Kaieteur News

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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial Recount optimism despite grave misgivings

Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Recounting deep down the Rabbit Hole DEAR EDITOR, The ways that the recount can be detonated are innumerable, even the great French mathematician Blaise Pascal could not present us with a formula to prevent the recount process from being disruptive, incomputable, unreliable and voidable.

We are indeed living in Orwellian times, when we have to endure a witless and seemingly never-ending recount process, being conducted hellishly during the COVID-19 global pandemic, a world crisis that has caused record-breaking unemployment and economic hardships, along with further (Continued on page 5)

Nonetheless, as we do so, again we ask ourselves whether our fellows on both sides of the great Guyanese racial divide have what it takes to absorb whatever comes in a tranquil and constructive manner. We contemplate whether this transparent process does not fuel the fires that rage on both sides of our rifts, as it gives cause for much hope and great joy. Or it confirms still greater fears and anxieties relative to the machinations and wicked visions of political and racial opponents. For, however examined, any side that finds something helpful will maximize such discovery (mildly described at the jumping off point as “discrepancies”) while the other will hurry to minimize (via the sharp unrelenting dismissal of “delaying tactics”), with the worst of distortions filling and convulsing all. Thus, the stage was set on the first days for the next 25 days, or how many days this process turns out to require, which is not 25 by any sensible count. It is where this recount promises to lead. That is, from one menacing snake pit to all the others that lie in wait. At the end of it all, whether they agree or disagree, Guyanese supporters will have been privy to the insoluble plights of the GECOM Chair and crew, as well as the grand contortions and still greater ingenuities of both the PNC and the PPP. As much as we hesitate with our doubts over how and where matters will finalise, we still put whatever optimism that we can muster about the end of this recount, and also the way forward after whatever heated baptisms come to swamp us.

But we would be remissed, if we do not share our thinking that all of this fine rich recount feedings may make us extremely ill, perhaps terminally so. That it would serve mainly to bloat us still more with the poisonous ingredients that have clogged arteries of thinking and filled the stomachs with the passions that are visceral and vicious. We hope that developments as they finalize will not bolster our fears, these deep societal pessimisms, and that the wisest of statesmanship will prevail throughout the recount and then later. We trust that we are right on the latter, and that credible transparencies will be the story of those precious, maybe even sacred, ballot boxes and their much-watched contents. The foreign shepherds, fair and forceful, much admired by many and much despised by as many others, have stamped their unified position in the simplest of words and the most unambiguous of manners: do it straight, do it right. Do it cleanly and conclusively, as have been their unalterable insistences all along. It is our hope that after all these remarkable and unprecedented steps in Guyana’s sordid elections history, that this one will stand, when finished, as a monument to the truths of what was done, and to what was completed in the most credible of recounts, leading to a broadly accepted one. We are not too far from there now from closing things out, one way or another. May this recount process, as streamed and followed, set the stage for us to go forward in one piece and of one mind.

W

ars in Kuwait and Iraq were the precedents that set the bar high with information flashes, flows, and failures being reproduced near instantaneously to stationary residences, which was followed later by developments enabling feeds to mobile phones. Today, just as CNN broke ground decades ago, the recount of Guyana from GECOM’s Command Center makes its way either straight into the living room of edge-on-theirseats Guyanese, or at all hours to their devices. The breaking news bring much cheering and some limited hoping, more disgust and still greater anxieties. How will this recount end? To what and where will it lead? Today’s modern marvels facilitate every manner of breaking delivery, along with every kind of sharp and powerful disagreements and clashing objections on the part of recipients reported. Guyanese observers, watchers, and readers have a ringside seat from where they are never hesitant to offer expert commentaries, exhibit continuing raw prejudices, and support or denounce fluently. They are now in the position of embedded war correspondents a la CNN, who first led the way with reports from the battlefronts. Well, Guyanese voters, skeptics, critics, and analysts are now the middle of our recount war, this full-out battlefront, with no quarter being given in this electoral fight to the death. Guyanese, however, do not have to wear helmets or flak jackets, so much as keep their heads down. At least not just yet, and the prayer is that the situation will not descend to real conflict and its unspeakable horrors. Optimism is razor-thin, and it would take a huge miracle for that to not disappear altogether. But we stay the course of hoping against hope. Amidst the thickening tensions, Guyanese content themselves with keeping gums going and keyboards and keypads humming, which are encouraging aspects of this elusive, unfamiliar democracy claimed to be of the sole and highest priority. But we must caution that there is danger ahead since the recount journey is sure to encounter catastrophic turbulence the longer our travels continue. We are all for live streaming and holding everyone’s handiworks and fingerprints to the light, yet we wonder whether our fellow Guyanese are equipped to handle all this rich recount reportage, given that our passions are at such high intensities. With a view to what has happened in the first few recount days, the outlook is bleak. For we sense that every inch of our scorched elections terrain will be fought over tooth and nail, with all the surrounding prejudices and antagonisms rising to the fore, and Region 4 leading to the sharpest of contentiousness. Once again, it is extremely difficult to envision how this country could recover from this, somehow restart as a polity. Once again, we struggle to be optimistic, despite numerous heavy misgivings. Live streaming delivery is good, it is what is needed here (no matter how limited) but it is also what caused problems before in other realms. It prompted senior military men to complain first and condemn after. It is just too much and does more harm than good; it impairs operations and imperils lives. Those were not unjustified positions, as later facts would support. Every move, every development is parsed and second-guessed without letup. But here we are, and it is what we have currently with the recount going on in the bunkers of GECOM, and it is why we say it is better than the darkness of before. The Field Marshal (the chair) may feel this way as she struggles to fight one battle after another, and their many unseen and interrelated contingencies, as she is forced to operate with one hand tied behind her back and self-imposed gag order in place. She herself can claim to be a victim, a casualty of this longest and dirtiest of Guyanese wars. Unfortunately, that is so, and we empathize. Streaming it is and live reporting it almost is, and for these we stand in full support, even as we question its current usefulness.

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

I did not anticipate that political people would attempt to use the virus to make a victim of a competitor

I may never want to vote again

DEAR EDITOR, I did say that there would be problems with having political people anywhere near to the combat strategies and operations aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic. I point to those testing results as Exhibit 1. The problem is that I did not, and could not, anticipate that the political people would attempt to use the virus (as is now believed) to make a victim of a political competitor, admittedly an increasingly rambunctious one. As cloak and dagger businesses go, this one has all the transparency of a fully open kimono. Go figure! Now I do not want to be caught napping again, so I say editors, especially editors-in-chief, better be on constant guard, as they may be next to be lined up for the testing range. It is rather inventive, this new development that was intended to isolate Mr. Timothy Jonas and, who knows, maybe arrange precious quarantine space for his comfort and peace of mind. Truth be told, his removal from the field of battle also; as they say: silence is golden, particularly when the intrusive state leads the way in being protective, by minimizing noise nuisance sources and levels. I did say,

also, that coronavirus furnished the perfect cover for any manner of political machinations. I am struggling to determine who to thank in the developing oppressive Big Brother apparatus that is so perturbed by the agitations of Mr. Jonas. Whatever happened to freedom of speech, as provided for in the Guyana Constitution? Then I remember that everyone kicks around that derelict ‘dogeared’ document, which functions merely as convenient political football with which even struggling Manchester United would have taken comfort in dreams of returning to its glory days of long ago. Many old-timers and fresher faces in the PNC have such heady dreams, too. That is, of using any device to restore it to its former pride of place. Some folks just do not learn: the 1960s and 70s were a half century ago, which qualifies to be the ancient history of the Dark Ages. And still there is persistence; indeed, old dreams hard. Remember this also: old dreamers fall harder. As another timely memory aid, there was His Excellency, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and all the rest, from the second fiddle European Union moseying along with his three coins for the

Guyana political fountain: he “would not wish dictatorship on any country including Guyana…” (SN May 9). Say what? Did we have to spoil things and go there? Now what was he really trying to say, this political wise man all the way from Europe? Was that really necessary? After all, as the story goes, this was putting the welfare of citizens ahead of any cheap politics and cheaper politics ambitions. Without speaking for anyone, I would like to think that there is nothing that involves in the Coalition’s considerations which may violate freedom of speech (touched upon already) and freedom of assembly, which is another can of worms. Those worms would protest like hell to being dragged into the glare of sunlight and the fresh, cleansing air. Some people’s constitutions cannot cope with such sweetness and they succumb. Mr. Jonas, on the other hand, is sure to object loudly and without letup. Some pestiferous people (from the Coalition’s standpoint, of course) just do not know when to shut up and that enough is enough. So what else is new? More pointedly, what new trick is going to be attempted (Continued on page 6)

Recounting deep down the ... From page 4 deterioration in the physical and mental health of Guyanese. While common sense and the law approves use of the easily accessible and easy to tabulate Region 4 Statement of Polls (SOPs) - that will quickly allow us to exit this odious “Hotel California” - a hotel we can never leave by using the muddled recount process. The use of the Region 4 SOPs will allow us to declare the baked in election results known to everyone. From the mid-1950s onwards, it had always been difficult, if not impossible for the Burnham-led faction of the PPP to win a free and fair election. With the passage of time and immigration from Guyana, the core support fragmentation started to trend for a third party in 2006; when The Alliance For Change showed that having a multiracial, multicultural and multiethnic leadership and political campaign, brought sufficient Guyanese from all demographics under their umbrella to change the status

quo. The 2011 and 2015 elections further highlighted this multiracial shift in our electoral politics. There is no doubt in my mind that we will have to close the book on the improprieties of the past and start anew. This is the basis to stop the destruction, the divide and the bubbling hatred that is plaguing our nation. A plague that is exponentially worse than COVID-19, relative to the development of Guyana. Guyana has a colossal amount of resources. We can shrug off the extractions, allocations and distributions that have been usurped from the state coffers over the last several decades; and Guyanese will still have much more valuable resources than all the combined resources of the other member states of CARICOM. The PNC is made up of many good people who want to see Guyana develop and thrive for all Guyanese and I say the same for the PPP. At this juncture of our history, allowing a democratic transition, without the

interminable rabbit hole recount is much needed. Use the Region 4 SOPs and let us conclude the March 2, 2020 elections. The Orwellian agents capable of visually detecting opposition members with COVID-19, even those who are asymptomatic, withholding public documents, preventing video monitoring are but a few of the hundreds of variables that prevent even Pascal like minds from creating a workable election recount solution. American-British political philosopher Thomas Paine said: “It is dearness only that gives everything its value.” God knows Guyanese have paid dearly over the last sixty years. Let us now have a fresh start, let us release the dynamic forces that exist within our multiracial, multicultural and multiethnic society; these forces certainly exist within the PPP and PNC. The time is now for Guyanese to enjoy inclusive and accelerated economic prosperity. Nigel Hinds

DEAR EDITOR, I’ve always wondered why so many people are disengaged from politics. Everything is clearer now. Many people choose not to be involved because of the types of politicians and the political parties in power. Most parties are not ‘for the people’ and do not portray equality. They are not transparent and truthful. They prefer to rig and cheat electoral processes and fabricate results. Personally, politics is not my cup of tea, mostly because I am still young and learning, but it is time I express my thoughts on our current, never-ending issues. Politics may be seen as ‘dirty’ and ‘corrupt’ for many people, but society simply expects ‘democracy’ and ‘honesty’ from a government. I have seen my friends, who were first-time voters, hopeless and strong-headed on never voting again due to the saddening result of our March 2020 General and Regional Elections. I could not cast my vote this election and I am 100% convinced I may never want to after what occurred and is in process currently. Thousands of Guyanese came out on March 2, 2020 to cast their votes. Pregnant women, old feeble individuals, excited first-time voters stood in the piping hot sun for hours, tired, hungry, even ill. I know of three people one who had a surgery done prior to elections day and the other two showed up with crutches, despite their pain. Regardless of their situation, they stood optimistically, confidently, and vigilantly to vote for a political party that will guarantee development, transparency and democracy in their eyes. Whichever box they inserted their “X” in, they expected and hoped for a free and fair elections. It has been more than 68 days without an acting President or a Government for our nation. The electoral process for countries holding millions of people are often finalized between the span of 1 to 3 weeks and a winner is

declared immediately. For Guyana, a country of approximately 600,000 voters, our electoral process was expected to be completed within a week, however, it has been over two dreadful months and counting. We can all perceive the blatant ignorance, disregard and robbery of our votes - the votes of our fellow Guyanese. If a party is claiming victory, then produce fair elections results without delays, prevarications, excuses and making immature objections. Show the citizens the truth, declare a winning party. It is what every citizen of a country deserves. We practised our civic duty and we expect a legitimate and lawful winner. We expect a government that won rightfully and fairly.

We practised our right as citizens and we were all promised and guaranteed a quick, hiccup-free, credible, fair and transparent elections. This has been going on way too long and I speak for everyone when I say, I am exhausted from hearing conversations, family debates and discussions about Guyana’s politics. The entire world is witnessing our deplorable and disgraceful situation. It is extremely shameful and absolutely embarrassing. Let democracy, transparency, credibility and honesty prevail, but most importantly, let the rights, voices and struggles of the Guyanese people be heard and respected! Yours truly, Hadiyyah Mohamed

Recount Fiasco DEAR EDITOR, For a party that claims they won the Elections of March 2, the APNU sure has a lot against that same election. Why would you want to discredit the process knowing you won? Here is how that camp is operating and digging themselves deeper into the bizarre: 1. Dead voter voted, if so for who? 2. Using people’s Death Certificate, violating people’s privacy. 3. Using the COVID 19 issue to create problems, I think Jonas is a wrongful target. 4. Secret PPP meetings, luckily this was thrown out 5. Remove Giddings from the Tabulation centre, why wasn’t Mingo removed when the PPP complained? 6. Keeping the Carter

Center at bay, why? You won. 7. Carol Joseph’s behaviour, very unprofessional. 9. Stop the recount by 5pm, why? The faster you finish, your president is going to be declared. 10. Behaviour of APNU supporters outside of the Conference Centre, added to the fact of harassing the media. 11. One government Commissioner making statements that don’t make sense. We will see many more unbelievable acts as the count goes on. For a party that won the elections, they make themselves look very foolish in the eyes of right thinking Guyanese citizen. Yours respectfully Renal Yusuf

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Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox EACH POLITICAL PARTY IS CLAIMING TO EMBRACE TRUTH

DEAR EDITOR, In Guyana, the process started on March 2 to choose a leader and with all of our brilliance, we seem to lack the ability to come up with the results and have the entire world questioning our intelligence to find a solution. However, Guyanese do not give up easily and I prefer to join those who choose to pray, trust and believe God to bring us over this hurdle sooner than later, put this crisis behind us and move us ahead to reap from God’s abundant resources available for our benefit. Each political party is claiming to embrace truth and with all that has happened some accept this with suspicion and others are encouraged, but I will like to make my humble contribution without getting into what is already very troubled, and muddy, waters. I will not qualify myself to find a solution but seek your permission to use an example from the Bible. King David was an extraordinary leader and described as “a man after God’s own heart” 1Samuel 13:14. If only we can find someone in Guyana who could fit this description or someone who is willing to pay the price to upgrade his resume to qualify for this

position, we will be able to say goodbye to all of our problems. The word of God is saturated with guidance and direction, which lead to the best destination, but like King David, we have to embrace truth in thoughts, words and action. King David’s great hunger for righteousness and truth is clearly reflected in his prayer in Psalm 86:11. His desperate cry to God was “teach me your ways O Lord and I will walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart that I may reverence your name”. Again, I will like to submit that if our politicians will reach out for the righteous path and follow truth, it will be found because truth hides from no one but sometimes we hide from truth and that is the first step to a journey of great regrets. Where truth is absent, sin is present. They were never intended to and cannot exist together. Truth has a foundation that cannot be shaken and has the ability to withstand any storm. Truth is like light. It exposes darkness and is intended to reward each person that embraces its value. Fighting against truth can be equated to fighting against God but it is folly to engage in this fight hoping to get God’s approval and bring

down His holy standard for personal gains. Of course, truth is not always easy to embrace because deceptive gains can blind the best of us but please heed my warning. Dishonesty never delivers as promised and the regrets will follow you for the rest of your life. When the world renowned German-born physicist, Albert Einstein, said “the three great forces that rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed”, he was endorsing God’s word as recorded in Jeremiah 17: 9 and 10 which says “The heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” The Lord searches the heart and examines the mind to reward a man, according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. I am very cautious to make any accusation but will prefer to send this statement from God’s word to all concerned with a question. When God searches your heart, as will happen to everyone, what will he discover and if He rewards you according to what is discovered what will be your reward be? Let me close with four decisions to embrace truth: 1. Listen to the Truth; 2. Believe the Truth; 3. Tell the Truth, and 4. Live the Truth. Harold Beharry

Kaieteur M@ilbox Are these elections a foreshadow of another stampede, of voting feet? DEAR EDITOR The preoccupation of Guyanese, both resident and abroad, with the recently held elections are rooted in much more than idle curiosity. Many at home are concerned about their freedom to speak and to have their voices heard, as in voting and having their votes counted and accounted for. Most of those abroad, having voted with their feet, are also concerned about their freedom to visit the homeland to connect with their family, start a business, vacation and/or retire without the fears from which they ran. I realise these are bold claims but I hope you will stay with me as I present the argument that “over the last 65 years Guyanese have always voted in large numbers for either the restricted local options available or with their feet”. I offer two primary pieces of information: Guyana’s population and migration (UN International Migration Stock, 2019) and the rationally objective assessment of Simona Vezzoli, a nonGuyanese who presented her research findings at the National Library, which was reported in the April 15, 2014 edition of Kaieteur News under the caption “Oxford University researcher examines Guyana’s migration trend.”A 2015 overview of this research is available on Youtube (Simona Vezzoli - Unpacking the ‘colonial dummy’) Guyana’s population growth rate has been in a downward spiral since 1960, from annual increases of 3.5% in the 1950s down to 0.5% now, with periods of negative growth in the 1980s and 1990s. In the same period, Guyana’s migration has gone from 0.6% to 2.0% of the population the bulk (82.5% in 2015) of the migrants are in the 2064 age group. As a result, there are over 650,000 Guyanese migrants since 1960. In 2018, New York City estimated they were 138,000 Guyana born residents (www.nyc.gov/immigrants/ moia_annual_report_2018). Vezzoli dis-aggregated Guyana’s migration pattern

into three episodes: 1) the preindependence period: 1953 to 1965, 2) the early experiments with independence period: 1965 to1085, and 3) the persistent instability period: 1985 to 2013. Vezzoli’s seminal dissertation effort was to expand extant push-pull migration constructs, for colonies contemplating or in the process of transitioning to independent states. She did this by refining our understanding of the push influences in colonies/ new states by going further than prior analyses, which focused more on the pull influences of colonizers’ states. What I gleaned from this very well conceived and diligently executed effort is in accord with my many conversations with Guyanese, both at home and abroad, whose families have migrated en-masse. Initially, Guyanese trickled into the UK during the 1950s for education and some stayed. Those numbers swelled as electoral tensions rose in Guyana and Britain began closing its border to colonial migrants; this was the first shuffling of Guyanese feet. A more concerted rush followed in the 1960s when both the US and Canada relaxed some of their discriminatory migration laws. A significant number of these Guyanese emigrants were people deeply scarred by the racial violence and the authoritarian (communist/ socialist) rhetoric of the two major parties in the pre-independence years. The initial panic was briefly abated in the immediate post-independence period when Guyanese were lured by remigration initiatives, independence fervor, and homesickness. However, soon thereafter, the Government’s intemperate policies: nationalization of 80% of the economic activity; militarization (over 100,000 in uniforms); paramountcy of the party; violent and coercive restrictions on freedom of thought, expression and movement; and rigged elections - led to a stampede of Guyanese into North America, the Caribbean, Brazil, Venezu-

ela, Suriname, and the far reaches of the earth. In the late 1980s, the mellowing influences of a shift to a more open economy, an improving sense of personal security, and the turn to external multi-lateral support slowed but did not quite corral the stampede. Instead, migration was now family consolidation abroad as political uncertainty and the decline in quality of life sustained the local push as families pulled from abroad. Change in the government in the early 1990s had a post-independence-like effect as remigration initiatives, homesickness, and nationalistic fervor drew some back into the fold. However, the return of election tensions and violence, as well as narrowing doors across the USA and Canadian borders, kept families stumbling into these destinations. Vezzoli’s effort has given me pause to think about our preoccupation with these current elections and their results. It crystallized the connection between elections and spikes in Guyanese migration over the past 60 years. I was reminded of the instability, elevated distrust and general uncertainty around the time of elections that pushed so many into escaping their homeland. I found myself asking the question “Are these elections a foreshadow of another stampede, of voting feet?” As we await the result of the recount I will remain optimistic, because; 1) the 20-64 year olds seem to be engaged in a fight to stay; and 2) the clamour for electoral and constitutional reforms is rising, and 3) some excellent solutions to these protracted and contentious electoral disputes are being advanced. I recommend “Electoral System Reform for a Diverse Nation: The Case of Guyana” (Kindle Books, Amazon.com) as an example of a very thoughtful contribution to understanding and addressing our election conundrum. Sincerely Rory Fraser

I did not anticipate that... From page 5 to outflank those who raise hell and rise up as men of stature that have to be dealt with, but on their terms only? I am still struggling to come to grips with what I dismiss as a low move and a cheap strike that fell short of the mark. I have one suggestion left in the bag: next time, pick on another fellow. Be sensible. If this one could be made such a mess of, then what prospects for sturdy leadership in the trying times ahead? Sincerely, GHK Lall

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Linkages between ExxonMobil, State contractors should be under microscope -petroleum advisor

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inding contractors or independent experts without ties to major oil companies is a dilemma all governments of producing nations face. But when a close relationship has been identified between an oil company and a firm contracted to work on the State’s behalf, then every effort should be made to place it under the microscope says Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment (CCSI), Tom Mitro. This statement by the International Petroleum Con-

sultant was made on the heels of a story Kaieteur News published recently on the World Bank, which has given its approval for several ExxonMobil-linked contractors to win projects funded by a US$20M loan it gave to Guyana. The most controversial award to date has been a contract to an international law firm, Hunton, Andrews Kurth, to review Guyana’s archaic laws even though this firm enjoys a 40-year-old relationship with ExxonMobil. There have been numerous calls locally and interna-

tionally for this and other awards to be investigated for possible conflict of interest. In an invited comment, Mitro told Kaieteur News that any true expert has probably at one time or another, worked directly for an oil company or worked for a consulting company that has most of their business derived from the oil industry. Elaborating further, the advisor said, “There are only a very small number of law firms and consultants that will not work for oil companies and specifically focus on governments and national oil

companies. One I am familiar with is the Curtis, MalletPrevost law firm based in New York. I also sometimes do work with a consulting company called Resources For Development based in Ottawa that focuses entirely on working for governments, national companies and NGO’s and does not do work for oil companies...” Mitro added, “Even then, some of their individual consultants would have worked for oil companies in the past ...That is one reason why many governments end up

relying on organizations like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or institutes like CCSI for their advice.” The Senior Fellow at CCSI said that one of the problems those organizations however, is that they often do not have the time to be fully dedicated or have direct hands-on experience working in the industry. Mitro said that they play a mostly general advisory role and tend to be more focused on issuing reports rather than working on a day-to-day (Continued on page 8)

Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment (CCSI), Tom Mitro

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Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

COVID-19 & The Oil Industry ...

