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Monday Edition May 11, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 19
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T&T dropped out of recount due to ‘serious accusations against CARICOM’ - PM Rowley GUYANA’S COVID-19 CASES REACH 107
GECOM reconsidering rejected ballots Guard 57, hacked to death by man who allegedly stole his bike
COVID CHECK! With some communities on the East Bank of Demerara listed among COVID-19 hotspots, this security officer at Bounty’s Supermarket, at Grove, E.B.Dem, is checking the temperatures of customers before they enter the establishment.
Coalition wants urgent meeting with GECOM Region Nine officials clear trucks to bring essential items from Brazil once a week
Weak public service systems Energy could leave Guyana’s oil Strategist, money open for abuse Anthony Paul
Monday May 11, 2020
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Kaieteur News
Day Five of recounts sees GECOM completing 208 ballot boxes By Shikema Dey It was a fairly smooth day five of the National Recount which saw the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) completing 208 ballot boxes of votes cast in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward was happy to report to the press that day five was completed without a hitch, seeing the tabulation of some 190 Statements of Recount (SORs) for the General Elections and 180 for Regional. She relayed to the media outside the Arthur Chung Convention Center that 51 ballot boxes were counted with 11 for District One; 10 for District Two; 17 for District Three and the remaining 13 for District Four. “We have had no major issues today; we continue to engage stakeholders based on decisions made by the commission that are based on their objections. We have had no major issues but we continue to have an engaged process.” SLIGHT SHIFT IN SEQUENTIAL ORDER The PRO stated that the Commission met to deliberate
on several issues arising from the recount process; mainly the deviation from the sequential order of counting. Initially, the Commission had made a decision to not open ballot boxes after 5pm, citing that it would take the recount process beyond its 7pm cut off time. Opposition Commissioner Sase Gunraj who deemed it “a waste of precious man hours.” However, Ward reported that the Commission yesterday took a decision to open ballot boxes containing a minute number of ballots which is a deviation from the sequential counting order. “While we will try to stick with that 5 O’ Clock mark, we will narrow it down to ensure that we select a box that may have a small number of ballot boxes. Hence, the sequential aspect at that particular juncture will not be applicable.” The PRO pointed out that while GECOM is striving to maintain the sequential order, they must ensure that they do not go past the 7pm deadline. “It was a decision that they would try to work out in terms of completing a small box so that it’s completed by 7,” she told the press. CLAIMS OF MIGRATED VOTERS
Meanwhile, several claims were also raised by the governing coalition that persons who have ticked off as voted, have migrated. Presidential Candidate of The Citizenship Initiative, Rhonda Lam argued that there would be no way to know definitively whether a voter was in Guyana at the time unless the party had access to their immigration records, a clear violation of privacy. She objected to their personal movement records being placed into the public domain. The PRO told the media that any such claims will be placed in the tabulation report and are just that. On that note, Ward also made it clear that the Commission has decided to ensure that the correct language is used on the Observation Reports (ORs). According to Ward, “some persons felt that the language was more so, stating as if it was factual without the evidence being presented.” She cautioned party agents and staff at the work stations who are tasked with preparing the ORs to “be careful” with the language being used on the reports, particularly if there is no evidence to substantiate the
Change Guyana Executive calls for shared governance Executive Member of the Change Guyana Party, Everton Morrison, is calling on incumbent President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to devise a plan for a government of national unity. Speaking to reporters outside the National Recount site, Morrison stressed the need for dialogue so that the heads of the smaller parties can be involved in bringing a change in Guyana. “I will call upon President Granger and Dr. Jagdeo for both of them to become men of Guyana. Someone needs to pick up the phone and call each other, and perhaps go off into the Rupununi and come back within the next seven days with some kind of shared governance within this nation.” According to Morrison, Guyana “needs change” and this is the opportune time to “seize the moment.” He explained that for too long, Guyana has been dabbling with race politics and that is why “we have been left behind in the Caribbean.” “We need to find somehow to reinvent our constitution so we can have some kind of shared governance. We cannot continue where one party leads 52% of the people and the other one is bitter because they have 7% of the votes. It is a wake-up call for our nation. We are squandering an opportunity.” Morrison told reporters “after the final vote is done, many of my Indian friends and I will sit down and have our roti and duck curry and they have my cook-up but the leadership is what keeps us segregated in our thought process.” Commenting directly on the recount process, he stated that the results of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections are known so the ongoing recount is merely a waste of time. “We are gonna be here until August,
Executive Member of the Change Guyana Party, Everton Morrison because at the rate they are going with the counting of the votes, don’t worry about the ballot boxes, the number of votes counted compared to the number of votes to be counted, we will be here until the end of July.” According to him, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would have to add a “second or night shift” to accelerate the recount process. Noting the reasons why the process is moving at a snail’s pace, Morrison relayed to the press that there is a limited sharing of duties at each counting station. He said “I am fearful that the longer this process goes on that something can happen that wasn’t planned. So you want to wrap this up and get this over with as quickly as possible.”
claim. “They have to ensure they use words such as allegation or, it was alleged or so, as it relates to that,” Ward said. Asked about the significance of the OR’s in the recount process, GECOM’s PRO relayed that Commission has made any determination on how critical the report is. She, however, noted that one of the key objectives of this recount also was to establish the credibility of the elections process. USE OF CELL PHONES AT WORKSTATIONS The Commission decided on the limited use of cell phones at the workstations. According to Ward, streaming at the workstation is strictly prohibited. She explained that “The use of cell phones particularly as it relates to the counting exercise will not be allowed for any streaming purposes, but only to take photographs of the ballot box when it arrives at the work station.” “This is to satisfy persons
GECOM PRO Yolanda Ward who would want to ensure that the seals are intact and for their records.” Cell phones can be used to take a photograph of the completed SOR when that is produced at the end of the count. Along with that, the Commission also decided that they would permit three agents per political party to
be present during the tabulation exercise. They are also slated to meet with representatives of the Liberty and Justice Party, The New Movement, A New And United Guyana, Change Guyana, the United Republican Party and The Citizenship Initiative today to hammer out several issues that they have addressed.
Coalition wants urgent meeting with GECOM The governing coalition, A Partnership with National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) has requested an urgent meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) over what it considers issues of credibility of the election. The party has, since the recount began, been raising numerous objections, while observing the recount process. Claims range from dead voters to migrant voters to misplaced votes to valid APNU+AFC votes being deemed as spoilt. The party’s agents have said that so many issues are arising during the process that a question now needs to be asked about the election itself. In the words of Joseph Harmon, “Is this a true reflection of the will of the Guyanese people? That is the ultimate question that has to be answered.” Notably, the APNU+AFC
coalition has held, including President David Granger, that the March elections were free, fair and credible. But the party’s tone has changed since the recount started. Also notable is the party’s contention that the declarations currently in place show that it has won, even as it questions the validity of the elections. Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan said it could very well be that the many discrepancies being raised could lead to revelations that call into question the credibility of the elections. This is why the coalition, Harmon said, has advocated for a comprehensive examination of the ballot boxes. “There are some credibility issues which have to be addressed, and that’s because those issues cannot be addressed by just a mathematical calculation.”
“So if you were to say ‘10 for you’ or ’15 for me’, how credible is that 10 or that 15?” “What has happened to the will of the Guyanese people?” Harmon said that the recount will see that everyone finds out. The issues being raised by the agents of the coalition are being noted by GECOM, as they come. GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward has said that the claims are in the observation report that is made during the examination of each ballot box. But the PRO has made it clear that the objections being made are just claims, and have not yet been substantiated. As a result, she said that GECOM will endeavour to ensure that the language used will present them only as claims. She said the Commission will have to decide what to do about those claims.
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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: SHARMAIN GRAINGER Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Those invisible hands We had joined before with others to salute and extend warm gratitude to the battalions of healthcare workers, who brave their own fears to face up to the daily challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those hailed have been primarily frontline doctors and nurses, emergency responders at the scene and emergency staff in medical units overwhelmed by the real and the imaginary, the life-threatening exposures from both incoming patients and to themselves. While this is rightly due and deserving of every accolade that could be voiced, there is yet another group in the caring ranks of medical facilities that also should be recognized and commended. This is what we do today for those who stand between us and the ills of this pandemic that seems to be reborn in the different strains that emerge daily. They are unseen and lacking in visibility for the most part, they are unknown, other than by the colleagues they support from the shadows, and they are unheralded because their contributions go unnoticed on the outside. We point to and speak of those ambulance drivers, attendants transporting the many stricken patients from emergency rooms to wards or Intensive Care Units, the cleaners and the men and women manning pharmacies in medical institutions crowded with the fearful, the sick and the hoping. We move on to mortuary workers in and out of hospitals, who work through daily to do their duty in the face of their dreads. They are human too and just like any other person, no matter the level of courage still in high supply, they have their own quiet apprehensions with which they grapple. Because they are out of sight and at the bottom end of the medical pyramid, they may even be unappreciated in the fevered rush of events and with the strong emphasis on those manning frontline battle stations in this war against the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemics do not know any limits; they sweep all before them. As revealed by the startling caption in the New York Times of May 6th, “Three hospital workers gave out health masks. Weeks later, they all were dead.” These three were from “the often-invisible army who keep New York hospitals running.” Whether New York or any other place in the world, including Guyana, that invisible army makes a tireless and sustained contribution. These workers, who order inventory, replenish stores, and distribute supplies. Some are paying with their lives. There are others, who we are unable to identify by grouping, but we reach out to comfort them for their efforts on behalf of the peoples of this nation. All of them matter, all of them are cherished. Though this is what is needed at this perilous time, we must remember to appreciate them when the storm has shifted and things return to some state of normalcy, however that may be defined. And as we applaud them for their dedications and efforts, we would do well, all of us, to remember the families that they go home to on a daily basis, or whenever they are allowed to do so. As their loved ones sacrifice and give of themselves, families struggle to cope with their own deep worries that could render them impatient, even lacking in the degree of understanding of what it is that is before us. We reach out to them, also, and ask them to be strong in this time of harsh and lethal circumstances. As we recognize this largely inaudible and “ofteninvisible army of workers” we take the time to point out that they are low paid, function under conditions of low regard, and feature low down on the totem pole of corporate considerations. We are all for, and strongly recommend, that when the worst of this virus (and the other one) has passed, that private institutions and those of the state make it a priority to treat them well and treat them right. Do what counts in tangible and meaningful form. Make them feel not only needed, but recognized and treasured, too. We say hello and many thanks for a thankless job well done. Thanks to all of them for turning up and delivering amidst the frights and discomforts that proliferate.
There is now ample evidence of fraud in Region Four tabulations Dear Editor, As the recount takes its painful journey towards a final count, GECOM everyday tries to impose more illegal actions. Now they want to take away people’s phone. These people are morbidly afraid of the truth. They also want to introduce sign language for the radio audience. They have no shame. But madness is part of the process, the rigging cabal will use every illegal or stupid delaying tactic. The truth is the numbers will prove two things - first, the PPP won and, second, somebody committed fraud. With just about 5% of the boxes counted, both these truths have become evident, plain as day.
