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AIETEUR NEWS

Guyana approaches Thursday Edition World Bank for US$5M March 19, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 11

to help with response to Coronavirus

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

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

- Finance Minister says efforts being made to grant ministries money expeditiously

Price $80

Online readership yesterday

Presidential orders give sweeping powers for Govt. to tackle Coronavirus ! d r a z

a H c i f f a Tr

The driver of this Toyota Raum appeared oblivious of the hazard this protruding ladder created for other motorists and road users.

CARICOM can still supervise recount, if leaders put Guyana first - Sir Shridath Ramphal

The threat is real as Guyana confirms

fifth coronavirus case - says Public Health Minister Former army chief, Joe Singh, to Granger…

Call off the 'Dogs of War' IMF refuses to help Venezuela with US$5B - Says it cannot engage countries with loan to fight Coronavirus govts. not recognized by int’l community Thirst for power, no matter the Despite Coronavirus outbreak, cost, can cut Guyana off from ExxonMobil continues to pump offshore Guyana the rest of the world - FITUG Commonwealth GECOM Observer Group says ...

did nothing

to rectify blatant

disregard for rule of law

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

PAGE 03

Presidential orders give Guyana approaches World sweeping powers for Govt. Bank for US$5M to help with response to Coronavirus to tackle Coronavirus

A

gazetted Order

by President David Granger h as g r an ted s w eep in g powers to the government, particularly the Ministry of Public Health, to deal with matters related to the coronavirus.

Under the direction of the President, the Public Health Ordinance has outlined an approved list of undertakings, empowering the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to take strong measures “to prevent and control the spread” of COVID-19 or the novel coronavirus in Guyana.

Among them, the Order gives the President powers to, as he may deem fit, one or more hospitals or camps for the reception, isolation and treatment of any person suffering from the infectious disease.

The Order cites sections of the constitution that

provides for a person to be deprived of his or her freedom of movement through the impositions of r e s t r i c t i o n b y l a w, reasonably required in the interest of public health.

The Order notes that under the definition provided in the Public Health Ordinance Act, COVID -19 constitutes an emergency that threatens national security, which requires a national response.

Moreover, the Public Health Ordinance Act provides that the President may in the case of emergency expend public funds of Guyana—such sums of money as may be necessary for the effectual carrying out of any and all of the provisions which concerns notifiable infectious diseases.

Accordingly, the Public Health Minister with the backing of the 'Direction by

the President' shall take measures to “restrain, segregate and isolate persons suffering from the disease, or who may be likely, from exposure to the infection, suffer from the disease.

According to the Order, given the directive, the Public Health Minister shall also make decisions to “remove to the hospital and provide curative treatment of persons suffering from the disease”.

It said too that the Public Health Minister may “remove, disinfect, and destroy the personal effects, goods, buildings and any other article, material or thing exposed to infection from the disease”.

The Health Minister shall make decisions about the speedy burial or cremation of the dead; facilitate house to house (continued on page 10)

GECOM did nothing to rectify blatant disregard for rule of law - Commonwealth Observer Group “At no point did the leadership of the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) halt or rectify blatant instances of disregard for the rule of law and electoral ethics, despite its vested authority to independently ensure credible elections.”

This is according to the details of a statement issued by the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG), one of the missions deployed to observe and monitor the March 2, General and Regional Elections. In its statement disseminated to the media, the observer group chronicled the irregularities encountered post- elections.

“It is the clear and considered view of the Group that the tabulation processes conducted by the Returning Officer (RO) for Region 4, Clairmont Mingo, were not credible, transparent and inclusive,” the COG asserted.

The series of events that the Group observed in the tabulation of Region 4 results between the 3rd and 14th of March are of grave concern, they expressed. They were keen to note specific issues which included the repeated cessation of the tabulation

Head of the Commonwealth Observer Group, Owen Arthur process for a variety of “irregular reasons”; two unlawful declarations made

by Mingo; the continued failure of the RO to comply with the March 11 rules made by the Chief Justice; and the RO's refusal to provide the Statements of Polls (SOP) during the resuming of the tabulation exercise.

The group disclosed that it did not observe any material or substantive impediments inside the tabulation room, which might have prevented

the resumption of the tabulation process. However, they were keen to highlight that the robust exchanges between political party agents in the room only occurred when GECOM repeatedly halted the tabulation process.

“Despite the serious and persistent electoral malpractice observed by the Group from 3-14 March, the Group welcomed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) initiative, at the invitation of President David Granger, to deploy a HighLevel Team to Guyana, to supervise a recount of the ballots,” the COG related.

However, that high-level team withdrew from Guyana after being unable to complete its duties following an interim injunction, and the COG expressed regret in this regard.

The Group, which withdrew from Guyana on 15 March, is expected to submit its full report to the Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral, who will forward it to the Government of Guyana, the Chairperson of GECOM, leaders of political parties, and to all other 53 C o m m o n w e a l t h Governments.

- Finance Minister says efforts being made to grant ministries money expeditiously

I

n an effort to boost Guyana's efforts in implementing precautionary measures against the coronavirus , a request was made to the World Bank for US$5M under its Rapid Response Emergency Facility.

This was confirmed with Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, following several questions from Kaieteur News on whether Guyana has resorted to the Contingency Fund in light of the circumstances.

Minister Jordan said that there is no need to do this while noting that the Constitution allows for funding during these emergency activities. Further to this, he was asked to say if the Ministry of Public Health has been provided with additional funds to assist its efforts.

He answered in the affirmative while adding that it

Jordan to speak on the effects the coronavirus has had on the economy, to say to what extent exports have been affected and if the growth rate has been revised downwards as yet.

The Minister only said, “Unfortunately, this period doesn't give me great latitude for comment and possible measures. At this stage, I'm just prepared to say an assessment will be made in due course.”

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan has received more than $50M thus far. Jordan also confirmed that other ministries have made requests for moneys. He said that these will be dealt with expeditiously.

Kaieteur News also asked

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Kaieteur News

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

Oil at $35 (or $25)…

Who cares?

We are not talking about the age of years, but of money as in lesser dollars. This country just got a loud wakeup call, a knock on its head, and yet it pays no attention, as what was happening in the outside world is greeted with a shrug and the equivalent of: so what?

That is how smug we have become in the superiority of our priorities, the rightness of our pathetic selves. We have no time, pay no attention, unless the constant storyline is related to domination and continuation of the ways of old.

Who cares? That was the concerted reaction across the board here, as we remained immovably attached to the measurements of the moment: the count, who won, who lost. It is also of who must not win and who cannot lose.

That is our version, our ideal of democracy in action, of the foundation on which we are going to build a constructive and dignified society going forward in the years ahead for the generations to come.

What we are building is erected on sand, of which there are many scattered grains. They cannot hold together, they offer little that binds and commits, that should compel, to nationhood, to bright, enduring, and progressive neighbourhoods. That sand has seized up the machinery of our minds and made it into a grating, hair-raising, stomach churning and ominous reminder of what we do to ourselves, how we have failed to be understanding of what is required of each of us and all of us to rise above that which drags us down into self-destruction.

Well, that is where we are at present, and no dissertations and visions of democracy and procedure and maturity are going to motivate us or generate in us the kind of self-discovery and self-propulsion to something and somewhere, that now mythical and unachievable place, that gives us some scintilla of hope to carry on in a new direction for new beginnings.

From all indications, that is a forlorn hope now, so disconnected are we from one another, whether hated competitors, or now despised villagers, or simply feared and distrusted passing stranger. We are so disturbed by the mere presence of one another, that we have neither interest nor inquiry into what the precipitous fall of oil means, what is the significance of the Saudi-Russian oil differences, and what is represented by the Kingdom flooding the supply channels with abundant cheap oil.

If we had no oil, these developments - especially the market numbers of below $35 and more lower drops promised - would have seen us reaping hay while that economic sun shone. But the reality is that we do have lots of oil, by our own standards, and that it is being produced and transported elsewhere in early attempts to recoup some of the billions poured into the search, and to balance the books of the once swaggering multinationals.

The books are not looking too good right now, and the outlook is gloomier still.From a sound business standpoint, it makes sense to slow down production, if not curtail outright, if only temporarily to ascertain which way the wind blows and how hard and for how long. And yet we fiddle in almost total disinterest, while our immediate dreams go up in smoke.

For to maintain normal or projected output of oil with so much supply released into the world’s pipeline now, is a losing proposition, and that which is just not done by any sane and sensible producer.

Prices are only depressed further, and this would be into the teeth of a steeply falling demand environment helped along and hurried along by the global pandemic brought about by COVID-19.That raging monster has no friends, nor part of any coalition, nor is slowed down by the impenetrable thickets that are so much a part of this disputatious land. The beast seeks blood and wants more of it. Our politics make us thoroughly willing and selfsacrificial participants in the dividing, the destructive, meanwhile, a nation of continual losers suck on its own spirit and feeds on the sinew of itself. It is prostrate in helplessness.

Oil at $35 (or $25), it was $22 yesterday. Who cares?

Thursday March 19, 2020

The essence of the problem that we have DEAR EDITOR, If nobody else is ready or willing to call things for what they really are, at bottom, then I will do so again. And then again, until something sensible registers, of the duty owed to one another. I will do so until we stop hedging and stonewalling, or stop denying and evading, or stop fooling ourselves and stop pretending and reaching to the peripherals, when the heart of our existence remains unacknowledged and unaddressed.

What we have is not a Gecom procedural problem.

Or a counting problem. Or an intractable domestic problem.

Or a looming and ballooning international problem. Or any of the problems associated with democratic norms. I will admit that what we have possesses substantial elements of all those components, but I reject any assertions and positions that those are the extents of our problems.

Whether taken individually or in aggregate, they are not the sick heart, the enfeebled soul of our problems.

Editor, the heart of our existence is that we have a racial problem. That is the beginning and end of our circumstances, our way of life. I am immovable in my thinking, my philosophy, my outlook that this racial problem and

that it calls for – demands - a racial solution. And that would be a local racial solution. This cannot be addressed through a foreign resolution; it will not hold; it will not help us to overcome our raging demons that doom us to devastation, if not utter national destruction.

Our racial problem must have for a local racial solution, with all leadership hands on deck, all genuine civil society agencies (religious, neutral media, and so forth) on board, and leading to a place other than where we are. This cannot be left or trusted to political figures alone; unfortunately, it cannot include the private sector in any form or fashion.

To digress for a moment, I am 64 years old. I can remember the violence and flames, the passions and the prices.

A brother of my mother’s was the driver of the school bus that was blown apart and which killed Godfrey Teixeira; it does not get much closer than that. So, some history is there. I thank God that the memories have not warped me. I was among the less than a handful (literally) of Indians, who went to school in Agricola, where the children and some teachers were arrayed against, but one teacher (black) stood up for me, because she cared about me, I

believe she even loved me.

The mixed village was also there.To go further, I have been a beneficiary of the benevolence of senior black Guyanese public servants, which enabled me to earn an honest living before I left here. Those lessons are indelible and have worked to mold me a certain way that sees only country; I cannot see comrades; I can only embrace citizens, including those who detest me for being different.

My belief systems have only reinforced what I am about and must be about unswervingly and unflinchingly. It is why I cannot contribute to any position, any vision, any arrangement by any leader or any group that exacerbates the racial hatreds and antagonisms that now either rage; or which threaten to spiral out of control. For at the end of the day, of it all, this is where we are poised most dangerously.

I dive deeply into what is now our obvious, but still denied and dismissed, political dead end: there are no winners anymore. There is neither favourable reception nor some tendril of traction for the other side (that racial side) to take the governance helm and lead forward. If the PPP believes this, it is way less wise than I thought of it.

DEAR EDITOR, This is an open letter to the Commissioner, Senior and Junior Officers, Inspectors and other ranks of the Guyana Police Force.

As I make this appeal to you, I would like you to know that I am not a member of any political party. My service in the Guyana Police Force for over thirty-three years has been nothing but professional, and during that time I strived to uphold and maintain the highest values and standards of a professional Police Force, which includes staying away from political activism and sentiments.

Our beloved country is now at the edge of a precipice.

Another step in the direction it was moving since on or about March 3rd 2020 (at the GECOM Region 4 RO’s office in particular) will cause us to fall over into unimaginable consequences from our own society and the International Community. Consequences that will not only manifest into hardship and suffering for us, but also for our children, elder and younger relatives, and our relatives of the future. Everything in my heart tells me that the people that socialize in what was a home for me for thirty- three years do not want this to happen. Unfortunately, we cannot wish it away.My thinking and experiences tell me that anti-demo-

cratic action of a few in our society cannot bear fruit without support of the Police. Let us not throw our honour to the dogs. Let not the necessity of Public Protection against deviance be submerged by outflows of sentimentality. It is on the Police that the society must rely for the immediate and effective protection of people’s Constitutional Guarantees. Let us not fail them. The situation in our country is grave and, as we are aware, political efforts to bring us through have failed over and over. It is left to the Police to give life and meaning to the enjoyment of civil rights by the law-abiding members of our society.

So it is crucial that you do not act as you did at the Region 4 RO’s Office and the Arthur Chung Convention Centre when you evicted people who had a legal right to be there, and who were advancing the protection of rights of the Guyanese people.

Let us not deny that every government needs a rigorous Police Force to protect the rights of its citizens. However, let us understand that in a free regime, the Police are employed against the minority opposed to the general good, as well as against abuse and negligence of the authorities. On the other hand, in a tyrannical regime, the Police

are employed against ordinary and law -abiding people who are delivered into the hands of injustice and impunity. In the latter case, the Police Force loses its professionalism, independence and Control, and the people that suffer include their relatives, friends and themselves. Is that what we want?

Please note that should your actions at the two places I mentioned continue, you will find yourselves separated from the community. Such separation will create social distance that will increase the extent to which the Force could be controlled and the extent to which the Police are seen as visible symbols of the government and targeted as such.The society took note of the selective deployment of Officers and Ranks in the

If the PNC (or whatever it is called these days) thinks that it can manage to scrape by and that matters will blow over and fade away locally and internationally, I share this reality check: nothing could be further from the truth, when this most turbulent of milieus is watched and weighed and found terribly wanting.

I return for the umpteenth time to an unchanging position of mine: everyone has to be seated at the table, and all have to be infused with and made to possess a sense of belonging, of sharing, of participating, and of owning. I urge the greatest degree of responsibility and maturity at this most challenging and depressing of times.

