Kaieteur News

K

Govt. signs US$70M NEWS in contracts for housing development in one day

Thursday Edition

AIETEUR

March 18, 2021 - Vol. 14 No. 10 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership p. yesterday 8 102,396

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

Get the best to build your oil industry; don’t rush to sign deals and p.

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live to regret it - African Oil Expert

Guyana’s resources useless if unexploited - Pres. Ali tells summit

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Labour Ministry ExxonMobil on track flags Indian Logging Juvenile to triple production Co. for inadequate detained; employees’ capacity in Stabroek to appear in living conditions, Murder of 10-year-old boy…

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court today Block

- as 220,000 bpd Liza Unity nears completion

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other violations

Petroleum Commission Bill- to be Minister tabled in a matter of weeks Bharrat p.

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Indian Bank to cash-in on ‘golden opportunity’ from - named country’s newest Guyana’s oil mortgage finance institution p.

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Hear how you can make some real money in the oil sector.

Tune in to Kaieteur Radio (99.1/99.5FM) @ 11:00hrs to find out!

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Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

Indian Bank to cash-in on 'golden opportunity' from Guyana's oil

By Gary Eleazar

I

ndia's third largest public sector bank—the Bank of Baroda—on Wednesday last saw its Guyana subsidiary being designated an official Mortgage Finance Institution under the laws of Guyana.

The status was officially conferred on the Institution

by Senior Minister within the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.

The modest signing ceremony was held at the

- named country's newest mortgage finance institution

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and Bank of Baroda's Managing Director, Arun Gupota inking the agreement in the presence of Minister of Housing, Colin Croal (far right), and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where Dr.

Singh was joined by colleague Cabinet Ministers

with responsibility for Housing and Water, Colin

Croal and Susan Rodrigues.

Also present for what was described as an auspicious occasion was Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, along with Bank of Baroda Guyana Inc.'s Managing Director, Arun Gupta, along with other staffers.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Srinivasa underscored that it was the developmental trajectory that Guyana has taken on in recent years as a result of the country's colossal oil find that has largely led to the bank remaining in the country.

It was observed by the stakeholders that in 2018, the Bank was actively considering exiting the Guyana market, where it hosts two of its 9,000 branches worldwide.

A c c o r d i n g t o D r.

Srinivasa, the move by the two governments signifies a deepening of the collaboration on various projects such as the Ogle to Diamond road, projects in the agriculture sector, hospitals and vaccines, among other fronts.

He noted that in 2018, while stakeholders were discussing the future of the bank's operation in Guyana, it was determined that the country's projected growth would in fact be a boon for the financial institution with a worldwide customer base of some 113 million person.

Guyana, he said, was deemed a developmental “growth story” and that nobody should miss out on the “golden opportunity”.

He was adamant that, once Guyana's growth takes off, real estate would become a particularly high priced commodity and urged potential new home owners to act with haste.

The Indian High Commissioner did opine that the Guyana Government

does in fact recognises that the country cannot be solely dependent on its emerging oil and gas sectors and spoke to continued collaboration in other sectors.

Gupta, the Bank's Managing Director, in his remarks noted that with the newly endowed designation, the institution would now be in a position to provide expanded services, namely mortgages and increased loans for low and middleincome earners. It was explained that the relief granted to the bank comes in the form of an exemption from paying corporation taxes earned by the bank on the mortgages it would provide.

Gupta told stakeholders that with the new designation, the institution will be able to provide competitive financing, the likes of the New Building Society (NBS) which was this past week given permission to increase its lending ceiling while reducing interest rates charged.

Conducting business in Guyana since before the country attained independence in 1966, it was noted that the bank is currently actively considering the expansion of its physical locations domestically, in addition to its expanded range of services to be offered.

He noted that the bank was pleased to be a part of the current administration's drive to provide 50,000 house lots over the course of its first term in office.

Croal, the Minister of Housing and Water, in his remarks noted that the activity represented just one of three such events over the past week that were all part of his government's policy to expand housing in Guyana.

He drew reference to the (continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

PAGE 03

Get the best to build your oil industry; don't rush to sign deals and live to regret it - African Oil Expert

By Kiana Wilburg

A

s the members of the People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government pursue the development of a robust regulatory and legislative framework for the oil and gas industry, there are some key pieces of advice, which it must always keep at the forefront of its mind.

According to Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers' Organisation (APPO), Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, the new oil producing state must ensure it hires the best experts from across the world to build its local content capabilities and avoid rushing into contracts it could end up regretting later on.

The official made these assertions yesterday during a

panel discussion hosted by the Guyana Basins Summit.

The topic of discussion for the session was: Positioning the GuyanaSuriname Basin as a WorldClass Hydrocarbons Industry: Lessons from around the World. It saw contributions from Iman Hill, Executive Director at the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP); and Bob Fryklund, Chief Upstream Strategist and Vice President at IHS Markit.

During his opening remarks, Dr. Ibrahim was keen to provide advice as it relates to contractual arrangements. On this note, he said that countries that have just discovered oil and gas often find themselves rushing into agreements without completely understanding the terms that they are binding their nations

to.

And if they do comprehend the terms, they are so consumed by the desire to pump oil that by the time the proverbial chickens have come home to roost, they are gripped by feelings of regret.

He said it is critical that countries avoid such circumstances by getting the right experts to be part of their team when signing oil deals. He said that many countries have made the mistake, which he pointed out and are now left to live with the consequences.

Further to the need for being cautious on contract signing, the former Advisor to four ministers of Petroleum of Nigeria between 2009 and 2020, urged Guyana to ensure that experts are incorporated into its efforts at building local content capabilities. The official said this is key so that

Petroleum Commission Bill to be tabled in a matter of weeks - Minister Bharrat

M

inister of N a t u r a l Resources, Vickram Bharrat, announced yesterday that the independent regulator the government promised to establish for the oil sector – the Petroleum Commission – will be established soon, during his ministerial opening address of the Guyana Basins Summit.

He noted in an interview with the Guyana Basins

Summit, that the Petroleum Commission Bill will be tabled in the National Assembly, in a matter of weeks.

According to the website of the Guyana Basins Summit, “The new administration has also announced plans to provide greater legal and regulatory security to investors through the creation of a petroleum commission.”

Bharrat is quoted as

saying that the Commission is needed so it can “manage this emerging sector without political interference.”

It is expected to “depoliticise” the management of a sector that has so far been managed directly by politicians.

The Commission, according to Bharrat, will oversee the implementation of new regulations such as minimum local content (continued on page 11)

citizens can have the skill sets to have maximum participation in the sector.

One of the key agreements that Guyana's leaders would have received staunch criticism over relates to the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). That lopsided deal was signed with ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/NEXEN. Kaieteur News would have conducted an investigative piece, which examined the provisions of the PSA in comparison with others across the world. That analysis found that out of over 120 PSAs, which this newspaper examined, Guyana's is the only one, which has more than a dozen odd provisions.

For example, the Guyana-ExxonMobil PSA is the only one out of 130

Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers' Organization (APPO), Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim contracts, which has no ringfencing provisions to prevent costs of unsuccessful wells being carried over to that of successful wells.

There is also no sliding scale for royalty to increase as production improves.

Also working against Guyana is the fact that the Stabroek Block PSA is the only one out of 130 that allows insurance premiums

to be fully recovered as well as exorbitant interests on loans and financing costs that are incurred by the contractors.

The 130 PSAs examined are part of a register on www.resourcecontracts.org. (https://resourcecontracts.or g/search?q=Production+Sha ring+Agreement+) That website offers over 620 PSAs from around the world for perusal.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

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

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

EDITORIAL

Reclaim these streets There is a new movement taking shape in furious form in Britain. It is called “Reclaim These Streets” and came about on the heels of the disappearance and later discovered death of Sarah Everard, a “33-year-old marketing executive, who disappeared as she walked home in London on March 3” (New York Times, “In rage over Sarah Everard’s killing, ‘Women’s Bargain’ is put on notice” March 14). Women in Britain are blazing mad, and with justification. We think that it is with much basis and say this to our officials and fellow citizens: Listen up Guyana. And especially: listen up all men out there, who harbour ill-will against our daughters, sisters, mothers, and female relatives and friends.

We say cut the nonsense and ugliness out. Let it stop now. Come to your senses and be a man, a real man - real men don’t hit women. Real men do not cowardly brutalise helpless women. And real men do not take advantage of those females in our society who depend on them, once looked up to them, but who are now forced to hide from them, recoil from them, and flee in mortal terror from them.

This was what ended up being the final fate of this, most likely, still largely unknown woman and name from Britain to most Guyanese. According to The New York Times article referenced, the late Ms. Everard did everything right. In her fateful March 3 walk home in London, “she took a longer route that was well-lit and populated. She wore bright clothes and shoes she could run in.” And she communicated with her boyfriend to keep him informed of her movements. But then, she disappeared for a week, and then she turned up dead.

There can be no doubt that Ms. Everard took every possible precaution yet she is now dead. But it was what the London Metropolitan Police did in the wake of her death that unleashed the rage of women, who feel increasingly besieged. The British “police were going from door to door telling women in the South London neighbourhood where she disappeared to stay inside for their own safety.” That did not go down well at all, and things quickly came to a head, through what has now blown up into the wrathful presence of the “Reclaim These Streets” movement, which has its own powerful messages for the police and society.

Among those messages are: “Hey mister, get your hands off my sister.” That should be the loud call of men in neighbourhoods and everywhere in Guyana, too, at those males who man-handle and maim the women in this country.

To the police seeking to arrest some of those at the vigil, there was this message: “arrest your own” which was a reference to the police officer charged with Ms. Everard’s killing. The women in Britain are frustrated and they are making no bones about where they stand, and how they see themselves more and more marooned in the face of always encroaching violence at the hands of violent men.

The women are outraged because they cannot understand “why the police demand sacrifices of women rather than forcing men to change to end violence” particularly against women. We agree that the tendency of aggressive males to resort to the violence that is a culture against women in this society, and that more must be done to curb it quickly and harshly. Our women here must not live in fear of physical harm here, there, and everywhere. That would be in their homes, in their places of work, or on the streets. It does not matter whether the perpetrator is a domestic partner or total stranger. The emphasis from officials must be directed at men and backing them against a wall, jamming some sense into their heads, and letting them know that this almost ready-made violence against women must stop.

If there is serious interest (and we believe that it is so) in Guyana at bringing about sweeping change in male mindsets, then our women have to take a page out of the book of their sisters in Britain. It was where “women from all walks of life” took to the streets to raise their voices in “demanding safety from male violence - and demanding that the police, the government and men collectively be the ones to bear the burden to ensure it.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves and this is what we at this paper lend our own voices in calling upon our males, officials and regular citizens, to find ways to deliver on what enraged and alarmed women demand. It is long overdue.

The Coalition’s leader is unelectable DEAR EDITOR, I believe that the current political scene confirms that the APNU+AFC coalition does not have an outside chance at success in an upcoming national elections.

It has only itself to blame for its present state of malaise and absence of appeal.

The coalition group is too tied to the old: old ways, old heads, old visions, old strategies and old tactics. I challenge any Guyanese to enlighten me about what is new about the coalition, which I am certain cannot stand up to sharp scrutiny. It looks and sounds lost; it is lost. Meanwhile, the PPP makes rings around it. I say again that I think that this is helped in large part by the compromised state of the coalition leadership. The lackluster is the new modus

operandi, the uninspiring a characteristic feature.

This starts at the top, where a strange word makes the rounds – ‘unelectable’. I understand that the current Leader is considered unelectable. I totally agree, and with a year already lost, it is late in the day when the opposition should have had some blueprint of what will take it within grasping distance of elections Holy Grail. That is, win.

Though I empathize with where the opposition stands on the ‘unelectable’ state of its leader, I submit that the same is true for Guyana’s sitting President. He also is unelectable, on his own. But I urge Guyanese to examine his place in the pantheon, and how that occurred. Sure, it is joke and embarrassment, but it works; and that is all

that matters. As I look at it, and this is only at a cursory level, the coalition has to reengineer, rebrand, restore, and reinvigorate itself in every sphere of its visions and organization.

How to work out a strategy that assists in combating its numerical deficit.