Guyana lucky to

get early wakeup call - energy strategist, Anthony Paul By Kiana Wilburg

T

he devastating impact of the C O V I D - 1 9 pandemic on the oil industry can be seen as an early wakeup call for Guyana, the latest entrant to the global oil producers club, says Local Content expert and energy strategist, Anthony Paul. Expounding further during an interview on Kaieteur Radio’s programme, Guyana’s Oil and You, on Friday, Paul noted that in the oil and gas industry, there are peaks and troughs. This will always occur, said Paul. In fact, the energy strategist said that this is the fourth major price slump in the last 20 years of this century. “But Guyana is lucky to get this wake-up call so early in its oil production and revenue life. Production is still quite low so the full impact did not happen. But there is another important lesson I

think Guyana has to learn from this,” the international advisor said. Turning to his home country, the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, he pointed out that several mistakes were made with the billions of dollars in oil revenue that came in. ”The mistake made, as most producers do, is to move your budget to match your revenues and there is a big danger in doing that because we know that small countries with small public service and limited capacity have difficulty managing expenditure effectively. It therefore means that a lot of wastage ends up happening.” He added: “So Guyana has to be able to say, ‘Fine, this is what could end up happening to us so how do we properly prepare ourselves to spend this money? Do we target the top of the price cycle that we see coming? Do we go for the

Local Content expert and energy strategist, Anthony Paul bottom of the price cycle and save everything above that or do we go somewhere in the middle?” With this in mind, Paul said it will speak volumes about how Guyana builds its strategy after being faced

GPSU’s Mothers’ Day message The Guyana Public Service Union wishes to extend a Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers in Guyana and the world over. This day was set aside to honour and celebrate motherhood, maternal bonds, influences that mothers have upon every generation and their consequential achievements and contributions to society. It must be noted that mothers are selfless and loving humans, who overtime have sacrificed many of their desires for that of their children and many others, towards the development, achievement and/or improvement of livelihoods within communities, countries and the world. Even though mothers were celebrated in many parts of the world in different ways, modern day Mothers’ Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Maria Jarvis of the USA celebrated her mother, a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. She established Mothers’ Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Anna Jarvis wanted to honour her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honour all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”. Throughout history and in many societies and cultures today, a mother is seen as a pillar of strength and an authority, who always extends a helping hand, a

listening ear and finds ways and means to ensure that no one is left out or left behind. Motherhood is defined by the individual qualities and practices each woman brings to her role as a mother. The current realities in these unprecedented times as families are forced to hunker down, means mothers are assuming even more roles of full-time teachers, tutors, playmates, workout instructors, counsellors and maybe more, which has put many mothers in an emotional and distressing state. Many households are lacking resources and an adequate environment to continue providing for their family’s needs and requirements at this time. Women and girls may be at higher risk of violence and other different forms of domestic abuse caused by other members of the family, due to confined environments at home for a prolonged period of time, restrictions of movement, and heightened stress and tensions in the household. As mothers continue to transform and transition themselves into these new

roles, everyone in the home should recognise that they too can assume more responsibility to ease the burden and alleviate some of the stress. The GPSU on this Mothers’ Day wishes to discourage acts of domestic and other forms of violence/ abuse against women and is in support of all positive action to protect the health and safety of all women, at all times. The Guyana Public Service Union wishes to extend a special salute to all mothers who are currently working on the frontlines on Mother’s Day to provide the care for those that are incapacitated at this time, albeit, at greater risk to themselves and ahead of the needs of their families. Take courage that better days are ahead as it is written in the Scriptures that a “(Mother) … is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” The Guyana Public Service Union extends best wishes for a happy and safe Mother’s Day 2020 to all the wonderful women of Guyana and the rest of the World.

with this type of volatility. “The trick now is how well Guyana learns the lessons this brings. How Guyana behaves, knowing this, will determine how well Guyana does from oil and gas,” the official concluded on this front. COVID-19’S IMPACT ON OIL MONEY As a result of the COVID19 pandemic, demand for oil has declined to unprecedented levels and the oil price war between Russia

conflict of interest.Mitro categorically stated that governments need to carefully set out the scope of work and expectations in the contract, and reinforce that they expect companies to potentially play and have the serial role in all this. “They may even need to disqualify certain individu-

which would be the main impact on Guyana from the oil price fall-out between Russia and Saudi. Guyana began producing oil in December 2019 and variations in oil prices along with the Coronavirus pandemic are expected to have deep implications for the revenue outlook and GDP growth estimates for 2020. The IMF originally estimated that Guyana’s oil production would contribute to achieving oil exports worth US$2.4 billion, oil – related government revenue of approximately US$230 million, and a GDP growth rate of 86% on an assumed price of oil of US$ 64/barrel. As the IDB noted, these will be affected in light of the coronavirus and the effects from the oil price war. The Government of Guyana had executed a sale of one million barrels of oil in mid -February as part of its profit–sharing agreement with ExxonMobil, earning US$55 million from Shell. That money has since been transferred to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF). It cannot be touched until a Parliament is in place to approve withdrawals.

CSEC, CAPE students to sit exams in July

S

tudents across the CARICOM Region will sit the annual Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) assessments in July. This was disclosed on Friday in a release from the CARICOM Secretariat following a decision made by the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD)- Education, after their First Emergency Virtual Meeting. According to the Registrar of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Dr. Wayne Wesley, while the proposed revised administration schedule for examinations is July 2020, the results will be released in the first week of September.

Linkages between ExxonMobil, State ... From page 7 basis in a specific role. Considering this, Mitro said the government is therefore faced with the dilemma of relying on one of these organizations or going with commercial entities that work all the time with oil companies and have the potential for

and Saudi Arabia inflicted its fair share of damage as the latter flooded the market with its cheap oil. Considering this, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) anticipates that the Government of Guyana will experience a 40 to 60 percent decline in the estimated value of its oil exports. In one of its latest reports, the financial institution specifically said: “The government is expected to make four more sales in 2020, potentially at much lower prices. Under oil price scenarios varying between US$ 20/ barrel and US$ 35/barrel, the estimated value of oil exports (US$ 2.4billion ) could decline by 40% – 60%, leading to terms – of – trade effects affecting the GDP growth estimate.” Such a decline is equivalent to a loss of US$1.4B or $288B. To understand the significance of this loss, one only needs to remember that Guyana’s 2019 budget was US$1.5B. Further to this, the bank said that Guyana’s expected oil – related revenues, some US$230 million, could decline by 15 percent to 40 percent,

als who work for those firms if they are perceived to have too close of a tie to the companies they will be monitoring,” expressed the advisor. Overall, he stressed that care must be taken to monitor all close ties which may work against the interest of the State and its people.

- results expected in the first week of September

The examinations are usually held in May/June of every year but have been pushed back amid COVID-19 concerns. It was also agreed that the examination will be done via e-Testing in those countries that are equipped with the necessary infrastructure. In those countries where this is not possible students will sit paper-based examinations. Students are expected to sit a revised Paper 1. CAPE students who are desirous of attending any University of the West Indies campus will be considered based on CAPE Unit 1 and previous examination results. COHSOD also adopted the Public Health Guidelines for the reopening of schools as proposed by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). These recommendations will inform and guide the various Ministries of Education in the Region on a safe and phased reopening of schools to guarantee students, teachers and staff

Registrar of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Dr. Wayne Wesley can properly prepare for the July examinations. To read the full release go to https://caricom.org/csecexaminations-to-be-held-injuly/

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Entire ward quarantined as another Palms resident positive for COVID-19

The Palms Geriatric Home, on Brickdam

An entire ward of senior citizens at The Palms has been quarantined as another patient tests positive for COVID-19. Another resident of the Palms Geriatric Home has fallen ill to the dreaded COVID-19 virus. Sources close the facility confirmed that the new COVID-19 case has been discovered there. Kaieteur news understands that new case occupies the same ward of the bedridden patient who died from the disease last week. Director of Social Services, Wentworth Tanner, under whose purview the Palms operates, had confirmed on Wednesday that a 64-year-old bedridden male resident of the facility had died from complications of the virus. The elderly man died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation two Fridays ago shortly after he was admitted. According to Tanner, 12 staffers of the geriatric home have been placed in mandatory quarantine by officials attached the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) as a result of the latest COVID-19 related death. In the meantime, the Social Services Director noted that as recommended by health workers, several

staffers of the facility have been quarantined. Kaieteur News understands, too, that the ward where the patient once occupied, comprises of about 24 other bedridden persons who have also been placed in quarantine. Tanner said the Palms has since undergone a thorough sanitization exercise and there will be full screening of the caregivers before they enter the compound. He said while there is no certain information as to how the patient contracted the virus, the facility had suspended all visits to the Palms since March 30. “So there were no outside visitors coming into the facility. Added to that, the caregivers are also instructed to wear masks and gloves on each shift. They are provided with four masks each per shift,” Tanner explained further. The Director noted, nonetheless, that the incident is quite alarming given the fact that the Palms hosts about 194 in-house elderly residents. “We hope that the Health Ministry will help bring some clarity to the situation because what is scary is that

a person can be asymptomatic and have the disease yet transfer it to other persons who are vulnerable.” Similarly, in the daily livestreamed update on Guyana’s COVID-19 situation, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, stressed that testing is critical to uncover asymptomatic cases of the virus. “As I said [before], testing is critical if we are to uncover the asymptomatic cases to assist in reducing the number of illnesses and deaths due to the severe form of the disease.” According to the CMO, Guyana’s fatality rate stands at 10.8 percent per the population whereas the WHO Global fatality rate is 4 percent. “Of all positive cases, children account for 5.4 percent, adults 82 percent and the elderly 12.6 percent. Even though 52 percent of our confirmed cases were males, they account for 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Guyana. This simply means that we must detect those in our communities showing no symptoms but require medical intervention.” Sharing further insight into the asymptomatic cases,

Dem boys seh...

Dem parties fighting fuh tek over prablem Dem boys looking on at de cockfight wha tekkin’ place. HAP-New+Hay-EffSee fighting de Pee-Pee-PeeCee fuh power. Dem like two rundown batteries. Dem two had dem chance and all dem prove is dat all two gat plenty scamps who wan full dem pockets and give away land to dem friends. Dem nah do nuttin’ fuh de small man but dem still wan run de country again. Dat mek dem boys laff. Dem looking and wonder wha country dem parties want tek over? Right now de country on life support. De economy in big prablem. It in problem even before de COVID-19. De virus come

and deliver de knockout punch. De guvment beggin’ World Bank fuh money to help fight de virus. Dat is how bad we deh. By de time de virus done, de economy gan be like some ah dem man wah does deh sleepin pon de pavement – penniless and piss poor. De virus cause de price of oil fuh drop so low dat at one time dem oil company paying you fuh buy de oil. De oil rush tun de oil slush. Gold gan bring mo money this year fuh de economy dan oil. Coconut oil now mo expensive dan gasolene. An yet dem party fighting fuh control de oil.

Business sufferin’. Dem small store and shop close down and nah know when dem gan open back. Dem boys used to go by de corner shop fuh drink a half. Now dem boys wan know how dem guh drink with social distancing.Nuff a dem small business tekkin’ blows. Dem barrow from bank and nah know how dem gon payback. Yuh call dat bankruptcy. Business nah doing and people nah wukkin. So weh de tax man gon get de money from fuh run guvment? People bruk and de guvment gan soon bruk. Talk half and ask yuhself why dem party fighting fuh tek over prablems!

Dr. Persaud noted that from information provided globally, many healthy younger persons infected with COVID-19 do not display the usual symptoms. “These persons can continue to transmit the virus to other vulnerable persons in our society by not practising control measures such as hand hygiene, physical distancing and the using of masks.” At the same time, Dr.

Persaud continued to appeal to people to come forward if they have been in contact with a positive case or experience any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19.“We are pleading with you to access our mobile units positioned at various points in the city as well as the COVID-19 sites on the East Coast and the East Bank Demerara. Please call the hotline for information on the location of the mobile units.”

The CMO, once again, stressed to the male population to be responsible about adhering to the curfew hours and physical distancing in order to contain the spread of COVID -19. “I wish to reinforce that as breadwinners of the family, you put yourself at unnecessary risk and jeopardize the life and livelihood of your families by not complying with the recommended measures.”

GBTI, DemBank to facilitate online uploads to MMG wallets Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) has partnered with The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited (GBTI) and Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) to provide the added convenience of online uploads to MMG wallets. “MMG users can now load their wallets through online banking as provided by GBTI and DBL. The integration has been successfully tested and is immediately available to the benefit of our shared customers,” said Bobita Ram, General Manager of Mobile Money Guyana. Online banking customers at GBTI and DBL can simply log on to their banking portal and select MMG as a bill payment option. “It is an easy process - the customer would first need to register their MMG account as a biller. Once the account is registered, money can be loaded directly to their MMG wallets,” Ram explained. Through GBTI, funds would be credited to a customer’s account the next day. Via DBL, credit to MMG accounts will occur four times daily. These two financial institutions are among the first to join MMG in supporting the increased use of electronic payments and commerce. The collaboration also adds an additional layer of security for customers through a seamless and cashless bank to wallet facility.

Bobita Ram, General Manager of Mobile Money Guyana

Pamela Binda, GBTI’s Public Relations and Marketing Manager

“Electronic payment facilities, including the MMG wallet itself, is no longer the future, it is the present. Now, and especially during a time of pandemic, electronic solutions are vital to our health and safety – it encourages and facilitates mobile payments without the need to physically come to an institution,” noted Deborah Sugrim, Chief Operating Manager at DBL. “Electronic payment facilities also play a key role in keeping the wheels of our economy turning – and it provides absolute ease of use to our customers through a very secure exchange. It is our pleasure to join with MMG in providing customers with payment options that support our existing reality of limiting movement. We are in this together – and partnerships such as these are a testimony of corporate Guyana collabo-

rating for the benefit of all,” added Pamela Binda, GBTI’s Public Relations and Marketing Manager. The MMG team is working on establishing relationships with other banks to provide its users with a wider range of online options for continued and exceptional ease of use, including adding the option to load wallets via ATM machines in the coming weeks. The issue would be important with increasing calls for online and other banking which will reduce the number of persons visiting the actual banks. There are current restriction ordered by authorities in light of COVID-19 but there have been growing concerns that citizens are not adhering despite the obvious dangers. Lines with persons close to each other were seen at the various banks.

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Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

Over 40 persons arrested, charged for breaching curfew in Region 4 The Guyana Police Force has arrested over 40 persons for breaching the 6pm to 6am curfew implemented by the Public Health Ministry to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus This was disclosed by Regional Deputy Commander for Region Four, Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore during an interview with DPI. “So far, five persons have been placed before the court where they were made to pay fines and other punishment that the court has awarded,” Azore stated. He said the slow rate of penalisation is due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the courts. Presently, they operate three days per week, which allows for just five such cases per week. The Commander pointed out that before an arrest is made, citizens are given a warning. If that warning is ignored, then an arrest is made. However, he pointed out that the majority of persons are complying with the measures. Commander Azore also highlighted that to further enforce the curfew, there are several strategically placed roadblocks. “The reason for the roadblocks is to stop those persons driving on the road [after the curfew] and ascertain if there is any legitimate reason for them being on the road. If there is no valid reason, we ask that they proceed home immediately. If persons continue to breach the curfew, they will be prosecuted,” he

underscored. It was highlighted that the Traffic Taskforce works during the day to ensure minibuses and taxis follow the 50 percent passenger rate. If they are found to have breached the measures, they are warned before an arrest is made. “It is not a case where you commit an offence for the first time and we charge you, you are warned but if you continue then there is strict enforcement and we have

you placed before the court,” Azore stated. The Guyana Police Force said it is continuing to call on persons and businesses to adhere to the emergency measures. They are also reminding that any person who fails to comply with any of the measures is committing and an offence under Section 152 of the Public Health Ordinance and is liable on summary conviction to the penalty provided under that section. (DPI)

3 new COVID-19 cases recorded as tally moves to 97 - 825 persons now tested

Guyana taken off European Commission’s money laundering list Guyana has been delisted from the European Commission’s money laundering list, joining countries like BosniaHerzegovina, Ethiopia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka and Tunisia, as those countries work to table legislation to guard against money laundering and terrorist financing. This is according to the European Commission, in a new comprehensive plan to further strengthen its fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The delisting of countries will enter into force in 20 days after the official publication of the plan. The Commission amended the list in the form of a Delegated Regulation. It will now be submitted to the European Parliament and Council for approval within one month (with a possible one-month

extension), given the Coronavirus crisis, the Commission stated. In the meantime, countries found with strategic deficiencies in their regime regarding anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing include; The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe. In May 2017, the European Commission had proposed that Guyana be removed from the moneylaundering blacklist, however, it was not until 2019 that the country was not included on the strategic deficiencies list. Along with its updated list, the Commission has published an ambitious and multifaceted Action Plan, which sets out concrete measures that the Commission will implement over the next 12 months to

better enforce, supervise and coordinate the EU’s rules on combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The aim is to have a more comprehensive approach and to shut down any remaining loopholes and remove any weak links in the EU’s rules, the Commission stated. Under the Coalition administration, Guyana has made significant progress on the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) front; the Ministry of Legal Affairs has conducted Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) outreaches and sensitisation seminars throughout the country. It has also placed much focus on Co-ops, charities and developing the Special Organisation Crime Unit (SOCU) and other agencies critical to the fight against Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. (DPI)

The Ministry of Public Health has recorded three new COVID-19 cases taking the total to 97 as of May 9, 2020. Of these 97 cases, Guyana has recorded 10 deaths and 35 recoveries. So far, 825 persons have been tested with 755 of those tested returning negative.Two more patients were admitted to the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at GPHC taking the total to five.Three persons are now in institutional quarantine while 52 others remain in isolation at various facilities across Guyana. Region Four remains the

epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana. The Public Health Ministry has recorded confirmed cases in the following areas: -North Georgetown: Kitty; Sophia; Turkeyen; Liliendaal; Cummings Lodge and Alberttown. -South Georgetown: Bourda; Lamaha Park; South Ruimveldt and Thirst Park. -East Coast of Demerara: Atlantic Gardens; Friendship; Golden Grove; Good Hope; Lusignan; Plaisance and Strathspey. -East Bank of Demerara: Diamond; Grove; Land of Canaan and Providence.

Globally, there are 3,759,967 confirmed cases with 259,474 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, the number of confirmed cases has increased to 1,636,841 with 91,893 deaths. “The Ministry of Public Health is again calling on all citizens to heed the health advisories and observe the correct hygiene measures and precautions. Citizens are also asked to always practice social distancing in the workplace, public spaces, and while using public transportation so as reduce the spread of the coronavirus diseases.”

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---

A broader explanation of the current impasse

A

fter ten weeks with out a declared win ner of the March 2 elections, it is time to ask serious questions about Guyana’s future. Why has this impasse been so prolonged with no end in sight anytime soon? After all, we have had contested elections and charges and countercharges of rigged elections before but none of them dragged on this long. So, what is different about the 2020 elections? If one listens to the PPP and its allies, one gets the impression that if only we can get the PNC to stop rigging elections, agree to democratic norms, and be a good opposition, our problems would be solved—Guyana would be a model country under the PPP. And if you listen to the PNC leaders and their allies, you hear a similar rhetoric— the PPP is the problem, they rig elections in their strongholds, and they have a master plan for ethno-political domination. The truth is while electoral malpractice is part of the Guyanese political architecture and cuts across party lines, it is not the sum-total of Guyana’s problems. This is not to say that one must ignore the perception and reality of imperfect elections; it is a central part of the problem. The point I am making is that if we solve that aspect of our politics, the overarching problems will not disappear. So, the PNC did not rig the 1992 elections—they were voted out of office. Did our political problems end? No, here we are in 2020 having the same conversation. The PPP lost power in 2015. Their ethno-racial domination came to an end. Did our political problems go away? No, here we are in 2020 on the edge once again. I am contending

that to understand what has unfolded these past ten weeks, we have to move beyond the rigged elections scenario because it is only one of the factors. A second related factor is that since the 1961 election neither party has accepted the other as the electoral winner. From 1964 to 1985, the PPP never accepted the PNC as the winner, ostensibly because they, the PNC, rigged the elections. But in 2011 and 2015 when the PNC was not charged with systematic rigging, the PPP still refused to accept them as winners. And we know that the PNC never accepted the PPP as the winner of the four elections from 1992 to 2006. At the heart of the refusal to grant legitimacy to the opposite party is the now commonly accepted truism that neither major ethnic group wants to be governed by the other. They confirm that by repeatedly voting for their ethnic parties even when they express dissatisfaction with those parties. We see here the convergence of the class interests of the working class and the elites. A third factor is the historic but often muted competition for political, economic, and cultural resources. In a society that has not developed a political praxis of sharing and in a system of majoritarian winner-takes-all, there is a zero-sum competition for power. Who wins the competition for political power gets to preside over the distribution of economic and cultural resources. In other words when the party wins political power, it is not just a victory for the party but more importantly for the ethnic group. What is different in 2020 is that Guyana is potentially on the brink of Oil and Gas wealth. The two groups now have something tangible to

fight over. Which of the two parties would govern and manage the oil wealth? Both groups have reason to believe that if the opposite party gets into power it would not democratically distribute the wealth. When the PNC was in power, Indian Guyanese complained bitterly of being discriminated against. That charge grew louder when the PPP took power as African Guyanese claimed systemic economic marginalisation and economic genocide. In 2020, both parties would view surrendering to the other as a betrayal of the wishes of their group to control the oil wealth. The fourth factor that explains the prolonged impasse is the intimate involvement of external forces in the election. The truth is that the ABCE countries have always been involved in Guyanese elections and politics. From the British invasion in 1953 through the American and British intervention in the 1960s and beyond to the Carter Center engagement from 1992 to the present, the foreign involvement has been constant. If the previous involvement was ideological (the fear of communism), the 2020 involvement is different—it is directly political and economic. The coming of oil has returned Guyana squarely into the orbit of American and European hegemony. These countries by the very definition of their foreign policy are protecting their national interests—they have to. Anyone who has studied Guyanese politics would know that the ABCE countries have always favoured one side or the other depending on which one serves their interests. But this is the first time since the end of the Cold War that they

have overtly showed their preference. It is clear that they prefer the PPP. Here it must be remembered that in 2015, the PPP vehemently charged the Americans with involvement in the election and with installing the Coalition in power. This deep involvement of the ABCE countries has consequences for the behaviour of the two parties. The PPP is emboldened by the open support. The embrace of the PPP has opened the way for the Coalition parties to wrap themselves in nationalism and paint the PPP as the party that

is willing to trade Guyana’s sovereignty for power. Further, by entangling themselves so deeply in the election, the ABCE countries have exposed themselves rightly or wrongly to the charges of interference in the country’s affairs. Finally, just as they did in the 1960s, they have once again found themselves in the middle of an ethnic conflict. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) More of Dr. Hinds’ writ-

Dr David Hinds ings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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Kaieteur News