I exhort one and all: do not engage in what amounts to a futile and potentially destructive political Mexican standoff. Do not do so while playing at Russian Roulette; and doing so, while pointing with live properties and fully loaded chambers. Guyanese contexts and circumstances, at this moment, are set at such an hair trigger’s sensitivity.

May good sense return, overtake, and prevail. Do not let us go down the road mapped. It would be the worst of miscalculations.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

An open letter to the Guyana Police Force Force as well as the use of excessive force by them. I am also aware that our learning and experiences gave us the understanding of the nature of human suffering, as well as the understanding of the moral contradiction of achieving just ends with coercive means. I appeal to you to use those understandings in giving instructions and taking action. I appeal to you to take professional action and save our dear country from the few dissidents. The society you serve has never been so heavily dependent on you in contemporary times. Be our heroes.

Yours sincerely, Seelall Persaud DSM MBA Retired Commissioner of Police

ELECTIONS 2020 DEAR EDITOR, In 2016 I married a Guyanese lady. I am a Canadian and we live in Canada but still have children in Guyana, so I read Kaieteur News every day.While it has been sad to see the incompetence of APNU/AFC in its contract negotiations with Exxon, it is now beyond sad to see APNU/AFC destroying the democratic process of the Guyanese people for their own interests, using the courts, the riot police (although there was no riot), sickness of officials to prevent court documents from being served etc. This is why Third World countries stay Third World countries. This is why all Guyanese who can, make leaving Guyana their top priority (how many expats now live in Canada and the USA? 350,000? It has taken me 4 years to see why. Welcome to Canada.

Arie Oosterman

Thursday March 19, 2020

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Kaieteur News

An Open Letter to His Excellency President David Granger, MSS DEAR MR. PRESIDENT, I respectfully pen this open letter to you via the media in the hope that you will realise the national importance I have attached to taking this step.

I am placing my neck on the line that you are being manipulated by persons who do not have the best interests of our beloved Guyana at heart, and who are prepared to hold you hostage to their own evil intentions and to manipulate you and the Constitution of this country to achieve their own personal and collective goals, unbothered by the catastrophic impact their actions to date are having on national morale, on the fears and anxieties of all Guyanese, whether or not they are supporters of your political party.

If you may have read my earlier letters, you would have noted that I hold no brief for any political party. By choice, I have never voted in any national and regional elections, because I pledged to serve my country and not any political party.

My loyalty is to the Constitution, and you and all of your predecessors as Presidents and Commanders in Chief knew this and respected me as a professional. How else do you think I was appointed to or held very senior positions in the Armed Forces, then as Chairman of GECOM, as head of Conservation International Guyana, CEO of GTT, Chairman of NAREI, Chairman of the GGMC, Chairman of the Protected Area Trust, and as a non-political Special Assistant to three Presidents, including you Sir, until after having been deemed by you to be not a Fit and Proper Person, as a principle, I chose to resign from all government appointments.

I record these things not to beat my own drum, but to emphasise that there are certain principles which must be held as sacred if we are to live our lives in unselfish service to our country and to our fellow citizens. You are at the crossroads, where you have to now choose between pampering to a Cabal who bode you no good and who certainly do not have the national interest nor your interest at heart. In their warped, self-centred way, they are manipulating the Constitution, the Supreme Law, and their allies in various national institutions and Services of this land, to serve their purposes.

It matters not to me which political party has the majority of votes and forms the government. What matters to me, and I am sure to all rightthinking Guyanese, as well as the regional and international community, is that the electoral process reflects the will of the people. A democratically-held elections, managed through processes that reflect transparency, integrity and adherence to the rule of law and to the Constitution.

Mr. President, I was puzzled by the fact that an election which, for all intents and purposes, went smoothly on March 2, has degenerated into a witches’ brew of mismanagement by GECOM, misinformation, threats, violence, excessive use of force, manipulation of officers and ranks, and propaganda spun by spin doctors weaving a web of deceit and in which you seem to be entrapped.

The assessments of accredited local, regional and international observers must have been known to you and yet you seemed to shelter under the false premise that because you allowed the GECOM to function without

interference, you were somehow absolved of complicity in the deteriorating governance of the electoral process which has made this country the laughing stock of the region, and which is rapidly degenerating into a pariah State in the assessment of those who, rightly or wrongly, are the determinants of what constitutes a failed State.

I was heartened Mr. President, when last Sunday, in this Season of Lent, and like Saul on the road to Damascus, you had an epiphany, perhaps finally awakening to the realisation, as your courageous son in law Dominic Gaskin did, that something was rotten in the governance of the electoral process and that you needed to act independently and decisively to salvage your legacy and redeem the pride lost.

This was acknowledged in the Statement made by the Chair of Caricom on Tuesday, 17 March 2020.

Hon. Mia Mottley stated that the fielding of the Caricom Team had been at your request on Saturday, 14 March 2020 and that “its mission was to supervise the recounting of the ballots in Region 4 of the General and Regional Elections of 2 March 2020 in Guyana”. She further stated: “Given that the tabulation process has been widely viewed as not being transparent or credible, President Granger and Mr Bharrat Jagdeo, Leader of the Opposition, agreed that the only possible solution was by way of a recount supervised by an independent team. This was seen as a significant contribution to bolstering the transparency and legitimacy of the electoral process”.

Not surprisingly, the Chair of Caricom on Tuesday conveyed to us this telling message: “It is clear that there are

forces that do not want to see the votes recounted for whatever reason”. And dramatically, she stated: “Any Government which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count process would lack legitimacy”.

Mr. President, this statement comes from your colleague the Hon Prime Minister of Barbados, and not from some foreign representative of a superpower, whom we seem fond of accusing of interference or of “talking down” to us.

In my book, the Chair of Caricom made serious allegations, and since you were the one to request the Caricom team to supervise the recounting of the ballots in Region #4 (subsequently extended to all the ten Districts), I believe we are owed an explanation from you Sir, as to what conspiracy is afoot that would sabotage your laudable initiative which was agreed to by the Leader of the Opposition, and made possible by the Chair of Caricom and her colleagues Heads of Governments, three of whom accompanied her to Guyana to send a strong message of support, care and concern for our country, a member of the Caricom family, and for the wellbeing of all Guyanese.

That such a commendable initiative should be stillborn as a result of an Injunction originating from your own party sends a worrying message that either you are being Machiavellian, or being manipulated, or you have simply lost control over the actions of members of your own inner circle.

Whatever may be the reason for this embarrassment to you, to us citizens, and to our country’s image, it is no trivial matter. If the minions who are behind this conspiracy are not identified and excised like

a cancerous tumour from the body politic, we will all suffer from the contamination, and the penalties we are likely to be faced with are an illegitimate government and being deemed a pariah State.

Mr. President, I have always held you in high esteem as a colleague and friend of nearly six decades. I have forgiven you for classifying me and other nominees for the Chairmanship of GECOM as Not Fit and Proper Persons, but I will not forgive you if you fail to do the honourable duty of calling off the Dogs of War, excise them condignly from wherever they are hatching their moves and counter moves. We, long-suffering Guyanese, fooled by mirages of a good life, are hurting, are embarrassed and are angry.

Let this poisoned chalice pass Mr. President. If you feel you are boxed in a corner and need reinforcements, then there are enough Guyanese of Goodwill and Decency who will rise to the occasion and ensure the recount is completed transparently and with alacrity.

Whichever political party is finally declared to have the majority of votes, must be acknowledged as legitimate and be allowed to form the government. Such government must be prepared to govern in the best interests of all Guyanese, and with such inclusivity and consen-

sus as will facilitate a sustained process of reforms that all have promised yet failed to deliver to successive generations.Mr. President, when the Chair of Caricom was about to depart Guyana, she had an engagement with the media in which she stated to all Guyanese that the stability of our country was in the hands of the Returning Officer of District 4. You know only too well what has transpired since that statement.

It is now your duty to exercise the leadership responsibilities vested in you, and to direct with GECOM, the peaceful and orderly completion of the electoral process by ensuring the mission is accomplished, that is, the agreed recount of all ballots cast in the Guyana 2020 General and Regional Elections, in an environment conducive to security, transparency, integrity and the credibility of the results.

If the mission succeeds, it will be a positive contribution to your legacy. I have high expectations that you will not fail us.

Thank you Mr President.

Yours sincerely Joseph G Singh Major General (retd)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

I had high hopes for a free, fair and A tiny minority have tried to subvert in all of the electoral districts. This the will of the people. That will not be credible elections…recount will be a complete waste of valuable time, since

DEAR EDITOR, I had high hopes for a free, fair and credible elections following a decision by CARICOM to supervise the recounting of the Region Four votes. Needless to state, my hopes are now dashed after the withdrawal of the Caricom team that was assembled to oversee the anticipated recount.

Guyana is now at the crossroads. It can move forward as a democratic state or be pushed in the backwater of pariah states, which from all indications will face severe international sanctions. This will be a recipe for disaster and economic retrogression.

I take this opportunity to call on all at the Guyana Elections Commission to let good sense prevail and allow for a recount of the Region Four ballots, which is mired in controversy. There is absolutely no need for a

it is highly unlikely that such an exercise would reveal any material deficiencies given the transparent manner of the count.

I believe there is still a window of opportunity to salvage the damage done to the electoral process by GECOM. The Region Four recount can re-commence under the watchful eyes of all stakeholders, which should include all the contesting political parties, accredited observer groups and other civil society groups, including representatives of the private sector, labour and religious organizations.

Too much is at stake. Guyana simply cannot move forward if the new government to be sworn in lacks legitimacy and credibility on the basis of a flawed electoral process.

As the saying goes, a word to the wise is enough.

Hydar Ally

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 DEAR EDITOR, Taking an impartial perspective, one can conclude that at the time of the decision to recount votes, all perspectives were not considered. If the underlying principle is of non-interference of the Executive branch in the Electoral Commission’s work, then an external supervisory role over the process is problematic if not allowable within the current law.

During the discussion of the recount and future discussions, the presence of the Attorney General and a representative from the Judiciary should be incorporated to ensure all decisions stand up to the scrutiny of the Constitution and supporting laws.

Maybe an inclusion of a

statement reaffirming that the electoral body and governing law will take precedence over any action to the contrary could have helped expedite the process, but we must be careful of the precedent we set.

However, we must keep in mind that this is not the first time in our history that a vote recount was to be performed.

It app e a r s t h a t b o t h sides’ enthusiasm to ensure a democratic process may have gotten the better of them, and it is unfortunate that our colleagues from CARICOM had to endure such a setback.

Going forward it would be not only in Guyana’s best interest, but also good diplomatic practice to ensure a cordial invitation is ex-

tended to CARICOM and all international observers once the rule of law is clearly being adhered to in the establishment of the recount process.

We are truly sorry to have wasted your precious time in this matter of utmost urgency and apologize for any inconvenience caused. As a young Republic we are still in the process of laying a strong democratic foundation upon which to build.

For the most part, Guyana continues to be a polite and hospitable nation of people who do not insult our visitors, nor do we take pleasure in mistreating a stranger, especially when they have offered to help.

All necessary steps should be taken to ensure that true Guyanese hospitality is in place, and that our Nation’s standing in the international community is not compromised during this delicate and emotionally charged period of our history.

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

tolerated

Dear Editor, On 2nd March the Guyanese people voted peacefully to choose which party would form the next government. The people expect the election result to be honoured, irrespective of whether ‘their’ party won.

That is democracy. A tiny minority have tried to subvert the will of the people. That will not be tolerated internationally or nationally. We have moved on.

The Commonwealth, OAS, EU, Caricom, USA, UK, Canada, etc. plus 100 global civil society organisations insist that the declared election results must reflect the will of the people i.e. the declaration must follow the actual votes recorded in the official Statements of Poll (SOPs) from valid ballots placed in official ballot boxes used in the polling stations in compliance with the law. The Guyanese people also demand electoral integrity – apart from that tiny minority.

Let us not be wilfully blind. APNU+AFC and the PPP/C have known for about 2 weeks who got more votes.

At each polling station the votes were counted in front of election officials, party candidates, polling agents, election agents etc. and recorded in the SOP. Each party gets an official copy of the SOP. It is a legal requirement to post the official SOP outside the polling station so everybody can see it. The objective is to prevent a return to the days when the votes announced for the PNC exceeded the votes cast for them or anybody else.

The statement by Ms. Mottley (Chair of Caricom and Prime Minister of Barbados)

that the tabulation process was “widely viewed as not being transparent or credible” is not helpful, unless she means the results in region 4.

Let us not forget that in regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 the electoral district results were declared without controversy. In region 4, 421 SOPs were verified and tabulated without controversy.

Since abruptly stopping the process in region 4, Mr. Mingo has twice declared numbers that have been rejected by all of the opposition parties and the entire international community.

The Commonwealth Observer Group’s statement on 18th March says that in some cases Mr. Mingo’s tabulated votes exceed the number of voters. The OAS withdrew its mission saying that the legitimacy of any government that is installed in these circumstances will be open to question. Ms. Mottley has warned against any swearing in on the basis of Mr. Mingo’s rejected numbers. We are hearing equally strong language across the rest of the international community. Mike Pompey (USA Secretary of State) has warned of ‘serious consequences’ for those who seek to benefit from electoral fraud.

So, if Mr. Granger is sworn in on the basis of results that include Mr. Mingo’s widely rejected figures, might the international community take action and impose sanctions on Mr. Granger and the APNU AFC? And what might that look like?

As we have seen in

neighbouring Venezuela, sanctions can include revoking visas and restricting assets and can extend to family members and associates, judges, army personnel and police as appropriate.

Mr. Granger has publicly claimed that he remains, “committed to the electoral process and to the declaration of results by the Elections Commission in accordance with the law.”

The Commonwealth Observer Group says that at no point did the leadership of the Guyana Electoral Commission halt or rectify Mr. Mingo’s blatant instances of disregard for the rule of law and electoral ethics…”

Mr. Granger can demonstrate what his commitment means by rejecting Mr Mingo’s figures and giving the people of Guyana a solemn undertaking that he will not be sworn in on the basis of any results that rely on Mr. Mingo’s rejected figures.

If Mr. Granger declines to reject Mr Mingo’s figures or to give that solemn undertaking, the people of Guyana and the rest of the world will draw their own conclusions as to what Mr Granger is really committed to.

Meanwhile there will be no compromise on our hard earned national consensus that the rule of law, the integrity of the electoral system and our right to live peacefully with one another, are the paramount issues and take priority over the ambitions of every political party in this country.