How to be rid of a whole crowd of deadwood, which only comes about after engaging in a real 360 selfexamination. It cannot be back to the same starting place with the same people and the same listless and useless outlooks. How to build some cross-sectional support-for certainty, an inordinately complex undertaking-by picking its spots wisely. How to shed all the philosophical baggage that burdens the group and

leaves it lurching about like an errant dog struck by a truck; we have seen such not knowing what hit it, where it is at, and how to get back on its feet.

Look carefully and that is where today’s coalition is ensnared. In the past. In a lost elections season. In visions that lack coherence, if there is one at all. In leadership that is lacking in sagacity and credibility. In a programme or a message of which no one has any idea, if there is actually one. It is apparent that there is some internal dissonance, which must be fixed urgently, and that morale is low. Whether an election is today or four years hence, the coalition, as currently constituted and operational, is out.

Yours truly, GHK Lall

We must look past the sins of the imperialists DEAR EDITOR, A quick Google search will show the Black CEOs and non-whites in the upper echelons of global companies, including those who have formed their own companies.

Trust me when I say they spend very little time stewing in past racial grievances, and the imperialists’ sins committed on their ancestors.

In the world we live in today, that approach hasn’t given anyone any mileage to succeed or leave a solid legacy.

Instead, they get left behind as they can’t adapt to a fast moving modern world or realize what brings success.

I doubt if these super

accomplished individuals are constantly consumed with rage against the slave traders that treated their ancestors so wretchedly, or the British/ Spanish or Dutch imperialists.

A significant part of their day is spent on how to succeed, grow and build their company, make a profit, and most, importantly, outperform competitors. More power to men and women like these – Black, Indian and every race in between.

The previous five years should have been a turning point but rather resulted in epic failures, just to recap briefly, because it’s a long list.: Head spinning land deals without the proper authorization with millions of

the citizens’ money either not collected or unaccounted for; ministers funneling funds to their own companies; ministers teetering on 6-inch high heels, collecting huge six figures under the pretense of visiting the interior; more millions unaccounted for in one ministry to the next; uncompleted projects from North to South, and the list goes on. All these activities, the fault of the colonial imperialists or institutions of slavery, I guess.

No attempt to outshine and outperform.

The likes of Beyonce, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson just to name a few with slave ancestors, all started with very little and

have created a global legacy of absolute impressive accomplishments.

Through gruelling hard work, sweat and proper focus, and other positive attributes, they have created diversified successful businesses. They didn’t get sidetracked.

Today is a world of innovations and solutions.

There comes a point when being blinded and consumed by the sins of the imperial colonials or slave masters from sunrise to sunset becomes exhausting. There is too much to do in Guyana.

Life is short. Better to look within ourselves.

Yours truly, Chi Kansi

THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO WORK

DEAR EDITOR, Stabroek News of Tuesday March 16, 2021 contained an important Editorial that related to the constitutional rights of individuals, and particularly public servants, against the backdrop of the devastating range of terminations, the latter consequent upon regime change.

In the process, the Editorial would have incited some readers to reflect on the fundamental rights and freedoms, which the Constitution of Guyana provides for its citizens.

There are twelve (138-149) which deal with issues of ‘Protection’, including (149) – “Protection from discrimination on the grounds of race etc.”

Then there are five ‘Rights’, three of which more arguably relate to the thrust of the Editorial: (a) Article 149 A Right to Work (b) Article 149 B -

Right to pension and gratuity (c) Article 149 C Right to participate in decision-making process of the State.Many would have protested before about the variety of wounds inflicted on the careers, and indeed lives, of too many professionals, and their families, albe it by

decision-makers who appear to be unaware of the specific contents of the Constitution.

Unfortunately, the deficit would appear to have been compounded by the indifference (or ignorance) of individuals and organisations who respectively could make legal and/or formal protest.

The latter include unions, who must subconsciously wonder what the reaction would be if staff of that Ministry would be removed from their Labour.

To whom in this hostile environment must Dr. Homenauth and other bereaved colleagues, turn?

And while he cannot seek ‘protection from

discrimination on the grounds of race’, he certainly has a more fundamental case in his ‘Right to Work’, which incidentally reads very briefly as follows: “No person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his or her right to work, that is to say, the right to free choice of employment”.

And while there is some dispute about the good doctor being offered a choice, there is certainly no question that none of his earlier colleagues was allowed the same, since in any case the evidence would appear to suggest that they fall within Article 149, Paras (1) and (2) of which reads as follows: “149.

(1)Subject to the provisions of this article –(a)No law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect; and (b) No person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting by virtue of any written law

or in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority.

(2) In this article, the expression ‘discriminatory’ means affording different treatment to different persons attributable wholly or mainly to their or their parents’ or guardians’ respective descriptions by race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed, age, disability,

marital status, sex, gender, language, birth, social class, pregnancy, religion, conscience, belief or culture whereby persons of one such description are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which other persons of the same or another such description are not made subject or are accorded privileges or advantages which are not afforded to other persons of the same or another such description.”

Who was it that said that ‘ignorance is bliss’?

Yours truly, E.B. John

Thursday March 18, 2021

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Kaieteur News

This political grandstanding is no longer cute DEAR EDITOR, Joseph Harmon’s official acceptance as Leader of the Opposition is ipso facto recognition of Irfaan Ali as President. This charade of Mr. Harmon’s utterances of not recognizing H.E President Ali as the duly elected head of state has ultimately ran its course. The mere fact that Harmon officially accepted the title and office as the Leader of the Opposition is tantamount to accepting the fact that President Ali is the Head of State of our Republic.

As opposition leader, who

really is Harmon opposing? It cannot be a mythical figure.

We do have a President in H.E. Irfaan Ali. So if you really examine both sides of this standoff with Harmon not recognizing Ali as President and Ali not engaging Harmon until he recognizes him as President, you cannot help but conclude that it is all about grandstanding

and gamesmanship. Both of them, by acceptance of their respective official titles, ipso facto recognize each other’s constitutional roles.I guess the gamesmanship was necessary since each has to pander to their constituency in bolstering their image of being the ultimate strongman and relentless fighter.

Well, unless they have not

been reading the tea leaves, the majority of opposition and government supporters are no longer hyped up about the elections shenanigans since the flashpoint has long passed and the courts are dealing with the miscreants.

People in general want to see the government implementing its policies and robust monitoring by the oppo-

sition. We all want to see the government business moving on in particular the areas that requires consultations and recommendations between the President and the Leader of the Opposition.

We need to appoint the various commissions such as the Procurement, Judicial, Local Government, Integrity, etc. The long outstanding is-

sue of confirmation of the Chancellor and Chief Justice is a dark stain on our collective ability to self-govern.

It is time the President and Opposition leader exhibit political maturity and show some enlightened leadership.

This political grandstanding is no longer cute.

Yours truly, Reggie Bhagwandin,

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Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

Govt., Opposition MPs receive initial COVID-19 jab The Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 immunization campaign has now moved to Members of Parliament (MPs), who turned up to Parliament Building yesterday to receive their first jab of the OxfordAstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Yesterday’s vaccination drive saw both Government and Opposition MPs participating in the immunization campaign. Some of those vaccinated were: the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir; Deputy Speaker, Lenox Shuman; Former Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo; and Khemraj Ramjattan; Yvonne Pearson; Vickash Ramkisson; Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton and Jennifer Webster.

During the proceedings, the Speaker said, “As Speaker, I want to be among the first also to be vaccinated. I feel it’s more than

necessary, it’s not sufficient to talk the talk, but we need to do the walk.”

They were all first registered at the registration clerk’s desk, where the vaccine and the way it works was explained.

MPs were also observed for a short period for adverse reactions.

However, they claimed they were all feeling okay and encouraged all Guyanese to get vaccinated, once eligible.

This is the third category of persons that have been vaccinated in the immunization campaign.

The first to be vaccinated were frontline health care workers, then the elderly. Both of these eligibility groups are still having their vaccines administered countrywide.

Since the AstraZeneca vaccine is a double dose vaccine, the MPs will be expected to return for their second dose later.

Former Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, receiving his jab.

(Photo Credit: DPI)

Deputy Speaker, Lenox Shuman, completing the vaccine registration process. (Photo Credit: DPI) Member of Parliament, Jennifer Webster, completing her registration process. (Photo Credit: DPI)

Business School Director’s sexual assault trial commences The trial into the alleged sexual assault of a former Accountant of The Business School (TBS) by the entity’s Director commenced in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday.

The defendant, James Bovell, was charged during 2020 for allegedly sexually assaulting the employee who has since parted ways with the company.

The incident reportedly occurred sometime after she had asked him to borrow money to pay her rent. However, the matter had not made its way into the media until yesterday.

The trial is being conducted by Principal Magistrate, Faith McGusty. On his first court appearance, Bovell had denied the charge, which alleged that during February 2020, at TBS, located at Lot 43 Brickdam, Georgetown, he sexually assaulted one of his employees.

It is alleged that on the

TBS Director, James Bovell.

first occasion Bovell reportedly grabbed and kissed the woman on her cheeks and on the second and last occasion he grabbed her buttocks. After that incident the woman cleared out her desk and re-

ported the matter to the police.Bovell was later arrested, subsequently charged and placed before the court.

He is expected to make his next court appearance on April 20, 2021.

Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, being vaccinated.

Trevor Benn questioned over two more illegal land transactions Former Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), Trevor Benn, was yesterday questioned by fraud investigators for two more illegal land transactions.

Just last Friday, he was placed before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and charged over an illegal land sale. Benn was released on $200,000 bail for a charge that alleges that he willfully misconducted himself while being a public officer.

He is accused of illegally leasing six acres of Ogle lands for a total of $27M to an engineering company. Based on investigations carried out so far, Benn had no authority to lease those lands.

As investigations continue into Benn’s alleged misconduct, Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, confirmed that investigators have since questioned him in relation to two new allegations.

Benn, while leaving the Eve Leary, Georgetown Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday, confirmed this development.

He even detailed what those allegations are about.

According to Benn, he was questioned about the illegal leasing of a plot of land on Mandela Avenue for $100M and another along Aubrey Barker Road.

As it was in the case of the Ogle lands, investigators said that Benn had no authority to lease those lands.

The plot of land on

Former GL&SC boss, Trevor Benn.

Mandela Avenue that Benn was referring to might be the illegal leasing of the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) land to Cevons Waste Management.

Kaieteur News had reported on February 17 last that Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, had instructed Cevons’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Morse Archer, via letter, to vacate the premises.

The letter sent to Archer explained that the NSC still had control over the land and intended to use them.

However, it was noted that the land was leased to Cevons for a large sum of money pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). That MoU was signed between the company and the former GL&SC Commissioner, Benn.

Cevons after securing the

illegal transaction then went on to sublease the said State property to oil company Sol Guyana Inc., and Corum Restaurant Holdings, which owns and operates fast food franchises including Church’s Chicken and Mario’s Pizza.

In the letter, Nandlall explained that neither GL&SC nor Benn had the authority to lease the land.

Hence, the entire transaction is an illegal one which renders both the lease to Cevons and the sublease to the other companies null and void.

As a result, the letter outlined, that Cevons must vacate the property on or before March 31. Should it fail to do so, it could face court actions.

The AG also indicated that the illegal transaction is a criminal offence and it will be reported to police at the CID headquarters.

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

With all these members leaving the Alliance For Change (AFC) and blaming it on a toxic relationship with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), you'd think that the smaller party would cut its losses to keep its own members.

The smaller constituent parties of APNU have already started doing as much to get away from the People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R), which has already lost a member because of its election rigging.

We can see what the ultimate fate of the APNU+AFC will be, while its leader, David Granger, hides in the shadows.

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Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

GPSU calls Govt. to the table for salary negotiations

By Rehanna Ramsay

T

he Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is calling on Government to commence outstanding negotiations for increased wages, salaries and allowances for 2020 and 2021 for public service workers.

During a media conference held at its headquarters yesterday, officials of the GPSU revealed that on March 11, 2021, a letter was sent to the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Public Service Ministry (PSM), Ms. Soyinka Grogan, to remind the government of its obligation to start the negotiations.

