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AIETEUR NEWS

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Region Two recount completed p. 16

Tuesday Edition May19, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 20

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

- Controversial IT Technician promoted to Recount Supervisor

K/News analysis

Price $80

Online readership yesterday 145,559

Mingo’s widespread

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manipulation of Region 4 figures in 17 ballot boxes - adds 778 votes to Coalition and takes away 331 from PPP Mingo’s Figures

Statements of Recount

PPP/C

APNU+AFC

VOTES

Statements of Poll

PPP/C

PPP/C APNU+AFC

APNU+AFC Clairmont Mingo Today the Kaieteur News debuts our series of in-depth articles on the recount process. First up is an analysis of the controversial and disputed figures declared by Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo and how they compare against actual Statements of Poll and emerging Statements of Recount.

‘Cross-eye’ shot GECOM to investigate Man arrested for the ‘strange’ mix up dead while escaping of voters list in alleged rape, murder ballot boxes on stolen bike of a 68-year old woman p. 13

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Floodgates will be open to corruption, poor governance if laws not rooted in policy p. 7

- TT Petroleum Expert

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

Man arrested for the alleged rape, murder of a 68-year old woman P

olice have detained a suspect in connection with the suspected rape and brutal murder of a 68-year-old female security guard whose body was found battered, half-naked and sprawled in a clump of bushes at the Le Repentir Cemetery. The discovery of the corpse was made at around 05:30 HRS yesterday morning and identified to be that of Margaret Dawson, a resident of Timehri, and 158 Curtis Street Albouystown. Margaret Dawson an employee of security firm Professional Guard Service (PGS) was last seen alive by her granddaughter, Amanda Thomas, on Sunday morning. The young lady said that she was on her way out when she saw her grandmother returning home from work. Thomas got home later that night to an empty house but was not startled because she knew her grandmother was working strictly night shifts. However, at around 05:30HRS yesterday

morning, she was awakened by the loud gossip of passersby that an old woman was raped and killed in the burying ground. She immediately peeped out her window and noticed a crowd gathering. She decided to investigate what was happening in the cemetery and when she arrived she was greeted with the sight of her grandmother's corpse lying in the bushes. Dawson's belongings such as her dentures, spectacles, water-bottle and shoes were seen scattered along the road leading to where body was found. The woman's head appeared to be bashed in and her pants, tights and undergarments appeared to have been ripped off by the perpetrator and tossed beside her body. Police later arrived, cordoned off the area and launched an immediate investigation. They were soon tipped off about a suspicious white car seen stuck in a hole not too far from the crime scene.

The body of Margaret Dawson being removed

Residents told police that the car was seen traversing that area on Sunday night. Not long after the discovery of the car police were able to locate the owner disposing of a garbage bag. He was reportedly searched and three gold rings belonging to the dead woman were found in his pocket. He was immediately detained and taken to the East La Penitence Police Station. Kaieteur News

understands that the suspect is a taxi driver known to the deceased. It is believed that Dawson might have hired the man's car to go to work on the night she was murdered. Sources also told this publication that the suspect was employed by the popular East Side Taxi Service and was fired two weeks ago after he was reportedly found smoking cocaine. We were told that as of recent the suspect had

begun acting strangely by selling out his personal belongings and talking to himself. The dead woman's daughter, Wendy Thomas, told reporters that her late mother was a woman who loved earning her own money. She described Dawson as a friendly individual who loved reading the daily newspapers. “She would come home gaff, laugh, play games with her

Dead: Margaret Dawson granddaughter and read news….That was her daily life” said the grieving woman. Kaieteur also learnt that the woman also mothered two sons who are active disciplined service personnel, one a police officer and the other a member of the Guyana Defence Force. They both were in the line of duty when they received the devastating news.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday May 19, 2020

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Kaieteur News analysis reveals...

Mingo's widespread manipulation of Region Four figures in 17 ballot boxes â€Ś Adds 778 votes to APNU+AFC, takes 331 votes from PPP/C â€Ś Recount vindicates statements of poll

By Kemol King

Kaieteur News analysis of information covering 17 Region Four ballot boxes has shown a pattern of inflation of votes for APNU+AFC and of deflation of votes for PPP/C during the Kingston tabulation by Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo. Between just 17 boxes, Mingo's general election tabulation subtracted 331 votes from PPP/C and added 778 votes to APNU+AFC. This indicates that, for just those 17 ballot boxes, Mingo's general election tabulation produced a total variance of 1,109 votes from the figures on the corresponding statements of poll. While members of the governing coalition have consistently dismissed the figures on the statements of poll (SOPs) which have been made public by political parties, and which have been posted outside each and every polling station for p u b l i c s c r u t i n y, t h e statements of recount produced by the GECOM work stations during the National Recount for these 17 ballot boxes, are overwhelmingly in correlation with the numbers on the SOPs provided. It should be noted that the coalition has so far refused to

Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo provide copies of the SOPs in its possession and which various representatives have claimed to be in alignment with Mingo's figures. Slight variations of just a few votes between the statements of poll and the statements of recount, have been accounted for by GECOM's Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward, and GECOM Commissioners, who have noted that GECOM is actively reconsidering certain ballots which were rejected at the polling station, once the intention of the voter is clear. This would account in the variation of a small number of votes per polling station. Background Allegations that there might be attempts to rig the elections began mid-March

shortly after the contentious pair of declarations of the Region Four results by Mingo was ruled as unlawful by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire. A slew of circumstances had halted the tabulation and when it resumed, Mingo returned with a spreadsheet, which showed numbers observers and party representatives did not see inputted onto the spreadsheet. Though there was much protest over this, especially by the PPP, Mingo had gone ahead and made declarations based on those figures. The PPP challenged the declarations for the general and regional elections in Court and successfully got them vitiated. The Chief Justice had sent Mingo back to the table, after she found that he did not stick to the law on the procedure necessary for the count. The illegality that occurred according to the Court, is that Mingo did not allow the persons entitled to witness the process the opportunity to observe when he placed the figures from the statements of poll on to the spreadsheet, if he did that at all. It did not help the situation when the second general and regional declarations for Region Four, made on March 13, also followed a tabulation marred by a lack of

transparency and accusations of electoral fraud. Five of the contesting political parties had reported to Kaieteur News that Mingo produced inflated statements of poll, with numbers that were clearly clumsily doctored. This newspaper's analysis is of information drawn from that tabulation, and vindicates the claims made by the five parties. Political parties reported that the statements of poll were projected in such a way that they could not ascertain the veracity of the numbers or the authenticity of the

documents. Observers and political parties reported that when they asked Mingo to view the security features on the statements of poll, they were rejected. Nevertheless, Mingo made a second pair of declarations of the Region Four General and Regional Elections results, which did not command enough public confidence for GECOM to consider them at the time for the announcement of the official elections results. Mingo's first pair of declarations was at odds with his second pair, but the governing coalition did not

appear to care for that and signed off on the declarations both times. Joseph Harmon, APNU+AFC campaign cochair had revealed that the party hoped its presidential candidate, David Granger, would be sworn in quickly. That did not happen, as calls began to mount, particularly from the international community, for a fair and credible conclusion to the electoral process. Though attempts were made by an APNU+AFC candidate, Ulita Moore to prevent the (continued on page 15)