Alive or dead? A half-century old family mystery By Michael Jordan

It was several years ago that she contacted me; this woman that I’d never seen before, to help her solve a case that happened before I was born. The details she gave me were sketchy, but she believed, even after all this time, that I might be able to clear her grandfather’s name of an abominable crime for which she says he was wrongly accused. Old Evan Scott died with some still swearing that he had murdered his own flesh and blood, or sold his kith and kin to demons. It is a case that has divided family members to this day. Some have given me two, or even three sides to this strange story. So what are the facts? Back in 1958, Evan Scott had

a daughter, Daphne ScottDavis, known as ‘Baby’ Scott, who lived at Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara, with her two sons, three-year-old Sydney, and Lennox, who was just a baby. One Friday in that same year, Evan Scott invited his daughter to spend a week at his home at Supply, East Bank Demerara. According to a relative, Daphne Scott had intended to just take baby Lennox along, but, allegedly at her father’s urging, took Sydney on the trip. Back then, Supply was a desolate, bushy, and sparsely populated community. Evan Scott’s house was located near the Demerara River. It is alleged that on that fateful day, Mr. Scott left for work in Georgetown. Three of Mr. Scott’s small children, his wife from a second marriage, and Daphne and her two little boys remained at his home. While he was away, Mr. Scott’s wife asked Daphne to wash her hair. While they were thus occupied, four of Mr. Scott’s children, and his two grandchildren, played outside. The story is that as dusk approached, the children ceased their games and went inside. But the adults immediately realised that one of the children was missing. Three-year-old Sydney Garnett was not among them. After the other children were unable to account for Sydney’s whereabouts, the two women immediately went outside to search for him. He was nowhere to be found. The women raised an alarm and other residents joined in

the search. Some searched nearby trenches, while others checked by the riverside without finding a trace of the child. A female relative of Daphne Scott says that the following day, Mr. Scott came by her home in Beterverwagting, and announced that Sydney was missing. According to the woman, Scott was accompanied by a man who appeared to be a foreigner. The police were informed about the disappearance and they, along with relatives, resumed the search, scouring the Supply backlands and even diving in the Demerara River for signs of the missing child’s remains. Mr. Scott’s home was also reportedly searched. And still, there was no trace of little Sydney Garnett. Eventually, after a few more days, the search for threeyear-old Sydney was called off. Some speculated that he had wandered off and drowned in the Demerara River. Others suggested that some wild animal from the jungle-like vegetation in the community had attacked and killed him. But there were other suggestions of a more sinister nature. For some reason, a few family members were convinced that Evan Scott had something to do with his grandson’s disappearance, even though he was reportedly at work when the child vanished. Some of those who blamed him, claimed he had ‘sold’ his grandson as a sacrifice to persons who practised witchcraft. But there is another rumour, which persists to this day. Some relatives say they believe that Mr. Scott either sold, or gave his grandson to a childless couple from England. One of the relatives says she still recalls how Mr. Scott had insisted that his mother bring Sydney to see him. And this relative claims that Evan Scott came close to revealing the truth of Sydney’s fate several years later, just before he died. She said that while he was on his

deathbed, Mr. Scott was visited by his first wife and a few other female relatives. According to the woman, the dying man declared: “Sydney is not dead, Sydney is in England.” However, she claims that when the relatives pressed him to reveal the boy’s actual whereabouts, Scott fell silent. He died a few days later. But those who believe Evan Scott is innocent say that he was heartbroken at the loss of his grandson. One female relative said that the man had wept as he dived into canals to search for his missing grandson. Others said that the child’s disappearance took a toll on his health. These relatives, too, believe that Sydney Garnett was spirited away to England—but by persons other than Mr. Scott. According to the granddaughter who contacted me, Sydney was given an opportunity to travel to England, reportedly unaccompanied by his parents, but other family members had objected to this arrangement. But persons who wanted him to go came up with the scheme to have him spirited out of Guyana during the trip to his grandfather. Those who accused Mr. Scott and those who don’t, all claim to have heard reports that Sydney Garnett returned some years ago to Guyana in an unsuccessful attempt to find his mother, Daphne Scott-Davis, who went to America. ”Sadly, my grandfather died before the truth came out,” the granddaughter had said in an email to me several years ago. ”But God’s good. About two years ago, a family member started talking about Sydney and they were informed that Sydney was alive and well. He trades goods between England, Guyana and the U.S. All this time Sydney was alive. Can you believe it? Oh the things people do to travel overseas…just to get a break.” (If you have information about any unusual or unsolved cases, please contact Kaieteur News by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown. Our numbers are 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8473 or 2258491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com.)

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

After this, we will never see some Guyanese the same way again

N

o one in their right mind should be glad that the 2020 election nightmare occurred. Guyana deserves to have democracy, social peace, economic take off that have been stalled since Independence. But the 2020 election rigging is a priceless lesson that we have learned from. We should welcome what it taught us We have seen people behave in ways we could never have imagined. We wonder if we can see them the same way again. I did know that some prominent women would be barefaced enough to actual allow words to come out of their mouths attacking the countless decent patriots and courageous nationalist for criticizing the dangerous and destructive things that Claudette Singh is doing to Guyana. These women have the barefacedness to say that Singh is a woman and we must not treat women like that woman. I honestly never thought that such women can disrespect their education and the citizenry at large through their repugnant defense of Singh. I knew about their words after I read a letter in the Stabroek News pointing to what these women had to say in the Chronicle. I hardly read the Chronicle. For someone to actually see the Chronicle as an important newspaper and in this crisis that we are in to actually give a comment to that newspaper eulogizing Singh shows how far this country has gone down the chasm of nihilism. What Singh is doing to this country is so evil that

those who support her support her evil. They should read what Gandhi once wrote; “noncooperation with evil is a sacred duty.” I repeat unapologetically what I think of Claudette Singh. She is one of the most unacceptable citizens this world has produced. She is one of the most questionable character Guyanese history has produced. On a personal level, we should all resent what Singh is doing to this country because our ancestors fought with blood, sweat and tears for the freedoms, rights and liberties us, as 21st century Guyanese, must be entitled to. Singh wants to take away the right of Guyanese to have their vote counted. These women who gave Singh plaudits in the Chronicle for what Singh is doing to this country do not deserve our respect. Before I move to Eusi Kwayana, I repeat another condemnation, I made of Singh. Whichever party forms the next government, except Singh’s friends in APNU+AFC, there should be a judicial enquiry into her conduct and that of Keith Lowenfield for which, if evidence is available, there should be prosecution. I have known Kwayana for more than 45 years and the position he took on the rigged election process that is unfolding cannot be defended. This is a man who authored a book on Walter Rodney. Let me remind readers of Kwayana’s attitude on the rigging and Singh’s role in that. He wrote; “I for one, consider it unhelpful to prattle about facts I do not

have…the impressions I am getting are not founded on facts that may pass my own test…I cannot pretend to be unaffected by the statement of (Singh) that she intended to deliver to the public a valid election. I have often wondered to what extent those who appealed to her public spiritedness…have taken the necessary steps to support her started aspirations.” Kwayana is getting on in age and is becoming funny. This same man who hasn’t got the facts about what Singh is doing has sufficient facts to know that there was a day of post-election violence and he is urging a tribunal into the events. So, can we ask if he embraces facts that are convenient to him? I mean after all, the violence lasted one day. Singh’s long journey into election rigging is now two months on the road. Rashleigh Jackson wrote a letter a few days ago in which he observed that, “There have been criticisms of the operations of some international observers which should not be ignored.” What Jackson left out is those criticisms are coming from defenders of rigged elections and can be found most among the very riggers themselves. Young Guyanese who read Jackson’s subtle criticism need to understand that a fraudulent government has not been imposed on Guyana because of the democratic instincts of those very observers, the criticism of whom Jackson thinks has merit. Jackson knows better but like Kwayana, there is the “convenience approach.”

Finally, my friend, David Hinds. He wrote; “Both sides have enlisted recommendations from so-called independents and neutral observers”. Is there is no way researchers can arrive at a conclusion as to if an election was

rigged? David refers to “socalled independents.” Why? Is it because they denounced rigged elections? (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Frederick Kissoon

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Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

Problems the Coalition had long been complaining about are beginning to surface The recount and audit of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections have begun in earnest in the past week and there is every indication that some of the problems the Coalition had long been complaining about in the run up to the polls are beginning to surface. It was the administration of President David Granger, which had fought vigorously for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to sanitize the extremely bloated voters list. The Coalition had also wholeheartedly campaigned for House-to-House Registration as a means of allowing the country to approach the elections with a clean, credible voters’ list that all would have been happy with. As we can all recall, the House-to-House exercise

was abandoned even though much of the work had already been completed. The result is that we lost a golden and glorious opportunity to prepare properly for the most important elections since independence in May of 1966. But as we all know now, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) are the ones which steadfastly resisted the cleansing of the list for its own political reasons that are now coming back to haunt us all. As the counting proceeds at the Conference Centre on the lower East Coast, the fears of the Coalition that electoral malfeasance would have resulted if the country had gone into March 2 with a bloated list are surfacing for all to see. Our agents have been

consistently reporting and complaining about dead or migrated people being recorded as having voted and the only ones who appear to have no problem with this is the PPP, as expected. Guyana’s population is estimated by many as around 780,000. Yet GECOM published a list with more than 660,000 voters on the electoral scroll. For this to be anywhere near accurate, it would mean that we would have had to cut or reduce the national schools population by half to around 130,000 to cater for this category of citizens and to accurately reflect the list of eligible voters. The Education Ministry as we all know, caters to a national school population of about 260,000 students. Add to this the 660,000 plus names

on GECOM’s voters list and the total is way beyond the national population. Briefing reporters outside the Centre on Friday, Minister Simona Broomes pointed to the problems with the dead and migrated being recorded as having voted. She also railed against the PPP’s resistance to the list being clean and hinted that GECOM might have missed the proverbial bus. “We were the ones who wanted the list sanitized. Had that been done, we would not have been where we are at today. It is the Coalition government from the outset, which was fighting to have a process which was transparent and credible. You have the evidence before you. In a statement of recount, these things matter. People probably knew why they wanted us to go into elections with that list. We have our representatives and commissioners present. I am sure at that level all the objections raised will be ventilated and clarified in the best interests of all,” she said. Infrastructure Minister David Patterson was also up in arms against the situation. As the counting progressed, information surfaced about a development that we fear will repeat itself as the hours go by.

Coalition representatives Sherod Duncan and Mr. James Bond had pointed to a situation in District One where almost 600 persons who had died or migrated were recorded as having voted. “The ballot box with the most fraud is box number 1052,” they said in a spirited post on social media, as they urged supporters to share widely. On the Linden-Soesdyke Highway at the Yarrowkabra Primary School, Coalition representatives pointed to the massive cheating and fraudulent behaviour of the PPP to win the crucial Region or District Four. Their SOP showed the Coalition obtaining 41 votes and 59 for them, the PPP. Lo and behold and as widely expected, the recount showed a whopping difference of 119 votes for the Government. More of this is expected in Regions Four, Five, Six and Three at the least, not forgetting of course Nine and One. While these are being exposed, GECOM has been asked to remove IT specialist Aneal Giddings from his position after he was caught in a secret meeting with PPP candidates before recounting had gotten underway on Thursday. GECOM is yet to rule but the Coalition is adamant that he should be re-

moved in the same way the PPP campaigned against District Four Returning Officer, Mr. Mingo. The Alliance Force Change (AFC) noted in a social media posting that there “is emerging as a trend in all the regions for which the recount has begun. Additionally, in areas which are PPP strongholds, several persons who have died are recorded as having voted. So far, almost 100 instances of dead people being recorded as voting have been unearthed in Regions One, Two and Three - exclusively in PPP stronghold areas. Also dozens of persons who are known to have long migrated from Guyana but whose names remained on the un-sanitized voters list are recorded as having voted even though immigration records show that they were not present in Guyana for the March 2 elections. Again, these instances are exclusively being uncovered in PPP stronghold areas. The PPP hierarchy has been silent on this blatant attempt by the party to manipulate the results of the March 2nd polls,” the Party said. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Roles and responsibilities of the Audit Committee By John M. Seeram The month of May is designated International Internal Audit Awareness Month by the Institute of Internal Auditors, Global (IIAG). The Guyana Chapter is affiliated to the IIAG, hence it has planned a month of activities to recognize this noble profession. One of its activities is to publish articles on the internal audit profession in order for practitioners to develop, among others, their skills and knowledge. In so doing, the topic chosen by this writer is on the Roles and Responsibilities of the Audit Committee. Introduction The audit function is indeed crucial in order to ensure the integrity of a company’s/ entity’s financial systems. It includes not only its financial position and results but also the control systems, and the code of ethics which are the cornerstones of an accurate financial reporting system. A key player in this is the audit committee, which is comprised of directors who report directly to the Board of Directors. What is the Audit Committee? An audit committee is a standing committee of the Board of Directors, and should be comprised primarily of non-executive directors. These directors should not be involved in the management of the entity. Organisation of the Audit Committee Board of Directors should carefully give consideration to their appointments of directors to audit committees. · Number of Directors The number of independent directors appointed to audit committees depends on the nature of the business and also industry dynamics, the size of the entity, and the size of the Board of Directors. he general consensus is that a minimum of three and a maximum of five are adequate. · Composition - Because members of audit committees have varied backgrounds and occupations, they provide a mix of skills and experience. Although the members have different levels of expertise, it is strongly advisable to have at least one individual who has a finance/accounting and auditing background. It can be more useful to have some directors with a solid operational knowledge of the industry in which the entity operates, these directors can spot potential control weaknesses, based on their knowledge of how transactions flow in an industry or specific environment. · Meetings - Audit Committees should meet at least four times a year, however these meetings can be in-

creased due to matters to be addressed. Nature of Audit Committee Responsibilities Board of Directors will define their role and responsibilities of their audit committees. This charge is usually disclosed in the audit committees’ written Charter which should include the terms of reference such as the mission statement, its size and composition, term of service, frequency of meetings, scope and reporting responsibilities. In effect, audit committees are primarily responsible for the quality related to such matters such as: · External auditing process · Internal auditing process · Financial reporting process · Internal controls · Conflicts of interest · Regulatory and legal matters · Information technology · Other matters Recognising that audit committees operate on a parttime basis and serve in an advisory capacity to boards, it is therefore essential that boards place limitations on the scope of the committee’s performance, as well as to protect the committees against legal claims for their inactions that are outside their charge. The major tasks the audit committee should be focusing on are those related to external auditors, to internal auditors and to the financial systems. Tasks Related to External Auditors · To Recommend the Hiring of External Auditors – It should ensure that a truly independent auditor is hired, rather than one who has connections with the entity in some way or the other that may influence the review of the financial statements. The audit committee should also base its recommendations on the auditor’s expertise in the industry, the quality of its services, the extent to which it performs other service for the entity, as an example, consultancies. · Review Auditors Recommendations – Ensure among others, control, governance and risk management issues raised are properly dealt with by the management team, thereby resulting in a stronger environment. · Review any Disagreement between the External Auditors and Management – Disagreement will normally occur on the auditors’ findings and/or recommendations, which should be addressed and be determined by the audit committee. Also, with the Audit Opinions issued on the accounts. Tasks Related to Internal Auditors

The audit committee can strengthen the entity’s internal audit function by ensuring that management has established and is maintaining an adequate and effective internal audit structure. Here are specific roles, in the internal audit area, expected to be done by the audit committee. · Appointment of the Chief Internal Auditor (CIA) – The CIA typically reports administratively to the entity’s management, however the audit committee is responsible for the hiring and dismissal of the CIA. The objective here is not to deny the entity’s management the right to name the person who will administer the internal audit department, which serves the combine needs of the entity’s management and the audit committee. Rather, the significance of the audit committee’s participation is to ensure the independence of the internal audit function(s) when there is need to speak out regarding issues identified in the review and appraisal of internal controls and other activities of the entity. · Approval of the Internal Audit Charter (IAC) – An IAC serves as a basis of authorisation of every effective internal audit programme. An adequate IAC is particularly important to define the roles and responsibilities of internal audit, and its responsibility to serve the audit committee properly. It is here that the mission of internal audit must clearly provide service to the audit committee as well as to senior management. The audit committee is responsible for recommending to the Board the approval of the IAC. · Approval of Internal Audit Plans and Budgets – Ideally, the audit committee should have developed an overall understanding of the total internal audit needs of the entity. This high-level appraisal covers various special controls and financial-reporting issues, allowing the audit committee to determine the portion of audit or risk assessment needs to be performed by either internal audit or other providers. As part of this role, the audit committee is responsible for reviewing and approving all internal audit higher-level plans and budgets. This responsibility is consistent with the audit committee’s role as the ultimate coordinator of the total audit effort. The committee’s review of all internal audit plans is essential, if the policies and plans for the future are to be determined most effectively. · Audit Committee Review

and Action on Significant Audit Findings – An audit committee’s most important responsibility is to review and take action on significant audit findings reported to it by the internal and external auditors, management, and others. While the audit committee has responsibility for all of these areas, the focus here is on the importance of internal audit to report all significant findings to the audit committee regularly and promptly. Part of this reporting will occur through internal audit’s distribution of all audit reports to the audit committee. Reacting to significant audit findings requires a combination of understanding, competence, and cooperation by all of the major parties of interest: internal audit, management, external auditors, and the audit committee itself. Tasks related to the Financial Systems The financial process and ensuring reliable financial information are perhaps the most important functions of the audit committee. While the audit committee should not become involved in day-to-day operations, there is pressure from the oversight role for the audit committee to get more involved in ensuring the integrity of the financial reporting process. Hence, audit committees are expected to: · Review all financial statements, whether interim or annual, before they are approved by the Board of Directors, in order to ensure their objectivity, accuracy, and timely presentation. · Review all existing accounting policies, and concentrate on their impact on the financial statements of any changes in accounting policies, including the likely impact of any contemplated changes. · Evaluate exposures to fraud. · Appraise key management estimates, judgments, and valuations where they are thought to be material to the financial statements. · Evaluate the adequacy of financial statements’ disclosures. · Review the adequacy of the entity’s structure, including management’s implementation of internal controls, risk management and governance. · Review all significant transactions, especially those that are non-routine and those that may be illegal, questionable, or unethical. The Guyana Situation The Institute of Internal Auditors, Guyana Chapter has been playing an active role in promoting the establishment of audit committees in entities in the private, public and governmental sectors. Here in Guyana there is still

more work to be done in this area, and which is regarded as an on-going activity. To those committees in existence, it is imperative that they comply with the pronouncements and best practices globally on their expected roles and responsibilities. Hence, entities with established audit committees should be aware of the pronouncements being made from time to time, and to keep abreast with the best practices globally. In so doing, compliance with the International Standards on Auditing is a requirement. Audit committees today are operating in an immensely complex modern business world. Over the years, there have been some reports (in Guyana) of audit committees not having a healthy working relationship with the entity’s management and with its CIA. In such a situation, then each party needs to understand that they have to function in an environment of trust, since each needs the other to succeed. The shortcomings by members of an audit committee in terms of lack of specific technical skills should be addressed. One possible approach is to have training seminars/ workshops for directors since their competence is being judged by the board and the management of the entity. Not much research has yet been done on the roles and responsibilities of audit committees in Guyana by virtue of publications. This is an area, which needs to follow up and to promote in keeping with the global best practices, hence the publishing of this article. Concluding Remarks The audit committee, the

John Seeram, MEMBER OF IIAG CIA and management, work best when they pledge to work together. This relationship is seen as a partnership and it is most important for an entity to get it right, if it wants to attain effective governance.The success of an audit committee depends to a great extent on cultivating a strong working relationship with the management of the entity. Also, there is the need for both the management and the CIA to have a healthy and respectful relationship. All parties now have more to do, and it is imperative that each must understand the roles and responsibilities of the other. The ultimate goal is to attain a high degree of transparency and accountability. In closing, the success of an audit committee is dependent on cultivating a strong working relationship with each party and they will need each other to succeed - ‘I will help you, and you will help me, and we both know that’. That being said, it’s about trust. Audit committees, the CIA and management have to trust that each other is thoughtful, competent, and looking out for the best interests of the company’s/ entity’s, current and future operations.

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Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

Food production: the backbone of regional economies [Review of David Granger’s, Food security in Guyana: enough food for everyone]

David Granger’s Food security in Guyana: enough

food for everyone is an exposition of the relationship between economic resilience, food security and regional development. It reflects the thinking of a national leader who is cognizant of the peculiarities, prospects and potential of each of his country’s ten administrative regions. The book consists of addresses delivered by the President at events, mainly to commemorate World Food Day and to launch Regional Agricultural and Commercial Exhibitions, held in various administrative regions. Each administrative region is different from the next. The development of a food security programme for the country, therefore, has to take account of the strengths and challenges of each region. Food security in Guyana: enough food for everyone achieves this objective. David Granger’s plans for food security are tailored to match each region’s conditions, circumstances and capabilities. The President, addressing residents of: .Barima-Waini, envisaged it contributing to making this country and the Eastern Caribbean food secure. . Demerara-Mahaica, encouraged it to become a bellwether for the economic transformation of other regions; . Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, explained his Government’s plans for agricultural expansion; . Mahaica-Berbice, emphasised the role of agricultural diversification in creating employment; . Upper Demerara-Berbice, challenged the Region to become a “farmyard for agricultural production and a workshop for agroindustrialization”; and, . Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, identified it as the next agricultural frontier. The President is on record, also, of having delivered similarly pertinent addresses to public agroindustrial events in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni, East Berbice-Corentyne, Pomeroon-Supenaam and Potaro-Siparuni Regions, which are not included in this collection. He founded a series entitled Regional Agricultural and Commercial Exhibitions – RACE – through which he encouraged each region to conduct an annual fair to foster agro-processing and the emergence of small- and micro-enterprises. The President declared the first Saturday in October, every

year, as ‘National Tree Day’ to promote the planting and preservation of trees, particularly fruit and foodbearing trees as well as for environmental protection. The book is a rich resource on research into food security – a term of art that implies the availability of food in sufficient quantities, accessibility by everyone and is acceptable in terms of dietary, nutritional and health needs. Hinterland regions, in particular, have been known to suffer from occasional food shortages, especially during times of drought and floods. The remoteness of some communities and high transportation costs can also affect local food-supply chains.

state, the discovery representing the most transformative development in the country’s history. President Granger, however, is hedging his country’s future not on petroleum but on food production. He envisages Guyana as a food basket, with the potential to export food to the Caribbean and beyond. Guyana is food secure in six food groups –foods from animals, legumes, vegetables, fruits, fats and oils and staples. It may appear paradoxical, therefore, that the President would devote eight addresses, over a period of five years, to examining this issue. Guyana is already a major food exporter. Its food exports, consisting mainly of unprocessed commodities,

David Granger approaches the question of food security from an economic and social perspective. Food security, he argues, must be concerned not merely with eradicating hunger and reducing poverty but must also form the basis of strong regional economies. He envisages a country of economically strong regions with food production forming the backbone of regional economies. He ascribes to food security, the role of ensuring greater economic security. Food production, he argues, will not only satisfy the nutritional needs of residents but will also strengthen the regional economies and allow them to become agro-processors and food exporters – two of the major incentives for increasing food production. This emphasis on food security may come as a surprise. Guyana, after all, is already a petroleum-producing

however, are subject to the vagaries of international commodity markets. This has made the country highly vulnerable to exogenous shocks. Granger’s vision is for the building of greater economic resilience by diversifying production and moving it higher up the value chain through agro-processing and marketing. The President attracted ill-informed ridicule for his emphasis on small-scale food processing initiatives. His encouragement of small-scale food processing has been parodied as aiming for a ‘plantain-chips’ economy. His critics, however, missed the valuable linkages of small-scale food-processing to income security, poverty-alleviation and employment, particularly for young people, poor households and women. Food security in Guyana: enough food for everyone is a timely publication. A global (Continued on page 41)

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Coronavirus: A strong, prepared immune system is our best bet By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine It’s been more than six months and we are still waiting on the miracle cure for the COVID-19 infection. There is currently no known treatment that cures the coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 infection. It has always been challenging for the scientific world to develop treatment cures for viruses. For the most part, supportive care and allowing our immune system to “fight out” the virus has been the mainstay of care for most viral infections. We have always known that a strong immune system is key to fight off viral infections such as the flu and common cold. It is no different with the COVID19 infection. Our immune system is our body’s defense against foreign pathogens such as the coronavirus. If there has ever been a time the world needed everyone’s immune system to be strong, this is the time. The stronger your immune system, the better your chances of surviving a COVID-19 infection. Today, I will shed some light on factors that science has shown

to boost our immune system and help effectively fight off viral infections such as the coronavirus. Vitamin C Vitamin C is an essential nutrient with many roles in our body. Vitamin C helps our immune health in several ways. Its antioxidant activity can decrease inflammation, which may help improve your immune function. The vitamin also boosts the activity of phagocytes, immune cells that can “swallow” harmful viruses and other particles. In addition, it promotes the growth and spread of lymphocytes, a type of immune cell that increases your circulating antibodies, proteins that can attack foreign or harmful substances in our blood. We can get our daily requirement of Vitamin C from supplements or the following foods: · Guava · Citrus (lime, Orange, Lemon, Tangerine) · Broccoli · Tomatoes · Peppers We need 65 to 90 mg of Vitamin C Daily. Zinc Zinc is a mineral found throughout cells in our body. There are a number of ways

zinc boosts the immune system but primarily it activates enzymes that break down proteins in viruses and bacteria so they are less able to spread. It also increases the activation of cells responsible for fighting infections. It also helps to reduce inflammation that can occur during viral infections. We can get our daily requirement of Zinc from supplement or the following foods: · Guava · Seafoods such as crabs and lobsters · Beans and nuts · Avocado · Ground beef We need 8 to 12mg of zinc to meet our daily requirements. Vitamin D Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, which has many roles in our body including fighting off infections. It plays a critical role in promoting immune response. It has both anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory properties and is crucial for the activation of immune system defenses. It enhances the function of immune cells, including T-cells and macrophages, that protect your body against pathogens such as viruses. Low Vitamin D lev-

els are also associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases such as viral and bacterial respiratory infections. We can get our daily Vitamin D requirements from supplements or the following foods: · Sunlight- While this is not a food, daily exposure to sunlight is needed to help our body make Vitamin D active. · Egg yolks · Fatty fish such as tuna and mackerel · Cheese · Beef liver We need 25-100 micrograms of Vitamin D daily. Quercetin Quercetin is a natural pigment present in many fruits, vegetables, and grains. It is a potent antioxidant that can bind to and neutralize free radicals formed from infections

such as COVID-19. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties which is very handy since the COVID19 infection triggers a massive inflammatory response in our body that worsens the illness. You can get quercetin from dietary supplements or from the following foods: · Grapes · Apples · Black tea · Tomatoes · Citrus fruits Daily intake of 500mg quercetin is sufficient to help your body. Regular exercise, reduce stress Stress has been shown to cause inflammation and suppress our body’s immune response. Exercise has the opposite effect. The more we exercise and less we stress, the stronger

Dr. Zulfikar Bux our immune system gets. While we wait for preventative or curative treatment options to come out against the COVID-19 infection, we need to prepare our immune system in the event that we do get infected. It’s the main defense that we have and the best way to ensure its prepared, is to utilize the options discussed today. Start preparing our immune system and remember to stay home, wear a mask if you have to go out and practice proper hygiene.

