Kaieteur News

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Magistrate NEWS remands alleged serial rapist to prison AIETEUR

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Saturday Edition March 06, 2021 - Vol. 16 No. 09

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

Price $80

Online readership yesterday, 123,003

Patterson proposes land use policy for oil sector & state-owned shore bases p.

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Body of Berbice man Taxi driver found guilty found guilty of third missing of murdering raping girl, 12 person found Fisherman p.

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Abandoned trio at 63 Beach...

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First well in Canje block yields non-commercial discovery Former Councillor Guyana should establish National leaves PNCR Oil Company p.

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- says ‘it dragged democracy through gutter’

- Suriname Oil Boss

Production would have to be at “zero” to bring flaring down to pilot levels - Exxon p.

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Exxon in 10th gear to clean out our oil. Listen to

Kaieteur Radio @ 11:00hrs on 99.1/99.5FM to find out!

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Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 03

Production would have to be at “zero”

to bring flaring down to pilot levels - Exxon

By Shikema Dey

I

f ExxonMobil Guyana wants to reduce the 16 million cubic feet (mcdf) of natural gas being flared daily at the Liza Destiny vessel down to pilot levels, the oil giant would be forced to cease production said its Production Manager, Mike Ryan.

Those comments came in direct response to claims made by Former Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams. The staunch advocate for the environment had said that the company is only giving the country a slew of excuses so that it can continue with its reckless endangerment of the environment.

According to Dr. Adams, ExxonMobil can very well slash its production so that it can reduce its flaring to the required pilot level of one million cubic feet of natural gas daily or less.

He had also said that if this cannot happen, then the company should shut down its operations.

Specifically, Dr. Adams had calculated that the oil company would only have to

Former Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr. Vincent Adams

ExxonMobil Guyana's Production Manager, Mike Ryan

cut production by 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), thereby moving it from 120,000 bpd to 105,000 bpd.

Dr. Adams had assumed with his calculations that some components of the malfunctioned gas compressor system were still in operation to allow approximately 95 million cubic feet of gas per day to be re-injected.

Based upon the gas to oil production ratio, calculations would show that reducing the production rate

by only 15,000 bopd to 105,000 bopd would reduce the flaring by 15 million cubic feet of gas per day, one million for allowable pilot flaring.

But the issue is not so simply fixed says ExxonMobil's Production Manager.

While he noted that the gas compressor system is rather “complex and technical,” he explained what the process entailed.

Ryan elucidated that as the oil, water and gas is

Former Councillor leaves PNCR - says, “It dragged democracy through gutter”

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ormer Municipal Councillor, Lennox Gasper, yesterday resigned from the People's National Congress Reform (PNCR), citing the party's attempt to rig the March 2020, General and Regional Elections as the main reason for his decision.

In the March 3 resignation letter addressed to the PNCR's General Secretary, Amna Ally, Gasper recalled that he had joined the political party “with the intention of helping it execute a governance and development agenda, intended to serve the needs of the people of my town and Region, and by extension, the whole country.”

Gasper, who had been a member of the party since 2016, wrote that he was convinced that the coalition of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) was going to “change the

Newly resigned PNCR Executive, Lennox Gasper political culture of governance” in keeping with the interest of transitioning the country to “a new dispensation of accountability in development.”

He penned his “high hopes” that when the Coalition took office in 2015, it would have implemented a rapid development plan for

Region 10, and placed this against the party's narrative over the 23 years of the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) rule that Linden had been “deliberately neglected” and “underdeveloped.”

“This too was not to be,” Gasper indicated, while adding that, “We in Linden pleaded for job creation and development for four long years, while we watched with envy, as other newer towns were prioritized.”

Further on the line of eyebrow-raising signals, Gasper said, was former President's David Granger choice to reward his ministers with an increase in salaries. He said, “While we waited and pleaded, scores of new taxes were hurdled our way instead of an easing of our burdens. With lies, deception and bullyism, the majority party in the coalition controlled the narrative in Linden and (continued on page 18)

brought to the surface, it first goes to the separation train of high, medium and lowpressure separators.

Once there, he said the gas of high and medium pressures go to the high and medium compressors where the majority of the gas is either being compressed, reinjected or consumed.

But when it comes to the low-pressure stream, it cannot be compressed without the flash gas compressor “no matter what the production level is,” he stated.

“And so comments to that effect of reducing the 15,000 are not correct. I understand it is a little technical but in order for us to get back to pilot flare levels, we need that flash gas compressor or we need to reduce production to zero,”

the Production Manager detailed “and that is just the fact.”

What is strange, according to Dr. Adams, when ExxonMobil initially encountered issues with the gas compressor, it had no qualms slashing production. In fact, production was reduced to 30,000 bpd to allow for the very compressor to be repaired.

But now, the company seems headstrong on its stance to not lower production with the latest justification being that the country is badly in need of revenue due to the COVID19 pandemic.

And even though, the company is in agreement that it would require shutting operations temporarily to get flaring back to safe levels –

calls it out rightly rejected – the Production Manager made it clear that ExxonMobil's focus right now is getting the gas compressor machine repaired and back to Guyana.

IMPORTANCE OF PILOT FLARING With pilot flaring at one million cubic feet of gas per day or less, ExxonMobil is able to conduct safe operations at the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

However, in this instance, ExxonMobil had reported that with the gas compressor for the vessel being under repairs in Germany, as such, it is forced to flare 16 million cubic feet of gas per day.

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Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

Venezuela creeping forward, Guyana standing still The Venezuelans are serious, and every Guyanese, from leaders to citizens, need to get this now irreversible fact of life into our thick skulls. Unless we get just as serious, cat could eat our dinner, while leaving us lamenting the folly of our ways and our lost hopes. Every indication from determined Venezuelan leadership has signalled a gradual and very visible escalation of tensions, intimidations, and unrelenting aggressions.

The Venezuelans have been moving at a creeping pace, but with congealed visions in their heads. Essequibo is their land, and it is there for the taking; of that miscalculation, all Guyanese must rise up and show them the error of their ways.

They do not believe that Guyanese would dare to stand against their intrusions, and whatever additional military excursions they have on the drawing board. Two Latin American countries went to war, while using a disputed soccer match as their cover story. The Venezuelans have the best cover story to sell the international community and its people, be they military or from the rank-and-file populace: Essequibo is theirs, and no court, no United Nations, and no comity of nations will deter them from that track that they hurtle down by laying down one gauntlet after another.

First, it was the seizure of our fishing boats under the flimsiest of pretexts that fooled no one as to the fraudulence of that barefaced claim. It is called a shot across the bow, and it was the opening salvo, through a gradual escalation of hostilities. Guyanese need to wake up, get some sense in their hard heads and stop fighting with each other, squabbling endlessly. Looking back to the past is necessary, but it does not rise to the state of being absolutely mandatory, while the encroachments on our dignity, sovereignty, and territory keep climbing.

The Venezuelans climbed high with their fighter jets at Eteringbang in a show of muscle. Look at what we got in the armoury, and look at what we can do with impunity in this second card put on the territorial table. This is how the caudillos and hidalgos marshal and rally the campesinos.

There is nothing like a little foreign adventure to keep citizens’ minds off domestic hardships and woes. It was reported that the Venezuelan High Command rejected Guyana’s claim of “air operations” by them. They had proved to be devious with the facts and circumstances before in the still fresh matter of those fishing vessels. We at this paper believe that our Venezuelan neighbours are playing tricks with truth.

We call on all Guyanese not to be taken in and be complacent. We are not! For we can recognize from a mile off, the cupidity of covetousness and avarice of our neighbours over other people’s property, our property and birthright, which we will not yield.

We will not yield any space, and that is regardless of what was embodied in the third blatant escalation signalled by the Venezuelans. A powerful commission was given a mandate by political leaders: come up with conclusions and wording as to our real and inflexible position on Guyana and Essequiba, which has been proposed to be incorporated in their constitution. It is our belief that that was the only outcome that was expected, that could be delivered.

Interestingly, there was the not-so-subtle signal (a fourth one) of the commission sharing its proposals and conclusions with Venezuelan military leaders. As we see it, this is the equivalent of: we have done our part, and as ordered. Now the rest is left in the hands of the military.

When taken together, there is this relentless creeping forward by Venezuela, as powered by its overwhelming greed, dismissal of reasoning, and openly uttered contempt for the reach and application of international law. Without a doubt, the position of Venezuelan leadership can be summed up in a few spare words: to hell with the ICJ. Take the UN and stuff it somewhere else. We don’t care about CARICOM. And let’s go from there.

When all of this is taken into consideration, Guyanese find themselves in an unenviable place. On the one hand, their natural resources wealth inspires grand designs by

Income tax or ‘failed tax’ DEAR EDITOR, When one takes time to consider the success of any performance, usually the pass grade or acceptable level is 50 percent. However, in my observations of the level of income tax submitted to our Tax Administration by self employed citizens over the years, it marvels me that we have seen no improvement of the same. In addition, if one applies the same analogy of the successful grade or pass rate of 50 percent, then we would be very clear that our Tax Administration has failed tremendously to enforce the income tax policy or….. could it be that the policy of ‘income tax’ has failed?

Below is a trend of income tax filed by self employed persons for 2010 to 2019.

Considering the above, should we see income tax as discriminatory since only employees being paid through a payroll system are 100 percent compliant?

To compound this, everyone is subject to his/her

share of Value Added Tax (14 percent) and National Insurance Contribution (5.6 percent).

Therefore, as a consequence, the average employee faces an effective tax rate on yearly earnings of 47.6 percent (28 percent + 5.6

percent + 14 percent) after consideration of the applicable threshold. And, we are cognizant that the average employee earns under 180k monthly, which might be considered as a very ambitious figure by some.

Hence, it would be

reasonable to say that Income Tax has not performed as it ought to and should be better enforced or restructured to ensure that everyone has good incentives to be compliant or removed.

Humble Citizen, J. Yearwood

(Extracts from the Auditor General’s Reports 2010 - 2019)

Response to APNU+AFC blatant lies on development in Region 10 DEAR EDITOR, Undoubtedly, the APNU+AFC opposition’s poor attempt to discredit the PPP/C Government’s efforts geared toward the development of Region 10 does not go unnoticed. It has been noted that publications were made by the APNU+AFC Coalition stating that the PPP/C is “discriminating against” and “stifling” Linden and Region 10. These lies are only intended to create division and undermine the Government’s commitment to the development of Guyana.

Here are the facts.

The APNU+AFC did very little for Region 10 during the period 2015-2020. In fact, it was the PPP/C Government that transformed the region up to 2015 and is committed to continuously build on such transformation to give the region an economic boost.

Looking back at the development works undertaken by the PPP/C, it is clear that the Government is focused on the well-being

of all residents within the region, unlike the APNU+AFC who neglected countless areas.

In terms of Health, the PPP/C Administration has improved healthcare delivery across Region 10 by investing billions into building and rehabilitating hospitals and health centres over the years. Notable projects included the $1.8 billion state-of-the-art McKenzie Hospital, a new hospital at Ituni and a complete rehabilitation of the Kwakwani Hospital. In addition, the Government had established several health huts across the region so as to provide residents with better access to healthcare.