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

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

ERC - call for national harmony There are a few patriotic Guyanese for whom national harmony is something worthwhile to work for, something to be achieved. Regrettably, there are many in our midst who pay lip service to that vision and ideal, or who could care less about such, other than going through the motions. The few patriots should continue to appeal to and seek to inspire many, the bigots and dividers should be distanced from and blanked out of existence. In today’s Guyana, this is no more than wishful thinking. And as much as we fully support one agency’s efforts in this direction, “ERC pushes for national harmony during elections impasse, COVID-19” (KN May 16) we have to be honest with ourselves. Wise and realistic truths come rushing, and in total, they represent the social, racial, and environmental steeliness in this society and in the hearts of our fellow Guyanese. One such discerning saying is: water on a duck’s back. Another would be: certain to fall on rocky ground. And still another: hard heads, harder ears, the hardest of hearts. Put differently, very few Guyanese have the time, the interest, the care, for national harmony at this time. As much as some try, they cannot conceal the impatience with and distaste for such a call, and at those who utter them, no matter how genuine or well-intentioned. At this time, no; at other times, there is the sweeping hypocrisy of: all of us are one. Pardon us for being skeptical: really! Since when? And by whose hands and with which hearts firmly affixed to such drive for the national unity of: all of us are one?We really like this call for national harmony by the ERC, but we could have told it to save the thought, save the energy and focus on something with more of a chance to be given a hearing, to have the opportunity and hospitality that facilitates taking root, then possibly growing. Because national harmony has no chance at this time, certainly not in this most hateful and punishing of times. The irony is that Guyana needs national harmony more than anything else at present as it confront selections and coronavirus, if only to empower it to rise above its divisive feebleness, its lost state. But try tabling anything relative to national harmony and there arises the high and very palpable risk of running into serious peril. Divided and consumed Guyanese in the huddled encampments of their broad segments would stone such messengers: not now, not to us. Speak to them since they are responsible. It is always the other man, the other group. There is the insoluble and unmanageable problem, an intolerable one. Whatever the glosses put on outside of elections seasons, the behaviours now ingrained in both tribes in elections of 2020 have totally wiped out of existence any consideration or visions about national harmony. The naked animosities and raw prejudices of warring Guyanese are the elements that are no longer even skin deep, they are bare and brutal in the glare of the bigotries and hatreds that dominate discourse, populate our pathways, and deposit us amid the settled sediments of the deepest racial gutters. We are hurting but we do not care. We are struggling yet we refuse to lift a single finger to salvage our pathetic selves. Truth be told, Guyanese like where they are in this disconnected and debilitating state that leaves us impotent and prostrate. An existential virus is very much present here, and we shrug with the indifference that flows from some alien wisdom, such is the utter insanity that soaks this land through and through. We could be dying and going down, and all we live for is to maintain fire in the eye against neighbour and stranger. Calls for national harmony are dead on arrival, most likely long before: no listening, no welcoming, no embracing. We relish turning backs on political foes, now detested lifelong enemies. It is undeniably mutual, and why we say this: before raising hand to pinpoint any other, start out by redirecting that hand and pointing it at oneself. National harmony has no meaning for Guyanese anymore. It is who we proudly are and where we are.

Attorney General responds to article DEAR EDITOR, I write in relation to an article appearing on the front page and page ten (10) of the May 17th Sunday Edition of your paper captioned, “National election recount illegal” -AG Williams, Roysdale Forde ... Party will accept resultsAmna Ally. From the outset I reject that I at any time said the National Election Recount (NER) is illegal. I at all material times have supported His Excellency, President David Granger in his desire to have the presence and contribution of Caricom to determine the credibility of the March 2nd, elections. Further, the Attorney General did not join with Attorney-at-law, Roysdale Forde in the case to invalidate the NER that was taken to the courts. At all material times I have asserted that the Guyana Elections Commis-

sion (GECOM) is an independent and constitutional body that cannot be dictated to by any person or authority. I have also cited the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice to buttress this fact. Also, I have long acknowledged that the NER is not provided for under the national elections law, but GECOM has the power to provide for it under Article 162 (1) (b) of the Constitution making it a constitutional NER. Additionally, I asserted that as a Constitutional NER, it did not have its own procedures and GECOM could make rules for it and did not have to use the provisions of the Representation of the Peoples Act (RPA) Cap 1:03 nor the Election Law Amendment Act (ELA) No.15 of 2000 as contended for by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C). I therefore, reject the halfstatement in paragraph two of

your article to wit “our law did not cater for a National recount, Williams told reporters yesterday.” In fact the entire article is riddled either with misstatements, half-truths or abject misinformation of what I said. I will at this time conclude with what I said about the results of the NER. That it was not simply a question of counting of ballots as asserted by the PPP/C but also the question of the credibility of the March 2nd, elections. That only GECOM can determine the question of the results of the NER and the results along with the report on the credibility of the elections must be submitted to it. At the duly summoned meeting of GECOM the report of the outcome of the NER and the ten (10) declarations already made would give GECOM a panoramic view of the results of 2020 General

and Regional Elections (GRE) and they would make the ruling, which President Granger and the Government have always maintained we will abide by. Respectfully, Basil Williams SC Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs EDITOR’S NOTE. We thank AG Williams for the ‘clarification’ offered, particularly in the light of the apparent contradiction between his position professed in the letter and in his statements as accurately carried in our article as well as the coverage of other media houses, and as acknowledged as having been said by members of his own party. We invite him to, at any time, specifically correct any “misstatements, half-truths or abject misinformation” that he feels exists in our reportage.

GECOM’s conduct of the recount has not been by-election! No Mr. cials holding the original copshort of clownishness aAlexander, the national PR ies of the statements of polls, DEAR EDITOR, Apart from making Guyana win top spot in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest count of election votes on both an absolute and per capita basis, GECOM’s conduct of the recount has not been short of clownishness. Some weeks ago I referred to Claudette Singh, GECOM’s Chairman as heading a circus. Claudette is helped by a huge (no pun intended) pool to draw from. As the defeat of the APNU+AFC is confirmed by each ballot recounted, both desperation and clownishness seem to have affected the Coalition’s leaders and their surrogates. The most recent victim is Amna Ally, General Secretary of the PNC-R who on Friday told the media that one dead voter would invalidate the elections - the APNU+AFC’s Plan D after the Mingo/ Lowenfield skit failed to deliver the swearing in of their leader David Arthur Granger. Had Ally used her recent attempts to engage Claudette Singh to ask her about the case brought by PNC-R supporter Esther Perreira adjudicated by the same Claudette Singh, she would have learnt that Singh said in that case the following: “In other words, even if an unlawful act or omission is proved, the election would be valid if the conduct of the election was substantially in accordance with the electoral laws and the unlawful act or omission did not affect the result.” Ally might also not have learnt about the part of the Esther Perreira decision in which Claudette Singh stated

that in election petition matters, the petitioner has to prove her case on “a preponderance of probability”. What is coming out from people like Coretta McDonald, James Bond, Ayodele Roach, Carol Joseph, Kidackie Amsterdam, Christopher Jones and Sherod Duncan are mere fishing expeditions, meant to waste time and stretch the life of a twice illegal government. They are of no evidentiary value. And shortly before Ally, elections cognoscenti and GECOM’s self-appointed spokesperson Vincent Alexander told the media that if the votes in one of a hundred boxes could not be counted because the box was soaked, then there should be

system does not work that way. Both Alexander and the Chair know that the only problem facing GECOM is the fraudulent tabulation of the Region Four votes by Mingo and Lowenfield inchoate attempt to act upon it. This circus, and the waste of taxpayers’ money, could have ended long ago if Singh and Alexander were committed to doing the right thing and demand the SOP’s from the Mingo/Lowenfield duo. Of course, the first aspirants to Claudette Singh’s pool was crime sleuth extraordinaire Khemraj Ramjattan who, using his special lens, detected the work of Russian hacks who were able to penetrate the homes, offices and safes of all the offi-

cleverly erasing and inflating the APNU+AFC’s numbers and deflating the PPP/C’s numbers so that they could match Mingo’s! Ramjattan’s astuteness was emulated by his colleague David Patterson who opposed live streaming because it was an industrial relations/human rights issue. And showing a facility with Math invented by the AFC leadership, he argued against the consecutive counting of the Regions votes because “to recount each region one at a time doesn’t make sense. By the time you get to Region Four, we will be probably in day 35.” Poor David, a quantity surveyor with a supposed facility with figures, is (Continued on page 6)

