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Kaieteur News
Thursday March 17, 2022
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
Guyana still lacks technical expertise, leadership needed to maximize oil gains - IDB Report
N
otwithstanding all that has been articulated over the years about the need for a modernised legal framework for the oil sector, Guyana will still face additional bottlenecks to execute its role in the oil sector due to an inadequate supply of sector-wide leadership, management and technical talent required. This is according to the I n t e r- A m e r i c a n Development Bank, one of Guyana’s key lending partners for decades. In a report titled: Traversing a Slippery Slope: Guyana’s Oil Opportunity, IDB experts noted that while the number of Guyanese with formal training in oil and gas p o l i c y, e c o n o m i c s , management, law, and engineering has increased in recent times, the level of technical expertise and institutional leadership required to effectively ensure the maximization of economic and social returns from the resources remains at a nascent level. Moreover, the bank said developing the capabilities to manage and regulate an oil producing contract will surely overlap with those required for other oil blocks currently under exploration, as well as other transcendental capacities to be handled by the government, such as rights (license) management, longterm gas commercialization, and marketing of the government’s share of oil
production. It said this situation therefore increases the risks of delays and value erosion during oversight activities and heightens the probability of lower social returns. Further to this, the InterAmerican Development Bank was keen to note that the petroleum industry is a highly-specialised technical and commercial sector while reminding that studies of the performance of petroleum producing countries demonstrate that the creation of a regulatory agency with a skilled, professional staff, who understand both the technical and commercial drivers of the sector is a key structural feature of countries that have successfully increased investment, production and revenues from their natural resources over time. The experts who were contracted for this analytical report on Guyana also noted that it has been widely recognized over recent decades that a key best practice for a country’s petroleum sector is the separation of functions of policy making for the sector
from the regulation of the sector. In this regard, the consultants explained that the regulation of the sector is most effective, then, when regulatory action implements the country’s policies based on technical and commercial considerations and not changing political interests. They noted that the separation of the governmental functions – that is, the policy-making function from the regulatory function - creates the conditions for such regulation. The experts added that the cases of Brazil, Colombia and Peru show that they have employed specific legislative and regulatory measures to divide these functions between the Ministry and an independent regulatory agency. To achieve this, it was suggested that Guyana may consider core precepts that hinge on institutional autonomy from political interference and dependencies on financial appropriations from the national budget.
Harmon finalises resignation as MP Former Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon has finally decided to officially resign from the National Assembly. Sources in the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) yesterday confirmed Harmon’s resignation took effect on March 15, 2022. On March 5, the former Member of Parliament (MP) signaled his intent to resign from Parliament. It was only on March 15 however he confirmed his resignation with immediate effect. It was only on January 26, 2022 during the Budget debates that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, announced that Harmon had resigned as Leader of the Opposition. Last week when the party held a press conference, Chairman, Shurwayne Holder, said they had a long list of candidates waiting to replace Harmon in Parliament.
Joseph Harmon
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PAHO urges stepped up efforts to tackle COVID-19 - says focus must be on most vulnerable as cases increase As COVID-19 vaccination continues to expand in the Americas, countries must continue to focus on the protection of the most vulnerable, such as the e l d e r l y , t h e immunocompromised, health care workers and other high-risk groups, Pan American Health Organization Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa said on Wednesday. “COVID-19 infections and deaths are declining in most of our region, but there are still too many cases and deaths being reported every day – a clear indication that transmission is not yet under control,” Dr. Barbosa said in a media briefing. Since the virus arrived in the Americas two years ago, 149 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported and 2.6 million people have died. The Assistant Director also warned that the current rise in cases in other regions of the world should serve as “a cautionary tale” for the Americas. New infections have increased by 28.9% in the Western Pacific Region, 12.3% in the African region, and almost 2% in the European region. “The virus puts us all at risk,” he added. “That’s why we must continue our efforts to close the equity gap and protect the most vulnerable with COVID-19 vaccines.” Dr. Barbosa said that while
Pan American Health Organization Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa many countries and territories are on track to reach the WHO 70% COVID-19 vaccination target, and eight have vaccinated more than 80% of their population, 21 have yet to vaccinate half of their population. “We still have a lot of work ahead to improve our resilience to COVID-19,” he said. Dr. Barbosa highlighted that pandemic response has left routine immunization programs decades behind – with coverage against polio and measles dropping to 1994 levels. “COVID-19 showed us, once again, that vaccines are the most important tool to control infectious disease and save lives,” he said. “Yet in just two years, we’ve rolled back
nearly three decades of progress on polio and measles.” Vaccine coverage for other childhood diseases has also fallen further behind, with diphtheria and yellow fever threatening to resurge unless countries take urgent action, the Assistant Director warned. HPV vaccination, which prevents cervical cancer in young women and girls, has also stalled across the region due to school disruptions. While many countries restarted campaigns against measles, rubella, and polio in 2021, and at least eight countries are planning to do follow-up measles c a m p a i g n s t h i s y e a r, sustaining high coverage is (Continued on page 16)
Man remanded for allegedly killing Venezuelan over girl A 20-year-old man was on Monday was sent to prison on remand for allegedly killing a Venezuelan national on February 11, 2022 during a drunken brawl over a woman. The defendant was identified as Keron Williams, 20, also known as Virgil of Baramita, Nort West District Region One. He is accused of stabbing Rafael Antonio Aquino Soto, 43 along a trail at Baramita. Williams was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge and will make his next court appearance on April 4, 2022. According to reports, Soto was reportedly killed for offering Williams’ girlfriend a drop on his ATV. Soto and his alleged killer had reportedly started drinking at a bar earlier on evening of February 10 and had stopped drinking during the wee hours of the following day, February 11. The suspect reportedly decided to leave with a female; however, there was reportedly an issue between the two. At some point, the Venezuelan national
Remanded, Keron Williams reportedly decided to intervene and offered the young lady a drop on his bike. Police had told Kaieteur News that the request he had made for the “girl” to travel with him infuriated the suspect. There was an exchange of words between them and the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Soto to the left side of his chest before escaping. Soto fell and bled to death right next to his ATV. The suspect had been on the run and was finally captured on March 8, 2022, hiding out in the Big Creek Backdam located miles away from Baramita.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday March 17, 2022
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
Concern for the Speaker Many Guyanese are concerned about the Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir. We at this newspaper hold similar concerns based on some decisions of the Speaker. We are worried because some of his positions raise questions. We do hope that this brother, a citizen trusted to be a crucial leader, is alright. Nevertheless, we would be less than honest if we were to say that we do not fear for his state of mind and stability. The startling news that greeted Guyanese recently was that “Speaker weakens Opposition Motion of full coverage insurance” (KN March 15). This is why we are worried about the Speaker of the House. For as he deliberates using whatever peculiar combination of intellect, reasoning, and wisdom he possesses, it is appalling that a Guyanese, much more one of such high standing, could actually arrive at such a place, and then confirm by engaging in what he did, which is “weakening” what was intended to be debated before the full House. We would think that any and every Guyanese, regardless of their place in, or outlook on life, but having minimum commonsense and interest in self-protection would be fully committed to giving free passage to open debate on full coverage insurance. Instead of doing so, the Hon. Speaker went the other way, which is why we have cause to question his equilibrium, and the environmental elements that contributed to his remarkable weakening (diluting) move. Because what the Speaker did was more than mere “weakening”, it was close to gutting what was intended to be free and fair examination in open parliamentary forum. Given what is involved, the possible ominous consequences that could result from a severe oil spill, our position is that any dutiful, watchful, and faithful Guyanese Speaker would be most zealous in safeguarding Guyanese interests, a real patriotic Guyanese would. Given that he didn’t, the Speaker seems to be unable to think straight, or to walk a straight line where real oil menaces and fears are part of the combustible mix of that commodity. We would be less than frank, if there is the pretense that the Speaker has not allowed himself to be influenced by oil politics. As if to confirm this position, the Hon. Speaker did it again. To be unsparingly candid, when we thought that the Speaker couldn’t do worse, he outdid himself, with what is quite bizarre on the face of it. After disemboweling the Opposition Motion on full coverage insurance, the latest was that “Speaker wants evidence that an oil spill can leave Guyana bankrupt” (KN March 16). This can’t be happening, not from a Guyanese, not from anyone, whose head is in the right place, whose mind and balanced rulings are devoted to easing Guyanese anxieties. Only an alien from an unearthly place would raise the issue of evidence from a spill that could lead to national bankruptcy. The Speaker is not a stranger to Guyana (at least we don’t think so). Guyana is poor, has neighbours who live mainly on tourism, and whose economies could be devastated by a spill. Guyana has no oil spill insurance, and the US$2 billion being bandied about would be a drop in the liability bucket should a severe spill occurs. However, the Speaker wants evidence of something that could possibly occur, but one which has not happened as yet. We offer something for the Speaker’s information, hopefully his education. Regular people don’t pick up bricks and burnt-out boards from their destroyed homes and present them to insurance companies as evidence, and say that here is the evidence, so insurance now is justified. It would be too late since full insurance is both precaution and preemptive move, and great damage already would have been done. We invite the Speaker to familiarise himself with BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the US$70 billion price tag. The Speaker may not want evidence anymore, but he certainly needs to take a look at how shaky he comes across, and straighten himself.