Additionally, in terms of education, the PPP/C has focused on Region 10 over the years in order to boost education delivery. In fact, the Government built the Linden Foundation Secondary School along with schools in Wisroc, One Mile and Kwakwani. Primary schools were also built under

political and military schemers next door. On the other, they know next to nothing on what is truly happening with this oil wealth, as one political group after the other plays dodgy concealment games with disclosures.

What is now undeniable is that Venezuela is upping the ante and planning ways to send very public signals to us and the world about its ultimate objectives. It has gone to the lengths of deploying its naval force and now its air force, next it could be its land forces. It is Essequiba or nothing!

When will we get some sense as to the dangers that we face internally with our leaders, and with outsiders who cast their eyes upon us?

the PPP/C Administration in areas like Watooka, Mackenzie, Ituni, Coomacka, 47 and 58 Miles to name a few.

Rehabilitation works were also done on the Mackenzie High School as well as the Wisburg Multilateral Secondary School under the PPP/C Administration.

In terms of housing and water, the PPP/C has invested into massive housing drives in Linden over the years that saw the allocation of over 2,500 house lots to residents.

At the same time, a fire station was constructed at Mackenzie, a courthouse at Wismar and police outposts at Amelia’s Ward and Wisroc to better serve residents. Two new water treatment plants were also constructed in Amelia’s Ward and Wisroc amounting to in excess of $1.7 billion.

The PPP/C as a Government also spent over $22 billion on electricity subsidies in Linden-Ituni and approximately $800 million in Kwakwani during its tenure up to 2015.

Solar electrification projects were also undertaken in Region 10 to provide electricity to Amerindian villages. At the same time, over $200 million was injected into agricultural projects at West Watooka and Moblissa over the years.

Notably, other projects included the Women of Worth (WOW) project that saw single parents being supported. In fact, over 44 loans were issued to assist in

this regard from 2013 to 2015 under the PPP/C Government.

The PPP/C also injected billions into the bauxite industry in Region 10 to keep it operational over the years.

In fact, up until the investment of LINMINE, the Government was injecting around US$5 million annually to keep the bauxite industry afloat so that jobs would be secured. Even with the privatization of LINMINE and the loss of jobs, the PPP/C paid out over $2.5 billion to affected workers and introduced the LEAP Programme that saw over $700 million in loans being issued to persons for works across the region. Some of these works included the rehabilitation of the Mackenzie car park, improvement to the Mackenzie waterfront and the building of the Benjamin Center to honour the first mayor of Linden. In addition, the Government had also built the first ever call center in the region, which saw employment opportunities being created for over 100 residents. However, it was the APNU+AFC Coalition that decided to cease operations and displace these workers.

The PPP/C Government led by President Irfaan Ali is committed to the development of Region 10. In fact, during the campaigning period leading up to the 2020 elections, the President (Continued on page 5)

Saturday March 06, 2021

Joint military exercises are becoming necessary DEAR EDITOR, It is clear that diplomacy, tolerance and patience are getting us far, but the recent violation of our airspace by Russian made Venezuelan Fighter Jets is changing the dynamics of the relationship between our two countries.

Some consider it to be naive to conduct Joint Military exercises at the border, but the recent provocative actions by the Government of Venezuela does call into question the need for preventative, and preparatory actions in the event of an invasion. The British have shown over the years their

steadfast support for our stance concerning the dispute with Venezuela, and the US has also shown a willingness to conduct Joint Military exercises if invited to do so.

We should not depend only upon diplomacy to protect our Homeland. It is the preference, but it would be foolish to not be adequately prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. We must also be cautious not to be lured into a larger conflict that appears to be escalating between Iran and the US. Venezuela’s partnership with Iran does bring into question

Commendable DEAR EDITOR, According to media reports, the Government has allocated 100 million dollars for rehabilitation works on City Hall.

This is commendable. For

too long, that imposing structure remained a monument of shame on those who administer the affairs of the City.

Yours truly, Hydar Ally

...Response to APNU+AFC From page 4 outlined his vision of making the region a hub for economic activities given the prospects associated with the oil and gas sector. Further emphasis has also been placed on building the Linden to Lethem road, which will commence this year. Such a PPP/C-led project will see significant growth opportunities for the region as well as residents alike.

In this regard, the PPP/C rejects the efforts made by the APNU+AFC Coalition to discredit the government’s commitment to the

development of Region 10 as well as to create further division within the Guyanese populace. The PPP/C will continue to serve in the best interest of the people by developing every region so that Guyana can become an economically strong country.

Regards, Alvin Hamilton

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Kaieteur News

the larger intent of the Venezuelan government. Involvement of the UK in a measured Military exercise at the border will go far to set the correct tone of our response to Venezuela’s increasing military actions while also securing the integrity of our Sovereign Nation. These efforts, although becoming increasingly more important, should not be in lieu of a strong diplomatic push at the UN with the continued support of the International Court of Justice. Guyana s h o u l d a l s o seek the diplomatic support and

acknowledgement of China and Russia for our territory as established in 1899.

Given the heightening tension of the dispute and its potential to evolve into an armed conflict, each member of The National Assembly must search deep within themselves and embrace their spirit of solidarity to help unify Our Nation in the face of this external threat.

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

Bestow Dominic Gaskin with the Order of Democracy DEAR EDITOR, It is my firm belief that one of the most deserving persons to receive the Order of Democracy is Mr. Dominic Gaskin, former Minister of Business and member of the AFC. Despite Mr. Gaskin’s affiliation and relation – sonin-law of the then President – he took a firm and objective stance on all events that

occurred during March – August 2020. One can only imagine the strength and courage it takes to stand up to blood and brotherhood on the grounds of fairness and democracy.

It is only fitting that the Order of Democracy be bestowed upon Mr. Dominic Gaskin.

Yours truly, Mohinie Persaud

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Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

Patterson proposes land use policy for oil sector & state-owned shore bases Shadow Oil Minister and Member of Parliament (MP), David Patterson, yesterday proposed a motion in the National Assembly, to form a multi-agency taskforce for the formulation of a land use policy for the oil sector, and mandate that all future shore bases be state-owned, but leased to private operators.

The motion was seconded

by Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones.

Patterson brought the motion on the premise that there is an enormous and growing need for shore bases to service the needs of the local industry. The Guyana Shore Base Incorporated (GYBSI), does not have the capacity to handle Guyana’s shore base needs, and certainly will not be able to handle the growing need on its own. ExxonMobil is already producing oil at the Liza Phase One operation, and has three more on the way.

Liza Phase Two and Payara have been approved, and are scheduled for first oil in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

ExxonMobil intends to submit

The Guyana Shore Base Incorporated (GYBSI), which was established by Muneshwers Limited to service the needs of offshore vessels

Member of Parliament, David Patterson a field development plan (FDP) for the fourth intended development, Yellowtail-1, by the end of the year.

The former Public Infrastructure Minister said that while additional shore bases are needed, they must be developed as part of a macro-development plan, and not solely driven by the demand forces of the sector.

He is of the view that the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), and other relevant agencies should undertake a holistic land use and zoning policy, with key considerations made

to facilitate industrial activities of the oil sector.

Patterson’s motion would require the multi-agency task force to present a report to the government within six months of the motion’s passing in the National Assembly.

“Be it further resolved,” the motion said, “that the Government advices the taskforce that it is the preference of this National Assembly for future onshore bases be in the counties of Berbice and Essequibo to

ensure parity in development of the oil and gas industry and the equitable development across Guyana for the benefit of all citizens.”

This is due to the fact that there have been complaints about intentions to erect chemical warehouses and other oil industry facilities near residential areas. This has posed a concern for Guyanese people who want to ensure that there is no adverse environmental effect of oil operations on their lives.

For instance, the residents of Houston had protested the establishment of facilities near their community, despite the area being zoned as residential by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA).

There have also been concerns about the buildup of traffic caused by the location of certain facilities, since as Patterson noted, facilities in the RuimveldtMcDoom area have caused a buildup that poses

inconvenience to residents and travellers.

The motion would also seek to have Government advice ExxonMobil to suspend its Request for Information (RFI) pursuant to the establishment of shore bases, until the taskforce makes the policy available.

ExxonMobil had recently published the RFI looking for contractors who can supply shore base facilities to the industry to pick up the needs of future projects.

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

This is the transparency the PPP/C promised the people of Guyana. They were always secretive with contracts in their prior 23 years in government.

What else could we expect?

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Saturday March 06, 2021

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PAGE 08

Berbice man found guilty Taxi driver found guilty of murdering Fisherman of raping girl, 12

A

A

man, who has been on remand since 2016, for the murder of a Number 68 Village Fisherman, was yesterday found guilty of murder by a mixed jury at the Berbice High Court.

Munilall Sarjoo broke down in tears and pleaded his innocence, after hearing he was found guilty of murdering Levan Chanderpaul.

Sarjoo, in speaking after the verdict, tearfully expressed that he was innocent and stated that his time in prison has destroyed his family.

“I give my life, I never expect this, I don't know about this, I don't know why...God is here, this made me lose my family. Is best I take my life now your Honour. I came back from America and I tried to

DEAD: Levan Chanderpaul improve my life. I never involved in no thieving or problem...everything is money, that guy went to Eve Leary and give a statement, I didn't give a statement at Eve Leary, they set me up,” Sarjoo pleaded through his tears.

Munilall Sarjoo, the convicted murderer Justice, Simone MorrisRamlall, subsequently ordered a probation report and sentencing was set for March 25, 2021. Sarjoo is being represented by Attorney-at-law, Rodwell Jagmohan, while the state is being represented by Attorney-at-law, Tuana (continued on page 11)

32-year-old taxi driver was unanimously found guilty of raping a 12year-old girl at the Georgetown High Court, yesterday.

Sahadeo Pooran, known as “Omesh,” was on trial before Justice, Jo-Ann Barlow, and a mixed 12member jury for the indictment, which stated that on September 27, 2019, he engaged in sexual penetration with a child, who is under the age of 16.

Pooran had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge and was represented by attorney-at-law, Euclin Gomes, at his trial.

The case against him was presented by State Counsels, Sarah Martin and Nafeeza Baig.

According to the case, on September 27, 2019, the complainant (victim) left home early in the morning to get a taxi en route to the bus for school.

Sahadeo Pooran reportedly stopped his car and offered her a free drop.

The 12-year-old claimed

however that he picked up two other persons, dropped them off, and then took her to a house.

She said she did not know who lived at that house, but the taxi driver held her by the hands and forced her into the house.

She said she tried to loosen his grip, but could not. He locked her in the house and said he had to go pick up someone and drop them somewhere.

While he was gone, she tried to escape by window or door but all were tightly closed. She had said that she checked his tablet and learnt his name was Omesh Pooran.

The complainant said about an hour later Pooran returned, placed a mattress on the ground, pushed her on it, and then raped her. She claimed that before he let her go, he told her not to tell her teacher or anyone, just say that she was in an accident as a reason for running late to school.