The recount is crawling along, slower than a snail’s pace. Down time has accounted for almost 50% of the total time allotted for the four days, when one takes into consideration late starts, early closures, breaks for lunch and other things. Even with the small number of boxes already counted, the original Statements of Poll (SOPs) have been totally validated by the recount, with the Statements of Recount (SORs) 100% agreeing with the SOPs. The Table below highlights the recount results for APNU+AFC from twelve (12) Region 4 boxes. This is the Region where the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, abandoned the SOPs for tabulation purposes and introduced a mysterious, bogus spreadsheet which he
used to declare rigged results for Region 4, dramatically inflating the votes for APNU+AFC and reducing the PPP’s votes. This shows an inflated APNU+AFC’s total from about 114,000 to 136,000 votes, increasing APNU+AFC’s total by more than 22,000 votes. Simultaneously, Mingo reduced the PPP’s votes from 81,000 to 77,000 votes. The Table below shows 12 boxes. In each of these 12 boxes, APNU+AFC’s votes inflated by between 25 to 109 votes, increasing APNU+AFC’s total by 913 votes or by 56%. As more boxes are counted, the exposure of the fraud will intensify. In three of these 12 boxes, there is a reduction of the PPP votes. By doing this (inflating APNU+AFC’s votes and reducing the PPP’s
votes) for hundreds of boxes in Region 4, those responsible were able to increase the actual APNU+AFC votes by more than 22,000 and reducing the PPP’s votes by more than 3,000 votes. The problem is this was done in plain sight, while being live-streamed, in front of local and international observers, the diplomatic corps, with the presence of three former Prime Ministers from Barbados, Jamaica and Senegal. The PPP was present with its copies of SOPs prepared by GECOM and distributed to all the parties’ representatives that were present for the counting on March 2. The local and international observers and the media also had copies of most of the SOPs from Region (Continued on page 6)
Why has no one been charged for tabulation discrepancies? Dear Editor, In your Saturday 9th of May 2020 you published an article which presented the following facts: “The SORs [statement of recount] for ballot box No. 4058, a polling station at Supply Primary School, polling division 412131B (ii), counted Friday at Workstation 10 showed that, for the General Election, APNU+AFC secured 93 votes, while the PPP/C secured 91 votes, and for the Regional Election, APNU+AFC secured 94 votes, while the PPP/C secured 88.
However, video evidence of Mingo’s Hadfield street tabulation shows a GECOM staffer reading very different figures, under his supervision. The clerk, after reading out the number of the ballot box #4058, read that APNU+AFC secured 163 votes, while the PPP secured 71 votes. While the video clip did not indicate whether the tabulation in question was for the Regional or General Election, the figures were clearly contradicted, those of the SOR in favour of the Coalition by either 70 votes for the General Elections or 69 if the tabulation referred to the
Regional Elections. It should be noted that Mingo’s tabulation did not only produce a higher APNU+AFC vote but produced a lower PPP/C vote as well, either by 20 votes if the tabulation figures were general or 17 votes if they were regional.” In addition to the discrepancies you have established in Box #4058, an examination of the SOP’s in the possession of the opposition parties including the PPP, has revealed additional discrepancies in Region/District 4 thus far, varying significantly with Mingo’s declarations of boxes 4014, 4015, 4017& 4019.
Boxes 4014 and 4015 for example see table below. In the face of these revelations, which establish serial alternat i o n s w h e n compared to the recount of a national election, why has the Guyana Police Force refused to act? Why has no one asked the DPP to initiate charges? In the face of these discrepancies it should be immediately recognize that the results posted on the GECOM website using Mingo’s fictional and fraudulent declaration of the region 4 results be immediately removed. Yours truly, Anthony Vieira
Monday May 11, 2020
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Kaieteur News
President Granger must be commended for not participating in electoral indecency Dear Editor, I bow to President Granger for not endorsing electoral fraud since March 4. Unlike some of his rascal colleagues who want to destroy democracy, Granger has not defied the international community on threats of sanctions to preserve the little shred of democracy that remains in Guyana. He has consistently refused to swear in on account of the fraudulent count unless there is a recount that appears to show him winning.
Mr. Granger is not the main architect for the attempted fraud at Gecom. Granger was even coerced by party colleagues to swear in using the fraud count but defied them. Some colleagues proceeded to conspire against him, as Freddie Kissoon correctly exposed (May 9) and threatened to have him removed as President unless he decides to be sworn in utilizing Mingo’s fraudulent count but he has withstood their pressure and made it clear that unless there was a credible
Canadian High Commissioner does not deserve recall petition Dear Editor, Someone sent me a link to an online petition launched by PNC members to have Canadian High Commissioner Lillian Chatterjee recalled from her post in Georgetown. There is nothing unusual about such a petition. What is unusual is the event and/ or reason given for it. The incident that formed the basis of the recall is set out in an article, “Election Commissioners surprised by actions of Canadian High Commissioner” (Stateowned Chronicle March 16th). PNC Commissioner Vincent Alexander told the paper, “I think she [H.C. Chatterjee] was intervening in the announcement being made by the Returning Officer [Clairmont Mingo] and she was running in the room telling us what we should do with relation to what was happening outside”. The Guyanese people are now aware of the Mingo announcement. He had used a spreadsheet filled in with fictitious numbers of votes won by parties, instead of using the numbers from the Statements of Polls (SOPs); he did the tabulation, and was announcing APNU+AFC as the winner of Region 4. From the words spoken by Alexander, it appears H.C. Chatterjee sought help from Officers of the Electoral Commission to stop what was taking place in real time. Had Chairperson Claudette Singh or Commissioner Vincent Alexander intervened and stopped the fraud, think of how different Guyana would have been today. The country had been in a state of paralysis and turmoil since the March 2nd elections; now 9-weeks later and still no result. The Guyanese nation stands diminished in the world
community of nations, especially because five international observer teams comprising more than a hundred persons were eyewitnesses to Mingo’s flawed tabulation. Parse the language of Alexander. He clearly does not understand the duties and responsibilities of the officers of an Election Commission – which is to make sure the elections are free and fair; results must be delivered in a timely manner and fraud guarded against. If what Alexander told the Chronicle is true, Chatterjee was not intervening in a personal matter nor was she “barging” in on a ministerial cabinet meeting. She was shouting “Fire”, trying to alert the officers of the E.C. to stop a flawed tabulation in progress. Alexander’s actions undermine the independence of the Electoral Commission. In fact he wanted to vote to approve the Lowenfield report which sought to declare David Granger the winner of the elections based on Mingo’s tabulation. In other democratic societies, given a reasonable set of election officials, Chatterjee would have been deemed a heroine. Here in Guyana, her actions provoked charged emotions among PNC supporters who are collecting signatures for a petition to be sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to have her recalled. Meanwhile another group of Guyanese – who think H.C. Chatterjee, together with the diplomats of America, UK, and the EU are true heroes of the Guyanese Cause for free, fair elections – have launched a counter online petition supporting H.C. Chatterjee. Yours truly, Mike Persaud
count he would not be sworn in. As Freddie pointed out, Granger initiated the call to Prime Minister Mia Mottley urging her to approach Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for a recount to settle the issue of a victor. The country is now at that stage. Granger’s party opponents are upset with the President for going this route. They tried to block the recount in court and even sought to influence the ruling. The President neutralized the judgment in favor of the recount. I admire the honorable intention of the President being the first in Guyana to refuse a request to swear in when the (illegal) Gecom count was on his side. That count is now nullified and will be replaced by the outcome of a recount. I should note that the Chair does not seem to have any
issue with the election outcome that is yet to be declared some ten weeks since it was held. The President has control over the government, and he has expressed disapproval over the behavior of some colleagues whose names have been swirling in multiple fraudulent business deals and kickbacks. The President had to demote one from his office and others are also in line to be removed from their positions. That is why some want the President removed. One particular character is leading the conspiracy against the President and he has become a multi-billionaire over the last five years. It must be noted that after nearly five years in government, no one has been indicted for corruption that took place under the preceding regime. After campaign promises to bring charges against the corrupt, and multimillion
dollars investigations under SOCU and SARA, no major figure has been successfully prosecuted. Corruption investigations have been undermined by that person who had long been trusted by the President. This individual was cutting business deals for self-enrichment purchasing properties in America for his mother, children, and even grand children in the US and Guyana. He has also acquired multiple properties in Guyana and is in business deals with several corrupt figures including several who financed the PPP campaign prior to 2015. Only a small PPP fish was indicted for corruption as a scapegoat, and he is likely to be vindicated; no big name who was in bed with the PPP has faced criminal charges. Who has been responsible for undermining investigations against the
corrupt? Contractors who fronted for corrupt PPP Ministers are now fronting for one corrupt bigwig who advises the President to swear in illegally. He is also directing government appointed Commissioners how to compromise the recount. The President has nothing to do with the Chair refusing to publicly rebuking the Mingo count and the Lowenfield declaration or stopping them in their tracks although she nullified it by authorizing the recount. The President said it is up to the Gecom chair to decide the winner. I am proud of the character of my President - he has maintained some level of electoral decency and I am confident the recount will show him ahead and then he will deal with the conspirators of rigging after swearing in. Yours truly, Nigel Philadelphia
Remembering Lara’s historic achievement Dear Editor Recently I wrote an article on the 300+ Club in cricket. Since then I have been bombarded with requests to comment on Brian Lara’s astonishing 400 not out. As a Brian Charles Lara to the bone fan, I pondered whether or not I should do so. After much thought, a bit of research and analysis I decided to yield to the requests. Please permit me to share my views with your readers. Here we go. The West Indies under the captaincy of Brian Lara were facing an unprecedented whitewash at home. England destroyed the
West Indies in the first three test matches at Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago to retain the Wisden Trophy, the symbol of cricketing supremacy between the two cricketing nations since 1963. West Indies were dismissed for 47 at Sabina Park, Jamaica, their lowest test score and 94 at Kensington Oval, Barbados. It is interesting to note that Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were criticised for sporting with spectators in the pavilion shortly after the West Indies were dismissed for 47 runs and Matthew Hoggard got a hat-trick at the
Oval. Surprisingly, Brian Lara scored only 100 runs in the six innings he batted in the previous test matches. He recorded two ducks in consecutive test matches. Steve Harminson dismissed him four times in those six innings. Harminson was selected to play in the final test. Lara’s credibility and captaincy were in jeopardy. The cricket-crazy Caribbean people were plunged into deep depression as if hit by a coronavirus. It was Easter time and some posited that the Englishmen would crucify the West Indies. It was against this background, that on
Saturday, April 10, 2004, the day after Good Friday, a day Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ that captain Brian Lara won the toss and elected to bat. It was on the same strip at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) where ten years previously he broke Gary Sobers’ s world record by scoring an amazing 375 runs. In the fourth test match the Prince of Port of Spain batted for twelve hours and scored an unbelievable 400 runs not out. In the process he achieved many records including: the first to score a (Continued on page 6)
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Govt. to hire 1, 000 additional health Dr Christopher Tufton workers KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton says health facilities across the island will receive a boost, with up to 1,000 health aids and other professionals to be recruited. Tufton, made the announcement while speaking with medical personnel at the Annotto Bay Hospital in St Mary, Saturday. The objective, the health minister said, was to ensure that the health sector is adequately staffed to deal with COVID-19 and other areas of public health. “We are putting in a new plan for dealing with COVID19, over the next 12 months, which is going to see us recruiting additional personnel to expand capacity, so that we can focus on COVID, while we can do the other things that we are expected to do,” he said.
The Health Minister was at the Annotto Bay Hospital to view work on the new isolation ward and engage with staff at the institution. He also met with community members, who are under 14-day quarantine, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the parish. Tufton also met with members of the security forces, who are manning checkpoints. The communities of Annotto Bay, Dover and Enfield were placed under quarantine with effective Thursday, May 7 from 6:00 am
until Thursday, May 21 at 6:00 am. The parish health department is conducting contact tracing in the areas. Up to Saturday, 13 people in the three communities had tested positive for COVID-19. Two of the eight new positive cases of the virus in the island over the last 24 hours are of a 25-year old female and a 57-year old male from the communities under quarantine, and they have been placed in isolation. Jamaica now has 498 cases of COVID-19, with 16 additional recoveries, bringing this total to 78.