According to the GPSU, a copy of the correspondence was forwarded to President,

Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister, Mark Phillips; Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; and Minister of the Public Service, Ms. Sonia Parag.

Dawn Gardner, Second Vice President of the GPSU, noted that negotiations are required as part of the Memorandum of Agreement between the GPSU and Government for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes.

According to Gardner, the Union had since September 1, 2020 submitted proposals to the Government, but in the only meeting held on the November 4, 2020 between Union representatives and the Government delegation led by the Minister of Public

The head table of the GPSU's press conference yesterday Service, Ms. Parag, the Union was told that the Minister had no mandate to discuss the matter of wages, salaries and allowances with the GPSU. Gardener said that subsequently, the GPSU submitted on February 3,

2021, extensive proposals to be considered for inclusion in the 2021 Budget.

She said that the Union was however not invited by the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance to ventilate these proposals, which were viewed as a

departure of both pre and post-elections commitment by the administration for inclusiveness.

“At this stage, we would wish to state emphatically one of the duties of the employer (the Government) is to ensure that the worker's self-esteem and dignity are

always protected. No full time worker, whether in the public or private sector, should be forced by their employer to live in poverty as experienced in the public service of Guyana.

Wages that doomed the worker to poverty deprives (continued on page 16)

Govt. signs US$70M in Contracts for housing development in one day

G

overnment on Tuesday signed close to 200 contracts totalling US$70 million (G$14 billion) for housing development, forging ahead with its promise to provide 50,000 house-lots for Guyanese.

With those deals signed, contractors are expected to commence infrastructural works and construction of houses in areas countrywide, including Cummings Lodge, Prospect and Great Diamond.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, D r. A s h n i S i n g h , i n considering the past reports of substandard work being done, issued a stern warning to contractors to ensure that quality works are executed on these projects.

The quality of work presented, he said, will later act as a determining factor in whether they would be eligible for the bigger projects Government has in store.

“I urge you to be diligent in implementing this work.

We must not have to chase contractors down to complete work. It is also your responsibility to ensure

Senior Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh that contracts are in line with specifications,” the Senior Minister outlined.

He added that the commencement of the works by contractors will also serve to be a boost to the economy as it will allow for the creation of jobs for large numbers of Guyanese, such as construction workers.

“President Ali would like to see development happening today as what we aim for is not some abstract concept …visible evidence of work happening on the ground,” Minister Singh said.

At the ceremony held at the Arthur Chung

Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Junior Minister of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, detailed that the housing areas being developed would allow for over 10,000 house-lots.

Meanwhile, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, pointed out that the number of contractors carrying out works would also include 26 new ones in the system.

He pointed out as well that it was expected that works totalling $4 billion would be carried out by June 2021 while another $6 billion is expected to be completed in the last half of this year.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

PAGE 09

Time for the President to act!

I

t is now becoming obvious just who is advising the government in relation to the pandemic. And no wonder the situation is where it is today.

The total number of active cases has spiralled to more than 700. Just two weeks ago, it appeared as if the country was on track to register less than 300 active cases. At present, it appears as if we are returning to the high levels evident during the most torrid months of the pandemic last year.

Deaths are also increasing. At the start of August 2020 the death toll was 21. It is now standing at 210. And there will sure be as many more deaths.

The PPP/C and President, Irfaan Ali, will have a lot to answer for. They will have to give account for the massive increases in deaths which are likely now to reach more than 400 before the pandemic is over.

A few weeks ago, the President turned up at a softball cricket event. He b e m o a n e d t h e irresponsibility shown by those present for not abiding by the COVID-19 regulations; and he was critical also of the organizers. His public comments left no doubt as to where he felt the responsibility should lie.

But what is he doing about the situation in the country and especially in Region Four? The numbers do suggest that it is time for

tighter social restrictions.

Over the past 15 days there have been almost 700 new cases and the deaths have also been increasing. The majority of the new cases have been in Region Four, where some 40 percent of the population resides.

This has to be a major source of worry. But it appears that whatever advice the government is receiving, it is far from worried. It should be though. The increase in the number of cases, and the fact that the last death was someone who was only 42 years old – not usually considered as belonging to the high risk age group – is a source of concern for the public, especially at this early stage of the vaccination campaign.

Guyana's COVID-19 vaccination campaign is in its second week and the rollout has been far lower than the 7,000 vaccines at 26 locations which were promised.

The initial rollout of vaccines has to be slow. In the early days of the campaign, it is necessary to cautiously assess the reaction of the public to the vaccine both in terms of hesitancy and in respect to any side effects. It is never advisable to rollout vaccines too quickly, because in the eventuality of problems, your health system can end up being overwhelmed and the vaccination campaign discredited.

By the end of the first two months of the

vaccination campaign in the United States that country was only vaccinating slightly more than an average of one million persons. But that rate is now closely approaching 2.5 million per day and with a single-dose vaccine coming on stream, the entire 300 million population of the United States is going to be vaccinated by the end of May. The US of course has access to vaccines. Guyana is struggling to obtain supplies. The promised 100,000 does from COVAX has not materialized as yet.

The only reason why Guyana could have started its immunization is because of donations from India (80,000 doses), China (20,000 doses), and Barbados (3,000 doses).

Guyana is hoping that COVAX will deliver its first shipment by the end of this month. Russia has also promised a disgracefully small number of vaccines, believed to be no more than 5,000 doses. But that country's vaccine is in high demand in a number of countries and Russia itself is witnessing a steady stream of daily cases and deaths. So it will need to ensure it has sufficient vials for its own local immunization process.

Guyana therefore faces a problem should the caseload of new cases continue to increase. And it should be concerned that one Region, Region Four, is now the main COVID-19 hotspot in

Guyana gat more boys 'jookers' dan jokers seh...

Dem

W

hatever happened to de sanctity of contracts? Dat is de excuse wah de PPPC bin using fuh not re-negotiating de Exxon contract. Dem seh dem gat fuh respect contract sanctity.

But what about dem contract what de HapNew+Hay-Eff-See sign?

How come de Pee Pee Pee investigating all dem land deals. How come dem nah respecting de sanctity of dem land contracts?

Dem boys notice people going all around and talking about oil. But dem nah wan face de local public fuh explain all de loopholes in

the management of the oil and gas sector.

Dem done pick site fuh land de gas-to-shore project.

Even before dem do de feasibility study. It showing how much brains dem man gat. Dem done know what de feasibility study gan show and so dem mek up dem mind.

Some people mekkin' up dem mind fuh leff Guyana.

Is nuff 'jookin' going on in Guyana. De Bingo and de Lolo man bin trying fuh 'jook' de elections results.

Dem boys seh people now 'jookin' one another over who can dance better. Every day people getting jook.

And when dem search de prison it gat more 'jooka' dan de ice factory.

Every Saturday night if yuh go by de Emergency Ward of dem hospital yuh bound to see somebody seeking treatment fuh stab wounds. People walking with weapon in dem waist.

And dem willing fuh 'jook' people fuh de slightest reason.

Is 'jook' fuh 'jook' tekkin' place in Guyana. But de biggest 'jook' is de one wah dem politicians put pun we when dem sign de oil contact!

Talk half and wait fuh mo excuse!

the country. Perhaps those advising the government should determine just which areas in Region Four have large numbers of infections and active cases.

Consideration should be given to locking down these areas.

The President cannot be critical of the organizers and spectators at Everest a few weeks ago and not see a similar threat occurring as a result of the spike in cases in Region Four. It is time he acts, regardless of what advice he is receiving.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Thursday March 18, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Hamley Case, Burnham and the lad in the Health Ministry compound O

n Sunday in M a s s e y Supermarket, I met someone that I have something in common with entrepreneur and former diplomat, Hamley Case. Mr. Case, for Christmas 2014, sent me a copy of Bacharach's autobiography.

We both like the phenomenal music of Bacharach. See my column, “I read Burt Bacharach to stop depression while waiting for the election results,” May 24, 2015.”

While chatting with him in the supermarket, I remarked that something ought to be done to make his father's contribution to the education system of Guyana known to the present generation.

His father, Fred Case, was an education pioneer in the first half of the 20th century and later helped in the formation of the University of Guyana.

I can distinctly remember Mr. Case in a letter in the newspapers

(can't remember the date but must have been more than 10 years ago) bemoaning the fact that nothing in Guyana bears his father's name.

When I brought up that topic, Mr. Case informed me that a bust of his father will be installed in the Queen's College's compound.

When this is done it will constitute the recording of history. Young students will stop, read the inscription under the bust and it will add to their knowledge of their country's past.

There are voluminous gaps missing in the recording of Guyana's history and they must be filled ASAP. I can think of Father Andrew Morrison of journalism, Ron Robinson of theatre, etc.

Do you know where the Indian Monument Garden is (it occupies a whole square – Church, Camp and Thomas Streets, and North Road) was the place where Georgetown received its water supply?

There needs to be a huge billboard erected in the garden informing citizens that right on that spot was the city's main water supply.

The next day (Monday) after meeting Mr. Case, an incident of contextual relevance with the Case encounter occurred. My wife and I went to the Ministry of Heath to get our COVID19 vaccine.

As we were leaving, this bouncy lad (he bounces as he walks), about 25 years old, came up to me. My wife went ahead. He said he always reads my columns and noticed that I write about President Burnham and he would like to know more about Mr. Burnham as president.

It was a very hot day and I said to him that there were

two things I don't like – Forbes Burnham and the hot midday sun.

I told him another time another place. As I walked away he said, “Write more about Mr. Burnham.” I believe the young generation should know their history.

They should know about the contributions of Fred Case to education. They should know what Father Morrison did for journalism.

They should know about the terrible, horrible autocracy

Frederick Kissoon of the longest ruler of their country – Forbes Burnham.

If 70 percent of the population is under 40 years, then those people were born in 1980.

They have no working knowledge of Burnham.

They would have been five years old when Burnham passed away. When they were 16 years in high school, it would have been 1996.

Guyana in 1996 did not bear any resemblance in relation to dictatorship.

Half the population is under 18. They were born around 2000. They are completely devoid of any knowledge of political atrocities under Burnham and how Guyana was one of

the biggest pariahs among the countries of the world.

Just as how the students of Queen's College will know about the educator, Fred Case, the young generation of this promising country should know what Guyana went through when Burnham rigged the national election until he died in 1985. There is no bust with an inscription under it with details of Burnham's life as will be the case with Fred Case.

To know about the consequences of Burnham's dictatorship, it is left up to historians. One suspects that in the future there will be books on Cheddi and Janet Jagan, and I believe someone will write a book on Bharrat Jagdeo. Moses Nagamootoo and Robert Corbin are nearing completion of their memoirs. But there is nothing on Burnham except, o n e b o o k ( b y Ty r o n e Ferguson) and it is not a biography of Burnham and it doesn't touch the dimensions of his megalomania, narcissism, and the death of his image brought about by Wa l t e r R o d n e y ' s confrontation that exposed Burnham's inherent evil.

I don't know if I will ever see “Mr. Bouncy” again. If he is reading this, I would suggest that he keeps reading my columns because from time to time, I will do the occasional piece on the diabolical dictator of Guyana – Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.

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

Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

Labour Ministry flags Indian Logging Company for inadequate employees' living conditions, other violations The flagged employees' “living quarters”. (Photo Credit: DPI)

A

s the Ministry of L a b o u r continues to roll out its Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) campaign to ensure maximum compliance across all sectors countrywide, an Indian logging company, Vaitarna Holdings Private Incorporated, which is located in Wineperu, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) has been flagged for inadequate living conditions for employees and some health and safety violations.

Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, said that workers and their families share one-bedroom living quarters, children included, and that he was shocked “when these

apartments were referred to as logies.”

The company's violations were flagged following a visit to the worksite, which was conducted by Minister Hamilton; Labour Officer, Roydon Croal; Senior OHS Officer, Johana Vaughn, and Senior Labour Officer (ag), Mr. Prandatt Basdeo, on Monday, March 15 last.

The company was given a reminder of its mandate as it relates to the safeguarding of workers' rights. However, the specific health and safety regulations that were violated were not listed.

This publication learnt that where breaches are found, the Labour Ministry will be working alongside the company to ensure all

OHS and labour regulations are complied with.