She said that she went back onto the road and caught a bus to school. Upon

Guilty: Sahadeo Pooran known as “Omesh arrival at school, the complainant said that she told the lie about the accident, but her teacher summoned her mother who visited the school. The complainant was further pressed to tell the truth after which she revealed what really happened.

After the jury delivered the unanimous guilty verdict yesterday, Justice Barlow, remanded Pooran to jail until March 24, 2021, when he will be sentenced.

The Judge also ordered that a probation report be prepared before sentence is imposed.

Labour Ministry conducting robust Occupation Health and Safety campaign

The construction workers engaging with the OHS officers on Thursday. (Photo: Ministry of Labour)

T

he Ministry of Labour is c u r r e n t l y conducting an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Campaign in the private and public sector across all 10 administrative regions in Guyana.

Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton, disclosed that the campaign would have kick-started some three weeks ago, which

saw OHS officers making site visits to public sector agencies, to ensure works being conducted are done in a safe manner.

Further, on Thursday, a team of OHS officers conducted a site visit at a building in Charlestown, following reports of construction breaches carried out by a private contractor.

It was said that persons working on the building

were not attired with any safety gear and no site management was set up to prevent persons from entering the work zone. An order was given to halt the construction, until the necessary safety gears are acquired.

Yesterday, the team returned to the construction site and the workers comprising of six climbers and two ground workers (continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 09

RESPECT DUE TO GRANNY! J

anet Jagan was the former President of Guyana. She died on March 28th 2009. This tribute is made in her honour.

As we approach International Women's Day. She was one of the most outstanding female political figures of the 20th century.

I am still to find the perfect politician. I know of a great many good, decent and honest leaders, but I am yet to meet someone without faults, someone that is loved equally by all and sundry.

Guyanese demand too much of its leaders.

Guyanese must begin to take the good with the bad or alternatively to ourselves mirror the perfection, which it seeks in its leaders.

I believe that if we begin to judge our leaders much in the same way as we judge our own failures and successes, this country would be a living paradise.

Unfortunately, we tend to do just the opposite; we tend to judge ourselves fairly but are extremely harsh on our political leaders.

There is no political leader I know who has been as harshly and unfairly judged as the former President of Guyana, Mrs. Janet Jagan. I have known of no political leader throughout history who has been so scandalized and demonised by his or her own people as Mrs. Jagan.

Mr. Jagan had a strong chin. There was only one person who she complained publicly about the manner in which he treated her. That person was Llewellyn John,

Dem

boys seh...

D

em boys read a nice story on the BBC News website about a girl who took on an oil company.

When de child was nine years old, she began to suffer from respiratory problems – nosebleeds, asthma and headaches.

At first, de doctors could not diagnose de cause or de problem. But eventually, with de help of a toxicologist, it was found dat de problem emanated from an oil well across de road from where she lived. It also affected her neighbours.

A p p a r e n t l y, s o m e

who died, recently, and whom she said spoke to her in most disrespectful and rough manner. Ironically, years later, he would go on television to defend her right as President.

This country will for a long time bear that shame for the terrible things that have been said of and done to Mrs. Janet Jagan in this country.

Here is a woman who gave her entire life to serve t h i s c o u n t r y. H e r e i s someone who endured a great deal of nasty remarks and ostracism from her own people, because of her dedication to Guyana's fight for independence.

Here was someone who broke social taboos in this country that had held back women and the poor. Here was a White woman who came to the Black Caribbean, fought for the freedom from colonial oppression and domination and yet when she herself became President of Guyana she was demonised.

Here was someone who has lived in Guyana and has been a citizen of this country longer than most of us who were born here. Yet when she became President, the fact that she was White became one of the pretexts for forcing her out of office.

What was done to Mrs. Janet Jagan in the streets of this country from December 1997 to August 1999 will forever be a mark of shame on Guyana's political history. It was terrible that someone who has done so much, at such great personal sacrifice, could be treated so

cruelly by the very people who enjoyed the freedom for which she gave so much.

The struggle for Guyana's freedom may have begun centuries ago. But by the time the 1940s came, that struggle had come to a halt.

The vested interests from the middle class that was making token appeals for self-rule and independence did not have the mass support to press the British to concede what the British did not wish to concede.

Had independence come under this opportunistic political class, it would have been much later and Guyana would have been doomed to become another banana republic.

The persons that radicalized the independence struggles in this country, the persons that gave fresh impetus to that movement, the persons that reignited the torch of freedom for Guyana were Mr. and Mrs. Jagan. No amount of political revisionism about the two persons can change that fact.

Had it not been for the Jagans, Guyana would have been granted independence when the British would have emptied this country of all of its wealth.

I hope that when the authentic history of this country is written, that there will be a more sympathetic treatment of Mrs. Janet Jagan, whose role in the fight for independence is gravely underestimated.

Yet, interestingly, her influence over Cheddi is grossly exaggerated.

Foul air nah good fuh breathe chemicals, which were used in de oil extraction process was de source of de problem.

Now those residents were dealing with a small inshore oil well in their neighbourhood. Imagine what would be de effect of de emissions, including the flaring of natural gas, related to de much larger offshore operations.

While the Stabroek Block is 150 miles offshore Guyana, de fact is dat it has flared 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Dat is lot of foul air offshore Guyana, and we know also that millions of barrels of wastewater and

ballast water are being dumped in our waters. How do we know dat dis thing nah gan affect we health.

Is time we too call in a toxicologist to test de air, which we are breathing, and the water in which our fishers are fishing.

Dat lil child took action against the company, which was polluting her community. Wah happen to we. Goat bite we! Why can't we too run some tests fuh see if we air clean and safe, as it should be?

Talk half and wait fuh see if de EEE PEE A gan mek de first move.

Cheddi Jagan has always been the ideologue within the PPP. This is why the PPP is in such a mess. This is why the bourgeoisie class has so penetrated the government – because of the sterility of the ideological process within the party.

Mrs. Jagan has in the past been unfairly accused of being the one who had the greatest ideological influence on Cheddi. She has been accused of the main influence on him becoming a communist.

Nothing could be further than the truth. Mrs. Jagan herself and her politics have been more humanistic than ideological. She can be deemed as stubborn, unbending and a hardliner

but not a profound ideologue. She acted out of a sense of what was right or wrong and what was in the interest of the party and the government, which it has formed.

Sometimes the two things collided. And this c a u s e d s o m e misunderstanding of her. But she was someone with a solid pair of shoulders and generally a good heart. She helped a lot of poor people in her time and was always freehanded and generous with her money.

She deserved a more sympathetic treatment. She was a victim of racist attacks.

Instead of condemning the way she was treated it seems as if greater convenience is

found in turning the victim into the aggressor.

She was not perfect.

Neither are those who attacked her. But let it be understood that no woman in this country has done more, has endured more than Mrs. Janet Jagan for the cause of freedom. Respect must be given where it is due. Such respect must be showered at the feet of one of the world's leading female rebels, Mrs. Janet Jagan.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Saturday March 06, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Defenders of election rigging: A Marxist and Freudian analysis. Part 2 I

ended part one yesterday by stating that the mulatto society and the middle class in general did not anticipate a PPP return to power in 2020. Although they had some vexations with the way t h e A P N U + A F C government performed from 2015 to 2020, these strata were overall comfortable

with the neo-liberal directions of the government.

They saw in Granger a middle class personality that they would accept any day than a Bharrat Jagdeo or Donald Ramotar or Irfaan Ali. As the election campaign began in December, they could not have envisaged a win for the

PPP. Their uneasiness about the PPP first started with the game-changer – the no confidence vote (NCV). In my piece yesterday, I mentioned that throughout the year of the machinations to avoid the effect of the NCV, not even one article was published about the illegalities of the PNC and AFC in the weekly “In the

Diaspora” column.

By Thursday afternoon on March 4 when the world knew the PPP had won, the mulatto groupings had become resigned for two reasons. First, the rigging was too blatant, barefaced, comical, and sickening. If it was subtle and sophisticated, they may have had an excuse to accept an APNU+AFC “victory.”

In fact, three women from this stratum published an interview with the Chronicle supporting Claudette Singh. But as Singh's deportment became more and more unpalatable, their open support for rigging disappeared. This stratum chose to remain silent.

A second reason for the reticence was fear of loss of credibility. Highly respected international figures from all over the world were condemning the rigging.

The list of eminent personalities included past and present CARICOM prime ministers and the current Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies.

Because of space constraints, we have to move on to the other compartment mentioned in part one that had their Freudian reasons for staying silent.

This topic is an involved one and a third of a column will not do justice to the analysis. So the remaining section of this article will just be brief notes.

Why did people like Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Dr. Clive Thomas, Dr. Nigel Westmass, Dr. Arif Bulkan, Moses Bhagwan, Eusi Kwayana and others chose not to denounce one of the

world's most tragic attempt to rape democracy in Guyana in an age where that was almost impossible in these parts of the world?

All the names featured above saw the 2020 election contest as a war involving a party that they feared coming back to power. It doesn't mean that they like the APNU+AFC. They didn't want the PPP's return. Here is

Frederick Kissoon w h e r e Freud comes in. In their mind lies a deep nonapproval of the PPP. People like Moses Bhagwan and Eusi Kwayana have never forgiven the PPP for reducing their role in Guyanese politics. Those men will never forgive Cheddi Jagan.

For them, Jagan is the PPP and the PPP is Jagan.

They both gravitated to the WPA in the 70s because they saw the WPA as replacing the PPP thereby gaining their revenge on Jagan. It will need at least two columns to analyze Rupert Roopnaraine. He is perhaps an atavistic return to the era of the middle class, light complexioned Indians in the 40s who preferred to socialize with the European society in British Guiana.

People like Roopnaraine, the Ramsahoyes, the

Luckhoos, Peter D'Aguiar's Indian colleagues, chose to attach themselves to Creole/Portuguese/colonial society. They evolved from Guyanese Creole culture and were socialized into Creole, West Indian culture. These Indians are not obnoxious people; in fact are pleasant humans. It is just at the cultural level, they prefer European values. Do you know one of the most prominent, living Guyanese personalities dropped his Indian last name and adopted a western, Christian last name?

I r o n i c a l l y, W h i t e American, Janet Jagan, embraced Indian culture. The attitude of these people to the 2020 rigging is the same as their colleagues in the mulatto ethnic community.

Finally, the WPA people like Clive Thomas, Joycelyn Dow, Bonita Bone, Dr. Nigel Westmass, Dr. David Hinds and other WPA remnants. The problems between these people and the PPP run long and deep. The choice for them is APNU+AFC not the PPP. Their historical approach to contemporary dialectics in Guyana is that the WPA should have been the rightful heir of the vacuum that existed after Forbes Burnham's totalitarian tyranny was extirpated.

They felt deeply hurt and they have become unforgiving at what the PPP did to them after 1992. That was no reason for wanting Guyana to return to dictatorship through rigged election in 2020. You had to put country first. They did not.