GOD HELP GUYANA! DEAR EDITOR, Permit me space in your newspaper to vent not only my frustration but shock at the meritless depths to which the incumbent plunges to make baseless points, making “several mountains out of several molehills”. I am a young Guyanese, and to see grown and supposedly intellectual minds behave in such a colloquially low manner begs the question as to whether they’ve actually won these elections or not, whilst I do not wish to preempt any decision as to which of the two political leviathans would’ve won, I would rather hypothesize that the coalition has indeed lost, not based on the SOP’s that the PPP has released, but the behaviour of the coalition’s members; their mixed state-

ments to the media and finally the recount of Region 4 which has got them – in the words of Amna Ally- “skin up” if you can identify a pattern then you are clearly free from the coalition’s wayward and “falsely riddled” propaganda. They are intentionally trying to shift the media’s attention from the count of District Four, with narratives that have been dismissed due to lack of evidence, I mean objecting to a voter because he/she is a Jehovah Witness? Or informing the media of secret meetings even though every other stakeholder has debunked it? Or producing evidence then suddenly withdrawing it? They are insulting the intelligence of Guyanese daily and in the process exposing their lunacy

and desperation for the elixir of power which inconclusively they’ve seem to have already lost a grip of. The coalition is fighting a losing battle, they are aware of the consequences, but without shame they are “hoping” for something only possible in their fictional world. No matter their bizarre and baseless arguments, they cannot change the figures in the box, they cannot alter any numbers, they cannot do anything counterproductive, and that has set them on edge, to an extent that they say so many things that in due time will be exposed as nothing but lies. When death looms above a man he does stupid things. God help Guyana! Sincerely, V. Harry

Tuesday May 19, 2020

The Coalition’s gadgetry went berserk last week DEAR EDITOR, Over last week the gadgetry within the Coalition’s machinery went out of control. It all started after a Bruce Golding video tore Mingo’s fraudulent declaration to shreds. Golding showed how Mingo inflated the votes for APNU/AFC in four Region 4 boxes, using the SOR’s published by GECOM. With Mingo’s secret cistern perceived to be broken by Golding, the Coalition seems to have felt the ground shifting under their feet and became infuriated. Joe Harmon first came to salvage the broken cistern. Instead of discrediting the message by presenting Mingo’s spreadsheet or the party SOPS, he attacked the messenger, accusing Golding of being” exceptionally partisan” and “”hostile to the nation and people of Guyana”. The groundwork for a future narrative - that dead and migrated people voted in the elections - that were slowly being amassed in the observation corner of the recount was forced to ripen prematurely by Golding. Pontificating this narrative has two purposes. By constantly alleging, without evidence, that dead people and people who migrated voted they are hoping to derail the credibility of the elections. That done, like in the parlance of “ eating your cake and still have”, they want GECOM to declare them as the winner on the basis of Mingo’s fraudulent declara-

tion that GECOM chair refused to set aside before the recount. What happened next would suggest that Harmon may have lambasted the others for not pulling their weight in their grand scheme of deceit. From that day at least one top official came by every day to take a shot, drive by style, at the journalist tent at the Conference Center, seeking coverage to indoctrinate the people into their sinister plot. Leonard Craig said the party had concerns about the credibility of the elections since the night of the election and the party was just making a “general statement” when it deemed the elections as free, fair and credible. Speaking of Golding report, Patterson stammered out, “he called some numbers, I don’t know where it is...” Patterson said the SORs “largely reflect what we have in our possession”, but would not commit to releasing their SOPS. Next came the PNC discarded strong man Aubrey Norton. He spoke of seeing a woman voting twice in Region 3 but did not report it because they, assumedly GECOM was not taking report at that time. We all know, had that happened, this individual would have brought down fire and brimstone instantly! He made it clear that his party has” no apologies” for not releasing its SOPS. Cathy drive by to shoot her piece the same day, saying that “missing poll book”

is an indication of skullduggery. GECOM’s PRO took the wind out of her sail by ascertaining that all the poll books are accounted for. Cathy said the list would have been sanitized “if there was a claims and objections period”. There was a claims and objections period! Was she comatose? Next came Williams. Within a few hours he meandered from seeing “numerous acts of skullduggery committed by the opposition”, for which GECOM will have to do something about, to the recount cannot decide the outcome of the elections. Groundwork laid! The two queens of Sheba, Amna and Volda, rolled in to find out what GECOM was going to do about these alleged discrepancies. Finally, Granger had to roll in Sunday morning to put some semblance of order to his disgruntled ranks, saying that he will respect any declaration made by GECOM. He said that he is inspired by the 4 Cs -” constitution, courts, commission and Caricom” as his justification for not allowing the return of the Carter Center. Did he forget that the word Carter begins with a C? Then he blames the COVID lockdown to protect the people as the reason for blocking the Carter Center. We all know that the Airport was opened to allow the entry of numerous Exxon workers despite COVID. Yours respectfully, Rudolph Singh

Can NIS accept scanned copies during this COVID-19 panof Life certificate? demic, and I am hoping that DEAR EDITOR, I am a NIS old age pensioner who lives permanently in Ontario, Canada, and I am due to submit my Life Certificate so that I can be paid my pension for January-May 2020. The problem, is that there is no mail service from Canada to Guyana since April 2020. I am also of the opinion that many of my cohorts, who are living in Canada, USA and

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Kaieteur News

many other countries are also having the same problem. Is it possible, that NIS can accept a scanned copy of life certificate from old age pensioners who are living in Canada, USA and any other country where mail services to Guyana has been suspended at this time? I know that many institutions have adjusted their protocols to accommodate their clients

NIS can do likewise. NIS Old age pensioner EDITOR’S NOTE: The National Insurance Scheme through its Public Relations Department has advised that pensioners can forward copies of their life certificates, complete with NIS number, contact number and signature, to the email address public_relations@nis.org.gy.

URGENT HELP NEEDED DEAR EDITOR, A befuddled single parent came to ask advice on how her Nursery School daughter can learn ‘online’. She posed me a number of issues which, being ‘off-line’ myself, I could not resolve, recognising that commonsense did not necessarily reconcile every generation with the envelopingtechnologicalenvironment.Nevertheless, however, simplistically, she asked: - What is Online? - What is it she would have to do? - What machine she would have to buy? - Her part-time job did not pay enough to buy anything more than the cell phone she used to keep in touch with family none of whom lived in the same isolated rural neighbourhood

- She could not afford another cell phone for the little child. In any case the latter was too playful and would soon ‘spoil’ it. - On top of that she could not read the ‘little’ child’s lessons. Was the teacher going to come and help, and at what time, because she could not risk leaving the house ‘open’ with the ‘little child’ alone at home. - If so, she wanted to know how the ‘little child’ would progress in learning ‘online’.I promised faithfully to find out.Will someone please help the two of us, and presumably whomever else may be in such a predicament? Possibly also, it is a problem for the teacher/s involved. A helpless enquirer

Guyanese on every side of the divide must not tolerate this eye-pass DEAR EDITOR, What a fascinating place to belong to. What a stressful environment for us Guyanese to live in. What with the global pandemic Covid-19. We must cope with the 2020 Elections virus – sometimes we feel that only Divine intervention can save us from going under. I must not be a pessimist. We must be strong and optimistic because our slave and indentured ancestors survived the discrimination, and humiliation of the hay days of imperialism and colonialism. But to not be a pessimist, in the present environment requires that we dig deeply into human history. This will allow all of us to learn from past mis-steps and mis-guided notions. It is only this that will allow us to produce a wholesome environment in order to bequeath to our children, and our children’s children a good, great land of Guyana, where we make a reality of that slogan of “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.” A place where all of us can be the beneficiaries of the creator’s generosity, a country with no natural disasters but with minerals, timber, agricultural lands, marine resources, now including oil. However, we must know that success requires statesmanship, wisdom and above all, genuine patriots at the helm of the ship of state. Earlier, I cautioned that oil in developing countries such as ours, offers the Triple ‘C,” – Corruption, Confusion and Coups D’Etat. Recently, protests about the Carter Centre, statements

by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding and conflicting reports about the recount all add to the stress and strain of a tired and fed-up citizenship. Our people deserve better than this tragedy, or if we prefer comedy. Before I deal with the Carter Centre and the insinuation of race in our national situation, I wish to make it clear that I am not and could not be racist. As a child, I grew up in Albouystown-Charlestown Community where I experienced love, liberty and laughter with the Sues, the Chungs, the Younges, (Chinese origin), the Ramsarups, the Singhs, the Hanomans, the Mohameds (Indo), the Da’Guiars, the Rodrigues and Texeiras (Portuguese). At college, my best friends were Wilmot Chan (half Chinese) Wyatt Balgobin (Indo), Stafford Chung and the Late Anthony Houston (Portuguese). As an adult, my closest and most trusted colleague was Carl D’Aguiar (Linden), the Kissoons, Gafoors and others. Beyond that, I’ve cherished the affection and regard I have for the leadership and people of the United States of America and in my recent travels and living with close family members, I have found Caucasians and other Americans courteous and helpful and when I held public office shared cordial and productive relationship with the Ambassadors and High Commissioners of US, Canada, United Kingdom and the EU, finding them friendly, while observing protocol on both sides.

