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Murder suspect caught hiding in fowl pen p.

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Price $140

Online readership yesterday, 88,626

Financial feasibility of gas-to-shore a - VP Bharrat “no-brainer” Jagdeo p.10

Govt. to strengthen UG Valedictorians, best Minister raises concern over laws and systems to graduating students schools in Wineperu holding combat property fraud receive President and classes without permission - children seen without any facemasks - AG announces steps to make Official Gazette more accessible to public Prime Minister medals to protect them from COVID-19 infection p.

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Exxon’s flaring since December equivalent to removal of 123,000 more acres of forest p.

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Ghana imposes Alcoholic CGX resumes Govt. imposes beaten by COVID-19 fine, jail time forbusinessman construction tight restrictions local content a month ago, for deepwater on Phagwah deception found dead harbour celebrations p.

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Suriname rakes in US$500M annually from oil sector p.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Exxon's flaring since December equivalent to removal of 123,000 more acres of forest

By Kemol King

E

xxonMobil's local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has been flaring above pilot levels since late January at its Liza Phase One operation, where it is producing about 120,000 barrels of oil per day. This period of flaring is so environmentally destructive that it is equivalent to the removal of 123,000 acres of forests.

The carbon capturing properties of Guyana's forests are of immense value to the world, as countries move to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Pact. Guyana, by virtue of its vast forests, is a carbon sink. This means it captures more carbon than it emits. ExxonMobil's flaring runs counter to the forests' impact, emitting a s ig n if ican t amo u n t o f carbon, and other toxic chemicals.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ExxonMobil flared 13.262 billion cubic feet of gas at Liza Phase One as of March 15, 2021. This includes all gas flared there since the start of oil production. The company has encountered equipment defects several times. It had flared gas almost all year last year since starting production, and only managed a temporary fix in December 2020. By then, it had already flared 12.429 billion cubic feet of gas.

Since then, it encountered a malfunction on January 13, 2021. It also encountered a malfunction later, about January 27, which resulted in above pilot flaring, which is ongoing. Between the return to pilot flaring levels in

December and March 15 this year, EEPGL flared more than 833 million more cubic feet of gas.

EPA Director, Sharifah Razack, told Kaieteur News that the volume flared on March 15 was 15.8 million cubic feet of gas. The average daily rate of flaring, according to EEPGL President, Alistair Routledge, is 16 million cubic feet of gas, at nameplate production levels.

That means EEPGL flared about 90 million more cubic feet of gas from March 15 to the current date, and 13.352 billion cubic feet of gas since the start of production at the Liza Phase One operation.

Conservationist, Annette Arjoon-Martins, had said that the flaring of 15 million cubic feet of gas equates to the removal of 2,000 acres of forests. By December, when ExxonMobil achieved a temporary fix on its equipment, it had already committed so much environmental destruction that 1.657 million acres of forests could have been destroyed and it would have the same effect.

By today, that damage has increased to equate to the environmental destruction of 1.78 million acres of forests.

EEPGL had sent its defective equipment to the MAN Energy Workshop in Germany for repairs. The equipment is back offshore at the Liza Phase One operation, where reinstallation progresses.

Reinstallation has taken days thus far. EEPGL Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, said in an operational update that ExxonMobil is taking special care to “maneuver t h e s e l a rg e p i e c e s o f equipment.”

ExxonMobil flaring at the Liza Destiny

Forests flanking Rewa River, North Rupununi (Photo: REEL Guyana)

Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 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

Land of many reforms, but leading to where?

Guyana has long been famed for being the land of many waters. Today, it would be more accurate to identify it as the land of many reforms. The land is well watered with ringing sounds, noble visions, inspiring sights, which are all part of the new unfolding story of electoral reform. We need it like a cure for cancer, coronavirus, and all those other chronic diseases known to man, and which torments his existence.

Thus, the EU comes to this dusty, sun-baked frontier called Guyana, and in the hands of its people is something about ‘electoral reform, the cruxes of its recommendations.’

We welcome the EU people and the product of their long experiences and profound minds. What it lays on the table is practical and relevant, and so much that is meaningful to the peoples of this country. We thank them for their efforts and their interests, their offers of a helping hand so that we can help ourselves. To get out of the sleazy racial gutter. To get off the shaky social ground. To rise above the slimy political environment. To reach for higher and better national way of life. Whatever the EU delegation brings before us, and places before our leaders, we can only sincerely thank them, for its members and work product are grappling and struggling tirelessly to assist us to get off from our knees.

They do so by revealing to us that there is a better way to go about these things, seasons, and practices called elections in Guyana.

The EU, CARICOM, the OAS, and the US have done their part to show us some light, a possible keyhole view towards a fulsome future. However, do we want to, really want to do so and be there, deep down within our sordid spirits and sick souls? We have had documentation and expert guidance before, but those have led us nowhere, and somehow always seem to bring us right back to the same place from which we started. From where we started, in some determined fashion, as an individual, as a tribe, as a collection of tribes, and as a nation consisting of those hostile and countenance-distorted tribes.

Outsiders can come here for the rest of their lives holding our hands and clearing our heads. They can offer the best of medicines and tonics with the best prospects of curing our acute social ills and woes. They can come with the best of intentions to point the way forward for us, even lead us part of the way. But, we at this paper ask this again: do we want to do so and be so? To go where such electoral reform provisions and recommendations can take us?

The foreigners can only take us so far. After that, we have to dig deep and discover within ourselves to the broadest possible expanse that we have what it takes to take the first baby steps to carry us the rest of the way. Thus far, in the still youthful life of this nation, we have manifested a remarkable reluctance to venture into that first fresh blush of reform and possible renewal; of the renewal that comes from reinvigoration, which could, who knows, lead to some shape through some sliver, of restoration.

It has now come to light in all of its deep details, those EU recommendations that could lead to authentic electoral reforms, if we are serious about having such. What is delivered to us have as essences and imperatives, some things that just have to be. Not in paper form only, and not from the convenient and deliberately deceiving oaths of men, who are already busy figuring out ways on how to get around them.

But about what we have to do if we are ever going to have the kind of quality elections that closes out with authority, credibility, and finality in a day, and peacefully powers all ahead for the five years following.

We do not need anybody to educate us about how we must manage the press, and the manner in which the media - public and private - should be configured at a structural level, or how its practices must follow certain minimal standards, but there it is (again). Because social media is comprised of such a vast space, and largely undisciplined mob, that is a more challenging pressure cooker for purposes of policing and oversight (but something must be done about that media and

Personification of evil DEAR EDITOR, We talk abundantly about corruption here, but we don’t even know the half of it. The PPP government makes hay targeting coalition rogues, ignores others.

What citizens do not know is that such is part of the PPP leadership cover-up:

repayment for favours when it was in opposition from helpful coalition seniors.

Today, we have flurries of probes of high-profile opposition aligned people, but those are operas that to thrill audience and die right there.

One extraordinary

platforms). At the beginning and end of it all, it comes down to what is instilled and insisted upon by leaders (if they desire to do so) for followers to embrace. And on the pain of disowning and dismissing and ostracizing those who ignore or breach.

It is the same truth where the monies that are poured into our elections, with the last one being cake and icing, must be made to flow through the finest filters, with limits and disclosures, and laws and procedures to ensure compliance.

We do not need for the EU or the Interpol or the DEA to tell us that a certain kind of abundant cash is a killer of democracy, a fosterer of corruption leaders, a conniver for more corrupt practices, and a contributor to a corrupt kind of life, that is of the most unimagined kind.

For sure, we do need many key procedural and operational steps, and each step before us, on how to prepare for elections, how to condition the cohorts of our citizens, how to manage the totality of the actual process on the day of reckoning. Believe it or not, we may need some oversight and some restraining presences on the actual reckoning of the votes themselves. We will agree to that, and welcome any electoral reform recommendation in such vital areas.

But the EU, maybe at the risk of sacrilege or blasphemy the gods themselves, cannot teach us how to trust one another.

Or how to trust ourselves, or to work hard at being about

arrangement consummated between top people in the then PPP opposition and governing coalition counterparts involved, believe it or not, phone cards.

A PPP leader called, was answered, with deal sealed.

The rest is history. One coalition agent pushed; his

knees were chopped off.

Another situation is of the present, where we have a leader, who had almost a score of fraud charges levelled. That, too, is gone with the wind, fleeting tips of icebergs now submerged.

We have one leader whose (Continued on page 6)

electoral integrity. We have to have, and in unceasing torrents, the indefinable in leadership principles (not how to undercut with subtlety and trickery); the best in citizens responsibility (not resorting to the deathless comforts of racial animosities); and the sublime that comes from hearing the stirring calls to true nationhood (and not of self-satisfying ambitions in the same sorry saturating strains that cripple).

Those are what we must have, must do, must be.

Let this last be said loudly and clearly: we welcome the EU, and whoever else comes with electoral reforms. What we go about doing with what is given to us will then confirm one of two things: we are seriously and genuinely ready to reform ourselves and our processes and practices. Or we are readying for the playing of still more self-destructive games.

The EU cannot help us there. There are some essential things for which we are responsible, and of which only we can do.

We just must. In our long forgettable past, it can be said with accuracy of each one of us Guyanese: “My conscience hath a thousand several tongues - and every tale condemns me for a villain.” We are of and from Richard III where elections have been concerned.

In the arrival and wake of the EU, every Guyanese should listen and learn from Napoleon: my conscience is the tribunal, which judges me. We must make that a mantra and to the highest possible extent.

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Kaieteur News

‘Spheres of influence’ can determine whether the will of the people as expressed at free and fair elections is upheld DEAR EDITOR, Apart from the canned stuff put out by Reuters, thus far, little or nothing about the situation in Myanmar has been analysed by Guyanese for Guyanese or editorialised in the mainstream media.

These days, because of naked self-interest, attention is paid more to the exigencies of the domestic rather than the international situation.

Ever since the army seized power in that South East Asian country following the abortion of the November 4 election, hundreds of protestors are being shot and killed while thousands are still being beaten by armed thugs and imprisoned on trumped charges.

Some have asked, why should Guyanese be concerned about crimes being committed by a military cabal against a people in a faraway country called Myanmar?

Were those people ever concerned over the attempts by the APNU+AFC to steal the elections in Guyana? Have they ever heard about Guyana? And do they know the difference between Guyana and Ghana?

There is no certainty to the answers to the last

three questions, what we do know is that in Guyana, a civilian cabal attempted to steal the election while in Myanmar, a military cabal attempted to do the same but in so doing, has plunged the country into a blood bath.

The military junta in Myanmar is acting in clear violation of the civil, political and cultural rights of the citizens of that country.

Unlike Guyana, Myanmar is not in the US’s ‘sphere of influence’.

China and India are the dominant powers in that part of the world. China is a member of the P5 while India is a member of the P15 of the UN Security Council.

India’s and China’s competing interests in Myanmar is characterised by mutual constraints and challenges. Neither one is free to do as they would like to in Myanmar. Third countries are reluctant to get involved for fear of offending China or India or both.

The following statements attest to third

countries’ reluctancy.

According to India’s F M ‘ We f e e l t h a t t h e people on the ground should not suffer. India will continue to monitor the situation and remain engaged with like-minded countries to meet the hopes and aspirations of the people of the country.’

And China declared; ‘It will not chose one side or the other, if the authorities cannot deliver and the chaos continues to spread China might be forced into taking more drastic action to protect its interests.’

In the meanwhile, ASEAN ‘Expressed concern on the situation in Myanmar and called on all the parties to refrain from instigating further violence, and for all sides to exercise utmost restraint as well as flexibility.’

UN watchers in Guyana were keen to observe the large number of empty seats at a Special Session of the UNGA convened to discuss the situation in M y a n m a r. T h e w o r l d w a t c h e d a s M y a n m a r ’s Permanent Representative

to the UN shed tears while appealing to a seemingly indifferent and numb world for help.

It was not surprising that the Hall was almost empty. Myanmar has few friends due to decades of self-imposed isolation, military rule, internal oppression and suppression. Moreover, the genocide committed against the Rohingya people only served to isolate the country.

R e a l p o l i t i k demonstrates that while Guyana and Myanmar fall within two distinct ‘spheres of influence’ in our global village, ‘spheres of influence’ can determine whether the will of the people as expressed at free and fair elections is upheld and the results therefrom respected.

Guyana is a case in point.

The traditional concept of ‘spheres of influence’ is considered predetermined geographic spaces where big powers claim to have significant security interests

and actively seek to play a material role to protect those interests.

Guyana is considered to be within the US’s sphere influence or its ‘backyard.’

Myanmar is not.

Guyana, could be either a source of trouble or a reliable partner for the US, not Myanmar.

Guyana has opted to be a reliable partner for the US in the same way that Myanmar is for China and India.

Since Guyana falls within the US’s sphere of influence, the recent virtual meeting between the Guyanese and the Chinese Presidents could prove to be ‘a bee in the bonnet’ US Secretary of State.

Had it not been for international pressure principally applied by the US, Guyana would have remained saddled with an undemocratic government.

This does not mean to say that the Guyanese people including the media, played no role, on the contrary they did.

The people of Myanmar like the people of Guyana have rejected the theft of the November election results, for them the struggle will be long and hard but in the end, they too shall overcome.

Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee Former Minister of Foreign Affairs

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Govt. coercion to invest in Berbice Bridge broke NIS, not pensioners living too long DEAR EDITOR, A letter by Neil Adams, “Restructuring the National Insurance Scheme” on March 19 is lacking in perspective and omits the primary reason for the dire straits the NIS finds itself in. Adams sees t h e N I S a s a welfare organisation on welfare principles and in such a mode, “it’s viability would soon be in jeopardy” unless it (NIS) can receive funding from multisources. I would like to think that Neil does not know that NIS is multi- funded, because when a worker contributes, say $10, the employer has to contribute a matching $10 for him/her - making it $20 to NIS to make it a legitimate

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

contribution for that worker.

Employers find it profitable to deduct workers’ contribution and keep it rather than match that sum and contribute it, despite such action or nonaction is deemed a criminal offence by NIS laws. I am inclined to believe that NIS inspectors facilitate this by virtue of kickbacks from employers. How else can so many complaints for Employers deducting and not submitting workers contributions pervade the NIS landscape and no employer is ever prosecuted?

Adams is suggesting that the age of retirement be increased from 55 to 60 to garner more contribution (cash) from contributors. My understanding is that while some class of

workers has the option of retiring at 55, NIS payout or pension to contributors commences at age 60. I am certain that NIS continues to collect contributions from working people up to age 60. Adams seems unaware of the above.

It irks me that Adams does not know or conveniently forget to mention that in 2006 Jagdeo induced NIS to invest 29 billion or 87 percent of its 34 billion investment portfolio on the Berbice Bridge. Who remembers Maurice Arjune who became collateral damage at the hands of Jagdeo for refusing to invest more than New Building Society investment figures on the Berbice Bridge? It was a bad investment that catapulted NIS into the dire financial straits it now finds itself

in. NIS is broke on account of the Bridge investment while Adams closed his eyes and amble through his missive with a dust canister- citing pensioners living longer as the reason for NIS to go broke and calling for more contribution to raise money for investments to make NIS viable. Can you believe this Guy? NIS was sitting on large sums of monies - contributors monies - I have no problem with NIS making investment but it should not be done by coercion by the Governing party.

Now that NIS is broke it is imperative that the Government bail them out of the jinx they put them in since 2006.

Respectfully, Rudolph Singh

The truth is my defence DEAR EDITOR, The distasteful and despicable behaviour and commentary of known persons closely aligned to the opposition APNU+AFC in attempting to assassinate my character and to circulate fabrication, lies and fairytale stories must be condemned with the strongest possible language. The truth is my defence.

None of the allegations levelled against me on social media platforms by these imbeciles are factual. These narratives are concoctions of evil minds and are set out to achieve outcomes that could only hurt and harm innocent persons and the church community in particular.

I assure all my colleague Bishops, Apostles, leaders of Churches and every Christian believer and all my brothers and sisters of various faiths, Guyanese in country and

those in the diaspora who may have been troubled by this devious plot, as your brother, they bear no resemblance of the truth.

These things never happened. I thank all those who have called and showed support and have prayed with me and my family and even those who have already debunked these fallacious statements I have asked my lawyers to take all necessary actions that are legally allowed to deal with the perpetrators. I will give this matter no further energy. It is comical, senseless and displays the level of depravity that exists amongst us.

I pray that we all will continue to let our lights so shine that darkness and this diabolical plot will be exposed.”

Honourable Bishop Juan A. Edghill

...Personification of From page 4 name comes up, in the worst ways, with every major project in Guyana, but he carries the day. The word is that he may be the wealthiest man around; if the known citywide real estate holdings (only) are any indication, then there is the confirmation of Guyana’s chief moneychanger. Not a chick nor a chicken coop to his name, but the equivalent of Swiss bank vaults to house his rich secrets. Since August, Guyanese have seen the return of men with thick question marks, and big black stains, to spearhead more malfeasances and greater deceptions. It is big money time, and they are the cashiers and accountants and auditors.

The auditors see what they want to see when they want to; then they ponder the next move: to document or not to document. If it involves their people, books are quietly closed: there is no problem.

When they fulfill their calling in a professional and principled manner, then the lawyers take over, which is the next circle of covering darkness. If these are not the personifications of evil, then no

one is. Not of wrongdoing or wickedness, but of intrinsic evils. Men speak out against state corruptions by state officers, then compete to free them. For a sweet fee, of course; it comes from the public treasury looted.

The main men and their co-conspirators forming the apex of today’s governance structure fall into this repugnant category. Listen to them, and they can’t say a single truthful word about oil or gas or things to come from the gifts of Guyana. They rant against corrupt contractors and builders, then shortlist the ‘blacklisted’ for a billiondollar bridge. Some ‘vig’ must be involved. Three political leaders, in particular, live and thrive in darkness; their speech, sweat, shadow, and scent are of the deepest evils.

In Dante’s darkest circle three men hang from Satan’s jaws: Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius. The leading three we have here are worse than those. Two are from the current government, one from the opposition. Make the selections.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, thinks that he can draw attention away from the need for a financial viability study for the gas-to-shore project by belittling people who advocate for one.

The VP’s utterances do not excuse the Government from the duty to show this country how the project is viable.

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Alcoholic beaten by businessman a month ago, found dead A month after an alcoholic, Mohammed Khan, 51, was severely beaten by a businessman, he was yesterday found dead on Marshall Street, Annandale, East Coast Demerara.

Khan’s remains were found close to 11:00Hrs lying at the side of the road in front of his neighbour’s home.

Kaieteur News understands that it was two garbage collectors who made the discovery and notified Khan’s relatives.

According to his relatives, it appears as if Khan might have suffered a seizure after he was seen frothing from the mouth. Cops were called in along with an EMT response team who officially pronounced him dead.

His nephew (name provided) said that Khan would (Continued on page 67)

Found dead yesterday, Mohammed Khan.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Dem boys seh...

Recognition!

De Opposition writing to Rowley fuh complain how Prezzie nah wan talk with dem. Dem boys nah hear Prezzie complain how dem Opposition nah wan recognize he.

But is how yuh gan meet somebody wah yah nah recognize?

And wah yuh want fuh meet de government about?

Yuh do yuh thing and get expose and now yuh playing sanctimonious?

It nah wuk suh! Old people always seh, you gat to earn respect, not beg fuh it. And dem also seh dat if you nah respect another man, he nah gan respect you.

Recognition is not respect, but if yuh nah recog-

nize somebody, den how dat person gan respect yuh. Dem got petition in front of de court challenging de elections. Dem boys want know if dem lose dah petition if dem gan recognize de Prezzie.

Dem lucky dem get vaccine.

Dem claim de government illegal, but dem still accepting de vaccine.

And dem still accepting parliamentary pay from de same government wah dem nah recognize.

It mek dem boys remember de middle-aged woman who had a heart attack and had a vision from God. “Will I die?” she asked. God tell she, “No. You have 30 more years to live.”

With 30 years to look forward

to, she decided to mek de best of it.

So since she deh in de hospital she decided fuh get breast implants, liposuction, a tummy tuck, hair transplants, and collagen injections in her lips.

De day she get discharged, she walked across de road with swagger, and get knock down by an ambulance and died.

Up in heaven, she see God. “You said I had 30 more years to live,” she comp l a i n e d . ”That’s true,” God said.

“So what happened?” she asked.

God shrugs. “I didn’t recognize you!”

Talk half and nah wait fuh Rowley fuh reply!

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Financial feasibility of gas-to-shore a “no-brainer”– Jagdeo Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

By Shikema Dey Financial Feasibility studies are considered crucial elements when one is considering entering into a large-scale business venture.

A feasibility study examines how much start-up capital is nee ded, sources of

capital returns on investment, and other financial considerations, while also examining how much cash

is required, where it will come from, how it will be spent and potential obstacles that may impede its operations.

Yet for Guyana’s intended gas-to-shore project, no such study is being conducted, as according to the Vice President (VP) and local oil boss,

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, that element is a “no-brainer.”

The VP made these comments and more on his most recent appearance on a virtual discussion on oil and gas contracts alongside Professors Paul Tennassee and Floyd Haynes on Globespan 24×7 on Wednesday evening.

There, Dr. Jagdeo was asked to respond to concerns that the project may not be a good fit for Guyana.

“The financial aspect is a no-brainer.

Any sensible person with a modicum of sense, a tiny brain, even a residual brain, would understand that,” he said.

Backing up his statements, Dr. Jagdeo, explained that, “If you are generating

power at $12 or $13 per kilowatt hour with the current price of fossil fuel…if you can supply power at $7 or $8 per kilowatt hour, a mad man would make the decision to do so and that is what this opportunity offers…to cut the cost of generation by 50% from its current level.”

“What else do you need,” he asked, adding, “if you can get power at half the price at which you are generating?

That would allow us to cut the cost that you sell it at so it is a no-brainer.

You just have to think it through for a couple of minutes.”

Dr. Jagdeo mentioned as well that ExxonMobil had completed a Technical Feasibility Study back in 2016; fur-

ther cementing Government’s position that the project is financially feasible.

Such a study assesses the details of how you intend to deliver a product or service to customers, as the gas-toshore project would utilize associated gas from ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase One project, which has been in operation since December 2019.

Presently, ExxonMobil is the process of selecting suitable firms to conduct four studies before moving to the construction phase of the project.

Those are an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a Lidar study, along with Geotechnical and Geophysical studies.

The results of those studies are expected to inform the design of the pipeline.

Government has already identified the former Wales Estate as the location for the

onshore infrastructure with a crude estimation for the cost of the project standing between US$500-800 million depending on the design, pipeline size and surveys.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 2021

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Suriname rakes in US$500M annually from oil sector Guyana’s neighbour to the east, Suriname, is able to rake in US$500M annually from its lucrative oil sector.

This achievement was not made by luck, but rather through robust policies and

measures to ensure that the Surinamese government is in a position to reap significant benefits from the petroleum industry.

Annand Jagesar, the acting Chief Executive Officer

and Managing Director of Suriname’s national oil company, Staatsolie, had revealed these figures during his presentation to the Guyana Basin Summit (GSB). This was a virtual three-day oil and gas

conference, aimed at delivering networking and valuable insight into the region’s potential, along with its challenges and the road ahead.

The summit concluded on Friday.

CEO and Managing Director (ag) of Staatsolie, Annand Jagesar Jagesar reminded the virtual audience that Staatsolie is a 40-year-old entity, which started producing oil from one of Suriname’s onshore block in 1982. He explained that after revenue collection grew, Staatsolie moved to build a 55 kilometer pipeline to transport the oil to a refinery. At this refinery, the oil is purified and turned into products like

gasoline, diesel fuel and even kerosene.

“We also use the heavy oil for power generations and recently we acquired the hydropower dam,” the acting CEO mentioned.

Jagesar went on to add Suriname’s proven oil reserves hold about 90 million barrels of oil, which they (Continued on page 65)

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Kaieteur News

UG Valedictorians, best graduating students receive President and Prime Minister medals The Prime Minister’s Medal recipients standing aside PM, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips.

The University of Guyana (UG) has kick-started its convocation for the academic year 2019/2021, and two graduating students have received the President’s Medal for their

The two recipients of the President’s Medal standing aside His Excellency, Mohammed Irfaan Ali.

outstanding academic performance, while another two received the Prime Minister’s Medal.

Receiving the President’s Medal were the two Valedictori-

ans: 24-year-old, Deepa Odit from the University’s Turkeyen Georgetown Campus, who completed her Bachelor of Science (Continued on page 68)

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Ghana imposes fine, jail time for local content deception

By Kiana Wilburg

I

n Ghana, citizens are af forded a number of op portunities to reap the maximum benefits from their oil resources, thanks to a suite of robust guidelines, policies, and regulations that protect their interest.