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

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

First well in Canje block yields non-commercial discovery W

estmount E n e rg y, a n indirect shareholder in the Canje block, announced on Thursday that ExxonMobil made a discovery at the Bulletwood-1 well, determined to be noncommercial. This, We s t m o u n t s a i d , i s according to a shareholder communication from JHI Associates, a company with a 17.5 percent stake in the Exxon-operated block.

Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited

(EEPGL), ExxonMobil's l o c a l s u b s i d i a r y, s a i d “Bulletwood-1, the first well in the Canje block, has confirmed our seismic interpretation of the geology and shown evidence of noncommercial hydrocarbons.”

The well “was safely drilled in 2,846 meters of water by the Stena Carron drillship to its planned target depth of 6,690 meters. The well encountered quality reservoirs but nonc o m m e r c i a l hydrocarbons…”

Westmount said.

Westmount said that data collection at Bulletwood-1 confirms the presence of the Guyana-Suriname basin petroleum system and the potential prospectivity of the block. Canje is estimated to hold about 10 billion oilequivalent barrels.

Bulletwood-1, the first of three Canje wells planned for exploration in 2021, was estimated to hold a few hundred million barrels.

Drilling of Jabillo-1 and Sapote-1 will follow in the coming months.

ExxonMobil is the Canje

operator with 35 percent interest, while Total, JHI and Mid-Atlantic hold 35 percent, 17.5 percent and 12.5 percent respectively.

Westmount has about 7.7 percent interest in the issued share capital of JHI. ExxonMobil had also made a non-commercial discovery in November 2020 at the Tanager-1 well in the Kaieteur block. Both wells were the first in their respective blocks to be drilled.

ExxonMobil also operates the Kaieteur block

with 35 percent interest, while Ratio Petroleum, Cataleya and Hess hold 25 percent, 25 percent and 15 percent respectively.

“Geologic risk is inherent to frontier oil and gas exploration activities.

Every well in frontier oil and gas exploration provides invaluable data to inform future activities,” ExxonMobil's Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, said on Thursday. “Our exploration success in Guyana is 80 percent with 18 discoveries

on the Stabroek block.”

ExxonMobil said it would continue to leverage its expertise and technology to explore the “high risk frontier areas” in the Canje and Kaieteur blocks. The Stena Carron drillship, which explored Bulletwood1, will move to the Stabroek block for exploration there.

Chief Operating Officer at Hess Corporation, a company with interest in Stabroek, said in January that ExxonMobil plans a 1215 well drilling campaign there this year.

MOH to partner with Education Ministry to immunize teachers against COVID-19

T

he Ministry of Health (MOH) is seeking to collaborate with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to have teachers immunized against COVID-19.

This is according to the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, who made the revelation while delivering the COVID-19 update on Wednesday.

Dr. Anthony explained

that with the ongoing immunization campaign, the government would be targeting frontline workers, which are not limited to frontline health care workers. “Then also as another group of persons working on the frontline would, of course, be teachers because they would interface with students and so forth.

While we have not opened all the schools or all the

classes, there is still some classroom interaction,” he stated.

Notably, while most students across the country are engaged in virtual learning, the MOE, with permission from the MOH, sought to reopen schools for Grades 10, 11, 12 and Technical and Vocational Education students for faceto-face classes on November 9, last year. The conditional reopening was approved to provide students with efficient teaching, so that they could complete their School-Based Assessments (SBAs) and Internal Assessments (IAs), in light of the upcoming 2021 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination

(CAPE).

Upon consultations with teachers and students, both parties were extremely concerned that they would not be prepared for CSEC and CAPE next year because there was a lack of face-toface classes.

Dr. Anthony believes that despite social distancing and other regulations implemented to prevent the spread of the virus within schools, teachers are providing an essential service; hence, it is pertinent that they are protected against the virus.

Further, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, recently announced the possibility of all schools reopening for face-to-face learning after the Easter holiday, since the government has a robust

vaccination program planned for the month of M a r c h . H o w e v e r, t h e decision can only be made with directives from the MOH. She had stated that the possible reopening would be in an effort to align with the international best practice of having students at all levels back in schools. According to Manickchand, this is to combat the long-term impact of no physical classes. “The research suggests that the longer schools stay closed, the more long-term disadvantages we'll have, the more students are likely to drop out, and the more students are likely to suffer from learning loss or severe learning loss.”

The rollout of the government's COVID-19 immunization campaign

thus far, has seen a large number of frontline health workers being vaccinated along with elderly persons 60 years and above. Persons with co-morbidities are next in line. Frontline health workers were given first preference in the immunization programme.

Guyana's COVID-19 immunization programme had kick-started with the donation of 3,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Barbados, which saw 2,800 being allocated to frontline healthcare workers and the remainder was given to workers at the CARICOM Secretariat.

Another donation of 20,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine also arrived this week from China.

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 13

Magistrate remands alleged serial rapist to prison

by Magistrate, Dylon Bess, in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court.

That charge had alleged that on August 31, 2017, while being in lawful custody at the Agricola Police Outpost, pending investigation of an alleged rape and robbery, he escaped l a w f u l c u s t o d y. T h e Magistrate had told the court

REMANDED: Thurston Semple

A

lleged serial rapist, 37-yearold, Thurston Semple, of Lot 5A, Tucville Terrace, Georgetown, was yesterday slapped with his fourth rape charge, and remanded to prison.

Semple, a taxi-driver, who is no stranger to the courts, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleged that between February 24, 2021, and February 25, 2021, at Lot 5A, Tucville Terrace, he engaged in sexual penetration with a woman, without her consent.

The police prosecutor made objections to bail being granted to Semple, citing the fact that he was previously charged for raping three sex workers and was committed to stand trial in the High Court for two of the charges. The prosecutor also added that if Semple is granted bail, he might cause harm to the witness, since after this incident occurred, another woman came forward with similar allegations against him.

However, Semple told the court what the prosecutor said is a 'lie' and that he was arrested for a domestic violence allegation. He said for some reason or the other, he was charged with rape. He also stated that he has no knowledge about the other cases that are being levelled against him.

Kaieteur News had reported that on February 24, 2021, around 23:30 hrs. at Robb and Cummings Streets, Georgetown, the woman was standing on the road smoking a cigarette, when Semple drove up beside her and offered her a job. It was reported that the

woman agreed to have sexual intercourse with Semple for $10, 000. After the agreement was made, the woman got into Semple's car and he reportedly took her to his home, where they had sex.

However, Semple and the woman later got into a misunderstanding, which allegedly caused him to remove the condom from his penis. He reportedly armed himself with a knife, then allegedly raped and sodomized the woman at knifepoint. The woman managed to escape from Semple by breaking and jumping through the louvre windows at the front of his house. It is alleged that Semple then came after the woman and repeatedly battered her in his yard. An alarm was raised and neighbours managed to intervene.

The police was called in and an ambulance subsequently arrived on the scene. The woman was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where she was hospitalized for three days.

She reportedly suffered a fractured rib, lacerations to the face, and multiple cuts.

Semple was later rearrested and subsequently charged with rape. However, Semple has not yet been c h a rg e d f o r a l l e g e d l y battering the woman.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e investigation is ongoing into the allegations made against Semple by another woman that he allegedly abducted, raped and battered. Chief Magistrate McLennan, remanded Semple to prison and the matter was adjourned to March 11, 2021.

According to reports, during August 2017, Semple was charged for escaping from lawful custody, but that charge was dismissed

that the prosecution was unable to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, citing that insufficient evidence was led by the prosecution team. He added that the accused was also charged under the wrong section of the law.

Kaieteur News had also reported that on January 12, 2018, Semple appeared in

the Georgetown Magistrates' Court before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, for allegedly tying up two sex workers on separate occasions and having sex with them.

The first charge alleged that between November 30, 2017 and on December 1, 2017 at Georgetown, he engaged in sexual

penetration of a woman, without her consent. It was also reported that between January 3, 2018 and January 4, 2018 at Georgetown, he sexually assaulted another woman. Semple was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

It was reported that Semple picked up the sex (continued on page 16)

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Agricola man admits to ganja charge, gets 4 years F

our days after he walked into Court Three at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court and admitted to giving a visually impaired man a bag that contained cannabis, Michael Solomon, of Lot 168 Agricola, East Bank Demerara, was yesterday officially charged and sentenced to four years imprisonment.

Solomon appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that on

(From left) Ivor Anderson, Troy Jacobs, Perez Cush, and Michael Solomon

February 12, 2021, at Georgetown, he had in his

possession, 3.156 kilograms of cannabis for the purpose

of trafficking.

Three men were

previously charged for the offence. Those men are Perez Cush, 43, a barber, of Newtown Kitty, Georgetown; Troy Jacobs, 46, a businessman, of Penny Lane, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown; and Ivor Anderson, 75, of Region Eight.

On Monday last, Solomon along with his lawyer, Paul Fung-A-Fat, walked into Principal Magistrate, Sherdel IsaacsMarcus' courtroom, and opted to plead guilty to the ganja charge.

In his address to the court, Solomon said that on the day in question, he had given Anderson the bag, which contained 3.156 kilograms of cannabis. Fung-A-Fat told the court that his client is willing to plead guilty to the charge that Cush, Jacobs and Anderson are charged for.

As a result, Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) prosecutor, Konyo Sandiford, told Principal Magistrate Marcus, that Solomon would

be escorted to CANU's headquarters for questioning. Solomon was subsequently charged and put before the court yesterday for the offence.

Senior Magistrate Daly, sentenced Solomon to four years imprisonment and fined him $2,367,000.

Anderson, Joseph, and Cush made their first court appearance on February 15, 2021, and were all placed on $500,000 bail each, with a condition attached that they all lodge their passports.

They are expected to make their next court appearance for the same offence on April 19, 2021.

According to reports, Cush, Jacobs and Anderson were intercepted on February 12, 2021, by CANU ranks while they were travelling along the route of Homestretch and Mandela Avenues, Georgetown.

A search was conducted on the vehicle and a parcel allegedly containing the cannabis was unearthed.

Health Ministry records 30 new infections

T

he Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday reported 30 new COVID-19 infections via its daily dashboard, which shows the case toll increased to 8,729.

The MOH's dashboard also shows that five patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, another nine are in institutional quarantine, 39 in institutional isolation and 386 in home isolation. Additionally, a total of 8,099 persons have recovered to date, with 25 new recoveries recorded yesterday.

The COVID-19 death toll remains at 200 deaths.

Labour Ministry conducting...

From page 8 were examined individually.

Upon inspection, it was found that the climbers had their minimum mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), “in the form of safety helmets, glasses, gloves, visibility vest and foil protection kits, in the form of the harness and lanyard.”

Hamilton affirmed that when OHS breaches are found, warnings will be given and the employer will be asked to

remedy same.

However, there was no mention of a penalty for further noncompliance.

Additionally, the Minister notified that the Labour Ministry through collaboration with the Public Service Ministry is currently conducting all procedures for the hiring of more OHS and labour officers since there is a very low number countrywide, with only one officer in certain regions.