Re-Imagine the Sugar Industry DEAR EDITOR, The PPP/C governments realistic approach to the sugar industry has created uneasiness among some people, as the administration is moving away from traditional stop gap measures (like subsidies) to limit the negative impact of high cost of production by proceeding to “re-imagine” the sugar industry. Enmore sugar estate would be divested and become an industrial hub; Skeldon Sugar Estate will be divested with industrial hemp cultivation and processing, acqua-culture, peasant cane farming, soya and corn cultivation (cogeneration is not fiscally viable); Rose Hall Sugar Esate is being rehabilitated for sugar production and should become operational early next year; while the Wales Sugar Estate will be converted into an industrial zone under the direction of the Wales Development Authority (WDA) for which funds have already been allocated in the 2022 budget. What is central to the reimaging process is the need to avoid heavy subsidies in the future; ensure that workers do not lose their employment; rehire those who have been dismissed; and promote economic revitalisation of the four sugar estates that were closed by the previous PNCR-led government. When the government says that it would re-open the three sugar estates (Enmore, Skeldon,
and Rose Hall), it does not necessarily mean that the estates communities would be resuscitated based on sugar, even though that would have been the understanding of many people. I believe that the government conceived the reopening of the sugar estates as viable economic entities, but not necessarily to be built around sugar cane cultivation, which is of course one option. The lease of the Sugar Packaging Plant (SPP) facility to Guysons K+B Industries (GKB) for use as a fabrication factory, is one step forward in the implementation of the governments re-imagine approach. At Enmore, the GKB facility will employ the 30 Packaging Plant employees, and projects a labour force of 500 employees in five years time. This project along with others will contribute towards the revitalisation of the sugar estate community, which has been hurled into an economic dead zone by the previous government. The SPP will be relocated at Albion Sugar Estate and put into production there. Agriculture Minister says that SPP workers will be given two months of severance pay. However rational a plan or strategy may be (and the government has an opportunity to refine the re-imagine process with inputs from the technical team from Guatemala), it is not likely to sit well with some people. Mr. Samuel
Gittens wonders why Indian Rights activists who had been critical of the PNCR-led coalitions closure of sugar estates in 2017 have now gone silent over the Enmore SPP deal. One critic claims, “Ali is now using statistics and figures from another country, Guatemala, to buttress his arguments.” And Mr. M. Narine asks: “Is government moving away from sugar and agriculture?” The Indian Rights group was critical because the coalition government refused to carry out the recommendations of their own COI which recommended a three-year year turn-around time for the industry. Worst yet, the coalition government did not provide the 7,000 dismissed sugar workers with alternative jobs and failed also to conduct a socio-economic impact study. The Indian Rights activists are aware that the PPP/C government has been providing relief to workers in the form of alternative jobs; the grant of $(G) 250,000 for workers still unemployed (to compensate them for the non-payment of annual productivity bonus and pay rise); as part of the process to build hope for the revitalization of the sugar estate communities. Indian Rights activists know that sugar estates have been losing money at an annual average of $(G) 8 billion during the period 2011-2020. They support the constructive measures set in motion
by the PPP/C government to minimise and even to eliminate losses. While Guyanese must continue to question the viability of projects and policies, their points of view could only gain answering reaction if these are well articulated and grounded in evidence or facts. The decision by the PPP/C government, for example, to lease the sugar packaging plant at Enmore to FKB Industries Inc. is based on several critical factors, namely, (i) the rundown state of the sugar factory, including its cannibalisation and its nonoperational state for over six years; (ii) the abandonment of sugar cane fields for a similar period; (iii) the broken bridges and poor condition of dams; (iv) heavy annual losses averaging ($(G) 2.632 billion) over the period 20112016); (vi) and low levels of productivity (4-5 metric tonnes per hectare compared with levels of 10.7 metric tonnes per hectare in Guatemala). These are powerful negative forces that should not be allowed to continue. The government has therefore decided that divestment which protects jobs and increases employment level, will also lead to the revitalisation of the Enmore sugar estate community. The same situation applies to Skeldon sugar estate. Dr. Tara Singh
Cecil Kennard was a very outstanding prosecutor DEAR EDITOR, I hereby respectfully pay tribute to an August gentleman and fine legal luminary who has passed away, Cecil Kennard, my good friend, neighbour, colleague and fellow prosecutor of the DPP Chambers before he became a Judge and Chancellor of the Judiciary. I joined the Chambers of the DPP in the year 1966 where I met Cecil, together with other gentlemen, including Richard Hector, the man who bowled the great Len Hutton for a duck at Bourda, Laurie Ganpat Singh, Godfrey Persaud, James Patterson under the DPP Emanuel Ramao, Mr. Gonsalves Shabola as Deputy DPP. We were a fine fraternity of enthusiastic lawyers prosecuting on behalf of the State. At that time we worked on Saturdays also. Cecil was an outstanding prosecutor, always well prepared and thorough. He prosecuted some remarkable murder cases together with fraud cases and robbery with violence cases. His gentleness and man-
nerly conduct at the Bar with his attractive personality spontaneously attracted the women jurors of the panel. Whether that was part of his advocacy and persuasion to a guilty verdict remains unknown. Mr. Gonsalves Shabola was always ready and willing to help us prosecutors for we rushed to him in the afternoon after the adjournments to discuss our legal problems during the day at court and to receive guidance thereto. On Saturdays at 10 a.m. all of us met informally in his Chambers to discuss legal problems and evidential issues that we were confronted with during the week, and advice on the presentation of our cases. Hence, together we learnt from each other the legal problems or issues with solutions to them. My friend and brother Cecil Kennard was a very outstanding prosecutor, has proven when he prosecuted what was known as the Kitty Murder Case. We crossed swords with the finest legal minds of the Bar, including the famous le-
gal luminary Mr. J. O. F Haynes, Fred Wills, J.T Clarke and the Luckhoo Chambers among Judges the renowned Chief Justice J.A. Luckhoo, Mr. Akbar Khan, Justice Fraser, Justice Gordon, Justice Date, Justice Kenneth George and others. I clearly recall certain prisoners when they heard that Cecil Kennard is the prosecutor, prisoners took sick leave for they were fearful of him prosecuting due to likely verdicts of guilty. Cecil became a Judge of the High Court and Chief Justice and he was fair, firm and thorough, yet positive and resolute. Parties to civil claims never spoke of an unjust result when he presided. Cecil and I were buddy friends during our days of prosecution, dining, wining, discussing law, cricket. He talked of horses but I knew very little of it. Cecil emerged from an independent Bush Lot family of East Corentyne where his parents owned both coconut and rice estates. His uncle Gavin Kennard
was tall and handsome and he became Agriculture Minister and socially, he was known as the prince. Cecil became Chancellor of the Judiciary and as Chancellor his management style, his positive administrative skill and ability in supervising the Magistrates as he was severe in his discipline when it comes to laxity. The reams of decisions left on the Appellate Court in both Civil and the Criminal Law will enrich our judicial library and enhance the legal minds of the Bar. He was firm, fair and fearless, yet kind, charming, sociable and a great legal luminary on the firmament of the legal profession and judiciary. His name shall reign through the corridor of judicial history as an outstanding judicial officer and citizen. Eternal rest give unto Cecils soul oh Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. Fraternally, Jailall Kissoon, Attorney-at-Law
Thursday March 17, 2022
Balram Gangadeen is out of sync with happenings in the Agri. Sector DEAR EDITOR, I read and re-read the Kaieteur News letter, “Agriculture sector being neglected; inquiry needed,” by Balram Gangadeen, and I was angry, but then became amused. What is irksome, is that Gangadeen makes sweeping generalisations, but proffers no evidence for his various positions and analyses. What has driven me to reply is that he states that “… over the last two years, it (Agriculture sector) has been plagued by ineptitude and scandals. Is government setting up the agriculture sector for failure? Is a cabinet reshuffle in the works? Preposterous indeed!” Quickly, he speaks of “… countless complaints in the media and editorials of the two truly independent publications…” Is this a joke? Just a cursory reading of his supposed two truly independent publications, will reveal their biases. In fact, if Gangadeen knows a tiny bit about print journalism, he will be discomfited by the very layout and headlines of his “two truly independent publications…” However, I will not develop this further. I will enumerate his unfounded grouses and ask that he furnish evidence. His list: an inquiry into the US$12.5 million Enmore Packaging Plant and its lease to a political figure; sheet piling, trawler licensing, approval of Chinese agrobusinesses; land grants, GuySuCo fiasco, closure of the four sugar estates; retendering of contracts at NDIA, high turnover of staff at NDIA and GuySuCo, pump fiasco, farm relief (attributed to floods), payments for flood works especially for work not done, rice farmers paddy payments, among others, etc. Gangadeen is not following the news. His buttressing statement is that “Rumour has it...” and he names things like “… Money was passed on to friends of politicians followed by kickbacks; GuySuCo
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Kaieteur News
operations at LBI will be closed and the staff will be made redundant by this yearend and on and on ad infinitum. I am truly shocked that such a letter was given a place. Irrespective of a position taken, the writer of opinion pieces must substantiate his take on any point contested. So, I will now ask that Gangadeen and company read what I have to say about the agriculture sector currently in Guyana. First, some $22 billion was allocated to the agriculture sector in the 2022 National Budget, and I think we need grasp this, philosophically and practically, or else we will end up with opposers of development who are bent on criticising just for the sake of criticising. I recall the President, Dr. Irfaan Ali himself, before the budget was read, saying that Guyana needs investments that will lay the foundation for long-term productivity. He had stated, during a virtual briefing, that agriculture is indeed the “future mainstay” of the G u y a n e s e e c o n o my and that his governments plans for the sector will be reflected in the budget, that was later announced, and that verified his words. In fact, when Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, did present this years National Budget, it was noted that key investments were catered in the subsectors of sugar, fisheries, rice, livestock and crop cultivation, and to muchneeded drainage and irrigation. What is important to note is that Guyana is moving away from the antiquated forms of agriculture very rapidly. So, indeed the country will continue to pursue agricultural production but not in the traditional sense; instead, according to President Ali, “… there is a concerted effort being placed in promoting agro-business.” For example, there is now ongoing the recently launched youth Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme, which is allowing
young people to collaborate and tap into the multibillion dollar market for the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots initially…more will follow. Another factor for the hefty financial input in the agriculture sector is that of sugar. As we know, the sugar industry was decimated by the previous regime, and now it is cranking up and gathering momentum, but in a diversified manner. So, the $6 billion allocation, made specifically for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is more than necessary and fully justified. Presenter, Dr. Singh, noted that this will be “… to support GuySuCos ongoing investment in field and factory operations to “turn around the industry” as the country seeks to engage private investor interest also in some of the estates.” This translates into livelihoods for thousands, and a case in point the Enmore Packaging Plant. Now, as it pertains to this move, it redounds to more jobs overall, as the said Enmore Packaging Plant will move to Albion. As President Irfaan Ali explained, the government is in no way selling out assets. Th i s m o v e i s f u l l y justified if only for the sake of more jobs and greater economic development as these will now be possible through this consolidation of the Enmore Packaging Plant on the East Coast of Demerara, with the Albion Packaging Facility in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). Both Enmore and Albion are happy when it comes to the employment situation. So, I am wondering why all the fuss and fret? I just love when Agriculture Minister Mustapha silenced the heckling of O p p o s i t i o n Member of Parliament, Sherod Duncan, who challenged him to say what the government has done to reverse the closure of the sugar estates. I mean, how come such a question? The evidence is living daily across Guyana.
