemini, instead of seeing everything from such an intensely emotional one. You may have a constant fear that everyone is out to get you.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) This is your day, Cancer, so don't waste it. Being the helpful, friendly person you are, you may find yourself catering to other people's needs and desires.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Reward yourself for all the great things you've done for you and other people, Leo. You deserve to be treated like royalty, so make sure that you do.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Put your wisdom into action, Virgo. There is no good in accumulating knowledge and then letting it sit, collecting dust like an old book on a shelf.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Enjoying the good times may be fun, but it may also get you into trouble down the road, Libra. Be careful of spending all your resources on pleasure without setting something aside for leaner times.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The surge of power within you is going to let others know that you mean business, Scorpio. Make good use of this fantastic boost of energy by conquering your own goals and demons instead of using it to wage war on anyone else..

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Be more adventurous than usual, Sagittarius. Feel free to take a trip somewhere without bringing a map or having any specific destination in mind.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You might find yourself in a difficult situation when faced with a person who doesn't necessarily approve of how you're handling yourself, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your interest in certain offthe-wall topics may be encouraged when you're engaged in a conversation with someone who shares similar thoughts, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Take your leadership abilities to a new level, Pisces. Gather some friends and plan a trip that you've long been considering but were reluctant to act on.

preted as allowing a postponement” until the end of the year, although she reiterated the government remained committed to the Games starting on July 24.

Mori said Hashimoto had

told him that her remarks had been misinterpreted and taken out of context.

Mori spoke after a videolink with the board members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), during which he briefed them on measures Tokyo 2020 officials were taking to control the spread of coronavirus during the events in the run up to the Games. The IOC board members are holding a twoday meeting in Lausanne.

Mori said he was “happy” and “encouraged” to hear that IOC President Thomas Bach was confident that the Olympics would begin as scheduled on July 24.

The organising committee’s CEO, Toshiro Muto, said it will monitor the temperature and the overall health of the runners and staff taking part in the Olympic torch relay which will arrive in Japan on March 20.

Muto said that the details

of the ceremonies celebrating its arrival from Greece in the earthquake-struck Miyagi prefecture, as well as the official kick-off in Fukushima on March 26, will be announced in the coming days.

Tokyo 2020 will ask runners feeling unwell to not participate and it may restrict the number of people attending relay events, according to a statement released at the briefing.

The torch will be lit in Olympia, although crowds will be smaller and receptions have been scrapped at the lighting ceremony on March 12 before a seven-day relay in Greece.

Formula One teams threaten to sue over Ferrari engine Paris (AFP) - The seven Formula One teams that do not use Ferrari power units yesterday threatened legal action against the International Automobile Federation to force it to publish its report into the Italian team’s engines.

Following complaints by rival teams, the FIA investigated Ferrari last year.

They released a statement last Friday, minutes before the end of winter testing, saying they had reached a “settlement” with Ferrari following “thorough technical investigations”, the details of which “will remain confidential”.

McLaren, Mercedes, Racing Point, Red Bull, Renault, Alpha Tauri and Williams responded yesterday with a letter in which they said they “were surprised and shocked by the FIA’s statement of Friday 28 February regarding the conclusion of its investigation into the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Power Unit”.

“We strongly object to the FIA reaching a confidential settlement agreement with Ferrari to conclude this matter.”Last season several teams expressed suspicions after Ferrari gained in straight-line speed.

The improvement was particularly noticeable after the mid-season break.During qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix in October, Red Bull requested clarification from the FIA on the measurement of fuel flow, which is limited by the rules.

They named Ferrari to the media.In their letter, the teams said they intended “to pursue full and proper disclosure in this matter, to ensure that our sport treats all competitors fairly and equally”.

“We reserve our rights to seek legal redress.”

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Thursday March 05, 2020

Kaieteur News

Tokyo 2020 Olympics committee steps Clijsters loses in Mexico in latest up health measures for torch relay comeback

A man wearing protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, is seen through The Olympic rings in front of the Japan Olympics Museum in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. (REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov) TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing

committee said yesterday it had stepped up its measures

WDCA President’s T20

Zeeburg, All Youths A and Dynasty victorious

to protect the health of runners and spectators for the torch relay as the coronavirus spreads nationwide.

The measures will include limiting the number of visitors to venues and monitoring the health of runners, the committee said in a statement.Details of specific relay events will be reviewed based on the infection status of each prefecture, the committee said.

Monterrey (Mexico) (AFP) - Returning four-time major winner Kim Clijsters lost in the first round of the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, just her second match of an ambitious comeback after her 2012 retirement.The 36-year-old Belgian mother of three played her first match in over seven years in Dubai last month where she was defeated by Garbine Muguruza.

In the first round in Mexico, a still unranked Clijsters was drawn to face second seed Johanna Konta, the British number one, and went down 6-3, 7-5.