The legislative framework ensures, for example, that any foreigner who desires to set up shop and bid for contracts can only do so if they partner with locals.

Moreover, for those who even contemplate effecting schemes to cheat the system, Ghana was keen to have clearcut fines and jail time stipulated for such actions.

The Local Content Regulations of that African nation state, for example, “A citizen who acts as a front or connives with a foreign citizen or company to deceive the Commission as representing

an indigenous Ghanaian company to achieve the local content requirement under these Regulations, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than two years or to both.”

It also notes, “A person who connives with a citizen or an indigenous Ghanaian company to deceive the Commission as representing an indigenous Ghanaian company to achieve the local content requirement under these Regulations, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand penalty

units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than two years or to both.”

that local content is being achieved, would also have to face the proverbial music.

Ghana’s regulations in

It is instructive to note as well, that anyone who knowingly submits false documents and makes false statements to Ghana’s Commission along with fronting for a foreign individual or a company to give the impression

this regard specifically states that, “A person who submits a plan, returns, report or other document and knowingly makes a false statement, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not

less than one hundred thousand penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than five years or to both.”

GUYANA’S EFFORTS Since last year August, the PPP/C Administration pursued several efforts to have a draft Local Content Policy available for consultation.

That process kicked off in February last and saw several strategic discussions held with stakeholders on key provisions that are critical to giving Guyanese similar opportunities to have maximum participation and benefits in the sector.

It is important to that the draft document, which was perused by Kaieteur News, did not indicate that there should or would be penalties

or any form of punishment for those who engage in various forms of local content deception.

Be that as it may, the draft document proposes that there be targets for local content. It is envisioned, by the government that these will be progressive to reflect the changing state of the domestic supply base and demand going forward.

The draft document proposes that companies should have up to five to seven years to ensure supervisory staff, technical core staff, professional support staff, and semiskilled and unskilled workers, more than 50 to 60 percent Guyanese and 10 years to get management staff at least 45 percent local.

This is for upstream oil businesses such as those involved in exploration, drilling, and extraction of the (Continued on page 16)

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Govt. to strengthen laws and systems to combat property fraud

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

- AG announces steps to make Official Gazette more accessible to public

A

ttorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., has announced several plans to strengthen the laws and systems to combat property fraud.

During a live-aired broadcast of the programme, Government in Action, this past week, the AG stressed on the importance of safeguarding citizens from property fraud.

He noted that there are dozens of instances in which Guyanese lost their proper-

ties by way of fraud, “through no fault of theirs,” but owing to a lack of understanding of the laws and systems that govern the sale and transfer of properties.

“We have had a problem in Guyana whereby dozens of persons have lost properties through no fault of theirs, but simply by persons committing dishonest acts, as well as, an institutional failure on the part of the agencies, whose responsibility it is to protect their own process and by extension the propriety inter-

ests of Guyanese,” he said.

AG Nandlall noted that while there may be loopholes in the law and systems that allow for the unlawful activities, the lack of adequate due diligence by citizens and their attorneys also plays a role.

He said that the Official Gazette, for instance, is essential to the sale and transfer of properties. “All laws and important notices are required to be published in the Official Gazette,” the AG said.

Under his previous tenure as AG, Nandlall had taken

steps to have the Official Gazette published online. In addition, published copies of the Official Gazette can be purchased, but only at the Office of the President.

The Attorney General said that one of the main reasons that fraud is happening is due to the inaccessibility of the Official Gazette. As such, he said that steps would be taken to make the gazette more accessible to the public.

“The Office of the President cannot be only place of

which the Official Gazette can be purchased.

The Office of the President is not accessible to all members of the public and the aura and environment of the Office of the President is one that can be intimidating… to many persons,” Nandlall said, adding that there is no rea-

son why the Gazette cannot be accessible at Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and Neighbourhoods Democratic Councils (NDCs), post offices or even popular stores and shops across the country.

Additionally, he said, (Continued on page 68)

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Kaieteur News

Ghana imposes fine, jail time...

From page 14 petroleum resources.

Targets are also set for companies in the midstream and downstream aspects of the oil industry.

Midstream companies are those involved in the wholesale transport, storage and marketing of raw or refined petroleum products.

Downstream businesses are involved in converting oil and gas into finished products.

These include refining crude oil into gasoline, natural gas liquids, diesel, and a variety of other energy sources.

The draft policy proposes that these companies have up to seven years to ensure that the employment of local people for their supervisory staff, technical core staff, professional support staff, and a semi-skilled and unskilled workforce ex-

ceeds 60 to 80 percent. They have up to 10 years to go beyond that.

For further benefit to Guyanese businesses, the draft policy recommends that contracts be unbundled to

The draft policy also states that Guyanese must be given opportunities to provide services in the areas of: 1) Front-end Engineering Design (FEED) 2) Fabrication, Construction and Storage 3) Procurement of Materials 4) Research and development related to services in the country 5) Transportation, delivery and disposal services 6) Good drilling services 7) Health, safety and environment services 8) Information systems, information technology and communications services 9) Marine operations and logistics services 10) Financial and insurance activities.

reflect state potential and local market growth; market conditioning, including early notification of planned activities; favorable treatment of local people; contract management with supplier performance improvement strategies.

It also recommends facilitating partnerships between Guyanese and international suppliers; provide contract terms that facilitate access to competitive finance; opportunities to learn and increase transparency and accountability for procurement de-

cision making; measure and report on local content policy implementation and ac h ievements; along with benchmarking, sharing of best practice and continuous improvement.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Guyana suffers two more COVID-19 fatalities

The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday reported the death of two males; a 70-year-old from Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) and a 50-yearold from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). In its press release, it was disclosed that they both died while receiving treatment at its medical facility. Their deaths have since been recorded as the 213th and 214th COVID-19 fatalities.

The MOH also reported 99 new infections via its daily dashboard update yesterday increasing the case toll to 9,585.

The dashboard shows that 10 patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, another 15 in institutional quarantine, 52 in institutional isolation and 820 in home isolation. Additionally, a total of 8,489 persons have recovered to date with 36 new recoveries recorded yesterday.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 2021 An artist's impression of the Berbice Deepwater Port being pursued by CGX Energy Guyana Inc.

CGX resumes construction for oil and gas Deepwater Harbour …engineering designs complete, contracts for roads, bridge signed - Co Chair

C

GX Guyana Inc., the Canada-based oil exploration company operating in the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks offshore Guyana says it has already expended US$1.2M on a number of projects in pursuit of the construction of its Berbice deepwater port.

The announcement was made this past week, when the company released its audited consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, together with its Management Discussion and Analysis.

C G X E n e rg y ' s C o Chairman, Gabriel de Alba, in updating shareholders,

reported that the company has “resumed construction of the Berbice deepwater port, the aim of which is to accommodate the rapidly growing exploration activities across the GuyanaSuriname basin, as well as to support growth of the Guyanese economy by supporting agricultural, containerized and general cargo. We are excited about our opportunities to generate value for our shareholders."

The CGX Chairman has since informed that in October 2020, Grand Canal Industrial Estates Inc.—a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company—entered into various contracts to recommence work on its

Berbice deepwater port project.

According to Alba, “Grand Canal is completely renovating a 3.1 km road leading from the Corentyne Highway to the port.”

He reported that the contract for the road commenced on October 18, 2020, and is expected to be completed at a cost of approximately US$703,000.

The CGX Co-Chair reported too that a contract for the construction of a bridge connecting the Corentyne Highway to the road being renovated was awarded as recently as February and that is expected to be completed at a cost of approximately US$450,000.

According to Alba, Grand Canal has also entered into contracts for the relocation of utility services along the renovated roadway.

As it relates to updated engineering designs for the port yard along the Berbice River, he reported to shareholders that these have since been completed, at a cost of US$34,840.

It was pointed out that the tendering of the port yard civil work, restricted to local contractors, has also begun and that a contract, at a cost of US$27,200 was awarded for the re-design of the dredging of the harbour.

This in order to enable both Handymax Vessels and Offshore Support Vessels to

access the port, so that the expanded port project can handle both oil and gas offshore operations support as well as agricultural and general cargo.

According to Alba, a contract at a cost of US$42,500 was also awarded for an updated marketing study and revenue model for the expanded scope of the port project.

The company has since also reported that a contract at a cost of approximately US$25,000 was awarded for the review of the engineering design of the laydown yard, new road and new bridge.

“Engineering design of a new alternate access road from the Eastern Access Roadway of the Berbice Bridge to the port site and new connecting bridge across the Grand Canal is expected to be completed by mid2021,” Alba said.

The Berbice deepwater port is set to be 4.8 km from the Berbice River mouth.

In 2010, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission in its land useplanning map for Region 6, had earmarked the area for the development of a deep seaport, new airport runway of 1.2km and an industrial park.

Alba in his report, told shareholders, "CGX commenced 2021 with the management team continuing its progress toward optimizing the Company's financial performance and strengthening its balance

sheet and on maximizing its unique opportunities in its highly prospective blocks in the Guyana basin.”

According to Alba, “operationally, we are focused on executing a world-class exploration program on our Corentyne and Demerara offshore blocks, which cover 2.7 million gross acres in one of the world's most promising offshore basins.”

He said that in order to support the effort, “we have built a best-in-class technical and operational team, which gives us further confidence in successfully implementing our plan, evaluating strategic opportunities and realizing this opportunity in a prolific basin that has immense interest in the industry."

Providing a forecast for 2021, Co-Chairman, Professor, Suresh Narine, remarked that "looking ahead, CGX Energy is now poised to launch an exciting exploration plan for the Kawa-1 and Makarapan-1 wells on the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks, leveraging the strategic and technical support of the Company's key shareholder and joint venture partner, Frontera Energy Corporation.”

According to Professor Narine, “as we enter 2021, we are excited for these multiple opportunities to create value for CGX Energy's stakeholders in the years to come."

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

Sunday March 21, 2021

ly l o s D ers s i M amb Ch

Meet the stunning Miss Dolly Chambers.

This alluring beauty enjoys reading, dancing, and cooking. One of her favourite quotes says, "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution."

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Nurse

Sunday March 21, 2021

Our Frontline Worker of the week is…

Gaitree Surajpaul

By Romario Blair

“

There are days when I just can't wait to get to work, because bringing relief to my patients is one of my greatest desires…being in the healthcare profession is delivering care for everyone, and I believe that once you're a nurse, you're always a nurse, because you can always lend assistance to someone in the community.”

Those are the words of Gaitree Surajpaul, a dedicated, 46-year-old, midwife, who has been serving in the healthcare profession for the past 20 years.

She told Kaieteur News that her years of experience have exposed her to countless challenges over the decades. With just a few years from retirement, Nurse Gaitree, could not have foreseen that her greatest challenge in the medical field was yet to come – the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurse Gaitree said that she could've never imagined working through one of the deadliest pandemics.

Nevertheless, when the

pandemic reached Guyana in March 2020, she volunteered to work in the isolation department of the Suddie Public Hospital, even th o u g h s h e h ad little knowledge of the disease.

She revealed that “since confirmation of COVID in March, I volunteered to be in isolation. Like most of our frontline workers, it was frightening initially. There was always that fear that I

the Essequibo Coast, usually admits high-risk pregnant women who travel from communities in Region One. Region One, was labelled a COVID-19 hotspot, during the early phases of the pandemic in Guyana.

GIVING SUPPORT When asked to describe a typical day in the isolation department, she said, “It's

physical contact.”

Nurse Gaitree said that despite the challenges, she strives to be supportive to her patients, and will find alternative means by which to comfort them.

“Empathy goes a long way in delivering counselling, because one of the things we find is that most of our patients, since they come from a distant region, they will want that Frontline Worker of the Week, Nurse, Gaitree Surajpaul

“

Empathy goes a long way in delivering counselling, because one of the things we find is that most of our patients, since they come from a distant region, they will want that family support, but being in isolation means they can't have that. So that's where we come in and try to give that needed support, so our patients can also have good mental health and safe delivery, in my case.

might contract the virus through some weakness.”

Nurse Gaitree explained that while on the frontline, she has delivered pregnant mothers, who are COVID19 positive.

The Suddie Public Hospital, which is located on

almost the same procedure when it comes to delivery, but certain aspects of it is more challenging, for instance, counselling the patient in isolation can be intense because we now have to do it from a distance to avoid too much of

In the company of loving family members

”

family support, but being in isolation means they can't have that. So that's where we come in and try to give that needed support, so our patients can also have good mental health and safe delivery, in my case.”

For Nurse Gaitree, the n u r s i n g profession wasn't always her first choice, yet it is one that she has grown to love.

She grew up at Zorg on the Essequibo Coast, and perused her secondary education at the Abrams Zuil Secondary S c h o o l .

Unfortunately,

she dropped out of secondary school. She later got married to her husband, Ganeshwar Surajpaul, and their union produced four sons.

In an attempt to gain employment, she hastily filled out an application for nursing, and was later accepted at the Suddie Public Hospital. “I always wanted to be a teacher, but later on after I got married, a friend encouraged me to apply for nursing, which I later did. When I got accepted, I initially received training at the Suddie Public Hospital, that's where I did the Nurse Aid programme.”

In the year 2007, she completed a Midwifery training course at the New Amsterdam Hospital. Nurse Gaitree revealed that this was the single most challenging time for her in the profession, as she had to peruse studies in another region, while her children remained on the Essequibo Coast. “It was challenging, just having your family home and having to travel

back and forth all the time…

I'm happy I was successful,” she remarked with pride.

Nurse Gaitree said that she owes much of her success to her mother and husband. “I owe much of my gratitude to my mom, because when I had to leave the coast, she helped to take care of the boys, and at that time the eldest was just 11 years old.”

LOVE FOR NURSING According to her too, the M id w if er y p r o g r amme helped to tremendously enhance her love for the nursing profession, since the joy of safely delivering a baby is unlike any other she has ever experienced.

“I really love the delivery part. Being a nurse aid was great, but I feel that there was a limit as to how much I could've done.

But when you're a midwife, you always have the joy of wanting to go back to work so that you can bring relief to those mothers in (continued on page 56)

More loving family members

Donning PPEs

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

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The election laws are not the problem T

he Report of the European Union's Observer Mission to Guyana's 2020 elections does not spring any surprises. Nothing detailed in the report should come as a revelation.

The Report virtually confirms the jiggery-pokery, which took place during the tabulation process. The Observer Mission noted: “The results declared by the RO on 13 March are not credible. These results gave APNU+AFC and PPP/C 136,057 and 77,231 votes respectively for the general elections in Region Four, enough for the ruling coalition to overcome the opposition's advantage in the other regions and take the lead nationally.

Supported by the online publication of almost all Region Four polling station results protocols, PPP/C's parallel tabulation suggested the opposite outcome. It gave the ruling coalition and the opposition 114,416 and 80,150 votes respectively in the region, thus placing PPP/C ahead…”

This should not shock anyone.

The RO's declaration was the basis of the confusion, which erupted. And it is important that those complicit in wrongdoing in relation to the tabulation should face the harshest penalties under our laws.

The EU Observer Mission's Report makes 26 recommendations, including e i g h t p r i o r i t y recommendations. Many of these recommendations call for the consolidation of the country's electoral laws to strengthen legal clarity and certainty.

But consolidating the country's elections laws will not end dishonesty. And it certainly will not prevent elections becoming a courthouse matter.

Following the controversy which erupted about the election results, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago is reported to have told a journalist, “I'm worried that an election held a month ago is a courthouse matter. I'm getting a feeling that this is not going to end well.

I hope I'm wrong, but that feeling with the elections and the court after a month,

I'm not having a good feeling about it. What is even more troubling to me is that on the second (visit) we thought we had some sort agreement from the leadership in Guyana that they put a marker down, lets count the ballots and we will abide by that count.

The ending of an election is counting the ballots. It is the counting of the ballots that is the end of the elections. And we thought we instilled that in our colleagues.”

Factions within the APNU+AFC had other ideas. They opted for legal action rather than allowing for the counting of the ballots to be the end of the matter.

Elections are supposed to be decided at the polls, not in the courtroom. They are supposed to be determined by votes cast, not legal arguments. Once you accept this basic premise, there is no need to revert to laws.

In my lifetime, I have been to thousands of cricket matches, and I have never seen an umpire having to take out a rulebook to make a decision. Players have generally played by the rules, even when they do not agree with a decision made by the umpires when on field or off field.

And the reason why Guyana's 2020 elections ended up in the Court system is because one side was not prepared to accept the democratic will of the people. You can twist it and turn it however you want, but one side did not wish to play by the rules. It wanted to create its own rules so that it could be declared the winner.

There is a fundamental issue which is at stake. If during a cricket match, one side does not have any intention to play by the rules, then it is only logical that that side should not be allowed to participate because it will make a mockery of the contest.

This is the dilemma facing the country. If the APNU+AFC is not prepared to accept the democratic will of the people, then it should not be allowed to participate in any future elections because it has not shown the sincerity in respecting the people's decision.

The fact of the matter is that all of Guyana's electoral

problems have revolved around the failure of the PNC/R, the main party of the APNU, to accept the outcome of elections. It has a notorious and disgraceful record dating back to 1968 of rigging elections and doing so in the most transparent and incompetent of manner.

The EU Observer Mission has made a number of recommendations concerning the consolidation of the country's electoral laws so to ensure clarity and certainty. But even as it does

so, the Observers accept that there were attempts to pervert the results of the elections.

The country's electoral laws are not the problem.

Cheating is the problem and consolidating laws is not going to stop the cheating.

Given Guyana's history of rigged elections between 1968 and 1985 inclusive, serious consideration has to be given to a Commission of Inquiry into what went on after the polls had closed.

And when the report of

that Commission is in, it will become much clearer that the problem is not with our electoral laws. You can strengthen the laws as much as you can but if one side wants to cheat, then cheat it will because cheating represents disregard for the laws.

What took place between 2nd March and 2nd October indicates that the APNU+AFC wanted to become a law unto itself. It is for this reason that a decision has to be made as to whether

any political party which refuses to accept the will of the people, should be debarred from future participation in elections.

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

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Haiti needs vigilance by the International Community

By Sir Ronald Sanders

A

t a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on March 17, I said that “no resolution is perfect, and no resolution satisfies every country, but we cannot sacrifice achieving good on the altar of desiring perfection.”

The resolution concerned the current constitutional, political and humanitarian situation in Haiti, which is very grave and shows every sign of worsening.

The delegation of Antigua and Barbuda was the architect of the original resolution, which sought to cause the member states of

the OAS to express concern about Haiti and to offer to facilitate a meaningful dialogue between President, Jovenel Moïse, and all other stakeholders.

It was a matter of regret that, despite the strong statement of CARICOM Heads of Government, concerning Haiti, on February 11, CARICOM delegations at the OAS were again divided. CARICOM Heads were clear that they wanted “all parties in Haiti to engage in meaningful dialogue in the interest of peace and stability.”

The Heads also said that they looked forward “to the conduct of free and fair Presidential elections in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti.”

Eight CARICOM countries – Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago backed Antigua and Barbuda's draft resolution.

In the end, through a process of two weeks of negotiations, countries with important concerns about Haiti, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the United States joined the nine Caribbean countries in settling a draft resolution that was then negotiated with the Haitian delegation.

By the nature of negotiations, concessions had to be made. Hence, it was not a perfect resolution and not every paragraph of it satisfied everyone. But it was enough to allow the

Permanent Council of the OAS to adopt it by consensus.

Essentially, it offered “good offices of the OAS, under the authority of the Permanent Council, to facilitate a dialogue that would lead to free and fair elections” and asked the President of Haiti “to consider inviting the Permanent Council to do so.”

This was done against a background that since January 2020, there has been no legislature and no government in Haiti, and President Moïse has been ruling by decree.

F u r t h e r, m a r a u d i n g gangs have been raping women, including young girls, kidnapping people (rich and poor) and demanding huge ransoms.

Violence has exploded in the country, particularly as hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting against President Moïse and deadly force has been used against them by a police force that is allegedly highly politicized.

T h e U N H i g h Commission for Human Rights has stated its “concerns about judicial independence” which it says “has further eroded the separation of powers” in Haiti.

Time is fast running out to avoid further worsening of the situation in Haiti. The OAS resolution, offering to facilitate dialogue, has come only after deep polarization and distrust in the country.

The OAS should have acted much earlier.

If President Moïse does not respond positively and swiftly to the offer by the OAS, no dialogue between

the stakeholders might be possible. A stand-off between them will occur with further confrontations.

Many Haitians have already stated publicly that “no dialogue is possible with Moïse,” and he has not sought a meaningful dialogue either.

Instead, he is persisting with plans to hold a referendum in June on altering the Constitution.

But there has been no consultation with major Haitian players who say he has no authority to hold such a referendum.

What is clear is that, in 2015, Haiti had more than 6.5 million people registered to vote. Moïse has now issued new identity cards, which his OAS Ambassador says has been distributed to four million people. Human rights groups in Haiti dispute that figure, putting it closer to two million.

Either way more than 2.5 million persons are currently disenfranchised. No referendum or election held in these conditions would be credible or acceptable.

Still worse, the current Provisional Electoral Council, to manage a referendum and elections, comprises persons appointed solely by Moïse.

They are known to have close links to him.

S i m i l a r l y, t h e d r a f t Constitution has been written by persons he has hand-picked.

None of this is “in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti,” and, for the opposition parties are red rags to a bull.

On March 29, Haiti will mark the anniversary of its 1987 Constitution, the very thing that the President is

Sir Ronald Sanders seeking to alter.

Stakeholders are pledging to put more than two million people on the streets in its defence on March 28 and 29.

The Charter of the OAS strictly forbids interference in the internal affairs of States.

And, while there have been various artifices by some OAS member states to circumvent that prohibition, the majority of countries adhere to that principle generally.

Consequently, the OAS cannot insist that President Moïse accept its offer to play a good offices role. It must await an invitation from him to do so.

In this context, member states of the Organization should work behind the scenes with Moïse and other stakeholders to urge them to talk and, in so doing, to take the idea of a referendum on the Constitution off anyone's agenda; to ensure that independent election machinery is established by agreement of all parties and that Presidential, legislative and local elections are held at the earliest possible date, and until then Presidential decrees should be suspended on anything except that on which major players decide.

While this diplomatic work takes place – and CARICOM should be a part of it - the OAS should continue to be vigilant about developments in Haiti and ready to speak out against any further deterioration in the constitutional, political and humanitarian situation.

The people of Haiti need and deserve objective and constructive support in their collective interest, and not for the benefit of any political elite.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.)

Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

Sunday March 21, 2021

Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to extend our weekly review of some of our major stories in their entirety.

SUNDAY GUYANA, TRINIDAD LACK TRANSFER PRICING LAW TO PREVENT MASSIVE LOSS – ECLAC REPORT FINDS While Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana are at different stages in the lifecycle of their hydrocarbon industries, both are at risk of losing significant value if they fail to arm themselves with key mechanisms, particularly, rules and regulations that guard against transfer pricing.

This much was noted in a report called, “Navigating transfer pricing risk in the oil and gas sector; Essential elements of a policy framework for Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.”

This document was prepared by Sheldon McLean, Coordinator of the Economic Development Unit of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and Don Charles, Policy Development Specialist in the Ministry of Trade of Trinidad and Tobago. Both received assistance from Antonio Rajkumar, an individual contractor at the ECLAC subregional headquarters for the Caribbean.

In the 2021 report, the analysts reminded that Trinidad and Tobago has over 100 years of experience in the oil industry, and over 20 years of experience in the export of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). By comparison, commercial discoveries of oil were made offshore Guyana in 2015, and the country commenced the export of crude oil in 2020. It therefore means that the Guyana hydrocarbon industry is still in its nascent stage, while that of Trinidad and Tobago’s is mature.

Although both CARICOM sisters are at different stages in the maturity of their industries, the analysts stressed that neither Trinidad and Tobago nor Guyana presently has a framework to address transfer pricing, or the loss of value from their hydrocarbon sector.

For those who may not be aware, transfer pricing is when one division of a company charges another division of the same company a higher or lower price on an item. This manipulation of the price is done to avoid the

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Kaieteur News

payment of taxes to the country the company is in.

Since this scheme can result in nations losing billions of dollars, the ECLAC analysts agreed that it would be logical for transfer pricing legislation to be introduced in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. It should be noted however that this is not the first time Guyana is being warned to arm itself against the dangers of transfer pricing. Oil and Gas Expert, Anthony Paul has noted since 2016 that the local authorities should pay attention to what happened in Trinidad and Tobago, his home country which failed to protect itself against the use of this tactic.