Melinda Janki

New cabinet DEAR EDITOR, The Laws of Guyana are clear that the President is the only member of the Executive who survives once an election is held. Yesterday (18th March) I read of Granger issuing blank checks to ‘Ministers’, and of Ministerial task forces. In light of this, I can only conclude that there has been a (secret?) swearing-in of a new Executive President of the Republic of Guyana and he has named a Cabinet.

Given the lack of transparency in the process, I assume we will learn the names of Ministers and their portfolios by way of actions.

I commend all members of the new executive for their courage to stand with David Granger against the world in the face of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent promise of personal sanctions against those who seek to benefit from Guyana’s electoral fraud.

Respectfully Robin Singh

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

Man charged for allegedly hijacking car that was found in Berbice

CARICOM can still supervise recount, if leaders put Guyana first - Sir Shridath Ramphal

S

Fewdyal showing the injuries he sustained during the robbery

M

alcolm Henry of South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was yesterday granted $200,000 bail after he denied the charges in which he and another man allegedly robbed and assaulted Rameshwar Fewdyal, 49, a taxi-driver of Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara (WBD) before hijacking his vehicle.

Henry's matter was called before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

H o w e v e r, w h e n c o u r t commenced yesterday morning, the police officer at the door noted that based on orders from the Magistrate, no one will be allowed to enter the courtroom.

This was a precaution that the Magistrate put in place to prevent a crowded courtroom in wake of calls for social distancing to help combat the novel

coronavirus. Guyana has recorded multiple cases of the disease. As such when the charges were read to Henry, the only persons who were present in courtroom were the Magistrate, prosecutors, police officers, prisoners and the clerk.

A c c o r d i n g t o information received, on January 25, 2020, about 05:40hrs Fewdyal was plying his trade in the vicinity of Stabroek Market when he was approached by Henry and another man who hired him to take them to South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown.

After the taxi-driver agreed, one of the men sat in the front seat while the other sat in the back seat behind Fewdyal.

About 15 minutes after the car reached the Shopping Plaza at Cane View, South Ruimveldt, the man that was sitting in the back seat whipped out a knife and choked Fewdyal while the

man that was in the front seat pulled out a gun and pointed it at Fewdyal's head.

The men then ordered him to get out, before driving off and making good their escape. The matter was reported and Fewdyal was taken to the hospital to receive medical attention.

About 07:00hrs Fewdyal's vehicle was found in Kingsley Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB).

An investigation was launched and the defendant was later arrested. He was then placed on an identification parade where he was positively identified by the victim as the person who had the gun.

Henry was subsequently charged for the offence and put before the court. The matter was adjourned to April 8, 2020, when Henry is expected to make his next court appearance. Police are said to be still trying to locate his alleged accomplice.

Thirst for power, no matter the cost, can cut Guyana off from the rest of the world - FITUG

T

he Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has stated that “thirst for power” by Guyana's political players without consequence may leave Guyana cut off from the rest of the world.

The major umbrella trade union organisation in a release yesterday opined that the political leaders of this nation have little to no respect for the citizenry of Guyana.

FITUG said that “the actions by these pseudoleaders, some who hold themselves out as being pious and upstanding, demonstrates, in our view, that they have really no respect or even the scantest concern about the Guyanese people.”

“Had they really cared about our peoples, they would have brought this charade to an end and allow the lawful, democratic process to unfold as has been the position of nearly all and sundry,” the statement continued.

According to FITUG, d e s p i te G u y a n a b e i n g repeatedly told that it risks being shunned from the International Community, those seeking power will continue to do so without fear.

“We are warned that we risk being ostracized from the rest of the world and yet it seems, without batting an eyelid, there are those who remain committed to their seeming plan of political power no matter the cost.”

For FITUG, “those who

PAGE 07

seek to undermine Guyana's democracy cannot really have any place in our lawabiding and peace-loving society and certainly will be condemned by current and future generations of Guyanese.”

The Union revealed that they are saddened by the fact that “those who claim to be champions of democracy and the rule of law have apparently lost their voices.”

However, FITUG stated that, “it is still not too late to retrieve our country and avoid the proverbial bricks that could tumble down.”

“We urge that good sense, decency and honesty prevail and those who are pushing us to a clearly undesirable state be reigned in without further delay.”

ir Shridath Ramphal has come forward urging that all leaders put Guyana first, and allow CARICOM to help Guyana produce credible election results.

In a statement, he said, “In the darkness of disagreement, CARICOM's helpful intervention in trying to resolve the general elections process at the request of both President Granger and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, was a ray of light.”

Ramphal said that all should have welcomed the recount, and that the role CARICOM attempted to play is wholly legitimate.

However, an injunction was filed for at the last moment on Tuesday last by a candidate on the list of the incumbent coalition, and was granted by Justice

Sir Shridath Ramphal F r a n k l y n H o l d e r. I t effectively blocked the recount.

Ramphal said that it is regrettable that CARICOM delegation, invited after the agreement between the leaders of the two major political parties, David Granger and Bharrat Jagdeo, was made, has had to withdraw from Guyana.

“Guyana is being

deprived of regional and international approval and the opportunity for global respect at a time when it matters most.”

This particular comment is already beginning to ring through, as the process has attracted condemnation from several of its diplomatic partners, such as Guyana and Norway, and the international observer groups the President had invited.

Ramphal said that CARICOM is committed to Guyana and that it can help Guyana to realise that narrow considerations to the contrary could mar Guyana's prospects and retard the strides that the people of Guyana have collectively made.

He further urged that peace and progress be pursued lawfully and transparently.

Kaieteur News

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Thursday March 19, 2020

IMF refuses to help Venezuela with US$5B loan to fight Coronavirus - Says it cannot engage countries with T

he refusal of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help Venezuela with a US$5B loan is showing just how important it is for a country's government to have the blessings of the international community.

Yesterday, the New York Times carried an article done by the Associated Press which said that Venezuela is in dire need of the loan to fight the coronavirus which threatens to push the Spanish speaking country's already battered economy over the edge.

But even in such unfortunate circumstances, an IMF spokesperson told the Associated Press that the request could not be considered since there was

govts. not recognized by int'l community

no clarity among its 189 member states on who it recognizes as Venezuela's rightful leader: Nicolás Maduro or Juan Guaidó, the U.S.-backed head of congress.

“Unfortunately, the Fund is not in a position to consider this request. As we have mentioned before, IMF engagement with member countries is predicated on official government recognition by the international community, as reflected in the IMF's membership,” the spokesperson said in a

statement while adding, 'There is no clarity on recognition at this time.”

The Associated Press went on to note that Maduro's appeal to an institution he has long vilified came as a shock to friends and foes alike since it is an about-face for Maduro, who for years, refused to share economic data with the Washington-based lender and just last month, condemned it as a tool of U.S. imperialism.

In the past, he has called the IMF a blood-sucking “assassin” responsible for

plunging millions of people into poverty across Latin America.

The news agency said it also lays bare, the precarious state of finances in socialistrun Venezuela as it struggles with collapsing oil production and the effect of U.S. sanctions.

W h i l e Ve n e z u e l a ' s exposure to the coronavirus has so far been limited — with just 33 cases confirmed — the Associated Press said that the potential economic damage from the disease has the entire country of around 30 million on edge.

But even before the virus' outbreak, the Associated Press noted that Venezuela's oil industry was on its knees.

In this regard, it noted that severe sanctions applied last year by the Trump administration nearly halved oil production and worsened a humanitarian crisis that has pushed nearly five million people to flee the country.

Compounding that is the fact that the country will have to contend with oil prices at a multi-year low amid a meltdown in oil markets that followed Saudi Arabia's decision to flood the market to retaliate against Russia's refusal to go along with a proposed OPEC production cut.

Making matters worse, most of the added supply from Saudi Arabia is of the same heavy crude variety that Venezuela produces, the Associated Press reported.

RAPID FINANCING INSTRUMENT The IMF had set up the rapid financing instrument in 2011 as a one-time, shortterm loan aimed at helping low-income countries absorb shocks like natural disasters. The amount a country can requested is restricted to 100% of the country's quota at the IMF—about $5 billion in Venezuela's case—and is supposed to be less comprehensive than traditional loans.

However, countries with debt levels the IMF deems unsustainable are barred from taking out loans. The Associated Press noted that such could be the case of Ve n e z u e l a , w h i c h h a s defaulted on more than $65 billion in bonds and owes billions more to Russia, China and dozens of foreign energy companies whose assets it expropriated over the past two decades.

The Associated Press also noted that Venezuela is believed to be the first country to try to tap the $50 billion in financing the IMF has available to help developing nations deal with the virus.

It said that the U.S., which is the biggest

Venezuela's President, Nicolás Maduro shareholder and has a veto over major decisions at the Washington-based lender, has balked at assisting a Maduro government it no longer recognizes and accuses of stealing billions from its own people.

SITUATION IN GUYANA The foregoing situation for Venezuela, where it was denied funding in a time of need due to non-recognition of its government by the international community, would spell as a warning for Guyana which is facing threats of sanctions.

O n T u e s d a y, U . S .

Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo issued some cautionary statements to Guyana as its leaders continue to struggle with concluding an electoral process that is transparent and credible.

Pompeo said that the individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate governments/regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States of America.

Further to this, the senior official said that the United States joins the Organisation of American States, (OAS) the Commonwealth, European Union, CARICOM and other democratic partners in calling for an accurate count of the votes for Guyana's March 2 General and Regional Elections.

It should be noted as well that the US has been issuing a number of statements since the March 2 elections (continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

PAGE 09

Cheaters never prosper, liars never win

T

he Chairman of the Caribbean Community, Mia Mottley, has indicated in a statement that there are 'forces' within Guyana that do not want a recount of the votes for whatever reason.

She said that the High Level team, which she had assembled was withdrawing.

This statement effectively signals the end of the Caricom's involvement to resolve the crisis, which had emerged following the controversial declaration of the results of District 4 of the General and Regional Elections. Guyana is now on its own.

The Caribbean Community is not going to be made a fool. The Community has not been deceived by the shenanigans employed by GECOM and by elements of the APNU+AFC. It has washed its hands of any further involvement in this matter.

The Caribbean Community did not leave the door open for any continued involvement in resolving the elections impasse.

Even though Mottley's statement ended on the note that the Community remains committed to Guyana, this is a mere diplomatic pleasantry.

A careful reading of the statement does not provide any hope that the Community will reengage in attempting to resolve the elections crisis.

It is now left to be seen how the Community will treat with an illegitimate President. The Community, like the other international

observers, is clear on one point; it says that any government, which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count process would lack legitimacy.

However, there is a world of difference between accepting that a government is illegitimate and taking action against that government within the rules of the Caribbean Community.

There is no democracy clause within the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that can be used to expel Guyana.

And the Community does not have such a tradition. It has never expelled or suspended any of its member states.

Eugenia Charles, the former Prime Minister of Dominica, was keen on kicking Guyana out of CARICOM after the rigged elections of 1985. It is not clear what mechanism she would have used to do so.

However, the other leaders persuaded her not to move in this direction.

The Community, as a grouping, has always been comfortable with seating dictators within its midst. It turned a blind eye of the excesses of Forbes Burnham and, in 1985 whitewashed the rigging of elections by Desmond Hoyte.

At a special summit at Mustique in 1986, the then Caricom leaders made a deal with Hoyte, which allowed for muted condemnation.

Twelve years ago, the former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sir James Mitchell,

explained the deal that was made with Hoyte. He said that the leaders urged Hoyte to agree to regional and international observers for future elections and to give the opposition some political space.

Given the strong sentiments, which have been expressed this time around by some regional leaders, including by the present Chairman, no similar deal with an illegitimate President seems likely.

But equally no decision is likely to be made to suspend Guyana from the organs of the Community.

The fact that the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community is located in Georgetown makes such a decision even more remote.

Yet, there remains a basis upon which the leaders of the Caribbean Community can denounce Guyana and prevent the representation of an illegitimate government within its organs.

The first article of the Charter of Civil Society of the Community reads: “The States shall ensure the existence of a fair and open democratic system through the holding of free elections at reasonable intervals, by secret ballot, underpinned by an electoral system in which all can have confidence and which will ensure the free expression of the will of the people in the choice of their representatives.�

This is the closest thing to a democratic clause in the Caribbean Community.

Guyana will escape sanctions from Caricom. But

the same cannot be said for the rest of the world.

Guyana is now likely to be expelled from the Organization of American S t a t e s a n d t h e Commonwealth.

The country faces imminent international isolation and the imposition of targeted sanctions against government officials and their families.

The oil revenues, which everyone is looking forward to, will not end up in the hands of an illegitimate government. Already, the

decline in oil prices caused by the coronavirus has wiped out an estimated one third of the anticipated revenues for this year.

Just prior to the decision of the Caricom High-Level team to withdraw, the US Secretary of State, considered the second most powerful person in the world, made it clear that those who benefit from fraudulent elections will face serious consequences. If the APNU+AFC cannot dissect this diplomatic language, then someone had better do it

for them.

(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 19, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Can the PNC survive the future?

I

have not mentioned the AFC and APNU in the above caption. The crisis will come to an artificial end soon, and in the aftermath of brokered negotiations, the settlement will see a natural death of those small parties that make up APNU and the AFC. But the very viability of the PNC will be in

question as we head down to the next general election, which be held long before 2025.

I envisage a swearing-in of Mr. Granger, whether Justice Holder upholds or discharges his injunctions. I cannot see that strong-headed faction inside the PNC returning to any further tabulation or

recounting process. The key to the Granger presidency surviving for the next two years will depend on the concessions the PNC leadership offers the powerful governments that it must enter negotiations with.

It is clear to my mind that the PPP will not use prolonged (note the word, “prolonged”)

street protest in strategic areas of the country to press for a fall of the Granger presidency, because they now that it may complicate negotiations, and PPP demonstrations will be used by the PNC leadership to refuse to come to the table.

The PPP knows that a long term solution to Guyana's protracted politic troubles will favour them, given what took place the first two weeks in March this year.

It is clear that the powerful nations that will bring the PPP and PNC to the table will not return to the system of winnertake-all governance as we knew it since Independence.

They will demand c o n s t i t u t i o n a l rearrangements.

I have written about the future shape of Guyana's formal politics a few days ago Monday, March 9, 2020 with the title, “Granger's second term: Citing Machiavelli,” and Sunday, March 15, 2020, “How does Granger hope to rule?”