We all know that some of the estates, once closed, are now up and running, and in the near future, “Tens of thousands of (more) jobs will be created, and we will help tens of thousands of families. We (are) putting in the village economies more cash and thousands of people are benefitting, not only the sugar workers, but people who live in the communities and who depend on the sugar industry indirectly.” A terse response indeed from the minister. Backing this talk even further, Zulfikar Mustapha, told the National Assembly that the agriculture sector is expected to make major leaps, with the introduction of new technology, particularly in the rice industry. In fact, he boasted that the country is in the process of testing its biofortified rice, a modified version, which was developed to include a d d i t i o n a l n u t r i e nts or supplements. A double whammy is this, as according to the Minister… “this variety will not only be healthier, but also attract a “lucrative price” as Guyana would be the only CARICOM country producing such quality.” Look at this? “The supplement that doctors order patients to buy, the zinc supplement, we are now growing it in that rice. That rice will attract lucrative and preferential price… we are in the third trial now and very shortly that will come out,” the minister informed. I need not say anymore, as we can see that there is the modernising the rice sector. So, it is a silly thing to ask: “Is it governments policy to destroy the Agriculture sector? Isnt it time for an inquiry into neglect of agriculture? Mr. Gangadeen needs to at least follow the news. Yours truly, H. Singh
Remembering Leslie Amsterdam DEAR EDITOR, I was surprised by a particular revelation in Sean Devers article in Kaieteur News dated 2022/03/15 under the caption Amsterdam (AA) honoured by the project. I never knew that former Vice President of the GCB and President of the BCB, the late Mr. Leslie Amsterdam was born in Essequibo. During my playing days as an InterCounty player primarily at the under 19 level, Uncle Leslie as he was fondly referred to; was serving as the GCB Vice President and would be present at matches during the early 1990s. While I cannot recall having had any conversation with him, it struck me that his affiliation to the county was never mentioned to us as youngsters then. My recollection of Mr. Leslie Amsterdam though was his
short stature, neatness and his refined approach in the company of other officials. I was very observant and it occurred to me as I reflect now that he was very much respected since he captured the attention of almost everyone he interacted with at a cricket ground. I suppose his presence at many of our matches was a testimony of his affection for us; I hope we didnt let him down amid the challenges we faced then to be represented. I therefore wish that the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) will initiate a process that will officially recognise Mr. Amsterdam for his outstanding contribution to the sport and having been born in Essequibo. Yours faithfully, Elroy Stephney Former Essequibo Intercounty Captain
Reduced salt in the soil will spurt cane growth and boost cane yield per acre DEAR EDITOR, My comments are as follows: We need to change the current way of planting sugar. The soil on which sugar is grown was reclaimed from the sea by mangroves. As a result, there is trapped sea salt between the soil particles. This salt is detrimental to sugar cultivation. It stunts the growth of cane. It is for this reason that the cane harvested today is much thinner than the cane of four decades ago, hence lower yield per acre. We need to get back to
the drainage system of 49 miles of in-field drainage per square mile of cultivated land. This will allow us to flood the fields mid-crop for 2-3 days using the 12 miles of high-level irrigation canals per square mile. In so doing, we will be able to dissolve (leach) some of the salt trapped in the soil. The dissolved salt can then be drained to the sea via the saline (corrupted to silane) canal. Reduced salt in the soil will spurt cane growth and boost cane yield per acre. Please see diagram, below. Yours sincerely, Ken Seecharran
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Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
A Human Development For Goal Scorers Only DEAR EDITOR, There are probably not many alive who know of the Adult Education Association and its existence since the early 1960s, when teams led by the late Harold B. Davis, Magda Pollard, Sybil Patterson, would dedicate their weekends to driving over the dirt roads as far as to the county Berbice to conduct educational sessions with deprived persons. They cov-
ered other communities as well. The AEA has remained a non-profit development organisation that has provided support to persons who could not otherwise afford the education they need these past 50 plus years, albeit supported by modest government subventions. It continues to operate in unpretentious premises located at 58 Carmichael Street,
Georgetown. The government funding also allowed the Association to conduct outreach programmes for needy children in some suburban areas by no means comparable to the more touted GOAL initiative, but educational nonetheless. Now to the chagrin of this small team of helpers the particular outreach has had to be suspended. Reportedly government funding has been
withdrawn, for no transparent reason that anyone could understand an act of profound contradiction to the repeatedly emblazoned insistence by the very decision-makers on education being key. It would appear that apart from GOAL, education is not intended to be Adult. What a testimonial to One Guyanas ambition to upgrade Human Development. Elijah Bijay
The other driver in West Demerara accident still not since that horrible accident on arrested West Demerara which re-
DEAR EDITOR, In the horrific vehicle smash-up in Berbice it was reported the other driver allegedly involved in the deadly racing accident was arrested (GT Mar 16). That is good. It has been over a week
sulted in deaths, injuries to persons and damage to property There has still been no report of the other driver who fled, being arrested. This person must be brought to face the law too. Shamshun Mohamed
New prosecutors course a timely intervention
T N U L B . . . T B N U T L N T B . U . L . L T B . N . U . N U T L N B . U . T . L N T U N B . N U . L U L LUNT. B . T . . T T N N B U B . U . L . L T B . B . . N . . . T U T L N N T U U L N L Milking cows! B U . B . . L . . . T B T . . N . N T U L N LU B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . NT LUNT...B NT...BLU N U L B . . B . U . . T L . N T B . . U N . L N T B U N . . L . U T L B . . N B . . . T U . L N T B U . . L . UN T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L B U UN .BLUNT. . . L . T B . . N . T U . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . LU ...BLUNT LUNT...B NT...BL T B U . . L N . T B BLU T...BLUN BLUNT... UNT...B . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B BBLU T...BLUN BLUNT... ...BLU . T . N . N T T U L U L N L B U T...BLU U B . L . N . B T . . . N T U N N N L U U U B L . L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
President Irfaan Ali recently told members of the media that his government will be importing thousands of milking cows, which will generate between $5000 and $7000 for single mothers.
Perhaps that’s a good idea. But we at this newspaper believe that the young President should have his government focus more on prudent spending so that the nation does not continue to haemorrhage billions through a sleuth of infrastructural projects (some very questionable), and contracts signed with foreign companies. Government’s continued plugging of money into projects such as the Cheddi Jagan International Airport - one of the ‘national milking cows’ is a cause for concern.
It is high time for President Ali to bring the curtains down on the “milking cow campaign”.
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Thursday March 17, 2022
Coalition wants no new elections without reforms ...decries Continuous Registration Chairperson of GECOM, Ret. Justice Claudette Singh
The APNU+AFC Coalition said the country’s election system required substantial reforms and that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) should not engage in any new elections without these.
The Coalition further stated that those reforms must benefit from international best practices and are geared at producing credible results that will have public acceptance. The APNU+AFC made the
comments following a meeting with GECOM earlier this week. The meeting was conducted by Zoom and was cordial and fruitful, and covered a wide range of issues. The Coalition team
comprised PNCR Chairman, Hon. Shurwayne Holder, MP; PNCR General Secretary, Hon. Geeta Chandan-Edmond, MP; AFC General Secretary David Patterson, MP; and AFC Executive Member C a t h y H u g h e s , M P. Representing GECOM were Chairperson of GECOM, Ret. Justice Claudette Singh; CEO Vishnu Persaud; A P N U + A F C Commissioners, Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman; PPP Commissioners, Bibi Shaddick, Manoj Narayan and Sase Gunraj. In a statement, the coalition said its team brought to the attention of the commission a series of issues surrounding the current Continuous Registration Process. These included, among many other issues, lack of public information on Continuous Registration, breaches in GECOM processes, lack of consistency in the standard operating procedures at various offices. The coalition highlighted the specific case of birth certificates being used with
varying features, while GECOM did not seem to have any mechanism in place to confirm their authenticity. Breaches in the hiring process and breaches in the process of issuing ID cards were also brought to the commission’s attention. Based on these and other concerns, the Coalition expressed a lack of confidence in the continuous registration process, however, pledged that its Scrutineers will continue to be present at the various offices to police the process with the aim of protecting the interest of all Guyanese. GECOM committed to deliberate on the matters raised and to conduct thorough investigations. It was further agreed that GECOM will share its findings and will meet with the Coalition more frequently to discuss these matters and the more substantive issue on the approach to electoral reform and how the next Local Government Elections can be used as a testing ground for these reforms with the aim of producing free and fair elections in all future elections.
One death, 12 new cases as COVID-19 threat remains high The Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported that an 83-year-old woman from Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) who contracted the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has died. According to the ministry, the woman was a fully vaccinated patient who died on Tuesday while receiving treatment at a medical facility. The Guyana Government this week relaxed a number of regulations regarding the disease. As a result, the country’s COVID-19 death toll has moved to 1,226. The woman is now the sixth COVID-19 related death for the month of March. Meanwhile, in its latest COVID-19 dashboard, the ministry recorded 12 new infections, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 63,169. Of the confirmed cases, 34,080 persons are women while 29,089 are men. A breakdown of the new cases per region shows that Region Four recorded four new cases, Region Three recorded three, Regions Two
and Five recorded two each and Region Six recorded one. The dashboard also shows that five patients are admitted into the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 15 persons in institutional isolation, 151 in home isolation and 12 are in institutional quarantine. To date, a total of 61,772 persons have recovered from the virus. Only last week the Pan America Health Organisation warned against the lifting of public health measures. Director Carissa F. Etienne warned countries that it is too soon to lower their guard. “When places relax measures at the wrong moment, transmission spikes dangerously and we lose more lives,” Dr. Etienne said in a media briefing yesterday, urging countries to base decisions on risk assessments and health data, and to tighten public health guidance if cases go up. “COVID-19 is likely to be here to stay. We must learn to live with this virus, and quickly adapt to new changes,” the PAHO Director added.