"My officers also visited several public sector and private sector entities. Both issues, Labour Relations and OHS were discussed, where there were breaches, officers indicated same and asked entities to put themselves in order," Hamilton also disclosed.

According to the Minister, follow-up visits will be made in "three months time" to ensure the highlighted breaches were remedied. Hamilton had also revealed to this newspaper that the campaign which is being conducted by his Ministry would have begun over a month ago with the intent of ensuring works being conducted are done in

Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, and the OHS and Labour Officers during their inspection exercise. (Photo Credit: DPI) a safe manner in both the private and public sectors across all 10 administrative regions in Guyana.

On March 6 last, a team of OHS officers conducted a site visit at a building in Charlestown, following reports of construction breaches carried out by a private contractor. It was said that persons working on the building were not attired with any safety gear and no site management was set up to prevent persons from entering the work zone.

An order was given by the Ministry to halt the construction until the necessary safety gears are acquired for the workers and when the team returned to the construction site, the workers, six climbers and two ground workers, were examined individually.

Upon their inspection, it was found that the climbers had their minimum mandatory personal protective equipment.

Hamilton noted that when OHS breaches are

found, warnings will be given and the employer will be asked to remedy same.

However, there has been no mention of a penalty for further non-compliance.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e Ministry is still engaged in procedures for the hiring of more OHS and labour officers, which will see a faster rollout of the campaign and will also remedy the very low number of officers countrywide. In some regions, there is only one officer.

Murder of 10-year-old boy…

Juvenile detained; to appear in court today

A

16-year-old will appear in court today for the murder of 10-year-old Anthony Cort. The lad was shot dead last Thursday by armed bandits who invaded a home at Packet Corner, C Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Police had arrested the teen last Friday after they had received a tip off.

Investigators had said that he was their prime suspect and that they were hunting two others who they believed played a part in Cort's death.

Those two to date have not been captured as yet.

As the hunt continues, the Police Force stated yesterday that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised that the 16-year-old be charged with murder.

Cort, who had dreams of becoming a doctor, was shot to the chest in the upper flat

Dead: Anthony Cort of his neighbour's home. He had gone there with his mother, Denise McPherson, to visit her best friend (the owner of the house).

Tragedy struck when the gunmen invaded the house.

The gunmen, according

to reports, had forced Cort's mom, her friend and another woman to the upper flat of the house. It was when Cort pulled a curtain and peeped out from a bedroom, probably to see what was going on, that he was shot.

S i n c e h i s m u r d e r, President Irfaan Ali, along with other politicians, had visited Cort's relatives and promised that they will ensure everything is done to have the killers prosecuted.

A team of senior police ranks, led by Commander of the Georgetown Police District, Khali Pareshram, who visited the family as well, also promised that his killers will be placed behind bars.

This the second time in six years that the family has been faced with tragedy.

Cort's elder sister, Alicia McPherson, 18, was in 2015 stabbed to death by her jealous boyfriend.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

PAGE 13

CAGI pays tribute to David Yankana D

avid Yankana Snr., A.A., a stalwart in the affairs of the private sector in Guyana, has passed on and the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry (CAGI), along with the business community and corporate society, has acknowledged the contributions made by his exceptional leader.

Yankana died at his residence in the United States of America on Thursday, March 4, 2021. He had retired in 2006, shortly after which he migrated to the United States where he resided until he died. Before he retired, he held the post of Executive Director of CAGI for more than 20 years.

According to CAGI in a statement, Yankana is being remembered as a significant contributor to the development of the local private sector and as one of the founding members of the Private Sector Commission (PSC). Also, he was first a dutiful public servant,

The dearly departed, David Yankana ser ving in t h e capacity of Permanent Secretary within the government of that time.

“There is also history of him working at the Guyana State Corporation (GUYSTAC) during the latter part of the1970s to early1980s as an Executive Vice President,” the statement added.

It was noted that “after his tenure as a public servant, he went straight away to work along with long-time colleague, Dr. Yesu Persaud, and together they established the Private Sector Commission.” There, the statement continued, he

served as Honourary Secretary and Executive Director. In fact, it added, his contribution to this commission is the core foundation of what it is today.

Commenting on Yankana's passing, Dr. Persaud pointed out that Yankana was one of those individuals he recognises as an exceptional public servant.

According to Dr. Persaud too, others can testify to Yankana being a good boss as he took his work seriously and he did it well.

Dr. Persaud was further quoted as saying, “He was a simple and humble man and those are characteristics, which you don't find every day. The likes of Yankana no longer exist.”

Yankana served both the public and private sectors in excess of 40 years and has left his mark of bringing strong representation on many fronts, especially for t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r.

“Colleagues in Guyana and abroad who have come to hear of the passing of this

Tourist boat operators benefit from River Navigation Competency Training

A

team from the M a r i t i m e Administration Department (MARAD) visited Iwokrama and Annai in Region Nine, during the period March 7 - 9, 2021, to train and certify boat operators in accordance with the River Navigation Act. According to a MARAD statement, the team comprised of the Director of Maritime Safety, Captain John Flores; Registrar of Seafarers, Examination and Certification Officer, Katina Benn-George, and two other employees from the Maritime Safety Division.

Captain Flores and team facilitated training in the areas of collision avoidance, river navigation regulations, emergency drills, and

emergency safety equipment.

A total of 24 operators from Annai renewed their licences, while nine persons were trained and certified in river navigation competency.

In Iwokrama, 14 operators had their licences renewed, while three persons were trained and certified in river navigation competency.

The department, the statement added, will continue its efforts to ensure operators across the country are trained and certified, to operate vessels safely on the waterways.

The training represented a c o l l a b o r a t i v e e ff o r t between MARAD and the Guyana Tourism Authority.

Mr. David Yankana Snr., Dr. Yesu Persaud and other members of the private sector seen at the Hotel Tower in the 90s exceptional man have taken time out to acknowledge the legacy, which he has left behind,” CAGI said in its statement as it expressed condolences to Yankana's bereaved family, relatives

and friends.

Adding that, “His name will forever reign through the private sector,” CAGI anticipates that “many more will be paying respects to a man who has dedicated his

life to equality in the business arena, ensuring the private sector is included and involved in national concerns and decision making that will impact the general populace.”

PAGE 14

Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

GDF rank charged with causing death of Providence woman

A

Lance Corporal of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) was yesterday charged with causing the death of a Providence, East Bank Demerara, woman by dangerous driving.

The defendant, 23-yearold, Jason Butters, of Onderneeming, West Bank Demerara, and his lawyer, Stanley Moore, S.C., appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

Butters denied the charge which alleged that on December 15, 2020, on the McDoom Public Road, East Bank Demerara, he drove motor vehicle, PTT 4166, in a manner dangerous to the public and thereby causing the death of Ameena Sooklall. In Moore's address to the court, he stated that his client is innocent and made a bail application for Butters in a reasonable amount.

The Police Prosecutor

Dead: Ameena Sooklall made no objection to bail being granted to Butters citing the fact that he was already placed on station bail.

The prosecutor added that according to the facts of the charge, on the day in question around 23:45 hrs. Butters was heading to Georgetown and

while in the vicinity of the Shell Gas Station he fell asleep on the wheel, crashing into the median.

As a result of the crash, Sooklall who was in the passenger seat was pinned and received multiple injuries about her body. She was taken out of the wreckage and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

It was reported that Butters was also hospitalized.

After he was discharged, he was arrested and subsequently charged with causing the death of Sooklall by dangerous driving.

After hearing the facts of the charge, Chief Magistrate, McLennan, granted him bail in the sum of $150,000 and the matter was adjourned to March 23, 2021.

Indian Bank to cash-in on...

From page 2 NBS approvals in addition to the inking of some 200 contracts to the tune of $13.9B on Tuesday last at the ACCC that serves to provide the infrastructure required for the creation of new housing schemes. “We live in a society where the quality of housing is important,” said Croal as he pointed to the spin off effects of the measures taken in totality.

He pointed out as an example, that with the 200 contracts, it would also mean increased employment, which would in turn lead to increased demand for varying goods and services.

As such, he commended the bank, for taking the right step to ensure that they play a part in the provision of housing in Guyana. The Minister noted too that with the increase in the distribution of house lots to Guyanese, there will also be a corresponding growth in the demand for loans.

Finance Minister, Dr. Singh, in expanding on Croal's

position observed that stakeholders were currently in the process of “literally building Guyana” and noted that housing locales such as Eccles, Onderneeming and Parfaite Harmonie were only recently constructed and that they serve as testimony to what can be achieved with the right government policies in place.

Recognising the constitutions of the Indian Bank, Dr. Singh noted that the Bank of Baroda has a special place in Guyana's financial landscape as he qualified the fiscal concession granted to the institution.

Guyana, he said, is at an important juncture in its developmental trajectory and recognised that Bank of Baroda is in a unique position to capitalise on its investments locally, given the all time high interest for foreign direct investments, which the bank can leverage to its advantage using its international networks.

42-year-old is latest COVID-19 fatality

T

he Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday reported the death of a 42-year-old male from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) as Guyana's 210th COVID-19 fatality.

In its press release, the Ministry stated that the man died while receiving treatment.

His death, however, was not reflected in yesterday's dashboard update.

The MOH also reported 84 new infections increasing the number of cases to 9,322.

According to the details of the dashboard, seven patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, another 12 are in institutional quarantine, 41 are in institutional isolation and 684 are in home isolation.

Additionally, a total of 8,381 persons have recovered to date with 22 new recoveries recorded yesterday.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

ExxonMobil on track to triple production capacity in Stabroek Block - as 220,000 bpd Liza Unity nears completion

E

xxonMobil and its production partners in the Stabroek Block are on track to triple its production capacity offshore Guyana, as its second Floating Production, Storage and O f f l o a d i n g Ve s s e l ( F P S O ) — L i z a Unity—vessel nears completion.

The massive 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) FPSO is being constructed at the Keppel shipyard in Singapore with SBM Offshore announcing on Tuesday that the topsides lifting campaign for the Liza Unity FPSO was recently completed.

The vessel, which is scheduled to arrive in Guyana as early as mid-year, is scheduled for production in the Stabroek Block and will bring the country's total capacity to some 340,000 taking into account the 120,000 bpd Liza Destiny—currently operating offshore Guyana.

The Dutch-based ship b u i l d i n g c o m p a n y, i n making its announcement noted that, "thanks to the efforts of the integrated team, over 26,000 tons of topsides were safely lifted in position at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore since the vessel came out of dry-dock in October of last year.”

SBM Offshore said in its announcement that all efforts are now focused on further progressing and completing the integration activities and gradually ramping-up the onboard commissioning activities.

According to reports, the Liza Unity is the first FPSO built under SBM Offshore's Fast4Ward design, which entails the use of a standardised new built, multi-purpose hull combined with several standardised topside modules.

The hull was built in China, with topside modules built by Keppel and DynaMac. Once completed, the

FPSO is expected to sail to Guyana, where it will be deployed as part of the second phase of ExxonMobil's Liza field development.

The Liza Unity FPSO is also designed to have an associated gas treatment capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day, and water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day.

The vessel moored in a water depth of about 1,600 meters and will be able to store around two million barrels of crude oil.

According to the company, "the project continues to target first oil in 2022 in line with client planning."

Once online, the FPSO will be the second FPSO in production in Guyana, after the Liza Destiny FPSO started producing oil in December 2019.

The Liza Destiny was also refurbished by SBM Offshore, which converted the one million barrels storage capacity Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) into an FPSO. The Dutch based company was last October awarded a contract with the Stabroek Block Operator—ExxonMobil and its Guyana partners – to build an FPSO for what will be the third offshore development in Guyana, namely at the Payara field.

Under the contract, SBM Offshore will construct, install, and then lease and operate the FPSO named Prosperity at the Payara project offshore Guyana for a period of up to two years.

The FPSO's ownership and operation will transfer to ExxonMobil, which operates the Stabroek offshore block in Guyana, along with consortia partners Hess Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).”

The Prosperity FPSO is said to utilise a design that largely replicates the design

of the Liza Unity FPSO with first oil expected in 2024.

ExxonMobil has so far signalled intentions to have six FPSOs producing from the Stabroek Block by 2027.