Coronavirus: Brazil’s outbreak ‘threatens Paraguay’s success’ Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has said the spread of coronavirus in Brazil threatens his country’s success in containing the virus. Mr Benítez said more than half of Paraguay’s 563 cases were people who had entered from neighbouring Brazil. The country has spent the last two months under a strict lockdown, and most people with the disease are being quarantined in guarded shelters. Meanwhile, Brazil has become the worst-hit country in South America. More than 10,000 new cases were reported there on Friday, bringing the national total to 145,328. Nearly 9,900 virus-related deaths have also been reported. The two countries share a 400km (250-mile) border
which is usually loosely controlled. But President Benitez told journalists that “the most vulnerable parts” of the border had been “reinforced and militarised”. He added: “Brazil is perhaps today the place with the fastest expansion of the coronavirus in the world, and that is a great threat to our country.” Mr Benítez is one of several leaders in the region who have expressed concern about Brazil’s fast-developing outbreak. Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez has said that trade between the two countries is a risk, with truckers hauling goods south to his country from from Sao Paulo, one of the most infected regions of Brazil. Over Brazil’s northern border, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly
President Mario Abdo Benítez described his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the outbreak as irresponsible. Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly said that the risk posed by coronavirus has been exaggerated, and has clashed in recent weeks with state governors who have imposed lockdowns.
...Remembering Lara’s historic achievement From page 5 quadruple century in a test match; most 500-runs series aggregate (7), equalling Don Bradman’s record; most 350 + aggregate in a test match (3) times; most runs in any twelve-month period-1,949 between April 19, 2003 and April 14, 2004; highest score, 400, by a test captain and the only batsman to regain the world record. His score included 139 singles, 24 twos, 4 threes, 43 fours, 1 five and 4 sixes off 215 scoring strokes. Lara gave one possible chance of being caught out at 293 with a drive that nearly took off Gareth Batty’s head. According to cricket author Vijay P. Kumar at the end of
the day’s play he met Batty relaxing at the Jolly Beach Resort and approached him. Batty confided, “It was a top spinner. When he hit it I thought of catching it but it was coming too fast. All I could do is duck. It clipped my right thumb. I wouldn’t say it was a chance.” What would you say? Lara’s magnificent quadruple ensured that there was no crucifixion and no whitewash. In fact, West Indian supporters in the stands boldly displayed their placards during the match- “ No whitewash in Antigua, no whitewash.” The match ended in a draw. It is apposite to note that
Brian Lara achieved the following milestones off the bowling of off-spinner Batty: 200, 250, 300, 350 and 380, when he equalled Matthew Haden’s world record with a six in dramatic fashion. The ball went deep into the Viv Richards’ pavilion. It was high drama during the afterlunch session on Monday April 12, 2004 at the ARG, Antigua Here is how Vijay P Kumar describe the next record breaking shot, “ He moved across his stumps, then backwards, leaned forward to get the his head over the ball and turned his wrists as bat connected to ball. The timing was precise and the execution was perfect.
The ball raced to fine leg as he ran for that precious single, which turned out to be a four. Lara had regained his record.” Shortly afterwards Lara swept Batty to fine leg to record his 400 runs. In the history of cricket no batsman had gone there before. He moved from a Prince to a King. So many significant records facilitated by Batty. During my groundings with my Jamaican brothers in Jamaica and when discussing Lara’s 400, one quipped, “Him like Gareth Batty. Him ah Batty Boy. “ No pun intended. After the record-breaking achievement, Michael Holding interviewed Brian Lara. This is what Lara said:
“Back in June of 1994 when I scored 501, I did wonder what it would be like to score 400 in Test cricket. To get it today was really special.” Sachin Tendulkar remarked on Lara’s score, “A great achievement, a fantastic feat. One can’t plan an innings like this from the start. It just comes as you go along. It is certainly an inspiration for all modern batsmen.” A limited few were a bit critical of Lara’s masterpiece. They said that it was achieved against a weak bowling attack on a batsman’s paradise. Geoffrey Boycott aptly cleared the air: “People may say that it was a modest England side, a flat pitch, a
sunny day. But, we have all had good pitches to bat on and we all had nice sunny days and haven’t done what he has done.” Many more titillating facts can be gleaned on Lara’s inning by checking out Crickinfo, reading “ 400 Not Out- A History of The World Record “ by Guyanese Vijay P Kumar and perusing “Lara The Untamed Spirit”, written by his countryman Clifford Narinesingh. Anyway, I think that this is a good point for me to close my inning, virus or no virus. Yours faithfully Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)
There is now ample evidence of fraud in Region Four... From page 4 4 since many of them took pictures of the SOPs that presiding officers posted up that evening. The GECOM Secretariat and APNU+AFC
have treated the SOPs as highly classified state secrets. But these are public documents. In any other country, there is already enough
incontrovertible evidence to criminally charge the collaborators. The recount will continue to reveal the extent of the fraud. We have 12 boxes from among only 40
boxes from Region 4 counted so far already proving fraud. There are many dozens more boxes from the total of 879 Region 4 boxes that will expose the extensive fraud
that was committed, a fraud designed to thief the election, a fraud designed as an electoral coup d’état. Unless we hold the responsible people
accountable this time, elections in Guyana will continue to be opportunities for fraud. Yours truly, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
Monday May 11, 2020
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Kaieteur News
GUYANA’S COVID-19 CASES REACH 107 The Ministry of Public Health has recorded seven new COVID-19 cases, taking Guyana’s total to 104. This is inclusive of 10 deaths and 35 recoveries. So far, 914 persons have been tested with 810 of those tested returning negative. The number of patients in the COVID-19 ICU at GPHC has risen to six. There is just one person in institutional quarantine while 59 others remain in isolation at various facilities across Guyana. Health officials confirmed late last week that two patients from The Palms geriatric home had contracted the virus. Both patients were from the same ward, and one of them, a 64-year-old bedridden man, succumbed two Fridays ago. Director of Social Services, Wentworth Tanner, under whose purview the Palms operates, disclosed that 12 staffers of the geriatric
home have been placed in mandatory quarantine. About 24 other bedridden persons were also reportedly 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. All visits to the Palms were suspended 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 said. 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
Region Nine officials clear trucks to bring essential items from Brazil once a week - EVERY EFFORT MADE TO HAVE VEHICLES AND GOODS SANITIZED AT BORDER Region nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) officials have agreed to allow trucks to bring essential items from Brazil once per week. Regional Executive Officer Carl Parker told Kaieteur News yesterday that the agreement was reached during a meeting with members of the Regional Health Emergency Committee (RHEC). “We have opened the borders for one day for essential items,” Parker said. However, he stressed that the vehicles are not allowed to cross into Guyana. Rather, the trucks and vehicles are sanitized at the border, and the items are then transferred to vehicles on the Guyana side of the border. Parker explained that the region is heavily dependent on supplies from Brazil. He also stressed that individuals are not being permitted to entering and leaving Brazil
unofficially. The REO conceded that this was a concern, given the alarming number of COVID19 cases in the neighbouring territory. “But we don’t have the resources to patrol the entire border, which is 1189 miles long,” he said. CONCERN ABOUT BUSES COMING FROM GEORGETOWN Meanwhile, Parker also revealed that residents of North Rupununi have expressed concern about buses brining commuters from Georgetown. This, he said, was due to the fact that Health officials have stated that Georgetown has a high number of COVID-19 cases. He said that it was difficult to ensure that minibus operators were sanitizing their vehicles ensuring that they were all efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
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, Dr. Persaud noted that from information provided globally, many healthy younger persons do not display the usual symptoms, even when infected. “These persons can continue to transmit the virus to other vulnerable persons in our society by not practicing 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.” Region Four remains the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana. The Public Health Ministry has recorded confirmed cases in the following areas: On the East Coast of Demerara, positive cases were reported in Atlantic Gardens, Friendship, Golden Grove, Good Hope, Lusignan, Plaisance, Strathspey, while
on the East Bank of Demerara confirmed cases have been reported in Diamond, Grove, Land of Canaan, Providence and Timehri. Several areas in Central Georgetown were also identified. These include Kitty, Sophia, Turkeyen, Liliendaal, Cummings Lodge, Alberttown and Cummingsburg, Bourda, Lamaha Park, South Ruimveldt and Thirst Park. Globally, there are 3,855,788 confirmed cases with 265,862 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 disease.
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Monday May 11, 2020
Kaieteur News
PPP wants DCEO Myers removed from recount
GECOM Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers
The Opposition People’s Progressive Party will be writing to the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh, seeking the removal of the Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers from the ongoing recount process at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC). Executive Member of the Opposition, Anil Nandlall yesterday at the recount site, told reporters of his party’s intention to send a letter to the Chair, seeking her removal. The reason for their move, the party cited in a press statement, that Myers “has been trying to stymie the recount process and undermine its transparency.” “The latest evidence of this is her collusion with the APNU/AFC in seeking to take away cell phones from party representatives participating in the recount…an act which was vigorously opposed by all the political parties,” the PPP said in their press release. That ban was however lifted by the GECOM Chair. A formal complaint, he noted will be filled soon. “We feel that she is not acting in the best
interest of GECOM and she is encouraging all these sideshows to continue. Yesterday, it was Ms Myers who instructed that the containers [be] closed at 5, and don’t release more boxes to count. We could have counted a box in each station. Ten boxes could have been counted between 5 to 7 but decision eventually won the imprimatur of the Chairman, unfortunately. And so, we have to continue to fight for getting speed in the process, because obviously, speed seems to not be a priority with GECOM. They want this process to run on forever.” Nandlall answered affirmatively when asked whether the party would be seeking the direct removal of the DCEO from the recount process. “Yes, we are going to ask them…you would recall that Ms. Myers was even the subject of critical commentary and condemnation by the international observers, and we spoke to GECOM about that. Lowenfield seems to be behaving himself, but Myers has gone awry so we are going to request that, unless she behaves herself. We don’t want no favours from anyone; we want the process to run smoothly,” Nandlall said.
Region 10 unhappy over CDC’s initial food distribution Regional Chairman, Renis Morian
Regional Executive Officer and head of the Regional Health and Emergency Committee for Region Ten, Orrin Gordon has hinted that he will want to have a closer collaboration with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in order to ensure that the two organisations work for the greater good of the community. He was at the time responding to several concerns that residents raised through the Mayor, Waneka Arrindell and Regional Chairman, Renis Morian, who said that several residents continue to bombard and call upon them for assistance. “The major complaint was that the first set of distribution of food hampers created the stir where persons deemed as needy were left askance as others more endowed received. The lists which were compiled by councillors and other community persons identifying the most needy was not used, apparently,” said Gordon in a Region 10 statement. He is aware that the CDC
does not have hampers for all of the community of 10,000 households and so the stuff should go to the most vulnerable. Moreover, many are unscrupulous, even in this difficult time and so extra care must be exercised. The Mayor disclosed that she was originally contacted by CDC for a list of vulnerable names which she said that she and her Council put together with the assistance of several persons from the RHEC committee. She, however, disclosed that the CDC officials went into the region and distributed without using a single name that they had suggested. “They came in and without using anyone from the list that we had provided, they went about and shared out to anyone and everyone and sadly many of those who got didn’t need as those who were really vulnerable were left out,” the Mayor noted. She said that distributing food items in Region Ten will evidently be a challenge if there isn’t a proper plan as to who are those that are being targeted and how it is going
to be distributed. “Some of those persons who got stuff had only received salaries a few days ago, while some claimed that they had families when they didn’t, so without using the list that we had provided. It was certainly not properly organised and within a short time, they ran out firstly of bags and then subsequently of items,” she said. Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, Renis Morian, noted that CDC should have worked with the list provided by the region, noting that it would have ensured that those most vulnerable would have benefitted significantly. He urged organisations and institutions that seek to execute similar ventures to consult with the regional leaders noting that they
would be better guided in what they are doing. “It’s madness to receive a list of those who are vulnerable, but you come into the region and begin sharing without an input from any regional leader. As a matter of fact, you didn’t even see it fit to indicate what day you were coming but just touch down and begin to share. This is certainly not the right approach that CDC should have taken and like the Mayor, REO and others, I am equally disappointed,” Morian said. CDC has since suspended its countrywide hamper distribution and is compiling a list of vulnerable persons, in collaboration with the National COVID-19 Task Force and the National Data Management Authority.