Now, for the three matters I mentioned, the Coalition and the President have replied to a request by the US Ambassador for the re-entry of the Carter Centre citing the challenges of the pandemic Covid – 19. I congratulate the President for his politeness. For me, my attitude to Carter Centre is at variance with expressed courtesy and correctness contained in the Government’s reply to the request of the US Ambassador for the return of the Carter Centre. When the Carter Centre and Mr. Carter were first introduced to Guyana in the early 1990s, I expressed, in no uncertain terms, my concern to their involvement, in what I considered our internal affairs. On the question for Elections and internal affairs I have always and still hold the view that the contending political parties must be able to sit and talk things through, taking into account the reality of race, class and the lingering wounds as a result of an earlier colonial divide to rule policy. Before the sudden death of President Forbes Burnham, Elvin Mc David and I initiated secret talks intended to bring a rapprochement between Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham. Both men indicated their willingness to set aside the past and work together to achieve that united mass enthusiastic support, which characterized the 1952-53 political era. For some reason, Desmond Hoyte did not (Continued on page 16)

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

EDITORIAL

Kaieteur News

Tuesday May 19, 2020

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Floodgates will be open to corruption, poor governance if laws not rooted in policy By Kiana Wilburg

f Guyana does not ensure that its laws are rooted in good policy, then it would only be opening the floodgates to corruption says Trinidadian Petroleum Expert, Anthony Paul. His comments come in wake of a recent Kaieteur News article which exposed that the Energy Department is pursing the review of Guyana's oil and gas laws without a national oil and gas Policy in place. In spite of advice given to Guyana since 2016 to pursue a policy first, the Energy Department is in the process of fine-tuning a US$1.2M contract with American law firm, Hunton, Andrews, Kurth LLP. That company also enjoys a 40year relationship with ExxonMobil which is the largest player in Guyana's oil

- TT Petroleum Expert industry. Reflecting on this state of affairs during a discussion on Kaieteur Radio's programme, 'Guyana's Oil and You', Paul said it is critical that Guyana has a policy in place to ensure the principles of transparency and accountability take root in the governance structure for the industry. To i l l u s t r a t e t h e importance of having a policy in place, he offered the following example: “When you are putting together a budget, you are faced with all kinds of decisions. How much to save, how much to spend. But that is determined by what you want to achieve. Let's say you want to buy a house. You have to consider what the market looks like.

Are prices going up or down?” Based on what the prices are at the time, Paul said one may choose to rent for a while until prices are more affordable, adding, “Now that you know what you want to achieve, you have essentially outlined a policy. And that policy says what you are going to do, which is rent for a while and save up until prices are more affordable. Your policy is essentially fit for purpose.” With that policy, Paul said that one can go about setting rules to ensure the vision becomes a reality. He said one might set a rule (law) to only go out to the club with friends once a week. Stemming from that law, he said one would design a regulation that is

more detailed. That regulation would say you can go clubbing but only at Palm Court. And when you go there, you can only buy two shots of vodka. Paul said that in this way, one has clearly outlined a system of governance which is born from policy. “Without having thought about what you want, then all you are doing is cutting and pasting someone else's legislation and if it is not fit for purpose then it will not work. In reality, politicians quite often, like this state of affairs because if the law is not implementable, then it gives them power to act at their own discretion. And not just the politicians, the public servants too,” he noted. Paul, who is currently

Trinidadian energy expert, Anthony Paul providing advice to the G o v e r n m e n t o f Mozambique, cautioned that if the law is not rooted in good policy, it leads to ad hoc decision making. With clear rules and procedures, however, decision-makers can be held to account. He

further stated that in the absence of same, the flood gates are left open wide to corruption. The energy expert was also keen to note that corruption is not the only source of loss for countries like Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Most value loss in countries like ours,” he explained, “comes through inept governance and weak public service. So don't just focus on stopping corruption. Fixing the governance system also gives you allot of retention of value than just preventing corruption.” He said that one of the best routes to take to ensure high quality governance is ensuring laws are born out of good policy. “I am not saying you can't start life without policy but there are consequences when you head in that direction,” Paul concluded.

Diamond Hospital denies poor conditions at COVID-19 facilities - holding more than 75% of country's patients

he Diamond Diagnostic H o s p i t a l administration has denied that the situation is out-ofhand there. Responding to a story published in another media house over the weekend, Dr. Quincy Jones, Regional Health Officer (RHO of Region Four), said that the story had several half-truths and fallacies which were repeated without evidence to support them. “We are truly disappointed that instead of celebrating the very hard and dedicated work of the doctors and nurses who leave their homes and live in the unit to provide medical care and other services to these patients for weeks at a time, we are instead forced to pen a response to an article…” the RHO said in a statement. The Diamond Isolation Unit since its establishment has been taking the majority of the confirmed COVID-19 patients the statement noted, with the largest number being as high as 52 cases at one time, as recently as Sunday afternoon. “It is important to note,” read Dr. Jones' statement, “that the country has 61 active cases. This means that more than 85% of the total

Region 4 RHO, Dr. Quincy Jones positive cases in Guyana are housed at the Diamond Isolation Unit. Further to this, since its establishment, more than 30 persons have recovered and been discharged from the unit thanks to the hard work of our doctors and nurses.” It was disclosed that the unit is divided into four sections, each with its own toilet and bath, and each provided with the hand soap (either in the dispensers or in bottles with dispensing tops) and toilet paper: “As with admission to any other hospital facility, we would have expected persons to come with any

other toiletries they would need such as sanitary napkins (the ones we keep at the hospital are reserved for our pregnant patients), deodorant, shampoo, bath soaps etc., as these are not routinely supplied by the hospital.” Cleaning supplies are not routinely given to the patients since the unit has three persons who come every day to clean the building and wash the dirty linens. “These persons are supplied with those items,” the statement noted, “Garbage is removed daily from the patient's building, double-bagged and sprayed with disinfectant and then completely removed from the compound by two porters. We have had instances, however, where the doctors had to sweep up garbage from the yard because patients chose to dump food boxes and other items over the rails instead of in the bins provided.” The RHO said that the cleaners have complained of patients stuffing food items down the sinks and bathroom causing the water to accumulate in the showers.:“There was even a complaint of fecal matter being found on the floor and

smeared on the walls in one of the female blocks. The cleaners also complained of finding the hand soap provided smeared on the floors in the shower.” As it relates to water supply, Dr Jones said that the

Diamond hospital and the isolation unit depend on the same water supply. “As you can imagine, the increase demand for water would put some strain on the supply system causing some issues. As far as we know,

this has happened twice and both times a plumber was promptly called in to rectify the matter- the last occasion, however, there was an issue where the pump developed a leak, so enough water was (continued on page 18)

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

Task Force approves 'not more than two' additional workstations for National Recount - Recount may still exceed deadline says Vincent Alexander

he National COVID-19 Task Force (NTCF) has given the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) the go ahead to establish 'not more than two additional workstations' to increase the pace of the ongoing national recount at the Arthur Chung Conference Center. GECOM's Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward told reporters that the new stations will be

allocated to Region's Six and Seven. Despite this, Commissioner Vincent Alexander noted that the additional workstations, while positively impacting the progress in general, would not result in keeping the count within the 25-day timeline. He told reporters that “My own guesstimate is that it would not allow us to complete within 25 days but it would significantly impact the number of days.”