PAGE 15

The Liza Unity nearing completion in the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore

PAGE 16

Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

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The government is currently developing an Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Fund which is expected to stimulate new innovation and new businesses. This disclosure was made by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, as she addressed a forum in Bartica on Tuesday.

The Minister, who was speaking to students of the Bartica and Three Miles Secondary Schools, challenged them to “dream big and think outside the box”. She went on to reveal that small businesses are the drivers of wealth creation in nations and noted it is necessary to begin thinking about entrepreneurship from a young age.

Minister Walrond emphasized that entrepreneurship must not be considered as simply starting a business but also about adding value and solutions to the communities, outside of resources that might be immediately available. Entrepreneurship, she pointed out, is also about meeting a need. She noted that schools are incubators of many ideas that can be monetised. “As your minds are young and agile, don’t get confined to a structure; think solutions; there are problems all around you; there are problems to be solved; that is how you think and how ideas are born,” the minister told the students.

According to the Minister, “We will support the research and development of those ideas. We will fund technical advice for you to bring those ideas into implementation and possibly into a full-blown business that you can monetize,” she posited.

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Students of Bartica schools who participated in the survey.

more involved in developing business and innovative ideas.

On Tuesday, a total of 150 students of the Bartica Secondary and Three Mile Secondary Schools participated in a State of Entrepreneurship Survey. The survey is being conducted by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and targets students and business owners. Speaking with students at the Bartica Secondary School, Director of Business and Entrepreneurship, John Edghill, said that government is aim-

ing to understand the entrepreneurship aspirations of students. “We have crafted a very specific survey geared at understanding the spirit of entrepreneurship among our students,” the director disclosed. He noted that information gathered from the survey will assist the Ministry in developing programmes and policies that can assist students in becoming entrepreneurs. “We believe that entrepreneurship is a pathway to having that life we want to live and is also a pathway to developing the lives of other

Minister Oneidge Walrond. people who reside in our communities, including our families. So, we bring you the message of entrepreneurship,” Edghill noted.

GPSU calls Govt. to the table for salary...

From page 8 the employer of a motivated worker and correspondently the quality of service which the employer expects and the consuming public deserves.

Poverty robs the worker and his family of their self-esteem, right to dignity and a decent life.

These deficiencies are root causes of undesirable developments in society and any enlightened government should ensure that such undesirable social occurrences do not occur,” asserted Gardner.

Cognizant of the foregoing and desirous of attaining a meritorious standard of living for public service workers, she said that the GPSU constructed a basket of expenditures of goods and services in 2008, which is necessary to provide the average person with the basic needs of food, shelter, transportation, among others.

“This was reviewed periodically as the bench mark in the GPSU pursuit of a living wage as the base payment of a public service worker.

However, the minimum wage which was derived from this exercise is not being paid by the government.

The GPSU demands that the minimum wage of a public

servant must be a living wage,” she continued.

The GPSU official noted too that that public service workers have had no increase in earnings since January 2019, which is more than two years ago.

She said that public servants have gone through the entire 2020 without an increase.

“Additionally, they have not been subjected to a variety of other encounters with no considerations of relief being given to the hardships they experience, nor difficult economic circumstances they endured even though during this period there were increases in revenue in the government coffers.

This was revealed in the Estimates of Current and Capital Revenue and Expenditure 2021.

The revenue referred to above, is distinct and separate from revenue received from the proceeds of oil,” Gardner explained.

She said too that GPSU had proposed in the budget for the reduction on the rate of taxes paid by individuals (PAYE). The GPSU official revealed that it was also submitted in its budget proposals for 2021 that the tax threshold should be $120,000.00.

“It is difficult to comprehend why there was no reduction in taxes and why is it that company taxes are at flat rate of 25 percent, lower than PAYE lowest level which is 28 percent and increases to 40 percent after the next $120,000 approximately, on all additional earnings,” Gardner opined.

She noted too those workers, particularly frontline workers, who are at life threatening risk, in the hospitals, airports, seaports, and at locations with similar exposures, were subjected to these encounters with insensitive responses to their conscientiousness in discharging their duties.

She added that “The GPSU would be pursuing that the government pay a risk allowance with effect from at least March 2020.”

Among the other issues raised on behalf of public servants, Gardner said, were issues related to de-bunching and the payment of increments, adequate re-organiz-

ing of offices to cater for social distancing, provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to all staff members, which at the very minimum requires daily quotas of sanitizers and face masks.

Thursday March 18, 2021

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

Govt. in talks with investor Homeless man found to power mining operations dead under K/News’ with Liza gas shed, identified

“The Guyanese government is in talks with an international investor about a proposal to power mining operations in the country’s interior by using liquefied natural gas,” Guyana Basins Summit reported following an interview with Minister of Natural Resources.

It noted that the Minister described the plan as involving the conversion of the associated gas from the Liza Phase One operation into Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which will be trucked to remote locations in cryogenic tanks.

The organisation which is spearheading the three-day summit which began yesterday, posted on its website that the Minister spoke of the plans on the Institute of the Americas, Global Event Partners & IPD Latam’ Madrid Energy Conference (MEC). He said that they would provide a cleaner, more cost effective alternative to diesel.

“We have a lot of challenges associated with mining at present that we are trying to correct,” Bharrat is quoted as saying. “Diesel is like a lifeline for them. There are truckloads of diesel being delivered to those mines on a daily basis.”

“In the past two months I’ve met with so many investors. One is proposing to liquefy natural gas so that it can be used elsewhere.

As a matter of fact, I’m meeting with [the in-

- Security guards remain in custody A photo taken of a homeless Singh in 2012.

Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat. vestor] sometime later this month. We are open to suggestions because we are new in oil and gas production.”

Guyana is already forging ahead with its gas-to-shore project that would utilise associated gas from ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase One project, which has been in operation since December 2019. ExxonMobil Guyana President, Alistair Routledge, has said that the company can bring as much as 50 million cubic feet of gas to shore per day, more than Guyana needs.

GMRA appealing to President to reopen scrap metal trade General Secretary, Steven Bourne, and Treasurer, Shalini Divas, at the meeting yesterday.

T

he Guyana Metal Recycler’s Associa tion (GMRA) is publicly appealing to President Irfaan Ali, to look into their plight and have systems put in place to reopen the scrap metal trade.

The trade, which has been abruptly suspended since September 30, last year, has left a number of scrap metal dealers, collectors and employees in frustration and despair since they are out of a job.

Representatives of the GMRA yesterday held a small meeting with its employees and members of the media, where they highlighted the struggle of the dealers, exporters, collectors and stakeholders since the halt imposed on their trade.

Addressing the gathering,

Mohabir Singh during his years as a wealthy gold smith.

General Secretary of GMRA, Stephen Bourne, who spoke of the action taken by the Association since the trade was halted, stated that the entity reached out to the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, and a meeting was held.

Bourne said that during the meeting, which was held on November 17 last, the Minister had asserted that the scrap metal trade will be reopened no later than December 15, 2020.

In early January this year, he explained that the Association held a virtual meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; the Minister of Tourism, Head of Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU); James Singh; and Rohan Beekoo; Deputy Commissioner of the Guyana Rev-

enue Authority (GRA), where all dealers and exporters were asked to provide documentations of the business they provide.

The General Secretary further explained that on February 16, another virtual meeting was held, this time with the Mr. Singh and Mr. Beekoo, where they acknowledge the information received on all the persons who were involved in the scrap metal trade before its closure. He noted that during that meeting, no information was given on the reopening date of the trade but was informed that phased reopening is likely to take place after a new and improved scanner is installed.

According to Bourne, the Association was told that because of the large quantity of drugs that was found in a container containing scrap metals that was bust in Belgium in October last, the trade remains closed.

The General Secretary also said “we are appealing to the President to understand the plight of scrap metal dealers and stakeholders and everyone that is involved and benefitting from the earnings of the scrap metal trade and we are indeed facing challenging times…we are calling on him to have this trade reopened.”

Ms. Shalini Divas, Treasurer of the GMRA, in brief remarks, explained that the Association has really tried in every way possible to try to get the trade reopened. She (Continued on page 18)

Yesterday detectives obtained an identity for the homeless man who was found dead under a shed at the Kaieteur News’ Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown office.

The dead man, 58-year-old Mohabir Singh, popularly known as ‘Emile’, was identified by his son, Mohinder Singh.

Singh’s lifeless body was discovered on Tuesday around 8:30hrs by a Kaieteur News employee.

The employee had gone to remove a truck when he saw Singh’s body lying in its tray.

Police have since detained two of Kaieteur News security guards who are still in police custody.

According to Mohinder, his father has

been homeless for some 25 years because of his drug addiction.

Before those years, Mohinder remembered that his father was a wealthy gold smith who owned his own business at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

However, because of a drug addiction, which he developed in his 30s, Singh ended up losing everything and eventually becoming homeless.

He was placed in rehab twice and came out a “brand-new man” but soon returned to his old habits, Mohinder said.

The son revealed too that his father had even spent some time in jail where he wrote the CXC exams and achieved distinctions.

Another teenager raped in - four alleged rapists Region One still to be apprehended Yesterday, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) reported the second alleged rape of a child under the age of 16 in Region One for this week alone.

According to the recent report, the alleged rape of a child under the age of 16 was reported to the police and an investigation was launched.

The child was medically examined and it revealed that she is four months pregnant.

The child provided the name of the suspect to the police but they have not yet apprehended the suspect.

The investigation into that matter is ongoing.

On Monday, in a brief statement, the GPF reported that police have received a report of an alleged rape of a child under 16 in Region One. This publication was reliably informed that the incident happened between March 13,

2021, and March 14, 2021.

That rape suspect also has not yet been apprehended.

Also on March 9, 2021, Kaieteur News reported the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by her father who has not yet been apprehended. It was reported that the child’s father started sexually molesting her during June 2020, sometime after he had put out her mother.

The child was discovered seven months pregnant after her father sent her to spend time with a relative in Region Three. The matter was reported to a police station in Region Three and an in transit message was sent to Region One. However, when the police went to arrest the suspect, he was nowhere to be found.

On February 26, 2021, this publication reported the al-

leged rape of a 10-year-old girl. The child was not only raped but also left unconscious. The act was allegedly committed by one of her close relatives. That suspect, however, was arrested by police after the child confided in her grandmother and the matter was reported.

On February 24, 2021, the GPF reported that a manhunt was launched for a man who allegedly raped and impregnated a 12-year-old girl. It was reported that the child is five months pregnant.

On Monday February 15, 2021, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) reported that five of its ranks are accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at a location in Mabaruma, North West District (NWD), Region One. According to reports, those ranks were removed from the area and were summoned to a Board of Inquiry.

PAGE 18

IPED unveils paintings in commemoration of Women’s History Month In recognition of Women’s History Month, the Institute of Private Enterprise Development Ltd. (IPED) honoured renowned female Guyanese artist and entrepreneur, Merlene Ellis.

According to a release to the media on the initiative, IPED noted that it supports Women in Business.

“Ms. Ellis is a woman in the creative industry who has worked for 35 years therein.

[She] commissioned three pieces that reflect the work IPED supports in the community to improve livelihoods by building sustainable micro and small enterprises,” IPED said in the release.

The small unveiling ceremony featured members from IPED’s staff and Executive Management inclusive of Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Persaud; Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Jagdesh Haripershad; Administrative and Human Resources Manager, Ms. Carlotta Boodie-Walcott; Divisional Credit Manager, Dhanpall Birbal.

The paintings were unveiled by Finance Manager, Tshanna Dainty, and Chief Internal Auditor (ag), Sheena Crandon. The paintings will hang in the Boardroom of IPED’s main office at South Road, Bourda.

Ellis’ paintings are on display at the National Art Gallery, Castellani House, Parliament Building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, GBTI, IPED, Pegasus Hotel, Consulate of Suriname and London, along

Honoured by IPED, Guyanese artist and entrepreneur, Merlene Ellis. with the American Embassy Guyana and abroad extensively.

The artist has received several accolades in recognition of her works namely: two United States City Council Citation statements and a Plaque of Recognition for ‘Originality of Subjects’ in the field of ARTS given by the Guyana Cultural Arts Association of New York and a Medal of Service from Former President of Guyana, His Excellency David Granger. She also participated in exhibitions held at the Pegasus Guyana.