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SUNDAY ALLPOLITICAL PARTIES EXCEPTAPNU+AFC, SUPPORT LIVE STREAM OF RECOUNT … COALITION SAYS USE OF PHONES SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED EITHER All of the political parties attending a briefing with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Saturday May 2 supported a live stream of the national recount of votes, except the incumbent APNU+AFC. This was relayed to reporters by several political party representatives and Commissioners after the meeting was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). Chair of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Timothy Jonas, told reporters that the parties present at the briefing included the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), The New Movement (TNM), the People’s Republican Party (PRP), A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC). The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) and the CARICOM High Level Team were also present. Kaieteur News understands that the team was given a walkthrough of the layout GECOM intends to

Sunday May 10, 2020

Kaieteur News

utilize at the centre. The team will be in discussions with the Commission. All of the parties made diverse deliveries of their rationale for supporting a live stream of the national recount, most prominently that such a decision would provide the recount with the utmost level of transparency. GECOM has previously decided that it would not stream the recount live. The Chair premised her rejection on the premise that Section 90 of the Representation of the People Act, which speaks to maintaining the secrecy of the count, does not permit her to stream the recount live. But opposing arguments have been made. GECOM had resolved to only give the public intermittent reports of the progress of the recount. “Fraud festers where there is something to hide” Commissioner Sase Gunraj told reporters that a representative of one party, the PRP made a delivery that he found particularly important to mention, that “fraud festers where there is something to hide”. Jonas made a similar argument, telling reporters that fraud, mistakes and errors have free reign to occur if the exercise is conducted in secret. Jonas, who is an Attorney-at-Law, said that the Chair’s supposition of

Section 90 of the Act is not a valid argument, as the Act is not applicable in that sense. Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, of the PPP shares this view. EXXONMOBIL DEAL WILL NEVERALLOW GUYANESE TO LEAD OIL SECTOR – INT’L LAWYER GIVES CONTRACTAN “F” FOR LOCAL CONTENT PROVISIONS Since 2016, Guyanese have been kicking and screaming for a proper Local Content Policy; the kind that ensures ExxonMobil, its joint venture partners, and subcontractors have little to no wiggle room for not using indigenous products, services and people for their projects here. But the recent revelations of an international Energy Lawyer, Mr. J. Jay Park, make it clear that the year protests by Guyanese for an effective policy were unfortunately, misguided and perhaps, all for nothing. Park was able to prove that even if the crème de la crème of the world’s experts was contracted to draft the best policy in the galaxy, the poor local content provisions of the Stabroek Block deal that were signed by Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, will never allow Guyanese to be in the front seat of its oil sector.

In his analysis of Guyana’s fiscal regime for the petroleum sector, Park who is one of the world’s leading energy attorneys spoke of the importance of capturing local content benefits. During a webinar session, Park, who has over 35 years experience in the industry, said that the local economy should always obtain the maximum benefit from the exploitation of its oil resources and not just foreign suppliers and expatriates. “Unfortunately, many States’ petroleum regimes do a poor job at this,” he said. To examine whether Guyana might have fallen into that category, Park examined the local content provisions of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Article 18 of the PSA (page 46) states, “In the conduct of petroleum operations pursuant to this agreement, the contractor shall require than the Operator give preference to: (a) the purchase of Guyanese goods and materials, provided that such goods and materials are available on a timely basis of the quality and in the quantity required by the operator at a competitive price; and (b) the employment of Guyanese sub-contractors insofar as they are commercially competitive and satisfy the operator’s financial and technical requirements and

meet the requirements of Article 18.1 (a)…” Park who has practiced Energy Law for over thirty years, with a specific focus on creating optimum petroleum regimes for States, was quick to tell his online audience that he has a problem with the foregoing provision. The international lawyer said that the provision does not create any kind of preference for Guyana’s goods and services. MONDAY ELECTIONS 2020, DAY 63…RECOUNT TO START WEDNESDAY TABULATION OF VOTES WILL BE VIDEO STREAMED BUT NOT VOTE COUNTS – GECOM CHAIRPERSON The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has decided that the national recount will commence on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. While much of GECOM’s work in preparation for the recount has been finalised, the matter of the live stream continues to be a sore spot for the Commission. Due to staunch advocacy by many political stakeholders for the project to be streamed live, the Chair has made several concessions. She has agreed to a video and live stream of the tabulation of the votes, but only an audio

stream of the counting of the ballots, Commissioners told Kaieteur News in telephone interviews. She rejected a video stream of the count of the ballots on the condition that she did not want to expose the identities of the GECOM staffers. Commissioners did not appear sure of how an audio stream of the count would work. The Chair is expected to make a ruling on this today. Kaieteur News understands that Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield also expressed some concerns about the live streaming of the process. The Chair’s only additional concession on this matter is that she wanted to also articulate to the public that the ballot boxes were not tampered with, perhaps, by publishing photos of them at the time of their opening during the recount, according to Commissioner Vincent Alexander. Commissioner Sase Gunraj, however, continues to advocate for a complete audio and video stream of the entire process. “Live streaming will inject the necessary credibility and transparency into this process, that we have nothing to hide. As a commissioner, and part of the Guyana Elections Commission, I have nothing to hide… GECOM has (Continued on page 25)

Sunday May 10, 2020

From page 24 nothing, ought to have nothing to hide in this process and as a consequence, that [transparency] is something that we should focus on,” Gunraj said. While he understands the Chair ’s concerns about concealing the identities of the staffers, he doesn’t entirely agree. He posited that his bottom line is to ensure that all measures should be implemented where possible to make the process transparent. He added that any person who is opposed to having the complete live stream done may have something to hide. “The process belongs to people and the people should have access to it,” Gunraj said. The Chair is expected to make her final deliberations on the matter of live streaming, today. Alexander said that she would put her articulation in writing. LOPSIDED EXXON DEAL SHACKLES GUYANATO FLAWED LOCAL CONTENT POLICY The very moment before Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman affixed his signature to that Exxon deal; did he really understand the value he would be leaving behind? Did he really review the contract page by page, for clauses that would leave local businesses at a disadvantage? Was he properly advised? These are the questions that surface when one examines the real reason why Guyana would not be able to get the kind of Local Content Policy that receives an A+ grade from industry experts. It all goes back to the deal Guyana has with ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/ NEXEN. That deal was recently examined by one of the world’s most revered Energy Lawyers, J. Jay Park, Q. C, during an online discussion on Guyana’s fiscal regime for the petroleum sector. Upon examining the local content provisions in the Exxon contract, Park said he would give it an F grade since the Operator has enough room to avoid giving first preference to Guyanese products and services. In simpler terms, Park said that a local businessman can provide goods but the contractor, which is ExxonMobil, can simply say, “I can find it some other part of the world and get it at a lesser price.” The lawyer continued, “And let’s say you do match or better all the prices in the

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entire solar system, the contractor can then say, ‘Sorry, I have found a better quality someplace else.’ Then you might say you can also find equal quality and sooner too. But even then, the contractor can say ‘Sorry, I need 10 times as much as what you have and I can get that at another source’.” In other words, the Managing Partner of Petroleum Regimes Advisory and Park Energy Law said that the Stabroek Block deal is not a local preference clause. He said, “It is basically a clause that says ‘Yea, we will buy Guyanese goods that are competitive with everything else in the world and with every possible factor that can be used.” The lawyer alluded to the fact that it would be virtually impossible for Guyanese businessmen to compete with the rest of the world for contracts in their own backyard. CARTER CENTER OBSERVERS BLOCKED FROM FLIGHTARRIVING TODAY – DESPITE GOVT. DISAPPROVAL US STATE DEPT. AND OAS WANT OBSERVERS HERE The US Embassy has said that the National COVID-19 Task Force, headed by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has refused approval for the Carter Center Observer Team to return for the recount of the March 2 ballots. The decision comes even as the ABCE diplomats along with the Private Sector Commission (PSC) called for the team’s presence. The Carter Center Observer Mission had tweeted that they have been trying to acquire a flight to observe the recount of the March 2 ballots but have not been granted permission by

the incumbent Coalition. In a statement Sunday, the US Embassy stated that they requested by diplomatic note, assistance in obtaining permission for flights on May 4, 2020 and May 30, 2020. The Embassy stated that it sent a copy of the diplomatic note to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, accompanied by a request to advance the issue to the COVID-19 Task Force. “We received the usual professional courtesies from all parties, as is characteristic of Guyana’s diplomats and civil servants,” the release said. The Embassy noted that the diplomatic note referenced the observer’s intentions to comply with the COVID-19 testing and quarantine measures. However, they were informed on Saturday that the flight for today (May 4) was approved for U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and those who wish to return to or transit to their homes, but not the observer team. “The U.S. Embassy was informed on Saturday, May 2 that the incoming May 4 flight had been approved by the Task Force, but not the arrival of the observers,” the statement said. The US Embassy indicated that they have sought reconsideration of this matter with President David Granger “in recognition that the observer missions illustrate the commitment of the incumbent and the international community to a free, fair and transparent recount process.” GECOM Commissioners weigh in Meanwhile, following the conclusion of a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) meeting Sunday, Commissioners Vincent Alexander and Sase Gunraj gave their comments on the issue. According to Opposition

Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, “a delay in granting approval can sometimes be considered as a constructive refusal of permission to have the Carter Center and I believe, International Republican Institute (IRI), that wish to come.” Commissioner Gunraj did point out that since the elections is not completed, the observers still possess their accreditation, which means there is no need to reinvite them. He noted that the GECOM Chair will send a notice to the observers and the Task Force updating them on the recount process. TUESDAY CARTER CENTER SEEKS GOVERNMENT CLARITY ON OBSERVER TEAM’S RETURN – GOVERNMENT MAINTAINS OFFICIAL SILENCE ON REASON FOR REFUSAL The Carter Center Elections Observation Mission has expressed continued commitment to its role in Guyana’s 2020 Regional and General Elections even as the government of Guyana remains silent on its refusal so far to grant the mission’s observers re-entry into the country. An Eastern Airlines flight departed Miami, Florida for Guyana Monday morning without Carter Center personnel even as representatives of the European Union, the government of Canada, and the White House itself tweeted support for the observers’ return over the weekend. “The Center deployed an observer to Miami who was prepared to travel to G e o rg e t o w n t o d a y, b u t

unfortunately, his flight was denied approval to carry international election observers,” the Carter Center said in a tweet Monday. In the tweet, the Center sought clarity from government officials on what requirements are needed to allow the team into Guyana to observe the recount of the ballots from the March 2, 2020 polls. It said that “The Carter Center continues to reach out to government officials to understand what is required to allow Center observers to return to Guyana to witness the recount process.” The US Embassy in their statement on Sunday revealed that the National C O V I D - 1 9 Ta s k F o r c e denied their request to allow the accredited observer team along with representatives from the International Republican Institute (IRI) to enter Guyana for the recount process. Several questions were then raised on the return of the IRI representatives who are not on the list of accredited observers. Kaieteur News understands that the IRI was contracted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to provide technical support to the Commission in the March 2, 2020 elections by aiding the civic and voter education package. E m b a s s y S p o k e s p e r s o n , Vi o l e t a Talandis relayed to this paper that the local mission made the request for both organisations since both Carter Center and IRI were reportedly extended an invitation from the Chair of the GECOM, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh and the electoral process was not in

fact over. ALL COVID-19 SPENDING TO BE AUDITED …OCEAN VIEW IS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN – AUDITOR GENERAL Auditor-General Deodat Sharma has informed Kaieteur News that his office intends to conduct a special audit of all COVID-19 expenditure, with special focus to be placed on government’s flagship infrastructural project. In March, President David Granger had issued an order under the Public Health Ordinance which allows him, in the case of emergency, to expend public funds such as may be necessary for the effective carrying out of any and all of the provisions which concern notable infectious diseases. Kaieteur News had observed several projects being undertaken which had not shown up in this newspaper ’s weekly coverage of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). Asked whether this is concerning, Sharma noted that a section of the Procurement Act applies in cases of emergency. Section 28 (c) of the Act which allows the Government to engage in single-source procurement “owing to a catastrophic event, [where there is] an urgent need for the goods, services or construction, making it impractical to use other methods of procurement because of the time involved in using these methods…” However, the AG stated that due diligence checks must still be carried out with regard to such expenditure. He noted his office has sent out circular to all public agencies indicating a need for separate accounts to be kept (Continued on page 32)

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Sunday May 10, 2020

Ministry widens net to catch asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

T

he Public Health Ministry has cast its net wider to catch symptomless patients but who are nevertheless carriers of the highly-infectious and deadly COVID-19 disease, so says Director of Regional and Clinical Services (RHS), Dr Kay Shako. This is according to an article disseminated by the Ministry of Public Health. In the article it was noted that public health authorities in a recent scientific conference estimate that as much of 40 percent of Guyanese COVID19 patients are asymptomatic, meaning they have the disease, but are not showing any evidence of the illness.

“Since we have that high number of asymptomatic persons in our communities, we have expanded our screening to know all those persons who are COVID-19 positive,” Dr Shako said. The rationale for broadening the groups of persons to be tested for the pandemic emerged out of growing concern that the previous guideline focused too narrowly on those who show physical signs and symptoms of the ailment and others who were in close physical proximity to them. Contact tracing is the jargon used by public health specialists to tract those who were physically close to

COVID-19 positive patients. By tuning out asymptomatic persons, the country ran the real danger of the deadly virus spreading rapidly nationwide, health officials have noted. To diversify the range of persons to be tested, the Ministry in its article noted that PAHO/WHO Guyana Representative, Dr William AduKrow, has counselled Ministry officials to also set their sight on frontline health-care workers, persons with influenza-like conditions and those with pneumonia. As a consequence, “our figures will definitely rise,” Dr. Shako said explaining one of the outcomes of the

Ministry’s expanded vision. To date, 785 persons have been tested for the virus with 94 declared positive. Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, in Friday’s COVID update said that 49 new persons were tested; deaths remained at 10 and that children constitute 5.4 percent, adults 82 percent and the elderly 12.6 percent of all positive cases so far. CMO Persaud also complimented the 35 persons who fully recovered from the deadly virus and the 692 who tested negative. He said in Friday’s edition of the Update that three patients are still hospitalised in (Continued on page 41)

RHS Director, Dr. Kay Shako

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From page 25 for all money received and spent during this time. Of particular concern to Sharma is the matter of the Ocean View Hotel, a project Government will be funneling and as yet undetermined amount of public funds into. Finance Minister Winston Jordan had said that more than $1B will be spent on its retrofitting the property to make it a COVID-19 hospital. Sharma said that the $1B is a lot of money, and that his office “will have to go through it and see what happened.” In addition to that expenditure, an order was signed recently by Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence for compulsory acquisition of the property. No sum was given with regard to the price to be paid or who the current owner of the property is.

mask and other necessary safety equipment and sanitary requirements. He added that these fines are relatively “small” because the council is aware of the economic situation but it is necessary to keep the population safe. “The Council reviewed and know the crisis, but we have to save lives,” the Mayor said.

EMERGENCYBRIDGE REPAIRS CAUSES HOURLONG TRAFFIC CHAOS FROM GT PARK TO PROVIDENCE, EBD

WEDNESDAY A two-hour scheduled closure at the Demerara Harbour Bridge Monday afternoon sparked a back-up in traffic that extended all the way to the Stabroek area and even onto Sheriff Street. Some commuters complained that they were stationary for more than one hour. With Indian Arrival Day being celebrated today, it appears that many rushed to the city for last minute shopping and business. The traffic backup was made worse by the fact that traffic from the East Bank Demerara highway on the western carriageway was reduced to a one-way. The bridge’s management had announced that the traffic would be closed for two hours – 14:00hrs16:00hrs- to facilitate maintenance works – however, the traffic jam lasted until close to 18:00 hours, the closing hours of the daily curfew. The bridge is the main link between East Demerara and the capital city to the West Side, Essequibo Islands and Region Two (E’bo Coast) and Region Seven. $25,000 FOR ILLEGAL VENDING, $5,000 FOR NOT WEARING MASK – CITY MAYOR Beginning Wednesday, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (GM&CC) will be fining city vendors for not wearing masks and penalizing illegal vendors with stiff fines as well, says Mayor Ubraj Singh. A few weeks ago Kaieteur News reported that the

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Kaieteur News

FAULTY KITS CAUSE MAJOR COVID-19 TESTING DELAYS

GM&CC)was contemplating possible penalties for vendors who continue to disregard precautionary measures set out by the Council and the Ministry of Public Health in light of Covid-19. Updating this paper Monday, City Mayor Ubraj Narine said that the Council’s Task Force has decided that more stringent initiatives should be implemented to safeguard the health of citizens. To this end, as of Wednesday May 6 several new measures will be implemented to ensure the adherence of the Ministry’s Covid-19 orders. Notable among these measures is the directive that stallholders/vendors and their staff are required to wear face masks throughout the duration of their operations. Failing failure to do so will result in a $5,000 fine. Meanwhile, unauthorized vending has been strictly prohibited and anyone found in breach of this will have to pay a removal fee of TwentyFive Thousand Dollars ($25.000). The Mayor explained to this paper that these fines were made necessary because several vendors, primarily in the Stabroek and Bourda Market areas, have been ignoring precautionary measures and continue to vend without the use of a face

Hundreds of faulty kits are hampering the testing of suspected COVID-19 cases. According to well-placed sources, the Ministry of Public Health is working to fix the situation within the week. The enzyme kits reportedly spoilt while being transported. It was donated by Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr. William Adu-Krow, Tuesday said that a matter is before him and he wants to gather more details before pronouncing on it. There have been criticisms that Government has not been aggressive enough in carrying out testing on suspected cases. In fact, on Monday, it was reported that the number of positive cases so far have reached 92 with nine deaths. Some 639 tests were conducted with 56 persons in institutional isolation, seven in quarantine and 27 recovered cases. There have been calls for more tests to be conducted with a number of mobile units and site established around the country. With regards to the RT PCR test kits, Kaieteur news was told that Guyana has in excess of 7,000 which include primers and probes. It was noted that the tests are a three-part one. One of the parts is what is

known as the enzyme kits. The Ministry had under 2,000 of those enzyme kits. However, tests conducted found that enzyme tests did not meet the required quality level. It was widely believed that the kits were badly stored in temperature during transport, which made it ineffective. Permanent Secretary, Collette Adams, was not available for a comment Tuesday. However, Ministry officials said that they are hoping to have the matter resolved this week, so that a number of tests can be conducted. GUYANANOTAMONG 93 COUNTRIES BENEFITTING FROM WORLD BANK’S COVID-19 AID As of May 1, the World Bank announced that it is currently assisting 93 countries in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bank said that the aid is passing through its fasttrack approach developed in April to support COVID-19 related health projects. It expects to roll out support to 18 countries in the future. An interactive map provided by the Bank, of all countries receiving help, shows that Guyana has so far, not benefitted from assistance within this initiative. This is despite the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, announcing weeks ago that Government asked the Bank for US$5M in aid to combat the pandemic. Jordan, in an NCN interview, had commented on the finance initiatives, arguing that many of the countries listed as beneficiaries would not receive funding until months later. This turned out not to be so, as the Bank stated that it is assisting countries with

active health projects. The Bank has already committed several billions of dollars to its initiative. Furthermore, May marks the beginning of a “debt payment suspension by IDA countries if they request forbearance.” IDA means International Development Association, an initiative that considers the needs of 76 of the world’s poorest countries, one of which is Guyana. IDA’s debt suspension project follows a call by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank Group President, David Malpass, for official bilateral creditors to grant debt suspension to countries eligible for IDA financing – considered the world’s poorest countries. That initiative is meant to free up finances for those countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Jordan has not yet stated whether Guyana would apply for debt suspension through this initiative. Notably, the Bank’s President, Mr. Malpass said that the initiative is compounded by an important opportunity for those poor countries to show transparency and full disclosures in their public sector finances. It is common for these institutions to require countries to implement certain transparency best practices, as an eligibility requirement for aid. LIZA DESTINY EXPERIENCES OPERATIONAL SLIPPAGES – DR. BYNOE With the quarantine period in place in most economies, Energy Department Director, Dr. Mark Bynoe said that one can expect slippages in the work

plans for most offshore vessels. With this in mind, he disclosed that the Liza Destiny, Guyana’s first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Vessel, is no different. During a recently held press conference, Dr. Bynoe said that the department has seen operational slippages due to the inability to complete the commissioning phase of operations and ramp-up to steady state production. He said that this was due to some challenges with the gas compressor. Be that as it may, other activities offshore are continuing. In this regard, Dr. Bynoe said that drilling work is continuing with two active rigs which are focused mainly on drilling water injection wells for the Liza Destiny. There are also two hot-stack rigs that are on standby as they require crew change. Dr. Bynoe was keen to note that there has been some restriction on drilling operations in an effort to reduce exposure to the global pandemic as well as taking into account the state of the industry. Over the life of the project, Liza Phase One is expected to generate over $7 billion in royalty and profit oil revenues for Guyana. The project involves the Liza Destiny which was a conversion of an oil tanker into a floating, production, storage and offloading vessel, along with four undersea drill centers with 17 production wells. ExxonMobil officials have said that Liza Destiny will have a production capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Current production averages around 80,000 barrels of oil per day. But it is expected to reach full capacity by June. A second FPSO with a capacity of 220,000 barrels per (Continued on page 33)