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
A subsidy for flour
The price of flour is expected to increase soon by 15 percent. This will add to the woes of consumers already reeling from increases in the price of almost every basic commodity. The concern over the rising cost-of-living has presented the Alliance For Change (AFC) with an opportunity to call for the price of flour to be subsidized. But it did not spell out exactly how this subsidy was to be applied. Nothing can be done about the landed cost of the grain. The grain is imported and then milled into local flour and sold locally. At one time, there used to be some imported flours on the market. There are no duties and taxes on the imported grain or on the flour sold in the markets. Therefore, the government cannot reduce taxes to subsidize the price of flour. So how can the price of flour be subsidized when consumers are not paying any taxes on the commodity? The only way there can be relief is if the government provides a direct subsidy to the miller for every bag of flour sold, in return for the price of flour not being increased. Such a subsidy would be tantamount to putting public funds in the hands of the businesses that deal with flour. This was what was done in the past and what is likely to happen again. In the midst of the global food crisis of 2008, the then PPP/C government took a decision to provide a G$200M subsidy to avoid an increase in the price of flour and bread on the local market. In 2008,
the new Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) had bought flour from the flour mill and then resold it at a loss. In this way, the government was subsidizing the cost by having the GMC resell at a loss. At the same time, the government was paying the flour mill as much as G$1,500 a bag to keep the prices at G$6,000 per bag rather than G$7,500 per bag. The bakeries also received some support. Some bakeries however, took advantage of the situation. While the prices of bread remained the same, some consumers began to complain that at some bakeries, the bread appeared smaller than usual. It is for this reason that there will be reservations about the government putting monies in the hands of the bakeries. There is no guarantee that all of them will pass on the subsidy to consumers. And this is the crux of the dilemma which faces consumers. These consumers are concerned about the trickledown effects of the subsidy. The experiment with the GMC should not be repeated. The GMC does not have the market reach, which would allow most consumers to benefit from lower prices charged by that entity for flour. The flour mill can reduce prices if government absorbs the increase in prices but there is no guarantee that unscrupulous retailer and bakeries will not try to shortchange consumers. At present, the private sector is benefitting from billions of dollars in avoided
taxes. Because of the massive increase in freight costs, the government is allowing importers to pay their import taxes on pre-pandemic freight costs. As such, the government is not collecting the full taxes which would have been due had the importers had to pay the actual freight costs. But consumers are not convinced that the reduced taxes on freight are being reflected in the prices in the supermarket and in the shops. They have seen some astronomical increases in prices, including for cooking oil. When imported prices increases, even local producers decided that they too had to jack up their prices. The prices, of almost everything, have increased – bora to bread. Recently, the price of chicken increased. The explanation which was given was that the Christmas demand caused a shortage. That explanation is not going down well with consumers. They are wondering when the shortage ends if prices will return to the level they were before the shortage. Chicken is retailing currently at more than G$500 per pound while before it was around G$320 per pound. At present, garlic is in short supply. Even if you are willing to pay a higher price, you cannot obtain garlic. And no one is certain when the shortage will end and whether the prices will remain the same or if it will increase. It is because of these experiences that consumers are
Dem Boys Seh…
Dem gat nuff double standard Deh had a woman who use to carry she son to church every day. She use to try ensure dat he stay pun de straight and narrow path. Den one day de boy bring home a bicycle. De mother ask he weh he get it from. He tell she he steal it. De mother nearly drop down dead. She hold she head and turn to he and say, “I told you dat you should pray to God fuh a bicycle. Now look wat you go and do!” De lil boy turn to she
and say, “I use to pray every day fuh a bike. And I never get none. Now all I gat to do is pray fuh forgiveness fuh stealing one.” Deh gat nuff people who use to dream bout owning dem own motorcycle. But dem never was able to afford one. Now dem prayers get answer. Dem gat electric bikes and it cheap enough fuh de small man fuh afford. But deh gat some people oppose to dem electric bikes. Dem want de guvament to control de use of dem pun de road. Dem nah want small chil-
dren fuh use dem bikes even though some ah dem electric bikes can hardly go faster dan a bicycle. Now some people trying fuh prevent de electric bikes from going in busy places. But dem same people nah gan seh nutting if wan electric car deh in a busy part of de country. Is sheer double standards we gat in Guyana. And is de small man wah can’t afford either a motorbike or wan electric car who gan feel de squeeze. Talk half and who vex, vex!
circumspect about subsidies being put in the hands of businesses. It is time for a new approach.
(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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Kaieteur News
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Thursday March 17, 2022
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Some interesting words from a seasoned politician I just write my thing, keep to myself and watch how society unfolds in my country. I have argued long and hard that there are people masquerading as civil society, giving civil society a bad name and whose motives are open to extensive questioning. This is not to say that there are not genuine civil society organisations in Guyana. There are and many of them are important. The Bar Association has its faults. It can do more but the Bar Association is a bona fide civil society group. It confronted the government and won its battle over compulsory DNA testing for persons arrested. The government backed down.
This country owes many civil society organisations an unpaid debt in 1997. That was the year when civil society leadership under Yesu Persaud secured the intervention of CARICOM when the PNC refused to accept the election results. The superb period of civil society in that period of our history will be recorded in the second installation of Ye s u P e r s a u d ’s autobiography, which I think will be published posthumously. This is a fascinating country. What civil society did in 1997 was replicated in 2020 in identical ways. Can you imagine, the Private Sector Commission was instrumental in 1997 in
saving electoral democracy and did the exact thing in 2020? The churches, all denominations, are a powerful civil society forum. One of the mistakes (for many they are deliberately being culturally biased), we make in this country is that we assign civil society status to Christian churches only. But there are influential Hindu and Muslim churches in Guyana which are essentially part of civil society and we must assign the same weight to their views and positions. There is a civil society grouping in this country that we inject our class bias in derecognising. The Rastafarian community has a genuine grievance in relation to the draconian penalties for conviction of small amounts of marijuana. Many civil society entities never seek to consult the Hindu, Muslim and Rastafarian churches on any major national issues. For example, the Catholic Church and three other bodies, including the Trade Union Congress have formed a civil society forum to give expression to Article 13 of the Constitution. I
don’t know if the nonChristian churches were invited to join. Here is what Mr. Ralph Ramkarran wrote about civil society two weeks ago, “…no other body of consequence to which respect and recognition can be given, has emerged. The recent political criticisms against the Government by a group of largely unknown bodies, some of which have already withdrawn their sponsorship of the statement, which appear to have been organised for the purpose, fell flat.” Now bear in mind, these are not the words of Frederick Kissoon. Mr. Ramkarran is not in the company of the PPP or the government. He is the leader of an opposition party, ANUG. He is not known to be echoing sentiments in constant praise of the PPP government. As someone who has been in politics many, many moons ago, Mr. Ramkarran knows how civil society once operated in Guyana, and the value it brought. When he used the words, “largely unknown
bodies,” he knows what he is talking about. He is involved in politics. In a recent column, I made reference to the professional remarks Frederick Kissoon of Mr. Christopher Ram and opposition counting? Almost half the politician Timothy Jonas. votes in the 2020 general Both men offered their election came from one honest opinion on how they district alone – Region Four. saw one of the amendments I am relieved that Mr. to the Representation of the Ramkarran has penned a few People Act. It will divide wise words on civil society Region Four in four electoral in Guyana in 2022, no doubt sub-divisions. This is reacting to the overnight c o m m o n s e n s i c a l a n d birth of a plethora of “civil logical. It is a large district society” entities. Recently, where the bureaucracy is the president, the AG, and burdensome. Both Ram and two other ministers reacted, Jonas when interviewed saw to many of these groups that the changes as merely Mr. Ramkarran classified as administrative. This was “largely unknown.” The contrary to the attitude of an government’s reply carried o rg a n i s a t i o n t h a t s a w the familiar refrain – how mischief in the amendment. credible are these When organisations like o r g a n i s a t i o n s , w h a t these are formed and use the physiology they have? banner of civil society, it (The views expressed in gives civil society a bad this article are those of the name. How can one argue a u t h o r a n d d o n o t against dividing the large necessarily reflect the Region Four district into opinions of this newspaper.) four for the purpose of
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
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Thursday March 17, 2022
Pres. Ali commissioned 2 wells at same location in 12 years
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali Commissioning the new well at Lusignan on Tuesday.
T
h e P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party Civic ( P P P / C ) administration on Tuesday commissioned its second well in 12 years at the same location, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD) Commissioning a new $152M well station at Lusignan was President Mohamed Irfaan Ali. However, this was not the first time that Ali assisted in commissioning a well there The first well was commissioned in February 2010 when Ali was Minister of Housing and water and it had cost the then PPP/C government some $63M built. Eleven years later in 2021 that well collapsed. A t Tu e s d a y ’s commissioning ceremony of the new well, Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Shaik Baksh, said that the collapsed well could not be repaired and a new one had to be built. He blamed the previous coalition government-that had took power from the PPP/C in 2015- for this and told the audience that it had run down GWI’s inventory of spares and could not maintain the old well for five years.