She explained that, “The paintings were completed through the application of acrylic on canvas encased in locally made crabwood frames with a life span of 100 years with excellent care”.

IPED has a mandate to improve the livelihoods by building sustainable micro and small enterprises. In April, IPED will be celebrating 35

years of supporting the growth and development of private enterprises by providing finance and advisory services to micro and small entrepreneurs with over 38 percent of these businesses being owned and managed by women.

“We are proud of our history and the contribution towards the development of Guyana through the continued support of entrepreneurs who have accessed more than 117,000 loans over the years.

We have also made further initiatives to support the Creative Industries by having loans that cater specifically for entrepreneurs in this field.

This month we honour all of our female entrepreneurs and continue to assess the implications for women and men regarding our policies and programmes, so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated,” IPED added in its release.

Prisoner recaptured less than 12 hours after escaping Less than 12 hours after he escaped from the Lusignan Prison, a prisoner who escaped by jumping over the fence of the Prison, was nabbed by ranks of the Guyana Police Force at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.

Forty-five-year-old, Taje Singh, of Lot 81 Zeelugt, escaped from custody at around 07:10 hrs. yesterday.

Singh, who is serving a sentence for unlawful wounding and larceny of a water pump, had jumped the southern fence of the prison and escaped into a clump of bushes.

Wednesday evening his run for freedom was cut short after he was recaptured.

Captured Fugitive: Taje Singh.

GMRA appealing to President to ...

From page 17 said letters have been sent to the Ministries, CANU, GRA and “everybody that has a say and monitors the trade”, but they have gotten no response.

Divas assured the gather-

Thursday March 18, 2021

Kaieteur News

ing that the closure had nothing to do with the drug bust because the trade was closed long before that. She further noted that when Executives from the GMRA tried to find out, they were told that there’s an audit process being con-

ducted and when that is finished, the trade will be reopened. Just like her colleague, the Treasurer is calling on President Ali to look into this issue because they too need to work and provide for their family.

Bulletin issued for mason who killed brother-in-law

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday issued a wanted bulletin for a mason who allegedly stabbed and killed his brother-in-law, sometime after they had an argument over a lost bicycle.

The wanted man has been identified as, Martin Blair, 23, of Lot 578 ‘D’ Field, Sophia, Georgetown. According to reports, between March 13, 2021, and March 15, 2021, at ‘D’ Field, Sophia, Blair killed 23-year-old, Daniel Boutrin, of Lot 157 Guyhoc Park, Georgetown, his brother-in-law.Kaieteur News had reported that during the latter part of last year, Boutrin reportedly borrowed a bicycle from Blair, but he lost the bicycle. Last Saturday, around 08:30 hrs., Boutrin was at his in-law’s home, when an argument ensued between him and his brother-in-law over the lost bicycle.

According to police, the argument escalated and both men armed themselves with weapons. Boutrin was armed with a cutlass and his brother-in-law was armed with a knife.

However, the suspect’s parents intervened and that caused him to leave the yard.

Sometime after the argument, as Boutrin was about to enter a taxi, his brother-in-law, who was still armed with the knife, confronted him and fired several stabs at him. Boutrin was still armed with the cutlass and in return, he fired several chops at his brother-in-law, but missed.The injured Boutrin managed to run for some distance before he collapsed, while his brother-in-law made good his es-

Wanted, Martin Blair.

Dead, Daniel Boutrin. cape.

Boutrin was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He was stabbed to his left side chest.He remained in ICU until Monday around 02:48 hrs. when he succumbed. His body was then taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home. Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Blair is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers: 227-2603, 226-6978, 226-6221, 2193252, 227-1149, 225-8196, 268-2328, 268-2298/ 2222, 226-7065, 911 or the nearest police station. All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UG lecturer gets Elsevier ATLAS Award for COVID-inspired article Mrs. Temitayo Deborah Oyedotun, a lecturer attached to the University of Guyana (UG), has surfaced among 1,000 other individuals, winning the Elsevier ATLAS award for her article ‘Sudden change of pedagogy in education driven by COVID-19 perspectives and evaluation from a developing country.’

Elsevier is an analytics and information company based in the Netherlands that also specializes in scientific, technical, and medical content.

Her article sought to highlight the methods of teaching undertaken as a result of COVID-19, with the perspectives from Guyana, a developing country. Oyedotun, who lectures at UG’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education and Humanities, is the second person in South America, and the first person in Guyana, to have won the award since it began in 2015. In a press statement released by UG, the lecturer was quoted as saying, “I am happy to have been considered for this award.

I only thought of documenting what I observed, and I am happy that most of what I wrote as challenges when we were migrating online have been addressed by the University.” She went on to say that in writing the article she hoped Guyana’s experience as documented and recognized would serve as a guide to other developing countries. The press statement further stated that in December 2020, Oyedotun’s article was nominated among the 10 shortlisted and following that

she was selected as the winner of the award.

Her win was determined by an external Advisory Board comprising individuals from international non-profit organizations (NGOs). These organizations include the Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens; Bioversity International, Epicentre (MSF); Health and Global Policy Institute; International Training and Outreach Centre in Africa (ITOCA); University of California, Berkeley (Centre for Effective Global Action) and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

The NGOs selected a single ATLAS article based on one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals from published research from Elsevier’s 3,800 journals on “ScienceDirect.” The panellists reviewed the article’s contribution to science and society and analysed the societal impacts.

Oyedotun’s article was selected around the “Sustainable Developmental Goal 4,” which is Quality Education.

Atlas’ Associate Publisher and Programme Manager, V. Prade López congratulated Oyedotun and thanked her for her contribution to education. He also revealed that Elsevier would like to hold a virtual ceremony of the award in the near future instead of the usual in-person ceremony due to the COVID19 restrictions.

Elsevier has also commissioned a journalist to interview the lecturer and explain the article to wider audiences.

UG’s statement noted that

Lecturer - UG Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction, Faculty of Education and Humanities, Mrs. Temitayo D. Oyedotun. the interview of Oyedotun and Lucy Goodchild van Hilten was recently conducted and will be published in Elsevier ATLAS soon.

“This is a great achievement, not only for Mrs. Temitayo Oyedotun, but also for the Faculty of Education and Humanities, the University of Guyana and the leadership of the University who proactively took some radical actions that ensured the successful transition from traditional teaching to virtual classroom engagement suddenly,” UG noted in its release. UG further stated that the article documented the sudden change COVID-19 brought, the actions that were taken by the University, the challenges of the change as well as the benefits derived from that transition.

UG’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Paloma Mohamed, and the senior administration have also extended congratulations to the lecturer and have encouraged her to continue her excellence in academic writing amongst its faculty.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

PAGE 19

Guyana's resources useless if unexploited A

ll of Guyana's resources, the black gold in our Stabroek Block, our timber, gold and bauxite, would be useless to our development if not exploited says President, Irfaan Ali, as he gave an open invitation to foreign investors.

The President made those remarks and more yesterday during his key note address to the Guyana Basin Summit, a three-day virtual event bringing together industry executives, experts, government stakeholders and local business owners to devise development opportunities in the rapidly expanding

Guyana-Suriname oil basin.

“Guyana is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that provides opportunities for every Guyanese. Few other countries in the world can boast of being home to gold, diamonds, bauxite, sugar, rice, cattle and other livestock, forestry, oil and gas, abundant agricultural lands, freshwater and tourism. There is no reason for our country to be poor, or for our people to want. We, together, have to take hold of these natural resources that have been gifted to us and turn them into national treasure,” President Ali told the Summit.

Pres. Ali te-lls Summit And with the growing oil discoveries, Guyana is poised for greatness, he added. “We welcome investment in the Guyana Basin as well as the multiple opportunities it will spawn within our economy.

This Summit is an opportunity for investors to cement their participation in our economy, including in the non-oil sector,” the President said.

According to the Head of State too, Guyana is set to become an economic and energy epicenter in the Western Hemisphere and is

President Irfaan Ali

destined to emerge as one of the most diversified regional

economies providing a treasure-trove of economic

Petroleum Commission Bill to be tabled in a matter...

From page 3 requirements.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, told Kaieteur Radio during an interview with Guyana's Oil & You host, Kiana Wilburg, “The Bill is at the Ministry of Natural Resources and it is being actively considered by

a Legal Department within t h a t M i n i s t r y. T h a t Department is working closely with the Chief Parliamentary Counsel attached to the Attorney General Chambers and I know that the changes that we would like to see in the Bill are being looked at right now, examined with a view

of incorporating them.”

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has said, “We want a Petroleum Commission made up of technical people with an independent board to manage the oil and gas sector.”

This has been the driving principle for the People's

Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), especially as it criticised efforts made by the previous administration to draft the Bill. The David Granger administration's Bill had included issues criticised as giving the subject Minister too much control.

Nandlall had said during

the Kaieteur Radio interview that the Bill was before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee in 2019, when Parliament was dissolved for the holding of the 2020 elections. “…That bill suffered grave and several deficiencies and we were very critical of it,” he said.

opportunities.

He detailed as well that the manufacturing, knowledge services, health sector and agriculture sector will also propel the country, not just oil and gas.

“This dynamic transformation will be driven principally by the private sector. Local and foreign businesses, working in tandem and sometimes in partnership, will act as the main driver of economic o u t p u t e ff i c i e n c y a n d competitiveness,” the Head of State noted in his address.

Pointing to the GuyanaSuriname basin, President Ali said that with the estimated double proven reserves, it solidifies Guyana's position as a lucrative emerging petroleum state.

Continuing, the President stated that Guyana intends to maximize the many business opportunities that exist along the value chain of the country's fledgling petroleum sector, with the added expansion of drilling, exploration, and production activities in the petroleum sector.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

Thursday March 18, 2021

Speakers T20 Championship set to launch with Match Draw tomorrow

A

ccording to a re lease from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), the GCB and the Everest Cricket Club will launch and draw the fixtures for the Inaugural Speaker’s T20 Championship from 14:00 hours tomorrow at the GCB’s Board Room, top flat of the GCB’s administration office.

The Speaker’s T20 tournament will involve over 20 teams competing amongst each other for the coveted championship honors.

Noticeably, fully registered 1st Division teams from Berbice include Albion Community Centre Cricket Club (Albion), Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club-MS (RHTYSC-MS), Tucber Park Cricket Club and West

Berbice down to participate.

Among the teams from the East Coast Demerara that will be participating is the Lusignan Sports Club. In Georgetown, the teams expected to participate include the University of Guyana Trojans Cricket Team, Everest Cricket Club, Police Sports Club, Malteenoes Sports Club, Gandhi Youth Organization Sports Club (Regal), Demerara Cricket Club and Georgetown Cricket Clubs.

West Demerara will have participating teams such as Rising Stars Cricket Club, Canal no. 2, New Wales Superstars, Mc Gill Super Stars Sports Club, Belle Vue Sports Club, Cornelia Ida. Bacchus Sports will be the main representative team from Essequibo.

The tournament is anticipated to be highly exciting and competitive, as teams vie for the country’s number one T20 1st Division team honors.

Further, the championship offers teams the opportunity to vie for both of the GYD$1,000,000 worth of prizes. That is, in attaining the championship title and securing the team with player that will be awarded as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

However, apart from those two main prize attractions, teams have the opportunity to win other consolation prizes, inclusive of a valuable GYD$500,000 2nd place prize, GYD$200,000 3rd place prize and GYD$100,000 4th place prize, among others.

Thursday March 18, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Discussions with close friends could lead to ideas for creative projects of some kind, Aries. Although the projects themselves may center on writing, music, drama, graphics, or teaching, today's brainstorming is likely to center more on business and marketing than artistic matters.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Money matters might require your attention today, Taurus.

Concerns involving the home are on your mind.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Deep thought that occupies your time today could lead to some fascinating conversations with a close friend or partner, Gemini.