Mayor of Linden Waneka Arrindell making a point at a meeting. On her right, another member of the RHEC, Colonel Eon Murray, pays rap attention.
- To officially write GECOM Chair
PPP Executive Anil Nandlall
‘Crapo and ‘Yankee’ remanded for attempted murder, robbery under arms
Krisindat Ganga
Ryan DeHart
Ryan DeHart, called ‘Crapo,’ 26, and Krisindat Ganga called ‘Yankee,’ 31, have been remanded for the shooting of a woman and an attempted robbery on the victim and spouse at Port Mourant, Berbice. They are charged with attempt to commit murder and attempt to commit a felony’ to wit, robbery under arms committed on Joel Benn and his reputed wife Roshnie Singh, called “Coreen” of Lot 88 Free Yard Port Mourant, Berbice. The incident occurred on April 16, 2020. The men appeared at the Whim Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Renita Singh who heard the matter via via Skype. They were remanded until June 1. Reports are that around 20:30 hrs on the day in
question the couple was at home when the two men entered. The suspects, armed with a gun and cutlass, demanded cash and jewellery. One of the bandits spoke in a foreign language. The couple put up a fight during which Benn struck one of the intruders on the head with a spade. However, one of the bandits shot Roshnie Singh in the right arm before fleeing with his accomplice. Singh was admitted to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. Two live .32 rounds and one .32 spent shell were found in the couple’s home. Police subsequently arrested Ryan DeHart and Krisindat Ganga, who were reportedly positively identified by the victims.
Monday May 11, 2020
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Kaieteur News
A drowning man will clutch at any straw The President of Guyana, David Granger, described the elections as free, fair and orderly. If the elections were rigged then they cannot be considered as free and fair. International and local observers have made similar pronouncements about the conduct of the elections. They all congratulated the Guyanese people and GECOM on the conduct of the polling and the close-ofpoll activities on Election Day. At the close of polls, the votes were counted and statements of polls issued. The polling and the counting of the votes were witnessed by polling agents of the political parties. The main political parties would have deployed its party agents to
almost all the polling stations. There were no reports from any of these agents of misadventure or irregularities. The results of an election are decided by the ballots. The will of the people are reflected in the valid ballots. Once the ballots are accurately counted and tabulated, this represents the democratic will of the people. After the counting of the ballots, the results were posted up outside the polling stations. These results constitute the valid results of the elections unless there is a recount. The problems that arose after March 2nd were due to the less than transparent tabulation of the results for
District 4. The problems could have been averted if persons within the Commission had carried out their responsibilities. The tabulations, at the District level, were going fine and had been completed in 9 of the 10 Districts. With slightly more than 400 ballot boxes to be tabulated in District 4, the process took an abrupt turn and its transparency became clouded. Questionable declarations were made. It is these declarations, rather than the original count, which has led to the need for a national recount of the ballots. But a recount could have been avoided if there was honesty and integrity involved. The main political parties
Dem boys seh
De day of reckoning coming! Dem boys done warn everybody: “Be careful what yuh wish fuh others; it might just get yuh.” Some people wishing bad pun Tim de Jonas. Dem boys know is nah good fuh wish bad pun anybody period.dah man. Nah play games and tell people dem gat fever. Nah play games and try fuh deny Critic entry into Arthur Chung. Dah nah gun change de outcome. All ah dem who try fuh mek numbers lie, now get expose. All ah dem who ‘fuffuckle’ spreadsheet, who lockup in dem office and who turn a blind eye during the fuffuckle, now see the writing on the all. De day of reckoning coming quickly.
Dem boys remember when de HAP-NEW and the HayEff-See bin in opposition. Dem criticize de state media. In fact, dem guh so far as to cut de budget fuh NCN saying that dem one-sided. Now when dem get in, dem turn the Kranicle into the New Nation. And dem in the Hay-Eff-See wha responsible for dis, nah realize dat dem doing de same thing wah dem criticize in de fuss place. Careful fuh wah you wish fuh others; it might just get you. Dem boys know a man who twisted who calling fuh boycott of the Waterfall and Big Market papers. Dem boys can’t speak fuh the Big Market paper but dem know the boss man of the Waterfall
paper gat a big mouth. He seh how dem nah gat to call fuh boycott. All ah dem who nah like the Kaieteur News nah gat to buy it. It gan be better fuh dem 100 pressmen and women who gat fuh print de paper. Dem gun gat to print less papers and dem gun get to guh home before daybreak fuh hug up dem woman and man. Boycott nah gun stop dem boys from doing wha dem been doing fuh 26 years. But when you bent and twisted, nuttin’ gun be able to straighten yuh. Careful wah you wish for others, it might just get you. Talk half and wait and fuh the day of reckoning!
would have known by the morning of 3rd March 2020 the outcome of the elections. But the losers were unwilling to conceded. No election is ever free of procedural problems. In 1997, some of the statements of polls for District 4 ended up in the ballot boxes rather than being sent to the Returning Office and GECOM Headquarters. The use of the voter Identification card was also later deemed to be unconstitutional. The Caricom Audit Commission which did the recount of the 1997 ballots upheld the declared results despite these and other procedural irregularities. An election can be vitiated on the basis that there was substantial noncompliance with the elections law and distinct from elections procedures. Procedural mistakes would not qualify to vitiate an election unless it can be established that had such mistakes not taken place the overall outcome of the results
would have been different. In Medhurst v Lough Casquet, the Court ruled that once the elections were conducted in substantial compliance with the electoral laws and that the breaches did not adversely impact on the success of one candidate over the other(s), the elections should not be vitiated. It is important that the supporters of the APNU+AFC understand these legal principles. Right now they are like downing persons clutching at straws, one of which is that because some Occurrence Books were not in the ballot boxes in one Region that the elections were rigged. The Occurrence record, is an administrative document which does not materially alter the results of the elections, witnessed to and signed to by the persons in each polling station, and posted up outside of that station for public viewing. The recount exercise which is taking place was necessitated because of the less than transparent declarations of slightly more
than 400 statements of polls from District 4. Not because of problems at the level of the polling station. There were also requests for recounts for other Regions. It is the recount of the ballots that are material and which will inform the overall declaration of the Presidential candidate, not whether the Occurrence Book or Final Voters List were not where they were supposed to be. Those who are pinning their hopes on the elections being overturned because of these anomalies are going to be sorely disappointed. The results of the elections will be decided by the count of the ballots. No less a person than the President has publicly said that the elections were free, fair and orderly. Where the disorder came in was in the tabulation process.
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Monday May 11, 2020
Kaieteur News
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Two former and two present CARICOM Prime Ministers saw it The GECOM command is rigging the 2020 election process and the APNU+AFC have their surrogates that have invented an ugly narrative to keep the emotions of their supporters in overdrive. In the meantime, the kings and queens in the PNC and AFC have decided that if GECOM is going to do the rigging for them, and the surrogates have birthed a plausible distraction then it is best for them to stay silent. In the APNU column in the Kaieteur News yesterday, the subject dealt with is agriculture; nothing on the elections. These are looking at their credibility in the future so they stay clear of commenting on Mingo and GECOM. They are focusing on the western countries as the main stumbling block to why we have not had the election finality as yet. It started with ACDA. That organization spoke of recolonization of Guyana by
former colonial power. ACDA was saying that the West wanted to colonize Guyana again through its position of the election outcome. ACDA deliberately chose not to mention the pronouncements of two former CARICOM Prime Minister – Bruce Golding and Owen Arthur and the CARICOM observer mission - that the 2020 election tabulation was not transparent and acceptable – because it would have weakened its silly recolonization theory. Since that foolish direction ACDA went into, it has gone in reverse gear, called for a recount, remains non-committal on the election results and has gone silent. In another column I will explore this reticence of ACDA and show how afraid it is of sanctions because of ACDA’s connection with Guyana Goldfields. If you read Rashleigh Jackson (I dealt with his condemnation of the West in
my column yesterday and all the others including David Hinds in his Kaieteur News column, yesterday, there is pointed criticism of the West. David has gone so far to say that in the election impasse, the West has chosen the PPP. But there is the graphic omission that two past CARICOM prime ministers have not certified the election as proper and above boards. Current Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley, referred to forces that did not want the recount. She could not have in mind the opposition parties. It was a subordinate from David Granger party that filed a writ against the recount. It was the APNU+AFC lawyers that argued this subordinate’s case in court. PM Rowley of Trinidad came to Guyana to mediate the stand-off and yesterday he had harsh words to say about how the CARICOM supervisory team was treated.