Sunday May 10, 2020

From page 32 day is still under construction as part of the Liza Phase Two development, and a third is under consideration for the Payara development. Together, ExxonMobil said that these three developments will produce more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day. THURSDAY RECOUNT KICKS OFF WITH HICCUPS AND COMPLAINTS -GECOM’SAUDIO LIVE STREAM OF NO USE -REGION ONE BALLOT BOX SOAKED -APNU+AFC AGENTS REPORT DISCREPANCIES -COALITION ENGAGED IN DELAYING TACTICS – PPP The National Recount of votes kicked off with a slow, late start Wednesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Stakeholders and the media corps were outside of the venue hours before the slated start time of 8:00 am. However, the entrance of all stakeholders took hours, due to need for police officers and officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to check each entrant to the venue for security threats, temperature checks, accreditation, and to ensure they were heeding the COVID-19 safety

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precautions. Sanitisation exercises are being conducted at intervals every few hours, even after everyone leaves, Ward told the press Wednesday. This is meant to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all involved. When most of the stakeholders were let into the venue, the Chair, Claudette Singh, made general remarks, then allowed the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield to conduct a briefing. By the end of the first hour, presidential candidate of The Citizenship Initiative, Rhonda-Ann Lam said that teams had already spread out to their respective stations. The audio streams of the count are available on the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) Facebook page. But as the count ensued at each of the 10 work stations, the audioonly broadcast was practically inaudible to the listening public, and received very few shares and reactions on Facebook. GECOM also failed to provide photos of the ballot boxes in the state they were delivered to the work stations, as catered for in the gazetted legal order for the recount, which would have assured the public that the ballot boxes were not tampered with. Commissioner Vincent Alexander commented on the issue of streaming from inside

of the Conference Centre. According to him, concerns were expressed about a media house which volunteered to live stream the recount in its entirety. However, they were only allowed into the Centre to take photographs, but these pictures contained the identity of GECOM workers and were posted on social media. WESTERN DIPLOMATS, COMMONWEALTH CALL FOR FULL TRANSPARENCY IN RECOUNT As the recount of ballots from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections gets underway several top western diplomats issued a call for the process to be fully transparent. The diplomats include Ambassador of the United States of America, Sarah-Ann Lynch, British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee, Ambassador of the European Union, Fernando Ponz-Canto and Secretary General of the Commonwealth States, Patricia Scotland.They issued a joint statement in which they welcomed the decision to finally commence the recount process.The statement said “The results of these elections are long overdue, and it is incumbent on all to do what they can to ensure the democratic choice of the

people is heard and acted upon.” “Full transparency of the recount process is, however, vital to ensure it is credible,” the diplomats noted.While they welcomed the CARICOM scrutinizing team, the diplomats expressed disappointment that a wider range of international observers were not present for the recount.”We welcome the role of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) although we regret that it has not been possible for a broader range of international observers to be present at the start of the process. We do, however, welcome the decision to allow livestreaming and urge that this be used to the maximum extent possible.” Further, the diplomats from the ABCE countries urged the swift, credible and transparent conclusion of the recount to focus on the threat posed by COVID-19 and the development needs of Guyana. JUVENILE PRISONERS OVERPOWER POLICE, FREE COLLEAGUES – FIVE RECAPTURED Police have recaptured five juvenile inmates who ambushed and assaulted police guards Tuesday night before freeing several of their colleagues at the Sophia Holding Centre. Minister of Public

Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, Wednesday said he has asked for a report on the matter. According to the police statement, “stringent efforts” by ranks are currently underway to recapture seven of twelve inmates of the Juvenile Holding Centre who escaped from the facility about 23:30h on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.” Police said that during the escape, two ranks were assaulted and have since received medical attention. “Meanwhile, a thorough investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the escape.” Among the escapees were said to be inmates accused of murder and other serious crimes. The five were recaptured in Georgetown. Kaieteur News was told that based on preliminary details, two of the juveniles broke out of their holding areas earlier and hid. At the changing to the shift after 10.00 p.m., two police ranks on guard were attacked and beaten. The two juveniles relieved the ranks of keys which they used to free the others. It is not an easy walk for police ranks who are assigned to the Sophia site. In fact, a Kaieteur News report in 2016, had pointed to a potential powder keg, where violent juveniles attack ranks

with makeshift weapons and bags of faeces, and where minors who have committed petty offences are housed with others who are charged with murder. Ranks who work there believe that while eyes are on the Georgetown Prisons, the authorities should also keep a close watch on conditions at the Sophia-located facility. FRIDAY ANUG’S CHAIR BELIEVES RECOUNT WILLTAKE MUCH LONGER THAN 25 DAYS It looks like the Guyanese people will have to wait much longer than the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says it should, for a Government to be sworn in on the basis of credible elections results. At least, that is the view of Attorneyat-Law and Chair of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Timothy Jonas. He spoke to reporters during the second day of the National Recount on the lawns of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. “I am concerned about the 25- day original plan, because if you do the mathematics and you have over 2,200 ballot boxes, even if we get 20-30 done a day, that’s still 175 days, and not 25. We have a mathematical issue here…” Jonas said. “The count, at (Continued on page 34)

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From page 33 least the room that I was in, is proceeding slowly…” he said. Why is it progressing so slowly? Different persons have different opinions. “Because the process is slow, not because anyone was intentionally delaying,” Jonas opined. People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive and Attorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall blames the Governing Coalition for raising many objections and GECOM for ending the process at certain stations too early. A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has been giving the process excessive scrutiny, and as such, has raised objections over the past two days over what its agents consider discrepancies. “The pace at which the process is going is too slow. By the end of today’s process,

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Kaieteur News

only 40 boxes would have been completed. We saw again recurrent instances of stations being closed way before the scheduled 7:00 pm.” This had happened on the first day as well, for a Region Four workstation, because it was decided that if the station started counting a new box, it would not complete the count before closing time. APNU+AFC AGENTS COMMANDEER AQUATIC CENTRE, HOSTILE TO MEDIA The National Recount of votes kicked off its second day Thursday with agents of the governing coalition, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), taking over the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal, and showing hostility to media operatives who attempted to make use of the centre.

The members of the media, raising issues with the way they have been treated by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), managed to get several concessions from the electoral body for the National Recount at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. GECOM, moreover, decided to facilitate the setting up of tents for the press complete with chairs, food, charging stations and light bulbs. However, media operatives did not have access to washroom facilities as they camped out on the lawns of the recount venue for more than 12 hours a day. On the first day, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward, had told reporters that arrangements were made for media operatives to use the washroom facilities at the Aquatic Centre, as long as they showed their badges to the security.

Thursday, two reporters went to the centre in the afternoon to use the facilities and were met by APNU+AFC agents accredited to observe the recount. Those agents, angry that media operatives wanted to use the facilities, aggressively insisted that they were not allowed to. The reporters pushed ahead anyway and used the facilities. Another reporter followed shortly after and was met with similar aggression. He was told that GECOM cannot give permission for reporters to use the facility because GECOM does not own it. The agents said that GECOM has to provide alternative washroom facilities for the media operatives. DAY 2 OF RECOUNT… 40 BALLOT BOXES COMPLETED Despite a slow start on

the first day, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) managed to open and process a total of 40 ballot boxes on Day Two of the National Recount of the March 2, 2020 polls, bringing the total to 65 of the 2,339 ballot boxes to be counted. Day Two was said to be off at a relatively smooth start with the recount commencing at 8:10am, an earlier start than the initial day, owing to the fact that the recount procedure and several snafus were being sorted. GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward, relayed to the press that out of the 40 ballot boxes counted, nine were from Region One, ten from Region Two, nine from Region Three and the remaining 12 were counted from the largest and most problematic district, Region Four. Ward expressed hope that this number will increase as the 25-day process

continues. Coalition Party Agent, David Patterson, who briefed the media shortly after the process commenced, attested to the prompt and smooth start. He told reporters that Day Two was “better organised” and “more efficient” despite some minor issues which GECOM quickly addressed. Accusations of a secret meeting between party agents from the People’s Progressive Party and staff of GECOM surfaced on social media but these allegations were quickly rubbished by other party representatives present in the tabulation centre and the Commission’s PRO. The Commission also called an emergency meeting Thursday to hammer out issues relating to the tabulation of the Statements of Recount (SOR’s). The order governing the (Continued on page 35)

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From page 34 recount process stipulates that tabulation be conducted at the completion of each district; however, Ward explained that tabulation commenced on the first day of the recount. SATURDAY KHEMRAJ RAMJATTAN SAYS… NON-APPROVAL OF CARTER CENTER RESTS IN PRES. GRANGER’S HANDS Minister of Public Security and Second Vice-President Khemraj Ramjattan, says that the responsibility for approval of the Carter Center’s observers returning to Guyana is above the level of the National Covid-19 Task Force with responsibility falling to the Office of President David Granger. The Carter Center through the US Embassy had put in a request for flight into Guyana on May 4 to bring accredited observers for the National Recount which b e g a n o n We d n e s d a y, b u t approval was not granted with any reasoning for no-approval being offered. The Embassy mentioned that it sent a Diplomatic Note to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and it was accompanied by a request to advance the issue to the COVID-19 Task Force. Speaking to journalist outside the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the recount is currently taking place, Ramjattan noted that “As far as I am aware, there was a request, not to the Task Force but to the President.” The Coalition Prime Ministerial Candidate, could not ascertain why the accredited observer mission was barred from returning to observe the recount of the March 2, 2020 polls. “I understand that there was a ruling in relation to flights coming into Guyana then there was an IRI issue. That is above me right now,” Ramjattan said. There have been repeated calls for the Carter Center Observer Mission to be present for the ongoing recount process by

diplomats from the ABCE countries along with local observers in Guyana. COALITION ON MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN – ‘STOPPED COUNTS’, SECRET MEETINGS, AND ‘DEAD VOTERS’ The A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition has apparently embarked on a wellcoordinated misinformation campaign, targeting various aspects of the recount process currently being undertaken at the Arthur

Chung Conference Center. Friday marked an escalation of a three-day three trend in which coalition representatives and party agents are using social media to disseminate false or misleading information which is then given an attempted credibility by the official campaign. At around 3 PM Friday afternoon, almost identical messages began circulating by coalition members and executives with the claim that “Counting stopped” at Stations 5, 8 and 9 for a variety of reasons ranging from an absence of required stamps fixed to ballot papers, “likely evidence of dead or

migrated voters” and “questionable ballots.” Styled as news reports, including prefaced by the term “BREAKING NEWS”, the circulated posts claimed that sources inside the ACCC were providing information in support of the claims made For Station 5, for example, allegations were put forward that “eleven unsigned oaths of identity” were discovered in a Region 3 ballot box. The report said that, “an elections expert says that this is a major red flag as it is likely an indication of fraud.” All the reports contained that “senior GECOM personnel” were alerted and that the process was

halted. However, while the information was being circulated, Kaieteur News checked with persons participating in the recount who denied that the recount had stopped as was claimed, and GECOM’s own feed was broadcasting the recount clearly in progress at the stations at which the count was said to be interrupted. Several persons reporting from inside the recount operations also publicly stated that the count was ongoing despite the claims being made. ‘Secret meeting in public tabulations center.’

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Understanding Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) You have heard of persons complaining that they have constant heartburn, or you yourself are a victim of this distasteful disorder. But what exactly is it and what causes it to happen? Constant and recurring heartburn is actually a disorder known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, GERD for short. GERD is a disease of the digestive system with the main pathology occurring at the lower esophageal sphincter or the LES. The LES is a circular muscle between the stomach and the tube leading to the stomach (the esophagus) that seals the stomach and prevents its contents from backing up. Many persons, especially pregnant women and persons suffering from obesity, suffer from heartburn or acid indigestion caused by GERD. GERD is one of those diseases which can be fixed through lifestyle changes including diet and exercise. However, due to long term effects, some persons may require medical or surgical intervention. In order to understand the disease we must understand the name. Gastroesophagealis the term used to refer to the stomach and esophagus while reflux means to flow back or return.

As such, gastroesophageal reflux is the return of the stomach’s contents back up into the esophagus. Reflux occurs when the LES is weak or it opens up inappropriately thus allowing the contents of the stomach to flow into the esophagus. What causes GERD? For some, the causes of GERD is multifactorial, however certain diets and lifestyle choices are the main contributors to this disease. Foods like chocolate, peppermint, fried or fatty foods and drinks like coffee and alcohol, can trigger reflux and heartburn. Cigarette smoke causes relaxation of the LES, along with the obesity factor and pregnancy. These therefore have significant roles to play in the symptoms of GERD. What are the symptoms that you must beware of? The most major complaint of anyone suffering from GERD is heartburn. It is also called acid indigestion and is characterized by a burning chest pain on the left side of the upper chest, radiating to the neck and throat. To put it into context, it usually feels like food coming back into the mouth and leaving a sour or bitter taste. These symptoms can last up to two hours and are

exacerbatedespecially after eating. Two other phenomena that could cause heartburn occur upon lying down or bending over. As such it is not unusual for a lot of persons to obtain relief by standing

the associated pain is mistaken for that of heart disease or cardiac arrest. The differences however are easily distinguished. For heart disease, the pain is aggravated with exercise and can ease when

problem? The number one recommendation for the treatment of GERD is modification of lifestyle and diet. The mainstay of treatment is in actuality attempting to decrease the

up or through the use of an over the counter antacid to neutralize the acid in the esophagus. A common issue is with this issue is that sometimes

resting. It is can also radiate to the left arm, axilla, shoulder, neck and jaw. Heartburn pain is not affected by physical activity and radiates only toward the neck and throat. How do you treat this

amount of reflux or reducing the damage caused to the esophagus by the acidic materials of the stomach. Foods and drinks that cause the LES to weaken should be avoided. These, as

was mentioned can include chocolate, peppermint, fatty foods, coffee and alcohol. Legumes and some large amounts of foods rich in carbs should be looked out for as well since persons have reported them as causation factors. Foods and drinks that cause irritation of the esophageal lining, such as acidic fruits and juices and pepper should also be avoided if they cause symptoms. Managing portion sizes at mealtime so that you do not overeat could also be essential in symptom control. Also, eating meals at least 2 to 3 hours before going to bed can help to decrease reflux. This allows the acid in the stomach to decrease and the stomach to partially empty, thereby ensuring that there is minimum content in the stomach to back up. Being overweight tends to worsens symptoms so weight loss is key to gaining symptomatic relief in the long run. As smoking weakens the LES, quitting can help to decrease GERD symptoms. Keeping your head elevated when sleeping at night could also help since it allows the minimizing of reflux through gravity. Along with these lifestyle modifications, (Continued on page 37)

Identifying and treating Eating Disorders You have heard persons talking about it; you have seen persons either in real life or on television suffering from it. But what exactly defines an eating disorder? Over the years, pictures have been circulated with young women and men suffering from anorexia and they seem quite gruesome. On the contrary, some of these images are meant to raise awareness about eating disorders among young people. But did you know that anorexia is not the only eating disorder that persons can suffer from? It is commonly thought that eating disorders are actually a lifestyle choice. In that, the sufferers can actually just snap out of it or choose to eat properly. This is a common perception in Guyana and the world over where there is not much focus on mental health issues of this sort. However, it must be noted that eating disorders are grave and often fatal diseases that can cause severe disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors. Certain obsessions with food, body weight, and shape may also signal the presence of an eating disorder. Eating disorders that frequently occur include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorders. People with anorexia nervosa often times see themselves as being grossly overweight despite the fact that they are dangerously underweight. It is not uncommon for per-

sons with anorexia to constantly weigh themselves during the day, sometimes four to five times within a 24 hour period. They also tend to severely restrict the amount of food they consume and at that, only eat very small quantities of just certain foods. Of all the eating disorders and all the psychiatric disorders for that matter, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate. Most young people with this disorder tend to die from complications associated with starvation. However, due to the depression, others die of suicide. Suicide is much more common in women with anorexia than with most other mental disorders. Symptoms of anorexia may include: · Eating extremely small amounts · Extreme emaciation (thinness) · The relentless urge to get thinner and unwilling to maintain a normal or healthy weight · A deep and intense fear of gaining weight · Distorted body image, a selfesteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions of body weight and shape · Denial of the seriousness of low body weight Some other symptoms may develop over time due to the initial starvation. These would include: · Thinning bones referred to as osteopenia or osteoporosis ·Anemia, muscle wasting and

weakness · Brittle hair and nails · Dry and yellowish skin · Growth of fine hair all over the body (lanugo) · Severe constipation · Low blood pressure, slowed breathing and pulse · Decreased heart function due to damage · Brain damage · Multi-organ failure · Drop in internal body temperature, causing a person to feel cold all the time · Lethargy · Infertility Now, people with bulimia nervosa have frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food and having little to no control over them. This binge-eating behavior is usually followed by a compensating behaviour for the overeating such as purging, overuse of laxatives or diuretics, prolonged fasting, excessive exercise, or a combination of all. Unlike anorexia, bulimia patients are usually able to maintain a healthy or relatively normal body weight. Symptoms of bulimia nervosa may include: · Chronically inflamed and sore throat due to purging · Swollen salivary glands in the neck a d jaw area · Worn tooth enamel and increasingly sensitive and decaying teeth as a result of exposure to stomach acid

· Acid reflux disorder and other gastrointestinal problems · Intestinal distress and irritation from laxative abuse ·Severe dehydration from purging of fluids · Electrolyte imbalance (too low or too high levels of sodium, calcium, potassium and other minerals) which can lead to stroke or heart attack Finally, people with a binge-eating disorder lose total control over his or her eating habits. Unlike bulimia, the periods of binge-eating are not followed by purging, excessive exercise, or fasting. As such, bingeeaters are commonly, very overweight or obese. Some of the symptoms associated with binge eating include: · Eating unusually large amounts of food in a specific amount of time ·Eating even when you’re full or not hungry ·Eating fast during binge episodes · Eating until you’re uncomfortably full · Eating alone or in secret to avoid embarrassment · Feeling distressed, ashamed, or guilty about your eating · Frequently dieting, possibly without weight loss What then are some of the riskfactors associated with developing these disorders? Research dictates that these disorders usually occur during the teenage years or into young adulthood

but can also begin during childhood or later on in life. They affect both genders, although women are two out of five times more likely to develop them as compared to men. Unlike women who may tend to have body image distortions concerning being overweight, men may have muscle dysmorphia, a type of disorder marked by the need to become more muscular. Research has shown that eating disorders are caused by a complex interaction of genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors. So for those suffering from any of the above, it might not just be one trigger, it may be a combination, which is why not many Guyanese know how to deal with them when diagnosed. Treatments and Therapies Ensuring that there is adequate nutrition, helping to reducing excessive exercise and putting an end to purging behaviors are the mainstay of treatment. However, treatment plans are tailored to each individual’s needs and may include one or more of the following: · Psychotherapy · Medical care · Counseling on nutritional · Medications Medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers have been found to be very helpful for treating eating disorders and illnesses occurring hand in hand such as anxiety or depression.

Sunday May 10, 2020

FIRE SIDE GRILL-N- CHILL OFFERING MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL TODAY In the event that you have missed the opportunity to get the best bouquet of roses and chocolates or that fragrance you know she’ll love, there is no need to worry. Fireside Grill-N-Chill will be offering a most delectable Mother’s Day meal that the number one lady in your life is sure to remember for years to come. Their main menu today includes Herb and Garlic Lamb Chops, Shrimp Scampi in White Wine Sauce, Garlic Butter Lobster tails, Stir fried beef Lowmein, Lemon roasted salmon, BBQ baby back ribs and the special Fireside Cajun Crab Boil. As for the assortment of sides, you can choose from Herb roasted potatoes, stir fried vegetables, stuffed

peppers, ripe plantain and sweet potato salad, Creamy Fettuccine alfredo, three cheese macaroni pie, chicken and turkey lasagna, grilled corn on the cob , and three bean salad. The Management for Fireside is asking all inter-

ested customers to place orders using WhatsApp numbers 681-9306, 623FIRE (3473), or 627-0737. These orders must be done between 11 AM and 5PM. Delivery is also available.

WWE’s annual mega-show Money In The Bank airs tonight on the E2 Channel Even though the novel coronavirus has disrupted the regular entertainment and sports shows we have come to know and love, WWE is ensuring that its fans don’t miss too much of the fun by continuing to churn out its weekly television and scheduled pay-per-view events. That trend continues tonight on the E2 Channel at 7PM. The two Money In The Bank Ladder matches - the men’s and the women’s - will take place from WWE’s headquarters, the Titan Towers in Stamford, Connecticut and start at the same time, meaning there will be two briefcases on top of the building. For the first time ever, superstars will start the match

at the bottom of Titan Towers and have to fight their way to the ROOF, where the briefcases will be hanging above a ring. For the victors of the

matches, as is tradition inside the briefcase is a contract for a world title match which can be cashed in at ANY stage over the next 12 months.

Understanding Gastroesophageal Reflux ... From page 36 over the counter or prescription antacids may also be recommended Antacids help to neutralize acid in the esophagus and stomach, thereby stopping heartburn. These have been known to help some persons partially or temporarily. Combined with foaming agents, antacids can form a foam barrier on top of the stomach that prevents acid reflux from occurring. Antacids are not without their side effects though. Using them for prolonged periods can cause diarrhea, altered calcium metabolism, and magnesium build-up which is detrimental to persons with kidney disease. Chronic sufferers of reflux are usually recommended medications that reduce acid in the stomach itself. These could include H2 blockers that stop the secretion of acid in the stomach

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partially. In this group of drugs are cimetidine, famotidine, nizatidine and the popular, ranitidine. Yet another kind of medication that can be prescribed is the proton pump inhibitor. These prevent the action of an enzyme that is necessary for the secretion of acid. Popular proton pump inhibitors include omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole and dexlansoprazole, using the trade names Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix, Aciphex and Dexilant respectively. Some persons with severe, chronic esophageal reflux or with symptoms that are not relieved by the treatments described may require more a complete diagnostic evaluation. Some of the tests that might be necessary are an upper GI series X-ray, endoscopy, esophageal manometric and impedance studies and pH testing of the stom-

ach contents. In the end, only a small number of persons require surgery for GERD. This is due to severe reflux and very poor response to all forms of medical treatment. Fundoplication is a technique that allows for the increase of pressure in the lower esophagus while endoscopic procedures that assist in making the LES function better are all options in surgical treatment. Some complications that can occur because of long term GERD include inflammation of the esophagus, called esophagitis, leading to esophageal ulcers and bleeding. Narrowing of the esophagus can also occur due to excessive scarring, as well as an increased risk for esophageal cancer. If you or anyone you know is suffering from this disease, seek help from your doctor as soon as you can.

