Kaieteur News

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Wednesday Edition China, Guyana Presidents discuss NEWS promotion of controversial Belt and Road Initiative

AIETEUR

March 17, 2021 - Vol. 16 No. 11

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday Centre 86,359

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

Despite higher Govt. take, stricter policies, oil companies still flock to Suriname Another AFC member, Man who confessed CJ orders GEA, Michael Leonard, walks to several home GRA to pay $12.5M

- says he contributed invasions, released storage costs for illegal detained fuel enough over the years on self-bail

Nine foreign contractors shortlisted to build new Demerara Bridge Homeless Security guard Drunk men man found found dead hours dead under beat, chop man after kissing K-News shed walking home wife goodbye p. 15

-Two security guards detained

Clerk of National Assembly to seek legal advice on Patterson, PAC stalemate Guyana vs Suriname, who is managing their oil better.

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

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

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

David Granger’s Ghost A year ago today, for the keen observers of electoral politics in Guyana, the last vestige of David Granger’s increasingly shaky claims to honesty, integrity and decency disappeared, as well as any plausible deniability that he was not in fact leading an attempt to thwart the democratic will of the Guyanese people and to overthrow the results of a legitimate election.

That act in the sordid drama that was the attempted rigging of the election last year, began when Granger – under fire from the international community for trying for the second time in two weeks to be sworn in on the basis of fraudulent results conjured by GECOM Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo – was given a way out by Barbados Prime Minister and then Chair of CARICOM, Mia Mottley, who deftly announced on Facebook that the incumbent President had agreed to a recount. That was Saturday, March 14.

On Sunday, March 15, Granger would spend the entire day supposedly seeking legal advice on a simple two-page document agreeing to the CARICOM-monitored recount, a document that was signed in a few hours by his counterpart, then Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo. On Monday March 16, news of Granger’s eventual signature came late in the day, while opposition parties had waited all day for the recount process. With the final ballot box containers being trucked into the Arthur Chung Conference Centre compound, a Ministry of Public Health vehicle arrived under instruction of then Minister of Public Health and PNC Party Chair, Volda Lawrence, to fumigate the building, where the recount was to begin that very evening, for ants. Instead of the recount, which was in itself unnecessary, what we got instead as part of Granger’s corrupt theatricality was what the insect populations of Liliendaal no doubt remember as The Grant Ant Massacre of 2020 or whatever unit of time “eusocial insects of the family Formicidae” measure their lives by.

On the morning of Tuesday March 17, 2020, APNU+AFC candidate, Ulita Moore (formerly an APNU candidate in the 2018 local government elections), using Mr. Granger’s legal machinery, having been bought time by Granger’s delaying tactics, which included Lawrence’s ant holocaust of the day before, filed legal action seeking to prevent the very recount that the then President had eventually signed on to. While the subterfuge was embarrassingly obvious, the ‘pious’ president would remark that Moore was merely a random, regular citizen, exercising her constitutional right, a claim that he would incidentally and perhaps unconsciously concede that was not true, when months later, he would refer to the Moore’s case(s) as part of his government’s ‘legitimate’ right to challenge the results of the elections.

After five tortuous months, David Granger’s delusional attempted coup failed, and today the man for whom 217,000 Guyanese citizens voted, has not been seen in public, and has not addressed his support base, in six months at the very least. His last attempt at a public appearance was at the disastrous and inciteful visit to the family of the murdered Henry cousins in September of last year. This isn’t simply an abject failure of leadership; it is something much more fundamental.

In brief, David Granger, the politician is dead, a ghost, a duppy, a jumbie, a wight, a wraith. Not even his party, with its vast experience in electoral séances – from its enthusiastic enlisting of the dead to vote for it in the 1970s to its inane claims of seeing the dead voting against it last year – can resurrect him; indeed they’d have a better chance at doing so with their founder-leader, Forbes Burnham, the man who Granger has tried to emulate, but without the charisma, competence or basic capacity for awareness of the radically changed geopolitical context.

That said, Granger’s ghost still haunts the political machinery that he led in the attempt last year to rig the elections. Joseph Harmon might be the face of the political opposition, but he is no actual leader of it, merely the hapless and blundering factotum of a lower spiritual power: in Parliament and in the PNC (like Granger, his creature, APNU no longer exists) the absence of any clear plan, the fits of sanctimonious opprobrium, the spurious and ineffective legal battles challenging basic constitutional issues, the continued claims of not having lost the elections, the radical departure

Libel judgments bring back memories of silencing the media DEAR EDITOR, I read of a flurry of judicial rulings and filed lawsuits against the media. That is not good news for freedom of the press. Is the intent to silence the media and or prevent it from exposing unacceptable behaviour? Guyanese in the diaspora, and even those in Guyana I spoke with are not pleased with some of the judgments.

Critics of court rulings are of the view that the media must have freedom to expose wrong doings and to hold officials accountable in order to promote good governance.

They say the rulings bring back memories of lawsuits against the free media, including against the Catholic Standard Newsletter and Open Word, filed between 1968 and 1992 to silence the media. The dictators, Burnham, Hoyte, and their acolytes, pursued measures to silence the media. It is noteworthy that during the term of Jagan, no lawsuit was filed against the media. Dr. Jagan was not opposed to scrutiny. And I do not think the PPP administrations are opposed to holding the government or officials accountable. Off course, the media does not have an uncensored licence to attack people or entities or publish untruths with malicious intent. The media must also be held accountable; it

cannot libel people or knowingly publish false information.

Officials or politicians must demonstrate thick skin and be willing to accept a fair amount of critique of their performance even if a reporter or commentator errs in a story or commentary. An apology should suffice.

The American founding fathers had long established that ‘bad press’ is better than no press. American judges have historically subscribed to that principle.

Guyanese Americans subscribe to the principle of unfettered freedom of the press. There are more Guyanese and their descendants living in America than in Guyana. No Guyanese American politician or no Guyanese in the diaspora is known to sue an American media or a foreign media. They respect the right to the press to inquire and publish. The chance of winning a libel or slander in America is very slim, virtually nil.

Judgments against the media rendered in Guyana would in all likelihood be thrown out of American courts. I am not a lawyer but I studied American constitutional law, a mandatory requirement for American trained political scientists and for individuals like me who are licenced as school district

administrators. It required studying dozens of Supreme Court cases, including so many cases on freedom of press. I also taught American constitutional law. And I worked at the Bronx Supreme Court and was present at several libel and tort hearings.

American courts have a very strict test on libel or slander defamation – the so called ‘smell test’. A malicious intent to slander or to libel must be demonstrated. The libel must pass ‘the smell’ on (deliberate) negligence. It must show that the media knowingly or deliberately publish or utter false information. In other words, the media knew the information to be published was utterly false and proceeded to publish it— reckless disregard for truth.

Libel torts find it very difficult to cross the smell or negligence test. Inquiring about fraud is not libel.

American Supreme Court reversed several successful libel or slander judgments and or even the amount awarded by lower courts and or instructed lower court to reduce the amount granted in judgments. A one dollar judgment is not impossible even when a libel wins. About 25 years ago, the Privy Council reduced the amount of a slander judgment won by media tycoon Ken Gordon (Trinidad Express) against

Basdeo Panday as he did not intend to libel but simply to make a political statement.

Would the CCJ in any appeal to slander or libel judgments subscribe to that principle or the American smell test?

Respectable lawyers in Guyana, in private conversations, told me that some are corrupt in the legal system. Some of the names revealed to me are very shocking. I have had enormous respect for some of them.

Can you imagine two Appeal Court judges ruled that 33 is not a majority of 65?

Thank God there is a CCJ! Privy Council is also needed to embarrass some of these judges! Some are not fit to be judges; they would not even be considered as court clerks in America or the UK. Politicians or public figures must look within their hearts whether filing lawsuits is the way to correct alleged misinformation against them.

Winning a libel wouldn’t necessarily change the view of the public on misinformation in a news report.

Wouldn’t it be better if public officials or politicians simply correct the mis-information rather than seek humongous judgments that bankrupt media, forcing them to close shop? Several times incorrect statements were made against me. I simply responded to (Continued on page 5)

I endorse Anand Sanasie and Calvin Hope to be the President and Vice President of CWI DEAR EDITOR, Following the annoucement by Anand Sanasie that he will run for the presidency of Cricket West Indies Inc. with Calvin Hope as his vice president, I decided to do some background checks on the four candidates namely Rickey Skeritt, Kishore Shallow, Anand Sanasie and Calvin Hope, and it was revealing what I discovered.

Since Skeritt and Shallow took over the leadership of West Indies cricket, Guyana has been sidelined with regards to international cricket along with Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica to a lesser extent. Most of the international and even regional cricket matches were played in the Leewards and Windwards Islands. We here in Guyana were starved of international cricket, a clear

from objective reality, the sheer incompetence and the abject cowardice are all trademarks of the spectral Granger philosophy and praxis of political leadership.

And it is a dangerous thing. Democracy in a republic thrives best when there is competent contestation between representative political groups, and a key component of that contestation, from the perspective of the opposition, has to be credible leadership, not what is currently being displayed.

If the political opposition is to play its rightful role, it needs to exorcise itself of David Granger’s craven ghost, as well as its chorus of shadows in the political hierarchy. They need to leave it – to its dementia and its presidential pension at Pearl, perhaps the occasional, kneeling prayerful photo op to attempt to project the façade of righteousness – and to start charting their way back towards being a credible challenge, as any decent opposition should, to the government of the day, particularly in an emerging oil economy. This is not the time for jumbie politics.

case of insularity and payback time for those who voted for them. Guyanese cricketers also suffered tremendously during the two -ear rein of Skeritt and Shallow. Although we are the best team in regional four-day cricket, the most we got at any one time is one cricketer in the test team and now we don’t have any.

And the treatment meted out to Hetmyer is scandalous when his fitness is compared to Gayle, Cornwall and Edwards. What more must Permaul do to make the playing eleven in test cricket?

Why Hemraj, Johnson, Barnwell, Paul, Motie and others not given the same opportunities as lesser talented players from the other islands, many of whom continue to fail and are selected over and over again.

Once again it is a clear case of insularity and Skeritt and Shallow have done nothing about it.

And finally, the financial position of CWI is in red throughout their term and so

there is no money to fund grassroot cricket in the various territories to help develop and nurture promising young cricketers.

Anand Sanasie has done a tremendous job to lift Guyana cricket to the state it is in today with one of the best academy programme in the West Indies that is churning out quality cricketers year after year resulting in Guyana being the top team in all formats of West Indies cricket. And in terms of financial position, the Guyana Cricket Board is never in the red and I therefore would like to take this opportunity to endorse Anand Sanasie and Calvin Hope to be the President and Vice President of CWI and I call on the other territories to support them to lift West Indies cricket from the doldrums that it has been in for a very long time now and to take its rightful place at the top of world cricket.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully, Imtiaz Baccus

Wednesday March 17, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Hamilton Green responds to Harry Hergash DEAR EDITOR, The letter entitled “As he did with Hoyte in 1992, Hamilton Green recommended to Granger to hold on to power at all costs,” written by Harry Hergash and published in Kaieteur News on Monday, March 15, 2021, was drawn to my attention and I did not intend a response. However, my friend Malcolm, insisted on a reply.

This letter, in response to mine, constitutes a cleverly crafted calumny.

On the question of ‘divide and rule,’ I attempted to place the question in its wider, global context and establish that this strategy of “divide and rule’ has its roots in human behaviour and that all of us are the victims of this policy.

Hergash seems incapable or unwilling to deal with this question at a higher level but is clearly obsessed with attacking my character. I forgive him.

How can he deem the imperialist policy of divide and rule as irrelevant?

Is he suggesting that when Guyana and other colonial territories gained their independence, that this policy simply disappeared?

His reference to classified documents is a ploy as ‘old as the hills’ and simply an off-

used propaganda prop.

In this instance, ignoring the impact of the Cold War, which consumed countries like Guyana for at least three generations.

This gentleman then refers to the 1992 Elections and alleges that I objected to the Carter Centre because I wanted to hold on, as he puts it, to power.

Dear Editor, for clarity, I state as follows - when the 1992 Elections were announced, I was among those who expressed concern for the involvement of Jimmy Carter and the Carter Centre in our Elections.