In moving forward, the CEO related that his government decided to build a new well at Lusignan and has also spent money in restocking the inventory not only to maintain the new well but some five other aged wells across the coast. The new well, according to Baksh, “is a good production well that was completed within three months”. Baksh said that the well can produce over 210 cubic meters of water per hour when compared to other wells. “It (the well) has surpassed some of the wells on the east of demerara and will more than supply some of the needs of its borders”, Baksh said. He noted too that the pressure (PSI) in the pipelines is of high standard. His exact words were, “Pressure raises from 10 to fifteen feet of water in all the various points in Lusignan very good” In terms of the quality, the CEO explained that except for one it has met all the parameters of the World Bank. Those qualities that met the World Bank’s Parameters were listed in the water’s PH turbidity, and absence of bacteria such as coliform and E. coli.
Baksh related, however, the iron content found in the water is still above World Health standard and hopefully this can be addressed in the not too distant future. Also speaking at the ceremony was current Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal, who boasted that the new and improved well has a life span of 30 years and is capable of servicing more than 20,000 households. Croal asked the residents to take good care of the well and to immediately report leaks if they occur.
President Mohammed Irfaan Ali participating in the commissioning of the Lusignan well in 2010
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
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Cecil Kennard laid to rest Former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard was on Wednesday laid to rest days after his passing. President Dr. Irfaan Ali was among several other high officials who attended the funeral service held at his res idence in Bel A ir. President Ali expressed condolences to the family and friends of the former Chancellor of the Judiciary on behalf of himself and the Government of Guyana. The Head of State said that Guyana has not only lost a distinguished gentleman but
an extraordinary soul. He lauded the late Justice Kennard for his contributions to the development of the legal fraternity and the country as a whole. President Ali was joined by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall and other representatives from the government and legal fraternity in Guyana, including Chancellor of the
President Ali comforting the widow of the late Cecil Kennard
Judiciary (ag), Justice Yo n e t t e C u m m i n g s Edwards, Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George, and Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar AliHack. After retiring as chancellor, Kennard served as Chairman of the Police C o m p l a i n t s A u t h o r i t y. Before embarking on his career, the former Chancellor had studied Law in the United Kingdom’s prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. He returned to Guyana in 1962 to open a private
President Irfaan Ali paying respects to former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard practice in Berbice, from where he hails. In 1965, he was appointed State Counsel (prosecutor) in the Director of Public Prosecutions Chambers, before being elevated to senior State Counsel in 1968. He also served as the Guyana Police Force’s legal advisor. Kennard later served at the Court of Appeal until he became Chancellor of the Judiciary from 1996 to 2002, when he left the Judiciary to take up his position at the PCA where he served until 2017. During his career, he was the recipient of two national awards, the Order of
Roraima, the second highest order and the Cacique Crown of Honour – the third highest order. Justice Kennard was also the honorary President of the Kennard Memorial Turf Club located at Bush Lot. Justice Kennard was most famous in the sporting fraternity for hosting his annual Boxing Day horse racing meet, Emancipation Day horse racing meet and Independence Day meet which were held every year at the club until the pandemic put a halt on the proceedings. During his stellar career, Justice Kennard would have prosecuted some of the most high-profile cases both in
Guyana and Antigua. In sharing his sympathies on the passing of Justice Kennard, Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, SC, noted that as a judge, he presided over thousands of cases, in particular criminal cases, some being the most famous criminal cases of that era. “The Guyana Law Reports, the West Indian Law Reports and the Commonwealth Law Reports, have recorded some of the landmark judgments he would have written and rendered during his long and illustrious career. Criminal law was certainly his forte,” he said.
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Thursday March 17, 2022
$15M more to fix rehabilitated CJIA runway W
ith $927 m i l l i o n allocated for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in this year’s budget, the Ministry of Public Works is looking to spend some $15 million to facilitate construction and remedial works on the runway of the country’s main port of entry. This is according to a recent invitation for bids issued by the Ministry inviting contractors for the ‘Construction of Erosion protection and remedial works for the CJIA Runway Embankment’. The ministry in its public notice stated that bidding will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding procedure specified in the Procurement Act 2003 and that the project is slated to open on April 6 at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office. This newspaper understands that only last September, the extended
runway at the CJIA, coupled with a $518M Instrument Landing System (ILS), was commissioned. The 3,360 metre expanded runway forms part the US$150 million CJIA expansion project which has been ongoing since 2012. The airport expansion contract was signed in 2011 under then President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and was passed through the truncated presidency of Donald Ramotar. When the David Granger administration took over in 2015, it said that the very defective plan needed adjustments. The then Minister of Public Infrastructure, Patterson, said that upon assumption of office, the APNU+AFC administration found that only seven percent of the work was completed. Even with the substandard work, former Junior Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Jaipaul Sharma revealed that the contractor spent more on
Only last year September the runway was commissioned, now the government is spending $15M more to rehabilitate it certain aspects of the project than was laid out in the contract. However, he had not shared whether the contractor spent more than the contract sum. Sharma further said that the former APNU+AFC government
Police in move to improve security around Stabroek Market
Georgetown Police Commander, Simon McBean on Wednesday participating in a walkabout at Stabroek Market with the M&CC Chief Constable Mr. V. Gafur. Just two days after the US Government warned its citizens that the market areas in Guyana are a haven for criminals, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) embarked on an exercise with the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to make them safer. According a statement GPF posted on its Facebook page, “Police Commander of G e o rg e t o w n D i v i s i o n , Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean met with M&CC’s Chief Constable Mr. V. Gafur on Wednesday morning as they sought to implement strategies to bring public safety to the market areas”. Accompanied by officers, they even conducted a walkabout at the Stabroek Market Area to map out strategies for collaboration and policing in
and around the “public thoroughfares”. The Force even promised to “immediately” provide resources to M&CC to have visible police presence in the areas mapped out and to continue collaborative efforts to make the local markets safer. Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, however, said that the move was not prompted by the Embassy’s statement. He called it a mere coincidence. The minister attempted to back up his response by saying that the Force can report statistics of the number of arrests and seizures it has made since November. His exact words to reporters were: “GPF has been working at this since November last, without the fanfare, congestion issue is the last outstanding to be
progressed!! US timing coincidental.” He claimed that the remaining issues that the Force had to deal with in order to decrease crime in the markets area were to reduce the congestion and install additional cameras and route monitors for buses. The US Embassy had issued a security alert on March 14, about the Stabroek and Bourda Market areas. It stated in the alert, “The City of Georgetown is rated critical for crime”. The embassy highlighted that some of the crime that take place in the market areas especially at nights are: robberies, sexual assault and homicides. It moved to warn its mission personnel to not independently visit these areas alone. Kaieteur News and other media entities have (Continued on page 16)
would have decided whether to penalise the company for “breach of contract”. T h e p r e v i o u s government had also stated that it would not spend a cent more on the project, but that was not the case as a change order seen by this newspaper
indicated that the administration made at least one additional disbursement of GY$6.8M for the “extra time delay and costs for the prolongation of the project” by 807 days. The order also indicated that it was a payment, not for the first, but
the third claim made by the contractor. As the country awaits the completion of the project, which falls way below expectations, taxpayers are still obligated to repay a loan of US$138M to China, which forms part of the contract sum.
PNCR infighting stalls legal challenge to ‘Oil Fund Act’ From all indications, the coalition opposition is no closer to making good on its promise to file a legal challenge to the controversial Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act. This is despite the call for the issue to be dealt with expeditiously. Kaieteur News has reached out to A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Shadow Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Roysdale Forde SC for an update as to the party‘s progress in filing the matter. Forde while noting that the court case is still on the cards for the APNU+AFC, the matter is not being “rushed”. Forde told Kaieteur News that while the case is being examined and prepared for court by a team of highly qualified lawyers, he could not say exactly when the matter will be filed. “At the moment, we [the party] are looking at some other things,” Forde said as he noted that there are some issues that have to be worked out internally. And though Forde gave no specifics as what the issues he referenced are, a source close to the party indicated that the People‘s National Congress /Reform which is the main component of the coalition opposition
APNU+AFC Shadow Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Roysdale Forde SC. has been suffering from major infighting in recent months. The source noted that this has led to stymieing of many things on the party’s agenda, the legal challenge to the NRF Act, among them. “So what we are seeing is a rift between members of the party and leadership of the PNC/R that started leading up to the elections and it seems to be ongoing; ultimately affecting the overall health and productivity of the party,” the source added. The parliamentary opposition has been mulling legal action over the NRF Act, which the P e o p l e ’s P r o g r e s s i v e Party/Civic (PPP/C) forcefully passed through Parliament without proper consultation, last December. Back then, Forde had promised to move to the Court to challenge the g o v e r n m e n t ’s r u s h e d
passage of the law. Added to this, a number of civil society organisations, including the recently formed Article 13, h a v e e x p r e s s e d disappointment at the undue haste with which the government rushed the NRF Act through Parliament, which they believe opens the door for misuse, and without regard for the Santiago Principles, which set out the basic tenets of transparency and accountability in expenditure of oil funds. The civil society group had pointed to the fact that under the new law, the governing administration removed several safeguards that allowed for transparency and placed the management of the oil fund largely under the control of the President and the Minister of Finance. Under the new law, the President and Finance Minister, et al, are vested with sweeping powers to appoint members to sit on the NRF board. Already, with its majority on the Committee of Appointments, the PPP/C disregarded arguments by the opposition in favour of their nominees and settled on their own choice for the board. Additionally, the government has already signalled its intention to use some $126 billion from the oil account in this year’s budget.
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
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Ramsammy loses bid to set aside default libel judgment Justice Fidela CorbinLincoln has refused an application by Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy to set aside a default judgment granted against him, and in favour of Veteran Journalist, Enrico Woolford. Last February, Woolford filed a $150 million lawsuit against Ramsammy for libel. The journalist and former
CEO of the National Communications Network won the case on default, as Ramsammy failed to file a defence or respond to the lawsuit in any shape or form. H o w e v e r, D r. Ramsammy belatedly filed an application seeking inter alia, an order that the default judgment be set aside. Dr. Ramsammy in the application told the court
that he was never served any documents in relation to the case because the Court Marshall providing the service failed to reach him at his correct address. Among other things, Dr. Ramsammy said that he was never evading the service of the court, but was rather busy in the fields conducting awareness of the COVID-19 immunization drive.