“I felt some things were better,” Clijsters said in comments carried by wtatennis.com.“Some things still need a lot of improvement. That’s why it’s good to play matches. In Dubai, I didn’t start well because I was overwhelmed, but today I started and served much better than I did there.

“Those are a few of the positive things, and the points that have to be better, I’ll work very hard to improve them for other matches.”

Clijsters added: “I’ve been through different generations and played many players throughout my whole career.“I’m still at a stage where I want to focus on what I’m doing and how I’m feeling, and also start reading my opponents.“It’s a process that I have to trust and keep working hard to improve in every match I play.

I’d like to take big steps but I have to focus on small step and improving day by day.”Clijsters turned pro in 1997 and first reached number one in 2003, winning her first

Kim Clijsters of Belgium loses in the first round in Monterrey (AFP Photo/Karim Sahib) major at the 2005 US Open, a feat she repeated — after a first retirement — as an unranked wildcard in 2009 and then in 2010.Clijsters went on to win a fourth major at the 2011 Australian Open before a second retirement announcement came after the 2012 US Open.Konta acknowledged she had been starstruck.

“As a young player, I never thought I’d get to play Kim Clijsters in my career,” she said.“I feel truly privileged and honored to share the court with such a champion. It’s nice to have her back.”

GCB Superbet senior female 50-over tourney starts today

Muhamad Wazidali

Z

eeburg, All Youths A and Dynasty reg istered victories when the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) President’s Cup T20 competition continued on Sunday last. Host Zeeburg beat All Youths B by 140 runs.

Zeeburg rattled up 175-6, batting first. Ronaldo Renee made 68 and Ricardo Poloram 21; Deoram Persaud had 2-22.

All Youths B were bowled out for 34 in 14.2 overs in reply. Dev Seepersaud made 18 as Travis Drakes grabbed 411 and Andre Seepersaud 211.

At Wales, All Youths A beat Windsor Forest by eight wickets. Windsor Forrest took first strike and were bowled out for 91 in 19 overs.

Michael Subadar made 25 and Srinivas Chatram 13; Navindra Persaud bagged 417, Anthony Carrington 3-10 and Buddan Baksh 3-11. All Youths A replied with 92-2 in 12 overs. Sanjay Persaud scored 6.

Ronaldo Renee At Wales, Dynasty overcame Wales by 20 runs. Dynasty took first knock and managed 108-10 in 18 overs.

Damion Vantull scored 27 and Almando Domain 14; Ujesh Dayal grabbed 4-20 and Brian Puran 2-30. Wales made 88-8 in 20 overs in reply. Divain Dick got 21 and Ujesh Dayal 16; Yekini Favourite captured 2-13 and Marvin Cheong took 2-20.

Beacon Café 50 overs At Meten-Meer-Zorg, Cornelia Ida batted first and managed 244 all out in 48.1 overs. Harrinarine Bissondyal made 66, while Muhamad Wazidali scored 55; Kishan Tracy claimed 4-32 and Maniran Ragnauth 3-37. Windsor Forest responded with 153 all out in 29.5 overs.

Deoram Chanderbir made 43 and A b d u l l a h Wa z i d a l i 3 0 ; Bissondyal 3-8 and Arshad Azim 3-36.

Richie Looknauth and Vickesh Dhaniram took two wickets each. Both competitions will continue on Sunday.

Shebika Gajnabi goes over the top at Providence.

Kumarie Persaud

T

he GCB/Superbet Senior Female In ter-County tournament will commence today with two matches. The Select Under-19 team will play Berbice at the Everest Cricket Club, while Demerara will face Essequibo at the Enmore Community Centre ground.

On Saturday, Berbice will take on Essequibo at Enmore and the Select U19 will battle Demerara at Bourda. In the final round on Sunday, Essequibo will challenge the Select U19 at Enmore and Demerara will match skills with Berbice at Bourda.

The teams read; Demerara; Akaze Thompson (Capt), Mandy Mangru (Vice-

Lisa Charles Capt), Lashana Toussaint (WK), Lotoya Smith, Heema Singh, Afruica Gentle, Keysia Schultz, Kesha Fraxer, Haseena Mohamed, Sangeeta Sawh, Temika Wilson, Afifa Wickham, Jahavi Tularam and Letisha Jordon.

Kavita Yadram (Player/ Manager). Coach: Ryan Hercules Essequibo; Kumarie Persuade, Divine Rossi, Petra Hoppie, Roxanne Hendricks, Elyina Peterson, Teotia Feliz, Lavina Ragobeer, Nathaly Chaitram, Rhona Jones, NavikaNarine, Onicia Story and Natisha Hendricks. Coach Nandkishore Andrews, Manager Debra Daniels.