I had no umbrage with the persona of President Jimmy Carter nor the Centre, but the fact that their interpretation of ‘Free and Fair Elections’ seemed to mean regime change at any cost.

Furthermore, I cautioned against the intimate involvement of the Carter Centre in our National Elections and disagreed with Mr. Hoyte when he accepted Mr. Carter’s recommendation to scrap overseas voting thus denying solid Guyanese the right to vote as is required by our Constitution.

On Election Day itself, my wife and I voted at the Enterprise Primary School, Lodge. Shortly after 6:00 a.m., persons approached me

...Libel judgments bring back memories of From page 4 them with my version of truths. And whenever attention was brought to me that I erred in an article, I penned an apology and correct it. Media must permit a right to reply, a basic journalistic principle, and apologise when proven to have erred in reporting or

commenting on a newsworthy event. Where the state media was used between 2016 and 2020 to deliberately libel people, it must be held accountable. The individuals who were responsible for the libel, not just the media house, must be held to account.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

complaining that they did not have the opportunity to vote because their names could not be found on the list being used by the Poll Clerk.

These persons contended that they had seen their names on the list posted on the lower flat of the said Enterprise School.

After checking the veracity of their statements, I complained to the Chief Elections Officer who immediately dispatched one of his Assistant Elections Officer, Mr. Stanley Singh.

Mr. Singh soon verified that the persons’ names indeed appeared on the earlier list posted for public scrutiny, he removed that list and asked the Clerk to use that list instead. The Clerk refused stating emphatically that they were instructed to use only the List supplied to them that morning.

The result, those persons who lived in my Polling District were not allowed to exercise their franchise.

This experience repeated itself in several parts of Region Four and as was the case in West Demerara, the list used on Election Day 1992 arrived after 6:00 a.m., that is after the official opening of Poll.

This situation caused much disquiet and there were near riots by persons who were disenfranchised.

It appears that Mr. Hoyte accepted the proposal of a Carter operative that persons with identification cards and claiming that earlier seeing their names on the posted voter’s list should be allowed to vote by what was called a ‘proxy voting ballot.’

On enquiry it was stated that the proxy voting ballot would not be counted.

I approached Mr. Hoyte and in no uncertain terms told him that this proposal to have

people use a proxy ballot was nonsensical and I could not be part of what I described to him as nonsense.

I said to him, since this denial of people’s constitutional right to vote seemed wide-spread, that he should call in the Commission, the Opposition and suspend voting until these obvious clauses were corrected.

Mr. Hoyte did not agree and the rest is history.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Hergash myopia and anxiety to draw evil arrows take no account of the verifiable facts and seems to rely on propaganda and rumour.

Mr. Hergash obviously knows little of me and my family. I never felt a threat of sanctions by the US. Let me tell this gentleman something, which is known to my wife, children, relatives and friends, whatever years the Creator would give me to live I am happy and comfortable to spend those years right here in the land of my birth.

In fact, recently, because of that I have turned down offers to visit close family members in North America and again, without a scintilla of evidence, he crudely ascribes a statement I made because I am afraid of sanctions by the then US Secretary of State.

Of course, his folly is embellished when he talks about my frequent visits to the USA. Hogwash and nonsense.

Of course, it is quite possible that he did not consult the dictionary nor lean upon tradition, when he used the word frequent.

I believe for several generations, long before the PNC, Burnham or I was in office, Guyanese had left these shores for a better life

and perhaps, he can explain irrespective of the government in office, Guyanese and the Caribbean people have moved north, for what they believe to be a better life.

There is always an attraction for greener pastures. No pun intended.

Guyanese have been moving north for a long time, and what with established family ties abroad, this movement will continue and perhaps, I should be flattered that he can now blame his exodus and success abroad on humble me.

Migration has been a consistent pattern regardless of the political group in office.

Let him ask the US, UK and Canadian authorities for a list of applicants seeking permanent and temporary residence since the beginning of the 20th century.

If this gentleman has any pretentions or claim to academia, I advise him to get hold of an interesting book titled “Confederation to West Indies vs Annexation to the United States.” He will appreciate the traditional drift to the North.

He then accuses me of being complicit as a member of the UG Board of Governors. This matter has been fully ventilated and it is unfortunate that he should mention the name of Dr. Walter Chin, a descent

medical practitioner, who as a member of the Board always sought to be objective.

I refuse to go into the gutter when he talks about Indians being beaten in West Coast Berbice. He obviously didn’t read my book ‘Pain to Peace – (1953-1964).” He behaves as though one ethnic group has a monopoly of one who is beaten and who beats.

I wish not to excite racial disharmony but his letter shows the character of a person who has a deepseated animosity for persons not of his race, and this is unfortunate.

I plead with our young people to ignore the venom as expressed in this gentleman’s correspondence.

Finally, instead of writing vitriolic letters, let him pause, read, digest, analyse and seek to come up with writings that stimulate our young people to develop a sense of nationalism and quest for harmony.

Hamilton Green

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Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Getting contracts with the oil and gas companies seem almost impossible DEAR EDITOR, We are in the business of transportation service here in Guyana and we are registered with the center for local business development (CLDB).

In November of 2019 ExxonMobil sent out a request for Information (RFI) and in January 2021 they sent out prospective business associate questionnaire (PBA). These requests were done through the CLDB. From what most of my fellow colleagues in the transportation sector understand is that a request for quotation or a bidding process would follow.

To date we are still awaiting that process but what we are hearing from Exxon’s present contractor is that their present contract expires later this month (March) and that they have a meeting with their staff to

discuss their new contract arrangement.

If this is indeed the case then it seems like all of us who were told to register with the CLDB in o r d e r t o g e t contracts with the oil and gas companies, are being fooled.

Also the present contractor never had to go through all the scrutiny that we now need to adhere to as that company has been providing transportation to Exxon since they started operation here and it seem like this will continue and no other companies will get an equal opportunity to bid or develop their business.

Also smaller transportation service providers who were doing small contracts with Exxon’s subcontractors, business was taken away from them under the guise of COVID-19 and these small service owners do

not know if they will ever be able to serve their customers again.

All those transportation services are now done by Exxon’s present supplier, while the supplier cannot handle the volume, that supplier is allowed to hire outside service providers instead of reaching out to the affected small service providers.

It seems like instead of us depending on our Government to make sure that there is a level and fair distribution of wealth from the oil and gas, Kaieteur News is our best option to highlight our problems.

These very issues were affecting us during the last Government.

We hope that this will not continue with any new companies coming here.

Sincerely, Affected Service Provider

Let equality prevail for all DEAR EDITOR, I read with interest a letter penned by one, Vishnu Bisram on March 01, 2021 captioned, “Pay pension to all eligible and deserving individuals inc l u d i n g revolutionaries” which stated that, “Anyone who served the state or any of its agencies in any capacity as diplomats, MPs, in media, labourer, etc., entitles them to a pension that is the rule in a developed country.”

Therefore, Editor, in reference to the above mentioned, I write on behalf

of all former Toshaos. While being elected democratically by the residents of the villages through vote, Toshaos were made by the State or Government of the day to be Ex-officio or Justice of Peace or Rural Constables, etc.

We were given a stipend to fan with, leaving behind all substance we have and throwing every effort into our villages and communities to make them better.

This elected period in the past went from two years to even four years and now goes from three years to six

years if re-elected.

When the terms are finished, most of us return to our normal lives, worse than before – house deteriorated, farms disappeared, and added to this, we may not have the strength, excluding resources, to start all over again.

Thus, it is only fair that those democratically elected officials, especially former Toshaos be entitled to a pension after their term comes to an end. Let equality prevail for all.

On behalf of all Toshaos, Former Toshao of SAVC

There is an upsurge in crime in the state of our beautiful Guyana DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me to draw to the attention of the people as well as the Government of Guyana a very serious problem. Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, the problem is about the increased crime at Stabroek Market and other places.

My friend was travelling

on Sunday March 14, 2021 around 7:00 am, as he approached the Vreed-enHoop, Stabroek Market boat crossing, two men attacked him with guns, took away his mobile phone, cash, other valuables and left him in a state of panic.

At this stage there is a need for a more active presence of the Guyana

Police Force as well as highdefinition security cameras installed and maintained at the Stabroek Market and other areas across this beautiful country.

I want to be able to walk the Stabroek Market and many other parts of this country without fear.

Yours sincerely, Elton A. Smith

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign DEAR EDITOR, The vaccination campaign, dubbed the largest in history, is well underway and the developed countries have a clear advantage.

Nevertheless, Guyana, with donations of 80,000 doses of AstraZeneca/Covishield from India and 20,000 doses of Sinopharm Vaccine from China, is currently giving to health workers and persons over 60 years. We have to be thankful for the doses received.

Both the vaccines being administered in Guyana require a two-dose regimen.

So Editor, like many other Guyanese, I am curious to know if the Health Ministry is keeping a reserve of half of

the doses to give the second jab? As much as we would like to vaccinate as much citizens as we can, not giving the two jabs as required will render the vaccination drive useless.

The manufacturers specifically stated a two-dose regimen is required.

It was demonstrated in clinical trials that one dose is not as effective in dealing with the virus as opposed to the two dosing regimen.

With the scarcity of vaccines worldwide, there is no clear indication when Guyana will receive vaccines in sizeable quantities to inoculate the vast majority required for herd immunity if that can ever be attained with the constant virus mutations.

I understand that both the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines are administered at the MOH established vaccination sites.

I think it would have been better to administer the Sinopharm in smaller manageable communities where one can keep track so the second dose can be administered easily because there are only 10,000 doses of this vaccine. The AstraZeneca which we have 80,000 doses should be administered in the more populated areas. The government should also be commended for its efforts in securing vaccines for our people.

B. John

My COVID-19 vaccine experience at the GPHC DEAR EDITOR, I had a very good experience at the GPHC COVID-19 vaccine site. It was so good that I didn’t even feel the vaccine jab.

Maybe it is time I take up boxing, but now that everyone has confirmation of my age, I will nix that thought for now. I proceed, however, to share with the public the details of this most warming vaccine visit.

I arrived at the clearly marked “COVID-19 Vaccination Site” at the Lamaha Street entrance, midway between Thomas and East Streets at 07:21hrs on Monday. At 07:22hrs I was seated, with three (it turned out to be four, as an earlier arrival went to look for his nurse offspring) citizens ahead of me. By 08:00hrs, there was close to a score or more eligible Guyanese waiting for their shot. I did not see any ‘old young’ or ‘force ripe’, to use Guyanese idiom, trying to get an early jump on a vaccine. At 08:40hrs, I was waiting to leave, all delivered and done.

In between, there was a

seven-minute registration process; an information chat at the timely hour of 07:50hrs from another nurse about expectations and precautions; and a less than 30-second interaction at 08:40hrs with the nurse responsible for administering the actual shot. Like I said, neither a ping nor a sting; it was zing, and I was out of there, with the recommended 15-minute wait for observation purposes. Also, another official, who seems to be in a more senior and coordinating capacity was there to reassure any anxious citizens - all over 60, according to my observation - that the first in, next up, standard would be the order of the day. Editor, citizens were largely well behaved. It was nothing less than what I expected, since all these folks were older than me, and would have had the same upbringing as I have had: respect, regard for rules, and courtesies.

There was a little disarray, but no one really tried very spiritedly to get ahead of the curve; that is, jump the line. I should mention that, from

time to time, various very young men, mainly on bicycles, would pass by the tented area (now over 25 strong), without the mandatory uniform fixture of a face mask on, or anywhere in sight. I did not recognise them as being GPHC staff members. I also noticed a nurse rushing along in the GPHC complex with a very young baby in a car seat in tow; that was rather risky, reports and vectors and all that business duly considered.

I would like to extend a word of thanks to the staff at the GPHC - the guards, the nurses, the senior coordinators - for the many courtesies that were experienced by all of us who were present on Monday morning.

It was well arranged, well managed, and well delivered. And just to show I am not partisan, that word of appreciation goes all the way to the hospital’s administrators and the Hon. Minister of Health. It was nicely done, folks.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Anything less is gimmickry DEAR EDITOR, We are all familiar with the saying: While the elephants fight, the grass gets trodden underfoot.