Jackson, David and so many others that carp on the West’s attitude has completely blocked out of their adumbrations the role of Golding, Arthur, Motley and Rowley. Is there a weird colonial mentality at work here? The theorists of selfhate argue that colonial brainwashing turns the subject into creature that sees his/her people and culture as inferior and this very subject debase the strength and value of their own culture and people. Can it be argued that the surrogates see these CARICOM prime ministers, past and present, as nonentities and therefore they deserve no mention in their narrative? That these four prime ministers are rulers of small countries whose moral weight should be ignored and it is best to address the attitude of big powers – EU, Canada, US? One would have taught that these are eminent
CARICOM seniors who belong to this region, whose inputs continue to shape CARICOM and shape us as a Caribbean people. But none of these surrogates have even added a footnote in their discussions on what these four eminent CARICOM personalities had to say. So I ask the question again; are we seeing self-hate at work here? I don’t know because these surrogates may have other explanations as to why they see the West as interfering in Guyana’s internal affair and chose not to attach any importance to the value of our own Caribbean leaders. If the theory of self-hate is not applicable, then are the surrogates arguing from a position of racism? Have they put their Freudian minds on display? They see the election as a straight fight between Africans and Indians and therefore their case is better varnished if they throw in the
Frederick Kissoon white man’s presence thus solidifying African Guyanese support for the losers. And their case would be weaker if they input into their debate the positions taken by Golding, Arthur, Motley, and Rowley. I feel deep sickness in my mind when people could talk about recolonization and white man domination and those very people live in the white man’s country and their whole existence and that of their loved ones are based in the white man country. Why haven’t you sacrificed for your homeland? (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
The African slave who taught America how to vaccinate itself from smallpox
AP Photo of anti-smallpox shots in now DR Congo 1962. (QUARTZ) In April 1721, a smallpox outbreak swept through Boston. This was the latest in a string of six epidemics that had, since, 1630, laid waste to the city. Cotton Mather, a local slave owner and preacher, claimed to be in possession of a way of preventing contraction of the disease. Mather, who had first come to public prominence as one of the thinkers behind the Salem Witch Trials, had gotten the method from one of his former slaves. Fifteen years earlier, Mather’s congregation had purchased for him an African slave, a “Young Man, who is a Negro, of a promising aspect and temper.” Mather named him Onesimus, after a slave in the Bible whose name meant “useful.” Mather described Onesimus as being
Guramantese, but it is unclear what ethnic group exactly this refers to. One account suggests them to be the Garamante, who correspond to the Berber peoples of southern Libya. Another places Onesimus among the Coromantee from the coastal areas of modern-day Ghana. Since smallpox was a common scourge in the 18th century, a slave’s value was predicated on his ability to stave off infection. One of the features of smallpox is that a person can only contract it once. Mather asked Onesimus if he had ever suffered from the disease. Mather describes the conversation that followed: “Enquiring of my Negro man, Onesimus, who is a pretty intelligent fellow, whether he had ever had the smallpox, he answered, both
yes and no; and then told me that he had undergone an operation, which had given him something of the smallpox and would forever preserve him from it; adding that it was often used among the Guramantese and whoever had the courage to use it was forever free of the fear of contagion.” The operation Onesimus described was a common procedure in certain parts of the world. What happened was that pus from an infected person was rubbed into an open wound of a person uninfected with smallpox. If one survived this procedure, one was thus inoculated against smallpox, and could never contract it. The procedure was done in different places. In Africa, in China, in India, in the Ottoman empire. Most
accounts place the origin of inoculation in either China (where they would blow scabs up a person’s nose) or India, and in both places, it was largely a secret procedure whose technique was passed down mostly in families. By 1721, inoculation was not entirely unknown in the Western world. It was practiced in Wales and Scotland, and slave traders were known to look for inoculation scars on their slaves. The prices of slaves with the scars would then be hiked up. However, in colonial Boston, as smallpox decimated the population, very few of the inhabitants knew about the procedure. In haste, Mather wrote to the city’s physicians, urging them to perform the procedure so as to save lives. The resistance was immense. Local newspapers vilified him. A grenade was thrown into his house, the throwers angered that he had dared to inoculate his own son, who almost died. His fellow ministers decried his sin, declaring that it was against God’s will to expose his creatures to dangerous diseases. All the physicians in the town, except one, Zabdiel Boylston, refused to carry out the procedure. The moment Boylston announced his intention to do so, Bostonians took to the streets in protest. Cue the first manifestations of the American anti-vaxxer movement. The first people
Cotton Mather Boylston inoculated were his son, and two of his slaves. He was promptly thrown in jail, accused of recklessly trying to spread disease At the core of Boston’s resistance to inoculation was a heavy racial bias. Mather had made no secret of the fact that he learnt of the procedure from his former slave, and this was the stick the town used against him. Inoculation existed in scientific documents where it was described as a “heathen practice” from Africa. The white puritans of Boston refused to defile their bodies with African heathenisms. To do so would be against God’s will, against predestination. Let God’s will be done. If the Lord God Almighty had decided that it was your day, that was it. Amen. As Peter Manseau notes, “This was not just a health crisis; it was also a theological one. The majority of Puritan clergy
regarded the epidemic as divine will.” The bias made the impact of the smallpox more severe than it should have been. In the end, Boylston was able to inoculate only 248 of the city’s 11,000 residents. Of these 248, only six died, a rate of one in 40. For the rest of Boston, the mortality rate was one in seven, with 844 people dead by the end of the epidemic. The vagaries of historical recording mean that, of Mather post the epidemic, a lot is known. He was elected into the Royal Society in London in 1724, and, two years later, continued his writing career, publishing a book, Manuductio ed Ministerium, which was a book of advice on college young affairs, on poetry and music, on style, and on doing good. He died in 1728. Years later, a clutch of Continued on page 16
Monday May 11, 2020
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Kaieteur News
GUYANESE HORROR FICTION KAMARANG…
What Vibert Sealey saw on the stairs By Michael Jordan Vibert Sealey lay in his hammock, a half-smoked cigarette in one hand. He heard a sigh from the room behind him, then the creak of bed-springs as Brenda tossed in her sleep. He thought of her … skin black as coal and velvety smooth, lying alone in his bed. He should have been in there, stroking that smooth black skin, running his hands through her hair, or just snuggled next to her, in sleep. Instead, here he was, lying in his hammock and thinking of another woman. This room in which he kept his bush-gear had always been a sort of retreat for him. Rocking in his
hammock, surrounded by his warishi and other implements, he could always dream himself into some peaceful, remote jungle location…imagine himself near a running stream...or maybe in his own camp, listening to Bap Reggie relating one of his far-fetched bush tales, or hearing Jerry Mentore strumming softly on his guitar, with the cry of baboons in the background. Since his encounter with the girl at Kamarang, who maybe was the same girl at the Ritz, his visits to the bush-gear room had increased. He’d lie in his hammock and try to rock
himself away from memories of that last disastrous visit to Kamarang. Tonight, though, the memories clung to him, along with the memory of what he’d seen a few hours ago, at the Ritz. Angrily, he jabbed his cigarette out in an ashtray. What was he so jittery about? All that had happened was that he’d seen the girl and the boy standing on the stairs leading to her room. That was all. And yet...and yet… * Partly out of curiosity, and partly because of a nagging unease, he had stayed at the Ritz until the boy had returned from the girl’s room. After watching them head upstairs,
Sealey had moved from the bar and taken a seat to rest his knees. He was disturbed, around midnight, by a middleaged, over-powdered prostitute, who had come up the steps, looked around the almost empty brothel, then sat near him and asked for a beer. She had just struck up a conversation that he knew was leading to her getting down to business, when Sealey suddenly realised that he wanted to urinate. He went to the urinal, relieved himself, and was heading back to the hall when he saw them. They stood, almost out of sight, on the stairs that led to the girl’s room. The girl was
stark naked. She had the boy pressed against the rails and she was twisting against him in a sinuous, boneless way that set Sealey’s stomach churning. She was speaking to the boy, and she was trying to press a small bottle to his lips, when she turned and saw Sealey. She stared at him. He felt the force of some unknown emotion that made him want to step back. Instead, he averted his gaze and headed back up the corridor. About a minute later, the boy came into the hallway. He gazed around the brothel, lifted a tiredlooking hand to the barman, then trudged down the stairs… And that was it. Nothing to be alarmed about. And yet… And yet… And yet he’d seen something like this before… * “The headaches again, Vibert?” Vibert Sealey, sitting at the doctor’s table, nodded. “Vibert, you ease on that drinking—and taking the tablets I gave you?” “Yes,” Sealey said. He groped in his shirt pocket for his cigarettes, remembered where he was, then added. “They ain’t helping me, though.” Doctor Mootoo nodded. “Let me give you a quick check-up. Maybe I could change the medication if the pressure still high.” Sealey sighed. He shouldn’t be taking out his moodiness on his old friend. But the headaches, and the tightness behind his neck were killing him. “How’s Brenda?” the doctor asked. “Okay…” He’d felt as if someone had punched him in the solar plexus when the young man had stepped out of Doc Mootoo’s office. The boy had not even noticed him. And though it was the first time he’d seen the girl’s lover by daylight, the boy had somehow seemed different. What was he doing here? He tried to tell himself that the unease he felt was irrational. After all, Georgetown was a small city, and the ‘doc’ was well known. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that the boy should come here. To the same clinic that he, Vibert Sealey, attended. Yet he couldn’t rationalize away the feeling that his meeting the boy here was no mere coincidence, and that something he wanted to leave alone was dogging him… “Damnit,” he muttered. Doctor Mootoo stared at Sealey. “What bothering you, chap?”
“You had a patient here a couple minutes back. A young, fair-skin chap.” “Oh yes…you know him?” “What wrong with him?” Doctor Mootoo reached for a pen. He rolled it between his fingers. “Why you want to know?” He would tell the doc he was just curious. Then take the prescription and get the hell out of here… Instead, he found himself saying: “I think I find the girl. The one Leon had in Kamarang.” The doctor shifted forward. “You mean you still looking for she?” “She staying at the old Ritz place.” Sealey took a deep breath, rubbed his right temple. “She sleeping with the young chap who been to see you.” The doctor started. There was silence, broken only by the humming of the fan. “You still think that she had something to do with Leon’s death?” Sealey nodded. “Even after what the police say? Even after my post-mortem?” “Yes.” He leaned closer. “Doc, I need to know why this boy coming to see you.” Doctor Mootoo stared back at him, tapping the pen on his desk. “You wondering if she harming the boy?” Sealey nodded. Doctor Mootoo shook his head. “I don’t think anything wrong with the boy. He
Cover design and illustrations by Harold Bascom Want to make sure that he rests.” “And you will let me know if anything wrong with him?” “Yes…just to ease your mind.” Doctor Mootoo glanced down at Sealey’s prescription, then handed it to Sealey. “But you got to worry about yourself, chap. Your pressure up a bit again.” Sealey took the prescription. “Well…hope the medication do the trick.” The doctor smiled, but his eyes held a look of concern. “Vibert, the best medicine for you is to forget about
“She was twisting against him in a sinuous, boneless way that set Sealey’s stomach churning. She was speaking to the boy, and she was trying to press a small bottle to his lips, when she turned and saw Sealey….” complain of tiredness…weight loss, but I think that he just a bit anaemic.” Sealey felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. “Just…what?” “Anaemic,” Doctor Mootoo said. “Just…oh!” Now there was a gleam in Doctor Mootoo’s eyes. It was the same look his friend had when he was speaking about some murder case that intrigued him. “Ohhhh,” he said again. Sealy felt the throbbing at his temples return. “So you think—” “It might be nothing.” To Sealey, Doctor Mootoo didn’t sound convinced, and the gleam in his eyes was still there. “I would know for sure in a couple of days. I tell him to check back in a week, though.
Kamarang. Just keep away from that girl and that place. They not good for your health.” Sealey sighed. “I know. Doc…Something else been bothering me…something stupid, maybe…” “What?” “Leon had a knife, an old thing made out of bone or something.” “What about it?” “We never found it.” * Despite what Doc Mootoo had said, despite not wanting to, Sealey found himself at the Ritz that night. The girl was there, sipping her cider. Again, she sat by the punch-box and stared through him. He didn’t see the woman that the barman said was her aunt, and for that he was glad. He asked the barman about the cap he’d
left behind. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when the man said he hadn’t seen it. That night, he dreamed of Kamarang. He heard the planes landing on the airstrip. He saw old Bap Reggie, leering at a thick, red-skinned whore. And, as usual, he dreamed of the tiny room, and, on a coconut mattress, the grey, wasted body, with the lips drawn back like a dog’s… * “Well, Vibert, I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” The doctor was smiling, but the brown eyes were questioning. Sealey sat in the chair opposite the doctor’s. He sighed, as a rush of breeze from the oscillating fan gave some respite from the heat that had pursued him inside. “Leslie, you know damn well what I come about.” “The girl from Kamarang’s boyfriend.” Sealey nodded. The two men stared at each other for a moment. Doctor Mootoo sighed, then reached for a small stack of files on his desk. “I schedule him for today.” “He is in the waiting room.” The boy was conspicuous among the mostly older patients in the waiting room. The boy had glanced at him when he had gone to the doctor’s receptionist, but had seemed lost in his own thoughts. “Mi…chael..Jones…,” the doctor said, reading from one of the open files. He closed the folder and looked at Sealey. “Let me put you at ease, now. Nothing the matter with the boy that a little rest and proper diet wouldn’t cure. He Continued on page 16
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Kaieteur News
The African slave who taught America how to...
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From page 10 American writers paid homage to Mather, declaring their debt to him: Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Russell Lowell. Of the African man called Onesimus very little is known. He had purchased h i s freedom from Mather in 1716, five years before the epidemic. In exchange for his freedom, Onesimus, “advanced a Summ, towards the purchase of a Negro-Lad, who may serve…in his Room.” Even though Mather, in his diary, claimed that the slave whom he erstwhile held in
From page 15 just slightly run-down, as I’d suspected.” “Nothing? You sure?” Doctor Mootoo leaned closer. “After we had that talk, I decided to do some other tests. Poison … VD … drugs —sent samples to the Analyst Department.” He shrugged his thin shoulders. “Nothing.” VACANCY Silence, save for the Maid to cook and clean for whirring of the fan, as the East Bank area. Call: 615-9132 doctor’s words sank in. His experience of Sunday 1 Qualified Pharmacist to work had made him doubly sure in Region #2 Essequibo, that the boy was in some sort Interested persons can of danger. He had spent most of the previous day contact #625-5136 speculating about what the One General Domestic (Maid), doctor would find. Now, here One Gardener. Tel# 638-6891 was Doc Mootoo, saying that there was no mystery. He should have been relieved. Instead, he felt a vague unease. It disturbed him that whatever was happening was beyond even his friend’s mental reach. He sensed the shrewd eyes on him. “So how you feeling, Vibert? Taking my WANTED Wanted Land to buy in Uitvlugt, Tuschen, Zeelugt or anywhere on the West Coast. Tel#697-6311 Backhoe Operator. Tel#6663303
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grudgingly freed him. This is, most likely, a sign that Onesimus never felt the need to return to Mather’s household for support, as Mather, who was very passionate in his journaling, would have mentioned that. Instead, there is a lot of conjecture: He may, or may not, have gotten married in the 1720s; He may, or may not, have had at least three children born to him between 1730 and 1734; He may, or may not, have been one of the black men selected for highway repairs in 1725, and in 1738; He may, or may not, have been alive and doing highway repair work more than twenty years after he attained his freedom.