Berbice; Marian Samaroo, Erva Giddings,

Tremayne Smartt-(Vic Cpt), Shabika Gajnabi (Cpt), Kantana Mentore, Devona Frank, Dian Prahalad, Oma Matadin, Palffina Millington, Sherika Campbelle, Trisha Hardat, Aleema Arokium, Kassie Munroe and Kimmone Thomas. Manager-Angela Haniff, Coach-Winston Smith.

The Select U19 Female; Sarah Amin, Shemkia Edwards, Niveena Ramnauth,

Analisa D’Aguiar, Lisa Charles , Ashmini Munisar, Naomi Barkoye, Hemwantie Mohabir, Juliana Grimmond, Jamie Campbell, Tiae Isaace, TilleyaMadramotoo, Vinta Balkishun, KeshnaBoodnall and Ariana Bukhan. CoachClive Grimmond, ManagerYogeetaBalkishun.

The Everest ground is designated for the launching of the competition which will begin at 09:00hrs sharp.

Thursday March 05, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 29

Odyssey Travel Service donates over $300,000 worth of cricket scorebooks to RHTYSC

FIBA postpones 3x3 Olympic qualifier in India over coronavirus (Reuters) - The FIBA 3x3 Olympic qualification tournament that was scheduled to take place in India later this month has been postponed due to concerns about the coronavirus, the governing body said yesterday.

The International Basketball Federation said its decision to postpone the March 18-22 tournament in Bengaluru was made after careful consideration regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The event was set to include 40 teams - 20 for each gender - who would battle it

out for six tickets to Tokyo 2020, where 3x3 basketball will make its Olympic debut.

FIBA said it is working in close collaboration with the International Olympic Committee on the best solution possible since the event needs to occur before the April 24-26 FIBA 3x3 Universality Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Budapest.

The governing body also said its 3x3 Asia Cups have been rescheduled with the May 13-17 competition in Changsha, China moved to September from May and the

3x3 Under 17 event in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, moved to October from June.

In addition, the governing body said the men’s and women’s FIBA Under 16 Asian Championships, which were due to take place in Beirut and Canberra, respectively, have both been canceled.

The coronavirus outbreak has prompted the cancellation or postponement of numerous major international sporting events and raised concerns about the Tokyo Olympics which is due to start on July 24.

Coronavirus spread puts Reggae Boyz international friendly in doubt RHTYSC Secretary CEO Hilbert Foster, Troy Khan of Odyssey poses with scorebooks. Looking on are officials of both Organisation.

Dozens of cricket clubs in the Ancient County of Berbice would shortly receive a scorebook as the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club MS continues its outreach programme to assist its sister clubs to fulfill their mandate.

The club on Thursday last received a donation of scorebooks valued at the cost of over $300,000 from its longtime sponsor, Odyssey Travel Service. Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster and Organising Secretary Rabindranauth Kissoonlall collected the donation from Troy Khan of the Travel Service, in the presence of Berbice Cricket Board Treasurer, Dr. Cecil Beharry at the company’s Light Street, Bourda Head Office.

Foster stated that since its formation in 1990, the RHTYSC, MS has assisted over 150 cricket clubs in Berbice with millions of dollars’ worth of cricket gears, scorebooks, cricket balls, stumps, cricket uniforms and coaching equipment. Despite been a rival cricket club, Foster stated that the RHTYSC, MS strongly believes in assisting others, so that they too can make a positive difference in the lives of youths.

Foster, who is also the President of the vibrant Berbice Cricket Board, noted that the two Organisations enjoy a close working relationship with the objectives of lifting Berbice Cricket to a higher level, making sure that every potential talent is nutured and that the game is promoted as an alternative to a life of crime and drugs.

The scorebooks would be shared out to every club in Berbice apart from those who would have been granted a walkover to other clubs in a

BCB organised tournament or who played unauthorized players.

Noting that discipline is important to a club’s success, Foster stated that clubs who fail to respect the BCB rules, would not benefit from any assistance. Since the Fosterled BCB took over in February 2018, clubs and youth players have benefitted from over $6M worth of balls, cricket gears, trophies, medals, educational materials, bicycles, school bags, scorebooks, rain coats among others. This, the BCB President stated is because BCB is fully aware of the huge financial cost attached to the game and the board is committed to assisting as much as possible.

Among the clubs that would receive the scorebooks are No73, No72 Cut and Load, Scottsburg, Dukestown, No48, Ramnarine Memorial, Tain Block4, Whim, Port Mourant, Albion, Chesney, Fyrish, Blairmont, Cotton Tree, Achievers and Bush Lot United.

The BCB, Foster stated is already looking at other areas to assist clubs during the rest

of the year. Earlier this year, member clubs of the board along with those with junior teams received $400,000 worth of cricket balls donated by former Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. As part of its own effort to become self-reliance, the BCB has also obtained its own coaching gears and a pair of cricket pitch covers worth $320,000 under a special developmental fund spearheaded by its former President Anil Beharry.