This essay is not really an expansion of these two pieces, but concentrates on the future of the PNC after we have a political settlement in the coming months.

I want to be assertive and say there will be a political solution, because the foreign countries that will feature in the negotiations, which no doubt will have a CARICOM presence (the ABC/EU will request and get a CARICOM presence), will be kind and courteous to

and understanding with the Granger presidency, but will insist on fundamental changes to the way the system has operated so far.

They will not compromise on far-reaching changes.

I am willing to bet that the PNC party will not enter talks as a recalcitrant, and will know that the world expects concessions from it. Maybe as a public relation stunt, the PNC will have at least one leader from the AFC, apart from Raphael Trotman. I am not willing to guess if it will be Ramjattan.

The reason for this is because on Tuesday night of March 3, the PNC leaders, all of them, would have seen from their statements of poll, how badly the AFC Indian leaders have done in 2020 (declining from high intakes in areas in 2006 and 2011 where they got the ballots of disaffected Indian voters who ebbed away in 2015). The PNC leaders, I would argue, no longer see a promising election win in the future with a coalition with the AFC. I repeat what I wrote in one of those two columns referred to above. Guyana will still have elections after a deal between the PPP, PNC and international actors is brokered in the coming months. There will be no winner-take-all existence, but votes received will be taken into consideration when the new arrangement is set in motion after the election results.

The point of my analysis

Frederick Kissoon here is: could the PNC survive as a major party after constitutional changes? My own feeling is that it is not an easy task to say yes.

Whatever happened the past two weeks has seriously dented people's appreciation, admiration and love for the PNC. I cannot envisage the survival of the Granger presidency until 2025. One thing is certain, the PPP and other stakeholders will not accept it in any negotiations. I want to believe the PNC knows this, and will not be obdurate on the issue.

How will its constituencies vote in the next elections?

There will always be a large hardcore component that will give the PNC 8 to 10 seats.

Remember it lost 5 seats in Georgetown to the AFC in the 2006 general elections.

I see serious rejection of the PNC by Amerindian, mixed race and youth voters when this crisis is settled.

Maybe other parties may come up and steal substantial votes from the PNC. Really, can or will the PNC survive the events of March 2020?

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

Presidential orders give sweeping...

From page 3 visitation and inspection; facilitate the provision of medical aid and accommodation and promote cleanliness, ventilation and disinfection and “prevent the spread of the disease on the seas, rivers, waters of Guyana, and on the high seas within 12 miles from baseline and as well as on land”.

The order signed by the President also makes provision for the Health Minister to take measures to “diagnose, prevent or check the disease, including the prohibition or restriction of movement of persons and public and private conveyances of any kind whatsoever within and to and from an infected area and take any measures considered necessary.”

The Minister may also call upon the police force and other

law enforcement agencies to provide assistance with enforcement when necessary.

The document also makes provisions for the Finance, Education and Citizenship Ministers to take “all measures to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19” in Guyana.

Also, provision has been made for the Minister of Education to take all measures to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in all educational institutions in Guyana and the Minister of Citizenship has the latitude to take measures to control and prevent the spread of the disease in accordance with the immigration laws.

Clearly stated too is the fact that the Minister of Finance shall expend from the consolidated fund such sums of money as may be necessary for the effectual

carrying out of any and all the measures outlined.

It states too that, “all government agencies and local government authorities are urged to render assistance and cooperation to undertake critical, urgent, and appropriate response and measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the COVID-19 threat.”

In addition, it encouraged all citizens, residents, tourists, and members of the private sector to “act in accordance with the law and to comply with any lawful directives and advisories issued by appropriate government agencies to prevent further transmission of the COVID-19 and ensure the safety and well-being of all “ “This Direction shall remain in force and effect until withdrawn by the President,” the document advised.

Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Thursday March 19, 2020

COVID-19 is not the end of the world - Medical Practitioner J

ust over a week ago, the local Ministry of Public Health recorded its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus which the World Health Organisation [WHO] in February classified as a disease called COVID-19.

The first local case, also referred to as 'Patient Zero' or the 'Index Case', was a woman in her 50s with underlying conditions who travelled from the United States days before she started manifesting symptoms of the virus here.

The woman passed away at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] reportedly after seeking medical attention at two other facilities.

A few days later, three more cases were confirmed, all relatives of Patient Zero -

- says limiting interactions is key combative measure her husband, son and another relative. Yesterday another family was positively diagnosed bringing the total number of confirmed cases to five.

When the three cases, following 'Patient Zero', were diagnosed, there was much concern surrounding reports that they were not a d h e r i n g t o recommendations from the Health Ministry to selfquarantine. The concerns were linked to the fact that the disease has proven to be very contagious, and this was known since it surfaced in Wuhan, China towards the end of last year.

T he disease, which

according to reports has since spread to more than 100 countries, has thus far infected and killed upwards of 200,000 and 8,000 people, respectively.

The local Health Ministry has been trying to track persons, in the hundreds, who may have been in contact with persons who tested positive for the disease. Additionally, 41 health workers from the GPHC alone, who attended to 'Patient Zero', in addition to a few others from a private hospital, have reportedly been quarantined.

Given the reach of the virus, Dr. Pheona MohamedRambarran, the head of

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Boyle

Public Health Consultant, Mr. Collin Haynes

Dr. Pheona Mohamed-Rambarran

laboratory services at the GPHC, said that it was inevitable that the virus reached Guyana. Speaking on Kaieteur Radio's [99.1 & 99.5 FM] Your Health Matters, on Monday, the medical practitioner, who also sits on a COVID-19 response Committee, said, “We must appreciate that our world is becoming more and more smaller because there is global travel and I believe because of the amount of travelling... it was inevitable...the disease basically moved from China to the Americas and now with our link to the Americas, I believe that is how it came.”

Considering that the virus has also reached the Caribbean and even neighbouring countries – Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil, Dr. MohamedRambarran reiterated “it was inevitable because these are all countries that we interact with through travel.”

While some countries were swift to implement safeguards, in recent days Guyana decided to follow suit, which has included the closure of the two international airports – Cheddi Jagan International at Timehri, East Bank

Demerara, and the Eugene F. Correira at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.

In addition to setting up mandatory quarantine facilities, a presidential order has also been gazetted to aid measures to contain the virus as far as possible.

B u t D r. M o h a m e d assured, “We in the health care [system] are putting specific measures in place to prevent the widespread of the disease but as you are aware, it is a virus and even if persons become infected, it is not the end of the world.”

Continuing, she added, “we can try to contain it, but it will still be here and the fact that you tend to restrict interactions that will limit the number of persons who get.”

With the advent of the disease, the term social distancing has been coined and, according to Dr. Mohamed-Rambarran, this simply means, “we do not socially gather. This means restriction on your church activities and your parties, the mall, going to the movies, to the market...”

M eanwhile, Public Health Consultant, Mr. Collin Haynes, in commenting on the exposure of frontline health worker,

said, “At the moment, containment is key...if these staffers show no signs of the virus [such as] coughing, chills, headaches or tiredness, etc., they should be held in quarantine, monitored and tested until such signs have developed.”

Haynes has also commended the Ministry for moving to track probable cases adding, “We can focus on a national response plan that calls for containment centres in hospitals, screening those who have made contact with those infected and continued effective screening.”

Turning his attention to the country's test ability, Haynes said, “We may not have the capacity at the moment to test everyone who came in contact because these tests may be in short supply.”

But according to Deputy Chief Medical Officer [DCMO], Dr. Karen Boyle this shouldn't be a bother.

Also speaking on Kaieteur Radio, the DCMO said that while the country has been faced with a limited number of testing kits in recent weeks, this is likely to be shortly addressed with an expected shipment.

C u r r e n t l y, p e r s o n s suspected to have the virus are diagnosed following preliminary tests at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory and these are then confirmed by a partner laboratory such as the Trinidad and Tobago headquartered Caribbean Public Health Agency [CARPHA].

Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Thursday March 19, 2020

GTT extends bill payment Former army chief, Joe Singh, to Granger… period; increases Call off the 'Dogs of War' payment points E - promises to promote social distancing

T

o keep its customers electronically connected and to promote social distancing, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) has extended its bill payment period, beginning April 17, 2020, to the 17th of each following month and has swiftly moved to secure new and additional points of payment for ease of access.

“We will be actively recruiting more MMG agents to add to the over 230 we already have and encourage more customers to use our MMG platform to pay not only their GTT bills but all other utility bills from their homes,” explained Justin Nedd the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

MMG, or Mobile Money Guyana, is Guyana's first and only mobile financial services provider enabling an electronic wallet for easy, convenient bill pay from anywhere with the MMG app, registration can be done by using this link

https://mmg.gtt.co.gy/regist er/.

“We appreciate your need, more than ever, to remain connected – as such, starting next month customers have until the 17th of the month to ensure bill payments,” Nedd shared.

GTT retail outlets will remain open to the public.

However, to ensure the safety of its customers and employees, the company has informed it will operate during the reduced hours of 8am to 1pm on weekdays.

However, GTT tech support would be available via phone and LiveChat to the extended time of 11pm daily.

“These measures are supportive of the national and global aim to protect our customers and staff by facilitating social distancing as much as possible,” Nedd said.

GTT has increased the cleaning routines in all stores, including disinfecting all high touch surfaces numerous times per day, utilising safe and effective cleaners. The company has

GTT CEO, Mr. Justin Nedd also encouraged all staff, especially its frontline team members, to use protective gear where physical contact with customers is necessary – and has provided same.

The company's Field Technicians, the company revealed, will continue their installation and repairs across the nation and will seek to enforce social distancing while maintaining service levels.

The CEO further highlighted that the company will continue in its efforts in sensitising its people and the public on the Coronavirus and its effects.

“We are there for you when it comes to Cancer; we will do what we can as we collectively combat COVID19 - with education, safety measures and sensitivity,” he said.

IMF refuses to help Venezuela with...

From page 8 regarding matters of transparency and credibility.

Last Friday, US Assistant Secretary, Michael Kozak hinted that Guyana is likely to face sanctions for the conduct of the elections 2020.

“Under U.S. law and practice, those who participate and benefit from electoral fraud, undermine democratic institutions and

impede a peaceful transition of power can be subject to a variety of consequences,” Kozak said in a Twitter post.

The official also made it clear that the US will not treat an illegal government as normal. His specific statement in this regard was, “De facto regimes do not receive the same treatment from us as democratically elected governments”.

lections 2020 is continuing to bring out harsh words from the divide with former army chief, Major General (Ret'd), Joseph Singh, yesterday urging incumbent president, David Granger, to call off the 'Dogs of War'.

In an open letter, Singh, also a former chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), acknowledged that he is placing his neck on the line.

Singh believes that Granger appears to be manipulated by persons who do not have the best interests of Guyana at heart and who are prepared to hold him hostage to achieve their own personal and collective goals.

Singh's comments would come after a CARICOM-led team that came here to supervise recounting of ballots, was forced to leave in the latest twist of events…the granting of several injunctions.

Singh said a few persons are unbothered by the “catastrophic impact their actions to date are having on national morale, on the fears and anxieties of all Guyanese, whether or not they are supporters of your political party.

A former presidential advisor to Granger who quit after being deemed not 'fit and proper' to become Chairman of GECOM, Singh told Granger that as the incumbent, he is at the crossroads “where you have to now choose between pampering to a cabal who bode you no good and who certainly do not have the national interest nor your interest at heart. In their warped, self-centred way, they are manipulating the Constitution, the Supreme Law and their allies in various national institutions and Services of this land, to serve their purposes.”

The former GECOM chair was puzzled by the fact that an election which, for all intents and purposes, went smoothly on March 2, has degenerated into a “witches' brew of mismanagement by GECOM, misinformation, threats, violence, excessive use of force, manipulation of officers and ranks, and propaganda spun by spin doctors weaving a web of deceit and in which you seem to be entrapped.”

Laughing Stock Singh pointed out that Granger must surely be aware that the assessments

President David Granger

Former army chief, Major-General Joseph Singh

of accredited local, regional and international observers but yet would want to shelter under the false premise- that because GECOM was allowed to function without interference, he is somehow absolved of complicity in the deteriorating governance of the electoral process.

In fact, the former presidential advisor said, the situation has made this country the laughing stock of the region, and it is rapidly degenerating into a pariah state in the assessment of those who, rightly or wrongly, are the determinants of what constitutes a failed state.

“I was heartened, Mr. President, when last Sunday in this season of Lent, and like Saul on the road to Damascus, you had an epiphany, perhaps finally awakening to the realisation, as your courageous son-inlaw Dominic Gaskin did, that something was rotten in the governance of the electoral process and that you needed to act independently and decisively to salvage your legacy and redeem the pride lost. This was acknowledged in the Statement made by the Chair of Caricom on Tuesday, 17 March 2020.”

According to Singh, Granger agreed to a CARICOM mission to supervise the recounting of the ballots in Region 4 of the General and Regional Elections.

However, the high-level CARICOM team was unable to do work because of several interim injunctions granted Tuesday.

The former army chief noted that it was Mia Mottley, the Chair of CARICOM who in a sharp statement said that it is clear that there are forces that do not want to see the votes recounted for whatever reason.

M o t t l e y, i n t h a t

statement, also stressed that any government which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count process would lack legitimacy.

“Mr. President, this statement comes from your colleague, the Hon Prime Minister of Barbados and not from some foreign representative of a superpower, whom we seem fond of accusing of interference or of talking d o w n t o u s . ” According to Singh, he is convinced that Mottley has made serious allegations. “…and since you were the one to request the CARICOM team to supervise the recounting of the ballots in Region 4 (subsequently extended to all the 10 districts), I believe we are owed an explanation from you, Sir, as to what conspiracy is afoot that would sabotage your laudable initiative which was agreed to by the Leader of the Opposition, and made possible by the Chair of CARICOM and her colleague Heads of Governments.

Singh was critical that such a commendable initiative should be stillborn as a result of an injunction originating from Granger's own party.

Manipulation?

In fact, it would send a worrying message that “either you are being Machiavellian, or being manipulated, or you have simply lost control over the actions of members of your own inner circle. Whatever may be the reason for this embarrassment to you, to us citizens, and to our country's image, it is no trivial matter.

If the minions who are behind this conspiracy are not identified and excised like a cancerous tumour from the body politic, we will all suffer from the contamination and the (continued on page 17)

Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

PAGE 16

Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS? What is the coronavirus?

A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body’s normal functions.

Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word ‘corona’, which means crown, because they are encased by a spiked shell which resembles a royal crown.

The coronavirus from Wuhan is one which has never been seen before this outbreak. It has been named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

The name stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2.

Experts say the bug, which has killed around one in 50 patients since the outbreak began in December, is a ‘sister’ of the SARS illness which hit China in 2002, so has been named after it.

The disease that the virus causes has been named COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019.

Dr Helena Maier, from the Pirbright Institute, said:

‘Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that infect a wide range of different species including humans, cattle, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and wild animals.

‘Until this new coronavirus was identified, there were only six different coronaviruses known to infect humans. Four of these cause a mild common coldtype illness, but since 2002 there has been the emergence of two new coronaviruses that can infect humans and result in more severe disease (Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses).

‘Coronaviruses are known to be able to occasionally jump from one species to another and that is what happened in the case of SARS, MERS and the new coronavirus.

The animal origin of the new coronavirus is not yet known.’

The first human cases were publicly reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where approximately 11 million people live, after medics first started publicly reporting

infections on December 31.

By January 8, 59 suspected cases had been reported and seven people were in critical condition.

Tests were developed for the new virus and recorded cases started to surge.

The first person died that week and, by January 16, two were dead and 41 cases were confirmed. The next day, scientists predicted that 1,700 people had become infected, possibly up to 7,000.

Where does the virus come from?

According to scientists, the virus almost certainly came from bats.

Coronaviruses in general tend to originate in animals – the similar SARS and MERS viruses are believed to have originated in civet cats and camels, respectively.

The first cases of COVID19 came from people visiting or working in a live animal market in Wuhan, which has since been closed down for investigation.

Although the market is officially a seafood market, other dead and living animals were being sold there, including wolf cubs, salamanders,

Security ramped up at Canadian, US& British Embassies over protest threats

Police stationed at the British and Canadian High Commissions

S

ixteen days after the March 2, 2020 Gen eral and Regional Elections has seen three key Diplomatic Missions namely, the Canadian, British and American Embassies, increasing security around their parameters over reported threats of massive protest actions.

When Kaieteur News visited the British High Commission on Main Street, Georgetown, yesterday the

entire block was cordoned off with heavy police presence.

At the Canadian High Commissio n a n d t h e United States Embassy both located on High and Yo u n g S t r e e t s i n t h e capital city, the situation w a s i d e n t i c a l w i th the area cordoned off and police ranks positioned in front and along barricades.

When contacted, Acting Regional Commander, Senior

Superintendent Phillip Azore, stated that the ramp up in security was merely a precautionary measure after reports surfaced on social media of plans for massive protest actions at these specific missions.

Kaieteur News understands that the threats of protest came after Diplomats, especially from Canada and the US, spoke out against the current political situation in Guyana.

snakes, peacocks, porcupines and camel meat.

A study by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, published in February 2020 in the scientific journal Nature, found that the genetic makeup virus samples found in patients in China is 96 per cent identical to a coronavirus they found in bats.

However, there were not many bats at the market so scientists say it was likely there was an animal which acted as a middle-man, contracting it from a bat before then transmitting it to a human. It has not yet been confirmed what type of animal this was.

Dr Michael Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London, was not involved with the research but said: ‘The discovery definitely places the origin of nCoV in bats in China. We still do not know whether another species served as an intermediate host to amplify the virus, and possibly even to bring it to the market, nor what species that host might have been.’

So far the fatalities are quite low. Why are health experts so worried about it?

Experts say the international community is concerned about the virus because so little is known about it and it appears to be spreading quickly.

It is similar to SARS, which infected 8,000 people and killed nearly 800 in an outbreak in Asia in 2003, in that it is a type of coronavirus which infects humans’ lungs.

It is less deadly than SARS, however, which killed around one in 10 people, compared to approximately one in 50 for COVID-19.

Another reason for concern is that nobody has any immunity to the virus because they’ve never encountered it before. This means it may be able to cause more damage than viruses we come across often, like the flu or common cold.

Speaking at a briefing in January, Oxford University professor, Dr Peter Horby, said: ‘Novel viruses can spread much faster through the population than viruses which circulate all the time because we have no immunity to them.

‘Most seasonal flu viruses have a case fatality rate of less than one in 1,000 people. Here we’re talking about a virus where we don’t understand fully the severity spectrum but it’s possible the case fatality rate could be as high as two per cent.’

If the death rate is truly two per cent, that means two out of every 100 patients who get it will die.

‘My feeling is it’s lower,’ Dr Horby added. ‘We’re probably missing this iceberg of milder cases. But that’s the current circumstance we’re in.

‘Two per cent case fatality rate is comparable to the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 so it is a significant concern globally.’

How does the virus spread?

The illness can spread between people just through coughs and sneezes, making it an extremely contagious infection. And it may also spread even before someone has symptoms.

It is believed to travel in the saliva and even through water in the eyes, therefore close contact, kissing, and sharing cutlery or utensils are all risky.

It can also live on surfaces, such as plastic and steel, for up to 72 hours, meaning people can catch it by touching contaminated surfaces.

Originally, people were thought to be catching it from a live animal market in Wuhan city. But cases soon began to emerge in people who had never been there, which forced medics to realise it was spreading from person to person.

What does the virus do to you? What are the symptoms?

Once someone has caught the COVID-19 virus it may take between two and 14 days, or even longer, for them to show any symptoms – but they may still be contagious during this time.

If and when they do become ill, typical signs include a runny nose, a cough, sore throat and a fever (high temperature). The vast majority of patients will recover from these without any issues, and many will need no medical help at all.

In a small group of patients, who seem mainly to be

Jamaica records first COVID-19 death

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaica has recorded its first COVID-19 death, the Ministry of Health announced yesterday afternoon.

The 79-year-old man from Clarendon died at the isolation facility at the Mandeville Regional Hospital yesterday after his condition started to deteriorate.

He was being prepared to be transferred to the University Hospital of the West Indies when he died.

The man was a diabetic who had resided in the United States.Two more positive cases have also been confirmed, bringing the country’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases to 15.

the elderly or those with longterm illnesses, it can lead to pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection in which the insides of the lungs swell up and fill with fluid.

It makes it increasingly difficult to breathe and, if left untreated, can be fatal and suffocate people.

Figures are showing that young children do not seem to be particularly badly affected by the virus, which they say is peculiar considering their susceptibility to flu, but it is not clear why.

Can the virus be cured?

The COVID-19 virus cannot be cured and it is proving difficult to contain.

Antibiotics do not work against viruses, so they are out of the question. Antiviral drugs can work, but the process of understanding a virus then developing and producing drugs to treat it would take years and huge amounts of money.

No vaccine exists for the coronavirus yet and it’s not likely one will be developed in time to be of any use in this outbreak, for similar reasons to the above.

The National Institutes of Health in the US, and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, say they are working on a vaccine based on what they know about coronaviruses in general, using information from the SARS outbreak. But this may take a year or more to develop, according to Pharmaceutical Technology.

Currently, governments and health authorities are working to contain the virus and to care for patients who are sick and stop them infecting other people.

People who catch the illness are being quarantined in hospitals, where their symptoms can be treated and they will be away from the uninfected public.

And airports around the world are putting in place screening measures such as having doctors on-site, taking people’s temperatures to check for fevers and using thermal screening to spot those who might be ill (infection causes a raised temperature).

However, it can take weeks for symptoms to appear, so there is only a small likelihood that patients will be spotted up in an airport.

Is this outbreak an epidemic or a pandemic?

The outbreak was declared a pandemic on March 11. A pandemic is defined by the World Health Organization as the ‘worldwide spread of a new disease’.

Previously, the UN agency said most cases outside of Hubei had been ‘spillover’ from the epicentre, so the disease wasn’t actually spreading actively around the world. [Source: www.dailymail.co.uk]

Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

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PAGE 17

Cops seek further advice on death of pensioner struck down on pedestrian crossing

Although the Director of Public Prosecutions has already recommended he be charged, police will be seeking further legal advice before taking a Chinese national to court over the death of 81-year-old Parvidi Ramcharran over two months ago.

The DPP last week recommended that Ying Guomin be charged with causing death by dangerous driving, in relation to the demise of Mrs. Ramcharran, who was struck down on a pedestrian crossing.

But Traffic Chief Linden Isles said yesterday that police are seeking further legal advice on a few issues.

Police had initially sent the report to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about three weeks ago.

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 Ramcharran, of Albion Front, Corentyne, was struck down on January 7, 2020, by Ying Guomin, who was driving a car bearing licence plate number PPP 1008.

The accident occurred while Mrs. Ramcharran, who had just uplifted her pen-

Pravidi ‘Marina’ Ramcharran sion, 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.

IDB supports modernization of Barbados’ regulatory framework WASHINGTON - CMC – The Inter-America Development Bank (IDB) yesterday said it is helping Barbados modernize its regulatory framework and strengthen its public policies oriented towards sustainable development and climate resilience with the support of an US$80 million loan.

The IDB said that the programme, the first in a series of policy-based loans, provides budget support tied to the strengthening and consolidation of public policies focused on improving territorial planning efficiency and sustainability.

Its comprehensive ap-

proach includes modernizing policies for managing water resources, natural assets, and disaster risk and resilience.

“The country’s legislation governing physical planning and development is being modernized.

In particular, it will focus on the modernization of integrated coastal zone management policies, and include the recent update of Barbados’ returnable containers legislation to promote recycling of a broader set of packaging materials and to reduce pollution of land and coastal resources,” the IDB said.

It said the project will sup-

port reforms needed to strengthen disaster risk resilience and management.

Among other activities, the operation will help adopt a cross-cutting and multiyear approach at each phase of the disaster risk management cycle and will mainstream the use of the newly developed National Coastal Risk Information and Planning Platform (NCRIPP).

All these steps are in line with the government’s new Roofs to Reefs Programme.

The IDB’s US$80 million loan is for a 20-year term, with a five and a half year grace period and a LIBOR-based interest rate.

CALL OFF THE 'DOGS OF WAR' classifying me and other nominees for the Chairmanship of GECOM as 'Not Fit and Proper Persons' but I will not forgive you if you fail to do the honourable duty of calling off the Dogs of War, excise them condignly from wherever they are hatching their moves and counter moves. We, long suffering Guyanese, fooled by mirages of a good life, are hurting, are embarrassed and are angry. Let this poisoned chalice pass, Mr. President.”

The retired army chief offered to help.

“If you feel you are boxed in a corner and need reinforcements, then there are enough Guyanese of goodwill and decency who will rise to the VACANCY occasion and ensure the reMaid to cook and clean for count is completed transparEast Bank area call 615-9132. ently and with alacrity.”

He said that whichever One Male Janitor. Apply in party is acknowledged as lePerson to Alabama Trading 65 gitimate, must be allowed to Robb Street Bourda. form the government.

From page 14 penalties we are likely to be faced with are an illegitimate government and being deemed a pariah state.”

Singh told Granger, himself a former army chief, that he has always held him in high esteem as a colleague and friend of nearly six decades.

“I have forgiven you for

“Such government must be prepared to govern in the best interests of all Guyanese and with such inclusivity and consensus as will facilitate a sustained process of reforms that all have promised yet failed to deliver to successive generations.”

Singh reminded Granger, that it is now his duty to exercise leadership responsibilities and to direct with GECOM, the peaceful and orderly completion of the electoral process by ensuring the mission is accomplished- that is, the agreed recount of all ballots cast in the Guyana 2020 General and Regional Elections, in an environment conducive to security, transparency, integrity and the credibility of the results.

“If the mission succeeds, it will be a positive contribution to your legacy. I have high expectations that you will not fail us,” he added.

PAGE 18

Kaieteur News

State $$ for economic victims of pandemic Trinidad Express - New measures to help society’s most vulnerable have been implemented in the wake of COVID-19.

Speaking at a post cabinet media briefing yesterday afternoon, Minister of Social Development and Family Services, Camille Robinson Regis announced several measures to aid those considered vulnerable to the virus’ secondary effects.

The minister indicated that these changes were meant to help those affected by a temporary reduction in income or face unemployment due to virus containment efforts such as the recently announced closure of bars.

Food card recipients are to receive additional funds for a period of three months in conjunction with the size of their households.

Those who reside in a household of three persons

will receive $150 in addition to their existing food grants. In households of four to five persons will receive $300 in additional funds and those in households containing six persons or more will receive $600.Persons who are recipients of the public assistance and disability grants will also receive and added $150 to the monthly grants for a period of three months. Households that receive disability grants for two persons will receive $300 extra. $450 will be given to households receiving this grant with 3 affected persons.

Those who receive grants for more than four persons will receive $500 extra.

Children affected by the lapse in the school feeding program due to the prolonged closure of schools will be added to the list of food card recipients in the country. The measure was described by Regis as a means of ensuring the good health of the nation’s children “To ensure that the nutri-

tional needs of those children are maintained as these children will not be at school and we must ensure that our children are well taken care of.”

She said Robinson Regis added that retrenched workers will be eligible to receive income support for three months under the public assistance grants.

In cases where the main income earner of a family is unemployed or suffers a reduction in salary, those under 18 in the household will be considered necessitous allowing for the grant to be extended.

She also said that the development of policy to provide rental assistance to families in need was being done by the ministry. She said that subsistence grants would be issued to local NGO’s who deal with the socially displaced in light of the virus.

The cost of these measures was not yet quantified according to Finance Minister Colm Imbert but estimated to be less that $100,000,000.

CHINA SENDS TT TEST KITS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES

NEWSDAY - The government of China is expected to send 4,000 covid19 diagnostic test kits, among other medical supplies, to Trinidad and Tobago.

The Prime Minister announced this yesterday as he spoke to the media after a special Cabinet meeting.

Dr Rowley read parts of a letter he received which thanked this country for its assistance during the early days of China’s response to the covid19 pandemic. TT had sent over 13,000 masks.

Rowley read that China was ready to reciprocate by sending 15 sets of body-temperature measurement systems for airports, seaports and other appropriate venues.

He said China had also committed to send protective gear, including masks, as well as to facilitate information-sharing, medical expertise and video conferences with medical experts in China.

“We have our friends outside, and everybody out there should be able to count on everybody else,” Rowley said.

Thursday March 19, 2020

Guyana’s judicial system provides legal pathway to resolution of election stating that in the execution could have prevented this concerns of the electoral process she current situation when he DEAR EDITOR, The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) applauds the efforts of the CARICOM delegation to assist Guyana during this process, notwithstanding the legal electoral challenges resulting in the CARICOM delegation leaving Guyana having not been able to conclude its mission.