Of smallpox, Edward Jenner developed a vaccine in 1796 that, being less dangerous than inoculation, made moot the practice, and effectively started the eradication of the disease in the United States. In recent years, there has been a growing move to give Onesimus his due for the development of inoculation in Boston, and the United States. In 2016, he was voted among the 100 Best Bostonians of all time. However much he didn’t receive the credence Mather and Boylston got, he won’t be forgotten, this man who introduced America to Smallpox inoculation.
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esteem, “proves wicked, and grows useless, froward, and immorigerous,” he refused to let him go without Onesimus himself fashioning his own replacement. This assessment of Onesimus seems to have been an effect of his desire to be free. Earlier, Mather had described Onesimus as “a pretty Intelligent Fellow”. Furthermore, years after Onesimus attained his freedom, it is noteworthy that Mather relied on his word-ofmouth as the basis of his inoculation knowledge Nothing definite is known of Onesimus after he purchased his freedom. There is no mention of him in Mather’s diary after the latter
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tablets?” Sealey shifted in embarrassment, now aware that he was massaging his neck. “Taking some karila bitters,” he mumbled. Doc Mootoo sighed. “What wrong with my tablets?” Sealey breathed deeply. “You think that them pills could have any…side effects?” A pause. Then: “Maybe...why you ask?” He knew that it was his imagination, but suddenly it seemed as if the sunlight filtering through the windows had dimmed. The images of Sunday came rushing back— He pushed them away. “Something crazy happen to me yesterday...” He recounted Sunday’s events. He heard his voice, as if from a distance. Part of him was in the hammock again, brushing the strange, scaly creature from his shoulder... They sat in silence afterwards, the doctor staring at his desk. The silence made Sealey uncomfortable. Was Doc Mootoo thinking of him as his friend, or as a patient who was cracking up? “Sleep paralysis,” Doctor Mootoo said suddenly. “What?” “Maybe you had a bout of something called sleep paralysis. You were partly awake, but still dreaming— ” “Damnit, Leslie. I wasn’t dreaming. I felt something crawling on me. I smelt it afterwards…” Again, as on his last visit, he saw that familiar gleam in Doctor Mootoo’s eyes. “Vibert, what you think really happen on Sunday?” S e a l e y g a v e a l o w, embarrassed laugh. “Doc,
how much of this obeah nonsense you believe?” The doctor stared at Sealey, but said nothing. “Some strange things happen to me recently.” “Like the thing at home?” “In a way. Is little things that I can’t explain.” He told the doc about the disappearance of h i s cap. He spoke about the girl’s strange behaviour that night. He told the d o c a b o u t t h e g i r l ’s aunt, whose foot was turned backwards, like the hunter at Kamarang. He spoke about the night that someone—he almost said something—had followed him in Lombard Street. The words came with difficulty. On Sunday, after his experience in the hammock, it had been easy to connect all the events preceding Sunday to the girl. But now, voicing his fears, the incidents seemed unconnected and trivial. He felt like an old man going senile, frightened of shadows and fretting about losing an old cap. He half-expected his friend to laugh, but after he was finished, the doctor just sat, frowning at his desk. At last he looked at Sealey. “You believe that this girl working some sort of…Amerindian spell on you?” And there it was, this ridiculous notion, out in the open. “Doc, I trying to tell you that I believe that the girl up to something, and that it got something to do with that boy. I believe that she know that I watching her and yes, I think that she after me, too.” “ B u t w h y s h e would
want to harm him? The boy is just a porter, for heaven’s sake.” “For the same reason that she kill Leon.” “And that reason is…?” Sealey shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. I just feel that what happened to Leon happening to this chap, too, Leslie. As to why, I got this feeling that Old Perez knows something.” What had his old friend at Kamarang said after Leon had died and Sealey had vowed to find the girl? Leave this thing alone, Vibert Sealey…this thing has nothing to do with you… Doctor Mootoo sighed. “If it will make you feel better, I could use some of my connections to get the boy’s samples tested overseas.” He seemed to hesitate, then said: “Frankly, I had halfexpected to find something, at least worms in his system, after I learn that he getting nightmares.” “Nightmares?” Doc Mootoo was telling him something about worms in the body and nightmares, but Sealey barely heard him. Once again, he sensed that another piece of some dark puzzle had just fit into place. (Taken from the supernatural novel Kamarang by Michael Jordan. Copies of the illustrated edition of Kamarang are on sale at Austin’s Book Store. Kamarang (Kindle and paperback, with illustrations) is also available on Amazon) The author can also be contacted for autographed copies on +592 645 2447 or by email: kmarangnight@gmail.com)
Monday May 11, 2020
Kaieteur News
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Gaethje upsets Ferguson to win UFC interim lightweight title
Tony Ferguson (left) fights Justin Gaethje (right) during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
Monday May 11, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) It's a day of challenges, Aries. You're a pro at questioning yourself, as you'll prove today when you take a hard look at your accomplishments. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) If you give the impression that you're in a reserved, introspective mood (even if you aren't), you'll succeed in avoiding confrontation. Today there's no such thing as a simple exchange with someone GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A challenging day is in store for you, Gemini. If you're part of a group or team, among friends, or seeing too much of the people you live with, you may feel ill at ease. CANCER(June21–July22) Sometimes dreams seem like just that?dreams. Whatever big venture you've been planning seems to consume more and more of your time now that the familiar world has ground to a halt. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You'll go one of two ways today, Leo. Either you'll turn inward and meditate in a corner, or you'll call a good friend and confide your dissatisfaction.Don't hesitate to let your guard down and express yourself even more honestly than is typical for you. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today will be an excellent day for meeting interesting people, Virgo. And there won't be anything superficial about these encounters, even when they happen remotely or with masked faces six feet apart.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Expect today to be kind of intense, Libra. Even if you've made a conscious decision not to let anything get you down, you may still harbor some negative emotions from the last few days. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The little rebel that you are makes it very difficult for you to join us in the great communal river that we're all trying to navigate, Scorpio. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Be disciplined about all areas of your body, Sagittarius. Take extra care to eat healthful, balanced meals. Make sure you get enough sleep. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) If you've been feeling deep anger, today isn't the day to let it out but rather the day to consider its source. The people you know best are the easiest targets, so avoid starting anything with them. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) If by chance you still harbor resentment toward someone, it will probably come out today. You might be uncompromising or even vengeful. Telling that person how you feel accomplishes nothing beyond causing you both pain and regret. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You don't suffer fools gladly, and superficial fools even less so. You have a mind to teach those around you a lesson. You're uncompromising today, and you can't understand why others don't have your same high standards.
(Reuters) - Justin Gaethje put on a striking masterclass to score a surprise knockout victory over Tony Ferguson and win the interim lightweight title at UFC 249, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday. Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-win streak, suffered damage as Gaethje chopped at his legs and landed thunderous hooks before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight late in the fifth round. With over 80,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19, the UFC has come under fire for putting on the event, which took place with no fans in the stands and with stringent health and safety protocols in place. Despite the absence of a crowd, the fights themselves lacked nothing in intensity, with Francis Ngannou scoring the knockout of the night, blitzing Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a left hook to force a stoppage after just
20 seconds of the first round. Sam Alvey was the first fighter into the empty arena on the night, pointing and high-fiving the imaginary crowd as he made his way to the cage where he fell to a decision loss to Ryan Spann in the evening’s opening fight on the prelim card. Apart from the fighters, the referees and the commentators, event staff wore face masks and only one corner-man per fighter was allowed into the cage in the breaks between rounds. “It was funny, I could hear a lot. Everybody out there I could hear really clearly, but at the same time ... it wasn’t much different than if the crowd were there,” Vicente Luque told reporters following his stoppage win over Niko Price. Such was the silence that Luque was able to hear the commentators, and heavyweight Greg Hardy said he was able to take the advice of TV commentator Daniel Cormier to counter Yorgan De
Castro’s leg kicks en route to a decision victory. In the co-main event, Henry Cejudo retained his bantamweight belt with a second-round stoppage win over Dominick Cruz before immediately retiring in the octagon. The 33-year-old, who won a gold medal for wrestling at the 2008 Olympics, has said he was happy with his career and that he wanted to start a family. Returning after a long layoff, former champ Cruz was dropped with a knee to the head and suffered the first knockout of his career with just two seconds left in the second round. However, the biggest prize of the night went to Gaethje, who is now next in line to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed lightweight crown. “I’ll wait for the real one,” Gaethje said as he tossed the interim belt aside moments after it was put around his waist.
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Rugby a good fit for fly-half Michael Barrow By Calvin Chapman Police Falcons fly-half, Michael Barrow, believes that it was a step in the right direction getting involved in rugby and he has big aspirations to help the once celebrated Green Machine; Guyana’s senior men’s rugby team, get back on top. The 21-year-old former St. Joseph’s High school student was an amazing prospect from the onset and could’ve made his debut for the Junior ruggers in 2013 but couldn’t make the under-19 squad because he didn’t reach the minimum age requirement of 16-years. However, two years after, in 2016, Barrow got his chance with the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) youth side in the regional tournament which scrummed off in Miami with his debut match against the Jamaicans. Current coach of Police Falcons, Theo Henry, who was an integral part of the Green Machine’s most recent glory days, in an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, revealed that Barrow has immense potential. The incumbent sevens’ coach further shared that Barrow is, “A young and
exciting player, very creative, he is what you would consider a playmaker in the fraternity, if he decides to take the game a bit more serious he can definitely be a major asset to the national programme in the future.” However, Barrow, a former track athlete recounted that it was former Falcons boss Troy Yhip who discovered the youngster, “I was already a sprinter in St. Joseph and I already had an aggressive nature because I used to box as well and at that time I was a big NFL fan and I saw the similarities with the two sports so it wasn’t a hard decision to make when Yhip invited me to his Saturday programme for youths.” The fly-half explained that his blood runs blue after being one of first players at Falcons, “I’ve been with the police falcons since the beginning and once you’re building something from scratch it’s always hard. So we’ve had our many years as the whipping boys of the GRFU and that’s one of my biggest goals for myself and the club. I want to erase that from our name because we always come out and compete at our best. Of course we’ve got our internal problems competing to get the
attention that football and athletics have from the Police Sports Club but we will continue to do our best.” The prodigy shared an encouraging note for aspiring players, “Rugby definitely gave me a lot of exposure to different people and different cultures of rugby. Traveling and making international friends and even rivals. The way the sport is going right now, I’d invite anybody to start playing because we’re in the era of rebuilding so fresh legs is exactly what the sport needs. Barrow, who is a second year university student majoring in communications, highlighted his fears that following covid-19 the sport may never be the same, “During the pandemic, we’ve all been sharing various home routines, I’m fortunate enough to have a spacious yard so I do my core work there and some cardio early in the morning. Honestly that’s nothing compared to the actual sport, I’ve been watching a lot of old tapes to cope. I think moving forward the sport might change after the pandemic and I hope all my mates keep the same hunger and drive so we can take Guyanese rugby to the next level.”