RHTYSC, MS Organising Secretary and Cricket Manager Rabindranauth Kissoonlall expressed gratitude to the Management and staff of the Odyssey Boat Service, especially MR. Feroze Barkat and Troy Khan for their support of the club and Berbice Cricket over the years. Kissoonlall assured the company that both the RHTYSC and BCB would promote their business across Berbice as a thank you gesture. Manager of Odyssey, Troy Khan in remarks, stated that his company was very impressed with the outstanding work of the RHTYSC, MS and would continue to assist in the future.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The planned international friendly between the Reggae Boyz and Catalonia is now up in the air, with cases of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) increasing in Spain.

The two teams are scheduled to face each other on March 30, but President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Michael Ricketts told the Jamaica Gleaner his organization is awaiting word from the Ministry of Health and world governing body for football, FIFA, to decide whether the trip will go

ahead as planned.

As of Tuesday morning, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Spain has reached 153, with some of those being recorded in Catalonia, an autonomous region in the northeastern corner of Spain.

There were also 40 cases of the virus in the United Kingdom, which the Jamaican footballers would have to pass through to reach Catalonia.

Ricketts said the JFF is monitoring the situation and the association’s doctor, Dr Guyan Arscott, has been in

contact with the Ministry and FIFA on the matter.

“I am not privileged to comment on it too much, but I am waiting on Dr Arscott and the Ministry to give us direction as to what to do and where to go,” the JFF boss said.

“We ar e c o n c e r n e d about it, but I am not a medical person and so Dr Arscott is the person in charge of medical for all the JFF and he is in contact with the Ministry and they will determine the future travels of our respective teams abroad.”

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

Sports Extra Inter Village Football Tucville Girls, Soesdyke Boys among latest FBF Windball Cricket winners USA based Ralph Green donate balls As plans for the inaugural Sports Extra Inter Village Football competition sanctioned by the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) continues, USA based Guyanese Ralph Green who also sponsors the EBFA Under-11 League has made a tangible donation.

Green handed over six footballs to Director of Sports Extra Franklin Wilson whilst on a short visit to Guyana recently. In handing over the footballs, he said that he was very pleased to be able to further assist the development of the sport on the East Bank having been investing at the youth level for the past four years. ”This donation is an extension to what I have been doing over the past few years; I have seen the investment with the EBFA bearing encouraging fruits. This tournament now at the inter village level is another positive step and I am in full support, thus my donation of footballs which I hope will assist along the way.”

Wilson in response thanked Green for his continued support for the game and assured that the balls will indeed add to the quality of football expected to be displayed in the tournament which is anticipated to kick off later this month.

The registration process is ongoing and interested villages can make contact with Wilson on 682-3241 or 6213120 to register. Each Village

Latest results in the Forbes Burnham Foundation (FBF) - AL Sport & Tour Promotions – National Sports Commission (NSC) “Hit It For 50” Schools Windball Cricket played yesterday played at the National Gymnasium, saw wins for Tucville Secondary Girls and Soesdyke Secondary Boys.

In the event organised by Sports Officer A. Munroe, the Girls segment saw Soesdyke Secondary School scoring 752 with Shanan Petal 36; Tucville Secondary School replied with 81-1 with Kaiza London scoring 37.

Over in the Boys segment - Soesdyke Secondary School rattled up 136-3; Tyrell Henry not out 96 (6s-12), while Jonathan Alves took 2 wickets for debutant North Ruimveldt Multilateral School who were held to 111-3 with Yanick Norton 57; R. Ramjantan took 2 wickets.

The Business School scored 161-2, Jeffrey Blair 70

and Damon Gentle 60; East Ruimveldt Secondary School

were kept in check at 113-2, Ronaldo Baldeo made 56.

Watchdog cuts Swiss attorney general’s pay after FIFA case disciplinary probe Ralph Green (right) and Franklin Wilson display the donated balls. would be required to register a total of 25 players and 3 officials and only players living in the respective Villages would be allowed to play for the Team. Registration will close on March 11th.

The winning village will walk away with $400,000, losing fi-

nalist $200,000, third place $120,000 and 4th place, $50,000.

The top individual players, Best Goalkeeper, Highest Goal Scorer and Most Valuable Player would also be rewarded with cash and a trophy.

IOC to allow male/female flagbearers at Tokyo Games LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - National teams can appoint a man and a woman as their flag bearers at the opening ceremony for this year’s Tokyo Olympics after the International Olympic Committee broke with tradition to send a message of gender parity.IOC President Thomas Bach said yesterday the organisation had amended its protocol to allow both genders to be represented in what is among the most-watched broadcasts of the Games.In the opening ceremony all the teams enter the stadium with each led by a flagbearer, usually a country’s leading medal hope or an athlete who has been successful in a major event.