As such, Dr. Ramsammy asked the court to reconsider the default judgment granted against him for failing to file a defense. In August, Justice Corbin-Lincoln granted a default judgment to Woolford, in a $150 million libel suit he filed against Dr. Ramsammy. O n F r i d a y, J u s t i c e Corbin ruled out (Continued on page 16)
Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.
Veteran Journalist, Enrico Woolford.
PAGE 16
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From page 15 Ramsammy’s request to set aside the judgment. The judge explained in her ruling that while it is clear the default judgment must be set aside for Ramsammy to plead his case, he provided no evidence to show that he has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim. “In the absence of evidence that the defence has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim, the court would not be furthering the
From page 3 “essential to securing our children’s future and allowing our region to flourish,” he said. The Assistant Director called for strong political and technical leadership at national and local levels to raise routine vaccination coverage and urged countries to leverage COVID-19 vaccination efforts to rapidly roll out other essential vaccines, including the influenza vaccine. “We cannot waste time,” Dr.
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colluded with the APNU+AFC to rig the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. In his statement of claim, the veteran journalist outlined that on March 18, 2020, in a column titled: “Ramsammy’s Ruminations” the former Minister of Health defamed him. In the circumstances, Woolford was seeking damages in excess of $150 million from Dr. Ramsammy and Times Media Group Inc., publisher of the Guyana Times newspaper.
Barbosa said. “We have the experience, tools, and knowhow to catch up on missed vaccinations, prevent diseases, and protect our families today and in the future.” PAHO “will work with countries across the Region to run coordinated national campaigns during Vaccination Week in the Americas,” and the PAHO Revolving Fund stands ready to “continue to support countries with purchases of routine vaccines,” he added. Turning to
the COVID-19 situation in the region, Dr. Barbosa reported that cases in the Americas reached 901,000, a 19% decrease from the previous week. However, hikes in cases were seen in Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean Islands, where cases increased by 56.6%. Deaths fell by 18.4% to 15,523, with all sub-regions reporting declines – from a 6.9% drop in the Caribbean to a 27.9% decrease in Central America.
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overriding objective by permitting a defence which has not shown the requisite prospect of success to proceed,” she said. Woolford had filed a $150 million claim against the Guyana Times and Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, a columnist and former Minister of Health, for libel. According to court papers, Ramsammy was sued over an article printed in the Guyana Times in which he alleges that he (Woolford)
PAHO urges stepped up efforts tackle...
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Ramsammy loses bid to set aside default...
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Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
From page 14 on countless occasions reported on the high percentage of crimes that occur in the market areas, especially Stabroek Market. In fact, just hours before the embassy issued its security alert, surveillance cameras captured two motorbike bandits attacking a
woman in front of the Silvie’s Variety Store-located in the Stabroek Market Area- and stealing her cellphone. GPF in the past had stated that it will increase its presence in these areas and procure a drone to conduct surveillance but crimes continue to occur almost on a daily basis.
Thursday March 17, 2022
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Kaieteur News
Five companies vying for Human Services Ministry drug supply contract A total of five firms have applied for the contract to supply and deliver drug and medical supplies for the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
This was revealed during the opening of tenders at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office, on Tuesday.
Ministry of Agriculture - Fisheries Department Supply of high density polythene (HDPE) tubes for the brackish water shrimp project, Region Six.
The five companies are: New GPC Inc., ARS Investment, New 0Doctor’s Clinic, Mike’s Pharmacy, and Regal Stationery & Computer Centre. Bids were also for the
Supply and delivery of drugs and medical supplies for Lot 1 to 8
supply and delivery of meat and poultry items, a project which falls under the same ministry. Below are the companies and their bids:
Procurement of materials for the construction of perimeter fence at Base Camp Stephenson
Construction of perimeter- Air Corps, Air Station London, Timehri
Construction of female accommodation, Lethem Region Nine
Ministry of Human Services and Social Security Supply and delivery of meat and poultry items for Lots 1 to 5 Construction of female accommodation, Mabaruma, Region One Guyana Defence Force Procurement of genuine outboard engines.
Construction of officer’s accommodation GPM - Base Camp Seweyo, Soesdyke Highway.
Construction of SNCO accommodation at Base Camp Seweyo
Procurement of materials for construction of northern perimeter fence and revetment at Base Camp Ayanganna.
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Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
Fisherman feared dead after boat capsizes The relatives of a 28-yearold fisherman of Lot 49 Railway Line, Rosignol, West Coast Berbice are in a state of despair after it was reported to them that he went missing following an incident out at sea, some three miles from the three-door sluice Fishing Complex at D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice. Feared dead is father of one, Suraj Dhaneshwar called “Sonny”. Reports are that Dhaneshwar and boat captain Oneil Deputron left the threedoor sluice on Tuesday, 15th March around 05:00 hrs and headed out to sea in a 36ft wooden fishing vessel equipped with a 40 hp engine. However, at 08:20 hrs Wednesday, the captain visited the Blairmont Police Station and reported that at about 21:00 hrs Tuesday, 15th March 2022, while returning from sea in the vicinity of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, a large wave hit the boat and caused it to capsize. As a result, he and Dhaneshwar fell overboard. The boat captain told police that shortly after going underwater, he resurfaced and grabbed onto the boat while at the same time, looking for his fellow fishing mate. He told police that he was nowhere to be seen but then the boat began to drift away with him until he was rescued by another fishing vessel that was passing.
Relatives at the fishing wharf at D’Edward Village awaiting news of the missing man
Missing fisherman, Suraj Dhaneshwar called “Sonny” He told police that they searched for some time but they could not locate the fisherman. Deputron was subsequently taken ashore where he filed a report with the police. He is said to be receiving treatment at the Fort Wellington Hospital. Meanwhile, over at the three-door sluice at D’Edward yesterday, the mother, sister and wife of the missing man had gathered. At approximately 10:00 am yesterday, a search party including the brother-in-law of the missing man, several fishermen and four fishing vessels ventured out to sea with the hopes of locating Dhaneshwar alive. However, after an entire day of search-
ing the waters, the search team only managed to recover the capsized fishing vessel and the fish box that was on the boat as well. As every vessel returned to the wharf, there was a glimmer of hope on the faces of the relatives but as the search party exited without a word, they broke down in tears. His sister Omawattie Dhaneshwar told Kaieteur News that her brother left home around 03:00 hrs on Tuesday to head out to sea with the boat captain and they were both expected to return yesterday morning. However, instead of her brother, the boat captain and the supervisor of the fishing wharf showed up at their house yesterday morning
Rice farmers to Govt.: “Improve paddy prices or leave office” Rice farmers of Essequibo protesting low prices for paddy
As inflation continues to sweep across the country, rice farmers on the Essequibo Coast are taking their concerns to the street, as they continue to protest the price being paid per bag of paddy. Some 50 farmers gathered on the Anna Regina High Bridge on Wednesday in a bid to register their concerns to the Government. Farmers told this publication that they are being paid $3,300 to $3,500 per bag of paddy. Production cost, on the other hand, has more than doubled with the price of fertilizer moving from $5,000 to $10,000. John, a rice farmer who spoke on behalf of his colleagues yesterday, said,
“The reason for being out here is because production was very costly for the current crop, we used to pay $5,000 for a bag of fertilizer last crop, now is $10,000 and over. Every cost of production in the rice industry went up, spraying, fertilizing to cutting the prices all gone up and the best price is only $3,500 and that is the extra A.” Farmers believe that the Government of Guyana has a role to play in ensuring they get a better price per bag of paddy. “We can’t accept less than $5,000 a bag because of production…I think the government has a responsibility to see if they can do something. I don’t
know much of the transaction between the government and the millers, but I think if the millers can pay $3,500 or something more the government should look into it.”One of the recommendations pitched by farmers was for the Government to at least subsidize some aspects of production. “I think the government should step in, or we will be forced to leave the land, and that’s a promise by all. In 2014, we had a similar crisis and the government brought fertilizer through GRDB, and the businessman on the Essequibo Coast was forced to drop his price,” said one farmer.
and informed them that there was an incident out at sea and Dhaneshwar could not be found but the captain was rescued. She said they were told to head down to the wharf and so she did with her husband, mother, Chandrawatie Persaud and her sister-in-law (missing man’s wife) Anita Seecharran. She said when they arrived, the search crew had already ventured out and so they waited while remaining hopeful that they would return with some positive word. Dhaneshwar who has been in the fishing industry for nearly five years is the sole breadwinner of his home and is the father of a
Wife of the missing fisherman, Anita Seecharran (left) and his sister Omawattie Dhaneshwar two-year-old daughter. His mother Chandrawatie Persaud disclosed that her son did not hesitate to head out to work since the money he earned, he used to build his home “piece by piece” and take care of his family. He
was described as a hardworking man that is always willing to lend a helping hand. They are holding on to hope that he may still be alive. The Guyana Defence Force (Coast Guard) has since joined the search.
Crabwood Creek man charged with murder of US-based Guyanese A 26-year-old man made his first court appearance in the No.51 Magistrate Court to answer to the charge of murder. Eon Gonsalves called “Belly” of Grant 1802, Crabwood Creek, Upper Corentyne, Berbice appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore where the charge was read to him. The charge read that Gonsalves murdered 21-yearold Lakhan Chaterpal on Wednesday 9th March 2022 at Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice. Gonsalves, who was unrepresented, was not required to plead to the indictable charge and bail was denied. He was remanded to prison until May 31st 2022 where he is expected to appear at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court. Reports from the police detailed that Lakhan had returned to Guyana from the USA to attend his brother’s wedding which was held on Sunday 6th March 2022. However, two days later there was a family get together when three
Deceased, 21-year-old Lakhan Chaterpal
Murder suspect, Eon Gonsalves called “Belly”
men who are not related to them, entered the yard where the wedding was held (Grant 1802 CWC). They were asked to leave by relatives after they reportedly began using an illegal substance. The men reportedly became annoyed and decided to damage the vehicles that were parked a short distance away. This caused Lakhan and other relatives to venture out and con-
front the men and an argument ensued. At some point there was a scuffle and Lakhan was stabbed to the lower abdomen. The men escaped and he was rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police had arrested two persons including Gonsalves but the prime suspect has not been located to date.