In the Guyana’s current cricket arena, it is difficult to discount that analogy.

As an ex cricket Administrator, Captain, Coach and a number of other designations in the sport, I bleed for what I term as a masquerade over “the gentleman’s game”.

Perhaps the moniker no longer applies, and certainly not to the administration of it.

The question in many minds: Why should the administration of cricket in Guyana be turned into a virtual football? Money?

Perks? Politics?

Referring more specifically to cricket on the East Coast Demerara, a few persons are disenfranchising about 18 active Clubs comprising over 350 members in preference to about four “owned” and under-active Clubs with ad-hoc memberships.

In harsh terms, cricket on the East Coast Demerara is being messed with and

cricketers, including many youths, are the proverbial grass being trodden underfoot.

My humble submission is for an independent p a r t y, v e r y l i k e l y t h e Ombudsman, to “walk the territory” on a fact-finding exercise and the truth will soon be clear to him. The smokescreen needs to be blown away so that the true problem can be exposed and addressed.

Anything less is gimmickry.

Yours, Taajnauth Jadunauth

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

ExxonMobil expects us to think that it cares about Guyana and its environment, when its base case was to flare all the associated gas from the Liza Phase One operation.

This company already wreaked so much environmental destruction on this country with 13 months of flaring.

How long more will this country continue to allow ExxonMobil to poison our environment without recourse?

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Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

First Lady hosts successful ‘Chari-Tea’ event - raises $6M for initiative to end period poverty for women and girls Female members of Cabinet at the Chari-Tea event held at State House last Sunday.

At right, First lady Arya Ali and Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand.

I

n a historic bid to end period poverty in Guyana, First Lady, Arya Ali successfully hosted with a fundraising initiative titled ‘Chari-Tea’ last Sunday at State House.

The donations for Sunday’s event amounted to $6 million – all of which will be used to purchase sanitary products which will be distributed to school-aged girls in the hinterland.

Sunday’s event attended

by Ministers of Government, the diplomatic corps, and leading members of the private sector, is the first of a series of fundraisers which have been organized by the Office of the First Lady.

The affair follows the First Lady‘s January launch of her Menstrual Hygiene Initiative which seeks to end period poverty by making sanitary pads accessible to women and girls for free.

Given the magnitude of such an undertaking, the First Lady has decided that project will be rolled out in phases, beginning with the provision of sanitary pads to the most vulnerable—girls in the hinterland communities are set to benefit.

“The gravity of this prob-

lem was highlighted in a casual conversation I had with a stranger who pointed out that girls were forced to skip school routinely, and in some instances drop out permanently, because they could not afford sanitary products.

This is unacceptable.

No girl should be placed in a situation in which she is forced to absent from or quit school because of her inability to afford sanitary products,” Mrs. Ali told the donors at Sunday’s event.

She noted that period poverty deprives girls of the very education which they need to grasp economic and other opportunities, while highlighting that it can result in harmful psychological effects such as impaired cognitive skills and social isolation.

To bring an end to this undesirable plight, the First Lady believes that there must first be an end to the denial of period poverty, after which conversations around women’s health must be normalized, even in spaces occupied only by men.

“We must also disabuse ourselves of the idea that menstruation is exclusively a female concern. It is not. It is (Continued on page 24)

Wednesday March 17, 2021

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Kaieteur News

The government is taking a breather T

he Irfaan Ali admin istration began its term on turbo charge. The first few months saw things moving at a hectic pace.

All around work was being done and it appeared as if the PPP/C was in a hurry to make-up for the five years that it was out of office.

Some people complained about not receiving water for years. And simply because that also involved over the past five years, the problem was immediately fixed. People complained about the poor condition of roads and they were fixed.

We were told that the backlog of house-lot applications had been cleared. If you drove around the country, you would have noticed road works taking place at fast clip.

There was a mad rush to get things done.

The minister responsible for sport was visiting a number of grounds. The people in Agricola and Buxton benefitted from works done to upgrade the sports ground and through the distribution of sports gear.

Things have changed. It appears as if reality is now

stepping in and the government is now slowing down.

Or it is simply catching its breath for the next burst of economic development.

The APNU+AFC also started in a blitz – cleaning blitz, both the city and the Augean stables were cleaned.

But then things began to stagnate, and it appeared as if the Coalition had a President with a lot of good and useful ideas but he did not have a good team around him to implement those ideas.

It takes more than one person to effectively run a government, something that yoked the PPP/C between 1999 and 2011.

When authority is centralised it can constrain development. But even more limiting is when there is not the means within the various sectors to implement what is planned and what is needed.

The PPP/C has some problems which will need to be ironed out if it is to sustain the pace of development by which it hopes to honour its Manifesto promises.

There have been some appointments which have proven to be wrong ones.

But unfortunately, PPP/C

Presidents in Guyana governments have never been keen to make Cabinet changes since this often suggests some form of underperformance. One junior Minister has been feisty and exceptional in discharging ministerial duties and ought to have really been a senior. While a senior minister has been virtually invisible throughout the government’s term so far and does not seem to be an ideal fit in the Ministry assigned.

There remains concern about the President being the substantive Minister of Finance. Under the Constitution, once a MInisterial portfolio is not assigned, it is said to be held by the Head of State.

It is unheard of for Guyana not to have a Minister of Finance apart from the President. Dr. Ashni Singh is substantively a Senior Minister in the Office of the President.

The President should not be holding the substantive post of Minister of Finance.

And one wonders what is the attraction, given his own heavy workload, that he would not have appointed

Homeless man found dead under K/News’ shed - Two security guards detained The body of a homeless man was yesterday was found lying in a truck tray underneath the Kaieteur News’ headquarters shed at Saffon Street, Charlestown.

Police are yet to identify the man, but according to Charlestown residents, he was a homeless individual who roamed the area and was labelled as a “junky.”

The man’s body was found around 08:30 hrs. by a Kaieteur News employee, who told investigators that, he went under the shed to remove the truck when he saw the man lying in the tray. Upon a closer look, he

observed that the man was motionless so he notified a security guard who was on duty at the time.

The police were called in and arrived shortly after, along with an EMT response team.

The man was examined and the EMT team pronounced him dead. Crime scene experts carried out the necessary investigations and his remains were taken away to the Lyken Funeral Home.

Kaieteur News has since learnt that two of its security guards have been detained for questioning as investigations continue.

Dem Boys Seh…

Snake in de grass Deh gat confusion in Europe over one of de vaccines.

But dem boys know this is all a mind-game between dem big pharmaceutical companies.

Dem boys nah think dem get any real problem with de vaccine wah dem claiming does cause blood clots.

One of dem company wah mekkin another vaccine about to deliver 200 million doses to Europe. So is good business fuh dat company when people start badmouthing de competition.

Ole people always seh, nah pull down yuh matty fuh get up. But de pharmaceutical business gat plenty

snake, and ones dat far more dangerous dan in cricket.

Dem boys seh is nuff snake lying in grass in de local cricket fraternity. People want power and dem being push by de politicians to grab power. But is de same politician wah gan use dem and den dump dem.

Long ago, people used to mek a name fuh themselves and den go into sport. Nowadays people going into sport fuh mek name fuh themselves.

Cricketers nah necessarily mek de best administrators.

And doctors nah necessarily mek de best health administrators.One of de reasons why we gat suh much

problem with dem regional hospitals is because dem nah gat proper health administrators. Dem boys seh leh de doctors look after de patients and leh de administrators run de institutions.

It look like dem nurses in Linden wan run de hospital.

Dem wan decide who must get de wuk fuh oversee dem.

But management nah wuk suh.Dem boys know dat if yuh deh pun strike, yuh nah supposed to get pay. So a lot of dem nurses gan get a surprise when dem receive dem paycheque dis month.

Talk half and nah bother with dem wah blocking hospital entrance!

Singh as the Minister of Finance.

There are some Ministers who really have come back but should not have come back from the last government. And there are some who are new and who are looking on from the sidelines.

The PPP/C promised a great deal on the campaign trail. And they did not anticipate the pandemic and the five-month election impasse.

But the decision-making process also appears to be part of the problem.

It is more than seven months since the government was established and up to now there has only been a few names mentioned about

Ambassadorial appointments, and those names have raised controversy. By now these appointments should have been dusted and done by the Foreign Ministry.

It is hard to understand what is taking the Government so long to announce these appointments. It is not good for the country that new appointees have not yet been named for the critical postings in Caracas, Paramaribo, Havana, Beijing, Brasilia and London. Names have been hinted for Washington and New Delhi.

If the pace of development is to hasten, it is important that Guyana has capable persons in these capitals so

as to take care of the country’s interest.

The President also needs to look at some of those within his Cabinet and within the public bureaucracy who are not performing and to make the necessary changes. This is no time for deadweights.

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

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Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Judas and the Black Messiah: Who is the Guyanese, William O’Neal?

A serious movie, Judas and the Black Messiah, about a tragic event in the life of Black struggles in America, is a formidable contender for best film at the forthcoming 2021 Oscar ceremony.

Because of the popularity of the movie among the nonWhite communities of the US and radical academia, the film should evoke memories of betrayal inside the WPA in Guyana that led to a number of assassinations of its committed activists including its leader, Walter Rodney.

Judas and the Black Messiah is a drama that is not for the faint-hearted. It is the

story of cruel betrayal in the Black Panther Party (BPP) of the USA. The FBI got a Black teenage criminal, William O’Neal, to infiltrate the Chicago chapter of the BPP. He rose through the ranks to become part of the BPP’s security department.

He became the personal bodyguard of one of the most admired leaders of the BPP – Fred Hampton.

O’Neal gave the FBI the architectural layout of Hampton’s house, cooked dinner for him, spiked his drink with barbiturates, and in the uncivilised hours of the morning, the police came and

shot Hampton in his sleep along with another highprofile BPP Chicago leader.

No one knows if O’Neal is dead or alive.

After he surfaced 21 years after the 1969 assassination of Hampton to give public interviews, he was supposed to have committed suicide by walking into traffic. But the scriptwriter for the film said on that very night, a man died in similar circumstances and the FBI may have used the incident to put O’Neal in a safe house once more.

Here in Guyana, the story of the Walter Rodney’s betrayal is yet to be told. One would hope that with the

rising popularity of the movie, Guyanese would begin to ask that seminal question – who was the William O’Neal in the WPA? Actually, there were three O’Neals in the WPA. Walter Rodney’s daughter publicized 20 declassified documents on the Rodney-Burnham confrontation obtained by the George Washington University in which a top WPA leader was cited as a government mole.

I commented on these documents in my column of Thursday, July 16, 2020, captioned, “Declassified documents reveal Rodney may have been betrayed by a

top leader.”

When I published that article, I received 79, yes 79, emails asking for the cache.

Kit Nascimento called to say he couldn’t find the name. I made his job easier by citing the specific reference.

I don’t think that mole was as well placed as the other two O’Neals. Of the other two O’Neals, one was blackmailed by President Burnham, who had torrid information of a terrible thing he had committed.

If he didn’t cooperate, that would have been the end of his career, his family and the WPA. He chose to betray the WPA. The third O’Neal was equally dangerous. These two O’ Neals literally devastated the WPA and they betrayed Rodney. It was one of these two O’Neals who introduced Gregory Smith to Rodney. Smith was seen by Rodney as a key figure in Rodney’s contemplation of overthrowing Burnham.

Smith was presented to Rodney as a special person who must not be introduced to anyone at all. This explains Rodney’s wife testimony at the commissioner of inquiry that she never knew or met Smith.

Betrayals stalked the WPA but none of the big leaders of the WPA thought of looking among themselves because they couldn’t imagine among them were betrayers feeding Burnham intelligence data. Hamilton Green is the only person since the 1970s to reveal that the government had penetrated the WPA. In an interview with Green, he told me he, Burnham and the PNC knew everything about the guns Ohene Koama had in his car trunk and had the police

Frederick Kissoon waiting on Koama to kill him.

See my interview with Green in KN of Monday, October 16, 2017, titled, “Explosive Interview with Hamilton Green.”

The assassination of Koama should have alerted the WPA leadership that there were moles amongst them. Every top WPA leader was at the Tiger Bay head office when Koama drove off.

The police knew he had the guns but didn’t know where he was heading. It was at that office that Koama was instructed where to drop off the guns.