The IOC also said at least one male and one female athlete must be included in each of the 206 delegations that will compete in Tokyo.Saudi Arabia, for example, had never

Tyrell Henry not out 96 (6s-12) and Yanick Norton made 57.

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) attends a news conference after an Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 4, 2020.

(REUTERS/Denis Balibouse) included women in its Olympic teams until the 2012 London Olympics.

“We encourage all national Olympic committees to make use of this option (of the double flagbearer),” Bach said.

“With these two initia-

tives, the IOC is sending another extremely strong message to the world that gender balance is a reality at the Olympic Games,” Bach added.About 51.2% of the 11,000 athletes at the Tokyo Games will be men and 48.8% women.

ZURICH (Reuters) Switzerland’s attorney general has had his pay cut by 8% for a year after a watchdog found he repeatedly told falsehoods and broke a prosecutors’ code of conduct in handling a soccer corruption probe.

In a disciplinary review of Michael Lauber’s work, the oversight agency also concluded that Lauber acted disloyally and had tried to block the watchdog’s investigation.

“The totality of his violation of duties is significant,” the independent AB-BA agency, which has been in a running feud with Lauber for months, said in a statement.

Parliament in September elected Lauber to a third term as the top Swiss prosecutor, opting for continuity despite the disciplinary proceedings over allegations that he mishandled the soccer probe.

Lauber’s office said it took note of the statement, which it said was not final and could face a court challenge.

“Attorney General Lauber and his legal representatives reserve (the right to) all legal steps,” it said.

The watchdog’s verdict can be appealed to the Swiss Federal Administrative Court within 30 days.

Lauber was thrown into the limelight when details emerged of confidential meetings he and another high-level prosecutor held with FIFA

Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber attends a news conference after its department’s watchdog investigation on his private meetings with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, in Bern, Switzerland May 10, 2019. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse) officials while investigating suspected corruption in world soccer.

The resulting questions over their impartiality sent shockwaves through the Swiss justice system.

The narrow vote keeping Lauber attorney general until the end of 2023 contradicted a recommendation against his re-election by parliament’s courts committee.

The panel had said a scandal surrounding meetings he held with FIFA President Gianni Infantino had damaged the reputation of Switzerland’s highest prosecutorial office and put federal attorneys’ ability to act at risk.

Lauber has defended his office’s handling of the case, noting global soccer body FIFA itself was not a target of the probe. A fraud trial of four soccer officials from Germany and Switzerland linked to the 2006 World Cup is slated to start next week.

While Lauber had acknowledged two meetings with Infantino in 2016, he had denied a third meeting reported by media to have occurred in 2017, prompting the disciplinary probe.

He later said he did not recall the third meeting but that it must have occurred based on diary entries and text messages.

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Thomas, Simmons fire Windies to opening win Fast bowler Oshane Thomas … grabbed his maiden five-wicket haul in T20 Internationals.

KANDY, Sri Lanka, CMC – Speedster Oshane Thomas conjured up a stunning maiden five-wicket haul while opener Lendl Simmons hit a measured unbeaten half-century, as West Indies celebrated captain Kieron Pollard’s 500th Twenty20 with a clinical 25-run victory over Sri Lanka here yesterday.

Managing to shake off any lingering lethargy from the 3-0 whitewash in the preceding one-day series, the Caribbean rallied to 196 for

Oshane Thomas brings out his trademark celebration. (Associated Press)

four off their 20 overs after opting to bat first at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, with Simmons topscoring with 67 not out off 51 balls.

All-rounder Andre Russell, in his first T20 International in nearly two years, clobbered a feisty 14-ball 35 and Pollard matched him with an equally brutal 15-ball 34, while opener Brandon King chipped in with 33 off 25 deliveries.

West Indies were 90 for

one at the half-way mark but the assault from Russell and Pollard saw the visitors gather 106 from the last 10 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka were rocked by Thomas’s opening burst, the right-armer taking the first five wickets to fall to reduce the hosts to 56 for five at the end of the sixth over.

Opener Kusal Perera engineered a recovery with a high class 66 from 38 balls while Wanindu Hasaranga belted 44 from 34 balls but Man-of-the-Match Thomas

Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship

Guyana’s ‘Lady Jags’ fall to Haiti as historic journey ends The historic journey for Guyana’s ‘Lady Jags’ came to an end yesterday at the Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic where the Guyanese lost to Haiti 0-3 in the quarter finals of the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship.

Competing at this level and tournament for the first time, the young Guyanese showed the heart of a true ‘Jaguar’ as they battled through trying conditions to post three wins whilst losing twice in reaching the final eight; a tremendous accomplishment.