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

PAGE 16 FOR SALEFOR SALE

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VACANCY Receptionist 30-55 yrs old 233 South rd Lacytown Tel#225-0198 One (1) part time truck driver apply at Lens 136 Sheriff Street, C/Ville Tel#227-2486 Porter, clearner apply with application/ photo to 16 Vlissengen rd. Newtown

German Shepherd pups vaccinated & dewormed.

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Exits for laboures, carpenters, painter & security. Call 623- Suzike 200 properalla size 14 1/4 x 22, Tel#659-7108 1615

Shop worker & handyman to work in interior Tel#231-0363

FOR RENT

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

FOR SALEFOR SALE

Cat 428 back-hoe. Cat 215 Excavator used parts road spray painting machine 6837225/ 227-0367

WANTED Kitchen manager must have experience must be able to motivate apply @ Shanta's 225 Camp St Factory workers, male & female apply in person to RP Enterprise Leressouveneir E.C.D Tel#220-2818 2 Lorry drivers 3 porters Contact 626-4691/ 627-1835 One experience bartender, waitress for lounge and one domestic living around ogle Tel#648-7866 Taxi drivers for new taxi services Tel#653-4318 Experienced counter server, kitchen assistant, roti/ puri cook apply Hack's Halaal, 5 Commerce St 1 truck driver Call 223-9677 8am to 5pm One (1) male able bodied clerk call: 225-2313/ 226-1497 Carri's in campbelleville needs a shorts order cook and cooking chief Call or whatsapp6812411/ 301-254-6348 gilbertcarrington@yahoo.com Puri roti cooks apply @ Shanta's 225 Camp St Experience license custom broker with 5 plus year experience contact hr@buxoguyana.com LEGAL NOTICE 2021-HC-DEM-CIV-FD-114 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE FAMILY, DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION FAMILY DIVISION PETITION NO.: FD- 114 BETWEEN: (RAMPERSAUD) RANDIR Petitioner/Applicant -andRAMPERSAUD) ROHAN IE nee HEMNAUTH RESPONANT TO: ROHANIE RAMPERSAUD nee HEMNAUTH (Last Known Address) Long Pond, Sister’s Village,

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

West Bank Demerara TAKE NOTICE that on the 27th day of January, 2021 a Petition for Divorce was filed against you by RANDIR RAMPERSAUD, the Petitioner/Applicant in the Family Division of the High Court in Georgetown. Demerara.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that as part of an Order made on the 24th day of February, 2021, the Petitioner/Applicant was directed to effect service of his Petition on you by publication of this Notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issues of the Kaieteur News Newspapers, a daily Newspaper printed, published and circulated in and around Guyana and on the World Wide Web ..

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire you may appear or attend in person or by your duly authorized agent or Attorney-at-Law at the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara where you will be issued with a certified copy of the Petition together with related documents.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire to Defend this Divorce, then upon receipt of the certified copy of the Petition, you must file an Acknowledgement of Service, Notice of Intention to Defend (Forms are available at the Registry), Answer and/or Cross Petition in the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara within 35 (thirtyfive) days from the date of the final publication of this Notice.

TAKE NOTICE that the divorce is re-fixed for Directions Hearing on . Monday the 19th day of April, 2021 at 10:30 am before the Honourable . ‘Madam Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall in Court Room 6 via Zoom Meeting 461 8845616 and Password: court6 of the High Court at Georgetown.

IN DEFAULT of your filing an Acknowledgement of Service Notice of Intention to Defend, Answer and/or Cross Petition the Court may proceed in your absence and may make any Order ‘it considers appropriate, including granting the Divorce.

The Registry of the Family Division of the High Court is located at the Law Courts [Georgetown, Demerara].

The office is open to the public between 8:00am and 3:30pm Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00am to 2:30pm on Fridays except on public holidays and on such other days as the Registry is closed. Dated the 2nd day of March, 2021

2021- H C- D EM ‘:CIV - FD69 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE FAMILY, DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION FAMILY DIVISION PETITION NO.: FD-69 BETWEEN: (YAW) YSANNE ONICA !lee WREN -and(YAW) SEON MARVIN Petitioner Respondent TO: SEON MARVIN YAW (Last Known Address) Lot 36 West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana.

TAKE NOTICE that on the 21st day of January, 2021 a Petition for Divorce was filed against you by YSANNE ONICA YAW nee WREN, the Petitioner in the Family Division of the High Court in Georgetown, Demerara.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that as part of an Order made on the 17th day of February, 2021 the Petitioner was directed to effect service of her Petition on you by publication of this Notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issues of Kaieteur News Newspapers, a daily Newspaper printed, published and circulated in and around Guyana and on the Worldwide Web. AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire you may appear or attend in person or by your duly authorized agent or Attorneyat-Law at the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara where you will be issued with a certified copy of the Petition together with related documents.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire to Defend this Divorce, then upon receipt of the certified copy of the Petition, you must file an Acknowledgement of Service, Notice of Intention to Defend (Forms are available at the Registry), an Answer and/or Cross Petition in the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara within 35 (thirty-five) days from the date of the Second and final publication of this Notice.

TAKE NOTICE that the divorce is fixed for Directions Hearing on Wednesday the 28th day of April, 2021 at 10:30 am before the Honourable Madam Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the High Court at Georgetown via Zoom Meeting rD: 503 218 6789 and Password: court 1 a.

IN DEFAULT of you filing an Acknowledgement of Service Notice of Intention to Defend, an Answer and/or Cross Petition the Court may proceed in your absence and may make any Order it

considers appropriate, including granting the Divorce.

The Registry of the Family Division of the High Court is located at the Law Courts [Georgetown, Demerara].

The office is open to’ the public between 8:00 am and 3:30 pm Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00 am to 2:30 pm on Fridays except on public holidays and on such other days as the Registry is closed.

Dated the 26th day of February, 2021

Magistrate remands alleged serial ...

From page 13 workers on separate occasions and took them to his home, where he agreed to pay them $10,000 each for performing sexual acts on him. Following this, Semple tied their hands and feet, placed them in his car and took them back at the location where he met them without paying for their service.

The Chief Magistrate, McLennan, had granted Semple bail in the sum of $400,000. Semple was committed to stand trial in the High Court during May 2018, for the rape of the two sex workers. However, while he was still out on bail, weeks after he was committed, he was slapped with another rape charge.

According to reports, on August 31, 2017, at Quamina Street, Georgetown, he engaged in sexual penetration with a woman without her consent. He was not required to plead to the indictable offence. According to the facts of that charge, on the day in question, Semple met the woman who is said to be a sex worker at Palm Court and carried her to a hotel, where he had sex with her against her will.

The woman then went and reported the matter to the police and the defendant was arrested for the offence. Even though the police prosecutor objected to bail being granted to the defendant, citing that he was recently committed to stand trial in the High Court, the Magistrate granted Semple bail in the sum of $100,000 with the condition that he lodge his passport at the court and stay away from the virtual complainant until the completion of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI).

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Guyana should establish National Oil Company – Suriname Oil Boss Given its aim to efficiently monitor and regulate the diverse and lucrative oil and gas sector, it would be good for Guyana to establish its own national oil company (NOC). Making this critical disclosure was Rudolf Elias, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Suriname’s NOC, Staatsolie.

During his debut appearance on the Kaieteur Radio programme, Guyana’s Oil & You, the Suriname Oil Boss highlighted the importance and benefits of having a seat at the table with international oil companies.

“Having someone on your team at this table,” he said, will provide the country

with firsthand information on project costs, while keeping transactions transparent.

Elias explained, “They can’t inflate because we are there to see it and that is why I say Staatsolie should always have a seat at the table, because we want to know the costs of the different projects because it is the basis for the inflow the government will have.”

This, the CEO indicated, should form the foundation for establishing a NOC, equipped with competent, skilled individuals who can be a partner of choice for international oil companies, like ExxonMobil, Total or Tullow.

Against this he added, “The NOC is critical so you can partner with them and talk with them on equal terms and if they want to do ‘A’ you can challenge them.

Why do you want to do A? Why not B? We can look out for our own interest to ensure the people of Suriname prosper; the people who should get the most out of it are the people of Suriname.”

Guyana should start building knowledge for a NOC, the Suriname Oil Boss said, because by paving the way for capacity building, countries make better deals with the international oil companies, as well as being

able to better understand what they are doing. He added too that proper capacity building should be open to all agencies, and not exclusive to government ministries and institutions.

Elias had also stressed that the capacity to address commercial aspects of the oil industry must not be overlooked.

Elias said, “The basis of dealing with the oil companies should always be commercial because at the end of the day, we must ensure that we get as much money as practically possible for the people; and the government should have policies guiding spending.”

Staatsolie’s CEO, Rudolf Elias

PAGE 18

Saturday March 06, 2021

Kaieteur News

Opposition MP “traumatized” following alleged assault by Minister McCoy Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, relayed yesterday during a media briefing that she remains “traumatized” after the alleged assault committed on her by Public Affairs Minister,

Kwame McCoy. The Opposition Parliamentarian said too that she is not ruling out bringing private charges against him.

Seated beside her husband, a teary Halley gave her account of what

transpired during the ordeal, noting that on Wednesday, during the 2021 Budget Estimate considerations, she had observed Keith Lowenfield, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), being harassed

by Minister McCoy and

others on the corridors of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

The MP stated that she had signalled to Lowenfield to leave the ACCC and avoid confrontation, but this led to Minister McCoy following her

with his phone.

Seconds later, the MP said McCoy struck her to the temple with the mobile device.

Halley relayed as well that she has since obtained a medical, which revealed that she suffered “head trauma.” With regards to video evidence, the MP stated that no camera was pointing in the direction where the incident occurred. This aligns with statements made by the Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, who had disclosed that camera footage that was reviewed in his presence and that of other Opposition MPs revealed no indication of physical assault. The police will now have to rely on eyewitness accounts of the alleged assault to complete their investigations.

Yesterday’s press conference was the first public interaction the MP made since the incident.

On Wednesday evening, the Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, at a press conference condemned McCoy’s actions and demanded an apology from the MP. He however remained tightlipped regarding the details of the alleged assault.

According to Harmon, there were several witnesses to the incident, but he declined to indicate whether the witnesses were Government or Opposition MPs or even staffers of the Parliament Office.

Harmon told the press, “I don’t have to tell you who are these witnesses. They are

Opposition MP, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley witnesses who the police took statements from. These are people who actually saw what happened. It doesn’t matter where they are from.”

Further to that, when the media insisted on obtaining more details of the incident, the Opposition’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Imran Khan, cautioned against turning the press conference “into an investigation” as that is the role of the police.

Khan told the media that, “What I find very concerning is the fact that we seem to want to execute an investigation before we do any reportage on an issue.

The facts are before you. A Member of Parliament has made an allegation that she was assaulted by another Member of Parliament. One does not need any further facts to report that in the newspaper.”

Meanwhile, Minister McCoy, in a statement denied the assault allegations. He did admit however to a verbal altercation.

...Former Councillor leaves From page 3 threatened to punish any local leader who dared to criticize its actions/inactions.”