The Commission had initially identified six possible new workstations which would satisfy the numerous appeals to ramp up the recount process. They were unable to implement the expansion without the guidance and approval of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) team of the Task Force who later visited and made an assessment of the recount site. Assurance was given to

the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh that given the urgency of the matter, a prompt reply should be expected. It was however, exactly four days after the visit that the needed correspondence was received. Ward relayed to the press, that the Chair took the decision to approve two workstations before the Task Force granted the approval. Coincidentally, that report from the NCTF approved

GECOM PRO Yolanda Ward

Commissioner Vincent Alexander

two workstations as well. Ward explained that the HEOC in their report cited that the Commission had failed to enforce the COVID-19 guidelines that were previously agreed to. The letter said “In the conclusion, the HEOC (Health Emergency Operations Center) is of the view that the previous guidelines are not being adhered to and that the ACCC is congested enough and therefore our final recommendation is

that we do not envisage more than two additional workstations as this will increase the probability of the spread of infection and is not in keeping with WHO/ PAHO and the HEOC established guidelines on containment and mitigation measures.” In their si tuational findings, the team highlighted that that upon arrival at the ACCC, “two designated hand washing areas were without soap or (continued on page 14)

GECOM to investigate 'strange' mix up of voters list in ballot boxes

he Guyana E l e c t i o n s Commission (GECOM) has launched an investigation to ascertain how the Official List of Electors (OLE) for two polling stations on the East Bank of Demerara got switched on elections day. GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward explained to the media that the two polling stations, 2124 and 2122, were operating within in the same polling centre, on March 2, 2020. Polling agents at the national recount yesterday discovered that for those two ballot boxes, the voter's lists were mixed up. “What we had was that upon opening those ballot boxes, we found that the Official List of Electors for 2124 was in 2122 and vice versa,” Ward said. “The lists were switched.

They were not in their rightful boxes.” Upon the discovery, those ballot boxes were not counted, resealed and returned to the container, pending the outcome of the investigation. Ward stated that the Commission has requested the presence of the two Presiding Officers from that polling place to find out what may have led to the switch. Commissioner Vincent Alexander deemed the discovery “strange” as he pointed out that the polling stations were “desolate and isolated”, working with individual OLE's. Ward noted that that there is nothing in the law spells out what action the Commission can take in such an occurrence. She said “That is dependent on the Commission based on the findings of the investigations.”

Kaieteur News

Tuesday May 19, 2020

PAGE 09

The New Reality T

he world will not be the same again. Not for a long time at least. The COVID-19 coronavirus has changed it permanently. The new reality which we will face when the virus subsides – if it ever does – will be vastly different to what exists now. Firstly, masks are here to stay. People will have to go to work with masks. Students will have to attend school wearing masks. Teachers will have to teach with mask. Persons entering businesses and forms of public transportation will be required to wear masks. This will change the world as we know it. You will pass someone on the road and will

not recognize him or her unless they shout out to you. Many people are confused about the utility of masks. Many feel that a mask protects them. It does but only to an extent. When you wear a mask, you are protecting others from being infected by you, rather than the other way around. Thus, it is important that everyone wears a mask once they are out in the public. Social distancing will have to continue to suppress the virus and to avoid a future outbreak. This will affect the way we relate to each other. Persons will have to keep at certain distance when going into shops and when speaking to others whether in public or in the homes. Hugging and

embracing or shaking hands will be risky acts. How do you have a meal in a restaurant if social distancing is to be maintained? This will change the way we even date. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven how vulnerable societies are to microorganisms. The world will now have to take more seriously contagious diseases, and biological warfare and biological terrorism now assume even more frightening dimensions. Working from home is here to stay. The present pandemic has been a revelation in showing how many people can work just as effective from home as

they can from the office. Working from home has its benefits. It reduces overheads for employers. It has also shown employers how overstaffed they are and how they can get much more done without having to bring people to a central location. International travel is going to be different in the new reality. Given the number of countries where the virus has been found, the tourism sector is going to take a big hit. People are not going to be keen on touring other countries, at least not in the near-term. Hotels and the aviation sector are going to be severely affected. As a result, the tourism sector will change forever. Already, some persons are

speaking about virtual tours. This may become the new reality. Care homes, especially for the elderly, have borne the brunt of the deaths in this pandemic in most countries. The pandemic has killed persons of all ages but has been particularly harsh on the elderly and persons with underlying health conditions. The rapid spread of the virus in care homes has had devastating effects. The design and number of persons future homes will be allowed to house will be reduced drastically as new regulations are put in place to ensure there is no recurrence. This will also impact on persons visiting these care homes Entertainment houses –

Task Force approves return of law students, cruise ship workers - greenlights Komal Chand's body to be flown in - Courts stores to reopen for payments

he National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) yesterday held its weekly statutory virtual meeting. There were permission granted for the return of several Guyanese stuck abroad including the law students in Trinidad and the remains of late union leader, Komal Chand. Permission has also been

given for the reopening of several stores of Courts to handle payments. Below is the full statement: The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) today held its weekly statutory virtual meeting. The meeting deliberated on the issue of post-June 3rd emergency measures and the possible phased re-opening of the

economy and airspace. There is need for further deliberations in this regard. The meeting did consider the applications of various groups of Guyanese overseas who are desirous of returning home. In this regard some of these requests were approved as part of controlled re-entry measures. The approvals are subject to the satisfaction of

.......................................................... Dem boys seh...

A woman carry home wrong husband

eh had a girl who was tekkin' a driving test. The instructor asked her: “You are driving and suddenly an old man and a young kid appear in your path. Who yuh gun hit?” The girl thought long and hard about it and said: “I mean the kid has his whole life ahead of him. So I guess I would hit the old man.” The instructor tun to she and seh: “You failed. The correct answer is that you should hit the brakes.” Sometimes, the obvious is not always obvious. Take GEE-CUM. Dem add two new counting stations but instead of placing the

additional stations to count District 4 votes which accounting for 40% of the total ballots, dem putting dem to count District 6 and District 7. Dem boys smell something. District 4 is the biggest one and de one that cause all de problems we seeing now. Was just like de time when one boy was part of de con-funk-shun during the Mingo-Bingo saga. Dem boys now hear how GEE-CUM promote the boy and put he fuh supervise one of de counting station. Dem boys nah know whether to laugh or cry. Some people does mek

mistake during this COVID19 pandemic. Wha cause dem boy fuh laugh was the story bout the woman and she husband who went to de supermarket. When she guh home and dem tek off dem masks, she see dat she bring home the wrong husband. But face masks is not all dat bad. Yesterday, dem boys pass a man who dem boys owe money. He did not recognize dem boys. Talk half and leh we hope that the recount done before we stop wearing masks. Otherwise we might end swearing-in Soulja Bai fuh Air-Fan.

the requirements of the Ministry of Public Health and other relevant ministries and agencies and the cost of return being borne by the

applicants. Following are the list of decisions taken. 1. The application of 19 Guyanese students of the Hugh Wooding Law School i n Tr i n i d a d h a s b e e n approved. 2. The application of 70 Guyanese cruise ship (continued on page 18)

pubs, bars, cinemas, theatres and restaurants – will have to face a new reality which may put them out of the business. It is hard to see in the shortterm persons venturing in l a rg e n u m b e r s t o t h e cinemas. This will mean that home-streaming services will increase and most movies will now have to be looked at from home. The future of sports is still uncertain. The German League has restarted without fans in the stand and this takes away from the atmosphere which is needed to generate TV and cable sales. Sport is big business and its future is up in the air. As countries begin to ease their lockdowns, a new reality dawns. The world has changed forever. People will have to change too. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Mercury and the Russians rigged the election for the PPP O

ver the weekend, I was given h i g h l y confidential material about how the PPP rigged the March 2020 general poll in

Guyana. Based on the material I had, I picked up my two friends; one who writes the satirical column, “Dem Boys Seh” and the other who does “The Baccoo

Speaks.” For obvious reason, I cannot tell you who they are. But both do their columns from abroad where they are immigrants. Both are in