Blow for Bundesliga plans as Dynamo Dresden squad put in quarantine (Reuters) - Germany’s plans to restart competitive soccer on May 16 suffered an early setback after the entire team of second tier Dynamo Dresden were placed in a twoweek quarantine following two positive coronavirus tests. The Bundesliga 2 club announced on their website that tests taken on Friday had revealed two new positive cases and local health authorities had ordered the team into quarantine. “After an intensive analysis of the situation, the health authority in Dresden... decided on Saturday that the entire second division squad, including the coaching and support team, must now go into a 14-day quarantine at home,” the club said. “Due to the quarantine measures, (the club) will not be able to travel to Lower Saxony for the away game on matchday 26 as planned,” the club added. Dresden were scheduled to play Hanover 96 next Sunday in their first game back following the stoppage that was caused by the coronavirus outbreak. “In the past few weeks,
we have made enormous efforts in terms of personnel and logistics in order to strictly implement all the prescribed medical and hygienic measures,” said Dynamo sports manager Ralf Minge. “We are in contact with the responsible health authority and the DFL (German Football League) to coordinate all further steps. The fact is that we can neither train nor participate in the game in the next 14 days.” The Bundesliga announced this week that it would restart on May 16 after being given the green light by the government. The league has drawn up a detailed set of regulations and guidelines for training and matches in order to reduce to the mininum possible the risk of transmitting the virus, including stringent testing. However, the question of how to respond to positive tests is out of the hands of the league as German law states any response to cases is a matter for the local health authority. DFL chief executive Christian Seifert told broadcaster ZDF that the aim
was still to end the season. “We said from the beginning that this is something we have to be prepared for,” he said. “If a 14-day quarantine is now scheduled, then we have to deal with it next week in the spirit of the game plan.” “At the moment, however, this does not upset our timetable. The DFL has been working on this concept for a long time and we have always stressed that it is the local health authorities that decide on each individual case, on each team.” “For the 2nd division, where 81 matches are still to be played, two of Dynamo Dresden’s matches cannot be played at the moment. But we are not changing our goal to finish the season.” The league has been on hold since mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak which has brought football to a standstill around the world and Germany’s progress is being closely watched by other leagues. On Monday, the DFL said it had registered 10 positive cases in a blanket test of 1,724 players and staff at its 36 first and second division clubs.
Five players test positive for coronavirus, La Liga confirm
Lionel Messi’s Barcelona resumed individual training on Friday. (FC Barcelona/AFP/File/Miguel Ruiz)
AFP - Five players from Spain’s top two leagues have tested positive for coronavirus, La Liga confirmed yesterday. Players in Spain’s topflight and Segunda division were allowed to carry out individual work at training grounds last week. The move was the beginning of a staggered training programme, with the aim to restart competitive games in the middle of June. La Liga insist identifying infected players through positive tests are part of that plan. The five players, who have not been officially named, will now be quarantined at home and tested again “in the next few days”. They will be allowed to rejoin their club’s training programme only after obtaining two consecutive negative test results. A La Liga statement read: “Among La Liga Santander and La Liga SmartBank (Segunda) clubs, five positive cases were detected in players, all of them asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease.” “One of the objectives of these medical tests, according
to the La Liga’s protocol for returning to training, according to recommendations of the CSD (Supreme Sports Council) and the Ministry of Health, was precisely to detect the denominated or asymptomatic, that is, those people who are infected and that, without presenting symptoms, they can infect other people,” the statement added. “In this way, we guarantee everyone’s safety when returning to work according to the occupational risk regulations.” La Liga’s training plan includes players initially carrying out work individually before then expanding into small groups and finally taking part in larger team sessions. Barcelona’s players were back for their first session on Friday while Real Madrid’s will return on Monday. The medical protocol for training is strict and includes players arriving already changed and at specific times to avoid contact with others. They wear masks and gloves, and have their temperatures taken before entering the premises. At the end of
training, they take away a bag of fresh kit for the next day and shower at home. The league have not officially announced the timing for the resumption of competitive matches although Leganes coach Javier Aguirre said last week the proposed date is June 20. That could correspond with the Spanish government’s de-escalation programme, which includes outside events being allowed to go ahead in their fourth and final phase, as long as they are attended by fewer than 400 people. Football matches are expected to be staged behind closed doors for several months. La Liga president Javier Tebas has said “it is not an option” to cancel the top flight given he estimates the economic fallout would cost clubs around a billion euros ($1.08 billion). But the third and fourth tiers in Spain will not complete their seasons, as confirmed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Wednesday. Instead, promotions will be decided through play-offs and there will be no relegations.
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Kaieteur News
Emrit rubbishes retirement talk despite targeting top coaching spot PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former West Indies all-rounder Rayad Emrit has conceded he will be “restricted” but dismissed talk of retirement, despite applying for the vacant post of Trinidad and Tobago Red Force head coach. “I have no intentions of retiring from playing cricket,” the Express newspaper here quoted the 39-year-old Trinidadian as saying. “I am very keen on playing still so if given the job, I will have to make certain decisions. But obviously, I will be restricted.” Emrit was one of 18 applicants for the post along with the incumbent Mervyn Dillon, former champion Wi n d i e s leg-spinner Samuel Badree and Test left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn. S r i L a n k a ’s Pasindu Liyanaarachchi, Afghanistan’s Asadullah Khan along with Heinrich Malan of South Africa and Pakistani Atiq-Uz-Zaman, have also applied. Emrit, a former Red Force captain, has forged a successful career as a Twenty20 specialist, and was recently appointed captain of
the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League season. However, he said he decided to put his name up for consideration after being encouraged to do so by several former Red Force teammates. “I seriously considered it, knowing that I’ve played with most of the guys in the team and I think I have a lot of respect from them and some of them asked me to put my name forward when they saw that the job was being advertised,” Emrit said. “It is a decision I made based on what I think is my best move, going forward, and obviously having the respect of the guys in the team.” Under Dillon, Red Force achieved their best ever finish in the six-year professional era of the first class championship, when they ended second behind champions Barbados Pride earlier this year. They managed only a single win from the first five rounds of the competition but hit back to win two of the last three matches, before the tournament was aborted following the eighth round
All-rounder Rayad Emrit. due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, Emrit said he possessed the ability to further develop the abundance of talent that lay in the Red Force rankings. “There are a lot of talent in our country but I still think the talent i s n o t b e i n g treated the way it should be treated and I don’t want the talent to go to waste so hopefully, if I get in a
position to work with these guys I can make a change for this talented bunch of guys,” said Emrit, who played two One-Day Internationals and four T20 Internationals but has not suited up in two years. “Whoever gets the job, it’s an important job and I wish everyone all the best. Once I’m selected I will do my best to move TT cricket forward.”
Ex-Nigeria attacker Obasi in 2014 World Cup bribe claim AFP - Former Nigeria striker Chinedu Obasi alleged yesterday he was asked to pay a bribe to feature at the 2014 World Cup, before eventually missing out on selection. Obasi, 33, who has been a free agent since leaving Swedish outfit AIK in January, made his last Super Eagles appearance in 2011 and had club spells in Germany with Hoffenheim and Schalke. “I was supposed to be at the World Cup in 2014, I was playing with Schalke in the Champions League everything was going fine. At the end of the season, I was given an invitation for the World Cup preparations for friendlies in South Africa,” Obasi said on social media. “So, two days before the list came out, I was asked to pay some money if I wanted to be in the team,” he added. Obasi, who won a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and played at the 2010 World Cup, said a move away from the Bundesliga fell through after missing the tournament four years later. “I felt like I’ve paid my dues for the country, if you’re
a new player, I can get that but for me, it was a bit personal and very heartbreaking because I got injured – I was supposed to move from Hoffenheim to England,” he said. “And it takes a lot of dedication, it takes a lot of money and it takes a lot of investment in myself and my body. I went through surgery and did everything I could.” However, one of Nigeria’s assistant coaches at the World Cup six years ago, Valere Houdonou, maintained Obasi was not good enough to make the final squad facing competition from the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Ahmed Musa. “The question is, who could he have replaced among the strikers then?” Houdonou said. “He was invited like every other potential player that could make the World Cup then because the coaching crew wanted to take the best to Brazil then. “He failed to make the list because he could not displace anyone in the team,” he added. - ‘Two-way thing’ -
Chinedu Obasi scored 27 goals in 102 Hoffenhiem appearances. (AFP/File) Daniel Amokachi, who was also assistant coach at the World Cup in Brazil, took exception to Obasi’s allegations particularly after head coach Stephen Keshi died in 2016, insisting the players are also guilty. “This issue of bribetaking or collecting in our football is not a one-way thing. Agents of players will come and meet a coach to offer money for their players to be taken,” said the ex-Everton striker, who featured at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. “It’s a two-way thing.
Sometimes, players are the ones that will even go to the coach to say ‘my agent said he will pay for me to be part of the team’,” he said. “You will also see some administrators and coaches who have turned agents that will try to be influencing things from the side,” he added. Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies are investigating senior officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) led by president Amaju Pinnick after “weighty” allegations were leveled against them.
‘Real doubts’ over CAS’ fitness in FIFA case: lawyers PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Lawyers for embattled former football president David Wallace have questioned whether the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland is fit to preside over the dispute with football’s world governing body, FIFA. Reacting to CAS’s request for 40,000 Swiss francs (US$41,000) in order for the case against FIFA to be opened, legal counsel for Wallace and fellow disgruntled Trinidad and Tobago Football Association executives, Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew Gayle, accused the Switzerland-based organisation of “institutional bias”, arguing that the latest move created “real doubts” about its ability to fair adjudicate the matter. In a letter dated April 30, CAS told Crowne and Gayle that as “a general rule, FIFA does not pay any arbitration costs in advance when it acts as a Respondent in a procedure before CAS”, meaning that Wallace and his TTFA colleagues needed to “pay the entirety of the advance of costs”. Further, FIFA also wrote CAS requesting that its deadline for submissions be suspended until Wallace was able to pay the associated costs to kickstart the trial. In a strongly worded response, however, Crowne and Gayle slammed the fee as “exorbitant”, pointing out CAS had provided no breakdown especially since the usual associated travel costs would be eliminated in the current environment of the COVID-19 global pandemic. “To that end, we are genuinely unsure how the CAS facilitates access to justice with such extravagant fees. The Appellants (TTFA) are not from the developed world, nor are they as wellfinanced as the Respondent,” Wallace’s lawyers wrote to CAS. They added: “We note, with concern, that the Respondent did not give any indication as to its position on the advance costs, but instead it was the purportedly independent tribunal administrators who took it upon itself to inform the Appellants that ‘as general rule, FIFA does not pay any arbitration costs in advance’. “To be clear, even if our clients applied to the CAS for legal aid, it would still not
Ousted TTFA president, William Wallace. remedy the apparent institutional bias that has arisen. As it stands, there are very real doubts that the CAS remains an appropriate and fair forum for the resolution of this dispute.” Crowne and Gayle also said CAS’ participation in FIFA’s “gamesmanship” had led to a tripling of arbitration fees. “To sum up, the Respondent and the CAS caused the arbitration fees to triple. The arbitration fees themselves are excessive per se, especially since the proceedings were likely to take place by video conferencing due to the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines,” they argued. “On its face, therefore, the CAS appears to be a willing participant in the R e s p o n d e n t ’ s gamesmanship, especially if the CAS had institutional knowledge that the Respondent – an entity with immeasurable financial resources – would not be advancing their share of the arbitration costs, and especially since it was the Respondent themselves who asked that the matter be heard before a three person panel thereby tripling the cost of the proceedings. The latest hiccup threatens to derail the challenge to FIFA’s move to forcefully remove Wallace and his executive last March and install a normalisation committee to run the affairs of the TTFA. Wallace, who has maintained that FIFA lacks the authority to remove a duly elected executive, said he and the ousted executives members were mulling over their next move. “We are meeting and we will decide what is the next step,” the Express here quoted him as saying.