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
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Britain’s Mark Cavendish Holder Badosa downs Fernandez... wins Milano-Torino for his 159th career victory BBC Sport - Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory to become the first Briton to win the Milano-Torino. Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl Team rider Cavendish rode to the front of the pack in the final hundred metres at the end of a largely flat 199km race. The 36-year-old becomes the oldest winner of the oldest race on the international calendar, first held in 1876. Nacer Bouhanni finished second, while Alexander Kristoff came third. Cavendish, who claimed his 159th career win, crossed the finish line in a time of four hours and 31 minutes and 22 seconds.
Surrey stint - West Indies “I’m particularly happy. spinner Sunil Narine. This (AFP/Jewel is the perfectSAMAD) team for a one-day race,” said Cavendish, after winning the race from Magenta to Rivoli. “We never panicked. My team mates did a solid race for me. This is just incredible the way they’ve led me out. It was Cavendish’s third win this year, but his first on European soil. He added: “I like to win any race. I’ve already won Milan-Sanremo. So now I have won Milano-Torino as well. “It’s not always a race for sprinters, so I’m happy to have my name on the same record book as some great climbers.” Milano-Torino Top 10
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR/ Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 4hrs 31mins 22secs 2. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra/ Arkea-Samsic) Same time 3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/ Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux) 4. Max Kanter (Ger/ Movistar) 5. Peter Sagan (Slo/ TotalEnergies) 6. Andrea Vendrame (Ita/ AG2R Citroen) 7. Michael Morkov (Den/ Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 8. Ben Swift (GBR/Ineos Grenadiers) 9. Simone Consonni (Ita/ Cofidis) 10. Biniam Girmay (Eri/ Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert)
Thursday March 17, 2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A couple with a child might visit you today. One or both of these people could be connected with you in a business capacity. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) A lot of paperwork involving new plans for your business interests could need immediate attention. Getting it done properly is probably going to require a lot of ingenuity on your part, Taurus, but you'll manage it. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A new business opportunity may come your way, Gemini. You aren't likely to want to commit to a permanent involvement, but you might take it on temporarily simply for the sake of the money. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Your physical energy is high and your ambition even higher, Cancer. You're likely to want to turn your mind to new projects that can advance your socioeconomic status. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Practical abilities that you didn't know you possessed might suddenly appear today, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) The completion of a longterm goal might have you feeling enthusiastic, energetic, and happy.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Career matters are at the forefront of your concerns today, Libra. Opportunities for advancement may suddenly appear that you weren't aware of yesterday. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Travel that is possibly related to business could come up for you, Scorpio. A friend or colleague may accompany you. Expect the unexpected where your career is concerned. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) If you've been thinking about trying some new investments or starting a new savings plan, this is the day to get started, Sagittarius. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Partnerships, possibly business related, are on the agenda, Capricorn. You might find yourself in discussions dealing with such partnerships, as well as contracts and other paperwork. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Paperwork regarding finances, possibly those connected with your job, might take up a lot of your time today, Aquarius. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A creative project, perhaps one that could earn you some money, might well be the primary focus of your attention today.
From page 23 5-3 before closing out the victory. Halep dispatched fellow Romanian Sorana Cirstea A memorial service to honour the 6-1 6-4 as the former world life of Shane Warne will be staged number one, who won the at the MCG on March 30. tournament seven years ago, cruised through the first set with help from her error-prone opponent. Cirstea took a 2-0 lead to start the second but the two-time major champion battled back, sealing the victory when the world number 27 sent a backhand wide on match point. A beaming Halep blew a kiss to the television cameras, pumped her fist and waved excitedly to the crowd at Stadium One after winning the third for a 3-1 lead but the Romanian derby. Halep is now 19-0 in third seeded Swiatek broke matches against her compa- back to level at 3-3 and rolled triots. “It’s challenging to on. The 20-year-old will face play against a Romanian Madison Keys on Wednesplayer, it’s a little bit stress- day after the big-serving ful,” Halep told Tennis Chan- American sent British qualinel. “But I go on court and just think about myself, I don’t pay attention to who I have to play. I have a plan that I have to do, and today was a pretty solid victory. I felt good on court.” Halep will have her hands full in the quarters when she faces Petra Martic after the Czech defeated Ludmilla Samsonova 7-6(6) 6-4. World number 79 Martic has been hot in the desert, taking out 19th seeded Tamara Zidansek in the second round before outlasting U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu on Sunday. Martic said having a short memory has been key to her recent run of success. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist so that definitely doesn’t help always,” she told reporters. “I try not to judge myself for the mistakes... I just try to compete and fight until the end.” Poland’s Swiatek produced her third consecutive come-from-behind victory to battle past former world number one Angelique Kerber 4-6 6-2 6-3 and reach the last eight. Kerber broke early in the
VSH Guyana... From page 24 sport of basketball in Linden, which he said has been dormant for over two years. Meanwhile, Toney pointed out that each team will receive $25,000 as an appreciation for participating, as well uniforms. The winning team will go home with $100,000, second place $50,000, and third place $30,000. With Linden celebrating 52 years as a Town, the tournament will mark the start of the week-long series of events to commemorate the occasion.
Simona Halep (ROU) hits a shot in her third round match against Sorana Cirstea (ROU) at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
fier Harriet Dart packing with a 6-1 6-4 victory. Greek Maria Sakkari also went through when her opponent Daria Gavrilova retired while trailing 4-1 due to an adductor problem.
PAGE 22
Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
Root makes another ton as England take command v Windies
(Reuters) - Joe Root compiled his second straight century, an unbeaten 119, as En-
gland batted their way to a commanding position in the second test against West
Indies in Barbados yesterday. Even though Dan Lawrence fell for 91 with the final ball of the first day, England took the honours after winning the toss, reaching 244 for three at stumps on a flat Kensington Oval pitch in Bridgetown. The strip was criticised by several ex-players in the commentary box for being too docile, After a draw on a slow track in Antigua last week, many hoped for a livelier strip on a ground where none of the seven previous tests were drawn, not that Root had any complaints after making his 25th test century. He could, though, have been out relatively cheaply, the captain surviving a dropped c a u g h t - b e h i n d chance on 34, which came not long after he appeared to nick a Jason Holder delivery to the wicketkeeper. We s t I n d i e s c a p t a i n Kraigg Brathwaite opted not to review the on-field not out call. Serenaded by a singing Barmy Army that periodically chanted “Joe Root” to the tune of the Beatles’ Hey Jude, the No. 3 worked the ball around at will. We s t I n d i e s ’ l a rg e l y fruitless day in the field went from bad to worse in the final session when Alzarri Joseph failed to take a sharp but regulation chance that would have sent Lawrence packing for 72. The faux pas left bowler Seales struggling to contain his frustration, but the home team’s mood improved when Lawrence spooned a simple catch to cover off Holder to end a 164-run partnership with Root. Root has scored more than 2,000 runs since the start of 2021, nearly double the next best haul, and has made eight centuries, his only relatively lean patch coming in a losing Ashes series in Australia. Seales, in his second test, got West Indies off to a good start when he removed first test centurion Zak Crawley for a sevenball duck, beating the 24year-old with an outswinger that was caught-behind. Fellow opener Alex Lees, coming off two failures in Antigua, showed determination not to give his wicket away cheaply, playing with understandable caution. He made 30 before being out plum lbw to spinner Veerasammy Permaul, lasting 138 balls and playing his part in taking the shine off the new ball. England made two changes from the first test, with pace bowlers Matt Fisher
Veerasammy Permaul trapped Alex Lees lbw • Mar 15, 2022 © Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images and Saqib Mahmood making their test debuts after coming in for Craig Overton and Mark
Wood. The teams are playing a three-test series in the Caribbean.
Thursday March 17, 2022
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Kaieteur News
BCB/ Vitality Inc 20/20 Cricket Tournament for Upper Corentyne teams continues made 52 all out in 17 overs with A. Mohammed 15 and K. Khan 13. Bowling for Rama Krishna Foundation; S. Khan 3 for 20, A. Hun 2 for 12 and I. Ally 2 for 12. Skeldon Estate defeated Dark End by 9 wickets at the Skeldon Ground. Dark End CC Batted first and scored 22 for 8 with
T
he Berbice Cricket Board in its ongoing effort to develop cricket in the ancient county is hosting a series of tournaments within each sub association with the main objective of reaching the grassroot level. One such tournament is the BCB/ Vitality Inc 20/20 Cup for teams in the Upper Corentyne area. A total of twenty-eight teams started the tournament and the final is scheduled to be hosted early next month. Scores for some recent matches play: Skeldon Estate brushed aside No68 CC by 7 wickets at the No68 Ground. No68 took first strike and scored 145 for 6 off 20 overs with P. Karran 33, T. Persaud 32 and J. Anthony 27. Bowling for Skeldon Estate; S. Rasheed 2 for 18 off 4, S. Chaitnarine 2 for 32 off 4. In reply Skeldon Estate reached
149 for 3 in 15.1 overs with Junior Blair scoring 72, N. Dezouza 25 and A. Seeraj 22. No72 Cut and Load Defeated No71 by 36 runs at No70 Spartans Ground. Batting first Cut and Load amassed 153 for 7 from 20 overs with Davenand Chatterpaul 44, Vijay Persaud 34 and Samuel Sernod 20 being the principal scorers. Bowling for No71, Rishi Persaud took 3 for 29 and N. Ali 3 for 21. In response, No71 CC were bowled out for 117 with
Rishi Persaud 24, N. Vincent 26 and N. Mohammed 24. Bowling for the winners, Abhindra Paressar took 3 for 7 and Michael Singh 3 for 23. At the No73 Young Warriors Ground, Rama Krishna Foundation defeated Young Blood by 32 runs. Rama Krishna Foundtion 84 from 20 overs- Prakash Singh 21, Andre Tahall 18 and Khemraj Dhap 16. Bowling for No73 Young Blood; V. Singh 4 for 10, K. Dup 3 for 18 and T. Doobay 3 for 7. Young Blood
Speed is on the mind of every drag racer and the sport is set to return on Sunday, March 27th with the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club confirming the event earlier this week and already support continues to pour in. Fast food franchise, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), has continued their support of motor racing locally by being one of the first sponsors of the event dubbed ‘Quarter Mile Return’. Having already being a patron in not only drag racing but circuit racing and karting, the company has rejoined the quarter-mile
shootout. In an invited comment, Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) president, Rameez Mohamed, said, “We are glad to welcome a stellar sponsor such as KFC to drag racing.” “They have been on board with us since 2018, sponsoring all our major meets, and they have also sponsored the GT motorsports KFC cup, so their investment in motorsport has been no small feat.” Mohamed noted that, already, the committee is moving with pace with preparations for the highly anticipated event that has been approved by the National
Covid-19 task force, and since there has not been any drag racing in over a year, efforts are being doubled to ensure an almost perfect meet. “I think this will be a fantastic race meet and we are expecting to have a large turnout of cars, as was the case with last Sunday’s Endurance Championship first round. The pandemic has left competitors hungry and about 16 cars are expected to arrive from Suriname as well.” Tickets for the event will be sold at the venue and they cost $2000 per adult, $500 per child.