He had pointed out during a previous interview with Kaieteur News that TT lost more than US$200M annually due to transfer pricing schemes of oil companies.

According to Paul, transfer pricing involves the purchasing of items from one company, or selling to related parties at artificially high or low prices. This is done to shift taxable income out of the hands of the host country.

However, that is just one form of transfer pricing. When it comes to oil and gas, the schemes are many.

The Oil and Gas Consultant said, “In another form of transfer pricing, some companies use mechanisms to increase the reported cost of their operations to again, reduce profitability and tax burden.

“A common example is the bundling of services with affiliates overseas, so that there is no transparency on actual cost, but the high costs can be moved to higher profit centres. This has been going on for years in TT, with

companies using different techniques, knowing well that Government does not routinely check across jurisdictions.”

He continued, “Another victim of such actions, of course, is the local service industries, who, through a series of meandering rationales are told that they are either suddenly not safe enough, certified enough or competent enough to deliver a service that they have been safely, efficiently and costeffectively providing for years.”

The Chatham House Advisor added, “Suddenly, a foreign supplier is brought in, without necessarily having to go through the same hoops and is paid much more.

Today, for instance, there are marine service companies working off the East Coast in TT, at the expense of locals and charging the operator up to 10 times the cost of the local who was doing it before.”

Paul said that examples on what to do in the oil and gas industry and how to protect Government revenue are all around Guyana.

“All its authorities need to do is simply pay attention.” $414M BELL HELICOPTERARRIVES President, Irfaan Ali, Saturday afternoon, along with members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the diplomatic corp, welcomed the $414M Bell 412 EPI helicopter.

President Ali Saturday attended a ceremony at Camp Ayangana in the capital city for the arrival of the Guyana Defence Force’s newest acquisition. The Commanderin-Chief took part in the

inaugural flight of the chopper around Georgetown and disclosed that the purchase of the machine is the beginning of a new trend.

Previously, Kaieteur News had reported the $414M caters for the maintenance of the King Air 350 Beechcraft, to increase aerial operational capacity, the training of four engineers, and for the purchase of one Bell heavylift helicopter.

The Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had explained that acquiring and engaging these two critical pieces of equipment were important to strengthening the operational capacity of the GDF. He said provisions were made for training of both engineers and pilots for the Beechcraft.

“Both engineering and pilot training are specific to aircraft type and so what we are providing here is specific training to the aircraft type.

This is not training as is done by the Public Service Ministry… this is specific training for the aircraft type,” Singh had said to the National Assembly.

Singh had further explained that the engineers were identified by the leadership of the Air Corps.

The training will be done overseas and will focus on the maintenance and operation of the aircraft.

MONDAY EXXONMOBIL EIA FOR LIZA ONE HIGHLYFLAWED - ASSESSES ONLY 6 OF 250+ TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM FLARING - RELIABILITY OF RESULTSAFFECTED BYWEATHER, ELECTRICITY WOES The effect on air quality by flaring offshore Guyana by ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has not been studied, as the company supposedly did not envision that such a circumstance would play out. In its environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Liza Phase One project, the company employed a mechanism to measure the impact of this practice on air quality. Importantly, that exercise did not even measure 10 percent of the toxic chemicals released by flaring.

Furthermore, the EIA notes that numerous challenges affected the study’s reliability.

The issues mentioned therefore, render the EIA highly flawed in its

measurement of air quality, leaving the public with no idea of the true effect of flaring on the environment.

Notes on the air quality measurement are found in Volume Two of the EIA, the technical appendices.

Page Five of the document which outlines the Air Quality Parameters, notes that the study only examined concentrations of six chemicals.

“The programme measured ambient concentrations of SO2 (Sulphur dioxide), H2S (Hydrogen sulphide), NO (Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile organic compound (VOC), and Particulate Matter 10 (PM10),” the EIA states.

According to a special study conducted by the World Bank, flaring releases gases that are not only harmful to one’s health but also disastrous to the climate.

The report notes that flaring releases more than 250 toxins including cancer causing agents such as benzopyrene, benzene, carbon disulphide (CS2), carbonyl sulphide (COS), and toluene. It also releases metals such as mercury, arsenic, and chromium and nitrogen oxides.

Because EEPGL’s air quality study only measures the ambient concentration of six chemicals, it would be a flawed indication of the detriment of flaring to the quality of the air if it were presented as such. The six chemicals account for less than 2.5 percent of the toxic chemicals which pollute the air.

In addition, Page Nine of the Technical Appendices contains a section which speaks to Quality Control/ Quality Assurance. The EIA states “Air monitoring on board a working research vessel introduces numerous challenges to obtaining reliable ambient air quality monitoring measurements.”

The EIA posits that these challenges are “Potential uncertainty regarding the location at which a measurement is made; Exposure to weather that may

damage instruments or bias their measurements; Potential measurement bias due to impacts from on-board emission sources; and Reliability of electrical power with which to operate the monitoring instruments.”

The section went on to state that the monitoring programme’s equipment proved to be resilient, but that significant aberrations occurred, which include failure of the Carbon Monoxide (CO) sensor and malfunctioning of the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) sensor.

With all the stated challenges to the monitoring process, which also lacked studies on the ambient concentration of more than 200 toxic chemicals released by flaring, ExxonMobil’s EIA succinctly presented that the results showed the monitored concentration of the air contaminants in the vicinity of the Liza Phase One area to be low.

Page 10, the Results page, states, “In general, concentrations of the monitored air contaminants in the vicinity of the Liza Phase 1 area were found to be very low when compared with levels typically found in terrestrial environments, and with national and international ambient air quality standards.”

The company has flared over 13 billion cubic feet of gas offshore Guyana and to date, is still flaring at about 16 million cubic feet per day.

The country awaits the reinstatement of ExxonMobil’s repaired gas compression equipment.

GUYANA-SURINAME BASIN THE “HOLY GRAIL” OF OILAND GAS – SENIOR UWI FELLOW Professor Emeritus / Senior Fellow of International Relations at the University of the West Indies, Anthony Bryan, have dubbed the Guyana-Suriname Basin (GSB) the “Holy Grail” of new oil province discoveries.

Bryan, in a March 1, 2021 piece, highlighted that oil (Continued on page 26)

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From page 25 experts predict that during 2021, there will be a major increase in offshore drilling activity in the Southern Caribbean and Northern South America. Guyana will lead these drilling actions, the Professor noted, and referenced this to recent global increases in the price of crude, and the fact that oil and gas companies are searching for discoveries that can be quickly monetized for higher and faster returns.

Bryan reminded that ExxonMobil has found approximately nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources offshore Guyana since 2015 and had its first oil lift in December 2019. He then wrote that it is expected that during 2021 the company will expand its exploration in the Canje Block and prepare for drilling in the Payara project in the Stabroek Block.

Turning to Suriname, Byran reminded that this Dutch-speaking country had also hit pay dirt following its Block 52 discovery in 2020, with deepwater exploration set for 2022.

“The oil in the Guyana Suriname Basin” Byran wrote, “is the fluid substance that motivates Trinidad, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname to further explore and drill. It is now the Holy Grail for abundant fossil fuels.

They all want a piece of the action, and actions speak louder than words.”

Further to this, Bryan indicated in this piece that, that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is approaching the responsible global maritime jurisdiction bodies for approval to push its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to the borders of the GSB. To this he added, “Suriname, although it is part of the GSB, intends to move its offshore exploration closer to the lucrative Stabroek fields of Guyana. Venezuela not to be outdone, last year ordered the Venezuelan Navy to re-define the nation’s maritime boundaries and its EEZ.” The Professor indicated that one of the major challenges to the lucrative industry is the common thread will be climate change.

He further said that the challenge for finding more fossil fuels lie in global environmental opposition to big projects as in the GSB; the growing competitiveness of alternatives like wind and solar power that are often the cheapest sources of new electricity generation; and a major employer in many countries.

However, the Professor emphasized that “Oil and gas will be around for several

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decades” and that “It should be an interesting 2020s. The devil is in the details.

Nevertheless, the business of oil and gas extraction should continue apace until it is no longer profitable or feasible to so do. Our four countries and the International Oil Companies interested in the cutting-edge GSB will demand as much.”

TUESDAY EXXON HAD INTENDED TO FLAREALL THE GAS FROM LIZA PHASE ONE – FMR. PRESIDENTIALADVISOR ExxonMobil, according to former presidential advisor, Dr. Jan Mangal, had first intended to flare all the associated gas from the Liza Phase One operation.

Dr. Mangal said that in a July 2016 interview, while he did some unpaid work for former President, David Granger, he was informed by ExxonMobil and a government official in separate interviews that ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), had intended to flare all the gas.

Dr. Mangal said that later on, the government official communicated to him that the decision had been changed; that the company would reinject the gas. This was one month after the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) was inked by then Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman.

“I asked the government official and he said they were going to flare the gas,” Dr. Mangal said, of a 2016 interview. “I tried to convince him that we couldn’t flare.

The next day we interviewed ExxonMobil and they said the same thing, they were planning to flare all the gas. I said that should not happen.

At the end of the week, in our closeout session with the same official, I asked him the same question about flaring, and he said they had changed their decision and would now re-inject the gas.

The Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) ended up being designed to re-inject the gas. EEPGL Government and Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, iterated that much when Kaieteur News contacted her for a comment.”The Liza Phase One project is designed to eliminate routine flaring of produced gas by using the gas to power the floating production, storage and offloading vessel and by reinjecting gas into the reservoir to conserve the gas

and to improve oil recovery, thereby reducing emissions compared with traditional methods,” the EEPGL representative said. However, she did not answer the question of whether it is true that ExxonMobil Guyana had initially intended to flare all the gas.

Dr. Mangal said that what happened in 2016 indicated to him that “the Government of Guyana was not doing any work on its own and was only following what ExxonMobil told them to do.”

ExxonMobil has been producing oil at Liza Phase One for about 14 months, and has been flaring for 13 of them, due to equipment defects. While Guyana awaits the reinstatement of the repaired gas compression equipment, which would reduce flaring to pilot levels, the company’s daily flaring rate is 16 million cubic feet per day, according to Country President, Alistair Routledge.

Routledge told reporters during a February 8 press engagement that the current state of affairs is not where the company wants to be.

“We go to bed worrying about it,” he had said.

However, Routledge sought to convince the media that the flaring currently occurring is not producing extreme emissions.

“But just to put it in context,” he had said, “the Kingston power plant has higher emissions than the flare we’re talking about. So, this isn’t extreme emissions.”

“In oil and gas operations,” the ExxonMobil official continued, “a flare is a necessary safety system, and over the life of an asset, there are periods where you need to flare. It is part of transitions of start-up, shutdown. That’s what the facilities are designed for. But clearly, we do not want to have extended flaring of any significance.”

Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Sharifah Razack, has not responded to an email request sent more

than three weeks ago, for the most recent statistics on the volume of gas flared.

ExxonMobil did not provide the figures either when asked, but told the press to do its own calculations.

This newspaper’s calculations, which take previous EPA reports into consideration, indicate that to date, EEPGL has flared more than 13 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

FOREIGN COMPANIES CANNOT DO BUSINESS IN GHANA’S OIL SECTOR WITHOUT A LOCAL PARTNER In Ghana, there are several pieces of policies, guidelines, and regulations that protect the interests of citizens in the oil sector. The Local Content Policy and Regulations of that African nation state for example that foreign companies cannot participate in the oil sector to bid for contracts unless they join forces with companies established by Ghanaians.

But those rules go beyond that as Ghana has an additional set of guidelines which ensure that Ghanaians are not merely added to joint venture agreements as window dressing.

According to the guidelines perused by Kaieteur News, “A nonindigenous Ghanaian company which intends to provide goods or services to a contractor, a subcontractor, licensee, the Corporation or other allied entity within the country shall incorporate a joint venture company with an indigenous Ghanaian company and afford that indigenous Ghanaian company an equity participation of at least ten percent.”

Also, “A contractor, subcontractor, licensee or other allied entity shall support and facilitate technology transfer as regards the formation of joint ventures, partnering of licensing agreements between indigenous

Ghanaian companies or citizens and foreign contractors and service companies or supply companies.” In the interest of ensuring that this is achieved, Ghana requires the submission of a technology transfer report annually to its Petroleum Commission stating the technology transfer initiatives being pursued and the current results in relation to its Technology Transfer SubPlan.

Other rules in place note that the indigenous Ghanaian company/companies must be actively involved in the management and operations of the joint venture company and the management structure of the joint venture company must take into account the equity participation of the parties.

Also, the local partners must state, clearly, their roles and responsibilities in the joint venture company.

In accordance with its regulations too, the Commission will closely monitor the activities of each of the parties to the joint venture to ensure effectiveness during and at the end of each contract.

At the moment, Guyana is working on crafting its Local Content Policy which will lay the foundation upon which its ensuing legislation would be built on. The draft document also encourages joint venture partnerships but does not offer the same protections Ghana gives to its citizens.

Kaieteur News would have reported last week that the Ministry of Natural Resources is undertaking a series of “strategic stakeholders’ consultations” to advance the development of the document.

These strategic discussions commenced on March 3 and will conclude on March 19, 2021. During this extended period of discussions, the Ministry said that comments are welcomed regarding all matters addressed under the

policy’s vision, mission, and objectives.

Kaieteur News understands that these strategic engagements are focused primarily on the parameters, principles, and pillars of the draft policy, which are needed for the government to consider in defining the participatory measures of Guyanese workers and companies, and on identifying the capacity and competency that exist within the local markets to support oil and gas business development in Guyana.

The Ministry said that the series of consultations will allow it to engage the public sector, private sector and civil society organisations that are involved in various sectors and linkages industries, with particular focus on workforce enhancement such as education agencies; manufacturing and fabrication services; business development and support; financing; audit and accounting; shipping, warehousing and onshore services; hospitality; housing and infrastructure; regional and international trade; and other economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture.

WEDNESDAY DESPITE HIGHER GOVT. TAKE, STRICTER POLICIES, OIL COMPANIES STILL FLOCK TO SURINAME Guyana was not the only South American country that struck black gold offshore last year. In fact, our neighbour to the east, Suriname, had announced three consecutive oil finds in its Block 58 in early 2020.

Following this discovery, international oil companies immediately began to flock Suriname, says the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suriname’s Staatsolie, Rudolf Elias. What Elias thought pertinent to highlight in a Kaieteur Radio interview, (Continued on page 27)

Sunday March 21, 2021

From page 26 is that although the Suriname government has a higher take from its oil resources, and despite the fact that it imposes stricter policies, oil companies are running to set up shop in Suriname waters.

Revenue share Former Managing Director of Suriname’s Staatsolie, Eddie Jharap, had calculated that the probable revenue share from the production of oil in Block 58 would be 36 percent of gross production.

This is noteworthy, as Guyana is set to get a 14.5 percent revenue share from gross production revenues on its Stabroek Block. Despite the fact that Guyana’s Stabroek Block is much more lucrative, Suriname’s revenue share would amount to almost three times that of Guyana.

First off, the royalty for Block 58 is 6.25 percent of gross revenues, which is more than three times Guyana’s 2 percent.

Aside from the payment of royalty, the operational costs of about 20 percent of gross production are to be paid, Jharap had explained. He also pointed out the investment costs during the first five years, which would be about 20 percent of oil production per year.

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

Of the remaining 37.75 percent profit oil, the investors are to pay 36 percent income tax to the State of Suriname, which amounts to about 13.59 percent of gross production.

A summation of royalty, Staatsolie’s share, and income taxes amounts to 35.84 percent of the gross production.

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

In Guyana’s case, the investors recoup their investments by up to 75 percent of gross production, leaving 25 percent as profit oil.

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

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production.

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

To this he said, “It is critical to have a seat at the table because you get to have someone who is part of the project team and who will know firsthand what are the costs…and we know there is a transparent process they will go through because we are at the table. They can’t inflate, because we are there to see it and that is why I say Staatsolie should always have a seat at the table, because we want to know the costs of the different projects because it is the basis for the inflow the government will have.”

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

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

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

CHINA, GUYANA PRESIDENTS DISCUSS BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE Chinese and Guyanese Presidents, Xi Jinping and Dr. Irfaan Ali, held talks Tuesday on the promotion of a series of initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s controversial debtladen plan to build a trade superhighway across the globe. This is according to Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China.

According to Xinhua, Xi said that China and Guyana should take the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year as an opportunity to push for more cooperation results and lift bilateral relations to higher levels. He reportedly added

that China expects a positive role of Guyana in promoting cooperation between China and Caribbean countries as a whole, as well as in developing the relationship between China and the Caribbean Community.

The Office of the President reported that the President led a high-level ministerial team in the discussions that included Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, and the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill.

BRI was unveiled in 2013

by President Xi and since then has been relatively successful around the world with some of China’s partners.

Its official outline states that BRI is meant to “promote the connectivity of Asian, European and African continents and their adjacent seas, establish and strengthen partnerships among the countries along the Belt and Road, set up alldimensional, multi-tiered and composite connectivity networks, and realize diversified, independent, balanced and sustainable development in these countries.”

Guyana signed on to an instrument signalling its intent to participate, in July 2018.

Then Granger administration, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge , w h o i s n o w Government Advisor on Borders, had signed onto a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun, noting that Guyana would cooperation within the Framework of the Silk Road

Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative.

Under the initiative, scores of countries appear to benefit from multimilliondollar soft loans from China for the construction of roads, bridges, airports, deep-water ports and other infrastructure.

Because the project has potential to impact the global political and economic reality significantly, it has become controversial, and has been dubbed by the West as a manifestation of C h i n a ’s debt-trap diplomacy.

Kaieteur News has highlighted how China has been targeting weak and/or corrupt governments to sign onto its initiative, signing away exorbitant loans for megainfrastructural projects.

Nothing is free. But sometimes, the price to be paid is more than what was bargained.

Several countries that signed onto C h i n a ’s B e l t a n d R o a d initiative are finding this out the hard way.

In 2018 alone, China acquired over 20 deepwater harbours and airports from several countries around the world. The country was able to do so by lending those countries massive amounts of money they would be unable to repay within the stipulated period. The country is accused of leveraging these massive loans it holds over small states worldwide to snatch assets and increase its military footprint. Developing countries from Pakistan to Djibouti, the Maldives to Fiji, all owe huge amounts to China. Already there are examples of defaulters being

pressured into surrendering control of assets or allowing military bases on their land.

THURSDAY GET THE BEST TO BUILD YOUR OILINDUSTRY; DON’T RUSH TO SIGN DEALS AND LIVE TO REGRET IT – AFRICAN OIL EXPERT As 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 Wednesday 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 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, (Continued on page 28)

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From page 27 the Guyana-ExxonMobil PSA is the only one out of 130 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. ( h t t p s : / / resourcecontracts.org/ s e a r c h ? q =Production+Sharing +Agreement+) That website offers over 620 PSAs from around the world for perusal.

INDIAN BANK TO CASH-IN ON ‘GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY’ FROM GUYANA’S OIL India’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 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.

According to Dr. Srinivasa, the move by the two governments signifies a deepening of the

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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 homeowners 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 would 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 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 would 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.

FRIDAY DESPITE DAMNING EVIDENCE… NIGERIA LOSES MAJOR CORRUPTION CASE AGAINST OIL MAJORS Even though the government of Nigeria was armed with compelling evidence that implicated Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni in a major case of alleged corruption with one of its oil blocks, a court recently ruled that no wrongdoing could be found. That judgment was handed down by a court in Milan on Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg, which reported on the case, the verdict ends a three-year legal saga that loomed large over the tenure of Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi. Italian prosecutors were hopeful that with the evidence they had, they could put him away for eight years. But Descalzi and several former executives of the companies, including Malcolm Brinded, who ran Shell’s exploration and production division at the time, and Paolo Scaroni, who was Eni CEO before Descalzi, were cleared of all corruption charges.

Prosecutors had charged the named executives for being involved in a 2011 deal to secure Nigeria’s Offshore Oil Prospecting License 245.

It was alleged that they knew that much of the US$1.1 billion they deposited into an escrow account for the licence was controlled by the Nigerian government at the time and would have been disbursed as bribes.

Unfortunately, several of the key witnesses called by the Italian prosecutors failed to back up those allegations when called to testify.

It should be noted that in

2018, by way of a separate trial, two middlemen were found guilty of corruption in connection with the foregoing matter. It is also crucial to note that one of Eni’s biggest shareholders is the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. It has de facto control of Eni by virtue of interests held either directly or via the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP), a prominent Italian investment bank.

Following the judgment, Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, who assumed office six years ago, expressed disappointment that the country had failed in its bid to secure US$1.1 billion in court-ordered compensation from Eni and Shell, while adding that the oil resources of the licence at the heart of the case, OPL 245, remain undeveloped.

Bloomberg reported that a representative of the Federal Republic of Nigeria said the country would wait to review the Italian court’s written judgment before considering its position.

In Italy, sentences are not definitive until appeals are exhausted. It could take years before there is a final decision.

It should be noted that Eni had initiated international arbitration proceedings against Nigeria in September, alleging the government has breached its obligations by refusing to let the firm develop the licence, which will expire in May. SETBACK FOR GLOBAL WITNESS Bloomberg also noted in its report that the verdict represents a setback for Global Witness, the nongovernmental that seeks to expose corruption and human-rights abuses around the world. It was Global Witness’ investigative work that uncovered documents that informed the decision of Italian prosecutors to take up the case.

In 2011, the Global Witness had reported that Shell and Eni paid over US$1.1 billion in a murky deal for the block that is located off the coast of Nigeria.

Following a lengthy investigation by the NGO, it was able to access

documents showing that this money for the rights to exploit the country’s natural resources did not go to benefit the Nigerian people, as it should have done.

Instead, it went to convicted money launderer and former Oil Minister, Dan Etete, who had awarded himself ownership of the block in 1998 via a company he secretly owned, Malabu Oil and Gas. Global Witness in a special report said that for six years, Shell has denied it did anything wrong, and said it only paid the Nigerian government in securing rights to the block.

In 2015, Shell’s CEO, Ben Van Beurden, responded to the allegations by stating the payments were “morally OK” and “in accordance with the law of Nigeria and international practice.”

However, what this carefully worded statement did not say is that Shell executives knew the money would go to Malabu and Etete, and was then likely to flow to some of the most powerful people in the country.

In February 2016 as well, Global Witness reported that Shell’s headquarters were raided by 50 police in a joint Dutch–Italian investigation into the deal. Global Witness was able to document the details of a phone call between Shell’s CEO, Van Beurden, and the then Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, soon after the raid, as their phone lines were wiretapped by Dutch authorities.

Van Beurden suggested that Shell should not disclose the raid to shareholders, saying to Henry: “The last thing you want of course is some sort of request to issue a stock exchange release when there is nothing to be said other than that we are being asked to provide information.” He also told Henry: “don’t volunteer any information that is not requested,” to police investigating the OPL 245 deal.

The Global Witness stated that the money paid for the block equals more than the African nation’s 2016 health care budget. It is also (Continued on page 29)

Sunday March 21, 2021

From page 28 one and a half times what the United Nations says is now needed to respond to the current famine crisis.

Research indicates that approximately 8.5 million people in Nigeria are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 5.1 million Nigerians are malnourished. The deal, which allegedly paved the way for billions to be siphoned off to agents and middlemen in corrupt payments, had also sparked law enforcement inquiries in six other countries.

HESS SELLS 61% INTEREST IN DENMARK ASSET TO COVER ITS 30% STABROEK BLOCK COSTS In light of ExxonMobil’s plans to bring 10 Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels on stream to develop the nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources in the Stabroek Block, Hess Corporation has sold a key asset in Denmark to cover its share of the costs.

In the Stabroek Block, Hess holds a 30 percent working interest, while CNOOC/NEXEN holds 25 percent. ExxonMobil carries the remaining interest, thereby making it the Operator.

Thursday, the American company told the market that it has entered into an agreement with Ineos Exploration and Production Company to sell its subsidiary, Hess Denmark ApS, which holds a 61.5% interest in the South Arne Field.

The asset has been sold for a total consideration of US$150 million, effective January 1, 2021. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to government approvals and customary closing conditions.

Following the announcement, John Hess, Chief Executive Officer, of Hess Corporation said, “The sale of our Denmark

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asset enables us to further focus our portfolio and strengthen our cash and liquidity position.

Proceeds will be used to fund our world class investment opportunity in Guyana.”

It should be noted that Hess has been active in the Danish North Sea since becoming the operator of the South Arne field in 1994. South Arne, located about 150 miles west of Esbjerg, has produced oil and gas since 1999, and uses horizontal production and water-injection wells to optimize production from chalk reservoirs.