A Tasting Review of The Exquisite Barefoot Merlot Wine While it’s sometimes fun to thoughtfully ponder wine selections and show off your knowledge of grapes and vintages, other times you want to just grab a bottle of wine you know and love, like the Barefoot Merlot Wine which is distributed by Ansa McAl Limited. One of the least pretentious labels available, this wine is consistent in taste and price. THE BAREFOOT WINE STORY If you’re hoping for a story of generations of grape growers perfecting a variety of vintages over many decades, toiling over acres of vines year after year, Barefoot Cellars is not the tale for you. The original Barefoot wine had humble beginnings in the 60s as a “garage wine,” an affectionate term for wines made in the basements, kitchens and actual garages of homes. Friends and family mostly enjoyed it until 1986 when Bonnie Harvey and Michael Houlihan joined Randy Arnold, the original Barefoot winemaker, and commercially produced a tasty and inexpensive wine that could give pleasure to both novice and experienced wine drinkers. To promote their wine and build good will, the trio affiliated themselves with various charities and non-profits over the next 20 years, pouring their selections at fundraisers and benefits. In 2006, Barefoot Cellars, located in Napa, California, became a sponsor of the Association of Volleyball Professions (AVP) Beach Volleyball, a perfect tie-in with their name. Shortly thereafter, they partnered with the Surfrider foundation to establish the Barefoot Beach Rescue Project, an undertaking dedicated to rid beaches of trash and debris to make them “Barefoot friendly” for all. (See link for more info: https:/ /wine.lovetoknow.com/barefoot-merlot-wine.) BAREFOOT

MERLOT WINE One reason Barefoot Merlot Wine, along with the winery’s other selections, is so affordable is that it is nonvintage, which means it contains juice from grapes harvested over a period of years instead of just one. Non-vintage wine does not have a year on its labels. Some wine aficionados shun non-vintage wines as inferior, while more open-minded and frugal drinkers hail the non-vintage process as innovative and cost-effective, and like that they can count on these types of wine for consistency. Despite this dubious distinction, Barefoot’s Merlots are generally well received and appreciated. They have won numerous awards, including the Best Buy award from the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago, an honor based on unbiased online consumer reviews. Barefoot Merlots also garnered a Double Gold Medal at the 2007 International Eastern Wine Competition in Watkins Glen, New York. THE POUR When the Merlot is poured into a wine glass, there are no visible bubbles on the top or sides of the liquid. The wine has a deep, rich ruby color and quickly forms legs when swirled. TASTE AND NOSE Although the label promises flavors of chocolate, boysenberry, anise, licorice and a hint of tannins, many tasters found the Merlot to have a predominance of berry tastes, with shades of floral or oak and minimal tannins. The nose, however, was generally reviewed as having subtle hints of chocolate and pepper mixed with blackberry aromas. FEELAND FINISH While an occasional review found the Merlot to be a little bitter, most Barefoot Merlot drinkers praised its silky feel in the mouth and

were pleased with the clean, crisp fruity finish of the wine. PRICINGAND AVAILABILITY Barefoot Cellar wines are inevitably included on the “best cheap wine” lists, since they rarely cost more than $10 a bottle and are regularly on sale for around $5 a bottle. They are widely available at large and small grocery stores and retail beverage distributors. GOING BAREFOOT Since Barefoot wines are so affordable, pick up one of their Merlots to go with your next pizza, or pair it with a plate of meatballs and pasta. Whether or not you become a diehard fan and decide to go Barefoot more often, your investment will be minimal and oh so worth every cent.

Ansa McAL now doing deliveries of all your favourite drinks to your doorstep In light of the numerous COVID-19 measures that have left many Guyanese confined to their home, it is not always convenient to get your favourite drinks for your home entertainment needs. But there’s no reason to worry guys as Ansa McAL Trading Limited (AMTL) is offering free delivery of your favourite beers, spirits, wines and drinks right to your doorstep. The delivery parameters are from AMTL BV Office to Mahaica and AMTL to Eccles. For information on prices and to place orders you can send a WhatsApp message to 608-ANSA (2672) or call on 220-8877.

Kaieteur News

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Queen Margaret and the Robbers One day when roses were in bloom, two noblemen came to angry words in the Temple Gardens, by the side of the river Thames. In the midst of their quarrel one of them plucked a white rose from a bush, and, turning to those who were near him, said,

“Let him who will stand by me pluck a red rose, and wear it as his badge.”

The poor queen, overcome by terror, fell upon her knees and begged them to spare her only son, the little prince. But the robbers, turning from her, began to fight among themselves as to how they should divide the plunder, and, drawing their weapons, they attacked one another. When the queen saw

W FUN

IT

Supplies Needed to Make a Flower Template Craft

Directions to Make a Flower Template Craft

Now this quarrel led to a great civil war, which was called “The War of the Roses,” for every soldier wore a white or red rose in his helmet to show to which side he belonged.

In a battle at a place called Hexham, the king’s party was beaten, and Queen Margaret and her little son, the Prince of Wales, had to flee for their lives. They had not gone far before they met a band of robbers, who stopped the queen and stole all her rich jewels, and, holding a drawn sword over her head, threatened to take her life and that of her child.

Junior page

– White cardstock – Paint, coloring pencils or markers to color your flower – Popsicle Sticks – Green paint for the popsicle sticks and clothespins – we used this color of green -Clothespins – we used these mini clothespins

“He who will stand by me in this quarrel, let him pluck a white rose with me, and wear it in his hat.”Then the other gentleman tore a red rose from another bush, and said,

The leaders of the “Red Rose” sided with King Henry the Sixth and his wife, Queen Margaret, who were fighting for the English throne. Many great battles were fought, and wicked deeds were done in those dreadful times.

Sunday May 10, 2020

what was happening she sprang to her feet, and, taking the prince by the hand, made haste to escape.There was a thick wood close by, and the queen plunged into it, but she was sorely afraid and trembled in every limb, for she knew that this wood was the hiding place of robbers and outlaws. Every tree seemed to her excited fancy to be an armed man waiting to kill her and her little son. On and on she went through the dark wood, this way and that, seeking some place of shelter, but not knowing where she was going. At last she saw by the light of the moon a tall, fierce looking man step out from behind a tree. He came directly toward her, and she knew by his dress that he was an outlaw. But thinking that he might have children of his own, she determined to throw herself and her son upon his mercy. When he came near she addressed him in a calm voice

ET O P H

and with a stately manner. “Friend,” said she, “I am the queen. Kill me if thou wilt, but spare my son, thy prince. Take him, I will trust him to thee. Keep him safe from those that seek his life, and God will have pity on thee for all thy sins.” The words of the queen moved the heart of the outlaw. He told her that he had once fought on her side, and was now hiding from the soldiers of the “White Rose.” He then lifted the little prince in his arms, and, bidding the queen follow, led the way to a cave in the rocks. There he gave them food and shelter, and kept them safe for two days, when the queen’s friends and attendants, discovering their hiding place, came and took them far away.

1. First print off our flower template. Grab the full resolution flower template printable at the bottom of this post. You’ll need to print 2 copies. One for the top flower and one for the bottom. Cut out each flower and one circle.

2. Paint or color your flowers! You can also decorate them with stickers, rhinestone stickers, pom poms or any other craft supplies you have on hand. We made two flowers so we need one white flower template for each colored flower. 3. Glue your two templates together by gluing in the center circle part only. Then using the extra circle provided on the free printable flower template, trace around your picture. If you want to make it without a picture, use the circle to trace a different colored cardstock for the center of your flower. We also traced an extra pink one to border the picture and then trimmed the picture a little so that the pink border shows through. This

If you ever go to Hexham Forest, you may see this robber’s cave. It is on the bank of a little stream that flows at the foot of a hill, and to this day the people call it “Queen Margaret’s Cave.”

RY

For my Mother Mommy, I will always love you For all that you have done and still do; I will hug you and kiss you Because I know you love me, too. You feed me and clothe me And teach me to play and pray, So smile because I love you On this your own special day.

is an optional step. 4. Paint your popsicle sticks and clothespins green. Tape or glue the popsicle stick to the back of your flower. 5. Now write your messages inside! If you are making the flower without the picture, add MOM to center of your flower. That’s it – we love how simple and fun this easy Mother’s Day craft idea is! We especially love that kids can write their own special messages to mom too. Mom will love getting this for Mother’s Day!

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 10, 2020

Make Mothers’ Day the most important celebration in your life

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TEEN TIME

T

oday we are celebrating what many feel is one of the most important occasions in any person’s life. Apart from the fact that we could not have been here without our mothers, it is easy to find so many ways we could thank them for all they have done for us. The majority of parents do not really need their children to give them anything in return for all the sacrifices they made towards their children’s upbringing and welfare, and you will find that the things that would give them most satisfaction would be to know that you have done your best to make the best of yourself. It would be hard to estimate the work of the 15 or so years of care, hard work and self-sacrifice, not to

mention the money and other resources that your mother has expended on you from infancy to near adulthood. In reality, she gave to you something you can never hope to match in return. While a child is first indebted to his Creator as the source of his life, a child owes his mother a deep debt of gratitude for playing her part in starting his life and all the joys and happiness that would go with that. How then can a child express this gratitude? We know that all the world’s possessions cannot buy life, and you cannot put a price on human life. Children should therefore feel obligated to give their mothers what they can, and one of the first things is that they should endeavour to love them as long as they live. In this way they can

Goo dluck !

Acrostic puzzles

help to make their life worth living when they may be feeling useless and not wanted. More than anything else mothers have a natural desire to be able to take pride in what their children do and become, in how they have learnt the lessons that they have tried to teach them in their growing years, and in living according to the values which they have tried to impart to them. In a practical sense, children should be obedient to their mothers, but of course this does not include anything that you have come to believe is wrong. If this happens, then you should be careful to show respect to them in telling them of your disagreement while giving them a reason. It would be good to remember when this occurs that you will one day

be a parent, and try to deal with your mother as you would want your own child to treat you. Try to do what is in your power today to make your mother happy, and also plan to act in the future in ways that would make her proud of you and satisfied that she has done her duty and nurtured a good person.

Mother the most precious gift If I could give you diamonds for each tear you cried for me, if I could give you sapphires for each truth you’ve helped me see, If I could give you rubies for the heartache that you’ve known, If I could give you pearls for the wisdom that you’ve shown, Then you’ll have a treasure, mother, that would mount up to the skies, And that would almost match the sparkle in your kind and loving eyes. But I have no pearls, no diamonds, As I’m sure you’re well aware, So I’ll give you gifts more precious Forever my devotion, love and care.

The genuine gratitude you show your mother will be returned many times by your own children THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

are sort of like a mix between a cryptogram and a traditional crossword puzzle. Solve the crossword clues to gradually fill in letters in the hidden quote. As the quote begins to emerge, it will provide you with letter clues for the words you've not yet found. Work the puzzle back and forth between the clues and the quote until you've revealed the solution! (Remember: the first letter of every answer will spell out the author and/or source of the hidden quote.)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 10, 2020

Sunday May 10, 2020

Food production: the backbone of ... From page 22 crisis is unfolding. The world, at present, is fighting a deadly pandemic which has disrupted the global economy and which will have far-reaching economic consequences. The demand for food is expected to increase by 70 per cent by the year 2050. Food crises, invariably, accompany economic crises. The global financial crisis in 2008, for example, was followed by a food crisis, which witnessed the price of certain food commodities increase, placing severe strains on countries with high food import bills. The President’s vision and the emphasis, which he has laid on food production, will cushion his country from future stresses occasioned by global food shortages. Guyana stands to benefit, also, by increasing its food production given the projected demand for more food. The United Nations World Food Programme projects

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that the number of persons who are food insecure will almost double in 2020 owing to international conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing food production makes good economic sense in this context. Guyana, which is blessed with large tracts of arable lands, skilled agricultural workers and comparative advantages in certain foods, stands to benefit from increasing food production. President David Granger has set the country on the right path. His policies will help to secure it from threats to food insecurity while catalyzing the economic potential of agriculture. Food security in Guyana: enough food for everyone presents invigorating perspectives which challenge traditional approaches to the subject. Its special appeal is its emphasis on the often understated and underrated role of food production as an instrument for the economic empowerment. The book is

emblematic of the President’s drive to ensure that no person goes to bed hungry, that everyone enjoys opportunities for income-generation and that the country, at large, will have no reason to fear future global food crises. Food security is not an ephemeral phenomenon. The world will always need food. The growth of the world’s population will increase, continuously, the demand for food. Not every state, however, will be food secure. President Granger, through the policies, which he enunciated in this book has laid the foundation for Guyana’s emergence as a major regional food producer. He has cemented his reputation as a visionary and provident statesman, with this publication. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Ministry widens net to catch ... From page 26 the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the tertiary level care facility, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), while a further three are in “our institutional quarantine and 49 in isolation”. Outsi d e o f R e g i o n Four (Demerara/Mahaica), the most populous of the 10 administrative Regions comprising the 216,000 square kilometres multi-racial Cooperative Republic, which includes the capital city, Georgetown, “percent readiness and preparedness” to combat COVID-19 is calculated at 87 percent, Dr. Shako said. She said isolation and quarantine units in the outlying Regions are almost completed thus helping public health decisionmakers to zero in more intently on the 21 elderly homes scattered across the country because the occu-

pants are extremely vulnerable to contracting COVID19. Fifteen of these are managed by the government. Dr. Melissa De Haarte, C o o r d i n a t o r o f Elderly Health at the Public Health Ministry, confirmed Saturday that there are currently no new admissions in elderly homes. “All homes are on lockdown…an elderly person needing to be admitted…must be screened and cleared before,” DeHaarte, who holds a MBBS and MPH in Gerontology, said. The State is upgrading all 15 of the 21 elderly homes under its care in the COVID-19 fight, Dr. Shako said. She said the remaining six NGO-operated homes will be closely monitored to ensure compliance with newly-establish protocols to help stem the spread of the mutating virus. In addition, the Public

Health Ministry is also paying special attention to pregnant women throughout the country and is putting special facilities in place to cater for them. This move has enabled one COVID- 1 9 p o s i t i v e mother to be begin receiving treatment, Dr. Shako said. She said Regional authorities in Mahaica/ Berbice (Region Five) and East Berbice/Corentyne (Region Six) have established check points at strategic locations to ensure all persons entering those areas are screened to help prevent any infected person spreadi n g t h e d i s ease in those two predominantly agricultural a r e a s , D r. S h a k o e x plained. Since the broader net has been cast, three persons were sent to the New Amsterdam Hospital “for further evaluation,” the RHS Director disclosed.

Sunday May 10, 2020

CONSUMER CONCERNS

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

Certification of medical laboratories The National Standard that guides laboratories to conform to dispense quality services to consumers is the GYS 170:2009 Standard, General requirements for the operation of a laboratory. This standard allows laboratories the know-how on the steps to developing and maintaining a thorough management system which in turn allows for the provision of accurate and reliable test results as requested by consumers. GYS 170:2009 specifies the requirements for the operation of testing and/or calibration laboratories. It applies to all laboratories, regardless of the number of personnel or the extent of the scope of testing activities. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards, under its Laboratory Certification Programme, offers a voluntary approach, thereby allowing local laboratories to make the first step in determining their need for certification. Certification by the GNBS simply requires the laboratories to conform to the requirements of the standard as it relates to management systems, and recertification is done every two years. Certification of a laboratory brings about several benefits, both internally and externally. Internally, with systems developed and documented as well as strictly adhered to, a great deal of time can be saved during the day-to-day operations. It also means that in the absence of one or more team member, serving consumers would continue as per normal with little to no hurdles, as the systems have already been laid out. This level of competence extends

externally and is noted by consumers who would choose these specific labs over others. This also promotes consistency which in turn boosts consumer confidence. To date, there are 13 medical laboratories, which are certified by the GNBS. These are the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Medical Laboratory, Woodlands Pathology Laboratory, Woodlands Hospital Medical Laboratory, Dr Balwant Singh Hospital Laboratory, Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc., Medical Arts Centre Laboratory, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory, Quest Medical Laboratory, Guyana Defence Force Medical Laboratory, Dr. Leslie Persaud Medical Diagnostic Centre, Doobay Medical and Research Centre Laboratory, Anamayah Memorial Hospital Laboratory and Sheriff Medical Centre Laboratory. Patients needing medical tests could confidently do so by utilising the testing services of these laboratories. Certification further benefits laboratories by allowing them to consistently operate following established procedures that are based on the requirements of the national standard. It also provides them with a benchmark for maintaining the laboratory management system and for improving the services offered to clients To maintain their certification status laboratories are audited periodically during the two-year period of their certification by the GNBS to ensure that they are in conformance to the GYS 170:2009 National Standard, including

the calibration of instruments used, employment of trained staff, the commitment to meet customer requirements, and the verification that their standard of operation is being maintained. Laboratories may also be required to participate in relevant proficiency testing programmes between re-assessments, as a further demonstration of technical performance. Results from certified laboratories not only provides confidence in consumers; medical practitioners and other health care professionals are also assured that the results received from these labs are credible and can be used to make an appropriate working diagnosis and relevant treatment can be administered to their patients. Laboratories, which are not yet certified, are urged, especially during the current COVID-19 outbreak to take advantage of the facilities of the GNBS Laboratory Certification Programme so that they too can deliver quality medical testing services that meet their customers’ needs and builds their confidence as well as expanding their client base. Presently COVID-19 tests are not under the scope of certification offered by the GNBS or any labs that are certified by the GNBS. For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190069, 219-0065, 219-0062, WhatsApp us on (592) 692GNBS (4627) or visit the GNBS Website: www. gnbsgy.org.

Police arrest Corentyne couple with marijuana, scale in home Police, acting on information, has arrested a couple who had a quantity of narcotics at their home. Police said on Friday that about 05:15hrs, ranks in Berbice went to the home of an Ankerville, Corentyne, family and conducted a search for narcotics. Whilst searching in one of the bedrooms, the ranks found a bulky parcel with 174 small-sized Ziploc bags with leaves, seeds and stem of suspected cannabis. A scale used to weigh the drugs was also seized. The items were collected and taken to the station and when tested and weighed, they amounted to 230 grams of cannabis.The two occupants, a labourer and his reputed wife, were detained and taken in custody and charges are likely soon.

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The narcotics seized along with a scale use to weigh the marijuana.

REFLECTIONS ON INDIAN IMMIGRATION DAY PAT DIAL

On 5th May every year, Guyana celebrates Immigration Day which was ostensibly to commemorate the peopling of Guyana in the 19th century by indentured immigrants from various countries in the world. Guyana’s experience in this regard was not singular since there were other countries in the Americas which were going through similar experience. As examples of this movement of peoples, we will mention three examples: The United States of America, where, after their Civil War, increasing numbers of Europeans emigrated there; Argentina, where mainly Italians, went there to make a new life; and Cuba where thousands of Spaniards settled on the island. The one commonality these movements of people had was to supply labour. In the case of Argentina, it was to supply labour for their Agricultural Revolution which was taking place; in the case of America, it was for both their Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. In the case of Cuba, as it was in Guyana, it was to supply labour to their burgeoning sugar industry. In all these countries, as it was in Guyana, the labour imported suffered grave exploitation and the immigrants suffered discrimination. Slavery was finally abolished in 1838 with the ending of the Apprenticeship System. The freed began leaving the estates to set themselves up in villages or went to the capital town to try to find employment. With this exodus of the workforce, the sugar estates were all on the verge of collapsing and their owners, the planter class, frantically began to search everywhere in the world to recruit labour. They tried the West Indian islands, Madeira (an island territory of Portugal), China and India. The Indian indentures proved themselves better suited for the work that had to be done and from about 1860 only Indians were imported. Since Indians were the overwhelming majority of indentures and owing to the great contribution they made to the social and economic life of the country, Immigration Day came to be known as Indian Immigration Day and was celebrated on 5th May, the date when the first Indian indentures disembarked in Guyana in 1838. Accordingly, special commemorative days are celebrated to mark the arrival of the first Chinese and Madeirans. Indian indentured immi-

gration was a new form of slavery. The indentures were exploited to the hilt. Their wages were the lowest in the colony, barely enough to keep them alive; their freedom of movement was restricted as at the time of slavery; they had no educational facilities though from 1876 free and compulsory primary education was established by law. There were no medical services; they were housed in ranges or logies where the earth was their floors and there was little privacy; the pit latrines they used contaminated the water used for washing and even drinking. Above all, their culture and religions were barely tolerated and held in contempt. In such conditions, there were continual labour disputes and when conditions became unbearable, there were spontaneous strikes which the colonial authorities designated “riots” and this allowed the police and military to violently suppress them, often with loss of life. The last of these “riots”, in effect a labour dispute, occurred at Enmore Estate on the East Coast Demerara where the police shot and killed seven workers. As a result of these “riots” and the rise of trade unionism in the sugar industry in the 1920’s, conditions of life and work gradually began to improve but are still inferior to those of other established industries. There are several inaccurate assumptions, which have become attached to the story of Indian immigration but we shall mention only two here: Between 1838 and 1917, 239,000 Indian indentures came to Guyana and it is loosely assumed that they all settled in the colony. In fact, one-third were able to return to their homeland; about 40% died in the colony before they could return home and it was this high death rate which resulted in the continual immigration to replenish the workforce; and a maximum of 80,000 settled in the colony. The other inaccurate assumption is that Indian immigration brought down the wages of African workers. This inaccuracy is perpetuated in the CXC Caribbean History textbooks. Until about 1860, Indian indentures were far outnumbered on the plantations by West Indians, Chinese and Portuguese and as such could not have brought down the wages of African workers. Indian indentures only became the most numerous group of indentures from about 1860 by which time the

Africans had mostly left the estates to set up in villages (The Village Movement) or had migrated to the towns. The relations between the various racial groups were friendly and between Africans and Indians particularly so. It is only some politicians and those aligned to them who speak of racial tensions and try to stimulate such tensions and this could be ascertained by newspaper research over the last 20 or 30 years. The Indian contribution to the development and creation of modern Guyana has been of fundamental importance. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Indian labour sustained the Sugar Industry on which the colony’s economic survival depended. They were also the founders or main players in other agricultural industries such as the rice industry, the coconut industry, the fishing industry, the dairy and meat industry and in increasing the production of ground provisions, fruits and vegetables. Schools were never established on the sugar estates since it was the assumption of the ruling classes that the role of Indians was to supply agricultural labour. It was only when they left the estates that they and their children were able to access secondary and tertiary education. The turn of the 20th century saw an increasing number of Indians entering commerce and industry and the learned professions such as law, medicine, engineering and accounting, adding another dimension to their contribution to national life. The Indian cultural contribution to national life is of notable importance: They introduced new foods and recipes, new festivals, music and dance and above all, Hinduism and Islam as established religions. This has given Guyana the unique position of having the three world religions Hinduism, Christianity and Islam - existing side by side in the greatest amity unlike in so many other countries. Finally, the large settlement of Indian indentures in Essequibo meant there was an even larger British presence in the territory and no Venezuelans whatsoever and ensured that Essequibo remained an integral part of the then British Guiana when the arbitrators were working out their award. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Kaieteur News

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From page 43 department have long grown accustomed to battling some of the most horrid of health crises. Simply put, they have to be constantly thinking on their feet in order to ascertain a patient’s condition before proceeding to treat to the point of stabilising then passing on to other specialist colleagues to continue what they so desperately strove to achieve – to save a life. Although he considers becoming a father to his two children - Kaia Yokum and Kayden Kellman – a great achievement, he confided that, “there is no greater feeling than saving a life”. But the best outcome is not always forthcoming, Dr. Kellman admitted. “There are many happy and fulfilling moments when a life is saved with an emergency intervention but sometimes it is not enough and we have to face death.” But why even bother to put the effort in when the outcome could be fatal? Dr. Kellman’s answer to this is that everyone deserves a fighting chance regardless of who they are. In fact, it was because he recognized this that he continues to practice health care at our country’s premier health institution. “I could have left after my initial contracted time was over but I always told myself we can’t all leave Guyana; who would attend to our people?” THE JOURNEY BEGINS Born Dwayne Andre Kellman on May 4, 1987, the elder of two children, to the union of Godfrey and Elizabeth Kellman, he remembers spending the first 12 years of his life at his grandmother’s residence in Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara. His father, a career mechanical engineer and his mother an office worker eventually moved their family, which later included his sister, Kelly-Ann, to a domicile at Houston, East Bank Demerara. He remained resident there until just before marriage to his sweetheart, Connie. Dr. Kellman and his wife currently reside at Daisy Street, South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown with their two children. Reminiscing on his young days, he recalled attending the Eccles Nursery School and then the Eccles Primary for one year before being transferred to the Stella Maris Primary. He fondly remembers being a member of the school’s Kiskadee house. “I was also a part of ‘Sir’ Chandra’s Lessons, this was like a second school,” he joked.As he reflected on his past, he spoke of being a cricket fanatic, a status he proudly retains to date. “We played before class started, break time, lunch time and after school. This was for both primary and secondary.” Dr.