Guyana at the moment. They came to hang around the Conference Centre to see the recount. I turned a white shade of pale when both told me from what they were shown, they are recorded as voted in the election even though they were not in the country on election day. One is supposed to have voted in Roxanne Burnham Garden, the other in Buxton. With that information and based on data, I have, I now see that the PPP rigged the election through the instrumentality of the American consultant firm, Mercury and the Russians. We owe Ramjattan and Cathy Hughes a huge apology when we rejected their proof of the Russian involvement in the rigging. Here now is my investigation and those of my two fellow KN columnists into the great fraud that the PPP saturated the March 2020 election with. We begin with a statement Khemraj Ramjattan made before the media outside the Conference Centre last Saturday. He said the PPP was the most well-oiled elections machinery in the Caribbean. He was right. The PPP spent almost two million Guyana dollars buying 35, 000 ID cards from three categories of citizens – the relatives of

dead people, those who did not pick up their ID cards from GECOM and those who migrated but left their personal documents with their relatives. We visited a farmer at Kaieteur Falls Park who said he was offered $5,000 for his dead wife's national identification but he bargained for more because he told them he also had the IDs for his dead parents and his deceased brother. The PPP bought all. For that Kaieteur Falls trip, the leader of the mission was Kwame MCcoy. Here now is a description of the entire operation. In January 2016, the PPP decided to buy the ID cards. It spent about two years buying the documents all over Guyana. In 2019, the Russians bought in a large container. It consisted of chemicals that can make a certain type of false skin. The type you see in movies. Operations began in a large building on the highway at a place named “Umbrella.” The actual building is still there with empty containers strewn all over the place. I would suggest Ramjattan and Cathy Hughes visit Umbrella to collect evidence of the Russian interference. Mercury was employed t o d o t h e technical/technological operation. Each ID photo

Frederick Kissoon was put on a large television screen measuring 110 feet. The screens are still in the building at Umbrella. A skin mask resembling the actual person was made. Also a finger skin was made. You pull the skin over your index finger after it was marked with ballot ink, and there is no way the GECOM officials at the stations can detect that your finger was inked. Important to note that each false skin – whether finger or face – had different colours. So if you are very light in complexion or dark like me, there was an appropriate colour So what actually happened is that after Mary Singh voted. She went at a safe-house run by the PPP. She put on the mask resembling the image of Susan Persaud. She pulled over her inked finger, the false skin. Armed with Persaud's ID card, she voted twice. Thirty-five thousand persons voted fraudulently like this giving the PPP 35, 000 extra votes that were not real. Please remember, Ramjattan's words about the PPP being a well oiled election machine. The PPP succeeded in this conspiracy in all the 10 Regions in Guyana. The PPP was so good that it got someone to vote for the columnist who writes “Dem Boy Seh” right in the heart of PNC land – Buxton. Gathering evidence of the PPP's fraudulent project is quite simple. The operators left a lot of incriminating proof at Umbrella. If you want a free television screen measuring a 110 feet, then go to that warehouse deep inside the jungle off the SoesdykeLinden highway. I guess Roxanne Myers, Lo Lo Field, Claudette Singh and Mingo Mango after reading this will head up to Umbrella to gather the evidence. But here is the scary part that I stumbled onto. Of the 35, 000 ID cards the PPP had, 30, 000 came from dead people. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

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More awareness can help eliminate COVID -19 stigmatization - Neaz Subhan F

ormer Ethnic R e l a t i o n s Commission ( E R C ) m e m b e r, N e a z Subhan is calling for a public education campaign to help end the stigma attached to COVID-19 after surviving infection. Subhan was discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Sunday last after spending a total of forty –nine days in isolation due to the virus. He described the experience as an exceptionally challenging and life-changing period which he never envisaged. “While, inexplicably,” Subhan said in a release to the media, “many may seem oblivious of the crippling effects this pandemic has on affected individuals, their families, communities and the country, I saw firsthand and therefore respectfully believe I am in a better position to offer related advice on the need for all to heed the advisories and take maximum precaution to help stop the spread of COVID –19. I wish no one would have to experience simply because of the known devastating effects of the virus.” Subhan noted that COVID- 19 has attracted unnecessary stigmatization for both patients and their families. “[And] sadly,” he added, it has even extended to healthcare workers with some refused accessed to public transportation as one manifestation. This must be confronted through sustained education from all possible fronts for the virus does not discriminate with regard to time, ethnicity, politics, religion or social status.”

COVID-19 Survivor: Former ERC Commissioner, Neaz Subhan Given his experience with the disease, the former ERC official said he will endeavour to do his best to aid in awareness for prevention and for the removal of stigmatization. “I remain available to participate in any related effort… Many lessons were leant during those days; lessons that must be heeded and shared; lessons I hope that can be helpful to others; lessons that could save lives. In the end, I am thankful and happy that I survived,” he said. According to Subhan spending those seven weeks away from my family was naturally difficult but he stressed that even more impacting was being enshrouded in uncertainty over what the eventual outcome would be and when clearance would be achieved. “With every passing day,” he said, “that gradually eroded my mental strength

weakening any inherent ability to fight and not give up. With the virus being new and research ongoing, I learnt that some patients take much longer than the expected 14-day period to be cleared. Unfortunately, I was in that category along with a few others here and overseas. I therefore reluctantly resigned myself to the uncertainty of when, taking some comfort knowing I was not alone. While there were moments during that passage of time when I may have emotionally succumbed, the grace of Allah; the support and prayers of my family, friends and others, many of whom are not personally known to me; the sustained and valiant efforts of the

dedicated Doctors and Nurses; their support teams; treatment and care administered, are responsible for my recovery and eventual discharge.” “I remain profoundly grateful for their efforts and that of the Minister of Public Health and her team not just for my recovery, but for all others during my isolation and to which I can attest,” Subhan added. He said that there were challenges in some related areas as the effects of the virus and its treatment evolved and there are areas for improvement. He continued “the treatment and care I received and witnessed for many others were beyond my expectation, dissipating my harboured perceptions of the

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). I am now enlightened about its capabilities.” Subhan lauded the medical teams for their u n r e l e n t i n g e ff o r t s t o preserve lives during the crisis. “I witnessed how emotionally devastated the medical teams were when, despite their best efforts, a patient unfortunately succumbed. I also witnessed their tears of joy when others recovered. It hallmarks their primary focus of doing all within their powers to save lives. For that, they must be commended and their efforts recognized. They are truly, in spite of their own personal challenges, our frontline heroes in the fight against Covid 19, “he added.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday May 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Tuesday May 19, 2020

PAGE 13

National Songs remix “Cross-Eye” shot dead while competition to be hosted escaping on stolen bike

he Department of Social Cohesion, Culture Youth and Sport has launched a National Songs Remix Competition, one of the many activities being hosted in observance of the country's 54th Independence anniversary celebration. Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain, said the participants will be required to record their songs on their mobile devices and send them to the Department of Public Information (DPI). Their videos then will be posted to the Department of Public Information and Department of Social Cohesion's social media platforms for the viewing public to select a winner. The competition will conclude on May 25. The Director noted that the contest aims to promote the creativity and innovativeness of the

Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain participants. “This competition will cause persons to think outside of the box when recording any of the country's national songs. We expect that each participant will put their heart into it their rendition because, to win, they

Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton definitely need that 'wow' factor,” she added. A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e Minister of Social Cohesion, D r. G e o r g e N o r t o n , disclosed that the department is also planning to create a collaborative national song track with Guyanese artistes. (DPI)

ineteen-year-old Kevin Thomas better known as “Cross-Eye” was shot and killed in an early morning confrontation with police while escaping with an accomplice on a stolen motorcycle at Victoria Road, Plaisance yesterday. The shooting incident occurred at around 02:30HRS yesterday morning after Thomas and his pillion rider noticed a Guyana Police Force mobile patrol roadblock in the Sparendaam area. Police said that the two men were approaching at a fast rate on an Elite brand motorcycle, plated CK1893, when they suddenly they made an about-turn and sped a w a y. Noting this suspicious behaviour, police gave chase. The young men then made several turns into various streets in an attempt to elude the pursuing ranks,