According to Hess’ website, the South Arne Field had produced an average of 5,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day net to Hess in the fourth quarter of 2020.

As it relates to the Stabroek Block, Hess Corporation, CNOOC/ NEXEN and the Operator of the concession, ExxonMobil, have announced that plans are moving apace to bring a fourth project plan to the government by year-end, while a fifth development is already under consideration.

Further to this, the joint venture partners had said that by 2027, it could have a sixth oil development project in the Stabroek Block.

Ry s t a d E n e rg y, a n energy research and business intelligence company, was one of the first industry stakeholders to project that ExxonMobil would be able to place one FPSO offshore Guyana every year for the next 10 years.

If these projections pan out, the 10th vessel will start producing in 2031.

By the end of the first year, after the 10th FPSO is placed, ExxonMobil would have wiped out 4.14 billion barrels of oil, leaving a little over three billion barrels left.

In the following years, it will

produce about 730 million barrels of oil in each year. By 2036, there would be nothing left.

SATURDAY INDIAN LOGGING COMPANY SHOWS GROSS DISRESPECT FOR GUYANA’S LABOUR LAWS – SUBJECTS WORKERS TO INHUMANE CONDITIONS – FAILS TO COMPLY WITH COVID-19 RULES, ETC. The Ministry of Labour (MOL) has highlighted the blatant disregard for Guyana’s Labour Legislation by India’s logging company, Vaitarna Holdings Private Incorporated (VHI), following a meeting that was held with the company’s representatives on Thursday.

The Ministry’s Labour and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Officers recently conducted a visit to the Wineperu worksite located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) where VHI was flagged for inadequate living conditions for employees and some health and safety violations; however, the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton was so concerned over the inhumane company standards that led to a meeting being held. It commenced with Hamilton denouncing the “poor

working conditions and environment”, which was seen at the worksite upon his visit. There were also clear violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Labour Legislation, specifically on overtime payments for workers according to the release. The human rights conditions were also described as poor and there was a complete absence of the gazetted COVID-19 Protocols being practised.

Speaking with Kaieteur News Friday, Minister Hamilton expounded on the company’s infringements.

As it relates to the poor human rights conditions at the worksite, Hamilton explained that it was mainly centred around the substandard living quarters. He disclosed that the employees’ houses were like “logies”, with an entire family sharing a very confined living space.

He said that husbands, wives and children are sleeping in the same area and beds are clumped together with kitchens nearby.

He described it as hazardous because there is no separation in the event of a fire, thereby putting everyone at risk.

Outlining the health and safety violations, the Minister highlighted that the company has high-tension power lines three feet from the ground, meaning that anyone could walk into them which is a risk.

It must be noted that both workers and their family, which include children, walk through the worksite. He also said that there are several sawmilling facilities onsite and “water and electricity (facilities) are married” [meaning that they are very close], despite the active presence of workers in the area. Hamilton lamented that there seems to be no concern for safety on the worksite, adding that wood shavings four or three feet in height are dumped on the roads leaving them completely covered.

“There’s no cleaning up at the site,” the Minister recalled.

Further, he revealed that the company has no medical

facility or medics on-site, and the workers are not trained in mere first aid administration.

In light of that, he asserted, if any worker were to have severe injuries, there is a possibility that they could suffer a fatality. The nearest medical outpost in the area is several miles away from the site.

Regarding the lack of overtime payments, Hamilton said it was found after the Ministry accessed some of the company’s books. He added that the law allows for labour officers to request VHI’s books to see if its workers’ National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and tax payments through the Guyana Revenue Authority are being fulfilled. This is still being verified.

The company was also guilty of giving inconsistent figures regarding the number of workers it has employed.

With all of VHI’s highlighted violations, the Minister revealed that it could offer no defence for them. He dubbed the company as a “tragic place to be working”, stating that he is relentless and will bring its infractions to an end.

Given that the company’s position was indefensible, at Thursday’s meeting, the representing officials committed to remedying the breaches.

Hamilton will be visiting the site in the second quarter of this year and in the meantime, the MOL’s labour officers are expected to make monthly visits to guarantee that such is being done. The officials’ also stated that a progress report will be given within the next six weeks.

Hamilton’s recent visit to VHI was due to a robust OHS campaign currently ongoing with the intent of ensuring maximum compliance across all sectors countrywide.

K/NEWS’ SECURITY GUARDS CHARGED WITH MURDER OF HOMELESS MAN Two of Kaieteur News’ security guards were last

evening charged for allegedly killing a homeless man. The post-mortem examination was Friday conducted by Dr. Nehaul Singh, who gave the cause of death as brain haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head.

As a result, the security guards were charged for the death of 58-year-old, Mohabir Singh, popularly known as ‘Emile.’

According to reports, Singh’s body was found dead under a shed at the Kaieteur News’ Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown office. His body was found on Tuesday last around 08:30 hrs. by a Kaieteur News employee. The employee had gone to remove a truck, when he saw Singh’s body lying in its tray.

As a result of the discovery, the matter was reported and the police arrested two of Kaieteur News’ security guards for questioning. Both men were subsequently charged with murder.

Kaieteur News had reported that Singh has been homeless for some 25 years due to his drug addiction.

According to Singh’s son, Mohinder Singh, his father was a wealthy gold smith who owned his own business at We s t Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

H o w e v e r, b e c a u s e o f a drug addiction, which he developed in his 30s, Singh ended up losing everything and eventually became 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 also revealed that his father had even spent some time in jail, where he wrote the CXC exams and achieved distinctions.

According to the police, Singh’s body has been handed over to relatives for cremation, while the two security guards are expected to make their first court appearance on Monday.

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Sunday March 21, 2021

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==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

The President asked. I declined. I’ve since changed my mind In a brief conversation with President Ali not long after he acquired office, he said, “Freddie in what way would you like to serve your country?” I interpreted it to mean he was making an employment offer. I told him at my age, I prefer to see the younger generation succeed people like me.

I have since changed my mind. I am announcing my interest in state employment.

It is a long shot for one fundamental reason; PPP leaders and advisors to the government and personal friends of the PPP leadership are not going to concur, because of fear of my style.

You don’t have people like me working in such sensitive high-level state positions where diplomatic behaviour is crucial.

I have never had the capacity to be diplomatic. My entire life has been spent in the trenches, even while I was teaching at UG for 26 consecutive years. I can vividly see their reaction; “nah maan, Freddie gun cause problems with people bhai, big problems.” Anyway, as the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

So I am asking President Ali for a job.

I confess deep within my heart, they are right about my personality. I will bring intensive passion to the job because that is who I am. I will be the first to admit; there will be controversies. So what

is the job I am asking for?

Before I reveal that two things have to be stated. One is personal, the other is intellectual.

On the personal level, I want to make this kind of contribution because of my age. With advanced age, you want to make a final gift to your country to make it a better place for future generations. Marx said the point of living is to change the world and as old age creeps up, I would like the opportunity to attempt to stop the indignities the poorer classes suffer in Guyana. It is my last chance to change Guyana.

On the intellectual level, I feel deep in my soul, deep within my psyche, that of all the democratic countries in the international community the past 50 years, Guyana because of its small population has the highest index of unhappiness, the highe st level of human

insensitivity and the highest level of flippancy with regards to human rights. By human rights violations, I mean rights trampling in general; not only state abuse but also abuse of poorer folks by people with money, status and high class positions.

I have been involved in social activism for over 50 years and in the media for over 32 years and each day it breaks my heart living in Guyana seeing and hearing about human insensitivities.

I wrote several times in these

columns of mine that to understand the mental pain people experience from being denied their right to happiness in Guyana, you should come and spend time with me. Hear the deluge of telephone calls. See the wave of people waiting to tell you the wrong things done to them. Read the flood of my emails about the disregard for people’s rights Heart-breaking stories that go on each day in this country and the victims remain helpless. Here are just a few examples. Electrical technician, Marvin Ruhoman, was laid off by Giftland. He had no one to turn to. I took him to the Labour Ministry.

The Chief Labour Officer, Mr. Ogle, assigned a lawyer to his case. She refused to continue because she said I am from the media and publicity will be given to the case. For my reaction to this lady see my column of Friday, September 7, 2018 titled, “I took a victim to Minister Keith Scott.”

Keifer Burnett spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in the Kitty lock-up for possession of one gram of marijuana. On the following Monday, he had no one to represent him because his friend told me that James Bond said his fees for drug cases start at $75,000. I appeared myself and pleaded with Magistrate, Sherdyl Issacs, for bail. See my column of Tuesday, January 8, 2019, “African Guyanese 52 years

after Independence.”

I asked the Traffic Department to stop Hand-InHand Insurance Company from chasing away motorists from parking on any of the four streets surrounding the building. The police came, warned them. They still are doing it. UG staff and students are terribly treated for decades now. Commercial banks horribly mistreat low-

income customers. Many Chinese supermarkets do not give their Guyanese sales girls annual leave.

So what is the job? I want to be the head of the Human Rights Commission. I don’t want any high salary. I don’t want a SUV assigned to me. I just want unfettered space to do my work.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the

Frederick Kissoon author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Sunday March 21, 2021

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Coronavirus: Is it fair to show utter disregard for guidelines and health workers have to pay the consequences?

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center

A

s our case numbers continue to soar, so does the occupancy rates at our hospitals countrywide.

It seems like we are going head-on into a third wave of infections with the most callous of behaviour thus far.

Countrywide, numerous recreational activities are lending to large gatherings and facilitating the spread of possibly, a new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus.

On the other side, health workers are risking their lives to save the increasing numbers of sick patients and trying to avoid a catastrophe.

What’s worse is the miraculous expectations from those that are irresponsible when they become infected.

We are in a pandemic with an ever-changing disease and a health system that has been pushed beyond the norms.

The more irresponsible we behave, the likelier we will fatigue our health system, and put everyone at risk of not getting the desired care that is expected in a normal setting.

What’s happening with guidelines?

While there are guidelines in place, adhering to them seems to be the bigger chal-

lenge.

Throughout Guyana, persons are gathering in large crowds and have no regard for mask use.

The irony is while science has figured out how to prevent the disease from spreading, us humans cannot use this science to our advantage against the COVID-19 war.

We are aware of the danger, but cannot help but walking right into it in exchange for some leisure time.

In this age, mask wearing and avoiding crowding spaces are not too difficult to ask in return for helping to save lives.

The effect of disregarding guidelines While this may seem redundant, when we disregard guidelines, we put our lives and the lives of others at risk.

What’s riskier is the fact that we are becoming part of the problem instead of being part of the solution.

This virus needs as many hosts as possible to facilitate its spread and mutation.

While the spread is costing lives, the mutation ensures the virus stays ahead of us by evolving into forms that spread easier, are deadlier, and evade vaccines and treatment.

If we continue to behave irresponsibly, then we will be facilitating our worst nightmare; a virus that has mutated too often and has become a

permanent, irremovable fixture in our lives.

What to expect if you get infected?

While everyone may understand what to expect if they are infected, it does not always go as planned with this virus, especially when there is a wave of infections.

Some may have mild symptoms and recover, while others will have to be hospitalized and either recover with long lasting effects or unfortunately, die.

What many do not know, is the mental and physical suffering that comes with being hospitalized.

Can you imagine being hospitalized and all you see are health workers fully covered and tired but trying their best to keep you alive? You do not get to see your relatives and can die without seeing them or anyone else again.

To compound matters, you are struggling for each breath like someone who is drowning slowly for days.

Your last memory is with faces that you cannot see and being sad and isolated during indescribable suffering.

This is the reality for those with the severe disease that was as a result of their irresponsible behaviour, of the irresponsible behaviour of someone else.

How is this affecting health workers?

As a health worker, it’s never easy to see your patient die, much less seeing them suffer slowly, begging for help, and knowing that you have done all you could have but the virus will win this battle.

What’s worse is knowing that you have to come to work to see many more suffer in the

weeks to come because of the irresponsible behaviour of many.

It’s been a year of this and we are all tired of seeing our patients suffer.

Heck, we are tired of so many of these bad memories in our minds and knowing there is more to come.

Our work environment has been transformed into an area of suffering for all.

We have to be so cautious, as a wrong move can put our lives or our patients’ lives at risk.

Please be responsible in your environment so that we

Dr. Zulfikar Bux can look forward to getting back our old working environment and save many more lives!

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Reposting, sharing explicit photos/videos, offensive social media post are criminal acts The Court Journal

By Renay Sambach Many times when explicit images or videos are leaked, especially with females, most persons tend to join the ‘train’ and broadcast the images or videos.

Some would take it to the extent of posting the same images or videos on their social media platforms’ statuses. Being involved in such an act is a crime and carries a period of jail-time with a fine.

HISTORY Guyana’s Cybercrime Bill 2016 was presented by the then Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams. It was published on August 4, 2016.

After the Bill was presented to the National Assembly, the proposed Section 18, ‘Sedition,’ had caused a public outcry.

However, on July 20, 2018, the Coalition Government used its majority to pass the Cybercrime Bill with an amendment expunging the controversial sedition clause.

CYBERCRIME Cybercrime is the use of a computer to carry out illegal acts. Cybercrimes are usually done with the use of the internet and the different instruments that it has available.

Most people are not aware of this Act and the penalties that are attached to offences underneath the Act. Some Cybercrime offences in Guyana are: illegal access to a computer system, child pornography, offences against the State, publication or transmission of images of private parts of a person and using a computer system to coerce, harass, intimidate, humiliate, etc., a person.

Since the passage of the Bill, numerous persons were charged, put before the court and even convicted.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY According to Section 2:14, “A person commits an offence if the person intentionally produces child pornography for the purpose of its distribution through a computer system; offers or makes available, distributes or transmits child pornography through a

All about the Cybercrime Act…

computer system; procures or obtains child pornography through a computer system for himself or another person; or possesses child pornography in a computer system or on a computer data storage medium.”

Last April, two videos of child pornography surfaced and it went viral on Guyana social media platforms. After the video surfaced, the taxidriver that videoed the act went into hiding.

However, after some months, he was arrested, charged and put before the court.

According to reports, the first video showed the taxi driver and an underage girl sitting in the back of his car.

The man then unzipped his pants, revealing his private part, after that the underage girl was then seen performing oral sex as the taxi-driver videoed the act.

The second video later surfaced with the same taxidriver and another underage girl. Not only is it an offence to rape, or sexually assault a minor, but it is also an offence to record any sex act with a minor. That offence is called ‘child pornography.’

According to the law, anyone who is found guilty of child pornography at the Magistrate’s Court level, where the matter is tried summarily, will be liable to a fine of $10M and five years’ imprisonment. If the matter is tried indictably and the person is found guilty of child pornography in the High Court, he/she will be liable to a fine of $15M and 10 years imprisonment.

PUBLISHING EXPLICIT PHOTOS/VIDEOS OR REMARKS Another law under the Cybercrime Act is, “Using a computer to publish or transmit computer data that is obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious or indecent with intent to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to another person.”

Earlier this year, a Kitty m a n w a s c h a rg e d f o r allegedly sharing nude photographs of a 16-year-old girl, who refused to have a relationship with him.

The defendant, Ryan Seecharran, 33, made his first appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’

Jailed: Janelle Williams.

Jailed: Melissa Ann Pestano.

Court before Principal Magistrate, Sherdel IsaacsMarcus. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that on January 10, 2021, at Kitty, Georgetown, he used a computer system to publish obscene/explicit photographs of a 16-year-old girl via WhatsApp status to humiliate her, causing her substantial emotional distress.

According to reports, Seecharran and the teen are known to each other since they once shared a friendship. It is alleged that on the day in question, Seecharran asked the teen to be in a relationship with her and she turned down his request. This reportedly made him angry and he posted the photographs of her on his WhatsApp status.

The girl had reportedly sent the photographs to one of her female friends, who then shared the photographs with Seecharran.

His matter is presently ongoing, while he is out on $300,000 bail.

Another matter is that of Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (ANPU) in Region Two, Prince Holder, who is charged for Cyber-bullying.

It is alleged that Holder used a computer system to publish or transmit electronic data of Tamesh Jagmohan that is obscene,

vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious or indecent with intent to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to Jagmohan. Holder denied the charge and is currently out on $10,000 bail.

During March 2020, 21year-old, Melissa Ann Pestano and Janelle Williams, 23, were sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined $5M each for sharing a sex tape of their friend on social media.

Pestano, Williams and the victim were friends and they were very close. Based on reports, Pestano found out that the victim was having an affair with her boyfriend.

After finding out about the affair, Pestano and Williams confronted the victim and later planned to get back at her.

It was reported that the women arranged for Pestano’s boyfriend and the victim to book a room at the K&VC International Hotel at South Road, Georgetown.

Ten minutes after the two checked into the room, Pestano arrived and was given information about which room they were in.

Pestano then entered the room and videoed the sex act.

Pestano had sent a copy of the video to Williams, who then shared the video

with several persons.

Thereafter the video was widely circulated on social media.

The matter was reported and the women were later arrested and subsequently charged for the offence.

They are currently behind bars for sharing the sex tape of their friends on social media.

A woman was also jailed last month for not only assaulting, but for also posting several pictures of her ex-girlfriend, along with derogatory remarks.

According to reports, between June 22, 2020, and June 25, 2020, at Waterloo S t r e e t , N o r t h C u m m i n g s b u rg , Georgetown, Roshana Hunte used a computer system, to publish electronic data of her ex-girlfriend that was obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious or indecent with intent to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to her.

As a result of Hunte’s action, she was sentenced to three years imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of $5M. The Cybercrime Act not only covers the exposing or broadcasting of images or videos to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to someone but it also covers threats that are post on Facebook and other

social media platforms.

One example of that matter is that of Ryan Williams, a store clerk, who made a Facebook post threatening to kill the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Claudette Singh, and her family.

Williams made the post during the elections impasse last year.

However, he has since issued an apology to the GECOM Chair for his Facebook post.

Anyone who is found guilty of ‘using a computer system to coerce, harass, intimidate, humiliate, etc. a person,’ at the Magistrate’s Court level, will be liable to a fine of $5M and three years’ imprisonment. If the matter is tried indictably and the person is found guilty of child pornography in the High Court, he/she will be liable to a fine of $10M and five years’ imprisonment.

Illegal access to a computer system, illegal interception, illegal data interference, illegal acquisition of data, illegal system interference, and illegal devices, are all offences under the Cybercrime Act. They are also other offences that falls under the Cybercrime Act, which carries from months to years of imprisonment and hefty fines.

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>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS <<<

All oil today - all disturbing

By GHK Lall

S

omething rare is done in this space: I focus on recent oil developments and emphasize what disturbs. Gasto-shore project is the first, local content second, and third is, who really is for the Guyanese people.

Should the latter be found, I could use the enlightenment.

A Tuesday news item in KN noted Guyana's Natural Resources Minister sharing that ExxonMobil is readying to conduct studies on a likely gas-to-shore project here.

I would have been surprised if the company was not doing so, not engaging in some preliminary undertaking as to the significance

for its prospects. This is what progressive, competitive, and profitoriented corporations do for feasibility purposes, its hoped-for exclusive control of such a project, and always to enhance its shareholders returns. The Minister informed Guyana that Exxon was embarking on that, for which we thank him.

I would thank him more - along with the Vice President and President, to present to all Guyanese what government intends to do about its own studies for this muchtouted gas-to-shore project. This nation would be grateful to be informed of those entities shortlisted for such studies, the criteria used for the final selection, and with a sincere commitment to put before the Guyanese public, the entire and untouched results of those studies.

The biggest thing ever to come the way of this country cannot be its most secret, it's most crooked.

There is nothing incestuous about this oil blessing of ours (other than for the self-condemning actions of

political and commercial players), thus the powerful resistance to come clean on oil is most mystifying.

I have always believed that if there is nothing under-the-table, then darkness and hiding only confirms that it is, indeed, the underhanded at work.

Since the PPP government is hell-bent on a gas-to-shore project, and at Wales mandatorily, then conduct the studies (like Exxon); but they must be our own independent ones, with everything disclosed to Guyana.

That is what good governance is about; what honest and trustworthy leadership embodies; and what we need with this oil endowment, if Guyana is to maximize the benefits.

Personally speaking, there can be nothing more straightforward, more helpful, and more persuasive, than a profusion of such practices with this oil.

The PPP government has been a study in the opposite on most things related to oil, which opens the door to powerful conclusions about the integrity of its leadership at the highest tiers.

Another disturbing moment was that KN disclosure,

compliments of a former wellplaced Guyanese oilman, that the World Bank itself had advised against publicizing certain oilrelated details.

It disturbed, because the World Bank is supposed to be neutral (at least in theory and on paper); a kind of vigilant and protective big brother on the side of the little guys.

Guyana is little, and desperately needs every muscular presence that it can get.

Guyanese do not have clean representation in the PPP government; currently, Guyanese do not have a robust check and balance through a respected opposition; and hopeful Guyanese do not have an ethical and meaningful civil society presence to be their champion.

When a venerable organization like the World Bank counsels nonrelease of oil information, then the goose of this society is cooked and consumed. Be assured that it is by others, and not the little local people who lose again.

On this note, I close out with local content.

There is local content, but it is largely for our commercial interests, who have not a single word of dissent to utter

about how poorly and unreliably our oil is managed. It is because local content at the enterprise level is executing profitable contracts with foreign companies.

Members shudder at thoughts and positions such as mine, because such could ruffle the foreigners (and local political scoundrels), which upsets their income statements.

It explains civil society is muzzled from saying anything about oil: its stalwarts are embedded in professional, technical, academic, and religious ranks. Show them the money, and there goes their integrity, their patriotic dignity.

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

Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Pink-necked, (Treron green Pigeon vernans)

g ts in s... re ture e t In rea C

T

he pink-necked, green pigeon (Treron vernans), is a species of the pigeon and dove family, Columbidae. It is a common species of Southeast Asia, found from Myanmar and Vietnam south through to the major islands of Indonesia and the Philippines (where it is called "punay.”

The species lives in a wide range of forested and human-modified habitats

and is particularly found in open habitats. Its diet is dominated by fruit, in particular figs. Pairs lay two eggs in a flimsy twig nest in a tree, shrub, or hedge, and work together to incubate the eggs and raise the chicks.

The species is thought to be an important disperser of fruit seeds. The species has adapted well to human changes to the environment, and can be found in crowded cities as long as fruiting trees

are present. It is not considered to be at risk of extinction.

This bird species is a medium-sized pigeon, measuring 25 to 30 cm (9.8–11.8 in) in length and weighing around 105–160 g (3.7–5.6 oz). The species has sexually dimorphic plumage. The male has a grey head, pinkish neck and upper breast, and the rest of the breast is orange. The back is olive green and the

wings are green with black primaries and yellow edging

on the tertiaries, which create a yellow bar across the wing in flight. The belly is yellowish with grey flanks, and the tail is grey with a black band at the end, and a chestnut upper tail coverts.

The female is smaller overall, has a yellowish belly, throat and face, and greenish crown and back of the neck, although is otherwise similar to the male.

The legs are pink or reddish, and the bill is white, pale blue green or grey.

Juvenile birds look similar to females but are greyer a b o v e . https://en.wikipedia.org/wik i / P i n k necked_green_pigeon cite_note-hbw-7 Pigeons in the genus Treron are unusual in the family for not having cooing calls, instead making whistling and quacking noises, but some cooing notes have been recorded for the pink-necked, green pigeon, as the male makes a tri-syballic whistling call ending in a coo. It is also reported to make a rasping krrak krrak... call, but the species is generally held to not be particularly vocal, usually only calling in communal roosts and when it finds food.

The pink-necked, green pigeon is primarily a frugivore, taking a range of fruits, particularly figs (Ficus). Fruit of other trees are taken as well, including Glochidion, Breynia, Vitex, Macaranga, Muntingia, Melastoma, Oncosperma and Bridelia. Shoots, buds and seeds are also taken, but much less commonly so, often by quite a substantial margin. In one study of the frugivores of Sulawesi, 55 observations were made of this species feeding and everyone was of it eating fruit, mostly figs.

The species feeds in the mid-canopy of the forest and rarely feeds in the understory or on the ground. It is described as being agile when clinging on fine

branches to reach fruits at the end. Like other members of the genus Treron, the gizzard is muscular and contains grit, which is used to grind and digest seeds inside fruit.

Studies of closely related species have found that not every individual has grit, and it is likely the same is true of this species.

It is social, feeding in small groups or, where an abundant source of food is found, quite large flocks of up to 70 birds. The species also roosts communally, and can form roosting flocks of hundreds of birds.