The police were given that information.

There weren’t cell phones in those days so the meeting ended when Koama left. It meant that the mole used a telephone to inform Burnham and Green where Koama was heading. Only the top WPA leaders knew David Hinds was arriving at the airport with a gun in a false suitcase bottom. He was promptly arrested. Security was waiting for them. Space has run out. More another time.

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

Security guard who was found with stolen items, charged A security guard who was caught with several stolen items made his first court appearance on Monday and was placed on $60,000 bail.

The man was identified as, Carl Klass, 30, of Lot 269 Beverly Close Street, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. He appeared before Principal Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The charge alleged that on December 11th, 2020, at Lot 651, East Ruimveldt,

Georgetown, Klass had one 65-inch Samsung television, one 32-inch Samsung television, one 32-inch Element television, one Pioneer touch screen deck, four Amazon Firestick devices, one sixchannel DVR, one black GShock watch, 15 bottles of cologne, four bottles of alcohol, all of which were unlawfully obtained.

He pleaded not guilty and was placed on bail and the matter was adjourned to April, 23rd, 2021.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Region Four Woman is the latest COVID-19 fatality The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday reported the death of another senior citizen, a 66-year-old woman from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). The MoH, in its release, stated that the woman died while receiving treatment at a medical facility and has been recorded as the 209th COVID-19 fatality.

The Ministry also revealed 51 new COVID-

19 infections yesterday via its daily dashboard. This now brings the total number of confirmed cases to 9,238. The dashboard also shows that seven patients are in the COVID19 Intensive Care Unit and another 11 are in institutional quarantine, 38 in institutional isolation and 626 in home isolation. Additionally, a total of 8,359 persons have recovered to date.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Clerk of National Assembly to seek legal advice on Patterson, PAC stalemate

A meeting of the parliamentary oversight body – the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – was again on Monday last abruptly halted without addressing the primary matter on its agenda, namely a motion calling for the removal of Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson, as Chairman of that body.

As such, Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, has since committed to seeking independent legal advice on the way forward.

Monday’s manifestations in the Committee meeting were reminiscent of its February 4 meeting, where a motion was put by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, to have Patterson be removed as Chairman. The government has been seeking Patterson’s removal as head of the PAC since the publicizing in January of this year of him having received expensive gifts – including a $900,000

PAC Chairman, David Patterson.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira gold bracelet – from several government agencies under his control, while he served as Minister of Public Works under the David Granger administration.

That February session was also abruptly halted when Patterson refused to

proceed with a vote on the motion. He had temporarily excused himself acting as the Chair, while other opposition members refused to take up the post.

The PAC is chaired by an opposition member at all times, in keeping with the

Constitution of Guyana.

Teixeira in an invited comment yesterday told Kaieteur News that her party has since begun actively exploring the possibility of bringing a motion of no confidence against Patterson in the full House.

She explained that at the last meeting, it was found that her motion was properly put to the Committee but this was objected to since the matters were deemed ‘dead by the opposition.’

The rationale, according to Minister Teixeira, was that

they were not dealt with at the last meeting.

Teixeira objected to this proposition – a position since vindicated by the Clerk – that matters which had not been completed at the previous meeting, be dealt with at subsequent meetings.

The Clerk of the Assembly was called in to adjudicate and noted that the motion had been properly put, but Patterson again refused to Chair the proceedings and instead opted to sit in another room in the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where parliamentary sessions are currently being held.

She explained that during this time, Patterson had not formally recused himself as Chair of the proceedings.

Teixeira noted that the Clerk subsequently solicited legal advice from Attorney-atLaw, Sanjeev Datadin, but this was objected to by members of the political opposition.

Their contention, (Continued on page 16)

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

DRUNK MEN BEAT, CHOP MAN WALKING HOME Two drunk men armed with cutlasses attacked, beat and chopped a Port Mourant resident, 25, while he was walking home on Monday.

Recovering from the attack at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital is Sharaz Azad of Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, Corentyne Berbice, Region Six. It is believed that his drunk attackers are residents of Tain Village, Corentyne.

Azrad told police that the men attacked him around 17:30Hrs while he was walking

along the Tain Access road to get home.

He claimed that they approached with their cutlasses in hand and confronted him. They followed up by lashing him with their cutlasses several times about his body.

One of them then proceeded to chop him to his nose almost severing it. They both left and Azad was rescued by his relatives and rushed to Port Mourant Public hospital.

There doctors treated him but later referred him to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he remains a patient. Investigations are ongoing.

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Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Roll out of COVID -19 vaccines…

Get vaccinated

- benefits outweigh the risks - Dr. Carpen While taking the COVID19 vaccine is not compulsory, Dr. Mahendra Carpen, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) lead Cardiologist, is urging Guyanese to join in the fight against the deadly virus and get vaccinated.

Speaking about the immunization campaign during a

recently aired segment of ‘Your Health Matters’ on Kaieteur Radio, Dr. Carpen addressed several concerns about the safety of the vaccines and its viability to protect against the spread of the deadly virus. According to Dr. Carpen the benefits of the vaccines outweighs the risk of not taking them. He

noted that while concerns over the safety of the vaccine are valid, there is scientific data that the vaccines are safe to use.

He noted that, “In fact, the vaccine that is available in Guyana, the AstraZeneca vaccine, has been understudied since the Ebola outbreak in 2014 or 2016, it took a minimum

of five years to develop.”

“Scientists had started the process to prepare for the next big thing since then …

So the Coronavirus is not new to humans, it is a virus the world has been exposed to in SARS and MERS, which is a Coronavirus. That is, the scientific basis of the AstraZeneca is that it has a

timeline of development,” added Dr. Carpen.

The Cardiologist stressed that since vaccines has been historically known as a method of promoting the prevention of diseases, immunization is currently the world’s best bet against COVID-19 and its deadly effects.

“You are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 without the vaccine than you are if you take it. What the vaccine does is boost your immunity to fight off the infection and stop its spread,” he emphasized.

Dr. Carpen noted however that there are certain categories of people who will not be able to benefit from the immunization programme.

“Based on the scientific data available, the only group of persons who absolutely should not take the vaccines are those who have severe allergic reactions to vaccines in general, or those persons allergic to any component of the COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.

Dr. Carpen is among at least 6,500 persons who have so far benefited from the roll out of the first phase of the COVID-19 immunization campaign, which commenced last month.

In his capacity as a frontline health worker, Dr. Carpen was among the first batch of persons to receive the first dosage of the vaccine. He told Kaieteur Radio that his immunization process has been smooth so far, with little to no side effects.

“This is pretty normal; a slight chill or headache which will generally go away within 24 hours,” Dr. Carpen said.

He explained too that the administration of the vaccine is being done in a much organized way. According to Dr. Carpen, the vaccines are being rolled out in a phased approach to ensure that the most exposed or vulnerable groups of the population benefit first.

He noted that, “The first

GPHC’s lead Cardiologist, Dr. Mahendra Carpen. phase is healthcare workers.

The second would be persons over 60 years and those with co-morbidities or underlying conditions, then others would get in the next stage.”

At this point, Dr. Carpen noted, most persons have only received their first dose of the vaccine —a second dose is to be administered within the space of three months.

“The second dose is equally as important as the first one as it will complete the immunization boost against COVID-19 …” he emphasized.

So far, Guyana has benefitted from thousands of vaccines to ensure all healthcare professionals are vaccinated before rolling out the immunization campaign to the wider population.

Just recently, it was announced that Members of Parliament (MP) would have the opportunity to be vaccinated from a recent consignment of COVID-19 vaccines.

Guyana has received 80,000 doses of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine from India. This, coupled with the 20,000 doses of Sinopharm, which the Government received from China last Tuesday, brings the total number to 100,000 doses. Both vaccines are being distributed across the regions to ensure (Continued on page 28)

Clerk of National Assembly ...

From page 13 according to Teixeira is that Datadin is a governmentaligned lawyer. According to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Minister, her party has since requested of the Clerk the same accommodation, to which he has since acquiesced.

According to Teixeira there is precedent with regards the recourse available to the Clerk and noted that at the first Committee meeting it is the Clerk that would invite nominations for the chair, conduct elections and then hand over the chairmanship to the successful Member of Parliament. This is the case,

she said, with the election of Speaker of the National Assembly.

She was adamant that the actions of the PAC Chairman serve only to prevent the constitutional body from scrutinizing the expenditure of the APNU+AFC’s expenditure while in office.

At present, the PAC is addressing the Auditor General’s report for 2016. It was at the time of the scrutinizing of the expenditure for the Ministry of Public Infrastructure where Teixeira noted that a number of problems had come up, which led to the motion in the first place.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Man who confessed to several home invasions, released on self-bail

A

man who was ar rested for breaking and entering and larceny and who reportedly confessed at the police station to several other home invasions was on Monday released on self-bail, when he made his first court appearance.

The defendant, Roger Bledman, made his appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Principal Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, to answer to a breaking and entering and larceny charge.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged that between February 20, 2020 and October 18, 2020, at Owen Street, Kitty, Georgetown, while in the company of others,

he broke and entered the dwelling house of Maggie Larrick.

It is also alleged that he stole a stereo, two pressing irons, a quantity of liquor, five bottles of perfume, clothing, a quantity of footwear, a quantity of bed sheets and towels, food-

stuff, and other items to a total value of $653,000.

According to the prosecution facts, Bledman and Larrick are known to each other and while in custody, Bledman allegedly confessed to the crime and even pointed out several other homes that he invaded.

However, Principal Magistrate, IsaacsMarcus, placed Bledman on self-bail and the matter was adjourned to March 26, 2021.

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Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Jury fails to reach verdict for man accused of killing aunt - Retrial ordered Kevin Mohan, called ‘Chucky’, who is indicted for the brutal murder of his aunt Anita Mohan is expected to face another trial in the Georgetown High Court as a result of a hung jury verdict, which was delivered yesterday.

The jury failed to reach a verdict for the offence of murder following almost two hours of deliberations in the High Court.

Mohan, 27, formerly of Fifth Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, was on trial before Justice Navindra Singh for the September 4, 2016, murder of his aunt 48-year-old Anita Mohan who was killed during a robbery at her Cummings Lodge home.

During the trial, the state case was presented by prosecutor Tiffani Lyken, while

Murdered: Anita Mohan.

Accused: Kevin Mohan.

Mohan was represented by attorney-at-law Ravindra Mohabir.According to reports, the woman’s body was found lying in a pool of blood in her kitchen with her head bashed in and a stab wound to her chest, by her son Imtiaz Khan. A bloody rolling pin along with a broken beer bottle was also found near the body. The dead woman’s

nephew was later arrested by police since he lived with this aunt and had access to the home. He allegedly confessed to the murder and told police that he committed the crime with the help of an accomplice.A post mortem examination performed on the woman’s remains revealed that she died from multiple injuries.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Garden City Rotary Club launched new children handbook The Rotary Club of Garden City in collaboration with District 7030 Childhood Obesity Prevention Committee launched a healthy eating kids’ handbook titled, “Eat Well, Move Well.”

The book, which is authored by Rotarian, Valentin Marie, from the Rotary Club of Remire Montjoly in French Guiana and illustrated by Rotarian Diego, looks to provide both girls and boys with a simple but technically sound guide to healthy eating and exercise.

The book can be used by both teachers and guardians for children from the age of eight years old to share information on healthy food choices in a story-telling format for greater impact. It’s also an educational tool, which looks at the benefits of eating healthy, drinking water and exercising.

On Monday, the National Library saw a donation of 50 copies to be added in the juvenile sections in the city, bookmobiles and out-district library centres.

The Chief Librarian, Emily King, on behalf of the National Library expressed her gratitude to both the Rotary Club and District 7030 for the timely intervention of such a publication.

A copy of the handbook titled “Eat Well, Move Well.”

She added that having reviewed the contents of the book, the information is presented in a format that is easy to understand and shall be a worthwhile addition to the juvenile section of the Library. According to a press release from the Rotary Club, the District 7030 has embarked on an initiative to re-

duce the incidence of childhood obesity across the region where one in three children are

overweight or obese.

The booklet is one of the many initiatives, including the distribution of water bottles to schoolchildren that the District 7030 will focus on for at least three years, the release stated.