Kellman is an old boy of Queen’s College. “I did six years there and then was able to acquire a government scholarship to study medicine in Cuba. I attended the Camaguey School of Medical Sciences. I later did my post graduate studies in Emergency Medicine through the University of Guyana,” he divulged. When asked what pro-

Prepared to wage war against COVID-19 pelled him into the field of medicine, he intimated, “honestly, I always wanted to be one of two things in life, an engineer or a doctor. I thoroughly enjoyed mathematics and physics but I also always had a very sensitive and empathetic side. However, I believed, ultimately, I would better serve humanity as a doctor; I always took pride in caring for others. This was never a hard decision for me as I love people!” NEVER A DULL DAY Offering his services in the Emergency Department is as natural as breathing for Dr. Kellman. And this he learnt from those who came before and are still setting an outstanding example. “The Emergency Department is one that is dynamic and full of surprises. We get the opportunity to manage a wide variety of acute disease presentations in both paediatric and adult patients. There is never a dull day,” Dr. Kellman revealed. As a Registrar since 2018, he is sometimes required to be the leader in the Emergency Department and on those occasions, his shift begins at 7am or 7pm. On other days, his shift starts at 8am or 8pm. Each shift spans a period of 12 hours and he completes at least four of these weekly. “Normally, be-

fore my shifts, I like to recap a few protocols then it’s just positive energy from there on. Shifts are generally grueling. We do have protected break times but if it’s busy and we have very sick patients, that for me takes precedence,” he assured. With the outbreak of COVID-19 here in Guyana, the GPHC’s Emergency Department has become an even more intense area of work. This is owing to Dr. Kellman’s explanation that all patients who enter this department are treated as suspected COVID19 cases that are clinically unstable and in need of urgent or immediate care. “This simply means getting them as stable as possible before being transferred for further care,” he said. Even before Guyana recorded its first case, Dr. Kellman was already in combat mode for the disease by “assisting with house checks on patients who had returned from overseas who were in self-quarantine. I continue to assist where possible and be a team player which is essential to fight this pandemic.” Being a part of the medical response to this disease, he disclosed, wasn’t a hard choice since “I wanted to be there to serve and help. When patient zero died…a lot of staff went into self-isolation, even though I wasn’t scheduled to work, I was there to support my co-workers.” Such is the nature of the job that Dr. Kellman and his colleagues carry out on a daily basis as they help to safeguard our nation from being annihilated by COVID19. But it is because of the level of preparation that a medical practitioner must learn to perform in an Emergency Department setting, that Dr. Kellman and his colleagues are able perform exceptionally under pressure. Having accepted that “with everything in life there are risks”, Dr. Kellman noted that “it is our preparation and discipline that makes the difference”. The desire to give his best comes from traits embedded in him years earlier by his parents who, he said, “always taught me to be thorough, work hard and do things well regardless of what that task is; most importantly to be respectful and show kindness.” For staying the course and not giving up when most needed, we at Kaieteur News today ascribe our title of ‘Frontline Worker of the Week’ to Dr. Dwayne Kellman.

Sunday May 10, 2020

Harmon contradicts Ramjattan on Carter Center’s approval

L-r- Carter Center team members, Carlos Valenzuela; former Prime Minister of Senegal and Co-leader of the Carter Center team, Dr. Aminata Touré; Chair of the Carter Center’s Board of Trustees, Jason Carter and team member, Brett (carter12) It appears that government is unclear who denied the approval for the Carter Center’s Observer Mission’s flight into Guyana for the ongoing national recount. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National COVID19 Task Force, Joseph Harmon has contradicted what was uttered by Coalition’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Khemraj Ramjattan, on Friday. Ramjattan had told reporters that the decision on the accredited Observer Mission’s return to Guyana was ‘above him’; that the request was not directly made to the Task Force but to incumbent President David Granger. However, Harmon relayed to the press that it was the Task Force which denied the approval when they were informed ‘last minute’ that observers would be aboard the flight. According to Harmon, “first of all, when the application was made, the application was made for an aircraft to come and then at the last minute, we were advised that the Carter Center team will be on the aircraft.”

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Kaieteur News

A request was made by the US Embassy and the Carter Center for a flight on May 4, to transport U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and those who wish to return to or transit to their homes along with observers from the Carter Center and the International Republican Institute (IRI). “The aircraft to pick up people in Guyana, it came with a crew not passengers and the crew had to satisfy our COVID requirements once it arrived here. It was not a matter of picking up people who are here. The plane was chartered to pick US citizens here, which are my understanding.” Permission was granted for the flight but the observers were not permitted entry into Guyana by the Task Force, the Carter Center and the US Embassy had said. The request was then forwarded to the ‘highest levels’ of the Presidency, meaning the incumbent President David Granger. Harmon stated permission was granted for the aircraft and the crew to land in Guyana. “We didn’t say take them

off or we didn’t say that they should come. What we learnt is that when the aircraft arrived here, that they were not here.” “What we said to the Carter Center is that we are in a COVID environment and that we could not basically allow for an aircraft to come here which did not qualify under the conditions for the COVID arrangements.” He pointed out that the Observer Mission can reapply to enter Guyana but their application must “go through the right process.” This includes being tested for the virus in their origin country and presenting a valid certificate providing proof of their test. If this is not adhered to, they would be subjected to the mandatory 14 day quarantine period upon landing in Guyana. “We have absolutely nothing against the Carter Center,” Harmon told reporters. “The Carter Center has been coming here since ‘92 and they have always done an excellent job. What we are saying is that there was a process that had to be followed and that is what we insisted on.”

GTT recognises...

Act professionally at ...

From page 45 Nazima Ragubir (journalist); Conika MarksWilson, (nurse) and Amanda Greene (Medical Administrative Assistant) - all of whom expressed that their children were a source of motivation as they executed their essential duties daily. “Mother’s Day will be very different this year given the global pandemic of COVID-19. Our lives have been disrupted with no idea when we will return to normalcy. We at GTT considered it a privilege to highlight the sacrifices being made especially by mothers on the frontlines,” said Harris. GTT’s donation of food vouchers to single mothers was well received. The Board of Directors, Staff and Volunteers of Help and Shelter, expressed their gratitude to GTT for their continued support to the organization. Accepting the donation on behalf of the organization was Ms. Danuta Radzik who indicated the vouchers were timely. “We are grateful to GTT for lending support to Help and Shelter and remembering single mothers, especially at this time and on Mother’s Day.”

From page 11 practitioners to continue to serve our people diligently, competently and with the highest professional rectitude.” The Medical Council also called on all practitioners to take all precautions necessary to safeguard themselves and their loved ones. “The Council also takes this opportunity to remind all medical practitioners that the medical pandemic with which we are confronted, unfortunately, coincides with a heightened political atmosphere within our society.” The Council advised against medical practitioners allowing partisan politics to affect the discharge of their professional functions and duties.It also reminded them that, “any such breach can place them in violation of not only the ethics of the medical profession but also the principles which underpin their licence to practice.”The regulatory body said it remains in support to all medical practitioners involved in the battle against COVID-19 and, engaged in the provision of healthcare to all Guyanese.

48 boxes completed on Day 4… Commission decides no opening of ballot boxes after 5PM With the aim of ensuring that their staffers and relevant stakeholders do not exceed the allotted 07:00PM deadline, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, decided yesterday that no ballot box should be opened after 5PM. Opposition- nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj raised his disapproval of the decision, arguing that cutting off the time “wastes precious man hours”. “There are some boxes that are taking less than half of an hour to recount… That shortening of the time is having an adverse effect on the efficiency of the process. Through the number of boxes that were counted today, I believe that that number can easily be increased by at least five, seven or even 10 of the boxes.” From the beginning of the recount process, Gunraj has always advocated for the boxes to be counted in a sequential order. That is to say from the first region with the first ballot box and then work their way down. That advocacy, however, managed to bite back at Gunraj, after an explanation was given to him by the Commission that because of the sequential order, they will not break that process to accommodate smaller boxes, which

would essentially utilize shorter time. Meanwhile, stipulated in the legal order are the Statements of Recounts, which are produced and presented after each ballot box is counted, should be illustrated on different statements during the tabulation exercise. Subsequent to the completion of a box, concerns and issues are recorded on an Observation Report (OR). The order, however, does not make room for the report to be read or displayed. Nonetheless, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) have heavy advocated for the OR to be displayed, and that, according to Gunraj, will only further delay the operations. The GECOM Chair yesterday decided on allowing the Observation Reports (ORs) also be read out. Previously, it was being exhibited, but there were complaints that the contents of the ORs were not discernable. Against this backdrop, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) posited that “this Observation Report is a collection of all the ridiculous, unsubstantiated, irrelevant issues which APNU+AFC agents are making as part of their design to undermine the electoral process, for example, they are al-

leging that dead and migrated persons voted without producing a scintilla of evidence to support these bizarre allegations.” The PPP/C went on to argue that, “this is simply a line of propaganda that APNU+AFC wants to use to inundate the public domain in order to distract attention from the numbers that the process is producing.” Furthermore, APNU+AFC- nominated Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, related to the press last evening that GECOM is considering provisions for GECOM staff to recite the OR. At the end of Day Four of the National Recount, a total of 48 ballot boxes were counted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, taking the overall number of boxes counted thus far to 156. GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward in her daily updates announced that 48 boxes were completed - 14 for Region One; 11 for Region Two; 12 for Region Three and 11 for Region Four. With regards to tabulation, Ward said that 129 Statements of Recount (SORs) for the General Election were completed and 115 for the Regional Elections. She went on to say that the Commission decided on a new, earlier time for the tabulation, which will now be from 04:00PM to 06:30PM.

Mingo’s tabulation inflated in favour ... From page 3 whether there had been electoral fraud. The PPP has claimed that the statements of recount have vindicated the statements of poll in their possession, which they published online. The PPP also had claimed that the statements of recount showed that Mingo’s numbers were incorrect. Allegations that there might be attempts to rig the elections began mid-March shortly after the contentious pair of declarations of the Region Four results by Mingo was ruled as unlawful by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire. A slew of circumstances had halted the tabulation and when it resumed, Mingo returned with a spreadsheet, which showed numbers observers and party representatives did not see inputted onto the spreadsheet. Though there was much protest over this, especially by the PPP, Mingo had gone ahead and made declarations based on those figures. The PPP challenged the declarations for the general and regional elections in Court and successfully got them vitiated.

The Chief Justice had sent Mingo back to the table, after she found that he did not stick to the law on the procedure necessary for the count. The illegality that occurred according to the Court, is that Mingo did not allow the persons entitled to witness the process the opportunity to observe when he placed the figures from the statements of poll on to the spreadsheet, if he did that at all. It did not help the situation when the second general and regional declarations for Region Four, made on March 13, also followed a tabulation marred by a lack of transparency and accusations of electoral fraud. At least five of the contesting political parties had reported that Mingo produced inflated statements of poll, with numbers that were clearly clumsily doctored. Political parties reported that the statements of poll were projected in such a way that they could not ascertain the veracity of the numbers or the authenticity of the documents. Observers and political parties reported that when they asked Mingo to view the security features on

the statements of poll, they were rejected. Nevertheless, Mingo made a second pair of declarations of the Region Four General and Regional Elections results, which did not command enough public confidence for GECOM to consider them at the time for the announcement of the official elections results. Mingo’s first pair of declarations was at odds with his second pair, but the governing coalition did not appear to care for that and signed off on the declarations both times. Joseph Harmon, APNU+AFC campaign cochair had revealed that the party hoped its presidential candidate, David Granger, would be sworn in quickly. That did not happen, as calls began to mount, particularly from the international community, for a fair and credible conclusion to the electoral process. Though attempts were made by an APNU+AFC candidate, Ulita Moore to prevent the recount, GECOM has finally managed to get the recount underway, more than two months after the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

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Sunday May 10, 2020

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Timothy Jonas sees sinister move to deprive him from recount process Chair of A New and United Guyana (ANUG) Timothy Jonas has claimed that he received a curious call from the Ministry of Health claiming that he was suspected of having Covid-19. In a video posted on his Facebook page on Friday evening, Jonas related that he received a call from a doctor from the Public Health Ministry who brought claimed that he, Jonas, displayed respiratory issues, a common symptom of COVID19 and requested that he takes a test. According to Jonas, he requested that the information be put into writing, and he ventured to uplift the document containing the allegation. Upon meeting the doctor, Jonas showed that he had no symptoms of the virus and was then told that he may be asymptomatic. “If his letter says that it is reported that I have respiratory symptoms, then it is difficult for me to understand his response that I don’t have symptoms but I have symptoms in his letter. This is amazing,” the ANUG Chair said. Jonas stated that he will be go-

ing to his personal doctor to get his own assessment and will respond to the Ministry. The party believes that there is a sinister being set in motion to “sideline those who may be an inconvenience to authorities.” Further, the APNU/AFC had reported that it was not only Timothy Jonas that was singled out, but their party members as well. A post on Facebook by Ayodele Roache, an APNU+AFC recount agent said that she was told by health officials stationed at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre that she should “take the day” after her temperature was tested and found to be “slightly high”. It alleged that Roache had been in the Recount Centre on Friday earlier in the day, but had exited to get a meal and when she attempted to return, she was blocked from re-entering. It also said that another counting agent, Ganesh Manipaul, had also been blocked from re-entering the Recount Centre at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Manipaul had been involved in

Copy of the letter received

Timothy Jonas the recount on Saturday morning but exited for a brief period. When he attempted to return to his station, he was blocked by medical personnel who claimed that his temperature was tested and showing that it was “slightly high”. He was asked to sit in a holding area until his temperature dropped.

US Congressman Jeffries calls American ‘intervention’ in Guyana’s politics ‘outrageous’ - had formerly urged for US intervention Prominent American Congressman, Hakeem Jeffries, has called what he termed US interventions in Guyana’s politics as “outrageous” and urged that that the Trump administration seek to fix its own issues of elections and foreign interference before seeking to meddle in Guyana’s. Responding to an online interview question from A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) activist Rickford Burke, about whether the US government’s pronouncements on the developments in the wake of the post-elections controversy were appropriate, Jeffries was adamant.“Not at all,” Jeffries said, “and the United States government needs to cut it out.” Of the global players that have repeatedly insisted that

Guyana’s controversyriddled 2020 electoral process should be transparently resolved, the United States has been most strident in hinting at consequences if it is not, with criticisms coming most importantly from US State Department officials including resident Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch; White House Assistance Secretary for Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael Kozak; and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.Jeffries, former corporate lawyer is current Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and a rising star of the Democratic party since he began representing New York’s 8th Congressional District in 2013. He has been one of the more strident critics of the administration of Donald Trump, voting in favour of all two articles of impeachment

Coalition supporter arrested after ruckus A number of APNU+AFC supporters were yesterday arrested by police officers, after being accused of misbehaving, mere meters away from the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), where the national recount is being held. Late yesterday afternoon, a member of the Guardians of Democracy, which had been staking out the ballot containers, was heard shouting at Attorney General, Basil Williams, who was at the time leaving the centre. Disgruntled by the man’s actions, and in with aim of defending Basil, the group of women-dominated APNU + AFC supporters, who were nearby, began hurling expletives at him. Police, who were on scene, attempted to caution the women but after several minutes, their efforts proved futile, resulting in them approaching the hostile crowd. One of the women in the group was heard shouting with police who was attempting to arrest her but that ended in an altercation. The woman became hysterical, throwing herself to the ground, her screams attracting a fair crowd. She was later subdued and taken into police custody.

against the American president last December and serving as one of several house managers of Trump’s impeachment trial when the President was charged with soliciting Ukrainian intervention in US elections. Trump was charged after asking Ukrainian government officials for evidence of corruption against Hunter Biden, son of then Democratic frontrunner, now nominee in this year’s US presidential elections, Joe Biden. In his interview with Burke, Jeffries drew a connection between the Ukraine scandal and his position on the Trump administration’s current policy on Guyana’s elections.“The Ukrainians,” Jeffries stressed, “shouldn’t be involved in an American election, the Chinese shouldn’t be involved in an American election, the Russians shouldn’t be involved in an American election – that’s a settled principle. At the same time, if we are alarmed at foreign interference in our electoral process, why in the world is the United States government engaging in foreign interference in the affairs of an independent nation in Guyana? It’s outrageous.”In response to several questions Burke posted to him, Jeffries expanded on the concept of the principle of non-intervention, saying that the US can “broadly look” at assuring that elections are run smoothly, and that such affairs fell the House Committee on Foreign Relations, currently chaired by Democrat

under previous administration Eliot Engel. Jeffries contrasted the US government’s policy on Guyanese elections and it’s own current electoral troubles:“I do find it somewhat ironic that at the same time when the US government may be trying to direct Guyana as to how it should conduct itself in the form of an election, that we’ve been so irresponsible in many parts of the country, like in Wisconsin where there is a refusal to permit universal access to mail-in voting and you compel people to vote in densely packed polling sites as was done in a Wisconsin election in early April in a manner that may have contributed to community spread in terms of COVID-19. So it seems to me that we are not in a position to tell anybody, until we get our own act together as it relates to how faithfully we conduct a free, fair election that protects the wellbeing of the American people, that we are not necessarily in a position to tell anybody else about how to go about doing their job.”A question in the interview, dealing with possible sanctions depending on the outcome of the current situation, was cut on both the video published on Burke’s page as well as a Youtube publication of the interview. Also heavily edited was Jeffries’ response, parts of which returned to his earlier theme of non-intervention. “Now traditionally,” Jeffries offered, “we can monitor how democracy is playing itself out in different parts of

the world, but to interfere in such an extraordinary way and in a manner that appears to favour one party, the opposition party, potentially to the detriment of the ruling party, is deeply troubling to a lot of us in Washington DC…”This position, however, seems to contrast with the congressman’s past interventions in this country’s politics, particularly five years ago when he and congresswoman Yvette Clarke had written then US Secretary of State, John Kerry, on February 2nd of 2015, urging that the Obama administration official look into the President Donald Ramotar’s behavior. The correspondence in part read:“We are deeply concerned by the decision of President Donald Ramotar of Guyana to dissolve the National Assembly when members started to debate a motion of no confidence. Democracy cannot exist without the consent of the government – in a republic such as the United States or Guyana, expressed by their elected representatives. Under the Constitution of Guyana, the National Assembly has the authority to enact a motion of no confidence which, if successful, requires general elections within three months. The apparent attempt by President Ramotar to prevent general elections has effectively disenfranchised the people of Guyana by precluding a majority of the members of the National Assembly from acting in the interests of

their constituents. We urge Secretary of State Kerry to investigate this situation in collaboration with the community of nations and to work with elected officials in Guyana to secure fair elections in which the people the ability to control the future of their nation.”At the time, Ramotar, faced with the threat of a no confidence motion, was in his third month of the prorogation of parliament but had just two weeks earlier, after tremendous pressure from local and international stakeholders, already named March 11 as the date for elections. Four months later, at a mid-June APNU+AFC victory rally in Brooklyn, Jeffries was one of the special guest speakers, where he outlined the role that he and other US politicians personally played in ensuring that Guyana conducted “a free and fair election”, adding that the work is not all done yet. He stressed, in that speech, that he would make sure that he stands with the coalition government against all enemies, both domestic and foreign.Jeffries’ interview with the New Yorkbased Burke came a day after US State Department Director of Caribbean Affairs of the Western Hemisphere, Katherine Dueholm had reiterated the country’s policy on Guyana – that the process must be conducted in a credible and transparent manner – during an audio-conference with the Guyana International Inclusive Alliance (GIIA), a diaspora group.