KFC sponsors Quarter Mile Return drag meet
Holder Badosa downs Fernandez, Halep through at Indian Wells (Reuters) - Seeking to become the first woman to defend the Indian Wells title in over three decades, Paula Badosa powered past Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals on Tuesday while Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek also advanced. Badosa, who is looking to emulate Martina Navratilova’s feat of retaining the crown in 1990-91, converted three out of her 12 break point opportunities and the Spaniard held her nerve in key moments of the tight contest to prevail.
Paula Badosa
The Sydney champion has not dropped a set at the WTA 1000 tournament in the
Southern California desert, as she looks to secure only the fourth title of her career. Badosa takes on Veronika Kudermetova or Marketa Vondrousova next. Badosa drew first blood in the opening set when she broke for a 4-3 lead and although U.S. Open runner-up Fernandez hit back with a break, the Spaniard raised her level to take the early advantage in the contest. After a sluggish start to the second set, she held serve in a five-deuce game to go up (Continued on page 21)
the innings closed in 10.3 overs. Bowling for Skeldon Estate Mahendra Chaitnarine grabbed 3 for 5 and N. Seenarine 2 for 3. In reply Skeldon Estate blazed to 25 for 1 in 4.5 overs with A. Hussain 16 not out. Skeldon Estate defeated No43 CC by 17 runs at the Number68 Ground. Skeldon
CC 108 all out in 15 overs with Q. Burnett 40 who amassed 3 fours and similar number of sixes, Devin Baldeo 2 for 17, B. Deen 2 for 10, P. Lensankar 2 for 22 was the principal bowler. No43 was bundled out for 92 in 14 overs with B. Deen 32 and A Dangram 16. Mahendra Chaitnarine 3 for 17, A. Hussain 2 for 15.
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Thursday March 17, 2022
Kaieteur News
‘We have the team to get wins’ - WI all-rounder Matthews
insists team not feeling pressure despite second straight loss
SportsMax - West Indies Women all-rounder, Hayley Matthews, insists the team is not yet feeling any pressure despite suffering a second consecutive loss at the ICC Women’s World Cup on Monday. Against top-ranked Australia, the Windies found very little joy and suffered a lopsided 7-wickets loss in their fourth match of the tourna-
ment. Prior to that, the team struggled to deal with India’s powerful batting line-up in a 155-run defeat. The results stand in sharp contrast to the Caribbean women’s heady start to the tournament, which featured victories over New Zealand and England. It is those victories, however, that Matthews believes stands the team in good stead, despite
its recent patch of bad form. “Coming into this tournament we knew our first four games were likely going to be the hardest. We kind of said to ourselves if we can get two or three wins out of these four games we would be in a strong position and we’ve done exactly that,” Matthews told members of the media. “Looking at the rest of the games, these are games we
should expect to win and the good thing about it is that things are still in our hands. If we go out there and we can win all three of our games we will be qualifying for the semifinals,” she added. The West Indies will face Bangladesh, Pakistan, and South Africa in their remaining three matches. “I don’t think there is much pressure at the moment.
West Indies Women all-rounder, Hayley Matthews, insists the team is not yet feeling pressure despite second loss.
We know we have the kind of team that once we go out there
and play our best cricket we will get the wins.”
GCB appoints former National Player Seeram as Chairman of Selectors ...replaces Sarwan who was recently appointed as selector for CWI The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has appointed Ravindranauth Seeram as Chairman of its Senior Selection Panel. Seeram has replaced former West Indies and Guyana captain Ramnaresh Sarwan who was previously named as chairman but has now been promoted to the Senior Selection Panel of Cricket West Indies. Ravindranauth Seeram was born on July 20, 1961 at Cornelia Ida West Coast Demerara. He played 41 First Class and 12 List ‘A’ matches for Guyana from 1982 to 1992. Seeram previously served as a member of the senior selection panel prior to being elevated to head coach duties of the senior team in 2010. He enjoyed immediate success in the T20 format when Guyana won the inaugural Caribbean T20 Tournament by defeating arch rivals Barbados in a pulsating final played at the
Ravindranauth Seeram Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago. This victory ensured that Guyana qualified for the Champions League which was played later that year in South Africa. The GCB extends congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Seeram for a successful tenure as Chairman of the Senior Selection Panel, a release from the GCB informed.
VSH Guyana Inc lays up Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic Local distributors of Red Wings Safety products, VSH United Guyana Inc, became the latest sponsor of the Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic – Linden edition. The eight-team tournament is set for Saturday, April 23, in Richmond Hill, Linden, at the residence of National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Kashif Muhammad. At a simple presentation at their Carmichael Street, Georgetown location, the company handed over a cheque of an undisclosed sum to the tournament organiser, Rawle Toney, towards the event. Apart from being the official supplier of
Red Wings Safety products in Guyana since 2015, VSH United Guyana Inc, a member of the VSH Group of Companies, is also the distributor of Hexarmor products, while also offering Logistics and other services, gearing towards the country’s booming Oil and Gas industry. The company lauded Toney for his passion for helping to keep basketball afloat through the 3X3 format, which has become increasingly popular across the Caribbean and further afield. Toney thanked the company for their support, adding that it will certainly help in the quest to reignite the (Continued on page 21)
Kaieteur News
Thursday March 17, 2022
“Cricket gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”
2 young fast bowlers benefit from project
Y
oung and promising fast bowlers Quincy Alder and Winston Joseph were the latest to receive tokens from “Cricket gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana” project. Alder is from Paradise Cricket Club and Joseph from Belladrum Cricket Club, both West Berbice clubs, received a pair of cricket shoes each. Anil Beharry, a partner in this initiative along with Kishan Das of the USA, stated that he is pleased to assist young cricketers in their quest to play the game at the highest level. He added that sports in general helps to keep our young people off the streets doing idle things and is an avenue to a better life. The young pacers were delighted and grateful for the tokens. They promised to work hard on their game and stay disciplined and focused. Total cricket related items collected so far: $130,000 cash, two trophies,
Quincy Alder
eleven cricket boots, fifteen pairs of batting pads, fifteen bats, nine pairs of batting gloves, eighteen thigh pads, one wicket keeping pad, one arm guard and four cricket bags. To date, 32 young players from all three counties of Guyana have already benefited from a junior gear bag, two trophies, nine bats, nine pairs of cricket shoes, six pairs of batting pads and seven pairs of batting gloves. In addition, the Rose Hall Estate Cricket Club benefited from a pair of stumps and bails and two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats. Pomeroon, Leguan and Wa k e n a a m C r i c k e t Committees also received one box of red cricket balls each. Cricket related items, used or new, will be distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana. Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of t h e r e c i p i e n t s . Ta l e n t spotting is being done across
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Burnett aiming for gold at Giovanni Arendsz Classic
Winston Joseph
the country and club leaders will also assist to identify talent. Beharry and Das thanked Javed and Imran of West Indian Sports Complex, Option Group of USA, Hilbert Foster, Bish Panday of P and P Insurance Brokers, Sean Devers, Trevis Simon, Årïêl J. Tïlkú, Aaron Beharry, Leanna Bachan and Imran Saccoor, Devon Ramnauth, Teddy Singh, Romesh Munna, Ravi Etwaroo, Ravin Harkishun, Surendra Harkishun, Allan Mangru, Vishal Mahabir, Sherman Austin, Huburn Evans, Rajendra Sadeo and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Sheik Mohamed of Star Sports Awards and Trophies and Ajay Gainda of Cricket Equipment Guyana, Peter Ramkissoon and Rabindranath Saywack. Special mention was made of the media for the role they are playing to promote this venture. Anyone interested in contributing can contact Beharry on 623-6875 or Das on 1-718-664-0896.
Lindon Burnett accepts sponsorship from a representative of Hits and Jams.
G
uyanese Lindon Burnett will be looking to land gold at the upcoming Giovanni Arendsz Classic international bodybuilding competition which is set for March 24-26 in Aruba. Burnett, who placed fourth in the Masters’ category in last year’s Guyana Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation Senior
National Championship, will be competing in the Masters’ division in Aruba. Among the categories to be competed are Men’s bodybuilding, Men’s classic b o d y b u i l d i n g , M e n ’s physique, Men’s classic physique, Muscular Men’s p h y s i q u e , Wo m e n ’s bodyfitness, Women’s bikini fitness, Wellness fitness, Women’s fitness, Women’s
physique, Mixed pairs, Fit pairs and Women’s for model. Burnett recently collected sponsorship from Hits and Jams and has expressed his gratitude to the sponsors which include Space gym, Pure Diamond, Hits and Jams, Fitness Express, National Sports Commission and Prodental Unit.