Dead: Kevin Thomas also known as Cross Eye but after their plan did not work the pillion rider drew a hand gun and opened fire. The police returned fire and both men to fell to the ground, with Thomas shot to the chest – his accomplice however was able to escape on foot, leaving Thomas bleeding on the road. Ranks immediately contacted an

ambulance which transported the injured teen to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he died while receiving treatment. One of ranks recovered the motorcycle and was riding it to the Sparendaam Police Station when he was (continued on page 15)

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

Doctor placed on $400,000 Digicel files for bankruptcy bail for Bushlot accident in Bermuda that killed teen Dead: Aliya Mohabir CHARGED: Giresh Sadeo

our months after ploughing through three young girls with his SUV and killing one, the doctor who was arrested and sent on station bail shortly after was charged yesterday. Dr. Giresh Sadeo, the driver of motor vehicle PXX 5165, aged 31, of Lot 196 Section B, Number 78 Village, Corentyne, Berbice appeared at the Whim Magistrate Court where the charge was read to him by Magistrate Renita Singh. He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving contrary to section 35 (1) of the motor vehicle and Road Traffic Act, Chapter 51:02. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $400,000 bail by the magistrate. His passport was

lodged and the case was postponed for the 4th June 2020 for report and fixture. On the 15th February, 2020 16-year-old Aliya Mohabir, her sister Aneela Mohabir, 14 and Roshini Mohan, 9 were walking along the Bushlot Public Road when Sadeo who was driving his SUV struck down the trio after reportedly losing control of his vehicle. Aliya Mohabir succumbed to her injuries the next day at the hospital. According to the police, Sadeo claimed to have been proceeding east along the northern carriageway of the road “at a normal rate of speed when the driver alleged that he saw Mohan in her school uniform on the southern side of the road; the doctor said that the young girl suddenly dashed

across the road from “south to north into the path of his vehicle.” It was after he struck her that he “applied brakes and pulled left…” but ended up on the northern footpath and collided with the Mohabir sisters. Mother of the two teenagers, Bashwattie Rambrich had told reporters that her now-dead daughter was only accompanying her younger sister to the shop located near her school, Bush Lot Secondary, to purchase a Valentine's Day g i f t f o r h e r t e a c h e r. Meanwhile, Roshini Mohan, who is a student of the Kildonan Primary School, was heading back to school on foot from her grandmother's house when she attempted to cross the road and was hit.

e g i o n a l telecommunicati ons giant, Digicel has filed for bankruptcy in Bermuda, but says its day-to-day operations will not be affected by the move. Digicel said it announced a proposed scheme of arrangement in the Bermudian Courts in connection with Digicel Group One Limited, which is purely an intermediate financing holding company. The move, which follows a group-wide salary reduction, is being seen as part of Digicel's attempt to restructure US$1.6 billion of its estimated US$7 billion debt, reports from the Jamaica Observer said yesterday. The company is a direct competitor in the local mobile market with USowned GTT. It has signaled intentions to also land its

own sub-sea fibre optic cable in Guyana to increase its data capacity. The company said that, when complete, the refinancing activities "will strengthen our balance sheet by reducing our debt, extending our maturities and reducing our ongoing financing costs". "It's important to point out that this will have no impact on our day to day operations, our staff, our suppliers, our customers or any aspect of our ongoing activities - it is business as usual," Digicel added. See full statement from Digicel Jamaica below: At the start of April, we announced refinancing activities which, when complete, will strengthen our balance sheet by reducing our debt, extending our maturities and reducing our ongoing financing costs. F o l l o w i n g overwhelming support from

our debt holders for these proposals, we are now progressing with the required administrative processes. As such, we announced details of a proposed Scheme of Arrangement in the Bermudian Courts in connection with Digicel Group One Limited, which is purely an intermediate financing holding company. This Scheme has the support of over 97 per cent of its bondholders and also involves the appointment of a light touch joint provisional liquidators to oversee the implementation of the Scheme. It's important to point out that this will have no impact on our day to day operations, our staff, our suppliers, our customers or any aspect of our ongoing activities - it is business as usual. We will provide further updates on this as we progress.

Task Force approves 'not more than two' additional workstations... From page 8 soap liquid.” On rapid inspection, 19 persons were observed without face masks and some not adequately donning their face masks, the report said. “Multiple persons were observed not practicing adequate physical distancing in the environs of the ACCC.

All the head tables of all the recount stations inspected were clustered and not adhering to the physical distancing protocols. Representatives observing the recount were not seated with adequate physical distancing in 8 of the recount stations,” the letter stated. The Commission will be working to putting systems

in place to ensure full compliance with the COVID-19 measures. With the addition of these new workstations, starting today, Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven will be counted simultaneously, Ward said, Regions One and Two having been completed over the weekend.

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

PAGE 15

Mingo's widespread manipulation of... From page 3 recount, GECOM has finally managed to get the recount underway, more than two months after the March 2 General and Regional Elections, after President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo agreed that it should be done. Public Evidence and A Clear Pattern of Manipulation A previous Kaieteur News report had proven that Mingo's Hadfield Street declaration was altered in favour of APNU+AFC, with video evidence of the altered numbers being called out at the Hadfield Street RO's office, for ballot box #4058. Kaieteur News' analysis is based on audio recordings published by The Citizenship Initiative, of Mingo's general election numbers being called out during the Kingston tabulation, for 13 ballot boxes, and figures supplied for four ballot boxes by the Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Observer Mission, Bruce Golding, in the mission's preliminary report on Guyana's 2020 Elections to the OAS Permanent Council. This party has so far published video clips comparing the statements of poll published by the PPP/C to the statements of recount, with accompanying audio of a female GECOM official reading out the figures during Mingo's tabulation for the Kingston declaration of March 13, 2020. Of 13 ballot boxes, the information indicates the following. For ballot box #4104, the statement of poll showed 111 votes for PPP/C and 132 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 30 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 81, and added 30 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the

count to 162. The statement of recount showed an increase from the statement of poll, of two votes for the PPP/C, to 113, likely due to previously rejected votes now considered valid at the recount. For ballot box #4105, the statement of poll showed 108 votes for PPP/C and 93 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 20 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 88, and added 50 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 143. The statement of recount showed increases from the statement of poll, of five votes for PPP/C, to 113, and five votes for APNU+AFC, to 98, likely due to previously rejected votes now considered valid at the recount. For ballot box #4106, the statement of poll showed 168 votes for PPP/C, and 77 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 20 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 148, and added 30 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 107. The statement of recount showed increases from the statement of poll, of 10 votes for PPP/C, to 178, and one vote for APNU+AFC, to 78, likely due to previously rejected votes now considered valid at the recount. For ballot box #4109, the statement of poll showed 236 votes for PPP/C, and 93 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 30 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 206, and added 40 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 133. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4110, the statement of poll showed 80 votes for PPP/C, and 171 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 20 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to

“Cross-Eye” shot dead while... From page 13 stopped by a 50 year-old –man pedaling a bicycle. The man related that the motorcycle belonged to his son and was stolen about an hour prior from his La Bonne Intention (LBI) home. According to the man he was awoken from his rest by the sound of barking dogs and the rev of a motorcycle. He immediately peeped through his window and saw the alleged thieves leaving his yard on the motorcycle. The LBI resident wasting

no time rushed downstairs, grabbing his bicycle and pursuing the men. He even related that at one time he caught up with them and threw his bicycle in their path, but they swerved and rode away. Police launched an investigation and it was discovered that Thomas was wanted for a number of previous motorcycle thefts. He was also remanded and charged for armed robbery early last year. Police are now on the lookout for his escaped accomplice.