CARICOM Chairperson and Prime Minister of Barbados Hon. Mia Mottley, as a member of the legal fraternity, and other CARICOM leaders we are confident would appreciate the legal process being upheld. This is indicative in their expression of continued commitment to Guyana, and we encourage that they continue to keep an eye on our legal progress.

In the process of this legal pursuit which every party is entitled to as a means of adjudicating their grievances, GTUC asks this nation and our political leaders to lend full support to our judiciary in its deliberations. The judiciary of Guyana has distinguished itself as a credible source of power in this country, well respected in the Caribbean jurisdiction and further afield. Our legal minds, across the spectrum, have more than demonstrated capacity at all times to navigate this process or legal resolution.

This new challenge to the recounting of votes is the first of three legal challenges not filed by the opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C). Altogether these added to other delays, making this the longest election process in the history of Guyana.

This is not for us to be proud of, but neither is it a shame. What it demonstrates is a commitment by both parties to operate in a lawful manner, since both parties are entitled to their respective cases being heard in a court of law. That of itself is a win for democracy, and we must all be proud, even as we anxiously await the end.

When law and order trump individual, partisan and lobbying interest, Guyana wins.GTUC calls on all parties concerned to: · Respect the right of both parties to exercise all legal means such as injunctions filed on their behalf since this will allow a Court to give guidance and pass judgment at any stage of the process where there is dispute. ·Recognise GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh S.C is on record repeatedly

will be guided by the Constitution and Laws of Guyana and Judicature.

- GECOM on 17th March in an effort to facilitate a recount in a duly constituted and legal manner sought the advice on the “legal ramifications” to recount the votes from Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Charles-Fung-A-Fatt S.C (Guyana Chronicle, 18th March, 2020 ‘Chief Parliamentary counsel advises GECOM against gazzetting order for recount’) - Such advice was necessary because according to GECOM’s press release (17th March, 2020) the body thought “it is necessary for all the legal issues to be properly addressed including the gazzetting of the process as requested by the high level Caricom delegation” to give effect to the Aide Memoire signed by Messrs. Granger and Jagdeo in the presence of CARICOM SecretaryGeneral, H.E Irwin LaRocque to pave the way for the recount.PPP/C representative Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall’s contribution to the decision for gazzetting arguing against GECOM seeking same, pushing instead for them to go ahead with the count. As per Nandlall, “If you also look at Section 22 of the Elections Laws (Amendment) Act you will see that GECOM has a wide array of powers even to make orders, even to override legislation.” His position runs contrary to the respected legal advice provided by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Charles-Fung-AFatt-S.C, advised accordingly: - The “provision that the Order is seeking to make has the effect of amending Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act and would there be ex post facto. And that “passing the order would be making a retrospective law and that would affect the vested rights of a person under the Representation of the People Act,” - ”An Order cannot be made under this provision because any instructions or action that the commission takes must be in compliance with the Act. This provision empowers the commission to act administratively through an interpretation of the law as it now stands and does not empower the commission in a law-making capacity to modify the law” The nation is reminded CEO Keith Lowenfield sought to implement an administrative solution that

suggested the parties bring their Statements of Poll and do the verification, and “If, at the end of the day, that doesn’t work, the CEO will be involved with his statement to have a resolution to the issue.” This appeared not to have been pursued.

The situation, as it currently exists, is one where patience must be exercised, as all concerned parties utilise lawful means of resolving their contentions. An injunction is before the court and will be heard on Friday, 20th March. GTUC expects the rule of law to obtain and be respected in no different manner than it has been so far in adjudicating our political and elections disputes.

Sacrificing Guyana’s peace and stability is not a price that any political party should ask our people to pay.

It is not a price that any individual should seek to pay, given that parties we all represent have access to the Law Courts and peaceful resolution. As a people we must condemn political efforts from any quarter to derail or discredit the judicial system and process to arrive at a resolution.

Those who proclaim ‘uprightness’ and ‘decency’ should be held to the standards they project. They must respect the laws and call on all parties to follow its mandate. Anyone seeking extra judicial means whether peaceful or otherwise, to resolve our difference cannot be committed to democratic practices, though they may voice this. People of Guyana let us not be fooled.

A fight for democracy is about having the election conducted and concluded within the parameters of the laws. We have numerous examples throughout the world, and as recent as 2000 in USA, that these can ultimately be determined in a court of law not merely by individuals, public relations campaigns and groups with different interests.

It is a fight for the rule of law to be upheld. We determine this in a court of law and abide by the decisions therein.

Finally, a resolution of our differences if not legally perused will and can result in a Guyana that our children would not benefit from. We must demand full compliance with all laws and respect for the court’s decision if we are to protect this nation and our peace, now and in the future.

Lincoln Lewis General Secretary GTUC

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

PAGE 19

“The threat is real” M

inister of Public Health, M s . Vo l d a Lawrence, said yesterday that Guyana has confirmed its fifth case of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

In her update on the disease situation in Guyana, Minister Lawrence disclosed that the most recent person to have tested positive for the virus is another family member of the 52-year-old woman who died from the disease last week. Four other family members have also been positively diagnosed.

Minister Lawrence in a message to the nation noted that the Ministry through the activated Health Emergency Operations Centre continues to locate and quarantine other

- says Public Health Minister - as Guyana confirms fifth coronavirus case persons who came into close contact with the woman and her immediate relatives.

“To date, due to the diligence of our health personnel who are working assiduously to contain the spread of COVID-19, the numbers have been kept down,” the Minister said.

She also emphasized that the COVID-19 situation in Guyana presently remains under control, however, this does not mean that preventative measures and other mechanisms must be forsaken.

“We can ill afford to

become complacent and in some cases even nonchalant and laid back. The threat is real, it is not discriminatory and so we must all shoulder our responsibility resolutely and be resilient in adherence to the precautionary measures that have been established,” the Minister said.

In her message, Lawrence emphasized what has been implemented since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China.

She also noted that these and other efforts have since been doubled.

Some of the measures

include the closure of schools for sanitization exercises, closure of airports to international flights, shift system at workplaces for public servants and temporary cessation of large gatherings among others for two weeks.

Meanwhile , DirectorGeneral' of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a call yesterday for the spirit of solidarity to continue as global efforts are made to contain and defeat COVID19.

Addressing a conference

Despite Coronavirus outbreak, ExxonMobil continues to pump offshore Guyana

I

n spite of the coronavirus outbreak in several parts of the world, and five confirmed cases here, ExxonMobil has confirmed that at this time, there is no impact on operations here while noting that its focus remains on the safety and health of its workforce as well as operating safely and responsibly.

In the meantime, the American Oil giant's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darren Woods, said that the company is evaluating all appropriate steps to significantly reduce capital and operating expenses in the near term. Woods said recently that ExxonMobil will outline plans when they are finalized.

Further to this, Woods

said that ExxonMobil has faced numerous market downturns throughout its long history and has experience operating in a sustained low-price environment.

“We remain focused on being a safe, low-cost operator and creating longt e r m v a l u e f o r shareholders,” said Woods.

In addition to this, Woods

said that “the company is closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and has adjusted work arrangements to ensure a healthy work environment and support communities where we operate.” Woods further stressed that the company will maintain its ongoing commitment to safety and environmental performance.

in Geneva, Switerland yesterday, Ghebreyesus said that more than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported to WHO and more than 8,000 people have lost their lives.

According to the WHO Director General too, more than 80 percent of all cases are from two regions – the Western Pacific and Europe.

“We know that many countries now face escalating epidemics and are feeling overwhelmed. We hear you.

We know the tremendous difficulties you face and the enormous burden you're under. We understand the heart-wrenching choices you have to make.”

“We understand that different countries and communities are in different situations, with different levels of transmission.”

Further the Director General said that every day, WHO is talking to ministers of health, heads of state, health workers, hospital managers, industry leaders, CEOs and more – to help them prepare and prioritize, according to their specific

situation. “Don't assume your community won't be affected.

Prepare as if it will be.”

In the meantime, Ghebreyesus said WHO continues to recommend that isolating, testing and treating every suspected case, and tracing every contact must be the backbone of the response in every country.

“This is the best hope of preventing widespread community transmission.

Physical distancing measures – like cancelling sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings – can help to slow transmission of the virus.”

The WHO Director General said that he continues to be inspired by the many demonstrations of solidarity from all over the world.

A COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund has raised more than US$43 million from more than 173,000 individuals and organizations, a few days since it was launched, he said, adding “I'd especially like to t h a n k F I FA f o r i t s contribution of US$10 million.”

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Dissent grows as IOC battles to keep Tokyo Games on track ATHENS (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee is facing its strongest headwinds in decades as it briefed national committees yesterday on the state of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics amid the coronavirus pandemic, with voices of dissent growing louder.The IOC has remained committed to staging the Tokyo Games as planned from July 24-Aug. 9, saying on Tuesday after a meeting with international sports federations that measures against the virus were delivering results.The coronavirus has so far killed more than 8,200 people and infected over 200,000, with the epicenter now in Europe.

The Olympic body has refused to publicly consider cancellation or postponement as possible options, even as other major events including

soccer’s Euro 2020 and Copa America and the French Open tennis grand slam announced postponements on Tuesday.

The virus has also wreaked havoc with Olympic qualification tournaments, with athletes struggling to train, travel or compete and many pre-Games qualifiers canceled or postponed.

Tokyo is set to host some 11,000 athletes and 57% have already earned their spot at the Games. The remaining 43% will clinch their place through modified qualifiers, or previous performances based on ranking.

Under the current exceptional circumstances, the IOC said, solutions needed to be found that were appropriate, though they might not be ideal for all athletes.“This is an exceptional situation which requires exceptional solutions,”

the IOC told Reuters in a statement on Wednesday.

“The IOC is committed to finding a solution with the least negative impact for the athletes, while protecting the integrity of the competition and the athletes’ health.

“No solution will be ideal in this situation, and this is why we are counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes.”The IOC got the backing from Panam Sports, the organization representing 41 national Olympic Committees in the Americas.“The Panam Sports family unanimously supports the IOC with all the measures taken... to address the issues facing the NOCs and athletes in the current qualification opportunities,” Panam Sports President Neven Ilic said after the briefing via conference call yesterday.“The athletes

Thursday March 19, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A temporary separation from someone close to you could have you reflecting on the good times you've spent together, especially over the past few weeks.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Dreams with mixed messages might trouble your sleep tonight. One minute you'll be having a wonderful dream, and the next could be black and gloomy.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) The special person in your life could be working too hard, causing strain for him or her and frustration for you.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today you might try to continue or complete a creative project of some kind, but your imagination just isn't working the way it normally does.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today you might feel especially protective toward all those you love: children, family, friends, pets, and the special person in your life, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today you could make the acquaintance of actors, musicians, or other performers, some of whom might be quite well known. Social occasions could bring valuable contacts your way, which you could make good use of later.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Someone who lives far away, someone you haven't heard from for a long time, could give you a surprise phone call today. You'll be delighted and probably stay on the phone too long.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Money could be a source of worry today, Scorpio. You might feel you've spent too much (who doesn't sometimes?) or perhaps some funds you were expecting have been held up.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Too much stress and strain over the past few days could cause you to clash with your partner. While not a disaster by any means, Sagittarius, this can put a damper on your day.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Overindulgence last night could have left you feeling a little woozy today, Capricorn.

You're may want to spend the day in bed, but the prospect of leaving tasks undone could cause you to push on anyway.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Plans for getting together with a group of close friends may have to be called off because of sudden unexpected events.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The planetary energy has you feeling a bit sluggish today. You'll probably want to stay home, surrounded by your books, pets, and plants, yet you know .

of the Americas are facing issues to complete their usual training schedules and take part in competitions.”

According to sources with direct knowledge of the conference call, some national Olympic committees (NOCs), especially from countries severely affected by the virus, said they fully supported the IOC in its effort to host the Games as planned but could not wait indefinitely to find out what will happen.

The source said some NOC heads expressed their concern as their athletes are unable to train due to restrictions for the virus and were also struggling with qualifiers.

‘INSENSITIVE, IRRESPONSIBLE’ IOC member Hayley Wickenheiser called the decision to proceed with the Games “insensitive and irresponsible” in the most vocal attack on the Olympic body since President Thomas Bach took over in 2013.

Wickenheiser, who competed in five Winter Games in ice hockey and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in softball, said continuing with the Games as planned ignored the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“This crisis is bigger than even the Olympics,” Wickenheiser said in a state-

ment on Twitter. “Athletes can’t train. Attendees can’t travel plan. Sponsors and marketers can’t market with a degree of sensitivity.

“I think the IOC insisting this will move ahead, with such conviction, is insensitive and irresponsible given the state of humanity.”She is not alone.Several athletes, including reigning Olympic

pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi, said the IOC decision was putting athletes’ health at risk, urging them to train as normal when entire countries have shut down to contain the virus spread.“There is no postponement, no cancellation.

But it (the IOC) is putting us at risk,” Stefanidi said in an interview with Reuters.

Ramesh Narine slams ton...

From page 27 Lallbachan Narine 3 for 16.

Bacchus Bulls responded with 30 without loss in four overs; Mohindra Balbadar scored 17 and Neiland Codogan 10.

Walton Hall Sports Club defeated United Warriors by 36 runs. Walton Hall took first knock and posted 164 for 6 in 20 overs. Vishwanauth Lall scored 54, Uvin Balgobin 30 and Devendra Balgobin 25.

S. Boucher grabbed 4-25 and Shaquille Rigby 2-26. United Warriors were restricted for 128 for 8 in reply. Orlando Jailall made 44, Kurty Jones 22 and S.V. Dusraj 21. Bowling for Walton Hall, N. Bahadur had 2-26 and Suresh Persaud 2-31.

At Reliance, Sparwin beat Rebels. (No scores available).

Reliance Hustlers defeated Crown X1 by 89 runs.

Winning the toss and batting Hustlers rattled up 262 for 3 in 20 overs. Ramesh Narine struck an unbeaten 107, Abdool Nadir scored 80 and Mark Austin 36. S. Rajbanie had 1-17 and R. Taijballi 1-33.