Despite higher Govt. take, stricter policies, oil companies still flock ...

From page 3 He also pointed out the investment costs during the first five years, which would be about 20 percent of oil production per year.

The remaining 53.75 percent of the gross production is referred to as profit oil. As a concession holder, the state company, Staatsolie, obtains 16 percent of gross production free of charge.

Of the remaining 37.75 percent profit oil, the investors are to pay 36 percent income tax to the State of Suriname, which amounts to about 13.59 percent of gross production. A summation of royalty, Staatsolie’s share, and income taxes amounts to 35.84 percent of the gross production.

Staatsolie also has an option to participate up to a maximum of 20 percent with investment capital, in which case, Suriname’s share of the production would move from 35.84 percent to 43.39 percent of gross production.

In Guyana’s case, the investors recoup their investments by up to 75 percent of

gross production, leaving 25 percent as profit oil. The profit oil is split 50-50 between them and the government. The oil companies pay no taxes. The government also receives two percent of gross production as royalty. Half of profit oil gives Guyana 12.5 percent of gross production. Added to a royalty of two percent, Guyana’s total revenue share is 14.5 percent of gross production.

Seat at the table During the virtual January interview, former Staatsolie CEO, Elias, was asked to provide some insight into the Surinamese experience in being a partner with oil companies that are interested in developing discoveries. He was quick to note that the benefits, particularly as it relates to monitoring costs to be incurred, provide a strong case for countries to have a seat at the table.

To this he said, “It is critical to have a seat at the table because you get to have someone who is part of the project team and who will know firsthand what are the

costs…and we know there is a transparent process they will go through because we are at the table. 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.”

Currently, Staatsolie had a 20% participation stake in oil deals. Elias had indicated that it once stood at 10%, but after Guyana struck oil with one discovery after the other, Suriname was inclined to raise it to 20%.

Many have criticized Guyana’s contract with ExxonMobil as lopsided and unfair to the people. Despite facing international and local condemnation, neither of the major political parties has shown interest in securing better terms for the people.

ExxonMobil has even boasted that it has received assurances from the parties that the contract will remain intact, and that its projects will be allowed to move forward.

PAGE 23

Representatives from the Rotary Club of Garden City at the handing over ceremony of the “Eat Well, Move Well” handbook at the National Library.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

First Lady hosts successful...

From page 8 a concern for all because when girls are deprived of education and economic opportunities as a result of

period poverty, it is the entire society which is affected, not just women,” she said.

She said that everyone – civil society, government, and the private sector – has a responsibility to that every single woman and girl benefit from safe and hygienic menstrual products and the dignity that this affords.

As such, she lauded the efforts of the attendees who would have contributed financially, and challenged them to also raise their voices

to end the stigma associated with menstruation.

Speaking at the event Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand lauded the First Lady for beginning what she hopes will be a national conversation with effective solutions.

Minister Manickchand is working closely with the Office of the First Lady to have the sanitary pads distributed to girls via the public schools and reflected on the taboo nature of the conversation in and around period and menstrual health.

She announced that the Education Ministry will begin research to determine the impact of period and period poverty on education.

“The Ministry will continue to support efforts which are aimed at ending period poverty and ensuring our girls and women have equal access to educational and other opportunities” the Minister said.

The event was sponsored by DeSinco Trading, Muneshwers, Impressions Branding, The Wine Vault, Reminiscence Guyana, Star Party Rentals, New Thriving Restauran t, NAJAB’s

Trading, Hard Rock, Kirk Noel, Gaitri Byropersaud, RS53 Restaurant, Leanne Cakes, Tootie Fruity, Oasis Café, Fab Cakes and Cupcakes, Beauty Blossoms, Kurt Campbell, and Rhea Austin.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Escaped prisoner caught stealing fowl Three months later, after he used sheets to escape from the Lusignan Prison, 47-yearold, Phillip Jhagroo, a farmer of Leguan, was yesterday caught stealing a chicken from a farm in Ruby, West Coast Demerara.

In a video footage seen by this publication, the man, who was clad in just his boxers, was seen surrounded by residents from the area and was being escorted by ranks to the police vehicle moments after he was captured.

According to a statement from the Guyana Prison Service, Jhagroo, was recaptured at around 07:00 hrs. by ranks of the Guyana Police Force. On November 21, 2020, Jhagroo along with two other prisoners, 18-year-old, Mark Emmanuel, and 40-year-old, Donald Baird, who were all on remand, used a string of bed sheets to escape from the holding bay of the prison.

Back in May 2019, the 47-year-old was remanded to prison for allegedly killing his friend, 22-year-old, Mark Narine, of School Dam, Richmond Hill, Leguan. Narine was reportedly killed between March 30 and 31 after imbibing alcohol with a group of friends. It was reported that Jhagroo reportedly “lashed” the young man off his motorcycle as he was heading home and threw him into a nearby trench. The farmer was later apprehended and charged for the crime.

Kaieteur News understands that the mur-

Captured Fugitive: Phillip Jhagroo. der accused will be charged criminally for escaping from lawful custody.

PAGE 25

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Security guard found dead hours after kissing wife goodbye

A

security guard was yesterday found dead at his workplace just hours after he kissed his wife goodbye.

The dead security guard and a father of one has been identified as Troy Wiggins, 46, of 490 Kisskadee Drive, South Ruimveldt.

He was found in the early morning hours lying face down under a shed at the “Drum Yard” (his workplace) located along David Street,

Kitty. Troy has been working there for some 13 years, Kaieteur News was told.

According to police reports, crime scene experts who ventured out to the scene reported that his body bore no marks of violence.

Investigators said too, that they do not suspect that any fowl play was involved in his death.

It is believed that he might have died from epilepsy, a medical condition that he was

reportedly suffering from for at least 20 years.

Family members who assisted in identifying his remains, said that it appeared as if troy had been dead for a while before he was found.

They detailed that his body was stiff (Rigor mortis).

“One side of his hand was pulled up and in his face was mashed in, probably from falling face down”, described one of them.

Speaking with Kaieteur

news, Troy’s wife, Marcia Fields said that the news of her husband’s sudden death has left her shaken and in a state of shock.

She recounted that Troy had left home for work at around 19:00Hrs on Monday.

“Troy did not complain of feeling sick nor did he look so”, said Marcia.

In fact, as was their custom for some years now, Marcia followed Troy to catch transportation that evening.

The last thing Marcia recalled him doing before hopping onto to the bus was hugging her tightly and giving her (Continued on page 28)

Found dead at his workplace, the Drum Yard, Troy Wiggins.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 27

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

“Suriname is a relatively safe country” - Police Chief

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Chief Roberto Prade in a conversation with the Suriname Herald.

“We are heading in the right direction with our country in the fight against crime.

A lot of work is done to ensure safety, but there is room for improvement. There is still some way to go. Everything is not yet what it should be,

Security guard found dead...

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As she struggles to cope with her loss, Marcia said that she and Troy had been together for some 21, years.

Their union produced the beautiful Shaquina Wiggins, 17 who described her relationship with her dad (Troy) as “very close”.

Shaquina said that her father was a humble, kind, easy going and hardworking man who ensured that she and her mom got everything they needed.

but we are going. It may not seem like it is, but it’s going well, “repeats the police chief.

It also indicates that a number of cases have been resolved over the past year thanks to information received by the police. We have succeeded in arresting a number of criminals because we have changed the working system, says Prade.

“We should not be dissat-

isfied, we now work differently. The work is being done on the basis of the information collected and because of these actions a number of serious criminals have been arrested, “the policeman said.

According to Prade, there are still a number of steps to be taken, and when they are, we will experience further declines in crime and other problems.

Get vaccinated...

From page 16 that every eligible person is immunized.

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, said that, “We are going to consider that during this current run because there are not many parliamentarians, we think we will be able to cover them.

So, those parliamentarians who would be interested in getting their vaccine, we will make those vaccines available in this round.”

“They’re both within the same range of effectiveness and they do a good job in protecting people from getting the infection, and preventing people from getting the more severe form of the disease, so I think looking at the data, they’re equally effective,” Dr. Anthony said.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

ISSUES WITH THE BELT AND ROAD...

From centrespread touch my people and the Zambian Government backs down.”

As if that is not enough, Dr. Mumbi said that China has also been grabbing up major State assets.

In 2019, the state-owned TV and radio news channel, ZNBC, and the Lusaka International Airport were taken over by China. Even the State’s electricity company, ZESCO, is poised for takeover by the Chinese govern-

ment owning their loan default, Mumbi stressed. But the government has been denying the reports.

“They (the Government) have been trying to play cool like everything is ok but they have actually been in secret talks over how their national electricity company will be taken over by China,” the African talk-show host revealed.

In addition to all this, the Chinese have closed off a road on the central point of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.

ECUADOR A giant dam called Coca Coda Sinclair in the Ecuadorian jungle, financed and built by China, was supposed to christen Ecuador’s vast ambitions, solve its energy needs and help lift the small South American country out of poverty.

Instead, it has become part of a national scandal, engulfing the country in corruption, perilous amounts of debt — and a future tethered to China.

Nearly every top Ecuadorean

official involved in the dam’s construction is either imprisoned or sentenced on bribery charges. That includes a former vice president, a former electricity minister and even the former anti-corruption official monitoring the project, who was caught on tape talking about Chinese bribes.

The construction of the dam has been criticized as shabby, as thousands of cracks are splintering the dam’s machinery, though it has only been opened for a few years. Its

reservoir is clogged with silt, sand and trees. And the only time engineers tried to throttle up the facility completely, it shook violently and shorted out the national electricity grid.Then there is the price tag: around $19 billion in Chinese loans, not only for this dam, known as Coca Coda Sinclair, but also for bridges, highways, irrigation, schools, health clinics and a half dozen other dams the government is scrambling to pay for.

It doesn’t matter whether Ec-

uador can afford them. China gets paid either way. To settle the bill, China gets to keep 80 percent of Ecuador’s most valuable export — oil — because many of the contracts are repaid in petroleum, not dollars. China gets the oil at a discount, then sells it for an additional profit.

Pumping enough oil to repay China has become such an imperative for Ecuador that it is drilling deeper in the Amazon, threatening more deforestation.

PAGE 30

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

Nine foreign contractors shortlisted to build new Demerara Bridge

Nine contractors have been shortlisted by the Ministry of Public Works to bid for the construction of the new four-lane, high span bridge across the Demerara River.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, gave the confirmation on Monday last, when he said that 9 were selected from the 42 companies that had responded to the Government’s invitation for Expressions of Interest for the construction of the new bridge.

He told a Globespan24X7 live broadcast that the administration is currently engaged in discussions with the shortlisted bidders on the next step before a final bidding by October 21, to have a final agreement signed.

The new bridge, he said, is expected to begin construction by the end of the year and that “we are

hoping that by October 2023, we should see that bridge being completed.”

According to the Minister, the government has had to shore up its proposal in more accurate details with the prospective contractors and that this has been completed and that the administration is satisfied it has all of the required details for the bridge to move ahead with the project.

A source close to the project has since confirmed that each of the companies shortlisted are foreign, since local companies do not have the capacity to undertake such a project.

It was noted too that with the project going out to tender shortly in its second round of bidding, the Ministry would at that time look to secure an Engineering Consultant for the project.

The Ministry in December last had begun an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the construction of a new bridge across the Demerara River, commissioned by the Ministry. This comes following an application by the Public Works Ministry’s Work Services Group.

This four-lane, high-span fixed bridge, which is commonly referred to as a “flyover bridge,” is set to be built with the lifespan of 50 years, and will not require opening or retraction to allow for maritime traffic. Notably, no costs for the project have yet been established.

The new four-lane bridge is expected to stimulate other key infrastructural projects that will lead to numerous spin-off benefits. One major project will be a four-lane highway from the new bridge on the Region Three end, Parika.

The aging Demerara Harbour Bridge.

Wednesday March 17, 2021

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

‘It was always about gold medals’ - Bolt not bothered ...Active East Coast Cricket page 36 tion on the East Coast by threat new shoe technology poses to world records From by the defunct ECCB for the Demerara and by extension past 10 years and the num- the County Board before the

SportsMax - Reigning sprint double world record holder, Usain Bolt, insists he would not be perturbed if his world records were broken with the aid of advancing athletics shoe technology.