There is no defined breeding season and it has been recorded as breeding all year across its range, except in February. The task of building the nest is divided by sex, with the male being responsible for collecting the nesting material and the female building it. The nest itself is a simple and flimsy platform of twigs and finer material.

Two eggs are laid, which are white and measure 26.8 mm–28.9 mm × 20.3 mm–21.8 mm (1.06 in–1.14 in × 0.80 in–0.86 in). The nest is placed in a tree, shrub or hedge, and can be quite close to the ground, ranging from one to 10 m (3.3–32.8 ft.).

The breeding biology of this species is virtually unknown, with only a single breeding report from Singapore. In that report, the pair shared incubation duties, with the male incubating during the day and the female at night, with the incubation time being 17 days.

On hatching the chicks are brooded continuously for the first few days of life, as with incubation the male broods during the day and the female at night. Chicks are near-naked and have brown skin with a few white pin feathers on hatching.

Chicks leave the nest 10 days after hatching, but remain in the nesting area for a few days after hatching, and continue to be fed by their parents. (Source: Wikipedia)

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West Indies vs Sri Lanka 3rd Wine of the week: Folonari ODI to air today on E2 Channel The first of Test Series for the Sri Lanka Tour of West Indies 2021 is scheduled for today and concludes on March 25. This highly anticipated game will be aired on Flowsports and E2. Be sure to tune in.

Folonari is produced by ‘Italy’s Biggest Winery’ boasting exports to 40 countries worldwide and one of the largest ranges available in terms of varietals and sizes.

The Folonari story began in 1825 when Francesco Folonari started selecting only the best grapes for his wine production. From that time, Folonari has become synonymous with Italian quality and authenticity.

The story doesn’t end there, it was important to Francesco that Folonari wines which are also distributed by Ansa McAL, are not only top quality but also accessible to everyone who wants to enjoy them. It is this philosophy of enjoying excellence everyday not just on special occasions that guide Folonari to this very day. See below for a breakdown of some of the wines in the Folonari repertoire. Be sure to enjoy your selections responsibly.

PINOT GRIGIO This Italian classic is cool, crisp and vibrant. Folonari Pinot Grigio is perfect for any occasion, whether pairing with dinners out or takeout at home. It is an easy-drinking and versatile glass of white wine, great for days at the beach or barbecues throughout the summer.

Color: Pale yellow color Aroma: Fragrant bouquet of fresh florals Tasting Notes: Dry and crisp with notes of green apples. Clean finish.

Pair with: Fresh salads, seafood, fried appetizers (like calamari), mozzarella, pasta with pesto or creamy sauce CHIANTI D.O.C.G.

Although Chianti wines originated in the 13th century, there’s nothing old-fashioned about the contemporary taste of Folonari Chianti. The grapes are sourced from Italy’s most well-known wine producing area – the Chianti region of Tuscany. The winemaking method emphasizes fresh, crisp flavors of the grapes.

Varietals: 100% Sangiovese Color: Pale ruby red color Aroma: Hints of cherry and spice.

Tasting Notes: Blackberry and raspberry with almond notes on the finish.

Pair with: Chicken parmesan, lasagna, duck, lamb, young cheeses like pecorino and taleggio

MERLOT This wine has soft and elegant with notes of raspberries that linger on the palate.

Varietals: 100% Merlot Color: Bright red Aroma: Bouquet of blackberry and raspberry Tasting Notes: Raspberries with spicy, vanilla notes. Soft with a velvety finish.

Pair with: Veal, pork, cheese pizza, pasta with meat sauce, chicken MOSCATO This selection carries lovely notes of gardenias and white peaches brought to life by a slight effervescence and crisp acidity. Serve as an aperitif alongside an appetizer or pair with dessert.

Varietals: 100% Moscato Color: Straw color with sparkles Aroma: Fresh bouquet of white fruit Tasting Notes: Sweet (due to residual sugar) palate of melon, peach, honey coated lemon-drop.

Balanced with good acidity.

Pair with: Spicy Asian food, charcuterie, fruit cobblers PINOT NOIR This wine is made with America’s favorite red grape!

It is an international varietal with an Italian twist. It is also a versatile wine that is great on its own or paired with a variety of food.

Varietals: 100% Pinot Noir Color: Pale red Aroma: Strawberries, cherries and a touch of spice.

Tasting Notes: Cranberry, cherry, raspberry with clove and spice. Light bodied.

Pair With: Salmon, goat cheese, pork, tuna

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7 Ways Your Body Benefits from Lemon Water Lemon water is all the rage these days.

Many restaurants serve it routinely, and some people start their day with lemon water instead of coffee or tea.

There’s no doubt lemons are delicious, but does adding them to water make you healthier?

Much of the evidence supporting lemon water’s health benefits is anecdotal.

Little scientific research has been done specifically on lemon water, but research exists on the benefits of lemon and water separately.

Here are seven ways your body may benefit from lemon water.nterest 1. It promotes hydration According to the Food and Nutrition Board, general guidelines say that women should get at least 91 ounces per day and men should get at least 125 ounces. This includes water from food and drinks.

Water is the best beverage for hydration, but some people don’t like the taste of it on its own. Adding lemon enhances water’s flavor, which may help you drink more.

2. It’s a good source of vitamin C Citrus fruits like lemons are high in vitamin C, a primary antioxidant that helps protect cells from damaging free radicals. You’ve probably heard that vitamin C may help prevent or limit the duration of the common cold in some people, but studies are conflicting.

Vitamin C may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, and lower blood pressure.

While lemons don’t top the list of citrus fruits high in vitamin C, they’re still a good source. According to the United States Department of AgricultureTrusted Source, the juice of one lemon provides about 18.6 milligrams of vitamin C. The recommended daily amount for adults is 65 to 90 milligrams.

3. It supports weight loss Research has shown that polyphenol antioxidants found in lemons significantly reduces weight gain in mice that are overfed in order to induce obesity.

In these mice studies, the antioxidant compounds also offset the negative effects on blood glucose levels and improved insulin resistance, the two main factors in the development of type 2 diabetes.

While the same results need to be proven in humans, anecdotal evidence is strong that lemon water supports weight loss. Whether this is

due to people simply drinking more water and feeling full or the lemon juice itself is unclear.

4. It improves your skin quality Vitamin C found in lemons may help reduce skin wrinkling, dry skin from aging, and damage from the sun.

How water improves skin is controversial, but one thing is certain. If your skin loses moisture, it becomes dry and prone to wrinkles. A 2016 laboratory study showed that a citrus-based drink helped prevent the development of wrinkles in hairless mice.

5. It aids digestion Some people drink lemon water as a daily morning laxative to help prevent constipation.

Drinking warm or hot lemon water when you wake up may help get your digestive system moving.

Ayurvedic medicine says the sour lemon taste helps stimulate your “agni.” In ayurvedic medicine, a strong agni jump-starts the digestive system, allowing you to digest food more easily and helping to prevent the buildup of toxins.

6. It freshens breath Have you ever rubbed a lemon on your hands to get rid of the smell of garlic or some other strong odor? The same folk remedy may apply to bad breath caused by eating foods with strong smells such as garlic, onions, or fish.

You might avoid bad breath by drinking a glass of lemon water after meals and first thing in the morning.

Lemon is thought to stimulate saliva and water also helps prevent a dry mouth, which can lead to bad breath caused by bacteria.

7. It helps prevent kidney stones The citric acid in lemons may help prevent kidney stones. Citrate, a component

of citric acid, paradoxically makes urine less acidic and may even break up small stones. Drinking lemon water not only gets you citrate, but also the water you need to help prevent or flush out stones.

How to make lemon water In order to reap any health benefits of lemon water, you need drink it consistently, and you need more than just a single wedge of lemon in your

mug.

When making lemon water, always use fresh lemons rather than artificial lemon from a bottle.

To make lemon water, squeeze half a lemon into 8 ounces of warm or cold water.

To make the drink as healthy as possible, use filtered water and organic lemons.

Infuse more flavor or add a health boost to lemon water by adding:

· a few springs of mint · a teaspoon of maple syrup or raw honey · a slice of fresh ginger · a dash of cinnamon · a sprinkle of turmeric You can also add slices of other fresh citrus fruits such as limes and oranges, or cucumber slices. Always wash the produce well before slicing and using.

Having lemon ice cubes on hand is a great way to add lemon to your water fast.

Simply squeeze fresh lemon juice into ice cube trays and freeze. Drop a few cubes into a glass of cold or hot water as needed.

You can start your morning with a mug of warm lemon water, and keep a pitcher of water infused with a few sliced lemons in your refrigerator to drink throughout the day.

Side effects of lemon water Lemon water is generally safe to drink, but there are a few potential side effects to be aware of.

Lemon contains citric acid, which may erode tooth enamel. To limit the risk, drink lemon water through a straw, and rinse your mouth with

plain water afterwards.

When it comes to heartburn, lemon water can go either way. The citric acid may cause heartburn in some people. Others experience relief from heartburn, as lemon juice becomes alkaline, reducing acidity in digestion.

Only experimenting can tell its effect on you.

Some people report more frequent trips to the bathroom when drinking lemon water.

Although vitamin C is often believed to be a diuretic, something that increases the amount of urine you produce, evidence doesn’t show that vitamin C from natural sources like lemons has diuretic effects.

If you experience the need for extra bathroom breaks while drinking lemon water, it’s more than likely caused by increased water intake.

The takeaway Research shows lemon water has many potential health benefits. Aside from those, adding lemon to your water may help you drink more throughout the day and keep you hydrated. Staying hydrated is critical to good health, so lemon water is pretty much a win-win.

6 Simple Ways to Reduce Water Retention Water retention occurs when excess fluids build up inside your body.

It is also known as fluid retention or edema.

Water retention occurs in the circulatory system or within tissues and cavities.

It can cause swelling in the hands, feet, ankles and legs.

There are several reasons why it happens, many of which are not serious. Some women experience water retention during pregnancy or before their monthly period.

People who are physically inactive, such as when bedridden or sitting through long flights, may also be affected.

However, water retention can also be a symptom of a severe medical condition like kidney disease or heart failure.

If you’re experiencing sudden or severe water retention, seek medical attention immediately.

Yet, in cases where the swelling is mild and there is no underlying health condition, you may be able to reduce water retention with a few simple tricks.

Here are 6 ways to reduce water retention.

1. Eat Less Salt Salt is made of sodium and chloride.

Sodium binds to water in

the body and helps maintain the balance of fluids both inside and outside of cells.

If you often eat meals that are high in salt, such as many processed foods, your body may retain water. In fact, these foods are the biggest dietary source of sodium.

The most common advice for reducing water retention is to decrease sodium intake.

However, the evidence behind this is mixed.

Several studies have found that increased sodium intake leads to increased retention of fluid inside the body. On the other hand, one study in healthy men did not find the same effect, so results may depend on the individual.

Summary Sodium can bind to water in the body, and decreasing your salt intake may help reduce water retention.

2. Increase Your Magnesium Intake Magnesium is a very important mineral.

In fact, it is involved in more than 300 enzymatic reactions that keep the body functioning.

Moreover, increasing your magnesium intake may help reduce water retention.

One study found that 200 mg of magnesium per day reduced water retention in women with premenstrual symptoms (PMS) Other

studies in women with PMS have reported similar results Good sources of magnesium include nuts, whole grains, dark chocolate and leafy, green vegetables. It’s also available as a supplement. You can find magnesium supplements at your local drugstore or online.

3. Increase Vitamin B6 Intake Vitamin B6 is a group of several related vitamins.

They are important for the formation of red blood cells and serve many other functions in the body.

Vitamin B6 has been shown to reduce water retention in women with premenstrual syndrome.

Foods rich in vitamin B6 i n c l u d e b a n a n a s, potatoes, walnuts and meat. You can also purchase vitamin B6 supplements at your local drugstore oronline.

4. Eat More PotassiumRich Foods Potassium is a mineral that serves several important functions.

For example, it helps send the electrical signals that keep the body running. It may also benefit heart health.

Potassium appears to help reduce water retention in two ways, by decreasing sodium levels and increasing urine production.

Bananas, avocados and

tomatoes are examples of foods that are high in potassium.

5. Try Taking Dandelion Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is an herb that has been used as a natural diuretic in folk medicine for a long time.

Natural diuretics may help reduce water retention by making you pee more often. In one study, 17 volunteers took three doses of dandelion leaf extract over a 24-hour period.

They monitored their fluid intake and output during the following days and reported a significant increase in the amount of urine produced.

Though this was a small study with no control group, the results indicate that dandelion extract may be an effective diuretic.

What’s more, studies suggest that dandelion may have many other potential benefits.

6. Avoid Refined Carbs Eating refined carbs leads to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.

High insulin levels cause your body to retain more sodium by increasing the reabsorption of sodium in the kidneys.

This leads to more fluid volume inside your body.

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O

The Boon

nce upon a time, there lived a very lazy man named Harman. All day long, he would dawdle and lie on his cot in the backyard, observing the birds and flowers, and admiring nature.

He would not lift a finger to do any work. If his wife ever asked him to feed the fowls or take the goats to graze in the nearby fields, he would feign sickness and refuse.

One day, a sage came to the village. Soon, word spread that the sage was a very wise person who had given sound advice to many villagers, who had sought his help regarding their problems. He always gave a portion of his food to the stray dogs. He was a mildtempered man and never got angry.

Now, it so happened that one afternoon, the sage was meditating under a tree near Harman’s home. As usual, Harman was reclined on his cot, when suddenly; he spotted a snake with its hood raised at the meditating man.

Alarmed, Harman quickly fetched a stick and then, moving stealthily and cautiously, he hit the snake on the head and killed it.

The noise disrupted the sage’s trance. When he saw how Harman had saved his life, he was pleased and blessed him. “I will grant you a boon, young man” he said, “Tell me, what is it that you want?”

Hearing this, Harman was overjoyed. He expressed his wish to get wealthy within a short span of time, without having to work much. “Very well,” said the sage, “If that is what you desire, you shall have it. Beginning from tonight, each night, you shall have a dream depicting the troubles of someone, the solution to which will be visible to you alone. If you save the concerned party with your knowledge, I am sure you will be rewarded. In such a manner, you shall soon be able to accrue a lot of wealth.” Harman thanked the sage and went home.

Later, he told his wife about what had happened and the boon that had been granted to him. However, Shanta, his wife, was skeptical, “Come on dear!

The shrewdest way, was to become rich is through hard work. I have always been trying to make you see that.

Anyway, you have chosen a short cut to your destination.

Let us see how that goes.”

Harman did not pay much heed to her words.

“Beginning from tonight, I am going to tread towards a better future!” he laughed.

That night, in his sleep,

Harman dreamt of the King.

He saw that his advisor, with whom the King was very close, had stowed away bags of gold in a secret chamber, underneath the basement of his house. Then, the King was seen informing his advisor of some missing gold in the royal treasury, to which the latter feigned innocence.

The advisor was also seen suggesting to the King that it could be one of the guards who could have done the act.

When Harman woke up in the morning, the dream was still fresh in his mind. He immediately set out for the King’s palace. When the guards refused to let him, a mere stranger, meet the king, Harman told them that he knew where the missing gold was present. When the King was informed of this, he asked Harman to be let in.

Harman greeted the King and immediately informed him of the secret chamber in his advisor’s house where the gold was hidden. The whole court was aghast at the news.

The King warned him against fooling with him and insulting his trusted aide.

However, Harman pleaded that the advisor’s house be searched as he was speaking the truth. Reluctantly, the King ordered his guards to do the same and soon, the gold was found, in the exact location as Harman had claimed. The King lost no time in putting the advisor to jail and rewarded Harman handsomely for helping him.

When Harman returned home and showed Shanta the rich sum of money that he had received, she was elated.

To celebrate, she cooked a sumptuous meal, and they both ate happily.

This time, during his sleep, Harman dreamt of a rich landlord in a nearby district whose daughter was afflicted with a serious illness. In fact, she had grown so weak that she was confined to the bed all day.

Medications prescribed by almost all doctors had failed to revive her. Harman saw a particular plant in the landlord’s garden, the leaves of which would help in curing the girl.

The next morning, Harman knew what he had to do. He travelled to the landlord’s house and offered a cure. As the landlord was trying all means to make his daughter better, he allowed him in. When Harman suggested the leaves of the particular plant be crushed and made into pulp, it was done and fed to the girl. To everyone’s utter surprise, within a few hours, the girl could walk like she did before. She claimed to feel

more revitalized, and talked and laughed with zest. By evening, she could even be seen running from one room to another. The landlord and his wife were extremely happy. “To think that the cure was right there in our garden and we did not know of it!” exclaimed the landlord.

Harman was once again given a handsome reward.

Days passed. Harman continued to have dreams every night and act upon them in the morning. Soon, he became a rich man in the village. However, his health deteriorated. Since he dreamt of people’s troubles every night, he was deprived of sound sleep. As a result, dark circles appeared underneath his eyes.

Each morning, even after his sleep, Harman was tired.

He even stopped enjoying the tasty dishes that Shanta cooked for dinner, in apprehension of the dreams that would soon haunt him in his sleep. In fact, despite being wealthy, Harman grew morose and sad as soon as it grew dark. Shanta grew worried at his plight.

“Well! This is what you wanted Harman – to get rich within a short span. And it had happened. Why are you brooding about it now?” she asked. Shamefaced, Harman admitted that the boon that he had been granted had now become a burden to him as he could not get rest or sleep. “I am at my wits’ end. I should have listened to you and worked hard to become rich, not chosen such an easy way out,” he regretted. Shanta shook her head in commiseration. “The only way you can restore your peace of mind is to ask the sage to take back the boon.”

Harman agreed and decided to do the same.

He learnt that the sage had moved to the neighboring village.

Hurrying there, he sought him and pleaded him to take back the boon, as he did not want wealth at the cost of peace of mind. The sage smiled, “So you no longer want to get rich?” “Yes, I do,” replied Harman, “But not in a hasty manner. From now on, I will earn money working.”

“Very well,” said the sage, “You will no longer have dreams from tonight.”

Since then, true to his word, Harman worked hard.

He helped his wife with the housework and also opened a grocery shop, where through sheer effort, the business soon thrived. Shanta was happy to see her husband reform. She was thankful that the boon had finally made him realize his folly.

Story by Ananya Sarkar

Sunday March 21, 2021

Junior page What better way to celebrate Holi than with splatter paint!

Make Your Own Holi Powder Essentially you can make a type of sidewalk paint that can wash off from your garden and yard. You have two ways of making sidewalk paint: 1. Cornstarch and food coloring – You’ll need a few large containers of cornstarch and food coloring. Mix a few drops of coloring into 2 cups of cornstarch.

If you mix this with water, you get “paint” which the kids can do on the sidewalk or driveway.

Fair warning, this mixture may not come out

easily from concrete pavers because of their porous surface. Test it out first before letting the kids go wild.

2. Smashed Chalk – Grab a few Crayola chalk boxes (I recommend at least 4 color boxes), smash them up, and the let the kids go wild. Since these chalks have already been tested on just about every surface a small child can find, they will wash out easily.

To make it more, give you kids small mallets and let them smash the chalk.

Then move the powder to bowls. To make it easy to transfer, lay down paper on the ground (do it outside!), then let the kids smash the chalk on the paper. You can then lift the paper and easily transfer to a bowl.

Again, if you add water to the chalk powder, you get “paint”, a second win for the little ones to go wild.

FUN WITH POETRY

Friends

The best people I know besides my family Are the friends that make me feel so good; They are the children who help me out, And keep me as happy as I could.

My friends and I love to be together, by Uncle Roy Whether at school, work or play; I feel that these special people Are what make my life okay.

My father is glad I have such nice friends; He often lets me bring them along, But he says that I should be careful That they do not make me do wrong.

When we try to keep each other happy, And help one another to always do right, Then I know we would always be friends, And never have to quarrel or fight.

Binox

The finished puzzle should be filled with Xs and Os. Horizontally and vertically, there should never be a continuous run of the same symbol longer than 2. There are an equal number of Xs and Os in each row and column. All rows are unique. All columns are unique, too

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

Improve your interaction with all others to ensure proper cooperation

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TEEN TIME

W

e always need to cooperate with those with whom we interact at the various levels of our lives so as to get the most out of our relationships with them, as well as in the efforts we make every day to move forward efficiently.

Simply put, we need to strive always to be a great teammate. Whether you are interacting with others at home, at school or at a workplace, you should always see that it is important for you to realise that you are part of a team.

Make sure you do your part of the work at home, which includes keeping the place clean and in good order,

along with all the other things that are needed. In your class, you should cooperate with your teacher and classmates so that everyone gets the most out of the time spent there. If you are working, it would be much appreciated by your employer if you can see yourself as part of the whole group, and work with all others to get the goods and services you deal with produced and delivered efficiently.

A basic part of this interaction is in our communication with others.

One way of being efficient in this is to realise that we need to speak less and listen more. People have a natural

habit of wanting others to listen to and accept their own views, and so they listen less to what others have to say. In fact, many times people are so anxious to get their own perspective across to others that they hardly ever listen. This of course lessens their chances of learning from others, which can serve to keep them from much information and opinion that would have enriched their own fund of knowledge.

Form a habit of really listening to others, and you will be surprised at how much you can learn, by which you can help yourself as well as see the opportunity to help others.

In this effort, it is true that there are times when you can help people with some problem simply by listening to them.

This happens because people can find their own solutions when they get the opportunity to really express what is in their minds. Also, when they have someone who is willing to listen to them, they feel worthy and appreciated, which helps them in this search for the solutions to their problems..

We all should be aware, by its very name. that our country has been founded on principles that embrace cooperation, and we as a people should be examples of this mode of behaviour.

Cross figure A cross-figure (also variously called cross number puzzle or figure logic) is a puzzle similar to a crossword in structure, but with entries that consist of numbers rather than words, with individual digits being entered in the blank cells.

A Friend A friend is one who reaches for your hand, One who shares his ideas and together you expand, When you are in trouble or pain, One who lends assistance and together you gain.

A friend is not selfish, cruel or heartless, He is not unmindful or helpless; A friend does not watch another in sorrow, But is always there today and tomorrow.

A friend is caring, loving and kind, He is there with a wise and pure mind, He is not vulgar, rude or immature, But is there to solve, assist and cure.

A friend is always there to land a hand, He is not vain, proud or playing grand, He is there to ever offer a smile, And keep you happy through all life’s trials.

So, just as you value a good friend, Be there for others with a helping hand to lend; Always be known for the good you do, And you will benefit from friendship too.

Make cooperation as the basis of your life, and you will reap tremendous benefits from this practice.

TELL IT TO UNCLE ROY I would like to inform our readers that the Uncle Roy email address is temporarily unavailable.

So please send any contributions you would like to make to this page to roypaul2002@yahoo.com

Solutions to last week’s

FUTOSHIKI

SAMURAI SUDOKU

PAGE 50

Homemade Face Scrub Homemade Face Scrubs That You Need To Try Right Now

by Annabelle D'Costa Even after washing and cleansing your face every day, there are dead skin cells that even the best homemade face scrubs or cleansers miss out on. While they may help get rid of any superficial build up on the face, these face washers are not that effective at digging out the grime that’s deeper in your skin. Enter exfoliation, a process that not only helps remove dead skin, blackheads and whiteheads but also smoothens your skin texture. To scrub your way to a beautiful, glowing new you, you must make this process an essential part of your skincare regimen. While rice is known for its exfoliating and skin brightening properties, honey, on the other hand, helps heal and hydrate the skin.

Here’s How You Can Make A DIY Rice And Honey Scrub 1. Take two tablespoons of rice and grind them coarsely.

2. Add enough honey to make a thick paste.

3. After cleansing your face, apply this scrub evenly onto your face and massage with very light strokes.

4. Wash it off with lukewarm water and pat dry. Follow with a moisturiser.

Here’s How You Can Make A DIY Baking Soda, Honey And Lemon Juice Scrub Baking soda deeply exfoliates the skin, helping get rid of any dirt, grime, dead cells and excess sebum from the skin pores.

Lemon juice acts as a natural astringent reducing sebum production.

1. Add one tablespoon each of baking soda and lemon juice in a bowl. To this add half a tablespoon of raw honey.

2. Stir well to make a smooth paste and apply it to your face.

3. Gently scrub your face in circular motions for two to four minutes.

4. Wash it off with warm water followed by cold water.

Face Scrub For Dry Skin Exfoliating dry skin can be tricky as it could cause further dryness. Instead of skipping the scrubbing, opt for moisturising ingredients while putting together your DIY face scrub.