Crown X1 responded with 173 for 7 in 20 overs .B. Dasrat and A.Persaud made 26 each and S. Rajbani 21; S. Fraser snared 3-24 and M.Pearson 233.At Walton Hall, Devonshire Castle overcame Reliance Sports Club by 24 runs. Batting First, Devonshire Castle managed 163 for 8. Anthony Persaud scored 44, Dinesh Chattergoon 31 and Suruj Lall 30; Ravindra Doodnauth bagged 4-19 and Basil Persaud 2-37. Reliance replied with 139 for 7 in 20 overs.

Elroy Stephney got 37 and Basil Persaud 23; Dinesh Chattergoon picked up 3-28 and R. Persaud 2-18.

Rising Stars defeated Charity Sports Club by 97 runs. Rising Stars took first strike and posted 191 for 9. Latchman Rohit scored 66, Kemol Savory 40, Gavin Sharma 30 and Mavindra Dindayal 23.

Sanjeev Ramdeen captured 419 and Hassan Rahim 3-11.

Charity SC were bowled out for 94 all out in 15.2 overs.

Suresh Dindial made 26 and Ezra McAlmond 25; Quintin Sampson claimed 4-18, Ansar Khan 2-13 and Otis Roberts 2-14. The competition will continue on Sunday.

CWI offer ...

From page 24 two Tests and five T20Is) between July 23 and August 16.

Financially, the series against England is more valuable to CWI, however, so it remains possible those tours could also be rescheduled.

CWI are also understood to be considering the possibility of rescheduling the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to December if necessary. This would see it running for just three or four weeks - probably requiring the need for several double-headers - over the Christmas and New Year period and put it in competition with Australia’s Big Bash League. In a fast-moving situation, it seems all possibilities will be considered and it is far too early to confirm any details.

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Kaieteur News

Blackwood says attention to fitness paying off KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jermaine Blackwood, who entered the record books last weekend with a massive double century for Jamaica Scorpions against Leeward Islands Hurricanes, has credited his fitness routine for helping him reach the monumental score.

Small in stature but flamboyant in stroke play, Blackwood made 248 in over eight hours at the crease. He faced 332 balls and hit 33 fours and two sixes in Jamaica’s only innings in the match. They beat the hosts by an innings and 118 runs on the fourth morning at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua.

“Fitness is the key. I have been paying special attention to fitness all my career and this season,” the 28-year-old said. “It was a very special feeling to get to such a huge score. The plan was just to bat and bat and take the team to a big score. It was good to get settled in and go big.”

With the regional fourday first-class season suspended after eight rounds of matches, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has touched several Caribbean countries, Blackwood is the leading run scorer with 768 runs so far – including six half-centuries.

His previous highest score this season was 98 against the Leewards at the Trelawny multi-purpose facility on the Jamaica north coast.

Last Saturday, he added a century stand with captain

Jermaine Blackwood says fitness is key. (FP)

John Campbell, who made 112.“I had six half-centuries before the double century so it was result of the hard work I have been doing this season. We got good advice from the coach who continued to remind me to just bat – don’t pressure myself, just stay at the wicket and accumulate the runs,” Blackwood said.

“I played well with John.

He did a great job, we spoke throughout and we enjoyed batting together. I always enjoy batting with him. We have a very good understanding when we bat together.”

Blackwood’s knock put him high in the pecking order as it was the fourth highest score by a Jamaican in regional first-class history dating back over 130 years. The highest recorded score by a Jamaican in the first-class cricket in the region is 344 not out, made by the legendary George Headley against the Lord Tennyson’s XI back in 1932 at Melbourne Club Ground in Kingston.

The second highest score also came in that same innings

from Clarence Passailaigue, who made 261 not out, as he added a record unbeaten stand of 487 with Headley.

Blackwood’s knock was just two runs short of the top score for Jamaica in the modern era – 250 not out by Marlon Samuels against Guyana at Alpart in February 2011. Samuels actually has two other first-class scores over 250 – his Test best of 260 in Bangladesh in Khulna during his golden year, 2012; and 257 for the West Indies against Queensland in Brisbane ahead of the Frank Worrell Trophy Test Series back in 2005.

Chris Gayle is also one of the most distinguished runmakers among Jamaican batsmen with two triple centuries in Test cricket – 333 in Sri Lanka and 317 against South Africa in Antigua; as well as 204 against New Zealand in Grenada. He also has double centuries for Jamaica in the regional first-class tournament – 219 against Leeward Islands and 208 not out against the West Indies “B” Team.

time - or staging it in the Caribbean. It is understood CWI have also offered to host England’s three-Test series against Pakistan, scheduled to start on July 30.

While there are COVID-19 cases in the Caribbean, the virus would appear, at this stage, to have taken hold far more in the UK. There have, for example, been only two reported cases in each of Barbados and St Lucia and one in Antigua.“I’ve spoken to Tom Harrison a couple of times in the last few days,” Jonny Grave, CWI’s CEO told ESPNcricinfo, “and assured him that we will be as flexible, supportive and helpful as possible.“To that end, yes, we have offered to host the series here in the Caribbean if that is deemed helpful. The ECB would retain all commercial and broadcast rights.

“This is not about us try-

ing to take advantage of the situation. It’s about the cricket community working together at a difficult time for everyone and, one of the many great things about the Caribbean is, we can play cricket all year round.

There has long been a special relationship between the cricket communities in the Caribbean and England and we wanted to make it clear we will do everything we can to help.”England are also scheduled to host Ireland for three ODIs in mid-September.

It is possible, however, that two England squads one Test and the other limited-overs - could be in action in different places at the same time.

West Indies also have other commitments later in the year. They are scheduled to host New Zealand (in three ODIs and three T20Is) between July 8 and July 19 before South Africa arrive (for (Continued on page 23)

CWI offer to host England Test series in Caribbean ESPNcricinfo - England’s home series against West Indies could be rescheduled until September or even played in the Caribbean due to the COVID-19 crisis.

At present the sides are scheduled to play three Tests in England with the first due to start at The Kia Oval on June 4. But with it now all but inevitable that the start of the English domestic season will be significantly delayed and a peak in COVID-19 cases in the UK anticipated in June, it seems highly unlikely the series will proceed as planned.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) have held several discussions in recent days. The options under consideration include the possibility of rescheduling the series - with September the most obvious

Thursday March 19, 2020

Lara joins effort to encourage good habits to stave off COVID-19 P O R T- O F - S PA I N , Trinidad, CMC – West Indies batting legend Brian Lara has joined the fight against the deadly Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic with a video message to his fans around the cricket world, offering a bit of advice on staying safe as the virus spreads.

In the minute-long video posted to Instagram where he has close to 335,000 followers and on his Facebook page which is followed by more than 330,000, the 50-year-old double world record holder gives a detailed demonstration of the effective way of washing both hands with soap and water.

“This is real! Before you touch your face always wash your hands. Make sure you get that soap in…. This will not just benefit you but everyone around you. Let’s fight COVID-19 together,” said the Trinidadian who is currently

away from his homeland.

The spread of COVID-19 has resulted in several major sporting events being cancelled or postponed, globally and across the region.

Cricket West Indies last weekend announced the suspension of the last two rounds of the Regional Four Day Championship and an entire suite of youth tournaments for the next 30 days; while the region’s premier junior track and field meet, the CARIFTA Games, scheduled for next month in Bermdua, has been postponed.

Lara’s COVID-19 outreach video mirrors that of Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar who posted a similar video from inside a hotel room.In the Twitter video referring to what he called the #SafeHandsChallenge, he says: “One simple thing we can do to keep the virus from spreading is to keep our

hands clean. It is mandatory to wash hands with soap for 20 seconds. Always wash your hands thoroughly”.

Tendulkar ’s video received over 41,000 views and was retweeted close to 1,250 times within five hours after he posted it.

After showing up in China in November 2019, COVID-19 has spread to scores of other countries, including several in the Caribbean. Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, St Lucia, Saint Martin, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have all reported cases of the virus that has claimed more than 7,426 lives globally.

Club World Cup put back as FIFA pledges ‘exceptional measures’ in face of virus pandemic AFP - FIFA confirmed the postponement of the new Club World Cup yesterday as it pledged to take a series of “exceptional measures” to protect football in the face of the coronavirus crisis, including a possible support fund for financially stricken clubs and associations.

World football’s governing body accepted it would not play the new 24-team Club World Cup in June and July of 2021 after it was announced on Tuesday that the European Championship and Copa America would both be moved to that period.

The two tournaments were postponed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino had already said in advance of a meeting with the heads of the six continental ruling bodies yesterday that he would propose putting back the Club World Cup to later in 2021, or even to 2022 or 2023.

In the end, a statement released by FIFA simply said new dates for the highly lucrative tournament would be decided “at a later stage”.

FIFA were seemingly left with little choice after Aleksander Ceferin, the president of the European game’s governing body UEFA, said he had told Infantino on Tuesday “that the Club World Cup...cannot happen” in 2021 having postponed the Euro by a year. Ceferin did not in-

FIFA have postponed the first 24-team Club World Cup after Euro 2020 and the Copa America were both put back by a year. (AFP/File / Ozan Kose) dicate there was any offer of a compromise.

Ceferin has been critical of Infantino’s Club World Cup plans, and UEFA and South American governing body CONMEBOL agreed together to put their continental competitions back by a year, having recently signed a cooperation agreement.

Meanwhile, FIFA announced the creation of a working group to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, including on players’ contracts and transfers and to deal with the economic impact on the game.

“This exceptional situation requires exceptional measures and decisions. This crisis impacts the entire world and that is why solutions need to take into account the interests of all stakeholders around the world,” said Infantino.

- ‘Support fund’ On Tuesday, as well as postponing Euro 2020 by a year, UEFA committed to finishing the European club season by the end of June but accepted that a further review will be required — it may be

impossible to finish the season by then if the ongoing health crisis does not ease.

That creates a potential headache with players’ contracts often expiring on June 30. Transfer window dates may need to be altered too.

The sudden stop to the football season in much of the world is also a serious concern for many clubs and leagues who already have financial worries and now risk going weeks and potentially months without collecting gate receipts and other revenues.FIFA has cash reserves of around $1.5 billion (1.37 billion euros) and said it would “analyse if a support fund at global level will be required and how in that case concrete support mechanisms should be defined”.

The body is also pledging to donate $10 million (9.1 million euros) to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.The outbreak, which first emerged in China late last year, has quickly marched across the globe, infecting more than 200,000 people and killing over 8,000.

Thursday March 19, 2020

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CWI facing possible logistical challenges Champion quarterback Brady to sign from coronavirus fallout with Tampa Bay Buccaneers: reports (Reuters) - Six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady will sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.

Brady, 42, has been the face of the New England Patriots for two decades, but he said on Tuesday he was leaving the franchise. The announcement of his departure came a day before he became a free agent.

NFL Network reported Brady’s deal with the Bucs would be worth about $30 million a year.By joining a team with an elite receiving corps and a top defence, Brady has a chance to join Peyton Manning as the only quarterback to win Super Bowls with two different teams.Brady’s many records while in New England included most Super Bowl victories (six) and appearances (nine) and most playoff wins (30).

Brady, a surefire first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible, was a

West Indies are scheduled to face New Zealand in a three-match ODI series in July.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Cricket West Indies says it will face a logistical nightmare in rescheduling its international home series if the coronavirus pandemic results in a disruption to these fixtures.

Of main concern for the governing body is the threematch One-Day International series against New Zealand which is part of the qualification process for the 2023 World Cup, and the two-Test rubber against South Africa which forms part of the World Test Championship.

Both series have been carded for July but have been placed in jeopardy by the coronavirus which has now hit the Caribbean and forced CWI to suspend its domestic competitions for a minimum of 30 days.

“The challenge with rescheduling is that the schedule is [already] so tight,” CWI chief executive Johnny Grave told CMC Sports.

“The other challenge that we’d have is those ODIs we’re playing against New Zealand and the Test matches against South Africa are part of leagues.

“We’re now in the Test championship and the games against New Zealand in the ODI format are the first games we’re playing in the ODI league which obviously now is the qualifying process for the 2023 Cricket World Cup. “You would have to try and re-prioritise replaying those in order to keep the integrity of those tournaments – particularly the ODI qualification for the Cricket World Cup.” The ODI series against New Zealand runs from July 8-13, with the first two matches set for the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and the last one scheduled for Windsor Park in Dominica.

Following the ODIs, the two teams clash in a threematch Twenty20 series in

Suspension of Draught Competitions The National Draughts Association would like to notify all Draughts players that due to the Corona Virus, games that were scheduled are cancelled indefinitely, a release from the association informed.

Draughts is a game that involves close proximity and as such the resolution is abstinence.

Please be informed also that the Panam Draughts that was scheduled for April in the Dominican Republic is also cancelled.

President of the Association Mr. Jiaram and executive members extend since condolences to the bereaved family of the late veteran Draughts player Mr. Carlton Simon who passed away a few days ago. Simon was a former National Champion and was on tour with the first National Team that played Suriname a few years back.

The National Draughts Association joins hands in fighting this deadly virus.

Dominica and Guyana from July 15-19.

South Africa arrive later in the month for Tests at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad from July 23-27 and the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia from July 31 to August 4.

A five-match T20 series will then follow from August 8-16, with the first two matches in Florida, United States and the last three at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

Already, the Caribbean has reported several cases of the coronavirus with Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados all affected.

Up to Tuesday, the United States had reported 4 226 cases of the virus, also known as COVID-19, with 75 deaths resulting.

While Grave remained hopeful, he conceded there was much uncertainty surrounding the upcoming fixtures as it was difficult to determine the extent of the impact from the pandemic.

“It would be a big challenge trying to reschedule them but we are looking ahead,” he said. “Again, no one knows quite how long this pandemic will last or how far it will spread.”

The spread of the virus has so far disrupted the international cricket schedule with England pulling out of the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, India scrapping their ongoing ODI tour of South Africa, and Australia and New Zealand also calling off their limited overs series Down Under.

Organisers of the lucrative Indian Premier League have also delayed the start of the tournament and say it could face further disruption.

lightly regarded prospect coming out of college, the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.

At the start of the 2001 campaign Brady, at the time an obscure backup, took over the starting role in the second game of the season after starter Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury.

With Brady, the Patriots were a perennial contender who in the 2019 season extended their NFL record by winning an 11th consecutive division title.

But for all his achievements in New England, Brady’s reign ended with a whimper when the Patriots were knocked out of the playoffs in a surprise loss to the Tennessee Titans in January.

It seems he now has a new home and a chance to write a final chapter in a remarkable career, including possibly another Super Bowl appearance.And the venue for next year’s game?Tampa.