Recently, athletics sportswear giant Nike unveiled the controversial Nike Zoom Air Viperfly spikes. The shoe’s advance design has a carbon fibre mechanism under the ball of the foot that acts like a springboard, which will generate more power in the sprinter’s stride and hence lead to faster times. The technology is geared towards helping the athlete in the last 20 metres of the race.

This version of the shoe, which has been designed

specifically with 100m sprinters in mind, as it stands, will not be produced for this summer ’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This is due to the fact that the design currently falls afoul of the World Athletics regulations.

At some point, however, the introduction of such technology is bound to give athletes chasing the Jamaican’s marks a big advantage. Bolt insists, however, that he has always placed more emphasis on titles in any case and would not be fretting over the records.

“I’m not going to be worried. The fact that everyone will know why then it doesn’t bother me. As I’ve always said, I’m happy to be

Reigning sprint double world record holder, Usain Bolt is not bothered if his world records are broken. the fastest man in the world but it was always the gold medals that mattered to me because that is how you really prove yourself,” Bolt told CNN. “There are so many people that can say I am a

Wednesday March 17, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) The healing of some childhood traumas could be triggered today, Aries, perhaps through contact with someone who knew you then.

Don't be surprised if you shed a few tears.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Some great news could come today, Taurus, perhaps from a love partner.

It might concern your relationship or it might involve some sort of good fortune coming to either you or your beloved.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Have you been working very hard to increase your income? If so, Gemini, results might finally manifest.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Minor changes in your money situation could make for a beautiful day. Perhaps you discover a bank error in your favor, get repaid for a loan, or receive a generous gift.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today you might feel as though your mind is exploding. If you've been studying an intellectual or spiritual subject, insights could be coming thick and fast.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Emotions and memories that have been buried in your psyche could suddenly well up today, Sagittarius. At first you might not be able to make sense of this.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today, you should feel especially attractive, romantic, and sexy. Any current or potential romantic partner you encounter will probably pay you lots of attention.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today a friendship could develop into something more, Capricorn. Someone you know fairly well but never thought of as a potential lover could suddenly show a romantic interest in you and you could respond.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Intuition could prove extremely valuable when it comes to dealing with a sticky situation, Leo. You know all the rules, you know all the proper methods for whatever you do.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) A change in your working circumstances could make a positive difference to you, Aquarius. Perhaps you've moved to another desk, room, floor, or building.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Some gossip about a friend who has recently begun a new relationship could reach you today, Virgo. This might come as a surprise, as you'd never have expected it of this person.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Some intellectual knowledge that you gain today is apt to make a significant difference in whatever creative projects you're working on, Pisces. A friend or partner could help in some way.

former World record holder, but they’re not a lot that can say I won three Olympic gold medals (In one event), backto-back,” he added.

“To me, that is why I pushed myself so hard to dominate because I know at any point in time anyone can break your world record. If you put so much emphasis on that, then what would you have left?”

Bolt’s world-leading marks of 9.58, in the 100m, and 19.19, in the 200m, have stood since 2009. The Jamaican retired from the sport in 2017.

...G-Boats Guyana donates From page 37 and G-Boats Guyana stated that the company is excited to formulate the partnership, adding, “We saw that basketball was sort of the lower tier sport; you got the cricket, the soccer (football), and I have been to field hockey as well and we were like where is the basketball.”

He further added, “This is what we are looking for, something that helps the youth of Guyana, something that helps them develop, something that keeps them focused, something that teaches them more than basketball but teaches them how to be men and women.”

ber of clubs who participated?

Mr. Editor, we do believe that our request is very fair and simple as outlined hereunder: (1) That an “on the ground verification” of active clubs is required to ascertain which of the two bodies are legitimate. This should be done via the inspection of Scorebooks, Club register, media publications on competitions, etc.

(2) That a competent person (cricket Ombudsman) be tasked with the club verification and make a public pronouncement on the new and defunct ECCB based on the inclusiveness of active playing clubs.

(3) That the Honorable Minister Ramson, do all such things which can fix the problem in cricket administra-

new date for the GCB election is set.

In closing we hereby state that the condition of the cricket gr o u n d s a t Clonbrook, Plaisance, Better Hope and Golden Grove is a true reflection of the state of affairs of the defunct ECCB over the past decade, since these are the home clubs of their executives.

We have already filed with the Cricket Ombudsman, a request for the verification of clubs and a list of active clubs on the East Coast Demerara and await our attorney’s advice in relation to the DCB 2021 elections which was held with unauthorized ECCB executives.

On behalf of ECD active cricket clubs, B. Ramkelawan

PAGE 32

Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

NBA roundup: Giannis’ third straight triple-double carries Bucks

G

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) passes the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Justin Holiday (8) defends during the second half at Staples Center.

(Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)

i a n n i s Antetokounmpo recorded his third tripledouble in as many games, and the Milwaukee Bucks held off a second-half surge to beat the host Washington Wi z a r d s 1 3 3 - 1 2 2 o n Monday.

Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in what is actually his fourth consecutive triple-double — counting his Most Valuable Player-winning performance in the March 7 All-Star Game.

M i l w a u k e e ’s B r o o k Lopez shot 8 of 12 from the floor for 22 points and Khris Middleton added 23 points.

The trio paced the Bucks through a dominant first 2 1/2 quarters, pushing the lead to as many as 26 points in the third quarter.

Behind Bradley Beal, who scored 26 of his gamehigh 37 points in the second half, Washington closed to within seven with a little more than four minutes remaining. Russell Westbrook finished with 23 points and a game-high 17 assists, and Rui Hachimura added 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Los Angeles Lakers 128 Golden State Warriors 97 LeBron James recorded the 98th triple-double of his career and Montrezl Harrell scored 15 of his team-high 27 points in the second quarter, during which Los Angeles pulled away from Golden State en route to a victory in San Francisco.

James’ triple-double, his fourth of the season, consisted of 22 points and game highs of 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Talen Horton-Tucker added 18 points for the Lakers while Kyle Kuzma had 17.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points to lead the Warriors, who lost for the fifth time in their past six games. Andrew Wiggins chipped in with 15 points.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.

(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports) Brooklyn Nets 117 - New York Knicks 112 Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and James Harden posted his 10th triple-double of the season with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists as host Brooklyn held off New York.

Harden entered the fourth quarter one rebound shy of the triple-double and got it 41 seconds into the period. The Nets eventually secured their 13th win in 14 games.

Julius Randle led the Knicks with 33 points and 12 rebounds, and RJ Barrett chipped in 23 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Los Angeles Clippers 109 Dallas Mavericks 99 Kawhi Leonard compiled 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as Los Angeles used a balanced attack to win at Dallas.

Ivica Zubac (15 points, 11 rebounds) made his second start of the season for the Clippers while Marcus Morris Sr. (14 points) started

for the third time.

Luka Doncic produced 25 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks while Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points and seven rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 points off the Dallas bench.

Denver Nuggets 121 Indiana Pacers 106 Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 14 rebounds, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. scored 20 points each as host Denver rallied to beat Indiana.

JaMychal Green and Jamal Murray added 16 apiece for the Nuggets, who outscored the Pacers 34-15 in the fourth quarter.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points, Justin Holiday added 19, and Caris LeVert had 17 for the Pacers.

In other results: Charlotte Hornets 122 Sacramento Kings 116 San Antonio Spurs 109 Detroit Pistons 99 Phoenix Suns 122 Memphis Grizzlies 99 (Field Level Media)

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 33

Match point: Team NZ leads Luna Rossa 6-3 in America’s Cup AP - Match point Team New Zealand. The America’s Cup Defender beat Italian challenger Luna Rossa by 30 seconds in the only race that could be sailed yesterday to move ahead 6-3 in the first-to-seven-win series in Auckland.

For the third race in a row, Team New Zealand came from behind to beat Luna Rossa, delivering a crushing blow to the morale of the Italian team which has been constantly competitive in the 36th America’s Cup match but plagued by bad luck or bad decisions.Luna Rossa led around the first four marks on the six-leg course but not by more than 9 seconds. On a day of light and shifty conditions, when the race course had to be set and re-set, Team New Zealand picked up a right shift on the last beat to snatch the lead and the race.

Throughout the afternoon the breeze — sometimes full at 15 knots, at other times light and puffy at 7 knots — tracked from southwest to west and back on what is known as the Stadium Course. Course C is closest to the land of the five Cup course, overlooked by North Head and visible to traffic on Auckland’s busy Tamaki drive.

The start of the second of the day’s two races was delayed as the breeze again flitted about, defying the match committee’s efforts to set a true course. Finally the race committee admitted defeat and as the wind again wheeled to the west, the 10th race was postponed.

The teams will return Wednesday in what is likely to be a more stable breeze for what could be the last rites of the 36th Cup match, in the same area in which Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa 20 years ago to defend the Cup in the 30th match.

Italy has never won the America’s Cup. Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling was philosophical that the match will go on for at least another day. “This team’s been in this position before. We just want to keep improving, keep moving forward and we’re really excited about another race,” Burling said. “We know that one was a pretty close one, so we’re going to have to sail just as well in the next one.”

What racing was possible Tuesday was worth the price of admission. The ninth race was the closest of the series, and by winning it

Italy’s Luna Rossa, right, races Emirates Team New Zealand in race nine of the America’s Cup on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Chris Cameron/Photosport via AP)

New Zealand moved to match point.

The teams almost couldn’t be separated on the first beat and rounded the first mark simultaneously, Luna Rossa credited with a 1-second advantage.

The Italians doggedly protected their lead and at the first leeward mark the boats were overlapped and Luna Rossa, with right of way, was able to hold Team New Zealand away from the mark before rounding with an 8second lead.

New Zealand couldn’t gain upwind as the Italians made use of their high mode to lead by 9 seconds after the second beat.

At the final leeward mark the Italian boat was only three seconds ahead and made the mistake of allowing New Zealand separation, heading to the left while Team New Zealand took the right.

On the first two occasions the boats converged, Luna Rossa was just ahead and was able to tack ahead of Team New Zealand which headed back to the right. But after the second cross, New Zealand picked up a shift on the right and overtook.

By the windward mark it was 19 seconds ahead, having shown a speed advantage when allowed to sail its own race. That lead extended on the last downwind as Luna Rossa watched the race slip away.

The wind lightened as the race continued and a mistake was always likely on a course full of wind holes and patches.

“That was a painful one,” Luna Rossa co-helmsman Francesco Bruni said. “We couldn’t get every shift right and we missed the opportunity, but we have to think about the next race.

“I think we did a fantastic race honestly. No regrets.”

Team New Zealand pulled another of its escapes.

It achieved the first pass of the regatta to win the seventh race on Monday, then won the eighth race after

splashing down and trailing by more than four minutes.

New Zealand was able to come back in the eighth race when Luna Rossa experienced the same issue at the last windward mark, turning a 4-minute, 8-second

deficit into a 4 minute, 27second lead and eventually an almost four-minute win in one of the most extraordinary races in America’s Cup history.

A g a i n Te a m N e w Zealand was able to come

from behind yesterday. The evidence throughout the match has been that it has the faster boat but with foibles. It sails lower and faster upwind which means it has to cover more distance and its race boat Te Rehutai tacks more grudgingly in light winds than Luna Rossa.

The thousands of fans, Kiwi and Italian, who watched the race from vantage points ashore or on big screens at the America’s Cup village were transfixed throughout the ninth race.

Race telemetry showed many technical lead changes, when one boat or the other seemed to edge ahead, but those changes could only be proven in the crosses and Luna Rossa mostly crossed in front.

“It was a pretty tight race all in all and one little right shift up that last beat really decided it for us,” Burling said.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 34

Devon Ramnauth youth cricket league - Region 2

Wednesday March 17, 2021

The winning underdog team.

Mohammed half century hands Queenstown Under-19 8-wkt win

A

n unbeaten half century from Azim Mohamed handed host Queenstown U19 an eightwicket victory over Essequibo Eagles when the Devon Ramnauth T20 youth cricket league continued recently on the Essequibo Coast.

Batting first, Essequibo Eagles made 124-5.

Sheldon Charles made 44 and Lance Roberts 35 not out. Seon Glasgow had 2-16.