Here’s How You Can Make A DIY Honey, Olive Oil And Brown Sugar Scrub Olive oil has anti-ageing properties and enhances exfoliation, while brown sugar helps fight bacteria, and honey moisturises dry skin.

1. Mix one tablespoon of brown sugar with one teaspoon each of honey and olive oil.

2. Stir well and then apply it to your face.

3. Gently scrub your face working upwards from the chin, in a circular motion for two to three minutes.

4. Wash off with warm water and later splash some cold water to close the skin pores. Use this twice a week for better results.

DIY Face Scrub Ideas Before you reach out for those commercial exfoliators and scrubs, here are some DIY facial scrub ideas that you can try at home. Freshly prepared using natural ingredients, these exfoliators are gentle on the skin and are also safe and economical.

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=The Unexpected Inevitable= A tragic end to a father’s weekend plans with his children…

The story of the missing boat captain

By Shervin Belgrave It has been almost two months since Claude Pollard, a 58-year-old, Bartica boat captain, disappeared following a boat accident in the mighty Essequibo River.

It all happened Saturday January 30 last, recalled his son, Claude Pollard Jr., who believes that his father might still be alive.

In fact, Claude Jr. remembers that date as, “A weekend with dad that began in tragedy.”

As he reflected on the moment when his father fell overboard and failed to resurface, Claude Jr. paused for a moment of silence, and then said, “Daddy was taking us to spend the weekend with him; that probably was his final plan before he went missing.”

Claude Sr. was a father of 10 beautiful children and a popular boat captain who transported passengers to and from Bartica. That was his job for some 15 years. His customers and those who enjoyed his wonderful personality would call him “Claudy,” “Rasta Man” or “Bumpy.”

But none knew him better than his children who loved him dearly. His son Claude Jr. puts it this way, “He was a jolly, fun and entertaining dad who loved adventure and most of all a dad who loved each one of his children the same.”

To add some more clarity to the type of individual his father was, Claude Jr. said, “amongst all the gifts my dad has given me, the best and the greatest I received from him was love.”

Speaking about adventure, Claude Jr., fastforwarded and said that the day his father went missing they were about to

The wrecked boat following the accident.

experience yet another escapade.

Claude Jr. and his sister have been living in Georgetown for some time now while their father lived between Parika and Bartica with their other siblings.

Despite the distance, weekends and holidays were the customary time for them to unite with their father.

According to Claude Jr., “my sister would have more free time than me so she enjoyed all the boat rides because sometimes I have to work.”

On January 30th last, one such boat ride was planned by their father. Claude Jr. recounted, “he invited us to spend the weekend with him in Bartica.”

For Claude Jr. and his sister, that day was filled with excitement. It was a “get away” from the city and added to this, they were going to spend it with their dad who loved cracking jokes and entertaining everyone.

“It was probably the

Claude Pollard Jr. (center) with his father, Claude Pollard Sr. (left), and his sister three weeks before his disappearance. same for dad because he too would look forward to these weekends and loved spending time with us,” related Claude Jr. They arrived at the

Parika Stelling on the afternoon of January 30, and Claude Jr. recalled that he greeted them with some tight hugs and kisses.

As he rounded up some

passengers for a final trip to Bartica, his conversation with them, Claude Jr. said, “was focused on how we had passed the week.”

“He was like how was work man and stuff,” narrated Claude Jr. Finally, they were on their way to Bartica and everything, Claude Jr. said, was normal.

As the boat glided on the partially rough waters, Claude Jr. remembered that they were sitting at the back of the vessel close to their father, as he operated the outboard motors.

Moments later, while in the vicinity of Stampa Point, the unexpected happened.

Kaieteur News had reported that Claude Sr.’s boat crashed into a Boat Ambulance. The time of the collision was said to be around 19:15 hrs.

The impact, Claude Jr. recounted, sent everyone flying forward. He and his sister, he continued, got up and looked back, but their dad was nowhere to be seen.

“The engine was still running and the boat was still moving and I panicked, but my sister she was calm and knew what to do. She quickly took control of the engine and turned it off.”

Claude Jr., as he took pauses of silence, added that his sister began yelling “daddy, daddy” but there was no response.

Both Claude Jr. and his sister, along with the other passengers on board, were rescued and taken to the hospital where they received treatment for minor injuries.

The injuries that Claude Jr. received were nothing, he said, compared to the tragedy that had befallen him and his other siblings.

That final day, that final moment, that final hour which both he and his sister were forced to witness - the disappearance of their father - was the worst experience of their lives.

To this date, Claude Sr.’s body has not been recovered from the mighty Essequibo River, which swallowed him up on the night of January 30.

Since the accident, searches were carried out by police, family members and friends, to find his body but they all turned up empty handed.The search Kaieteur News was told is still on, but family members have started to lose hope that they will ever get to see him again, dead or alive.

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Survivor of 2012 Linden shooting prays to be medically fit again

By Vanessa Braithwaite With bullet fragments still lodged in his body, Hector Solomon, a survivor of a shooting in Linden, which occurred in 2012, is living a life of misery and pain. It has been close to nine years and he continues to suffer each day from a gunshot wound that has not only impacted his life physically but financially and mentally too.

Even worse, he believes that he has been forgotten and while the families of those who perished during the shooting incident deserve compensation, he believes he too should be compensated, as his life and that of his family have never returned to normalcy.

Etched in Solomon’s memory is the date, July 18, 2012. On that date, Lindeners were protesting against the proposed hike in electricity tariff. By night fall, he would endure an experience that can be easily classified as the worse experience of his life.

As he recalled, he was standing alone near the Linden Electricity Company Inc. building, which was just burnt down, when he was shot.

Moments before that, he was working as a DJ, providing public address services to community leaders, who often needed to address the crowd. He had

Photos (past and present) showing the area where Hector Solomon was shot.

managed to slip away from the crowd, in his bid to go home. But tragedy struck during his valiant attempt. “I was standing away from the bridge on the Washer Pond Road, I was trying to get away to go back to the bridge because my computer and so were left on the bridge. The place was dark and I saw the police standing in front the crowd. I was just standing by myself watching what was going on. All I hear is gunshots left, right and center. Then a man, who was not too far from me, all I see, the man fall to the ground and a bullet fly straight through his face,” a teary-eyed Solomon recounted during an interview with Kaieteur News. “The next I know, I felt an impact on my chest and one of my friends that saw me said ‘them man just shoot me with a rubber bullet’. I started feeling dizzy and started walking away but this blood just keep gushing and gushing and gushing, and someone said, ‘this can’t be rubber bullet, this got to be a real bullet’.”

After walking for some time, he was taken to the hospital, where he was given the needed medical attention.

There he saw the lifeless bodies of Shimroy Bouyea, Ron Somerset and Allan Lewis.

Since his condition was very critical, he was rushed immediately to the theatre for

a procedure to remove blood out of his lungs. He recalled, “The doctor said to me, Mr. Hector your lungs are filling up with blood, and we need to insert this tube to draw the blood out. We cannot wait for the anesthesia to work in, we are cutting you now. I felt it.”

“They had to crack one of my ribs to get in a tube that was as fat as this,” said Solomon pointing to one of his thumbs.

The doctor, Solomon later learnt, recused himself from performing the actual

surgery because he was ordered to not hand over any bullets to the patient or family members. Moreover, Solomon’s father decided to rush him to a private hospital, where the surgery was done.

He was hospitalized for three weeks.

Although the bullet was removed, several fragments remained in his body and these; he confided, have contributed to his pain and suffering for almost nine years now.

It has not been easy for

Solomon, who revealed that last September he had to undergo yet another surgery to remove two fragments that were sitting on a nerve leading to his heart. “The pain is unbearable.

I hear women say they prefer labour pain than toothache and I’m telling you when these things that are left in my body start acting up, the pain is worse than toothache, it is unbearable.

When the pain starts, I does have to go to the hospital to (Cotninued on page 56)

Hector Solomon, a survivor of the Linden 2012 shooting.

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Survivor of 2012...

From page 55 take two injections. Every time rain fall or lighting strike, it is like something shocking straight down my body for hours straight,” Solomon explained.

So excruciating has been the pain he endures that Solomon has swallowed his pride in order to plead for any assistance he can get to remove the remaining fragments from his body.

He revealed that, as a result of the injury, he is unable to provide for his family. In addition to being a DJ, Solomon was a porter, which allowed him to provide for his family. But since the shooting incident, he disclosed, “I cannot lift heavy weight; I use to be a porter and now I cannot work. After the surgery, I took a chance and went back in the bush because I needed money, but my injury got worse and the doctor stopped me from lifting heavy weight. I am the only boy child for my mother; I have a son…who is going to provide for my mother and sisters? Who is going to provide for my son?” Hector questioned as he struggled to fight back tears.

But Solomon is optimistic that with government’s intervention, his life could return to normalcy. Also, he pointed to the assistance that was provided to the families of those who died on that fateful day back in July 2012.

He recalled that a Commission of Inquiry (COI) was conducted into the shooting, but when it was

completed, all he received was a mere $120,000 to purchase his laptop that was thrown into the river.

While the others who perished were the bread winners for their families, and their families deserved to be compensated since they were wrongfully shot, Solomon said his family has been equally affected emotionally, financially and mentally because of the incident and he too needs to be compensated.

According to the distraught man, all he wants is to be medically fit again so he can provide for his family.

On completion of the 2012 COI, it was recommended that $3M be paid to Allan Lewis’ family; $3M to Bouyea’s family and $2M to Somerset’s family.

Last year, the families of those killed collectively filed a $450M lawsuit against the State, on the grounds that the police were reckless and engaged in the unnecessary use of force that resulted in the deaths of their loved ones.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney-at-law, Darren Wade, and in the application it was stated that the three men’s right to life and fundamental right to liberty were breached, encroached upon and infringed by the state. Based on the settlement with the state, the estate of Somerset will receive $27M, while the estates of Lewis and Bouyea will receive $25M each. A COI into the shooting found the Guyana Police Force culpable in the deaths of the three protestors.

Our Frontline Worker of the week is…Gaitree Surajpaul From page 22 pain... for me the only time the job gets boring is when the ward is empty,” she shared.

Nurse Gaitree revealed that while delivering a baby is a privilege, it equally requires a responsible attitude and discipline.

When asked if she gets anxious during the process of delivering a baby, she said, “I just put God in front of everything. I say because of God everything is possible; once you put God in front, you automatically clear your mind of the anxiety and I get a safe delivery.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said that additional caution must be taken to ensure that the virus is not transmitted from the mother to anyone else.

“While the infection in most of our patients is not that severe, we try to exercise caution while delivering newborns, so that the virus does not spread from the mother. But so far we have

never had any of our babies with complications after birth.”

With the introduction and now administering of the COVID-19 vaccine, Nurse Gaitree is hopeful that the daunting threat of COVID19 will soon be a thing of the past. “I believe that COVID19 is coming to an end. At our institution we have two positive males, and we didn't have a pregnant mother coming for a long time.”

Nurse Gaitree's advice to members of the public is to take their COVID-19 vaccine once they become eligible, despite possible side effects.

She went on to state that “I had my vaccine shot and I had a lot of side effects, many of which were mild.

But at the same time, you're at risk if you don't take the vaccine, and like any other medication, there will be side effects. If you take the vaccine and you experience any major side effects, you can always visit the nearest hospital.”

Sunday March 21, 2021

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In eliminating violence against women, root causes and not merely symptoms must be addressed ==CONSUMER CONCERNS==

By Pat Dial Frequent reports are carried in the media of violence against women, overwhelmingly, domestic violence.

These reports are almost all mentally disturbing because of their grisly nature. Domestic violence has been described as “behaviour which causes one party in a relationship to be afraid of the other.

Domestic violence can take the form of physical, psychological or emotional abuse and forced isolation away from friends and family members.”

The kinds of violence perpetrated against women are horrifying. Women are mercilessly beaten, often breaking their limbs or damaging their faces. In a few instances, they have been blinded and in a large number, they have been chopped with cutlasses or stabbed with knives. In one case, at least, both arms were completely severed.

In other instances, women have been financially deprived, even of their own earnings and denied food. They are often verbally abused, insulted, their efforts downplayed or disregarded with the intention of undermining their self-worth and self-image. Sometimes they are locked in the house or stalked by their partners when they leave the home and are thus unable to go to the police. Reports of sexual abuse include incest, rape, and procuring underage girls and women for prostitution.

This kind of milieu is very

challenging and mentors and women’s groups have been putting forward solutions over the years. A small group of mentors has advised that women “turn the other cheek” as Jesus advised victims of hurt. They should not respond to provocations, insults, and beatings, suppress their anger and forgive their tormentors. But the vast majority of women, their organizations and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, and even First Lady, Arya Ali, have taken a more proactive position and have advocated that women should protect themselves as far as they are able, and that criminal charges be brought against perpetrators, that the Police play a greater role in domestic violence matters than they do at present. More safe houses should be provided where the victims could be afforded refuge.

Some social workers and psychologists have advocated that abusers should be rehabilitated rather than punished, since the vast majority of abusers came from homes where abuse of women was the prevailing environment, and that they themselves were victims of that environment. Most people, both men and women reject such a position and would desire to have the abusers punished.

The question of how to eliminate or control violence against women, especially domestic violence, is still unanswered and this is partly so because there is confusion between the older struggle by

Renowned Guyanese designer, Randy Madray, is a 'Special...

From centre talented clothing designer revealed that besides his work with fashion, he has been a spokesperson/ panellist for several forums for ChildLink Guyana advocating for the rights of children.

“Recently there has been a deep focus on violence among boys. As a part of my Mr. India Guyana journey, I will be focusing on the mental health among young boys and how the arts can help improve to move them away from violence.” At this stage of his life, Madray said that he is on a journey to selfdiscovery.

“My greatest achievement is truly being able to start my journey and come out of my shell and even be a part of Mr. India Guyana.

The best achievement anyone can achieve is being his best self, owning it and even after that continuing to grow,” he said.

Asked about his plans,

Madray said that he hopes that in the next five years time, he will be able to establish a show room and ready-to-wear store.

“I see myself in more international markets and on greater international stages. I also see myself growing from the Mr. India Guyana pageant as possibly the winner and continuing and expanding my reach and scope for my platform work as my way of giving back,” he said, adding that his wildest dream is to own top of the line stores across the world.

His advice to young upcoming designers is to do research on the industry. “Be aware of the relevant systems in Guyana. Choose wisely, go after it for the right reasons, and keep reminding yourself daily why you pursued that venture. If you do what you love, you never have to work a day. If doors do not open for you, build those doors you see yourself walking through,” Madray added.

women for their rights, such as the suffragette movement or the struggle for equal pay for men and women for the same work. These early struggles by women were against deep societal and even religious assumptions and prejudices that women were inferior or less than men were. In the Bible, for example, Eve was responsible for Adam being expelled from

the Garden of Eden or there were several evil women like Delilah or Salome. The early women’s struggles were against male dominance and superiority, which had the imprimatur of historical and religious teachings.

In contrast, the current struggle against violence against women and in particular domestic violence has its roots in female sexuality.

Almost all the reports of violence against women have an element of sexuality. If the violence was to be perpetrated against men, it would be different and less gruesome or if the victim was thought of not as a woman, it would very likely be less grisly. It is because women are thought of as sex objects that much of the violence against them oc-

curs. Sadhguru, the very popular spiritual teacher, who appears on YouTube, once remarked that the difference between men and women was a small biological difference, which should be confined to the bedroom and bathroom and should not be allowed to define men or women.

Though Sadhguru was not speaking of or referring to (Continued on page 58)

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Kaieteur News

==GNBS IN FOCUS== QUALITY PVC PIPES HINGED ON CONFORMANCE TO NATIONAL STANDARDS

P

olyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipes are manufactured locally by two major entities.

These companies, are meeting the specifications of National Standards, and are certified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to manufacture the product to quality that satisfies consumer requirements during installation and use.

The two National Standards, which locally manufactured pipes conform to, are the GYS 107, ‘Specification for pressure – rated PVC pipes (SDR series)’ and GYS 99, ‘Specification for PVC pipes Schedules 40, 80 and 120.’

The GYS 107 covers PVC pipes made in standard thermoplastic pipe dimension ratios and pressure rated for water.

These standards cover requirements, which include those for materials, test methods, workmanship, dimensions and burst pressure.

The GYS 99 also covers these requirements but it is specific to PVC pipes made in Schedule 40, 80, 120 sizes and is pressure rated for water.

Producing PVC Pipes, which meet these requirements, is crucial for the endusers or consumers.

They expect that after installation on their premises, whether at an ordinary residence or a production facility, pipes will fit properly and be durable enough to withstand the specified pressures for extensive periods.

Poorly manufactured and installed pipes can result in high reinstallation costs and a significant threat to safety.

Meeting standards and being certified under the GNBS Product Certification

Programme assure consumers of PVC pipes, which are tested to ensure quality.

Currently, PVC Pipes manufactured by Plastic Products Limited (Gafoors) and Guyana Thermoplastics Ltd. (Toolsie Persaud Group of Companies) are certified under the (GNBS) Product Certification Programme.

The programme aims to implement and monitor certification systems in industries to assure local and foreign markets that locally manufactured products conform to the requirements of the relevant Guyana Standards.

In the certification process, the GNBS functions as an independent third party that permits manufacturers to affix the National Standards Mark to certified products.

Annual recertification is conducted based on audits and testing by the GNBS to as-

certain whether standard requirements are maintained.

Finally, the GNBS is proud of the commitment demonstrated by local companies to produce quality products, meeting the requirements of National Standards.

Other products currently certified to National Standards under the GNBS Product Certification Programme are Gold Jewellery manufactured by Steve’s Jewellery and R. Sookraj Jewellers, and load-bearing and non-loadbearing concrete hollow blocks manufactured by Gafsons Industries Limited.

The GNBS encourages more manufacturers to use standards to guide their production.

For further information on this subject, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064 or 219-0065.

In eliminating violence ...

From page 57 violence against women, his remark is pertinent to it, since if the perpetrators of violence against women were to think of them as human beings, such violence may not occur or it would be less horrifying.

If this proposition is accepted and women are perceived primarily as human beings and not as sex objects, the main root cause of violence against women could then be addressed.

In our view, the State and the various women’s groups have been largely addressing the symptoms of the problem, and though their efforts are laudable and very necessary, they should accompany

these efforts with striving to have society perceive women primarily as human beings and not sex objects.

This is a process of education, in which the media, the schools system, the teachers training college and the University will have to be enlisted, and occasions such as female beauty contests would be treated of less importance.

We would then be moving towards the elimination of the horrors of violence against women.

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

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Murder suspect found hiding in fowl pen

R

eportedly caught hiding out in a fowl pen, on Friday, is murder suspect Leon Waddle, 30, popularly known as “Mack”.

Waddle was wanted for the murder of missing Kuru Kururu man, Answar Stoll, also known as “Red Man. Stoll had disappeared sometime after November 15,

2020. A subsequent visit to his house located at Dadrima Savannah, Kuru Kururu, Linden-Soesdyke Highway, had raised eyebrows after it was found ransacked and with blood stains on the wall.

Even though his body was never found, investigations led detectives to believe that he was murdered.

Investigators even named

waddle as the one they believe killed him. It is even suspected that he might have buried Stoll's remains in a shallow grave Wa d d l e , h o w e v e r , managed to stay under the radar for more than two months as cops hunted him down. Ranks had even picked up the wrong man, a look alike, during their manhunt

for Waddle.

Nevertheless, continued efforts to track him down paid off on Friday after ranks from the Major Crime Unit (MCU) successfully captured him.

Confirming the major breakthrough in Stoll's case with Kaieteur News is the Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum.

Kaieteur News reported

g hidin l d n u w Fo n a fo out i urder m pen, pect, sus addle W Leon

on January 1, that police had enough information to link Waddle to the murder. This newspaper was informed that Waddle was implicated in the crime by a man who detectives had picked up during the early stages of the investigation.

Sources had said that police had arrested that man after he threatened to “make an individual disappear like 'Red Man' (Stoll). It is believed that Stoll was killed b y Wa d d l e b e t w e e n November 15 and 16, during an altercation at a drinking session held at his (Stoll) home. Kaieteur News has also received information that Waddle and Stoll were not the only ones at home during the time of his murder.

During a previous

interview with Kaieteur News, family members had also claimed that Waddle and Stoll were no strangers to each other.

“He has been living with Stoll for some time now,” one family member had said.

They had even added that he has always been abusive to Stoll and would constantly threaten to take his life.

“Stoll could not take it anymore and had decided to put him out of the house,” a sibling had disclosed during the interview. This move, they had continued, sparked more tensions between Stoll and the suspect. Family members had also claimed that Stoll had even reported to the police that Waddle had threatened to kill and would beat him up frequently.

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

Govt. imposes tight COVID-19 restrictions on Phagwah celebrations

W

i t h t h e Phagwah (Holi) holiday set to be celebrated on Sunday, March 28th, the government of Guyana has imposed tight COVID-19 restrictions to prevent the further spread of the virus.

In an advisory, the Ministry of Health said that the measures come in light of its continued health concerns related to COVID-19, which also contributed to the restrictions being put in place.

It was noted that all Phagwah events at the mandirs which include cultural programmes, chowtaal samelan and satsangh/services are permitted but at a 40 percent capacity.

The government is also encouraging mandirs to utilize their outdoor spaces if and where available.

Socially distanced gatherings for the burning of Holika are allowed, however, l a rg e P h a g w a h e v e n t s involving hundreds or thousands of persons are strictly prohibited.

Gatherings on trucks, canters or other vehicles carrying alcohol are also not allowed.

The Ministry is encouraging persons to celebrate within their home circles and where social gatherings occur, persons are encouraged to wear masks at

all times.

Six feet social distancing is important in all activities according to the Health Ministry and frequent hand washing and sanitizing should also be practised.

This is the first time Guyana and other countries around the world will be celebrating Phagwah under COVID-19 restrictions.

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Minister raises concern over schools in Wineperu holding classes without permission

T

he Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, has highlighted that unpermitted physical schooling is still ongoing in the Wineperu area in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), despite

the Ministry of Education only allowing physical classroom sessions for students in Grades 10, 11 and 12.

Speaking to Kaieteur News via telephone on Friday, Hamilton made the

revelation as he highlighted several observations during his site visit to Vaitarna Private Holdings Incorporated recently.

Kaieteur News understands that the students are of primary school age

- children seen without any facemasks to protect them from COVID-19 infection

Students seen traversing the VHI site, with no facemasks. (Photo: DPI) and were seen trotting through the site on their way to school with no facemask or other personal protective equipment to protect them from the COVID-19 virus.

A source told this newspaper that such happenings come in light of the lengthy closure of schools and parents being concerned about learning loss that may occur as their children continue to stay home.

This publication was also told that there are many instances of “bottom house” schooling, whereas parents and teachers collaborate to have their children learn, but there is little to no vigilance against the virus, given the lack of resources some of them face.

Notably, the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, had shed light on the issue of “black market learning” on Kaieteur Radio's “Wakeup Guyana”

radio programme, where she defended the conditional reopening of schools for face-to-face learning that initiated on November 9.

On the programme, Manickchand addressed concerns that were raised about the reopening of schools stating that it served to provide students with efficient teaching so that they could complete their School-Based Assessments (SBAs) and Internal Assessments (IAs), in light of the 2021 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

The decision came after heavy consultations with teachers and students and both parties were extremely concerned that they would not be prepared for CSEC and CAPE next year, because there was a lack of

face-to-face classes.

This she said had resulted in “black market learning” in some schools, meaning that teachers were conducting classes in school without permission.

Manickchand stated that the black market learning provided no proper rules and regulations for COVID-19, which posed a risk of putting the children in harm's way.

She had also stated that online learning was not efficient for the completion of SBAs and IAs, since many students lacked proper internet connectivity and others were lacking focus, which could be prevented with in-person learning.

Over the months Manickchand has been fixed on urging teachers, parents and students to comply with all regulations set to prevent them from contracting the COVID-19 and promote safe learning.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Suriname rakes in US$500M...

From page 12 expect will deplete in 15 years’ time if production is at six million barrels per year.

“Our annual sales are about 5.6 million barrels per year,” the Oil Boss said, “and revenue is about US$500M.” Notably, during the virtual January interview, former Staatsolie CEO, Rudolf Elias, was asked to provide some insight into the Surinamese experience in being a partner with oil companies that are interested in developing discoveries. He was quick to note that the benefits, particularly as it relates to monitoring costs to be incurred, provide a strong case for countries to have a seat at the table.To this he said, “It is critical to have a seat at the

table because you get to have someone who is part of the project team and who will know firsthand what are the costs…and we know there is a transparent process they will go through because we are at the table. They can’t inflate because we are there to see it and that is why I say Staatsolie should always have a seat at the table, because we

want to know the costs of the different projects because it is the basis for the inflow the government will have.”Currently, Staatsolie has a 20% participation stake in oil deals. Elias had indicated that it once stood at 10%, but after Guyana stuck oil one after the other, Suriname was inclined to raise it to 20%.