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Monday May 11, 2020
Kaieteur News
Ramdulars, only sisters to play together for Guyana at senior level
Maylene Ramdlul (left) Maimoon Yassin go out to bat against India in 1979. By Sean Devers Maylene Ramdular, who will celebrate her 69 birthday on May 21 and her 67-yearold sister Phylles Ramdular are the only Guyanese siblings to play cricket together for Guyana Women’s at the senior level. Maylene was an opening batsman, while Phylles was an off-spinner who batted in the middle order. The pair was born two years apart in the Essequibo Village of Aurora and both attended the Aurora Church of Scotland primary, while the younger Ramdular; Phylles, attended the Barnette Secondary School in Queenstown on the Essequibo Coast. Maylene informed that all of her six brothers are unfortunately deceased, while the other two sisters both reside in the England. Her youngest sister’s Husband is a former cricketer who played league cricket for Surrey. Phylles, the less garrulous
Phylles Ramdular
of the pair, spoke about life growing up in Essequibo. “We played cricket inside the House and in our backyard with the boys and girls,” said Phylles, the first of the sisters to play for Guyana. “We had a shop in Essequibo and we would play cricket all day and when our mother came home and found out that we had not done our work we would get licks,” Maylene chimed in with a laugh. But both sisters claimed none of their brothers had any interest in cricket. “There was not much to do in Essequibo and two of our brothers left to work in Georgetown. In 1972 I was sent to the City to cook for my brothers who were working and had nobody to cook for them,” Maylene informed. Maylene said the next year her 16-year-old sister Phylles joined her in Georgetown after completing Secondary school. Phylles said in 1973 the sisters went to Bourda where a local team were playing Merry Girls of Trinidad and Tobago. “We are talking about sisters playing in the same match. West Indies player Ann Browne and her four sisters were in that Trinidad team. In the local team there were Andrea Fowler and Dolly Seeraj,” Maylene said. The sisters, who then lived in fourth Street Kingston, said after that match at Bourda, M r Lalchan, who owned a store on Robb Street and organised Third-Class tournaments in the City, posted a notice in the newspapers asking ladies who were interested in cricket and a lot of girls responded. The All-Stars Women’s
Guyana women’s team in the 1970s (Phylles is at left stooping, while her sister Maylene is next to her). Cricket Club was formed with the late Eileen Cox, who passed away in November 2014, elected as President. The club practiced at the YMCA ground. “We would go on tours with All-Stars to so many places to play against big men and we would learn so much from them. We went t o Wa l e s a n d p l a y e d against (Anand) Sanasie (director of CGI). We went to Berbice and even to Suriname to play against men teams,” said Maylene, the manager of the Mike’ P h a r m a c y We l l w o m a n softball team. In 1974 All-Stars were invited to tour Trinidad for a tri-nation tournament involving Merry Girls and a Jamaican team. Back then female cricket in Demerara was dominant and most of those selected for Guyana were from that County. According to the Ramdulars, the 1976 AllStars were going to represent Guyana in Grenada and Government decided they would fund the tour but they told Mr Lalchan he had many players from his club in the team. “They announced that the team should be a Guyana team and Maylene, who was originally in the team, was one of the changes. She was replaced by Brenda Seaforth who was named Manager/ Player,” disclosed Phylles. “Back then Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados were very strong in Women’s cricket and the s t a n d a r d o f Wo m e n ’s Cricket was very high with players like Ava Morgan was one of the best female batters in Guyana, while Joni James
was a very good Captain and there were players like Margaret Walcott, Dolly Seeraj, Fowler, Margaret McKenzie, Maimoon Yassin and Sharon Legall among others,” informed Phylles. The sisters noted that the players most times had to seek donations for their travel expenses and never got paid for playing. They remembered when girls from Guyana were selected to go to India with the West Indies team but could not go due to a lack of funding. Phylles said her most memorable moments in cricket were the tours with All-Stars and playing against the men, while Maylene said her most memorable moment was at Albion in 1979. “We had played India at Bourda and it was decided that we were a Guyana team with Reds Perreira among those doing the Radio commentary at Albion. India batted first and we could not get a breakthrough. We had used all our bowlers and Joni (James) threw the ball to me to bowl. I told her that I only bowled in the nets. Phylles was the Vice-Captain and encouraged to give it a try. I did and got the wicket, but rain came down during their innings and washed out the game,” remembered. She added that many in the media did not realise that it was a Guyana team that played and not the All-stars team. Both sisters played the first phase of their National careers from 1976 to 1981 when Guyana stopped competing at the Regional level for two decades. Guyana eventually reentered regional women’s cricket for the first time after 20 years in 2001. In 2001, Attorney-at-Law
Emily Dodson was elected President of Women’s cricket in Guyana and many of the past players returned to action including the Ramdular siblings, Walcott and Janet Jandorie. However, by 2003, Berbician Angela Haniff was appointed Manager for Guyana’s tour to Grenada. Young emerging talent Indomattie Gordiyal was the leading performer for Guyana who were led by the multitalented Diane Ferreira James who also captained Guyana in football. Guyana was the youngest team in the competition and their lone victory was against the USA. But while Phylles took a back seat after her cricket career ended, Maylene remained actively involved in the sport and the strength of the National team gradually shifted from Demerara to Berbice who had started a vibrant women’s programme. Maylene became the head of women’s selection panel which included former West Indies off-spinner Clyde Butts as the GCB took over responsibility for women’s cricket in the early 2000s. Maylene said the attitude of the players to learn and the love of the game was the main difference with the players in the 1970s and the players today, and many of them don’t listen to advise even though they get paid to play. “They are just a handful of good players from Demerara in the Guyana team but players like Berbice and West Indies batter Shemaine Campbelle could be compared to Morgan as a batter, while Akaze Thomson and Campbelle are among the few of the present players who listens to advise,” said Maylene, Manager of
Guyana Women’s teams for tournaments in St Lucia, T&T and Guyana. Maylene is disappointed with the standard of female cricket in Demerara and says the national players in the Demerara team have little opportunity to get match practice since, to stay active they are forced to play softball cricket or as in the case of Thomson, ply her trade in the women’s league in Trinidad. Maylene says that President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Hilbert Foster is doing a great job in producing a good system at the Rose Hall Youth and Sports Club for female cricket. Berbice has produced West Indies players Campbelle, Tremayne Smartt, Eva Giddings and the young Sabieka Gajnabi in recent times. The Ramdular sisters still love watching cricket and when Maylene visited her sister in England she said they went to three Tests matches in different Counties and last year the pair, along with a couple of her ‘old’ team mates attend the CPL T20 matches at Providence. Maylene says her son, who works at Mike’s Pharmacy in Bel Air, has little interest in cricket while the sisters have done most things as a team even beyond the boundary. In 2003 the pair of progressive women, who now live together in Campbellville, opened the ‘Roti Shop’ at the corner of Cummings and South Road. The business was doing well but disaster struck in June 2018 when Phylles, who was riding her motor Cycle when a car crashed into her bike and broke her left ankle forcing them to give up their business.
Kaieteur News
Monday May 11, 2020
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Kaieteur Sport raps the Rupununi Football Association on the impact of Covid-19 Rupununi FA Secretary Ryan Farias (centre background) pictured with players from Snatchers FC, Rush Saints FC and Far East United Sports Club.
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r e s i d e n t Ry a n Farias and his Executive of the R u p u n u n i Football Association (RFA) have been trying their utmost to keep members of the association as focused as possible during these trying times that have been brought on by the coronavirus which has shaken the world; over four million persons testing positive; deaths bordering on 300,000 and recoveries hopping towards 1.5 million. Closer to home, the confirmed number of positive cases was 93 last week with 10 deaths and 34 recoveries. Farias indicated that the RFA oversees some 58 villages and over 50 clubs (male & female) and that they have their work cut out in order to keep this deadly virus away from infecting its members. Their central location at Lethem is just a short drive or walk away from the Brazilian town of Bon Fin; Brazil has over 150,000 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 with over 10,000 deaths and 55,000 recoveries as of last week. Given the close proximity of the Brazilian town, Farias informed that they have to be very vigilant and ahead of the game in order to keep families safe and away from danger. Kaieteur Sport took the opportunity to pose some
questions to the RFA. Kaieteur Sport: How has the lock down as a result of the coronavirus impacted the RFA? Rupununi FA: The Rupununi Football Association responded to the nationwide lockdown due to the treat from the global pandemic Covid 19 bringing all activities to a halt. The most anticipated annual games the Senior Male and Female Football Champions League 2020, fifth edition which was scheduled between February to May was brought to a halt on March 13th 2020. The 28 clubs from across the five districts of the region were very disappointed because the momentum in the preliminary games was broken. For some of the newly formed clubs their dreams were crushed because they were looking forward to gaining valued game experiences against some of the leading clubs. Kaieteur Sport: How have members been coping with the social distancing measures? Rupununi FA: The players were forced to practice in the confinements of their homes; luckily the Rupununi is blessed with vast land space. Kaieteur Sport: With over 50 clubs on your register, have you been in constant contact with your
members? Rupununi FA: The Rupununi Football Association planned games to foster social cohesion while at the same time building a resilient people. Hence, a whatsapp chat group keeps the executive members of clubs in contact. Updates on the pandemic situation and past videos of football across the world are shared to enhance training. Kaieteur Sport: How do you see this impacting the
game especially, females? Rupununi FA: Females face the most challenging situation during this lock down. They are complaining of gaining weight because of the strict confinement to added family responsibilities such as home schooling and entertaining their children. Kaieteur Sport: What has the mood been like in the Rupununi in response to this world pandemic? Rupununi FA: It is one of the main social activities
which fans looked forward to annually, however all of the clubs’ grounds are closed. Kaieteur Sport: Do you think it would be a challenge for you to get the game rolling again, given the momentum you had going with your champion’s league? Rupununi FA: The RFA is working closely with the parent body GFF to determine what will be the way forward. At this moment
the games will have to wait because the RFA strongly believes that the games can continue at a conducive time, but right now lives have to be saved for that to happen. Lethem Town is the gateway to Brazil and the coastland as such region 9 needs to be very cautious against the deadly Covid 19. The Rupununi Football Association joins the rest of Guyana by pleading with the football family to stay home and save lives.
Afghanistan’s Shafiqullah banned for six years ESPNcricinfo - After admitting to the charges of corruption issued against him by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, including one that said he was trying to fix a match in the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League, wicketkeeperbatsman Shafiqullah has been banned from all cricket-related activities for six years. An ACB release yesterday mentioned that the charges against the 30-yearold also relate to his conduct during the Afghanistan Premier League in 2018. In total, Shafiqullah had allegedly broken four articles of the ACB’s anticorruption code: trying to fix the outcome of a domestic match, seeking or offering bribes to fix the outcome of a domestic match, inducing a
team-mate to fix a domestic match, and failing to report a corrupt approach. Shafiqullah was part of the team that led Afghanistan to ODI status and a member of two World T20 campaigns. But he has not played an international game since September last year. A wicketkeeperbatsman by trade, he represented his country in 24 ODIs and 46 T20Is between 2009 and 2019. “This is a very serious offence where a senior national player is involved in the corruption of a highprofile domestic game in APL T20 2018,” said the A C B ’s s e n i o r a n t i corruption manager, Sayed Anwar Shah Quraishi. “The player had also attempted but failed to get one of his
Shafiqullah hones his glovework during a training session. (AFP)
team-mates to engage in corruption in another highprofile game during the BPL 2019.” Quraishi pointed out that without his admission of guilt and full cooperation during the ACB’s
investigation, Shafiqullah’s ban could have been significantly longer. He also said the player was willing to contribute to the ACB’s education programmes to help younger players learn from his mistakes.
Blow for Bundesliga plans as Dynamo Dresden squad put in quarantine
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Dynamo Dresden players during the penalty shootout with Hertha BSC. (REUTERS/Annegret Hilse)
Ramdulars, only sisters to play Rugby a good fit for fly-half together for Guyana at senior level Michael Barrow P. 22
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Former Guyana women’s cricketers (from left) Joni James, Phylles Ramdular, Maylene Ramdular & Margaret ‘Chico’ Walcott at a CPL game at Providence.
Emrit rubbishes ‘Real doubts’
retirement talk despite targeting top coaching spot P. 21
Michael Barrow in action during his debut with the junior ruggers in Miami, 2016.
over CAS’ fitness in FIFA case: lawyers . 21 P
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