Hundreds of thousands people, he said, are now saddled with debt because they could not afford the continually rising costs of living due to the albatross of new taxes placed on the working and middle classes.

Notwithstanding those developments and the “disgraceful abandonment” of Gasper's hometown of Linden, the former party member said he had campaigned “hard” for the coalition when it came close to the March 2020 elections, hoping that with another term, frustrations on the ground would be adequately addressed and the shortcomings in governance rectified.

“This too was not to be,” Gasper wrote, “The party suffered a devastating defeat at those elections fair and square but chose to instead revert to its old Gestapo tactics of attempting to rig the results in its favour, dragging our hardwon democracy through the gutters for five long months.

Throughout this period, the membership was blatantly lied to, in a web of deception and manipulation without any transparent access to the Statement of Polls, which would have certainly proved otherwise, had they been re-

vealed.”

He continued, “It was indeed an unbearably frightening experience that after 23 years in opposition, the PNCR under the coalition banner was barefacedly seeking to rig the elections in full view of Guyanese and the rest of the world.”

Not surprising, Gasper added, “Even as the country reflects this week on the events of the protracted elections, the opposition Members of Parliament (MP) engaged in the most distasteful tactics to derail the passage of this year's budget by openly trampling on established parliamentary protocols and out rightly disrespecting the Speaker of the House.”

It is for the reasons stated above that Gasper submitted his letter of resignation to the PNCR with immediate effect.

Notably, Gasper would be the fifth coalition Executive that has since resigned following the events of the March 2020 elections. Just last month, Kaieteur News reported that an AFC Executive, Joel Edmond, had issued his resignation citing that the party had “lost its way.” Prior to Edmond's resignation, the coalition saw resignations from former AFC Members, Reynard Ward, Vladimir Glasgow, and Leonard Craig.

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 19

Taxi driver died from multiple blunt trauma to the head R

aoul Anthony Melville, a taxi driver, who was found dead in his Norton Street, Bagotstown home on Thursday morning, died from brain haemorrhage due to multiple blunt trauma to the head. This is according to a post mortem examination done on his body yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) mortuary. The examination was performed

by Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh.

Kaieteur News was informed yesterday by Crime Chief, Wendell Blandhum, that three persons were arrested in relation to the matter and are being questioned.

It was reported that around 08:30 hrs., the father of three was discovered lying motionless on his living room floor by his 11year-old son. Melville, who resided with his wife and two children was last seen alive sometime around 01:00 hrs. on Thursday.

When Kaieteur News reached out to his family, the

Dead: Raoul Anthony Melville

dead man's mother, Shafali Melville, recalled that sometime after 08:00 hrs. she had sent her 11-year-old grandson who resides with her call his father (Raoul).

The woman said after a few minutes, the little boy returned screaming and shouting, “Tony dead and he deh on the ground.” Shafali said that right away she left what she was doing and ran

to her son's house which is located a mere stone's throw away from hers.

Upon arrival, Melville was seen lying on the floor and his music set was playing. She recounted calling out for him but after realizing that he was not breathing, she started to panic.

After alerting other family members, further

Abandoned trio at 63 Beach...

Body of third missing person found

N

early a month after going missing, the third person, who was abandoned by a boat operator on a sand bank some distance away from the Number 63 Beach on February 9, 2021, has been found.

R e g i o n a l C o m m a n d e r, J a i r a m Ramlakhan, confirmed with this publication that the remains of Sherida Hussain, of Lot 27 Pilot Street, New Amsterdam, was found nestled among tree twigs and shrubs on the Number 48 Foreshore, by a Fisherman on Thursday night. It was reported to the police and they visited the scene with Joshua Samaroo, Hussain's son.

Her body was positively identified by him by a distinguishing mark on her foot. The body was escorted to the Anthony's Funeral Parlour, awaiting a post mortem examination.

Hussein, together with Babuni Harrier and Alwin Joseph, left Suriname to return to Guyana in February and were all abandoned by the captain of the boat in which they were returning with. The Captain dropped off the trio on a sand bank, a distance away from the Number 63 beach foreshore, an illegal backtrack entry that is often used by persons.

The captain had told authorities in Suriname that he thought it was the beach shore he dropped off the trio.

Joseph and Harrier's bodies were found shortly after but Hussein's body remained missing while her belongings were found.

Her son will have some closure now that her remains have been located.

DEAD: Sherida Hussain

Berbice man found...

From page 8 Hardy.

Levan Chanderpaul, who was 26-yearsold at the time of his death in 2016, was a Fisherman from Number 68 Village, Upper Corentyne, Berbice. His body was discovered bound with chop wounds, two days after going missing on April 24, 2016 in the Number 68 backlands. A post mortem examination that was conducted on the body of Chanderpaul revealed that he died from a fractured skull.

The accused, Munilall Sarjoo, was arrested the following year.

checks were made and his entire bedroom was seen ransacked and dismantled.

The woman told this publication that the father of two was found between the chair set and injuries were

seen on his neck, which bore a black and blue mark, blood was on his mouth and nose.

His back also had a few marks.

According to police reports, the dead man's home

bore no sign of forced entry.

Meanwhile, his body was removed and taken to the GPHC, where he was pronounced dead. An investigation has since been launched into the matter.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

GSCL Inc President’s Cup

Mangar, Yusuf slam centuries on opening day

By Zaheer Mohamed Centuries from Brian Mangar and Unnis Yusuf highlighted the opening day of the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc President’s T20 Cup yesterday.

At Queen’s College, in the open category, Speedboat beat Regal All-Stars by one wicket. Batting first, Regal AllStars made 121 all out in 18.5 overs. Ricardo Adams made 28 and Sachin Singh 21. Mark Harold captured 3-18, Greg Singh 2-18, Ian Ivan 2-22 and Safraz Esau 2-31. Speedboat scored 125-9 in 19.5 overs in reply. N. Singh made 36 and Esau 30 not out. Sewchand Budhu grabbed 4-19.

Ariel defeated Hill Foot by 252 runs. Ariel batted first and posted 284-7. Brian Mangar hammered seven fours and 11 sixes in a top score of 103, while Jonathan Fernandes got 37 and Shaz Grovesnor 36; Vickey Ragubeer took 3-50.

Hill Foot were skittled for 32 in 5.3 overs. Bobby Prahalad bagged 5-16 and Keyon Sinclair snared 4-15.

Venon overcame Coss Cutter by 33 runs. Batting first, Venon managed 184 all out in 19.5 overs. Alex Rodrigues scored 58 and Patel Persaud 25; Ajay Persaud, Sheldon Adams and Mark Bobb picked up two wickets each. Coss Cutter replied with 151-9. Sheldon

Adams made 42 and Imran Hassan 28. S. Persaud had 328 and C. Walcott 2-29.

Venom took first strike and made 188 all out. Qazim (only name given) scored 75 while F. Azweem scored 39; C. Arjune claimed 3-11, D. Singh 2-31 and K. Bissoondial 2-39. Avinash Scrap Metal responded with 181 all out in 18.3 overs. Travis Drakes scored 46, M. Boodhoo 39 and L. Alphonso 25 and L. Leander 24; F. Azweem captured 3-34, A. Pierce 2-22, S. Singh 2-31 and C. Walcott 2-51.

Hill Foot batted first and were bowled out for 119 in 19.4 overs. S. Sarjoo made 25; Mark Harold had 2-13 and P.

Saturday March 06, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A new and previously unacknowledged talent for working in social, humanitarian, or spiritual fields could come to light today, Aries.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You have been wondering whether it is worth getting closer to a certain person, and now there is an opportunity to meet with them.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Increased intuition, imagination, and spiritual insight could inspire you to either undertake a course of study or move ahead with related creative projects, Taurus.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A lecture given by a magnetic speaker could excite your imagination and interest you in a new and intriguing field, Scorpio. You could also learn about some books on the subject that you want to read.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Recent new ideas, insights, and visions could motivate you to invite friends with similar interests over today. You will want to share your experiences, listen to their stories, and try to make sense of it all.

CANCER(June21–July22) An invitation to a social event in your neighborhood could put you in touch with artistic or spiritually inclined people.

There could be some fascinating exchanges, Cancer.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Spiritual insights you received over the past few days could turn your thoughts to serving others. You might have a talent for teaching and choose to share what you've learned in this way, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Romance should pick up speed today, Virgo. You could discover that you and a current or potential romantic partner have many spiritual interests in common. You might attend some lectures or workshops on one of these subjects together.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) A friend or colleague could introduce you to a way to increase your income by doing what you love most.

This may involve the creative arts, healing, or spiritual or metaphysical matters.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Enthusiasm for spiritual and metaphysical studies could have you feeling optimistic about the future. Your physical energy is high, Capricorn, and this suggests that you want to try yoga.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today you might want to host a meeting of your metaphysically inclined friends, Aquarius. Discussions could lead to insights that none of you would have come up with alone.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Books or lectures on spiritual or metaphysical matters could inspire you to pursue a subject and perhaps do some writing, Pisces.

Alleyne 2-22. Speedboat replied with 120-6 in 12.4 overs. Safraz Esau made 38, N. Singh 28 and Safraz Karim 26. N. Ragubeer took three wickets and V. Singh had two.

Ariel All-Stars posted 1825, taking first knock. Brian Mangar struck 81 and Quentin Sampson 24; D. Ramnauth had 2-33. Regal AllStars replied with v183-3 in 16.2 overs. Sachin Singh slammed 90 and Ricardo Adams 53. Mangar took 2-23.

Essequibo Wild Oats scored 130 all out in 18.3 overs. Ganesh Mangal made 42 and D. Bhola 25 not out.

M.Bobb captured 4-19 and R. Jainarine 3-25. Coss Cutters replied with 131-8 in 18 overs.

M. Jagnarine made 25, S. Adams mase 22; M. Pearson had two wickets.

At Everest CC, in the Masters category, Ariel Masters overcame Wellman Masters by 13 runs. Ariel Masters batted first and scored 161-9 with Fidel Singh scoring 51, Ron Ramnauth 30 and Samuel Kingston 27.

Sheldon Perch and Rawl Reid picked up two wickets each.

Wellman Masters responded with 148-7. Rawl Reid made 58 not out and Patrick Khan 42.

Fidel Singh and Narine Hardai took two wickets each.

Regal Masters defeated Better Hope by four wickets.

Better Hope Masters were bowled out for 68 in 12.1 overs. Lakeram Roopnarine made 19 and Ravi Singh 14; Mohamed Ayube bagged 517. Regal Masters replied with 70-6 in 10.2 overs. Avinash Sharadnandan made 18 and Muneshwar Balgobin 13.

Dindial Danraj and Mustapha Azimullah had two wickets each.

...Hetmeyer and Gordon From page 22 Lafluer, Suresh Dhanai, Kishan Gangaram, Gorshan Barran, Philbert Wilburg and Deonarine Seepersaud.

BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that a total of ten grass root tournaments would be played across the county with the objectives of allowing minor clubs the opportunities of winning titles, to return the passion for the game and to indentify new talents for further development. Teams are reminded that all their players have to be attired in white and must walk along with their own drinking water, lunch, face mask and hand sanitizers. Social distancing would be practiced in the pavilion, while no spectators would be allowed into the venue.