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Airbnb, CTO to Partner on Caribbean Push Homesharing giant Airbnb is partnering with the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization on a push to increase tourism to the region in 2021.

The collaboration aims to help “amplify the Caribbean’s recovery from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic by promoting safe, responsible travel to the region,” according to a joint statement.

“With the Caribbean continuing to re-open, we’re

helping to usher in the safe return of travel to this wonderful region by shining a light on the many places to see and things to do,” said Carlos Munoz, Airbnb Policy Manager for Central America and the Caribbean. “We’re also excited to promote the important economic impact driven by hosting on Airbnb.”

The program will highlight the CTO’s 18 member countries across the English, French and Dutch Caribbean,

promoting homes in each destination. “The partnership with Airbnb will help us to promote the region responsibly by providing our members with a platform to showcase their destinations while at the same time highlighting the health safety measures that each has implemented to ensure that visitors can enjoy a safe Caribbean experience during this time,” said Neil Walters, Acting Secretary-General of the CTO.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

Alcoholic beaten by businessman...

From page 5 normally be at home but had left before dawn.

He detailed that his uncle did odd jobs and had ventured out to the location where he was found dead to guard some vehicles filled with fish for market day.

Police carried out the necessary investigations but there were no signs of foul play involved in his death.

Nevertheless, relatives believe that Khan’s death could be linked to the severe injuries he sustained from a beating he received on February 10.

That day during the afternoon hours Khan was assisting some persons to move

out from a building.

However, while helping them, he reportedly broke a pipe in the yard and was beaten for it by their landlord, a popular Annandale businessman, Harripersaud Bhagwandin, 62.

Eyewitnesses detailed that Bhagwandin used a cricket bat to beat Khan who was left hospitalized for a few days.

Doctors had told his daughter that apart from the

lacerations he sustained about his body, Khan suffered a severe head injury.

“They told me that he was bleeding in the brain and needed surgery,” she had told Kaieteur News.

Khan was given the necessary treatment and showed signs of recovery which resulted in him being discharged.

Speaking with this newspaper yesterday, his neighbour and nephew said that since the incident Khan has never been the same.

“Since his return from hospital, uncle has never been the same, he always sickly”,

said the neighbour.

His nephew also added that since then, Khan had started to suffer from seizures.

Bhagwandin has since been charged with assault and is currently out on some $50,000 bail.

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UG Valedictorians...

From page 13 Degree in Pharmacy with a 3.9 GPA; and 36-year-old, Savitree Budram from the Tain Berbice Campus, who completed her Bachelor of Education—Administration Degree with a 4.0 GPA. The handing over ceremony was conducted at the State House, the official residence of the First Family, in the presence of the awardees’ family members, which included Odit’s parents; Misri Odit and Amla Persaud, and Budram’s husband, Mohamed Shariff and her two children.

The medals were directly presented to the two students by His Excellency, Mohammed Irfaan Ali. Prime Minister (PM), Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, also awarded two Prime Minister’s Medals on Friday to UG students; Dr. Jonelle Europe, who is the best graduating student in the School of Medicine and Desiree Noble, who is the best graduating student in the Faculty of Social Science with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Management.

PM Phillips congratulated them both for their remarkable commitment and performance, despite the challenges the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic might have imposed.

“I know COVID-19 would have presented challenges

for students who would have had to attend classes virtually, congratulations for overcoming those challenges and being here today as exceptional graduates of the University of Guyana,” the PM told the pair.

The simple ceremony was held at his office and saw the parents of the graduates present.

He congratulated the parents by saying, “For every graduate, there are parents or relatives who would have sacrificed a lot and I would like to congratulate you also.”

Both recipients were extremely happy to receive their medals.

Dr. Europe said, “I am happy and very proud to have achieved such an accomplishment after working so hard for five years…my greatest challenge is probably the consistency that the programme requires.”

Kaieteur News learnt that she is currently an intern at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and hopes to specialize in a field of medicine, but has not decided yet.

Noble also stated at the ceremony that she has always been a firm believer in herself and her ability to excel above the bar.

“I have always believed in myself and I know I have the ability to accomplish great things, and I’ve always told myself that if anybody can do it, I can do it,” she said.

Govt. to strengthen...

From page 15 following discussions with the Guyana National Printers Limited on improving the accessibility of the Official Gazette, he is in the process of crafting a Cabinet paper to support the initiative.

He suggested that this could be a method of protecting citizens and their properties against fraudulent activities.

“We can also put it on social media, on popular websites for which the public has easy access,” Nandlall said, of plans to have the Official Gazette popularized and publicized.

In the meantime, AG Nandlall encourages the public to familiarize themselves with the Official Gazette and to continuously check the updated publications to ensure that their properties are not listed for sale. The Attorney General also said that, there needs be more public education on the matter as “everyone has a duty to protect their property.”

During the interview, the AG said it is of fundamental importance that the Government protect its citizens and their properties from fraudulent activities.

The Attorney General said fraudsters are forging documents and selling

people’s properties unknown to them: “This type of fraudulent conduct has repeatedly occurred, especially in recent times, with alarming prevalence, having regard to, I guess, the boldness, which now endows criminals, as well as the fact that you have, I suppose technological advances and fraud manifests itself in many ways.”

Referencing recent incidents where persons have been defrauded, AG Nandlall said he has asked the Crime Chief to launch a “full blown” investigation into the matter.

“If there is a Notary Public involved, who may have executed a Power of Attorney, investigate that component of the transaction. Obviously, the matter was filed at the Deeds Registry, investigate that component, and investigate the officers. If it was advertised in the Official Gazette, then let the investigation go there as well and let us see where the fraud actually took place,” he said.

It is against this backdrop that the Government plans to examine both the administrative apparatus and the statutory framework to improve the system, both in terms of the law and the administrative process. This was buttressed by a call from the Caribbean Court of Justice to examine the legal framework.

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Kaieteur News

IMPROVING EDUCATION STANDARDS IN GUYANA DEAR EDITOR, Permit me space to touch on an important topic affecting children across our country, but before I do let me commend the students and educators on learning new techniques and advancing themselves technologically during this pandemic. The playing field has been levelled and the opportunity to advance education to first world methods has presented itself.

The burning issue I want to share is one that students endure at the hands of some educators at all levels of learning. Students are verbally and emotionally abused

by their educators. This may sound harsh and ungrateful but it’s the truth. Many students including myself tolerated and tolerate it, because of fear of victimisation. But, I strongly believe the time has come when educators from nursery to university must be cognisant of what they say and how it is said; how they act and how they react; what they belief and what is socially acceptable.

Children of this era are conscious of themselves, their emotions, their sexuality and their rights.

Educators must do better at treating their students with

The Coalition’s case can be summarised as pathetic DEAR EDITOR, The PNC-Led Coalition is a pathetic bunch of individuals and a party that wants to rule this country without the benefit of winning an election. They are a representation of fraud whichever side of the spectrum you may want to view it, hence they are unfit to hold office ever again.

First they tried to commit an international fraud by stealing an entire election then when that failed their vulgar and loose behaviour in an out of parliament has left us shocked and spellbound to say the least.

They have now embarked upon another stratagem, that is, playing the victim card, they are trying their utmost to gain attention to themselves as persons who were cheated out of office. In their quest to achieve that end, they were able to engage the Canadian Government in discussions as they would have it “see with them.” Yes, the Canadians did see through them, how they tried to rig the elections right before their own eyes, so there is no need for a better interpretation as

to what were the intentions of the PNC, it was as transparent as the noonday sun.

So playing victim now will not help in any way.

Not only were they trying to steal the election but when the International Observer team tried to return to observe the recount the PNC were belligerent enough about it and summarily blocked their return. All of these things are testimony of the atrocious conduct of this cabal.

So what can the Coalition really engage the Canadians with? What can the general tone of the discussion be? Are they truly penitent or remorseful of their actions or are they going to rehash the same old nonsensical argument that they have won the March 2, 2020 Election? Which one of these? The answer is none of the above.

What the PNC needs to embark upon is not a race baiting, sympathy card play victim, but have as their resolve to abide by the rule of law, otherwise their situation could be summed up as hopeless!

Respectfully Submitted, Neil Adams

NDIA not aware that tenders and bids were cancelled and re-tendered DEAR EDITOR, The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) wishes to clear up issues raised in a letter published in the Kaieteur News newspaper dated Friday, March 19th, 2021 titled: “Why was tendering cancelled?” stating that tenders and bids were cancelled without any apparent reason being given.

The NDIA wishes to state that it is not aware that tenders and bids were being cancelled and re-tendered.

Further, it is not aware of fully evaluated projects being abandoned.

Notably, the only way contracts can be cancelled is where: - (1) there is a lack of funds; or (2) there is a change in the scope of the specifications of the work.

The NDIA is not aware that any instruction was given by the Minister to cancel tendering. Additionally, it is the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) that has the power to approve evaluations and make recommendations to Cabinet for their “No Objection”.

Fredrick Flatts Chief Executive Officer

the same respect they expect these students to deliver to them. Students should never feel threatened by their educators, students should never feel depressed because

of their educators, educators should not show favour, nor should they belittle students or their gender preference, they should not shun students or openly speak about

their flaws. I am pleading with our educators to create an environment that allows students to express themselves openly, their opinions, gender preference, religious beliefs,

etc. The time has come for education to evolve, every other sector has! We can no longer manage and discipline like in the 1960’s.

Concerned Parent

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Hodder Education to relaunch Caribbean classics Hodder Education will be relaunching its Caribbean Writers Series now called Caribbean Contemporary Classics on March 22, live from its official social media and YouTube pages.

Set to stream live at 4pm on Monday, the launch will re-introduce viewers to some of the most acclaimed works of renowned Caribbean authors as well as provide a sneak-peek into two brand new titles written by current lead authors represented by the publisher.

Based in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, Hodder Education is on a mission to preserve Caribbean literature by relaunching its tranche of classic titles, each of which vividly and heartwarmingly captures

Caribbean life and culture.

Head of Caribbean Marketing, Hodder Education, Denise Watts-Lawrence, says, “The novels in this Caribbean Contemporary Classics collection were written from around the mid-1900s to the present day, and we are delighted that we got the opportunity to publish these titles. They include works from iconic Caribbean authors such as Sam Selvon, Jean D’Costa, Michael Anthony, Trevor Rhone, and Victor Reid. With this launch, we hope to re-introduce these novels to a new generation of readers. We hope new readers are captivated by the new worlds they are invited to explore.”

According to WattsLawrence, viewers can expect

Brazil in talks with US to import extra COVID vaccines (Al Jazeera) Brazil is in talks with the United States to import excess COVID-19 vaccines, the Brazilian foreign ministry said on Saturday, as the South American nation struggles to stem rising coronavirus infections and deaths.

The ministry tweeted that, along with Brazil’s embassy in Washington, it has been in discussions with the US government since March 13 “to make it possible for Brazil to import vaccines from the surplus available in the United States”.

The announcement comes after US President Joe Biden’s administration said on Thursday it would “loan” 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and 1.5 million other doses to Canada amid a surplus in doses.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s government is facing increased pressure to account for his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the slow rollout of vaccines.

The country is experiencing a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, as more than 290,000 people have died since the start of the pandemic – the second-highest tally in the world after the US. More than 11.8 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Brazil to date, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

On Saturday, the health ministry said 79,069 new cases were reported in the previous 24-hour period, along with 2,438 additional coronavirusrelated deaths.

The country’s healthcare network also is near collapse in several parts of the country, as local and state officials have tried in recent weeks to impose tighter restrictions in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. The beaches in Rio de Janeiro were closed to the public at the weekend af-

ter Mayor Eduardo Paes urged residents to stay home amid what he described as a “very critical” situation.

Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria earlier this month also imposed a two-week, “code red” lockdown, shuttering non-essential businesses and restricting other services. The measures have drawn some protests across Brazil, while law enforcement authorities have broken up large gatherings that violated the restrictions.

Al Jazeera’s Daniel Schweimler, reporting from Buenos Aires, said on Saturday that a problem is that there have been conflicting statements and measures from political leaders across Brazil.While the mayor of Rio de Janeiro closed the beaches, Schweimler said that Bolsonaro has encouraged people to go “to soak up as much vitamin D and sunshine as they possibly can because he says that is the best way to fight the coronavirus”.

“So you’ve really got this big political problem: those who are imposing measures to try to fight the pandemic, and the president and his allies saying they’re doing a good job, they’re dealing with it as best they can, it’s not their fault and really urging people to go about business as usual,” Schweimler reported.

Bolsonaro, a COVID-19 sceptic who has eschewed public health measures and downplayed the threat of the coronavirus, has asked Brazil’s Supreme Court to overturn the lockdown orders, local media reported on Friday.“They are imposing a state of siege, which is unconstitutional. They cannot do this without the approval of Congress. They are humiliating the population while saying that they are saving lives.

How can they be saving lives, they’re starving people,” Bolsonaro said.

to be treated to a “rich” and “diverse package” during the live stream on Monday.

“We’ll be hearing from the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport, the Honourable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, and engaging in rich discussions with

Jamaican author Paulette Ramsey, and Trinidadian author Debbie Jacob,” she said.

What’s more, outstanding performing arts groups will provide entertainment from St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica. These entertainment

acts will bring excerpts from some of the Caribbean’s most beloved literary works to life.

Watts-Lawrence added that Hodder Education will also be giving away “fun prizes” at the end of the launch to online viewers.

She made it clear that

there is much more in store from the publishing house beyond the relaunch of its Caribbean Contemporary Classics as they plan to continue to “unearth and showcase the incredible gifts and talents of our Caribbean people on the world stage.”

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecency in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation.

SUNDAY Take a moment to ponder the fact that District Four Returning Officer, Claimont Mingo, has faced no penalties for what he did to his country, one year ago.

March 13 marks one year since Mingo declared fraudulent numbers, which, if successful, would have had the effect of granting the David Granger’s APNU+AFC coalition a false victory.

What has the Iron Lady, Justice Claudette Singh, done to purge GECOM after its attempt to right this country’s election?

Tell us, Lady Justice!

MONDAY

Chief Elections Rigger, Keith Lowenfield, and all of the elections officials who aided the plot to steal the 2020 elections, are still employed

by GECOM. Clearly, though these persons failed to deprive the Guyanese people of their basic democratic rights, they seem to think Guyana will allow them to rig the local government elections and the 2020 general and regional elections.

This will not happen.

NOT AT ALL! NOT IN A MILLION YEARS! TUESDAY Last time we wrote about

respect for the press, we said not to invite us if you don’t respect us.

Please allow us to clarify.

If you disrespect one of us, you disrespect all of us.

If you disrespect all of us, don’t send an invitation at all.

We demand to be treated with respect!

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

This company already wreaked so much environmental destruction on this

country with 13 months of flaring.

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

THURSDAY 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.

FRIDAY ExxonMobil expects us to think that it cares about

Guyana and its environment, when its base case was to flare all the associated gas from the Liza Phase One operation.

This company already wreaked so much environmental destruction on this

country with 13 months of flaring.

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

SATURDAY We know that Guyana is in need of infrastructure to revolutionize transport and build roads to its neighbours, but it cannot be to the cost of Guyana’s patrimony.

The Belt & Road Initiative is not the way.

Guyana’s children must not be allowed to become indentured to China and its debt trap diplomacy.

Sunday March 21, 2021

Kaieteur News

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China’s Yang breaks women’s 20km race walk world record (Reuters) - Former world champion Yang Jiayu shattered the world record to win the women’s 20km race walk at the Chinese national championships in Huangshan yesterday, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics starting in July.

Earlier in the day, China’s Wang Kaihua produced the third-fastest men’s 20km race walk in history to book his own spot in Tokyo.

Yang, 25, sliced 49 seconds off the previous mark set by her compatriot Liu Hong in 2015, finishing with a time of one hour, 23 minutes and 49 seconds.

“I walked at a very fast pace in the early stages. The last three kilometres were the

most difficult...a challenge for my body,” Yang said.

World and Olympic champion Liu also bettered her previous record, finishing second in 1:24:27, making it the first time that a 20 km race has seen more than one woman clocking inside 1:25:00.

Qieyang Shijie also improved her personal best to finish third with 1:24:45. The top three finishers will represent China at this year’s Tokyo Olympics.

“My expectation for the Olympics is at least a podium finish, and the gold medal is the ultimate goal,” Yang said.

“I believe the Olympic gold medal will belong to China.”

In the men’s event, Asian Games champion Wang paced himself perfectly from start to finish and romped to victory in 1:16:54, taking 42 seconds off the national record previously held by 2016 Rio Games champion Wang Zhen.

“My expectation for the race was to break the national record,” the 27-year-old said.

“There’s still room for me to improve.”

Only Japan’s Yusuke Suzuki, who set the world record when he clocked 1:16:36 at an event in his home town of Nomi in 2015, and Russian Sergey Morozov (1:16:43) have registered faster times.

“I’m confident I can break

Sunday March 21, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) An unexpected visit from a gloomy or depressed person might have you feeling a little disconcerted, Aries.

Don't try to be too cheerful.

It's more important to be a good listener.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today represents the start of a period of endings and new beginnings in your career. You might be leaving an old job for a new one or advancing to a new position with your current employer.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Unexpected contact with a lover, relative, young person, or close friend could leave you feeling exhilarated and optimistic about the future.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Your sense of adventure is in full swing today, Scorpio.

New and unusual pastimes, travel to exotic places, meeting new and interesting people - all should be on your mind.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Events beyond your control may necessitate repairs to your home or yard, and some may seem overwhelming, Gemini. Don't panic!

CANCER (June 21–July 22) A rather unsettling communication could cause you to dwell on the negative side of whatever you learn.

Don't fall into this trap. The positive side will become more apparent as the day wanes.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Unsettling developments regarding money could cause some upset, but they'll be resol ved by day's end. You could lose and find your wallet or bank errors could prove to be its fault and not yours.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A fortunate change of circumstances in a friend's life could have a positive impact on your life, Virgo. This situation could involve a lot of adjustment, not to mention hard work.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Sudden personal or professional change could come your way, Sagittarius. Perhaps you will get a new job opportunity. Perhaps you will meet someone who will change your life.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You might contemplate a change of residence, or at least a change in household.

Someone could move out or move in. Travel might be on your mind.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Better communication should pave the way for personal and professional advancement, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You may feel a little upset and somewhat depressed by a temporary separation from a loved one. As a result, you might throw your energy into creative projects. The results could show a power and intensity that you don't usually expect.

the world record one day,” Wang said, adding that he was looking forward to competing in his first Olympics.

“Everything can happen in such a high-level competition. I will go all out to fight for the best result,” he said.

Cai Zelin, the Rio runnerup, and former under-20 world 10 km champion Zhang Jun took the second and third spots respectively after clocking identical times of 1:17:39.

Wang Kaihua of China celebrates after winning the Men’s 20km Walk at the 2018 Asian Games, August 29, 2018. (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside)

Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 2021

Ireland 32-18 England: Hosts impress as they stun dismal England despite Bundee Aki red card BBC Sport - Ireland produced by far their best performance of the Andy Farrell era to beat a sorry England 32-18 in the Six Nations in Dublin.

Keith Earls and Jack Conan scored superb firsthalf tries while Johnny Sexton kicked 22 points with Lions coach Warren Gatland watching on.

Late touchdowns from

Ben Youngs and Jonny May after Bundee Aki’s red card did not mask a dismal English display.

Eddie Jones’ side are now set for a fifth-place finish.

Ireland’s win moves them up to second in the table but their final standing will not be decided until France and Scotland meet next week in their re-

arranged fixture that will end this season’s competition.

Regardless of their final position, the manner of the win over England, a first in five attempts, will live long in Irish memories in addition to vindicating Farrell’s constant insistence that this is a team travelling in the right direction.

As for England, their lifeless and ill-disciplined

display after such an engrossing win over France a week ago is arguably a new low for a side who only a year-and-a-half ago reached the World Cup final.

Farrell’s Ireland find freeflowing approach Since taking over from Joe Schmidt, Ireland head coach Farrell has made no secret of his desire to replace a system built on minute

detail and structure with a more free-flowing approach.

The ambition has been at odds with some of Ireland’s performances in this tournament, during which they have seemed stuck for ideas and imagination when in possession.

Against England on Saturday they clicked, and in the first 40 minutes produced a display that was by some distance the closest thing we have seen to the swashbuckling style Farrell has envisioned.

It started ominously with all the trademarks of England’s recent thumping wins over Ireland which have seen them dominate the fixture since 2018, namely a Maro Itoje turnover and an effortless drive into the corner that saw England held up over the line.

From the scrum Kyle Sinckler went early, as England’s machine suddenly faltered, allowing Ireland an out.

Owen Farrell and Sexton traded penalties before a high-risk, high-reward setpiece paid off for Ireland, as Rob Herring’s deliberately overthrown line-out was patted down by Jack Conan straight into the hands of Earls, who showed a stunning turn of pace to step around May and score.

An energetic Ireland, led by the relentless Robbie Henshaw, had their tails up while England’s forwards continued to cough up cheap penalties with Mako Vunipola twice penalised at the scrum, offering Sexton the chance to extend his side’s lead.

With three minutes to go in the first half, Hugo Keenan won an aerial dual with Elliot Daly, restored to full-back after Max Malins withdrew from the squad with an injury, to bring Ireland deep inside the 22.

From there they found quick ball and did not allow England’s defence to set, switching the ball left before a Conan pick-and-go extended their advantage to

20-6 at the break.

England unable to rally after half-time For all their side impressed, their would have been few Irish fans resting on their laurels at half-time against an England side who have been their chief tormentors in the past two years.

Despite their worst fears, they need not have worried, because England barely threw a single punch.

Two minutes into the second half Daly produced a brilliant chase to win a penalty and again send England into the corner, only for the visitors to give away a penalty off their own throw.

Their spells in Irish territory were brief and they never found the relentless forward momentum that has typified their most unplayable performances under Jones.

Instead they were disjointed and illdisciplined, turning over the ball and allow Ireland to release any pressure.

Earls nearly had a glorious second, acrobatically grounding Sexton’s cross-field kick only for the play to be pulled back for an earlier Cian Healy knock-on.

Ireland’s breakdown work, highlighted as one of their biggest improvements this year, lived up to its billing with Tadhg Beirne once again front and centre.

They were given a jolt in the 64th minute when Aki’s red card, for making contact with the head of Billy Vunipola, was followed immediately by Youngs darting down the short side and clawing back five points.

But at no point did England look likely to claw back the deficit as Sexton responded with two more penalties. May’s try in the corner with two minutes remaining was the final act, as both sets of players now return to their clubs to conclude their seasons and make a final push for a place on the Lions tour.

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

Trent Boult was relentless in his opening spell © Getty Images

New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets in 1st ODI DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand needed just over 21 overs yesterday to overtake Bangladesh’s total of 131 and win the first of three oneday cricket internationals by eight wickets.

Bangladesh, recently out of managed isolation, was never comfortable in unfamiliar batting conditions at the University Oval and was bowled out by New Zealand in only 41.5 overs. Mahmudullah’s 27 from 54 balls was its highest score.

After Martin Guptill crashed 38 runs from 19 balls with three fours and four sixes at the top of the order, New Zealand was always on target to win plenty of overs to spare.

Henry Nicholls made an unbeaten 49 in his 50th ODI to steer New Zealand to victory in the 22nd over, combining in a 65-run partnership for the second wicket with Devon Conway (27).

New Zealand won the toss and sent in Bangladesh in cool and overcast conditions. When Trent Boult produced a late outswinger with the first ball of the match which surprised and beat Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal, it was clear the tourists were in for a tough day.

“It was nice to get over the line and start the series with a win,” Boult said. “We kept them to a decent total and it was nice to chase it down with only a couple of wickets down.”

Swing was short-lived but Bangladesh struggled to score freely on a pitch which was slow and holding and against a New Zealand attack which produced containing lines and lengths.

Bowling into the batsmen and pitching short of a length, the New Zealand bowlers — especially Boult who took 4-27 — cut down

scoring options both square of the wicket and down the ground.

Bangladesh struggled to 33-2 after 10 overs and posted their 50, with three wickets down, in the 16th over.

Thanks to Guptill, New Zealand’s 50 came without a wicket down and in only five overs, and it reached 100 in the 16th over.