CANCER(June21–July22) Today your imagination is likely to be flying high, Cancer, drawing on past images and events that you may have forgotten. You may wonder about the commercial potential of your thoughts.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) A friend could put forth some ideas regarding incorporating the arts into a business enterprise, Leo. A lot of discussion could result, though it's unlikely that any final decisions will be made now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Imagination and insights definitely advance a project today, Virgo. Discussions, perhaps involving money, spur you and your collaborators on to new innovative projects that might prove to be of great benefit to

all.

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Friends who have been traveling or live far away could bring some interesting news your way that hasn't yet broken in your area, Libra.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today you might feel as though your mind is exploding, Scorpio.

If you've been studying an intellectual or spiritual subject,

insights could be coming thick and fast.

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

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

in you and you could respond.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) A change in your working circumstances could make a positive difference to you, Aquarius.

Perhaps you've moved to another desk, room, floor, or build-

ing.

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

you could start a new project.

Tiger Woods returns to Florida to recover from car crash AP - Tiger Woods is back at home in Florida to resume his recovery from careerthreatening leg injuries he suffered when his SUV ran off a road and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs last month.

“Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery,” Woods said in a tweet posted Tuesday night. “I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.”

Woods was injured Feb. 23, two days after the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He was on his way to a television shoot for GolfTV a little after 7 a.m. when his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side near a steep road known for wrecks, authorities said. He had to be pulled out through the windshield.

He had a lengthy surgery that day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for shattered

tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those were stabilized with a rod in his tibia. Additional injuries to the bones in his foot and ankle required screws and pins.

He was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for follow-up procedures.

Woods thanked the medical staff at both hospitals for taking care of him.

“I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day,” Woods said in the statement.

A dozen or so players at the Workday Championship in Florida wore black trousers and red shirts — the Sunday colors of Woods for his record-tying 82 victories on the PGA Tour — in the final round.

Woods has stayed in touch through text messages, sending them to Bryson DeChambeau ahead of his Bay Hill victory and to Justin Thomas, one of his closest friends in golf, ahead of his

victory in The Players Championship on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy suggested in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that Woods might be headed home to Florida.

“He’s doing better,” McIlroy said. “I think all the guys have reached out to him.

Hopefully if things go well over the next week or so, he might be able to get home and start recovery at home, which would be great for him. See his kids, see his family.

“But yeah, he’s doing better. And I think all of us are wishing him a speedy recovery at this point.3 McIlroy and Thomas are among those who live near Woods in Jupiter, Florida.

New Zealand offers cash...

From page 24 although it hasn’t yet got a request for money for the next defense, it expects one to come and has agreed to pay for it out of existing budgets — on the condition that the racing stays in New Zealand.The notion that Team New Zealand could end up defending the cup in Europe, Asia or the Middle East hadn’t been sitting well with fans.Murray Bridge, the president of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club in the capital, Wellington, watched the race coverage at the club yesterday.“This is the biggest economic stimulus you’re going to get,” he said.

“There’s nothing else on the horizon, is there?”He said he believes that Team New Zealand’s efforts to shop the cup defense around are a tactic to gain more leverage with the government.“It’s like any business, you’ve got to prove your worth,” he said.

“You’ve got to prove to this government particularly, which is very left leaning, that there’s value in it. The employment, the technology, the stuff that’s being exported overseas, the software guys. It’s a big earner.”

Other fans at the club were just delighted to watch the sailing.Sandra Brown brought along her 18-monthold daughter Miria to watch.

Brown has been watching every race she can after work.

“It was amazing, it was really, really cool,” she said of the team’s win. “They worked really hard. They deserved it.”

She said she isn’t a sailor but has fond memories of visiting her uncle in Auckland during previous America’s Cup regattas.As for Miria, she wasn’t paying any attention to the racing, preferring instead to watch Thomas the Tank Engine.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 22

Thursday March 18, 2021

Eight GFF ATC alumni feature in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers squad Head Coach Marcio Maximo has named eight alumni of the Guyana F o o t b a l l F e d e r a t i o n ’s pioneering Academy Training Centre programme in his final 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup first round qualifiers this month.

Maximo has also

selected three new nondomestic players for the squad, which will play Trinidad and Tobago on March 25th and the Bahamas on March 30th in the Dominican Republic in Guyana’s first international matches since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a strong and very

competitive squad selection with a lot of energy in all areas of the field,” said Maximo. “The squad is renewed, which is a continuous cycle for us. I am very confident we can be successful and reach the second round of FIFA World Cup qualifying - this is my target and job!”

Shawn Adonis, Nicolai Andrews and Omari Glasgow – all members of the 2017 U15 Soualiga Cup winning national youth team – join Jeremy Garrett, Ryan Hackett, Nicolas McArthur, Kelsey Benjamin and Jobe Caesar as the latest successful products of the GFF’s ATC youth development system to take the step up to the senior squad.

UK-based right back Miguel Scarlett, Watford defender Bayli SpencerAdams and Bournemouth midfielder Nathan MoriahWelsh make the final 23 for

the first time, while Cambridge United goalkeeper Kai McKenzieLyle returns to the fold.

Domestic-based members of the squad on Wednesday departed from Ogle airport for the Dominican Republic, where they will be joined by nondomestic-based players to begin an extended training encampment.

To qualify for round two in Concacaf’s qualification process for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Guyana must top its group, which also includes Saint Kitts and Nevis and

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Squad Name Position Club 1 Akel Clarke Goalkeeper Mount Pleasant Academy 2 Kai McKenzie-Lyle Goalkeeper Cambridge United FC 3 Shawn Adonis Goalkeeper Guyana Police Force FC 4 Miguel Scarlett Defender Unattached 5 Matthew Briggs Defender Vijle Boldk 6 Kadell Daniel Defender Margate FC 7 Jeremy Garrett Defender Guyana Defence Force FC 8 Nicolai Andrews Defender Santos FC 9 Bayli Spencer-Adams Defender Watford FC 10 Terence Vancooten Defender Stevenage FC 11 Nathan Moriah-Welsh Midfielder Bournemouth FC 12 Sam Cox (c) Midfielder Hampton & Richmond FC 13 Daniel Wilson Midfielder Guyana Police Force FC 14 Jobe Caesar Midfielder Guyana Defence Force FC 15 Ryan Hackett Midfielder Guyana Defence Force FC 16 Pernel Schultz Midfielder Guyana Police Force FC 17 Callum Harriott Forward Colchester United 18 Keanu Marsh-Brown Forward Newport County AFC 19 Omari Glasgow Forward Fruta Conquerors FC 20 Kelsey Benjamin Forward Guyana Defence Force FC 21 Nicolas McArthur Forward Fruta Conquerors FC 22 Trayon Bobb Forward Uitvlugt Warriors FC 23 Emery Welshman Forward Hapoel Raanana TECHNICAL STAFF Technical Director - Ian Greenwood Head Coach - Marcio Maximo Assistant Coach - Charles Pollard Goalkeeper Coach - Eon DeVeira MEDICAL Team Doctor - Kojo Sandiford Lead Physiotherapist - Denzil Hernandez Physiotherapist - Quacy Paddy SPORTS SCIENCE Head of Sports Science Wilson Toledo RECRUITMENT Head of Recruitment - Faizal Khan OPERATIONS Team Operations Manager - Rawle Adams Assistant Team Operations Manager - Naseya Brewster Equipment Manager - Trevor Burnett

Puerto Rico.

“We know Trinidad and To b a g o a r e t o u g h opponents,” said Golden Jaguars captain Sam Cox. “We’ve got a rich history with them. We know they’re going to offer and present a real challenge.

We a r e p r e p a r i n g ourselves for that by coming into camp a couple of days earlier, just to give ourselves that extra preparation and to bond within the team. That’s going to be invaluable.”

“Then, of course, we have the Bahamas on the 30th, so we have two good fixtures that we will be looking to take wins in.

We’ve got a good couple of weeks ahead of us - we just have to prepare correctly.”

Head of Recruitment Faizal Khan said the new UK-based recruits would bring further top level experience into the mix, alongside established squad members such as Callum Harriott.

“Coach Maximo giving first team call-ups to Bayli Spencer-Adams, Miguel Scarlett and Nathan Moriah-Welsh highlight the coach’s willingness to give youth a chance in competitive internationals,” said Khan.

As the squad departed for the Dominican Republic, Cox urged the nation to unite behind the Golden Jaguars as they look to begin their World Cup journey in style.

“It’s shame we couldn’t be in Guyana for the second game against the Bahamas,” he said. “It would have been great to interact with the fans, but obviously, through coronavirus, that’s not possible. We know that the fans will be there in spirit with us and we will look to do them proud as we always do.”

GFF SMNT Head Coach Márcio Máximo speaking with his charges following the completion of a training session. (Franklin Wilson photo)

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

NBA roundup:

PAGE 23

Damian Lillard scores 50 as Blazers rally

Damian Lillard made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to cap a seasonbest 50-point effort as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 17-point, fourthquarter deficit to post a dramatic 125-124 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lillard, who also had 10 assists, was fouled by Eric Bledsoe before making both attempts. New Orleans’ Zion Williamson saw his short bank shot bounce off the rim as time expired.

The 50-point game was the 12th of Lillard’s career, tying him with LeBron James for seventh on the alltime list. The only players above them: Wilt Chamberlain (118), Michael Jordan (31), Kobe Bryant (25), James Harden (23), Elgin Baylor (23) and Rick Barry (14).

Gary Trent Jr. scored 22 points for Portland, and CJ McCollum scored 10 points in 26 minutes in his return from a fractured left foot that cost him 25 games. Brandon Ingram scored 30 points, Williamson had 28 points and a career-best eight assists and Lonzo Ball contributed a career-best 17 assists for the Pelicans.

Los Angeles Lakers 137 - Minnesota Timberwolves 121 LeBron James recorded a second consecutive tripledouble to reach 99 for his career, delivering Los Angeles a victory over visiting Minnesota.

James moved within one of becoming just the fifth in NBA history to reach 100.

James and Montrezl Harrell led six Lakers in double figures with 25 points apiece, and James added 12 rebounds and 12 assists.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Staples Center. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (0) prepares to shoot a free throw during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Moda Center. Im-USA TODAY Sports) Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards paced the Timberwolves with matching game highs of 29 points.

Utah Jazz 117 - Boston Celtics 109 Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points and Jordan Clarkson added 20 off the bench to lead Utah to a victory at Boston.

Rudy Gobert had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Jazz, who swept the season series against Boston. Mike Conley chipped in 17 points and five assists.

Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and Jaylen Brown added 28 to lead the Celtics.

Daniel Theis had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Robert Williams III chipped in 14 points and nine boards off the bench.

Chicago Bulls 123 Oklahoma City Thunder 102 Zach LaVine scored 40 points and Lauri Markkanen

DCC AGM set for March 30

The Annual General Meeting of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) which will be held on Tuesday, March 30 at 6:30 pm at the Club’s Pavilion.

Members are therefore reminded that only those who have paid their membership subscription to March 2020 in full and settled all outstanding dues and bar bills by the 22nd March, 2021 will be allowed to participate in the elections.

Associate members are not eligible to participate in the elections.

Provision will not be made for the acceptance of subscription/dues on the day of elections Tuesday, 30th March, 2021.

Members are advised to ensure that outstanding subscription/dues are paid on or before 22nd March, 2021 no later than 8:00pm to the Club’s Manager between the hours of 3:00pm to 8 : 0 0 p m a t t h e c l u b ’s pavilion.

Motions to be brought before the meeting must be submitted to the secretary in writing at least ten (10) days before the elections.

added 22 to boost host Chicago to a rout of Oklahoma City.

LaVine reached the 40point plateau for the third time this season, shooting 15-for-20 in just under 31 minutes. Thaddeus Young put together 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Bulls.

Shai GilgeousAlexander led Oklahoma City with 21 points, ending a streak of three straight games with at least 30.

Moses Brown finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Atlanta Hawks 119 Houston Rockets 107 Danilo Gallinari scored a team-high 29 points, and he and Atlanta teammate Tony Snell each hit five 3-pointers to lead the visiting Hawks to a win over Houston.

The Rockets matched a franchise record with their 17th consecutive loss while Atlanta extended its seasonbest win streak to six games and improved to 6-0 under

interim coach Nate McMillan.

Kevin Huerter added three 3-pointers and scored 16 points while John Collins (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Trae Young (13 points, 14 assists) recorded doubledoubles for the Hawks.