Wellman Masters beat Trophy Stall Masters by 60 runs. Wellman Masters took first strike and made 164-6.

Ernesto King scored 55 and Greg De Franca 41; Ramraj Baljit took 2-34. Trophy Stall Masters responded with 1044. Baljit made 44 and Dindial Lakhan scored 28. Anil Durga took two wickets.

Trophy Stall Masters overcame HS Masters by 53 runs. Trophy Stall Masters posted 170-3, taking first knock. Dindial Lakhan stroked 93 not out while Khemraj Baljit made 35. Wazir Majid took 2-26. HS Masters were bowled out for 117 in reply. Ganpat Gusain made 38 as Randolph Ketwaroo claimed 3-24, Lakhan 2-13 and Rudolph Johnson 2-19.

Regal Masters beat Corriverton Masters by eight wickets. Corriverton batted first and managed 189-7.

David Lukenauth slammed 87, John Percival 23 and Sudesh Persaud 22. Surujdeo Ramdeen captured 3-48.

Regal Masters replied with 190-2 in 17.1 overs. Richard Latif scored 75 and Chien Gitttens 67 not out.

HS Masters beat Ariel Masters by 25 runs. HS Masters managed 148-4, batting first. Wazir Majid scored 61 and Keith Fraser 51; Mark Fung took 2-40. Ariel Masters were bowled out for

123 in 14.4 overs.

Fisherman Masters scored 178-9 and restricted Corriverton Masters to 139-9 to win by 39 runs. Better Hope Masters scored 128 allout to which Fisherman Masters replied with 129-8.

In the Legends category, Parika Defenders piled up 311-5, batting first at MYO. Ramesh Kumar struck 82 while Unnis Yusuf made 54 and Ramo Malone 44.

Sunshine State were bowled out for 104 in 19 overs, in reply. Malone claimed three wickets.

Regal Legends beat Wellman Legends by six runs.

Regal Legends scored 119-7, while Wellman Legends were limited to 113-8, in reply.

Wellman Legends made 72-8 to beat Enterprise Legends 70-8 by eight runs.

Rockaway Legends scored 117-2, beating Enterprise 113 all out by four runs.

Floodlights made 146-7 while President’s XI responded with 147-4. Floodlights posted 185-3, batting first, while Parika Defenders responded with 186-1; Unnis Yusuf scored 101 and Ramesh Narine 66.

Rockaway made 130-1 while Regal Legends responded with 131-4 in 12.2 overs.

The competition continues today.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 22

Saturday March 06, 2021

Spinners lead Sri Lanka to series-levelling win over Windies

A

FP - Sri Lanka’s s p i n n e r s bamboozled w o r l d champions West Indies to claim a 43-run win in the s e c o n d Tw e n t y 2 0 International at Coolidge Cricket Ground yesterday.

Having lost by four wickets in the opening game on Wednesday, in a game where West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard launched six sixes in an over, the tourists successfully defended 160 on Friday to level the threematch series.

West Indies were all out for 117 in the 19th over as Sri Lanka ended an eight-game losing streak in T20.

The final match is at the

same venue tomorrow.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga finished with 317, off-break bowler Akila Dananjaya, who was the victim of Pollard’s midweek assault but also claimed a hat-rick, had 1-13.

Wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan took 3-10, including Pollard who made just 13.

West Indies were 45-1 before five wickets fell for just 21 runs.

Chris Gayle, who was out for a first ball duck on Wednesday in his first appearance in two years, made a patchy 16 when he fell to a catch by Ashen Bandara off Hasaranga.

Opener Lendl Simmons

(21) was next out, lbw failing to pick a Hasaranga googly.

Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo all followed quickly for single figure scores.

Dananjaya had earlier dismissed opener Evin Lewis for six. His impressive figures of 1-13 were in stark contrast to his 3-62 on Wednesday. Hasaranga, just 23, added Fabian Allan to his list of victims with the West Indies then struggling on 897 in the 16th over.

With more than 22 an over required, Sandakan then got the big prize of Pollard, caught in the deep for just 13 having surprisingly opted to bat at number seven.

Sandakan then halted Obed McCoy’s late cameo of 23 from seven deliveries with the tail-ender proving to be his team’s top scorer.

Earlier, veteran allrounder Bravo slammed the brakes on Sri Lanka with two wickets and a run-out.

Sri Lanka got off to a flying start after winning the toss and deciding to bat.

Openers Danusha Gunathilaka and Pathum Nissanka put on a blistering 94 off the first 10 overs.

But then 37-year-old Bravo was called into action and he responded by running out Nissanka for 37.

Gunathilaka followed just four balls later in the 11th over, caught by Kevin

Sinclair off Bravo at mid-off.

The Sri Lankan opener went for a top score of 56 which featured four boundaries and two sixes.

Bravo also claimed the third wicket to fall when Simmons caught the experienced Dinesh Chandimal for just three.

The runs then dried up

for Sri Lanka.

Having hit eight fours and three sixes in the first 10 overs, they managed just three more fours and one six in the second half of the innings.

That included an eightover stretch where the ball never crossed the boundary ropes.

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 23

Guyana leads Ogle CC overcome Lusignan way in 2021 with in GCB/ECCC T/10 final Inter-School Golf O Championships The first ever interschool Golf championships got off to a roaring start this week with five secondary schools (Berbice, Linden, Essequibo, East Coast Demerara and West Coast Demerara) participating.

The joint project between the Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit and the Guyana Golf Association has seen amazing results in a short time as hundreds of students have been given a chance to play the sport.

Corporate sponsors who have thrown their support behind the development of Golf in Guyana include Assuria General Insurance, Copa Airlines, Trophy Stall, AR Printery and Nexgen Global Marketing.

This pilot programme that is training students, who wish to write Golf as a sport elective in CSEC/CAPE, is set to expand to as many as 90 secondary schools by end of 2021 and has seen tremendous progress in Linden where a full training programme is scheduled for March 10.

During the past week, over 200 new but dedicated players, tried out for the school teams resulting in teams of 10 (boys and girls) earning the right to represent their respective schools, some having to endure tough playoffs.

Elishan Smith with 80 from Anna Regina took the boys top spot in the preliminaries, Suzette Ferguson from Anna Regina tied with 70 with Subrina Balgobin of in the girls’ category.

Friday will see the teams compete (following covid guidelines in their own areas) under strict monitoring with results sent to Allied Arts Unit where totals will be tallied and the winners determined for Guyana’s fastest growing school sports programme.

According to the Physical Education teachers, the interest level for Golf is so high that this is the first time that they have not had to recruit students for a new sport programme but have been bombarded with requests to participate. Osafa Dos Santos of BEI said, “What is unexpected is that

the girls are dominating and that makes the guys so mad that they try harder...it’s a lot of fun and excitement every time we get together.”

Similar reactions were seen in Anna Regina Multilateral, Leonora S e c o n d a r y, Wi s m a r Secondary and President’s College as they launched their programme over the past few months.

Listed below are the players who will be competing to bring home top honors for their school and also seeking to stake their claim as top junior golfer (in a skills tournament) in Guyana.

Boys Category; Berbice Educational InstituteDelton Cassiano, Zakeer Rai, Dillon Thomas, Jamal Campbell and Mohamed Hussain.

President’s College; Treyon Grenville , Mackel Morgan, Allister M a r k H e n r y, A z a m Mohamed and Malcolm West.

Leonora SecondaryRicardo Wilfred, Sebastian Raghunauth, Alex Ramdat, Brian Anthony and Cornelius Ashton.

A n n a R e g i n a Secondary School- Gavin Narine, Steffaun Tyrell, Elishan Smith, Anthony Lewis and Gayresh Persaud.

Wismar Secondary Akeem Bell, Ronaldo Higgins, Justin Nurse, Shimoul Mayers, Brian Carryl and Terrike Mooloo.

Girls Category Berbice Educational Institute- Subrina Balgobin, Subriina DeQuoy, Keyoka Cort, Esther Gonsavles and Mia Ranjit President’s College; Aaliyah Hanes, Sanessa Doekoe, Muria Fraser, Chrisleyann Richards and Yogeeta Singh.

Leonora SecondaryCelina Sandy, Hannah Edwards, Collette Blake, Nadia Roberts and Renita Lowton.

A n n a R e g i n a Secondary School- Narema Bess, Suzette Joseph, Janita Garraway, Exyana Persaud, Tovrna Deonarine and Bibi Zuresha Nadir.

Wismar Secondary Arissa Boston, Amy Amsterdam, Casandra Williams, and Kenya Savory.

gle CC defeated Lusignan East SC in the final of the GCB/ECCC sponsored T/10 cricket tournament on February 21, 2021 at the Lusignan ground.

This completed all outstanding cricket competitions from 2020 under the ECCC and was fittingly supported by representatives of many of the teams who took part in a well-organized tournament under covid-19 protocol.

Ogle CC advanced to the final by virtue of defeating Industry SC, whilst Lusignan East got the better of Lusignan SC (B).

Batting first, Lusignan East were restricted to 79 for eight wickets from their allotted overs, with only Ramchand Jailall offering any resistance with 20.

Khemra Jaikarran bagged 3 wickets for six runs from two overs.

The victorious Lusignan team.

Ogle CC then breezed to their target with all of their wickets intact. Irfan Ali and Chris Deonarine remained unbeaten on 33 and 31 respectively.

Chris Deonarine was adjudged the best batsman in the final, while Khemraj Jaikarran was adjudged the man of the match.

As a result, Ogle CC took away the winner’s trophy and cash prize.

Earlier, in semifinal 1,

Ogle CC brushed aside Industry SC by nine wickets.

Industry managed 88 for five, Andy Lall got 47, Ayodya Joseph had two for six and Dion Thomas two for 16. Ogle CC replied with 92 for one from 8.3 overs. Chris Deonarine scored 44 not out and Irfan Ali 32.

In the second semifinal, Lusignan East defeated Lusignan SC (B) by 11 runs.

Lusignan East made 99 for four wickets. Bashkar

Yadram struck 53 (6x6, 2x4) and K. Deosarran 18.

Lusigan SC (B) scored 78 for six. Emran Khan made 24 not out and N. Persaud 23.

Prizes were presented by the representatives of the ECCC, who announced that the round-robin league games will commence tomorrow amongst 22 teams on the East Coast and this tournament will be played in two divisions under a relegation format.

Pant’s superb ton puts India on top in final test vs England

A

HMEDABAD, India (AP) — A remarkable century from Rishabh Pant put India firmly in control on the second day of the fourth and final test against England yesterday.

The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman bludgeoned his way to a third test century, scoring 101 off 118 balls and sharing a potentially match-winning stand of 113 for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar (60 not out) to help India reach 294-7 at stumps, a first-innings lead of 89 runs.

Some powerful hitting in the last session, particularly from Pant, pushed the home team closer to the win or draw it needs to qualify for the final of the world test championship against New Zealand in June.