Ninvalle seeks intervention for Boxers as return delayed

P

resident of the Guyana Boxing As sociation (GBA) Steve Ninvalle is seeking the intervention of government and the Guyana Olympic Committee (IOC) on the delayed return of the Guyanese team of boxers currently in Cuba.

The team, who have been there for a three month training stint in preparation for the scheduled upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, were scheduled to arrive home today. However, the government via the health ministry has put out a public notice informing of the closure of all airports and other ports of entry as of yesterday.

With this development in mind the team will not be able to fly to Guyana due to the shutting down of the airports for a 14-day period as indicated via the notice. Several countries around the world including several Caribbean territories have adapted similar measures to attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) that has been declared a global pandemic.

In a brief contact with Ninvalle, he noted that should this closure of the airport affect the boxers’ return he is requesting further assistance to buffer the extended 14 days the team will have to stay in Cuba.

Both government and the GOA have given assistance prior but with this unforeseen situation plaguing the world some effort and systems must be put in place to ensure the welfare of the boxing team is catered for.

Ninvalle indicated that he has reached out to the relevant authorities and is hopeful of an immediate response and help for the team.

The members of the team currently in Cuba are Colin Lewis (Captain), Desmond Amsterdam, Dennis Thomas, Keevin Allicock and Cuban Coach Francisco Roldan.

Terrence Poole who was previously with them, had returned home a few weeks ago.

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Thursday March 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Sports stars rally round during coronavirus crisis

Mailonline - Top athletes often have to be selfish in their pursuit of glory but the coronavirus outbreak has unveiled an altruistic streak in superstars from a variety of sports.

With the illness causing havoc around the globe and disrupting daily life for millions, the likes of Russell Wilson, Sadio Mane, Paul Pogba, and JJ Watt are doing their bit to help the worst affected.

The area of society worst hit by coronavirus is of course healthcare with provisions likely to be stretched to breaking point in the coming weeks. Mane made the remarkable gesture of donating £41,000 to the Senegal health organisation to help bolster resources in his homeland.

Coronavirus is still in the early stages of an outbreak within the African country with 27 confirmed cases and two recoveries but there is a growing realisation that the situation could deteriorate fast.

The Liverpool winger is said to have made the donation spontaneously.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min joined Mane in donating a lump sum. He gave £68,000 to a non-profit organisation in South Korea.

Son wrote: ‘Even though it is far away [from me], as we face increased corona damage, I wanted to ensure Covid-19 no longer spreads, and to the vulnerable, I hope it will help you a bit’.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic kickstarted a fundraiser for Humanitas hospitals in Italy.

He took to Instagram to speak of his affection for the country, which has now suffered more than 2,500 deaths because of the virus.

Ibrahimovic wrote: ‘Italy has always given me so much and, in this dramatic moment, I want to give back even more to this country that I love. I decided, together with the people who are working with me, to create a fundraiser for Humanitas hospitals and to use my communication power to spread the message wider.

It’s a serious issue and we need a concrete help that’s not just about a video. ’I count on the generosity of

NFL star Russell Wilson and NBA hero Steph Curry paying for TWO MILLION meals

Chelsea are allowing NHS staff to use the Millennium Hotel free of charge for two months. my colleagues, of all professional athletes and of those who want to make a small or large donation according to their possibilities, to kick this virus away. ‘ Together we can really help hospitals and doctors and nurses who selflessly work every day to save our lives.’

In addition to the donations, Mane also appeared in a video for Liverpool, encouraging people to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly to prevent the virus spreading.

A number of other athletes have echoed that message on social media, reinforcing the medical advice.

PSG had Kylian Mbappe, Marco Veratti and other players feature in a video instructing people not to sneeze without covering up and dry their hands properly. Those on the front-line in this battle with coronavirus are working around the clock and Manchester United midfielder Pogba donated money to help healthcare professionals.

His aim on his 27th birthday was to raise £27,000 by dona-

tions, which he then matched.

The Frenchman wrote on Instagram: ‘The Coronavirus pandemic is affecting the health and lives of many, including children. ’The impact of a largescale outbreak, especially on poor and vulnerable children, can be immense. ‘At times like this we need to come together.

With your help, I am hoping today to raise £27,000 to help fight this war and I will double the amount if we reach the goal. If we manage to reach our target, it will be enough to provide: ’*333,332 pairs of disposable gloves for health workers + *2,777 surgical masks to help prevent the disease spreading further + *9,615 sets of vented goggles.’ Chelsea are also providing for medical workers. NHS staff are able to stay in the club’s Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge free of charge, with the costs all covered by owner Roman Abramovich.

Plenty of the staff at local hospitals would otherwise have long commutes home and potentially expose others to coronavirus. Life has become a challenge even for those uninfected by coronavirus as widespread redundancies mean people cannot work to feed their family.

Aston Villa and Fulham donated more than 1,350 meals to various homeless charities and housing shelters in the local areas near the clubs in Birmingham and south west London respec-

tively. Brighton donated all fruit and vegetables, dairy products and sandwiches to Sussex Homeless Support.

With match day operations employing hundreds of people in the Premier League, the Seagulls also took the admirable step of committing to pay more than 600 casual workers who would have oth-

erwise been out of pocket with fixtures suspended.

Tottenham also donated over 1,200 food and drink supplies to local charity after Premier League game against Manchester United was postponed.

Across the Atlantic, Seattle Seahawks quarter-back Russell Wilson and his wife

Ciara are donating one million meals to help those going hungry from the pandemic.

He wrote on Twitter: ‘The world needs us ALL. Unprecedented times. Ciara & I are supporting our community in Seattle by donating 1 million meals with Seattle @FoodLifeLine. Rally & support your local food bank.

Let’s all keep the Faith during this difficult time.’

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry mirrored the gesture by committing to give a million meals to his local community.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt donated £285,000 to the Houston Food Bank.

Many of those affected, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions have been told to stay indoors.

This has prompted offers of a help with shopping from the likes of Sam Billings and Millie Bright.

England and Kent cricketer Billings wrote on Twitter: ‘Anyone in Canterbury, who knows of someone or they themselves need their shopping done for them just shout.’ England and Chelsea star Bright posted: ‘If anyone knows of any elderly or those most vulnerable Surrey based that may need help with shopping or looking after pets message me and I’ll do all I can to help.’

Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin reportedly agree to third fight, hopefully in September Yahoo Sports - Gennady Golovkin is going to get a shot at redemption. Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez have reportedly agreed to a third fight, according to Lance Pugmire of The Athletic. The hope is that the fight will take place in September.Alvarez was expected to take on Billy Joe Saunders in May, but it’s believed that bout will be postponed amid concerns over the coronavirus. Alvarez and Saunders are still expected to fight, and then Alvarez intends to turn his attention to Golovkin. The third fight between Alvarez and Golovkin is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 12 in Dallas. It might be tough for Alvarez to fit both fights in that quickly, but that’s the hope for now.

Fans have been itching for Alvarez and Golovkin to go at it again. Their first fight — which took place in 2017 — ended in a split draw. Alvarez won the second fight —

Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin will fight again. (AP Photo/ Isaac Brekken)

which took place in 2018 — by majority decision.

Alvarez has agreed to fight Golovkin at 160 pounds for now, according to Pugmire.

But Alvarez can alter the fight weight if he would like. The deadline for Alvarez to make those changes has not been determined at this time.

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 19, 2020

CWI Regional four-day cricket

Jaguars should blood new players in final two rounds Says Sean Devers arbados Pride are in an impregnable position to take their 22nd Regional First Class title with 134.8 points with two rounds remaining after the postponement due to COVID-19 virus, while Guyana Jaguars have slipped to third with 91.8 points.

Some diehard Jaguars fans a r e h o p i n g t h a t ‘mathematically’ Guyana can still win a sixth consecutive title and should be picking their strongest team for their penultimate game against the Windwards whenever the tournament resumes.

But let’s look at reality.

For Guyana to win, they must get 48 points including the maximum batting points (400 runs in 110 overs), while their fast bowlers have to get 40 wickets in the two matches.

Guyana’s pacers have never taken all 20 wickets in game, while the low strike rate of the top order have never given the Jaguars the maximum batting points this season.

In the extremely unlikely scenario that they somehow achieve this, it will only take them to 139.8 points leaving Barbados to get six points in their last two matches which they should get even if they lose both games.

So back to reality!

If I were the selectors, I

B

Tevin Imlach turns one through the on-side during his fifty at Eve Leary.

Kevlon Anderson works one through on-side during undefeated 68 at Bourda.

and experience of First-Class cricket without the pressure to win.

Guyana Skipper and leading run scorer Leon Johnson, Vishaul Singh and e s p e c i a l l y Ta g e n a r i n e Chanderpaul whose strike rate is 24.3, has been scoring slowly.

I would replace Chanderpaul with Tevin Imlach and let him open the batting with Akshaya Persaud in place of Shimron Hetmyer who should be in India for the IPL. Although Johnson has only converted only one of his three scores over 50 into centuries and has been inconsistent this season by his standards, his 472 is the most runs for Guyana, while his

Veerasammy Permaul needs 18 more wickets to beak his 67 wickets in a season set in 2015.

would use the opportunity of the last two matches with only academic interest to blood a few young players and provide them the exposure

West Indies U-19 player Ashmead Nedd could also contribute with the bat.

leadership skills are well known and he must be retained to lead the young side.

However, CGI must start

grooming a young Captain to take over when Johnson leaves as we look toward the future.

I would rest Singh and replace him with West Indies U-19 batsman Kevlon Anderson who seems more suited to two innings cricket than the limited overs version.

Left-arm spinner Ve e r a s a m m y n e e d s 1 8 wickets from a possible four innings to break his own record of 67 wickets which he set in the 2015 season.

I would give him the opportunity to bowl long spells to achieve that record since fast bowling points at this stage of the tournament would be inconsequential.

I would also replace Keemo Paul who should also be in India for the IPL with West Indies U-19 left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd who can also contribute with the bat.

I would leave out Keon Joseph and bring back 24year-old Nial Smith who was surprisingly left out of squad for the last round since he is Guyana’s leading fast bowler with 20 wickets this season.

If Permaul is not selected for the Test team after this season I would ask him to play only white-ball cricket for Guyana to allow Motie and Nedd to get more opportunities.

My 13-man squad for the next round will read: Akshaya Persaud, Tevin Imlach, Leon Johnson (Capt), Chris Barnwell (V/Capt), Kevlon Anderson, Raymond Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul, Nial Smith, Ashmead Nedd and Gudakesh Motie.

Ramesh Narine slams ton; Punraj Singh grabs 7 as Essequibo Coast T/20 continues A fine century from Ramesh Narine and a sevenwicket haul from Punraj Singh highlighted the latest round of matches in the Essequibo Coast T20 bash which continued on Sunday last.

At Pomona Ground, Cotton Field Strikers defeated Jaguars Over-40 by 87 runs. Winning the toss and batting, Strikers posted 170 for five in 20 overs with Carlos Yhap scoring 51, Rajeev Kissoon 28 and Yashpaul Singh 25.

Jaguars were bowled out for 84 in 16.4 overs in reply.

Nisan Khan got 38 as Rajendra Benni captured 416, Ghansham Jainarine 2-5 and Eon Dookie 2-23.

Aurora Knight Riders beat NOC by 28 runs.

Batting First, Knight Riders were bowled out for 138 in 19 overs; Norwayne Fredericks scored 32, Norman Fredericks 22 and extras contributed 23.

Miguel Jones took 2-18, Akenie Adams 2-20 and Joshua Paul 2-30. NOC were sent packing for 111 in 19 overs. David Williams made 30, Kevon Boodie 23; extra assisted with 27. Garfield Philips claimed 4-9 and Saif Ally 3-23.

At Golden Fleece, Golden Fleece overcame Scheme Gunners by three wickets. Scheme Gunners took first turn in the middle and managed 74 for 6 from their reduced quota of 15 overs. Moses Ferria got 14 while extra produced 28.

Bowling or Golden Fleece,

Ramesh Narine T. Sankar took 2-9. Golden Fleece responded with 77 for 7 in 12.5 overs. S. Horrilall made 20 and Jeewan Singh 18; R. Latchman took 2-6, I. Wa h a b 2 - 1 8 a n d R .

Mohamed 2-21.

Yo u n g A c h i e v e r s defeated Jaguars Sports Club by 35 runs. Batting first, Achievers made 77 all out in 17.5 overs. Nouraj Mohan scored 28 as A. Thomas captured 4-10, A. Wazim 311 and O. Gibson 2-13.

Jaguars were skittled for 42 in 11.3 overs. F. Mohamed made 14; Danesh Narine snared 3-5, Navesh Ramdial had 3-10 and Nouraj Mohan 2-9.

At Affiance, Affiance Sports Club got the better of Spartan Challengers by 73 runs. Affiance SC batted first and posted 182 for 4. D. Sookdeo struck 62 while Yogesh Singh scored 44 and Eishwar Singh 33. Bowling for Challengers, Adjhodia Lall took 2-28 and Kushial Hemraj 2-32. Challengers

Punraj Singh scored 109 all out in 16.4 overs in response. Alex Clementson scored 45 and Kamesh Lall 27; Ganesh Mangal claimed 3-18 and Omesh Yogeshur 3-21.

Queenstown defeated WD’s Gunners by five wickets. Gunners batted first and scored 119-8 in 20 overs.

Damian Warten made 25 and Hemant Beharry 14; Akil Wallace captured 4-33.

Queenstown replied with 120 or 5 in 16 overs.

Jonathan Fernandes slammed 70 and Herel Green contributed 18; Suresh Persaud picked up 3-26 and Ron Calendar 2-13.

At Imam Bacchus ground, a destructive spell of swing bowling by Punraj Singh saw Bacchus Bulls defeated Lima United by 10 wickets. Winning the toss and batting, Lima United were routed for 29 in 7.1 overs with Faizal Karim scoring 14. Punraj Singh grabbed 7 for 8 and (Continued on page 23)

CWI offer to host t r o p S England Test Test England series in Caribbean

Lara joins effort to encourage good habits to stave off COVID-19

Captains Jason Holder and Joe Root with the Wisden Trophy.

(CWI Media/Kerrie Eversley of Brooks LaTouche Photo)

A screenshot from the video posted on Brian Lara’s social media pages.

Sports stars rally round during coronavirus crisis NFL star Russell Wilson and NBA hero Steph Curry paying for TWO MILLION meals

Sports stars rally round during coronavirus crisis.

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