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Legend Murray warns against hasty restart BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Former top West Indies cricket administrator, Deryck Murray, has warned against a forced restart of cricket amidst the current challenges posed by the deadly coronavirus pandemic, and says any premature actions by authorities could lead to a deepening of the crisis. The former Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board president and Cricket West Indies director contended that pushing ahead with any series before the environment was absolutely safe to do so could result in a “artificial

type normalcy” which would not augur well for the game. Also, Murray dismissed the idea of playing cricket behind closed doors, pointing out that having fans physically present was an integral part of the game’s enjoyment. “The sooner we can get back to as much of normalcy as we can, the better and obviously you’re looking forward to cricket,” the Trinidadian told Starcom Radio’s Mason and Guest cricket show here. “But you don’t want it to be an artificial-type normalcy. You want to see cricket

played, you want spectators there to enjoy it, not just for a television audience. You want the players to be able to interact as they do whether in joy or disappointment.” Cricket West Indies and the England and Wales Cricket Board are giving consideration to a set of radical proposals in an effort to ensure West Indies’ threeTest tour of England comes off in July. These proposals will see limited interactions between players because of strict quarantine and isolation protocols but more significantly, the proposals

Sunday May 10, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Expect today to be tense, Aries, as the people close to you could be especially irritable. Adults and children alike may throw tantrums for no reason, and you'll be criticized for having overlooked some small detail. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) The moment has come to affirm your individuality and life choices, Taurus. The planetary energy will make you work hard to rethink the number of obligations you undertake. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Why not go directly to the heart of the problem? This could be the question you've been asking yourself about a commitment to a cause that's important to you. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't let your fear or anger get the better of you today. You'll be pushed to the forefront and may even be forced to make some big decisions regarding the direction of your professional life. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your ideas about life are going through some radical changes. None of the givens that you've always taken for granted seem to apply any more, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today's aspe c t s w i l l clarify any team situations of which you're a part, Virgo. This could concern teams in your private or professional life. Now is the moment to take action.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your stroll through the universe of lovely possibilities has come to an end, Libra. Now you must come back to Earth and join the rest of us. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You must have felt the pressure rising in the past week. Intense, isn't it? Do you have a job to finish at the last minute? Is there some ill humor or misunderstanding among your relations? SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) There's some likelihood that your heart will flutter as certain plans begin to realize. If you have your heart set on someone who seems impossibly remote, or if you're hoping to transform and improve an existing love relationship. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Do you feel helpless in the face of problems with technology? If so, you might surprise yourself today. Some software that you use a lot could go haywire AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) If you've been thinking about studying astrology, numerology, or other occult sciences, Aquarius, this is the day to start. There may be a school or teacher that you've been considering. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A woman you meet at work might point you in a new direction, Pisces. You should investigate all possible options. This could be a new intellectual interest, a technological skill, or possibly a new and more lucrative source of income.

call for matches to be played behind closed doors at “biosecure” stadia. Contending that it was important not to lose the essence of cricket in a bid to hastily restart itineraries, Murray also cautioned that any premature resumption ran the risk of further further escalating the public health crisis. “That (social interaction) is all part of the game so we need to get that back but having said that, we also have to guard against opening doors, opening lockdowns and what’s the price you have to pay for that?” queried the former West Indies vicecaptain. “[We can] go back into the depths of pandemic again, more cases, more deaths, more devastation to economies. So if it is that we have to stay away for a little bit longer, it’s a small sacrifice in the wider context of things. “So while I would like to

Pross trumps Bremner 3-1... From page 55 eventually netting the winner in the 80th minute to seal his spot in the final. Meanwhile, earlier in the night Emuwnah Pross eased his way to the final with resounding victories over Pernell Cummings ending on a 12-3 aggregate scoreline. Cummings, who had looked ominous in the earlier stages of the tournament, conceded a 2-6 loss in the first leg before Pross played his return fixture and won 6-1. Meanwhile, Business Development and Marketing Coordinator of iBET Supreme, Dustanni Barrow expressed delight at the successful completion of the tournament; “It was a real joy to witness the birth of something new, at least here in Guyana, the level of competition throughout the tournament was exceptional along with the camaraderie of the competitors. I can safely say Guyana and the gaming community at large can look forward to more tournaments from us here at iBET and we will be looking to make improvements.” “We had a few hundred people viewing the matches in the latter stages of the tournament and I’m sure that the numbers will only increase as we go along,” Barrow noted. He also commended the sponsors; Banks DIH through their Monster Energy drink Brand, Churchs’ Chicken, Smoke Shack, A&A Game Spot and NCN, for their contribution in making the tournament a success.

see the cricketers as usual in early May in England and the rest of the season, so be it if we have to miss one season for the well-being of the Caribbean and the rest of the world.” The Caribbean has recorded hundreds of COVID19 cases, forcing CWI to pause its domestic itinerary and international obligations. Currently, there has been a cessation of cricket globally.

New Zealand and South Africa were expected to tour the Caribbean in July and August for Tests and limited overs matches which are considered key to CWI’s finances, but both tours are expected to be called off. Doubt also surrounds the T20 World Cup in Australia which is scheduled for October 18 to November 15, where West Indies are expected to defend their title.

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World Rugby releases return to play guideline The coronavirus pandemic has affected sport in a major way with all activities being halted but it is expected that the world will overcome this deadly disease that emerged from Wuhan, China, but World Rugby; international authority for the sport, has noted that sport, especially rugby, will never be the same following the pandemic and they have set out guidelines for return to play issued on their website earlier in this month. The website noted rightfully that rugby is a contact sport, “To fully train and to play matches requires intermittent physical contact. High-risk physical contact, where players are in very close proximity (such as scrum, or face to face tackle), most likely poses a greater risk should one player be an infected person. In training, this type of contact should, whenever possible be limited, as should mixing of groups who have undertaken this type of contact. Should a team-mate from high risk physical contact or

The Rugby World body is looking to limit the known normal level of contact that entails in top flight rugby until the COVID 19 virus in fully contained. opposition player in a recent match develop an infection, all of those who have participated in the high-risk contact are likely to require isolation and testing.

While a date of return to playing will be dependent on each government of World Rugby members, the return to play guidelines notes that for the return to training, smaller groups will help to offset the

risk of infection. The World Rugby correspondence noted that, “Until a vaccine is developed for COVID-19 the team environment will be quite different. Every person

involved in a rugby team or game will have a responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” “Personal hygiene, selfisolation with symptoms, social distancing, group

numbers and restricting travel are the most effective means of prevention of the spread. In the team environment you will need to be even more careful to avoid exposure and spread.”

Conmebol unhappy M&TC of Bartica launch Sports Wall of Fame with FIFA over five in observance of 4th Anniversary as a Town substitutes change - Terrence Archer and Diane Ferreira-James heads 10 Sports Personalities inducted (Reuters) - FIFA’s decision to temporarily allow up to five substitutions per match to help cope with potential fixture congestion was met coolly in South America on Friday. “This change has taken us by surprise, it was not made in consultation with our confederation,” Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American Football C o n f e d e r a t i o n (CONMEBOL), said on twitter. Earlier on Friday, football’s governing body announced teams will be allowed up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, as

a temporary measure to help cope with fixture congestion as play resumes in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak. The change in the rules will be allowed in all competitions which are due to finish by the end of this year and it will be up to individual competition organisers whether to implement it, FIFA said. Dominguez said CONMEBOL would call a panel of experts together to analyse the decision “to decide whether it is convenient adopting it in South American tournaments” such as the Copa Libertadores.

By Franklin Wilson It is always a good thing to heed good advice and in this instance, the famous Tradewinds, led by Guyanese Dave Martins had sung the hit, “Where Are Your Heroes”. Not wanting to be caught napping, His Worship Mayor Gifford Marshall of Bartica and his Town Council of Bartica, have heeded that advice. On the occasion of the Municipalities fourth anniversary as a Town, they launched a Sports Wall of Fame at the Bartica Community Centre which essentially has been set up to educate the population there about their heroes of yore, individuals who have blazed the trail at the national and international levels. Covid-19 has taken its toll on the world at this time but it has not dampened the push and resolve of Mayor Marshall and his Council to forge ahead with this initiative. Mayor Marshall informed that the ineffaceable contributions of men and women to sports in Bartica must always be remembered whilst their achievements must never be laid aside, rather, they must be uplifted. “For generations past and

those in future, we must recognise that sports contributes majorly to inspire standards, promote unity and demonstrate talent and skill. No matter the context or particular discipline, our sports personalities have carved a path for upcoming talent and have given to Barticians, especially the youth, the promise of possibility. By excelling and gaining recognition locally, nationally and internationally, they have shown that it is possible for a Bartician sportsman or woman to achieve great things.” According to the Municipality, the contributions of the inaugural inductees, ‘reflects greatness’. They are, 1.Christopher George (Former National Footballer) 2. Ivor Mendonca (Former National & West Indies Cricketer) 3. CalmethYounge (Former National Footballer & Coach) 4. Neil Hernandez (Former National Footballer) 5. Mark Smith (Former National Footballer) 6. Diane Ferreira James (Former National Footballer, Cricketer & FIFA Referee)

Vibert De Fretias 7. Basil Singh (Former facility that can testify to that. National Cricket Umpire) Over the past years we 8. Brian Tracey (Former have created a space that is National Footballer) suitable to foster 9. Terrence Archer development of multiple (Former National Football sports disciplines. Our vision Captain) isn’t limited, but as the 10. Vibert De Fretias Council looks ahead we (Former National Footballer). envisage a super stadium The Wall of Fame, complete with a synthetic Marshall further noted, “Was track and seating to created as a permanent encourage township wide reminder of how proud participation in events.This Bartica is of her achievements vision will undoubtedly come in Sports and it will see the to pass as our township continued addition of names. continues to lead the charge The Council through the in becoming Guyana’s model support of Central green town.” Government has made Marshall further posited significant investments in the that as a Town, the efforts of development of municipal the Council will continue to playfields, parks and recognise the contributions recreational area, and the of Bartica’s sports Bartica Sports Center is one personalities.

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Essequibo’s Rising talent Quentin Sampson aims high By Zaheer Mohamed He is one of the latest exciting cricketing talents to emerge from the Cinderella County of Essequibo and like many other star cricketers he developed a passion for the game at a tender age. Twenty- year all-rounder Quentin Sampson hails from Caria Caria which is situated on the left bank of the mighty Essequibo River, roughly an hour’s journey by means of speedboat from Parika. He first got involved with cricket at the age of eight at the Caria Caria Primary School. Following the National grade six assessment, Sampson landed a place at the Aurora Secondary School on the Essequibo Coast. It was at this institution that he began to take the game seriously and after turning out for the school in local tournaments, he was encouraged to join the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) Sports Club by Coach Forbes Daniels. Subsequently, Sampson was selected to play for the President’s XI in the Guyana Cricket Board Inter County U15 tournament. His first assignment for Essequibo came at the inter county U17 level; he also played for the county at the U19 level and was selected to play for St. Joseph High in the Sir Garfield Sobers schools tournament in Barbados. At the age group level, Sampson had shown the type of commitment needed to go on the next level, even though

Quentin Sampson in Essequibo colours. he had mixed results on the field. He then became a member of the Rising Star Sports Club on the Essequibo Coast before moving to East Bank Essequibo where he turned out for Parika Salem Sports Club. Sampson was then encouraged by Coach Ryan Hercules, a former Guyana U19 player, to join the Police Sports Club in Georgetown. The all-rounder turned out for F Division in the Guyana Police Force

Commissioner T20 Cup and notched up three half centuries; he also proved more than a handful with the ball bowling medium pace. In his first season for Police at the Georgetown Cricket Association second division level, Sampson struck two centuries and four fifties, his performance helped him earned a place on the Essequibo franchise team. In the local franchise league in 2019, he slammed three half centuries including a highest score of 67 versus East Bank Demerara; he was also among the wickets. Speaking with Kaieteur Sport recently Sampson said his desire is to represent the Guyana Jaguars and move on the higher levels. “Playing for your country is an honour, I know it will be challenging, but I am prepared to work hard. At the moment I am training at home eagerly awaiting the resumption of the cricket season,” he said. Sampson stated that Essequibo has a balanced team and he enjoys playing for the franchise. “I was pleased with my performance in the last franchise league, however I could have done better, but I didn’t capitalise on the starts I got in some of the games.” “I am looking forward to the next franchise, definitely I would like to score heavily and pick up more wickets. There are a few things that I have placed much emphasis on, so that I can spend more

Quentin Sampson hits out during a GPF Commissioner T20 tourney. time at the crease and improve with my run-up as well. It’s all about being positive.” Sampson, who also represented Georgetown Cricket Club at the U19 level, said he first started to play softball cricket at Caria Caria and was afraid of the hardball game. “My village Caria Caria usually hosts sporting activities involving teams from neighbouring communities such as Saxacalli, Bonsika, Hogg Island, Troolie Island, Essequibo Coast, Wakenaam and Parika, and I would be given an opportunity to play for the host at softball

cricket.” It was at one of these games that Sampson got the motivation to play hardball cricket. “I was encouraged by the players from the other teams to get involved in the hardball game. After they saw me in action, they told me that I am talented and I can make a name for myself in the sport. I was afraid at first, but after I moved to Essequibo Coast, Coach Daniels and Sir Andy Ramnarine provided the necessary guidance and my love for the game grew tremendously.” Sampson informed that Caria Caria and other riverain

communities in Essequibo has an abundance raw talent and feels that if the youths there receive guidance they can go a far way. “There is a lot of talent in those areas and if coaches from other areas in Essequibo can visit and conduct sessions there, it will certainly benefit the youths and we see them going places.” Sampson no doubt has the ability to take him to the next level, and with the commitment, dedication and determination he can very well follow in the foot-steps of fellow Essequibian Keemo Paul.

Cricket’s ‘magic’ up in smoke without live audience: Kohli AFP - India captain Virat Kohli believes cricket will be robbed of its “magical moments” if games are forced into empty stadiums when the sport emerges from its pandemic lockdown. “It might happen. I honestly don’t know how everyone’s going to be able to take that, because we are used to playing in front of so many passionate people,” said the star batsman. “It will be played at a very good intensity, but that feel of the crowd connecting with the players, everyone feeling that tension around the stadium, those emotions are difficult to recreate,” he told the Star Sports television channel on Friday.

India’s captain Virat Kohli said a live stadium audience is essential to cricket. (AFP Photo/Peter Parks)

The coronavirus pandemic has halted all major sports and cricket is suffering without its cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which should now be reaching its final stages. “We will play the sport how it’s supposed to be played but those magical moments would be very difficult to come by,” Kohli said. Some European football leagues are already making plans to restart in empty stadiums. But the IPL has not announced its intentions and there are now major doubts on whether the Twenty20 World Cup will start in Australia in October. The International Cricket

Council has said it is “exploring all options” for the tournament. Australia’s wicketkeeperbatsman Alex Carey, who was to play for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, said it would be a “hollow feeling” if games are played in front of empty stands. “Cricket as we’re used to is going to be different for a bit. There’s the T20 World Cup and the IPL that we’re all looking to play, but it’s hard to picture anything without the fans,” Carey said in an instagram session with Delhi’s official website. “It’s going to be a hollow feeling, but I feel the fans will at least have some live cricket to look forward to on TV.”

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Multi-talented Afruica Gentle gets US University Scholarship - Aims to join trio of cricketers who played 2 Sports at Snr level By Sean Devers Nineteen-year-old Lawn Tennis player and National Female Cricketer Afruica Gentle has been awarded a scholarship at the Coppin State University in the United States of America. The four-year scholarship is for sports and academics and Afruica will be Majoring in Criminal Justice and Safety Studies and Minor is Urban Recreation. The versatile Athlete, who attended the Apex Education and Mae’s School, was scheduled to start University this fall but due to the COVID-19 Virus, she will have to wait until the pandemic over. “My aim in tennis presently is to improve my game further and play tennis at the Collegiate level where I can represent myself, my family and also make my country and all the people that have been behind me proud,” Afruica disclosed. She is aware that studying and focusing on Sports will be a challenge and does not intend to forsake her Cricket although cricket is not played at the Coppin State University. “I know it will not be easy being a student-athlete at University but with determination, dedication and discipline I will push myself and yes, I will continue playing cricket as I am in constant contact with the

Afruica Gentle was a part of Mixed doubles win before beating Kizzy Gentle in the Singles. USA Junior Cricket Coach Linden Frazer. Securing a sound education while playing tennis is the right path for me,” said Afruica, who was born on March 4th 2001 to Oneil and Roxanne Gentle. The youngest of three siblings, Afruica grew up in Goedverwagting East Coast Demerara and revealed that the pandemic has affected her training because she cannot train as much as she wants to. “I am currently doing Zoom workouts with the Guyana Jaguars men’s cricket

team hosted by Neil Barry the team’s physiotherapist/ trainer daily. In terms of my life it has not affected it in a major way but it has afforded me a lot of free time so I spend it with my family. I would say to all Guyanese we should all adhere to the rules and guidelines and stay inside unless you have something very urgent to do outdoors,” said the former National Junior Tennis Champion. While she has not represented Guyana in Tennis

or Cricket at the senior level (she was in the Guyana Senior squad but did not play any game in the Regional Women’s cricket tournament) she has hopes of representing her Country in both Sports at the senior level. Many women have played more than one sport for Guyana at the Senior level including former National cricketers Margaret ‘Chico’ Walcott who was a Boxer, Dianne Ferreira- James who captained Guyana in both cricket and football and Elizabeth Alphonso who

GABA writes PM Nagamootoo requesting quartet return The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association has shifted gear in its attempt to have four stranded boxers return home from Cuba. The GABA last week wrote to the Chairman of the Covid19 Task Force asking that the body favourably consider a request to have Policeman sergeant Dennis Thomas, Guyana Defence Force corporals Desmond Amsterdam and Colin Lewis and Keevin Allicock of the Forgotten Youth Foundation returned to Guyana before June 3rd, the probably date for the reopening of Guyana’s borders. In a letter to CTF Chairman, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, GABA president Steve Ninvalle explained that the four boxers are now, frustrated, depressed and facing psychological challenges

after being stranded in Cuba for close to two months. Ninvalle reasoned that with no definitive date set for their return the situation in Cuba can only take a turn for the worst. “The four boxers, all of whom have represented Guyana with distinction by winning several international medals, are bread winners for their respective families and their indefinite absence has raised anxiety among their households and created financial bottlenecks. In addition, the boxers are now depressed, frustrated and are facing psychological challenges. To have them remain in Cuba for another month, where it’s an arduous task just to acquire basic necessities, applies more burden to their already fragile shoulders and those of their families. One of the most strident mantra

Prime Minister Moses Nagamooto associated with curbing the spread of Covid19 is ‘Stay At Home’. With this in mind our association now ask that you favourably consider approving the return home of the aforementioned Guyanese athletes ahead of the anticipated June 3 reopening of borders,” Ninvalle wrote. The letter was copied to Minister with responsibility for Sport George Norton and Director of Sport Christopher Jones. The call of the GABA request mirrors that of several Guyanese students in Cuba

who have pleaded with the government to return them home. Life in Cuba has become increasingly difficult for Guyanese there as the country grapples with the spread of Covid19 and international sanctions. The light heavyweight Thomas, middleweight Amsterdam, light welterweight Lewis and Bantamweight Allicock were shuttled to Cuba in January for a three-month training stint in preparation for the Olympic Qualifier which was scheduled for March 26 to April 3 in Argentina. The boxers we expected to return home on March 19 but Guyana closed its borders just before in response to curbing the spread of Covid19. With the exception of Thomas, the other boxers were Caribbean Champions with Allicock, the baby of the team being the current Caribbean bantamweight champion.

played cricket and Hockey. Walcott, who was selected for the West Indies Women’s team in the 1970s, fought in 11 fights between 1999 and 2011, while FerreiraJames, who was appointed a FIFA referee in June 1999, led Guyana Women’s Football team for the first time in 1995 against Barbados and T&T. A fast bowler, FerreiraJames had a five-wicket haul when she captained Guyana in the 2003 Regional Women’s Cricket Tournament in Grenada. Ferreira-James was also a track Athlete at the Police Sports Club. Alphonso played cricket for Guyana from 1977 to 1980 and played Hockey for GCC and Guyana during the same period. “I got involved in tennis because my older sister Shawna Gentle was playing tennis and I would go every day as a young child with my father to pick her up and that’s where my love for the sport began, so finally when I turned four I started to play,” informed Afruica. Her first tournament was the Le Meridian Pegasus Tennis Tournament where she won the Girls U-12 title. “I was a member of Park Players/ Sheltez Tennis club, training under Coach Shelly Daly but moved to Roraima Tennis Clubin 2016, training with Coach Dexter Lewis and Rebecca Mitchell,” said Afruica, who played in the Antigua and Barbuda Invitational, ITF U-12 Development Tournament, Inter Guiana Games, ITF Circuit Tournament Jamaica, Blue Mountain International Tournament Jamaica and GBTI Open Tournament. In the GBTI Open, Afruica teamed up with Gavin Lewis to win the Mixed Doubles title and with Christie Campbell to take the Women’s Doubles title. No longer a junior, Afruica said there is a big gap locally between the junior and senior level because there is not enough competition at both levels. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to lift the standard of local Tennis and as much as the coaches do their part to help the player to be on top of his or her game, dedication, determination and discipline will need to be a priority for the player,” said Afruica. She noted that her main challenge playing tennis in Guyana was not being able to play enough tournaments and having enough competition. “It was particularly hard

in the area of studies because I would have training either sometimes in the morning or in the afternoon and after training I had school or lessons and that would finish late at night. When I got home I still had a lot of work to be done and it was a repeat of that every day,” she added. The big hitting righthanded batsman who bowls left-arm spin got involved in cricket by playing Windball Cricket. “I got in contact with Essequibo Head Coach Ryan Hercules and played in a U17 tournament in which I did extremely well,” said Afruica who informed that she enjoys both Sports because they both make her happy. “The standard of local Crickets at the junior level is not too bad but players would be at their best if there is an all year-round training programme,” said Afruica who trains the Police Sports Club. The powerful batsman caught the eyes of the National Selectors after a dominant performance in the National Secondary Schools female cricket competition in which she plundered close to 450 runs including the tournament’s lone century. She, however, feels not enough is being done to improve female Sports in Guyana. “My suggestion would be that more emphasis be placed in sports facilities and then in the athletes, because the thing is Guyana is blessed with a lot of talented athletes with potential to do great things for this country. But they are not highlighted enough and given enough support such as sponsorship so they are left here without any avenues to get their talent showcased regionally and internationally,” the teenager lamented. “I do not know what the future holds but what I can say is that I will be giving back to my country in the area of sports,” noted Afruica, who had a message for the Athletes. “The journey to success is not an easy one, the amounts of failure, disappointments, injuries will make you want to quit but what makes a great athlete is the determination to push through all of the obstacles that you may face and to never give up on your dreams because if you work hard enough one day they will come to pass,” Afruica concluded.

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Pross trumps Bremner 3-1 to claim inaugural claims iBET Supreme ‘League of Champions’ - Hutson third place In a clash of the best vying for the inaugural iBET Supreme ‘League of Champions’ eSports FIFA 20 title, Emuwnah Pross and his Real Madrid CF team t r i u m p h e d o v e r Te v i n Bremner (Liverpool) in a close encounter on Friday night which the final 3-1 scoreline did not reflect. Meanwhile, Jonathon Hutson (Manchester City) had an emphatic 7-1 win over Pernell Cummings (Manchester United) to clinch third place. The eventual champion, Pross took an early 2-0 lead in the final and never relinquished the lead despite Bremner cutting the deficit

in half in the 50th minute after going close on several occasions, Pross however showed composure to seal the deal with his third goal of the game in the 80th minute to cart off the winner’s prizes; $50,000, a case of Monster Energy drinks, two pennyweights of Gold and a special Churchs’ Chicken meal along with a trophy. Pross speaking after his victory, revealed that he was excited and pleased to be able to claim the title; “I just played the tournament game by game, never tried to look too far ahead because you never know the kind of player or team you could come up against, I took my

time and I kept banging it in my head that I would win the tournament, it happened and I am very happy.” He also noted that the initiative is a great one and he looks forward to more tournaments in the future; “It was something that I had always wanted to take part in and thankfully I was able to be a part of the first eSports tournament in Guyana, I met new people and made some new friends and it was a great experience overall.” Bremner, who disclosed that he was not satisfied with his performance, promised to come back even stronger in the future; for his efforts he claimed $25,000 and a

From left to right: Emuwnah Pross (Winner), Tevin Bremner (2nd Place) and Jonathon Hutson (3rd place). case of Monster Energy drinks along with a special Churchs’ Chicken meal. In the third-place playoff, Cummings suffered another heavy loss conceding a 1-7 defeat to a rampant Hutson who secured the $15,000 cash prize along with a case of Monster Energy drinks and a special Churchs’ Chicken meal. Bremner and Pross had

contrasting paths to the finals with the former pulling off a victory for the ages in his semi-final encounter with Hutson on Thursday night. Their semi-final produced a goal glut over the two legs with Bremner eventually winning 8-7 on aggregate; in his first leg, playing away Bremner came from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 at full time. Hutson who was

one of the favourites to go all the way, once again went toe to toe with Bremner in the return fixture and the duo produced easily the best game of the tournament thus far, Bremner took an early 10 lead but Hutson equalized almost immediately, Hutson would go on to take the lead three more times, but Bremner proved his quality by levelling each time and (Continued on page 51)

Bartica Town Council Sports Wall of Fame.

rt Spo

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