Pant played a series of audacious strokes to take the game away from England, including a reverse lap shot off paceman James Anderson that went for four over the slips and will long stay in the memory of an excited Indian crowd.

Sundar twice survived lbw referrals to remain unbeaten at stumps, with Axar Patel not out on 11.

Earlier, England shrugged off the stifling heat to fight its way back into the match with Anderson (3-40) and Ben Stokes (2-73) prompting India to slide to 146-6.

But Pant then cut loose against Anderson and an exhausted Stokes, especially when the tourists took the new ball after tea.

The left-hander Pant completed his second fifty off only 33 deliveries and raised his century with a spectacular six over midwicket off Joe Root’s offspin.

Pant hit a total of 13 fours and two sixes before he finally fell in Anderson’s

third over with the second new ball when he pulled the ball hard to Root at midwicket. Anderson performed admirably earlier to pin down India’s top order, giving away only 19 runs in 17 disciplined overs, while Stokes had the captain Virat Kohli caught behind for an eight-ball duck.

It meant Kohli was dismissed without scoring twice in a series for only the second time in his career.

Stokes also denied Rohit Sharma (49) a half-century when he trapped him lbw after lunch.

The all-rounder Stokes then held on to a sharp catch in the last over before lunch to remove Ajinkya Rahane for 27 in a session dominated

by England.

India leads the series 2-1.

Scores: India 294 for 7 (Pant 101, Sundar 60*, Anderson 3-40) lead England 205 by 89 runs.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Saturday March 06, 2021

BCB 2019 Elizabeth Styles Under-21 final Rose to help intensify National team preparation RHT Namilco Thunderbolt Stanton Rose lays up against St. Vincent & the Grenadines during CBC 2018 in Suriname (C.C Photo).

Flour and Albion to clash today in long awaited finals

Kelvin Umroa

Stanton Rose

G

uyana national men’s basketball team will create history when they play in their first ever International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup pre-qualifiers in El Salvador next month.

The team’s training has been restricted by the national covid-19 task force but coach Hercules during an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport has revealed that he had, “Seen some real progress in players from the beginning up to the last training session.”

Although the current 16 players in training are less than what he would’ve preferred, he is still getting positive results and is particularly proud of the younger, less experienced players who have stepped up, something that may be rewarded with a ticket to El Salvador, compounded with the fact that starlet Ray Victor has announced his retirement.

The arrival of 21-yearold Skipper Stanton Rose, this weekend, will surely lift

Kelvon Anderson (Getty Images) the spirit of the team that may be down due to Victor’s retirement.

Rose, at just 18-yearsold, had led Guyana to their first Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) championship title in Suriname in the year 2018 and w as aw arded the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for his heroics.

The now NCAA player who last played for Guyana in their FIBA Americas prequalifiers in Colombia 2019, has shared his eagerness to link up back with his teammates, and Coach Hercules.

Stanton is particularly pleased with the team’s performance in their last home series against Grenada at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) in December 2019 which was part of preparations for the CBC 2020 Championship that was called off due to the covid-19

Windies fast bowler Kemar Roach to play seven games for Surrey in English County C/ships SportsMax - West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has signed with County Championship side Surrey for the first seven games of the season.

He is expected to leave for the United Kingdom after the second Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka in late March.

The 32-year-old Barbadian is being brought in by Surrey following the departure of Morne Morkel and Sam Curran and Tom Curran set to miss the start of

the season because of duties in the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to ESPNCricinfo. “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Surrey for the early part of the summer,” Roach said. “Two grounds I wanted to play at as a kid were the two Ovals: Kensington and The Oval, home of Surrey.

“When Alec Stewart showed an interest in me I had no hesitation in saying yes to him. The club has a strong squad with a nice balance of youth and

pandemic.

Head of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF); Mike Singh, has shared with this publication that the experienced Delroy James has confirmed his intent to represent the Golden Arrowhead in next month’s tournament and the GABF is currently trying to get him to link up with the local training squad in Guyana.

Meanwhile, U.S. based student-athlete, Kevon Wiggins, will travel straight to El Salvador while cocaptain Anthony Moe is already in the country, according to Singh.

In addition, Singh has revealed that the Federation would love to have Canadian lefty, Jason Ramrattan, try out for the team.

In terms of funding, the body needs $15 million to travel while already being allocated $1 million from the state.

West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach.

experience. I would like to thank CWI for allowing me the opportunity to go back and play county cricket again after a number of years.”

At Surrey, he will join South Africa’s Hashim Amla as the club’s second overseas player for the early part of the season.

Roach, who has 384 first-class wickets, last played in the county championships in 2011 when he suited up for Worcestershire.

Arch rivals Albion and the Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour teams would clash in the long awaited final of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Elizabeth Board under21 tournament today 6th of March at the Area H Ground.

The match starts at 930am and is expected to be a close encounter as both teams are very strong on paper with a lot of talented players.

BCB PRO Simon Naidu stated that the tournament started in 2019 and the final was set for March 2020 but the start of the Covid 19 pandemic forced the organisers to push it back.

After obtaining the permission of the sponsor, the new date and venue was

decided in consultation with the local representative.

Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt would be without the service of their Captain Kevin Sinclair, who is on international duties with the West Indies and would be led by West Indies Under19 player Kelvon Anderson. He would receive support from Keith Simpson, S l y u s Ty n d a l l , J u n i o r Sinclair, Mahendra Gopilall, Jeremy Sandia, Jonathan Rampersaud, Chanderpaul Govindan and Tyreese Sealey.

Albion would be led by former national youth player Adrian Sukwah and among

the other players expected to play are Sarwan Chaitnarine, Mahendra Chaitnarine, Gourav Ramesh, Kelvin Umroa, Antonio Fredericks and Jeetendra Autar.

BCB president Hilbert Foster stated that the BCB had eight finals to play off from the suspended 2019/2020 season and is seeking to play them off by the end of April as the board has plans to host about thirty five different tournaments in its 2021 season. The 2021 under21 tournament would start shortly after the current final and would be played on a knockout format with about twenty teams.

BCB Grassroot Tournaments 2020

Hetmeyer and Gordon Challenge Cups to be hosted this weekend After successfully hosting four grassroot tournaments last weekend, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) would be hosting another three tomorrow as the Berbice cricket season continues full stream.

Last weekend, the BCB hosted the Chattergoon Brothers, Narsingh Deonarine, Nagamootoo Brothers and Mankarran Singh Challenge Cup Tournaments at the Fyrish, C h e s n e y, W h i m a n d Kennard Memorial grounds respectively. A total of sixteen clubs took part in those tournaments and another twelve would be in action tomorrow as the board pushes on with its effort to bring back the passion for the game at the grass root level.

We s t I n d i e s p l a y e r Shimron Hetmeyer and his wife Nirvani would be sponsoring two Hetmeyer Cups at the Rose Hall Canje

(News Room)

Garfield Benjamin and Young Warriors Grounds respectively, while former national player Jeremy Gordon would be sponsoring the Gordon Challenge at the Edinburgh Ground, located at East Bank Berbice. The Rose Hall Canje Hetmeyer Cup would involve the home team, Goed Bananen Land, Betsy Ground and Pathfinders CC, while over at the Young Warriors Venue, the home team would clash with Flying Stars, Mt Sinai and Tucber Park B. Edinburgh, Tucber Park

Isaih Thorne A, Guymine and East Bank Blazers would be the teams playing in the Gordon Challenge Cup. Among the players expected to be on show are a Isaih Thorne, Joel Sietaram, Sasenarine Sukhu, Garfield Benjamin, Jamal (Continued on page 19)

Kaieteur News

Saturday March 06, 2021

PAGE 25

AAG development meet 2 on tomorrow The best of the best will be on show tomorrow as the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) host the second development meet of the year at the National Track & Field Center (NTFC) at Onderneeming.

During the first meet a few weeks ago, Guyana’s national long jump record holder; Emanuel Archibald, leapt a world leading distance of 8.10m which was .02m short of his personal best.

In addition, Archibald was also dominant in the feature 100m dash, winning the marquee event in ablistering 10.21s via the finals by time route. His time, according to the then last update by the World Athletics website, was the

Archibald is aiming to qualify for the men’s 100m and long jump events at the Tokyo games. fourth fastest of the year.

D u r i n g t o m o r r o w ’s action, the Amelia’s Ward,

Linden, resident will be looking to dig deep to make the 8.22m Olympic

Standard, while he believes he needs a stronger finish to make the 10.05s 100m Olympic Standard.

In addition, National Javelin record holder, Leslain Baird has just under 8m to make to qualify for the event at the Tokyo games after tossing the spear 77.23m during last month’s Valentine’s day event. The Olympic Standard for the men’s javelin throw is 85m.

Head of the Athletics Association of Guyana, Aubrey Hutson, in an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, has stressed that there will be strict covid-19 measures in place and he is hoping that the Olympic hopefuls can turn in great performances to qualify for the quadrennial event.

GFF Secretariat to take on modern look following completion of renovation The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Secretariat, located at Dadanawa Street, Section K Campbellville will soon sport a new look with renovation works currently underway at the facility that is owned by the Federation.

It has been revealed that with the GFF is set and ready to take the game to another level in terms of administration and what’s being rolled out for its Regional Members Associations (RMA), a more modern look with all the amenities needed to make the staff environment more comfortable.

The aim, the Federation noted, is to create a more professional working environment; construct a server room that will house the new information systems; installation of security and surveillance systems; construction of a welcoming and comfortable reception area for the members and general public; enhancement of the board room, wash rooms and staff dining area.

President Forde commented: “We demand a

Refurbishing of the GFF Secretariat underway.

lot from our staff, with many of them putting in long hours each day. It is therefore very important to me that they are offered the best possible working conditions, which I am sure will positively impact the overall productivity and our ability to serve our members and the public.”

Currently, the GFF has four active infrastructure

projects ongoing; the Secretariat renovation, construction of dressing rooms and wash room facilities at Ann’s Grove, construction of dressing

rooms and wash rooms at Vrymen’s Erven ground in New Amsterdam and the construction of the GFF National Training Centre at Providence.

Richard Mittelholzer accepts the cheque from Assistant manager of Hanson General Store Miss Emily.

18-team dominoes to commence tomorrow Sparta Turf at Mandela Avenue will come alive tomorrow when the 18-team dominoes competition o rg a n i s e d b y R i c h a r d Mittelholzer commences from 15:00hrs.

Entrance fee is $15,000 and the winning team will take home $150,000, runner up $75,000 and third place $35,000. The competition is being organsied as part of Mittelholzer 50th birth anniversary and is being sponsored by Grill Kings, YK Investments, Becks Lumber Yard, Fireside Grill

and Chill and Hanson General Store of 116 Regent Road Bourda.

Among the teams set to participate are Big Boss, Gold is Money, Mix Up, Providence, All Season’s Racing Service, All Season’s Girls, West Side, Wild Bunch, Spartans, Phantom and F and H. The competition will conclude on March 10 and teams can contact Mettelholzer on 609-1590 for registration. Teams are asked to register by 14:30hrs tomorrow.