Bangladesh had lost all 28 of its previous ODIs against New Zealand in New Zealand, mainly because of the discomfort of its batsmen in conditions which favor the bowlers and the problems its bowlers have had in adapting to those conditions.

The tourists felt they had a chance to break that losing streak on Saturday because New Zealand was without senior batsmen Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor and leading bowler Tim Southee. Tom Latham captained New Zealand in his 100th ODI. Bangladesh in turn was without the fulcrum of its batting lineup. Shakib Al Hasan was left at home on paternity leave, but coming into this series in form after a 3-0 home series victory over the West Indies, the tourists felt confident.

A p a r t f r o m Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim made 23 from 49 balls and Liton Das made 19 from 36.

Boult struck at both ends of the innings, removing Tamim (13) and Soumya Sarkar (0) within three balls in the fifth over, then taking a catch to dismiss Das. He returned to capture the last two wickets to fall.

Jimmy Neesham dismissed Das and Mushfiqur, then had a hand (literally) in dismissing Mohammad Mithun, by deflecting Mahmudullah’s straight drive onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end after Mithun had left his

ground.

Mahedi Hasan, on debut, hit a six for his first runs in ODIs and looked determined to lift the scoring rate but he fell to left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner for 14.

“There were a lot of soft dismissals,” Bangladesh captain Tamim said. “No doubt they bowled extremely well but we played some loose shots and we have ourselves to blame.”

Scores: New Zealand 132 for 2 (Nicholls 49*) beat Bangladesh 131 (Boult 427) by eight wickets.

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Sunday March 21, 2021

India beat England by 36 runs, win T20 series 3-2 Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya steered India to their highest T20I total against England. (Getty Images)

Indian players celebrate with the winners trophy after their win in the fifth Twenty20 cricket match between India and England at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Saturday, March 20, 2021. India won the series 3-2. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — India thumped England by 36 runs in the fifth and final Twenty20 international yesterday to win the series 3-2.

Captain Virat Kohli’s unflappable 80 not out off 52 balls — his third unbeaten half century in the series — led India to an imposing 2242 after England won the toss and opted to field.

Opening batsman Rohit Sharma also made an aggressive 64 off 34 balls which laid the foundation of India’s fourth highest-ever total in a T20 international.

Top-ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan (68) and Jos Buttler (52) kept England in the hunt with an explosive 130-run partnership but India came back strongly to restrict the visitors to 188-8 with Bhuvneshwar Kumar claiming 2-15 in four overs.

“It was a complete game for us and (we) outplayed the opposition even with so much dew coming in,” Kohli said. “I’d like to partner Rohit (Sharma) at the top and the other guys feel confident when one of us are in. I’d like that to continue.”

India recorded back-to-

back victories while defending totals with wet balls because of dew at the Narendra Modi Stadium which hosted all five games.

The last three matches were without spectators because of a local rise in coronavirus cases.

Buttler holed out to mid off in Kumar’s return spell and Shardul Thakur (3-45) took the wheels off England’s chase by claiming the wickets of Jonny Bairstow (7) and a cleanbowled Malan in the 15th over.

Malan became the fastest batsman to complete 1,000 runs in T20Is when he reached 65 in his 24th appearance. Pakistan’s allformat captain Babar Azam held the previous record when he reached the milestone in 26 T20Is. “India outplayed us in the big moments of the game and deserved to win,” said England captain Eoin Morgan, who was out for just one run as England slipped to 142-5 in the 16th over after losing four wickets for just 12 runs. “As a general principle we bat deep, we try to take advantage of it but

couldn’t do so in big moments.”

E a r l i e r, K o h l i a n d Sharma featured in a 94-run rollicking opening stand in nine overs after the India captain promoted himself as an opener and finally dropped out-of-form Lokesh Rahul for the first time in the series.

Sharma dominated the opening stand by hitting five sixes and four boundaries as Chris Jordan (0-57), Mark Wood (0-53) and Jofra Archer (0-43) all going for plenty of runs without a wicket.

Ben Stokes broke the Kohli-Sharma stand when he had the latter clean bowled, but Suryakumar Yadav scored a 17-ball 32 and Hardik Pandya, who was promoted in the batting order, smashed a quickfire 39 not out off 17 balls.

Kohli hit seven fours and two sixes, finding useful support from the other end to plunder runs against the England seam attack.

Yadav yet again looked good before he was out in a sensational dismissal.

Jordan raced to pluck a blinder in the deep and

England’s Dawid Malan became the fastest batsman to 1,000 T20 international runs, from 24 innings. (Getty Images)

calmly relayed the ball back to an amused Jason Roy in time before he crossed the boundary line.

But Pandya and Kohli ensured England had a stiff target by adding 81 runs off the last 40 balls as England delivered too many short balls.

The three-match ODI series in Pune between India and England starts Tuesday.

Scores: India 224 for 2 (Kohli 80*, Sharma 64) beat England 188 for 8 (Malan 68, Buttler 52, Thakur 3-45, Kumar 2-15) by 36 runs.

Late goals see Man City past Everton and into semi-final BBC Sport - Late goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne broke Everton’s resistance as Manchester City kept their quest for the quadruple on course by reaching the FA Cup semi-finals for a third successive season.

A fiercely contested quarter-final looked like it was heading for extra time as Carlo Ancelotti’s side defended resolutely and went close in the first half when Yerry Mina’s header was cleared off the line.

Despite dominating possession at Goodison Park, City largely had an off day in front of goal with Raheem Sterling’s poorly hit shot tipped round the post by Everton’s third-choice keeper Joao Virginia.

After Pep Guardiola brought on Riyad Mahrez and De Bruyne, they finally breached Everton’s wellmarshalled defence when Gudogan headed in with six minutes remaining after Aymeric Laporte’s shot was tipped onto the bar.

De Bruyne then fired in with a crisp shot to ensure their progress in the 90th minute, meaning City have won 25 out of their past 26 games in all competitions.

For Everton, who still

threatened despite having little of the ball, it was a sterling attempt to try and stop the City juggernaut.

Despite missing out on a first FA Cup semi-final since 2016, they will now focus on their league campaign in an attempt to reach Europe next season.

Man City strength in depth makes the difference City’s pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple has looked seamless at times this season and the late substitutions showed the armoury they can call upon.

Having cruised through the previous stages of the FA Cup, scoring three goals in each of the previous three rounds, Guardiola’s side found it hard to break down a resolute Everton defence, who were missing Michael Keane and had Virginia making only his second start in goal because of injuries to Jordan Pickford and Robin Olsen.

Phil Foden looked most likely to make a breakthrough as he battled it out with Lucas Digne on the right wing, and was perhaps too honest when staying on his feet as he rode a first-half tackle by Mason Holgate. A brilliant take and shot by the winger was inches wide of

the post after 65 minutes.

City, who made six changes to the team which b e a t B o r u s s i a Mochengladach to reach the Champions League last eight, did not trouble Everton for much of the game despite dominating possession.

With the clock ticking into the final stages, and Everton digging in, Guardiola was able to bring on Mahrez and De Bruyne to change the game.

De Bruyne had a hand in Gundogan’s opener, as he powered into the box before Laporte let fly, with the German midfielder nodding in his 17th goal in a brilliant season.

Wi t h E v e r t o n t h e n chasing an equaliser, the game opened up, allowing De Bruyne to make City’s progress safe.

A third successive FA Cup semi-final for the first time since 1934 is a fine achievement, but Guardiola’s team will not be happy unless they finish their campaign with silverware.

Given they are 14 points clear at the top of the Premier League, and face Tottenham in next month’s League Cup final, a domestic treble is now a step closer.

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 21, 2021

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Buoyant West Indies out to deepen Sri lanka’s woes in two-Test series

Kyle Mayers raises his bat after getting to the 150-run mark © BCB

AFP - Sri Lankan cricket’s woes of the past 12 months could be extended for at least another fortnight unless the visitors can rise to the challenge of a buoyant West Indies team in the twoTest series starting today at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Swept 3-0 in the OneDay International contest after being edged 2-1 in the tour-opening T20 International duel, Dimuth Karunaratne’s team have offered little by way of confidence-building performances in the lead-up to the encounters with a Caribbean squad brimming with confidence after their unexpected successes in a similar two-match series in Bangladesh last month.

Having replaced Jason Holder as full-time Test captain on the strength of his handling of the underdog West Indies for the Tests in Chattogram and Dhaka, Kraigg Brathwaite leads a home team strengthened by the return of the former

skipper and experienced batsman Darren Bravo.

Both were among a dozen first-choice players who opted out of the Bangladesh captain due to Covid 19 concerns. In their absence, debutants Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner took their opportunities with both hands and are predictably retained for this first series of an extended season of international cricket in the West Indies. South Africa, Australia and Pakistan are also scheduled to visit the region in the coming months.

We s t I n d i e s ’ m a i n concern going into the first Test appears to be finding the ideal balance to the team as Holder’s return to duty as one of the premier allrounders in the international game gives the selectors the option of playing an additional spinner depending on the condition of the pitch before the start of play today.

While the slow bowlerfriendly conditions in

Dimuth Karunaratne in discussions with team staff ahead of the first Test against England © Sri Lanka Cricket Bangladesh made the deployment of off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall and leftarm orthodox Jomel Warrican in tandem almost inevitable, the situation is not so straightforward at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium where the home fast bowlers dominated Bangladesh and England in Test matches there in 2018 and 2019.

In the last Test played at the venue, also in 2019, it was the array of Indian pacers who ruthlessly exploited the helpful conditions at the expense of hapless home batsmen.

Sri Lanka’s lone success so far in this campaign – the second fixture of the T20I series – broke a losing streak going back to the home T20I contest with the same West Indian opponents in March of 2020, just before the global pandemic essentially shut down the international game for three months.

However subsequent losses in the two white ball formats mean the subcontinental nation has lost 11

of their last 12 international matches.

That includes a run of four Test match defeats in a row, two each to South Africa and England. It hardly bodes well for the upcoming series, especially with the batsmen again struggling in the two-day warm-up match against a West Indies President’s XI. Despite featuring nine batsmen in their line-up in the first innings they were still dismissed for 172.

Topscorer there was Oshada Fernando and while the relative newcomer will have the opportunity to show his worth across the two Tests, it will be captain Karunaratne, veteran opening partner Lahiru Thirimanne and former skipper Dinesh Chandimal who will be looked to as key providers of the solid foundation the Sri Lankans so desperately need in attempting to post formidable totals.

If nothing else, Chandimal will be seeking to

West Indies Captain Kraigg Brathwaite. (CWI) avoid the controversy which surrounded him on Sri Lanka’s last tour to the Caribbean in 2018.

On that occasion, he was held responsible on behalf of his team for what the umpires determined to be illegal ball-tampering after the first day of the second Test of the three-match series in St Lucia.

Incensed by the officials’ ruling, the Sri Lankans refused to take the field on the second morning and amid fears that the match would have been forfeited in favour of the West Indies, they eventually continued with the match and then won the final Test in Barbados to leave the series level at 1-1.

A similar series result three years later, given all the challenges they have faced,

including the early departure of former captain and senior all-rounder Angelo Mathews for personal reasons, will be an excellent effort.

Teams (probable): West Indies – Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), John Campbell, Darren Bravo, Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers, Jermaine Blackwood, Joshua da Silva, Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shannon Gabriel.

Sri Lanka – Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Oshada Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ramesh Mendis, Lasith Embuldeniya, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera.

International spectators to be barred from Olympics in Japan

T

OKYO (Reuters) - International spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan for this summer’s O lympic G ames amid public concerns over coronavirus, organisers said yesterday, crushing many fans’ hopes and setting the stage for a drastically scaled-back event.

Some 600,000 Olympic tickets purchased by

overseas residents will be refunded, as will another 300,000 Paralympic tickets, Toshiro Muto, the chief executive of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, told a news conference.

He declined to say how much the refunds would cost.

The Olympic Games were postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the outbreak has chilled public opinion

toward the event, both o rg a n i s e r s a n d P r i m e Minister Yoshihide Suga have vowed to press ahead with the Games, now scheduled to take place on July 23-Aug. 8, with the Paralympics on Aug. 24Sept. 5.

The decision on international spectators will “ensure safe and secure Games for all participants and the Japanese public,” Tokyo 2020 organisers said

in a statement following five-way talks that included the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and the Tokyo governor.

“People who are involved in the Olympics in some way may be allowed to enter the country, whereas regular visitors will not be able to,” Tokyo 2020’s Muto said.

He said costs for hotel cancellations would not be

covered. Organisers may also consider cutting the number of staff members who will participate in the Games.

Bach said he shared the disappointment of Olympic fans as well as the families and friends of athletes who had planned to travel to Tokyo.

“For this I’m truly sorry.

We know that this is a great sacrifice for everybody. We have said from the very

beginning of this pandemic that it will require sacrifices,” Bach said in a statement.

But he said safety had to come first, adding, “I know that our Japanese partners and friends did not reach this conclusion lightly”.

“Together with them, the IOC’s top priority was, is and remains to organise safe Olympic and Paralympic Games for everyone,” Bach said.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday March 21, 2021

‘Golden Jaguar’ Jeremy Garrett calling for more faith in local players and programme FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

By Franklin Wilson in the Dominican Republic, compliments of Secure Innovations & Concepts, Fazia’s Motor Spares and GFF Arising from humble beginnings from Tiger Bay in the City and rising to the highest pinnacle in the sport having represented his nation at the Under-15, 17, 19, 20, 23 and now senior levels, ‘Golden Jaguar’ Jeremy Garrett is calling for more support and faith being shown the local players by all and sundry.

Currently on duty with the Senior Men’s National Team in the Dominican Republic where Guyana is preparing for combat in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers, Garrett sat down with Kaieteur Sport to make his case.

“So first of all, it’s a pleasure to be on this team, it’s like a dream come true because I’ve played on every age group team coming right up to this level and it’s a joy to be here. With that being said, it’s kind of heart rending to see in the media that persons are bashing and talking down on local players suggesting that we are not ready and these things.”

The articulate, confident and talented defender who recently commenced a new chapter in life by starting his own business, Finish Line Express Delivery and Courier Service, noted that while himself and colleagues does not delve into comments and statements, their family and relatives do.

“As athletes who aim for professionalism, we don’t pay much attention to the negativity but we have family and friends who does and when they see and hear these things, they would come to us and ask questions. So, it’s kind of disturbing when your mom, dada and other family members can call you to ask questions based on what they are seeing, like these locals are not ready and things of that nature.”

“I understand that everybody has a preference and everybody obviously think or believe they know what’s best for the team but there must come a time when the local players must command a solid place in the team. With the vision that the GFF, TD Ian Greenwood and Coach Márcio Máximo have for the game by giving the local players way more visibility is very huge for us and we must commend them all for this remarkable move and having the confidence in us.”

Reminiscing that in time gone by the make-up of the national team would have been predominantly overseas based players, Garrett posited that real development cannot be achieved with such a stance.

“What can I say, as a youth born in Tiger Bay, as I said I’ve played at every age group level for my beloved Guyana to reach where I am now, what can I tell these youths in Tiger Bay, Leopold Street and Albouystown in terms of playing at the highest level when they too would have donned national colours at all the age group or some of those levels; that they cannot play because they haven’t played enough at the senior level? This does not make sense to me, so again I commend the move to ensure that the locals are given the opportunities to represent along with my brothers from overseas.?

Whilst acknowledging that there would not have been consistency in terms of playing and training in the past, Garrett noted however, that that posture has changed for the better.

“I would like people to understand that there is no real difference now between ourselves and our overseas brothers on the field, the only this is that they play more often than us and they might be playing at a more structure and higher level than us; however, when we step on the field together, we look like one playing with these guys. The experience might be different and that

Jeremy Garrett (3rd left) with some of his colleagues and Assistant Coach, Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard yesterday after training. (Franklin Wilson photo) too will come with deliberate programmes being implemented by the GFF. But, playing wise there is no separation because the same techniques and so on, we can do the same.

So I want to encourage people to support the local talent because at the end of the day we also deserve that opportunity to grow and show what we can do to make Guyana proud, all of us. We love our overseas brothers and we are glad to have them.”

The new way forward by the GFF in terms of training which has been taking place five-days each week since January 5th has helped the locals tremendously, Garrett re-iterated.

“You can see that a lot of guys have improved, fitness wise the guys have improved for sure, technically we’ve done a lot of work so the programme has been helping us to keep up. SO now that the international players have come together with us, it’s looking like one team

now. Nobody is ahead of nobody, the only difference as I’ve said is experience.”

Whilst covid-19 has stalled the commencement of the Elite League and other tournaments, The Guyana Defense Force player is optimistic that there would be an opening in the not too distant future to restart

competitive playing.

He also has some words of encouragement for his fellow young players in striving to be the best: “My advice always to youngsters is to remain disciplined. I always tell them that there would be times when it’s going to be hard, times when it would seem that there is no

light at the end of the tunnel.

Times when you look at yourself in the mirror and you automatically want to just give up everything but in those times, stay strong and stay disciplined to what you believe in.

Because anything you believe, you can achieve, I’m a strong believer in that.”

‘WI need more 400-plus first-innings’ - Windies coach Simmons says team focused on improving all areas for Sri Lanka Tests SportsMax - West Indies coach, Phil Simmons, insisted the team is looking for improvement in every area ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka, today, but particularly targeted once again achieving the elusive 400 runs first innings score.

In recent matches, the regional team has carved out some momentum, following up hard-fought Test series win over Bangladesh with a T20 and dominant ODI series win over Sri Lanka.

Heading into the start of today’s Test series, however, Simmons is far from satisfied.

“We need to improve in every area, we had a good

West Indies coach, Phil Simmons series but there are lots of things we need to keep improving on,” Simmons told Windies cricket.

“We need to make sure we get 400 in the first innings, which is something

that we are striving for every time we play. Then we have to bowl and bat even better than we did in Bangladesh,” he added. The West Indies reached 400 first innings runs last month, in the series against Bangladesh, but reaching the total has proven to be the exception rather than the rule. Prior to that, the team got to the total against Sri Lanka in 2018.

The highest first innings total, in the last 10 years, was 590 against India in 2011, in total they have achieved the feat seven times.

By comparison, Australia has achieved the feat 27 times within the same period.

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Sunday March 21, 2021

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GISE, Star Party Rentals & Trophy Stall 1st Division cricket

Beaton, Sampson & Anderson put Police in command against GNIC

By Sean Devers The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Division One Cricket commenced yesterday with the GISE, Star Party Rentals & Trophy Stall two-day cricket tournament at a sun-kissed Eve Leary ground and by stumps on the opening day Police were in charge in their own backyard.

Led by 4-31 from the 28year-old Guyana and West Indies pacer Ronsford Beaton and two wickets apiece from First-Class leftarm spinner, Essequibian Anthony Adams and Berbician Alex Algoo, who ended the game on hat-trick, dismissed GNIC for 110 an hour after Lunch.

The Cops recovered from 68-6 to reach 242-6 in reply at the close despite 4-

71 from Dwane Dick before he began to tire towards the end of the day when Quinton Sampson jumped into him with a brutal onslaught; hitting him for three consecutive sixes in the same over in a pugnacious unbeaten on 106 with nine sixes and five fours from 55 balls.

Sampson and Anderson, who executed some majestic shots, especially some imperious cover-drives, in his undefeated 93 decorated with five boundaries including a six, put together 174 in an unfinished seventh wicket stand.

Essequibian Beaton, who has played two ODIs and taken 64 wickets from 33 First-Class games, exploited a slow track which ‘stopped’ and made ‘playing through the line’ a difficult task,

ripped out the top order to level GNIC struggling on 54-7 at Lunch.

B e a t o n f i r s t comprehensively bowled Quincy Ovid-Richardson for a duck with the third ball of the match without a run on the board before Marc Nicholson (1) was run out at 6-2.

Beaton up-rooted the middle stump of Dwain Dick (8) as he missed a drive at a pitched-up delivery on the sluggish track and heavy outfield to leave GNIC on 21-3.

Pacer Quinton Sampson then trapped Premchand Sookdeo (10) LBW at 29-4 before Adams, who played a single First-Class game for Guyana, induced Dexter Soloman (7) to edge a catch to Kemol Savory 33-5.

Beaton struck twice

Everest Cricket Club contributes $100,000 to Fruta Conquerors

President of the Fruta Conquerors, Colin Gittens (centre), receiving the sponsorship of $100,000 from Everest Cricket Club Manager Krista Norton in the presence of Club president Manzoor Nadir.

The Everest Cricket Club yesterday became the latest entity to support the Fruta Conquerors Football Club’s 2021 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield campaign.

Drawn in Group C of the tournament, set to start April 23 in Curaçao, Fruta Conquerors will face Hope International (St Vincent and the Grenadines) and Racing Club Aruba.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, who is also the Everest Cricket Club’s president, made the presentation of $100,000 to Fruta Conquerors president, Colin Gittens, while expressing his delight in helping the country’s Elite League champion on their quest for regional club football success.

Gittens thanked Nadir and the Everest

Cricket Club for “lending a helping hand to a club in need.”

Only recently the club launched a GoFundMe campaign to seek the generous support of football fans in Guyana.

It was stated that the club has a minimum working budget of G$5 million to cover their preparation for and participation in the tournament, including the cost of training and travel.

The GoFundMe campaign, which enables fans from all over the world to contribute with any size of donation to the team’s Club Shield journey via a secure online payment platform, can be accessed at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supportfruta-conquerors-in-the-caribbean-shield.

Quinton Sampson, Kevlon Anderson & Ronsford Beaton put Police in a commanding position against GNIC. before the Interval when he removed both Roshidi Benjamin (7) and David Dick (11) in the space of a run as both batsmen were taken at short cover trying to negotiate back-of-the-length deliveries that ‘stopped’ on them as GNIC capitulated to 54-7 by lunch.

After the interval, Jermaine Grovener, who lived in St Lucia and the lefthanded Jermaine Benjamin joined forces to orchestrate a recovery under cotton-wool like clouds which floated merrily from a blue sky over the Eve Leary sward.

Benjamin, who hit Adams back over his head for the game’s first six, was eventually LBW to Adams after batting for 100 minutes and reaching the boundary thrice and clearing it once in his 33.

Jeffery Blair joined the cautious Grovener and dumped Algoo for six before hitting him to long-on, while Trevon Jones was LBW first ball as Algoo finished on a

hat-trick with Grovener being left unbeaten on 17 from near two hours at the crease.

When Police began their reply, Andrew Lyght Jnr, the son of the late West Indies ‘B’ team batsman, threw his wicket away with an irresponsible slug off Dick to be caught at long-on at 2-1 before the 24-year-old Savory, who played six List ‘A’ games for Guyana, was brilliantly taken at slip by Dick’s father to help the younger Dick, who produced some bounce and a bit of turn, to his second wicket and leave the score on 17-2. Kevon Boodie was well set on 15 before he too threw his wicket away when tried to lift Blair over mid-on and was well taken by Jones at 22-3.

Algoo missed a reckless sweep at Dick and was LBW for a duck at 29-4 before Dick removed Mark Gonsalves (0) when he played across the line and was LBW at 31-5 and Dick

was leading a wonderful GNIC fight-back.

Adams joined the elegant and level headed Anderson, who played some glorious cover-drives which the heavy outfield robbed him of boundaries before he deposited Dick for an effortless six.

Together with Adams they carried the score to 68 before Adams (14) played a loose drive to a short ball from off-spinner Jones and was taken at backward point as the Anderson, arguable the best young batsman in Guyana, was in danger of running out of partners.

H o w e v e r, S a m p s o n pulled Dick for four and clobbered him over long-off for six to give the Lawmen first innings honours.

Sampson cut loose with a savage array of big hitting, but while Sampson was the butcher, Anderson was the surgeon as the partnership blossomed.

Today is the final day and plays starts at 09:30 hrs.

Khan bags 5 for; Nandu, Looknauth hit 50s Leg spinner Amir Khan grabbed 525 while Matthew Nandu and Richie Looknauth struck half centuries as Everest CC grabbed first innings points from University of Guyana when the Georgetown Cricket Association Noble House Sea Foods second division twoday competition resumed yesterday.

UG were bowled out for 72 after they were inserted at the Everest CC. Laurel Parks made 22, while Keon Morris made 16 not out and Damion Vantull 10. Javed Rasheed supported Khan with 2-11.

The home team closed on 172-4 to lead by 100. Looknauth made 58 while Nandu is unbeaten on 57 and Khan not out on six.

Mark Cummerbatch took 2-35.

Mattheu Nandu (left) and Richie Looknauth

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