Yesterday’s quarter final clash, their fifth match in 11 days saw the ‘Lady Jags’, ranked #23 in Concacaf going down to the #4 ranked Haiti which were led by the leading goal scorer of the tournament, 16 year-old Melchie Dumornay who scored all three goals, taking her tally in the championship to 13.

Haiti’s Captain Dumornay, scored in the 18th, 54th and 60th minutes to book their place in the semi finals where they will face Mexico who defeated Trinidad and Tobago who battled in the last quarter final match last night.

Also advancing to the final four were the host nation Dominican Republic (ranked 11) which beat Jamaica (ranked 6) 2-1 and the #1 ranked USA which took care of the #3 ranked Canada, 4-0.

The ‘Lady Jags’ performance were all the more commendable as Haiti would have scored at least seven (7) goals in all their previous matches in this championship.

Guyana were forced to replace the starting goalkeeper Aneesa O’Brien who came down with an injury in the 22nd minute and was replaced by substitute, Raven Edwards-Doedall for her second match of the c h a m p i o n s h i p .

Another substitution was made at the start of the second half, 46th minute, Serena McDonald making way for Samantha Banfield, while their third came in the 73rd minute, Kiana Khedoo being replaced by Tiandi Smith.

The young Guyanese created a few chances of their own but were not allowed to be much of a threat to the seasoned Haitians who dominated proceedings.

GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood who has been

shaping the forward thrust of the game at every level in Guyana commented on the performance of the ‘Lady Jags’: “The GFF family offers congratulations to one and all, the technical staff, the players, and the support group and players families on an amazing journey in the Concacaf Championships.

Excellent attention to detail by the technical and coaching staff throughout was focused on. Heart, selfbelief and discipline all competition from the players - true Jaguars; the best is yet to come as we will get stronger with each tournament. Lets’ continue to build. One Team, One Dream.”

Starting X1: 1. Aneesa O’Brien, 11. Jenea Knight, 2.

Anaya Johnson 4. Brianne Desa (Captain) 3. Jessica Myers, 5. Jade Vyfhuis, 8.

Serena McDonald, 13.

Shanice Alfred, 10. Kiana Khedoo 7. Nailah Rowe, 9.

Audrey Narine Subs: 20. Raven EdwardsDoedall, 14. Hailey David, 18.

Sydney Puddicombe, 6.

Tiandi Smith, 12. Tori DeNobrega, 15. Samantha Banfield, 19. Horicia Adams, 16. Shamya Daniels.

(5-28) had already done the damage and Sri Lanka were dismissed for 171 at the start of the final over.

Desperate to shake off the disappointment of the ODI series, the reigning world champions were handed an excellent start by Simmons and King as they pair posted 74 off 50 balls for the first wicket.

Simmons counted seven fours and two sixes while King struck five fours and a six before holing to long on in the ninth over off left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan.

The incoming batsmen then all batted around Simmons, Nicholas Pooran (14) helping to add 32 for the second wicket and Russell smashing two fours and fours sixes in adding a further 39 for the third wicket.

When Russell was beautifully yorked by veteran speedster and captain Lasith Malinga in the 16th over, Pollard arrived to sustain the intensity, striking three fours and a couple of sixes in a 45run, fourth wicket stand with Simmons.

Thomas then wasted little time putting the Windies in command as he turned the game on hits head in the second over when he knocked over Avishka Fernando (7), Shehan Jayasuriya (0) and Kusal Mendis (0) in the space of four balls.

Fernando was taken on the second attempt by wicketkeeper Pooran off a short, quick delivery, Jayasuriya holed out to third man off the next ball and with the final delivery of the over, Mendis gloved another short one behind.

Tottering on 17 from three, there was some respite courtesy of a 24-run stand between Kusal and Angelo Mathews (10), allowing Sri Lanka to steady themselves.

However, Thomas shook up Mathews with a blow to the head and then removed him three balls later in the

fourth over to a brilliant running catch in the deep by Russell. And when the 23year-old, who escaped serious injury in a vehicular accident just two weeks ago, bowled Shaaka leg-stump in his next over, Sri Lanka’s innings was in strife.

Kusal capitalised on Thomas’s exit from the attack, counting half-dozen fours and three sixes in an 87-run,

Lendl Simmons top-scored for West Indies, Sri Lanka v West Indies, 1st T20I, Pallekele, March 4, 2020 © Associated Press

sixth wicket stand with Hasaranga who struck four fours in his knock.

The pair were hauling Sri Lanka back into the contest when Hasaranga perished in the 16th over, lbw to medium pacer Rovman Powell (2-31), and the challenge quickly fizzled out as the last five wickets went down for 28 runs in the space of 22 deliveries.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

Jaguars face bottom placed Hurricanes today at Providence Permaul five wickets from 50 this season

By Sean Devers uyana Jaguars sit in the second spot on the points table of the 2020 CWI’s Regional First-Class tournament behind front runners Barbados, as they head into the seventh round today when they face bottom placed Leewards Hurricanes at Providence.