Queenstown U19 responded with 125-2 in 19.4 overs.

Mohammed struck 56 not out to earn the man-of-thematch award and Ameer Singh got 35.

In another fixture, Rising Stars Spartans beat United Warriors by four runs.

United Warriors took first strike and scored 134. T. Bacchus made 39 and Siphion Corbin 33.

Spartans responded with 130; B. Khan got 43 as manof-the-match Benny Persaud took 3-19.

The respective man-of-the-match accept their awards.

In other fixtures, Spartans made 73 all out batting first.

Mahendra Basdeo got 25. Vikings were bowled out for 42 in reply.

Jouash Charles took 3-3.

Man-of-the- Match was Mahendra Basdeo.

United Warriors scored 59 all out in 13.3 overs. A. Beharry took 3-19. Hustlers responded with 60 without loss in 7.4 overs. Udarsheva Balgobin scored 42. Man-ofthe-Match was Udarsheva Balgobin.

Underdog claim Alex Chung dominoes title

U

nderdog chalked up 74 games to win the Alex Chung dominoes competition which was contested on Sunday last at Carlosh Sports bar in Good Success, Wakenaam.

James Ramnarine made 14, Heea Sukram

13 and Raj Narine Singh 12 games for the winners.

Zeus placed second on 70 games with Tom Singh scoring 17 and Alex Chung 12. All Stars came third with 68 games; Mohamed Kalam made 14 and Amit Ramnarine 12.

Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

PAGE 35

Virat Kohli picks up runs © Getty Images Jos Buttler’s stroke play is no-holds barred © BCCI

Jos Buttler ensures Virat Kohli knock is in vain

B

BC Sport - Jos Buttler’s brutal hitting trumped the genius of Virat Kohli in England’s eight-wicket defeat of India in the third Twenty20 in Ahmedabad.

Buttler muscled an unbeaten 83 from 52 balls to help England to their target of 157 with 10 balls to spare.

That was still closer than the contest could have been when India found themselves 24-3 after six overs and 87-5 from 15.

They were kept in it by captain Kohli, whose thrilling 77 not out from 46 balls illuminated a stadium left empty by the decision to play the last three matches of the series behind closed doors.

On the day captain Eoin Morgan became the first man to reach 100 T20 caps for England, his side moved 2-1 up with two matches to play and can seal the series on Thursday.

Brilliant Buttler propels England Just as in the first two matches, when victories

were traded, the side that won the toss won this game.

England’s fast bowlers also repeated their superb display from the series opener, hitting the India batsmen with a barrage of short bowling on a twopaced surface.

The fit-again Mark Wood was particularly impressive, his figures of 3-31 only damaged when he took the brunt of Kohli’s late assault.

With Kohli reversing the momentum and lifting India to a competitive total, England could have been pressured in the chase, but any notion of difficulty was quickly removed by Buttler.

Targeting the leg side, he got into his stride by hitting two huge sixes over long-on in the same Yuzvendra Chahal over.

England scored at almost 10 an over in the powerplay, a rapid start that meant the remainder of the chase was calm and controlled.

Buttler added 68 with Dawid Malan and an unbroken 77 with Jonny Bairstow on the way to making his highest score in a

Mark Wood produced a hair-raising display of pure pace © BCCI

T20 international.

Buttler should have been taken at point by Kohli on 76 when he reverse-swept Chahal, while Chahal made a meal of a chance to catch Bairstow, who ended 40 not out.

On his landmark day, Morgan was not even

required to bat.

Kohli magic in vain Had it not been for Kohli, India could have been blown away.

KL Rahul was bowled by Wo o d f o r h i s s e c o n d successive duck, the returning Rohit Sharma miscued the same bowler to

short fine leg and Ishan Kishan was discomforted before top-edging Chris Jordan.

But Kohli instantly looked a class apart, first assessing the conditions, then exploding into an exhilarating blur of drives and pulls.

He had 28 from his first 29 balls, then took 49 runs off his next 17, a spell that included five fours and four sixes.

He danced around the crease, toying with the attack in a knock that deserved to be appreciated by an adoring crowd inside the world’s largest cricket stadium.

In all, India took 69 from the final five overs. Buttler showed it was not nearly enough.

‘We’re very lucky to have him’ - what they said England captain Eoin Morgan: ”Jos is a worldclass player. We’re very lucky to have him. He competes with the best in the world when it comes to opening the batting. He’s been in incredible form and he’s a great leader in our

Recovering Nadal to skip Miami and focus on clay court swing R

euters - Rafa Nadal will skip the Miami Open that begins later this month in a bid to recover from a back injury in time for the clay court swing, the Spaniard said yesterday.

Nadal had not played since his quarter-final exit at the Australian Open last month and also skipped

the ATP 500 event in Dubai.

The 34-year-old has since dropped down one place in the rankings to third after Russian Daniil Medvedev leapfrogged him.

“Sad to announce that I won’t be playing in Miami, a city that I love. I need to fully recover and get ready for the clay court season in Europe,” Nadal wrote on Twitter.

The Miami Open is a hard court tournament which Nadal has never won despite reaching the final five times between 2005 and 2017.

The Spaniard could possibly be targeting the Monte Carlo Masters in April and the Madrid Open in May as he looks to get into top shape for the French Open where he has won a record 13 times.

g r o u p . H e ’s a h u g e influence.”

Man of the match Jos Buttler: ”I like being not out in the end and getting the side over the line. Some people don’t expect me to attack the spinners so I thought I would take it on.”

India captain Virat Kohli: ”The England bowlers were brilliant with the new ball - they hardly gave us anything. I don’t think our body language was good enough in the second half in the field. You need more energy.”

England T20 bowler Tymal Mills on BBC Sport: ”An excellent win for England. They set the tone brilliantly with the powerplay bowling at the start. Wood in particular was excellent.

“Then it was a really impressive, measured chase with Jos Buttler knowing when to go up and down the gears.”

Scores: England 158 for 2 (Buttler 83*, Bairstow 40*) beat India 156 for 6 (Kohli 77*, Wood 3-31) by eight wickets.

Rafa Nadal. (REUTERS/ Kim Kyung-Hoon)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 36

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Letter to the Sports Editor

Active East Coast Cricket Executives respond to secretary Dear Editor; I write on behalf of 492 cricketers from sixteen cricket clubs who are actively engaged in cricket over the past five (5) years on the East Coast Demerara. We have noticed a missive in the Guyana Times newspapers dated February 05, 2021 which headline “East Coast Cricket Board accuses East Coast Cricket Committee of impersonation”. The contents of the article stated that a press release was made by the secretary of the ECCB. Mr. Editor, please permit us to respond to that article in order to set the record straight and to outline some facts about the problems facing cricket administration on the ECD for the past ten (10) years.

Between the period 2009 and 2013, cricket on the East Coast became dormant after the secret change of the ECCB constitution in 2009 to eliminate founder members of the ECCB. The Enmore Community Centre CC (ECCCC) was resuscitated in 2013 and with more than 120 members there was a need to have them meaningfully engaged.

In 2014, the ECCCC wrote the then ECCB seeking approval to manage a 35Overs cricket competition in order to restore life into cricket on the coast. This was met with resistance and subsequent court battle amongst the ECCCC executives and persons from the ECCB. The 35-Overs competition was successfully staged nevertheless. Upon the

insistence of the clubs who had resumed playing cricket in 2014, a group was formed under the name “East Demerara Cricket Association” to promote cricket. This resulted in another court battle with the ECCB which comprised of persons from non-active clubs. By virtue of an interim order from the Court, the group was debarred from using the name EDCA or similar names, save as to East Coast Cricket Committee (ECCC). The organizing group continued to promote cricket between 2014 and 2020 under the name East Coast Cricket Committee (ECCC). I must emphasize that during this period the defunct ECCB was in “sleep mode” with regards to on field cricket whilst the ECCC in collaboration with other clubs organized and managed the following cricket competitions with the active club’s involvement on most occasions: Bargain Super Market Carib Beer T/20- 2016, Bel Air Rubis U-15- 2017 to 2021, Tropical Springs U19- 2017 to 2020, Nauth& Sons 50 Overs – 2016, Banks Premium T/20 – 2016, ECCC/Fairfield SC T/20 – 2016, Banks Beer 100 Ball Tournament- 2018 & 2019, Neville Ramotar T-20 – 2019, ECCCC Double Wicket – 2016, GCB/ECCC T/10- 2019 to 2020, SPR Enterprise 40 Overs – 2015 to 2019, etc.

From the period 2015 to 2020, East Coast produced 21 male national players and 16 females national, 29

Demerara and President’s 11, 2 West Indies players along with numerous Franchise players who were recognized for their performances from ECCC organized cricket played on the East Coast Demerara.

(NB: The ECCB continued to be in sleep mode).

After Honourable M i n i s t e r - R a m s o n ’s announcement of the restoration of the Cricket Administration Act, there was an expectation that the Cricket Ombudsman would have been promptly appointed and the exercise of Club verification would have commenced. Given that the actively playing cricket Clubs were not given recognition by a defunct East Coast Cricket Board, sixteen of the seventeen clubs made the unified call for the holding of the ECCB elections and ratification of a new ECCB constitution which embraces all of the active clubs who have been playing cricket for the past two years. All of these clubs played their cricket under the name East Coast Cricket Committee for the past five years. Significantly, two weeks’ notice was given via the print media on February 05, 2021 and the ECCB AGM was set for 6PM on February 19, 2021.

On February 15, 2021 the High Court ruled in a court matter and strangely ordered that DCB elections be held at 11AM on the same day that the ECCB’s AGM was scheduled. Additionally, the Court set a deadline for the submission of delegates from the various

associations by February 17, 2021 being two days prior to the holding of an AGM by the East Coast Clubs.

To our utter dismay, we learnt thru the print media that the defunct ECCB had awoken and had submitted a list of delegates for the DCB elections. This was done without the knowledge of any of the Clubs who have been playing cricket actively for the past five years and who have called for the said ECCB AGM slated for Feb 19, 2021. It begs the question as to the legitimacy of these officials whose names were submitted as delegates from the East Coast. The DCB elections were held and four of the delegates from the defunct ECCB were elected, of which one is said to be the President. It is indeed necessary to emphasize that none of the delegates are part of any active clubs and none was nominated to represent the active clubs on the East Coast Demerara.

Notwithstanding the above, the ECCB’s AGM and elections took place as advertised and fourteen authorized active clubs’ representatives attended, one was absent and one excused. Given that 88 percent of the clubs were in attendance; a new constitution was ratified and office bearers were duly elected.

Honourable Minister Ramson, then set a date for the GCB elections with a very short timeline and simultaneously appointed the Cricket Ombudsman. We respectfully submit that no regards were given for fixing

the root cause of problems on East Coast Demerara and by extension Demerara. Our reasonable expectation was that an “on the ground verification” of the active clubs would have been done prior to the holding of the DCB and GCB elections. It is also widely known that the same situation exists on Upper Demerara.

The resulting outcome now leaves the East Coast Cricket in disarray with the defunct ECCB claiming to be representing clubs who are either inactive, did not sanction those officials representing them at DCB and/or not associated with any of the officials. These clubs include East Coast Police SC- who do not exist and has not played any cricket since 2004, Plaisance Cricket Club- inactive since 2016, Clonbrook SCinactive since 2016, L.B.I CCCC- who were not invited to any ECCB meeting since 2014 and is one of the clubs who called for the AGM on Feb 19, 2021 and is one of the sixteen clubs approving this letter, Buxton CC- due to the dysfunctional ECCB, played most of their cricket in the past five years under the East Coast Cricket Committee, Enterprise SCdue to the dysfunctional ECCB, played most of their cricket in the past five years under the East Coast Cricket Committee, Lusignan SCplayed all of their cricket with the East Coast Cricket Committee for the past five years and is one of the fifteen clubs who had called for the ECCB AGM on Feb 19, 2021, Better Hope CCCCplayed most of their cricket with ECCC in the last five years, but have become inactive due to internal issues and Strathavon SC- is one of the clubs which was duly represented at our AGM and has played all of their cricket with the ECCC for the past five years.