Victor Oladipo scored 34 points, Kevin Porter Jr. paired 22 points with eight assists and rookie Jae’Sean Tate tallied a career-high 25 points for Houston.

Miami Heat 113 Cleveland Cavaliers 98 Jimmy Butler had 28

points and a season-hightying 12 rebounds to carry host Miami past Cleveland.

It was Butler’s seventh straight game with at least 27 points. The Heat, who won their fifth straight and improved to 11-1 in their past 12 games, got 17 points from Kelly Olynyk and 15 from Tyler Herro.

Cleveland, which has lost four straight games, was led by Collin Sexton, who had 21 points. JaVale McGee added 16 points and eight rebounds.

Philadelphia 76ers 99 New York Knicks 96 Tobias Harris scored 30 points as host Philadelphia rallied past New York.

Seth Curry added 20 and Ben Simmons contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Sixers, who earned a season-best sixth win in a row.

The Knicks’ Julius Randle compiled 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Alec Burks added 19 points and RJ Barrett had 17.

(Field Level Media)

Sanasie reports Skerritt to CWI Ethics Committee SportsMax - The Cricket West Indies (CWI) presidential election race was rocked on Tuesday, following news that presidential candidate Anand Sanasie has sought to report incumbent Ricky Skerritt to the CWI Ethics Committee.

Speaking on the Mason and Guest radio programme, the Guyanese board member revealed that he had launched a formal complaint, written to CWI Corporate Secretary Alanna Medford-Sigh.

Sanasie’s grouse stems from allegations that Skerritt held a meeting with Guyana’s Minister of Sports Charles Ramson Jr without convening the full board. He further contends that the decisions taken at the

meeting were deliberately made to give Skerritt an unfair advantage in his bid to secure re-election.

Neither Sanasie nor his running mate Calvin Hope of Barbados had been notified of the meeting. If the complaint is brought before the committee and found to be valid by the group, chaired by Caribbean Court of Justice Judge, Winston Anderson, Skerritt could be disqualified for seeking re-election.

Skerritt and his running mate Dr Kishore Shallow will be seeking a second two-year team. The duo took charge in 2018 after defeating then-incumbent Dave Cameron and his vice president Emmanuel Nanthan.

The election takes place on March 28.

Big Man Cricket continues this weekend play West Bank Warriors at Farm at 13:00hrs.

The Big Man Cricket competition is set to continue this On Sunday, Real Warriors will face Jai Hind at Farm at weekend with several matches. On Friday Timothy Masters 13:00hrs, GT Royal Rangers will face West Bank Warriors at will play Jai Hind at Enmore from 13:00hrs, while on 09:00hrs at Bourda, Upper Corentyne Warriors will battle Saturday GT Royal Rangers will play Upper Corentyne Essequibo Eagles at Bourda at 13:00hrs and West Dem Vipers Rangers at No. 72. West Dem Vipers will take on will face Timothy Masters at Met En Meer Zorg at 13:00hrs.

Essequibo Eagles at Imam Bacchus and Real Warriors will TEAMS Games Won Draw Game Batting Bowling Total pts bonus bonus Points

Jaihind Jaguars West Dem Vipers GT Royal Rangers Real Warriors West Bank Warriors Timothy Motorcycle Masters Essequibo Eagles Upper Corentyne Rangers

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 0 1 1 1 1

20 0 10 10 10 10

1 1

10 10

pts 10 5

pts 10 6

40 11 10 10 10 10 10 10

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Thursday March 18, 2021

New Zealand offers cash to keep America’s Cup racing at home WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Just minutes after Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup sailing series on the w a t e r y e s t e r d a y, t h e government was offering up cash to keep the team together and the racing at home for the next match.

“We want to see it all over again in 2023,” said Stuart Nash, the minister responsible for the America’s Cup. Indeed, the government took the unusual step of offering money to Team New Zealand before it had even asked. It didn’t say how

much, but it’s likely to be several million dollars up front and much more later on.

In a sport dominated by billionaires, the New Zealand government wants to stay one step ahead of other teams eager to poach talent, and of moves that

could see races held in another country.

It comes after Team New Zealand paid a British consulting firm to shop around its next cup defense to other possible host cities around the world.

“The defence of the cup offers a global opportunity to promote New Zealand as an

innovative and successful nation, with spinoffs in areas like tourism and export deals,” Nash said.

Team New Zealand retained the oldest and most famous trophy in sailing by beating Italian challenger Luna Rossa 7-3 in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city.

The government and

Auckland Council spent a combined 250 million dollars ($180 million) on building new infrastructure and hosting this year’s event.

But the investment didn’t parlay into a tourism boost because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government said that (Continued on page 21)

Team New Zealand helmsman Pete Burling holds the America’s Cup trophy aloft after defeating Italy’s Luna Rossa in race 10 of the America’s Cup on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Team New Zealand has retained the America’s Cup by beating Italian challenger Luna Rossa 7-3 in the 36th match for sailing’s oldest trophy. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

GABF confirms James participation - NHFS sponsors training stint in Guyana

Guyana’s most successful professional basketball player, Delroy James, is confirmed to arrive in Guyana on the last day of this month; Wednesday, March 31.

In 2019, the 6’10" Power Forward (PF) won both the FIBA Basketball Champions League (BCL) and FIBA Inter-Continental Cup with the Greek Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupóleos (Athletic Union of Constantinople) - AEK Basketball Club (BC) based in Athens, Greece.

The Berbician born and Rhode Island University (Rhode Island, USA) educated Guyanese has since played for the Tulsa 66ers – NBA G-League, Jersey GForce - IBA , Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz NBA Summer League before joining the European and Asian basketball circuit where he played for Basket Ferentino (Italy - LegaDue), and was named MVP in the LegaDue All-Star Game.

James has also played with Yenisey Krasnoyarsk

BC (Russia - VTB United League), Pallacanestro Reggiana BC (Italy - Lega Basket Serie A), Best Balýkesir BC and Gaziantep BC (Turkey - Turkish Basketball Super League), Seoul Samsung Thunders

Delroy James to travel and train in Guyana with the local players to build team chemistry.Delroy’s older brother Gordon James, a professional basketball player with stints in Japan and Argentina who has

Nigel Hinds Financial Services has sponsored James’ training stint in Guyana.

(South Korea - Korean Basketball League), UCAM Murcia BC (Spain – Liga ACB), Meralco Bolts (Philippines, Philippine Basketball Association), AEK BC and Promitheas Patras BC (Greece - Greek Basket League), and most recently for Real Esteli (Nicaragua – BCL Americas).

In a correspondence to the media from the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), they extended thanks to Nigel Hinds Financial Services (NHFS) for the timely sponsorship that will allow

represented Guyana in the 2015 CBC Senior Championships in Tortola, BVI and FIBA AmeriCup 2022 Pre-Qualifier in 2019 (Colombia), will join the team in Guyana in early April.

Guyana senior men’s basketball team is expected to arrive in San Salvador, El Salvador on April 12th and will depart on April 19th.

The competition format will be round-robin and the top three (3) teams will advance to the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup - Americas PreQualifier in July 2021.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 18, 2021

PAGE 25

Devon Ramnauth Youth Cricket League - Region two

Mohammed bowls Queenstown U19 to comfortable win Members of the Jamaica national football team was forced to hastily depart the island on Tuesday.

JFF cancels local camp after players forced to make emergency departure SportsMax - The local contingent of the Jamaica national football team was forced to hastily depart the island on Tuesday, hastily scrapping a camp that was to b e h e l d a t t h e UWI/JFF/Captain Horace Burrell Centre over the next few weeks.

According to a release, the issue was caused by the fact the Austrian Embassy, in Washington, would not a c c e p t d i g i t a l applications. As such all players and officials who wished to secure the relevant documentation for the trip were required to be present at the embassy by 9:00 am on Wednesday, March 17.

Originally, the 14-man

all locally-based players were to take part in the camp at the academy before departing for Austria this weekend to meet up with the rest of the squad, which consists of overseas-based players.

The JFF expressed disappointment with the unexpected turn of events.

“The JFF was indeed disappointed that an environment that would have allowed our players to once again begin to practice their craft could not be fully utilised at this time,” the organisation said via its release.

“The Federation sincerely thanks the Minister of Culture, Gender Entertainment and Sport,

Hon. Olivia Grange, as well as officers at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the Ministry of Health and Wellness for their extraordinary support in establishing protocols and procedures for the camp.

We remain very grateful for the work done and the cooperative spirit that has developed on both sides,” it added.

“These protocols will still be utilised going forward as the national team prepares for the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and the World Cup Qualifiers.”

The match against the USA is scheduled for the Stadion Wiener Neustadt, in Austria, next Thursday.

Wazim Mohammed accepts the man-of-the-match prize.

A steady spell from Wazim Mohammed guided Queenstown U19 to a 131-run victory over United Warriors when the Devon Ramnauth Youth Cricket League continued recently on the Essequibo Coast.

Host Queenstown U19 batted first and managed 131-9. Jean Marc Mahase made 29 as Benny Persaud claimed 3-23 in four overs; Shivo Seurattan had 2-18 in four overs and Daniel Dass 2-28 in four overs. United Warriors were bowled out for 12 in reply.

Mohammed grabbed 4-4 in 3.5 overs and Jason Holder had 3-5 from four overs.

Wazim Mohammed was named man-ofthe-match.

In other matches, Golden Fleece Vikings made 64 all out taking first strike. Imtiyaaz

Ally made 20 as Aaron Beharry captured 3-4 in four overs; Uvendra Balgobin had 2-2 from two overs and D. Lall 2-15 from three overs.

Reliance Hustlers responded with 65-2.

Aaron Beharry made 28 not out. Beharry was named man-of-the-match.

Rising Stars Spartans made 146, taking first knock.

Mavindra Dindyal struck 46 not out while Sachin Singh and Mahesh Ramnarine scored 37 each.

Lance Roberts took 2-18 in four overs.

Essequibo Eagles made 110 all out in reply.

Lance Roberts got 23; Mahendra Basdeo had 2-7 in four overs. Dindyal was voted man-of-the-match.

Member of Pakistan’s touring party to Africa tests positive for Covid-19, to isolate at home ESPNcricinfo - One of the players selected in Pakistan’s large travelling party to Africa for the games in South Africa and Zimbabwe has tested positive for Covid-19 and has not traveled to Lahore, where the rest of the players and support staffers will assemble on March 18.

The cricketer in question is expected to isolate at his residence.

The PCB had ensured that all players entering Lahore from other parts of the city carry negative test reports after the first round of testing on March 16.

The second round of tests would be conducted on Thursday at the team hotel.

Players, and others, who return negative results can start training at the Gaddafi Stadium after that.

The player who has tested positive is also scheduled to have another

test tomorrow at his residence.

According to the PCB, he would be allowed to enter the team hotel only if he tests negative, but he has to complete an additional twoday isolation before taking another test, after which - if all is clear - he would be eligible to join the squad.

Pakistan named a large squad for the assignments in Africa, where they will play three ODIs and four T20Is in South Africa before moving to Zimbabwe, where they will play two Test matches and three T20Is. The camp formally starts on March 19, with the larger pool of players expected to have a nets session, followed by two intra-squad 50-over matches on March 22 and 24.

The white-ball squad will leave for Johannesburg on a charter plane on March 26. The Rest of the players,

Two intra-squad 50-over matches will be played on March 22 and 24 the Gaddafi Stadium. (AFP/Getty Images)

who will only play the Tests in Zimbabwe, will join the squad later after flying

across on a commercial flight to South Africa before boarding a charter flight to

Zimbabwe.

This will be Pakistan’s first assignment after the

PSL was postponed abruptly following seven positive Covid-19 cases.

rt

Spo

Anand Sanasie

Delroy James is confirmed to arrive in Guyana on March 31.

GABF confirms James participation

Sanasie reports Skerritt to CWI Ethics Committee Ricky Skerritt

NHFS sponsors training stint in Guyana

Eight GFF ATC alumni feature in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers squad

Members of the Guyana based Golden Jaguars prior to departure yesterday.

The team arrived safely in Santo Domingo for their two World Cup qualifiers.

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