Guyana, with three wins, two losses and a draw, are on 79 points while the Leewards are in the cellar on 40.4 points with four losses, a win and a draw and with no chance of winning the title.

Barbados, led by 579 runs

by Kyle Mayers, are on 108.2 points while Jamaica sits on third spot on 61.2 points.

The Windwards, on the back of Devon Smith’s 495 runs are on 56.8 and in the fourth position, while T&T with 54.8 are fifth on the points table.

Guyana must win their remaining games and hope that Barbados, the most successful team with 23 titles but none since 2014, lose or draw their remaining games.

Guyana captured the first of their 13 titles when Rohan Kanhai led them in 1973 and under the astute Captaincy of Leon Johnson the Jaguars have won every trophy since 2015.

Today, Johnson, who has six tons at this level, including a magnificent unbeaten 189 in the fifth round against the Windwards, will need to lead from the front with the bat.

While the Guyanese batsmen have registered 12 fifties, only Chris Barnwell their most consistent batsman with 376 runs and Johnson with 362, have scored centuries this season.

Chanderpaul Hemraj, with three fifties, has 329 runs, while fellow left-handed opener Tagenarine

G

Rakeem Cornwall is arguable the best Kiran Powell is the Leewards’ leading runs score and their batting will off-spinner in the West Indies and hinge on his performance with the bat. will Guyana’s batsmen biggest worry.

Chanderpaul also has three half centuries in his 285 runs and the conversion rate is a worry.

However, the opening combination will be broken since Hemraj has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury and has been replaced by Tevin Imlach.

But while Vishaul Singh has two half centuries including 93 in his last game in Jamaica in his 271 runs and Anthony Bramble also scored a fifty in his 255, no other batsman has reached 175.

In addition to these batsmen, all-rounders Raymon Reifer, Kevin Sinclair and Veerasammy Permaul can also contribute with the bat.

Because of the dominance of Permaul, who already has 45 wickets, and the absence of Romario Shepherd and Kemo Paul, the pressure is on the genuinely quick Nial Smith who has 19 wickets including 6-55 on debut, Keon Joseph (12 Wkts) and left-arm seamer Reifer (10) to provide the fast bowling points for Jaguars this season.

Guyana’s main threat with the ball, especially on a Providence track with a reputation of being low and slow is the 30-year-old Permaul.

Leon Johnson is only one of two batsmen with a century this season and has 362 runs.

Chris Barnwell has been Guyana most consistent batsman and leading runs scorer.

The left-arm spinner from Albion has a possible eight innings to break his own record for most wickets in a season which he set in 2015 when he bagged 67 scalps. He took 50 in 2018 and 42 wickets last year and is banging

on door for a West Indies recall.

Permaul has befuddled the batsmen with three fivewicket and two 10-wicket hauls in the first six games and should get spin support from 20-year-old off-spinner Sinclair who bowls a defensive pace and line and has eight wickets from seven innings in his debut season.

The Leewards is the only team without a centurion, although their leading runscorer, Kieran Powell with 376 runs, fell one short of his ton.

He will look for support from Trinidadian Amir Jangoo, Terrence Ward, Jahmar Hamilton, Monchin Hodge and Devon Thomas and Rahkeem Cornwall.

Cornwall, arguably the best off-spinner in the West Indies, has only played four matches but has already taken 23 wickets including a best of 8-51.

He could give the Jaguars,

Veerasammy Permaul had a career best 8-18 and match figures of 15-77 the best match performance in sponsored FC Cricket. who have five left-handers in their top order, the most headaches after finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 54 victims last season.

Shane Berridge has 18 wickets and is the only other bowler to reach nine wickets.

Guyana has passed 300 four times in this tournament with their highest total being 426 in Dominica when Johnson and Barnwell scored hundreds.

Barbados face T&T in Trinidad in a match in which the Jaguars fans will have keen interest in, while Jamaica oppose the Windwards in Grenada in the other seventh

round game.

Teams: (Guyana Jaguars) Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Leon Johnson (Capt.), Vishaul Singh, Christopher Barnwell, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Kevin S i n c l a i r, Ve e r a s a m m y Permaul, Nial Smith, Keon Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Akshaya Persaud.

(Leewards Hurricanes) Jahmar Hamilton, Kieran Powell Montcin Hodge, Keacy Carty, Amir Jangoo, Rahkeem Cornwall, Akeem Saunders, Terrence Warde, Jeremiah Louis, Ross Powell, Adelvin Phillip, Sheno Berridge, Kian Pemberton.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 05, 2020

Association Do Shotokan Karate

- Guyana hosts successful Grading Exercise

9th Dan Shuseki Shihan, Frank Woon-A-Tai and Shihan Amir Khouri 7th Dan, seated centre foreground, take time out for a photo with the students and other instructors at the Grading exercise.