All of the other active clubs not stated above are fully aligned with the new ECCB and includes some who are the more established ones, namely; Enmore CCCC, Ogle CC, Fairfield CC, Mahaica SC, Young Rivals (Unity), Lusignan East SC, Industry SC, Helena SC, Beehive SC, Mahaica Cavaliers SC and Cane Grove SC. The secretary of the defunct ECCB correctly stated that the Cricket

Administration Act recognizes the ECCB. Our question is who elects the ECCB? It will be asinine for him to believe that the ECCB is a body who elect themselves whilst 90 percent of the cricketers on the coast remain on the sidelines.

So in summary, in excess of 492 players are not recognized by the defunct ECCB, whilst the new board recognizes all of the active clubs in the new ECCB ratified constitution.

Additionally, the defunct ECCB secretary stated that the ECCB held elections in A u g u s t 2 0 2 0 , notwithstanding that it is public knowledge that in October 2020, elections of the ECCB remain due and this was alluded to in Honorable Minister Ramson public pronouncement on October 10, 2020 at Albion.

Please see Guyana Times article dated October 11, 2020 with headline “Legitimacy is key-Sport Minister”.

Given all of the above facts, Can the secretary of the defunct ECCB publicly give answers to the following: (1) How many of the sixteen active clubs were present at the AGM that he alluded to in August 2020?

(2) S h o u l d n ’ t t h e ECCB office bearers be elected by authorized clubs’ representatives playing cricket?

(3) Where is voting member East Coast Demerara Police Sports Club located and did they play any cricket over the past fifteen years?

(4) Did voting member Plaisance SC play any cricket since 2016?

(5) How do you justify inactive clubs, such as Clonbrook, Plaisance, Better Hope CC and ECD Police SC being voting members on the old ECCB constitution whilst founding members who remain active such as Enmore CCCC, Ogle CC and others are debarred?

(6) Knowing that the majority of those persons did not represent persons elected by the active clubs on the ECD who have in excess of 492 cricketers, did your team vote at the recent DCB elections in good conscience?

(7) Lastly can you highlight the success stories if any, of competitions held (Continued on page 31)

Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

PAGE 37

G-Boats Guyana donates $1.8million to YBG

YBG’s Chris Bowman (2nd from left), collecting the sponsorship cheque from Edison Chouest Offshore representative Daniel LaFont in the presence of YBG’s Rayad Boyce (1st from left) and Ross Chouest (2nd from right).

Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG), the body that organizes the long-running National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF), has received a timely boost that will definitely help with the development of the sport locally, after signing a lucrative partnership with international firm, Edison Chouest Offshore and its local subsidiary G-Boats Guyana.

This was confirmed during a simple presentation ceremony staged yesterday at the Sonic Business Services headquarters, Alberttown. Chris Bowman, director of YBG, revealed that the sponsorship company totaled a sum of $1,800,000.

He further revealed that systems are being implemented for a possible restart in July-August period. However, Bowman conceded that any attempts to

resume activities will be dependent on the prevailing Covid-19 climate.

According to Bowman, “This is not a tournament being launched. This is just a restart strategy…this year when we do launch a tournament it will be a downsized tournament in the first instance and initially, we are going to be working with schools that have facilities or access to facilities so the tournament becomes more local in this new pandemic era.”

He further disclosed that the entity will commence the process of working with teachers and coaches who are attached to schools that have the requisite facilities.

This he stated forms part of the resocialisation process.

Meanwhile, Daniel LaFont, representative of Edison Chouest Offshore (Continued on page 31)

Boston Marathon to cap entrants at 20,000 amid COVID-19 Reuters - This year’s Boston Marathon will be limited to 20,000 entrants in a bid allow greater social distancing throughout the course given the COVID-19 pandemic, race organisers said on Monday.

The number of entrants being allowed for this year’s race, scheduled to be held on Oct. 11, is 33% below the typical number of runners at one of the world’s most prestigious marathons.

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), which organises the marathon, said it worked closely with local, city, and state partners to establish an appropriate field size for the race that extends from the suburb of Hopkinton to downtown Boston.

“In addition to a smaller field than in previous years, we will have significant additional

Runners approach the finish line on Boylston Street during the 123rd Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., April 15, 2019.

(REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl)

protocols in place to ensure participant and public health,” B.A.A. President Tom Grilk said in a news release.

The Boston Marathon, which is typically held in April and generally draws over 30,000 runners from all over the world, had been held annually since 1897 until it was cancelled for the first time in its history last year because of COVID-19.

The global pandemic also forced organisers to push back the date for this year’s race.

As a result, all six marathon majors scheduled this year will now be condensed into a six-week window, starting with the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 26 and ending with the New York City race on Nov. 7.

The 2019 Boston Marathon had 30,234 entrants, according to the B.A.A. website.

...GFF members praise M-FAP funding and capacity building drive

Several Participants discuss an aspect of the programme during the GFF MFAP Workshop.

From Back Page “We’re in unprecedented times with COVID – we have even more expenses than ever before to put on a safe, structured product,” said Khan. “It’s a good initiative and long may it continue.” Brandon Allicock, Acting Secretary of the Essequibo/Pomeroon Football Association said

M FA P w o u l d p r o v i d e “greater accountability”.

“We now have the resources and equipment to better execute our tasks,” he said. A second capacity building session is planned for regional association officials responsible for the implementation of competitions in order to build on learnings from the

Technical Director Ian Greenwood makes a presentation during last Saturday’s MFAP Workshop. first workshop and to further assist GFF members in the art of effective and efficient competition management.

“We are determined to give our members all the support they need to deliver high quality competitions at

all levels in order to boost participation and develop the game,” said GFF President Forde. “Under our pioneering M-FAP initiative, we are democratising FIFA and Concacaf funding so that our

members can tailor financial support to their specific needs. The programme is also an important opportunity for us to share expertise and best practices.”

“Through the training and knowledge exchange on

offer through this workshop, we are confident that our regional associations can raise the bar in the delivery of competitions this year, once we are given the green light to safely resume activities by the authorities.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 38

‘WI don’t have to be perfect’ - resurgent Bravo insists Windies working on crucial consistency SportsMax - West Indies middle-order batsman, Darren Bravo, has sought to assure fans of the regional team that the unit is striving to achieve consistency and has backed them to eventually accomplish it.

Spirits have been high, both for the West Indies team and many of its supporters, as the team followed up a surprise win away to Bangladesh with home wins over Sri Lanka and in both the T20 and One Day International series.

The fans will, however, be wary of celebrating a return to headier times too soon as the team has on several occasions given signs of turning the proverbial corner, so to speak, which they hope will be a crucial step to once again becoming a dominant force in world cricket.

Bravo, who scored a century in the ODI series, has

Darren Bravo

Pres. Skerritt praises Michael Holding on sports journalist award for best pundit in 2020

C

explained that while things have not always quite gone to plan, the team is working to make the fans happy.

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s a situation where we have to try to be perfect because you will never ever be perfect. It’s more about striving to be consistent in all facets of the game, whether it be bowling batting, or fielding,” Bravo told

members of the media via a Zoom press conference call on Monday.

“I think as long as we strive for consistency then that is where you are going to see improvement. If you try to be perfect, you fall short here and there. As a team we are striving for consistency, the guys are working hard and I’m sure we are going to get it right.”

Wednesday March 17, 2021

WI - West Indies fast bowling great, Michael Holding has won the Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) Award for Best Pundit in 2020 at the SJA Awards and Sky Sports won the Sports Network of the Year category.

The Sports Pundit award, which is decided by an SJA Members’ vote, was given to former West Indian pace bowler Holding for his powerful testimony about racial injustice in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, on Sky C r i c k e t ’s c o v e r a g e o f England against West Indies in July 2020.

In his acceptance speech, delivered via video at the awards ceremony hosted online due to Covid-19,

Holding said: “It is something that has been in me and in my head for many, many years.

People don’t understand what it is like to go through life and always thinking that people think less of you than what you think of yourself.

“It can be a little bit tiring and when I got that opportunity it just came spilling out.”

CWI President Ricky Skerritt praised Holding for his passion and bravery: “Michael Holding has always made West Indians and his many international fans proud of him, both on and off the cricket field. His latest journalism award recognizes his sincerity, passion, and bravery in the face of adversity and conflict.

Ricky Skerritt These are some of the same principles that represent the best of West Indies cricket. CWI celebrates with Mikey Holding, for continuing to make us all proud to be West Indian.

(Source: Sky Sports)

Legendary West Indies fast bowler turned pundit, Michael Holding.

SJA Best Pundit award winner Holding explains passion behind testimony against racial injustice

S

portsMax - Legendary West Indies fast bowler turned pundit, Michael Holding, has revealed his powerful, impassioned plea for an end to institutionalised racism had just come ‘spilling’ out, following the death of American George Floyd.

Floyd’s death, at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin last year, prompted global outcry and worldwide protests. In response to the incident, Holding gave powerful testimony about racial injustice, during Sky Cricket’s coverage of England against West Indies in July 2020.

Holding won the Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) Award for Best Pundit in 2020 at the SJA Awards and Sky Sports won the Sports Network of the Year category. The Sports Pundit award is decided by an SJA Members’ vote.

The West Indian revealed the speach has

simply come from thoughts that have been buried deep in his consciousness for a number of years now.

“People don’t understand what it is like to go through life and always thinking that people think less of you than what you think of yourself,” Holding said at the online awards ceremony.

“It can be a little bit tiring and when I got that opportunity it just came spilling out,” he added.

He, however, holds out hope that the process that could lead to lasting change has already begun.

“If you just look at the protests on the road and look at the faces of the people that were on the road. I saw a Swedish women’s football team take a knee before a game, so it is going all over the world that people are recognising that things need to be done, and it’s about time it did.”

Kaieteur News

Wednesday March 17, 2021

Referees get up to speed on Futsal with FIFA

FIFA Instructor Shane Butler The Guyana Football Federation Refereeing Department has partnered with FIFA to deliver an online futsal refereeing course to improve the standard of officiating in the fast-growing, small-sided form of the game. The futsal refereeing course, delivered

by FIFA Instructor Shane Butler under the auspices of t h e F I FA R e g i o n a l Development Office, took place over three, two-hour sessions between March 8th and March 10th.

The programme provided 10 Guyanese referees with examples and guidance related to changes to the Laws of the Game for futsal, a fast-paced, five-aside version of football played on an indoors court.

The course also covered areas such as fitness testing, handball scenarios, positions and mechanics, and goal scoring situations.

“Futsal is a very exciting format of the sport. It is my belief that Guyana has the requisite talent to excel at the hemispheric level once regular competitions are held,” said GFF Head of Refereeing Dion Inniss.

“The quality of officiating has to keep pace, and this course sought to bring clarity to recent law changes. The presentation of other information has enhanced the knowledge of our referees.”

“While we would have preferred to have had an inperson programme, three evenings spent together using the Zoom platform was a resounding success,” he said. “The Department will continue to look for opportunities for continuing education through FIFA and Concacaf.”

While Guyana does not currently have an official national futsal competition, the GFF plans to introduce a futsal tournament this year, contingent on COVID-19 restrictions, as part of its 2021 calendar. The GFF will also facilitate a FIFA Instructor course for futsal in

Futsal officials participate online in the event.

April to continue the development of the game.

Course participant Kenisha Prescott said the online course was “one of outstanding merit and edifying”. “I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions,” Prescott said. “The content presented was well received and it was a great opportunity for discussion and to gain clarity.”

“Unlike field football, futsal is quite different and more technical; more focus is needed with immediate and accurate decision making,” she said. “This, in turn, requires a mind of sound judgment; a skill I sharpened during this course. This new information will definitely be useful in helping my colleagues and I become better futsal referees.”

Guyana last competed in futsal at international level during the Caribbean regional

qualification round for the 2016 Concacaf Futsal Championship. The Golden Jaguars won one game against Antigua and Barbuda to finish third in their group behind second-placed Trinidad and Tobago and first-placed Cuba, who eventually won the Caribbean qualification round. “The course was very informative and insightful.

We would have made a very large leap forward with the interpretation of the Laws of the Game,” said Lenval Peart, a course participant and prospective instructor. “I hope the participants soaked every bit of information like a sponge, this course only can make the futsal referees and the entire futsal community better. The aim is to raise the bar of our futsal referees and as a consequence, in the not too distant future, produce international futsal officials.”

PAGE 39