At their YMCA Thomas Lands Headquarters Dojo, the Association Do Shotokan Karate – Guyana hosted another successful Grading Exercise on Sunday last.

Head of the IKD, 9th Dan Shuseki Shihan, Frank Woon-A-Tai, assisted by Shihan Amir Khouri 7th Dan, conducted the ASK-G grading examinations.

In a release from the association, Sensei Amir Khouri 7th Dan, Chairman of Ask-G, stated, “Congratulations to all the students who were successful, also to Instructors: Roger Peroune, Malcolm Francis, Keith Beaton &Wanda Agdomar (YMCA), Clinton Moriah (New Amsterdam, Berbice), Hazrat Ali (Albion & Blairmont, Berbice), Parmeshwar Persaud (Land Of Canaan), and Mahadeo Ramotar (GFK West Bank) for their commitment to the development of karate and the karatekas.”

He further noted, “With a total of 83 students participating in this exam, we look forward to having more students joining so that children can enjoy the benefits of karate-do, both short and long term.”

During his stay, Shuseki Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai will be conducting high level seminars at the YMCA and the Guyana Karate College.

These seminars will prepare students for competition, judges training and instructors training, thus preparing IKD members for higher standards that will be passed on to the youths of the future.

The Results from last Sunday’s event show: Dan Promotions: 5th Dan Promotion: 1.

Roger J. Peroune - Ymca 2nddan Promotion: 1.

Av i n a s h R a m g o l a m Canaan 1st Dan Promotions: 1.

Amrit K. Singh - Ymca 2. Jasmine G.A. West Ymca 3. Yam Chan Chu - Ymca 4.Nicholas E. Rampersaud - Ymca 5.Amirullah Kudrutullah - Blairmont KYU Promotions: Outstanding students who skipped are:10 KYU To Yellow Belt:

- Kiev Luther, Sarah Lacon, Zane Elcock, Zarion Caulder, Josiah Freitas, Asim Hamilton, Jaxun Fields, Damari Williams, Nathan Henry, Aviel Wilson, Akilah Browne.

10 KYU to Orange Belt: Ethan Persaud, Khaleel Dalrymple, Antwun Lamazon, Sacenarine Charran.

10 KYU to Blue Belt: Leslie Edghill.

8 KYU to Green Belt: Nathan Mckinnon, Ronuko Caulder.

7 KYU to Blue Belt: Allana Margan, Annastica Joseph, Valmiki Indarjit, Raphel James.

5KYU to Brown (3): Derrick Agdomar 4 KYU to Brown (2):Nkechi Mcpherson, Prince Dunn, Kyron Thomas.

The Others Promoted Are:-Orange belt: - Basil J a m a l Wi l l i a m s ( P a r a Student), Jayden Ramkissoon, Simkhael L e v a n s , Samaiya Humphrey, Nathan Lam, Brandon Carew, Aidan

Carew, Kai Callender, Mateus Nogueira, Aryan Din, Tamia Tyrrell, Zuriyah Howell, Ethan France, Faith Cornette, Shivanna Brijbhukan.

Green Belt:- Aidan Bell, Jaden Katon, Edien Dookie, Samara Siland, Vineshwari Indarjit, Shivraj Brijbhukan, Deoanand Geer.

Blue Belt: - Teshana Lake, Zulima Bell.

Purple Belt: - Kristen Sanasie, Theron Lake, Dylon Bess (Jnr), Zareezyah Levans, Samuel Klass,

Giada Agdomar, Bethany Agdomar, Isaiah Browne, Jordon Hargobin.Brown (3): - Mahir Rajkumar, Ethan Rosine, Elijah Rosine, Joshua Daniels, Aishah Persaud.

Brown (2):- Micah Narine, Tyler Bess, Junxi Yang, Tyshaun Bess, Isaiah Anderson, Saskia Dyasindoo.Brown (1): Adrian Bhawanidin, Javed Baksh, Joshua Nimar, Joel H a r r y, T h a m i s h w a r Dyasindoo, Kristen Samaroo.

Kieron Pollard wore a special jersey during his 500th T20, Sri Lanka v West Indies, 1st T20I, Pallekele, March 4, 2020 © AFP

rt o p S

Thomas, Simmons fire Windies to opening win Guyana’s ‘Lady Jags’ fall to Haiti as historic journey ends Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship

The Under-20 ‘Lady Jags’ ended their historic sojourn in the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship with a 0-3 defeat to Haiti.

Jaguars face bottom Tokyo Games boss says placed Hurricanes no thought of cancelling today at Providence event due to coronavirus GCB Superbet senior female 50-over tourney starts today Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8452, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.