60, and added 20 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 191. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4111, the statement of poll showed 71 votes for PPP/C, and 170 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 30 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 41, and added 40 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 210. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4116, the statement of poll showed 99 votes for PPP/C, and 138 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 30 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 69, and added 50 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 188. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4117, the statement of poll showed 152 votes for PPP/C, and 105 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 30 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 122, and added 30 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 135. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4125, the statement of poll showed 119 votes for PPP/C, and 104 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 20 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 99, and added 50 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 154. The statement of recount showed increases from the statement of poll, of one vote for PPP/C, to 120, and three votes for APNU+AFC, to 107, likely due to previously rejected votes now considered valid at the recount. For ballot box #4126, the statement of poll showed 284 votes for PPP/C, and 42 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted 20 votes from PPP/C, reducing the count to 264, and added 40 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 82. The statement of recount showed an increase from the statement of poll, of one vote for PPP/C, to 285, likely due to previously rejected votes now considered valid at the recount. For ballot box #4139, the statement of poll showed 146 votes for PPP/C, and 99 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation subtracted one vote from PPP/C, reducing the count to 145, and added 40 votes to

APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 139. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4149, the statement of poll showed 93 votes for PPP/C, and 114 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation added 30 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 144. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. For ballot box #4150, the statement of poll showed 41 votes for PPP/C and 207 votes for APNU+AFC. Mingo's tabulation added 30 votes to APNU+AFC, increasing the count to 237. The statement of recount showed the same result as the statement of poll. OAS Observer Mission Preliminary Report Golding , in his preliminary report to the OAS last week provided information on four Region Four ballot boxes as evidence of what he referred to as the most transparent attempt at altering an election that he had ever

encountered. He provided the following details contrasting the SOPs in his possession, the numbers declared by Mingo, and the recount figures provided by two-person OAS team currently observing the recount. “In ballot box 4062,” he asserted, “the statement of poll had indicated 182 votes for APNU and 43 for PPP/C, The returning officer reported those results as 292 votes for APNU and 33 votes for PPP. When that box was recounted, the numbers were 182 for APNU and 43 for PPP, the exact figures that appeared on the statements of poll.” “Let me give you another example. Box 4063,” he continued, “The statements of poll issued on elections night recorded 15 votes for APNU and 276 votes for PPP. The RO declared the results as 85 votes for APNU and 246 votes for the PPP. When that box was recently recounted, the numbers were 15 votes for APNU and 276 votes for PPP, exactly how it appeared on the statements of poll.”

Then, Golding said “Box 4064. Statement of Poll issued elections night, 70 votes for APNU, 93 votes for PPP. The RO declared that result as 170 votes for APNU, 100 more, 73 votes for PPP, 20 less. When the box was recounted, the box showed 71 votes for APNU, 96 votes for PPP.” The one additional vote for APNU+AFC and the three additional votes for the PPP, he explained, were due to the decision by GECOM to consider certain rejected votes as valid, once the intention of the voter is clear. “And finally, box 4074. Statement of Poll shows 86 votes for APNU and 84 votes for PPP. The RO declared the results as 104 votes for APNU, 64 votes for PPP. When the box was recounted, 86 votes for APNU, 84 votes for PPP, exactly as the original Statement of Poll has shown.” Kaieteur News is in possession of photos of these statements of recount, and has verified the veracity of the recount results stated by Golding, for the region four general election.

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Region Two recount completed - Controversial IT Technician Promoted to Recount Supervisor

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Yesterday, on the 13th day of the National Recount exercise, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) managed to complete the recount of 54 ballot boxes, raising the total to 642 ballot boxes.The recount notable saw the completion of all 135 boxes in Region Two, the second regional recount to be recounted after Region One was concluded on Friday, with the certification of the results was completed on Sunday.Yesterday saw the beginning of the counting of boxes from Region 6, with the count for Region 7 anticipated to commence today. GECOM’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward announced last evening that the 54 boxes counted yesterday included nine ballot boxes counted for Region 2; 17 for Region 3; 13 for Region 4’ and 12 for Region 5; and three for Region 6. She went on to say that 608 ballot boxes have been tabulated for the General Elections, while 609 were completed for the regional elections. Additionally, Ward disclosed that the Commission, during a meeting conducted yesterday, spoke about the allegations of deceased and migrant people voting, which are allegations that are being made by the incumbent APNU+ AFC. However, no decisions have yet been made on how to address the aforementioned issues, she noted.

On the other hand, two additional workstations were approved by the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), yesterday, with the aim of ramping up the pace of the recount— one station to Region 6 and the other to 7. Meanwhile, GECOM has promoted to recount supervisor an IT technician, Enrique Livan, who was involved in the controversial removal of a flash drive at the Ashmin’s Building, the then site office of the Region Four Returning Officer, during the initial tabulation process after the March 2 General and Regional Elections. According to Ward, Livan’s elevation occurred after a GECOM staffer left for Moruca, Region One for a period of seven days and, with the aim of alleviating and continuing work, Livan was promoted. The appointment of Livan, who has been promoted to supervisor at Workstation 10, has prompted the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) to write a damning letter to the Chair of GECOM. In the letter, the PPP/C claimed that since Livan’s promotion there has been a “deliberate sloth in the counting of Region 4 ballots”. Against this backdrop, the party appealed for the additional workstations to be allocated to Region Four instead of Regions Six and Seven.

Guyanese on every side of the divide must not ... From page 5 subscribe to an engagement with Dr. Jagan and the PPP. Dr. Joey Jagan can confirm that he brought his father to my home where I had hoped to reignite talks for a political solution.Elections were due in 1990 but there was a general concern for us to change our laws and regulations governing the electoral procedures.Enter President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Centre.It was clear to me that the Carter Centre role was not advisory but to manage or manipulate our political – electoral machinery.Mr. Hoyte was persuaded to change many aspects of our electoral laws, including denying the rights of Guyanese living abroad to vote.It was Mr. Jimmy Carter with Hoyte sitting next to him who announced several new features that would be put in place for next Elections 1992.Jimmy Carter telling this Nation what will happen in a matter that I consider purely internal made me furious and I made no secret about this apparent brutalization of our sovereignty.Mr. Carter also met with Leaders in the Security Services and others. In all this, Mr. Hoyte ensured that I, as Prime Minister, never met with Mr. Carter, since I made no secret of my chagrin. Now, let me confess my bias and prejudice, all due to the influence of my mother. She lived in the US, in the 20s and early 30s and daily she would tell us of the discrimination she and black people experienced, particularly in the Southern States of the US. For example, travelling in a train and when crossing the Maison Dixon line, burly white conductors would announce, “Niggas get behind.” In my mind, I knew that the American Civil War 18611865 was really the disagreement about whether slaves should be freed or kept in bondage.The Northern States were anxious to follow the pattern of the British who

freed the slaves in 1834.The Southern States wanted to maintain the inhuman practice of African bondage.So, the end of slavery came the same year that the civil war came to an end.I remain apprehensive of a unit established and headquartered in the deep south of United States, Georgia.Hoyte and others thought that my views were out of order and discounted the fact that the Carter Centre Mantra seem to be “regimechange.”Further, Carter and the Carter Centre seem obsessed with producing democracy in other countries.Recall, that Jimmy Carter in 1989, was one of the Election Observers (note my emphasis ‘Observers”) in the Panama Election.Thanks to functioning beyond being an Observer, Jimmy Carter was placed under house arrest by Noriega’s Force to prevent him from speaking to the Press. Events in Panama are of course another matter. At a later press conference, he called for an international response to the alleged stolen Elections, in Panama. He then addressed the Manuel Antonio Noreiga’s Administration directly asking “Are you honest people, or are you thieves?”Guyanese everywhere must learn and understand that for the big powers, you’re only a friend when you can support their cause.Stealing of course, is not the word when the mighty take over countries, installations and institutions.During the Cold War, it was either to stop the spread of communism or to promote the advancement of communism.The big nations, when it suits them, support devils and dictators.They can exploit the people and their patrimony whether right or wrong; they are correct.The Carter Centre was established and headquartered in Georgia, a deep-south State, where certain attitudes to Blacks linger on.Recently, in 2018, a very rounded and respected

and popular Afro- American Lady, Stacy Abrams, was denied the Governorship of Georgia.Thanks to the practice of “voter suppression,” voters turning up and finding polling places close, AfroAmericans in certain communities having to travel long distances to cast their votes, etc.Up to this day, Stacy Abrams, and many others have not accepted that she lost the Elections for the Governorship of Georgia. Not a word from the Carter Centre.Democracy, it seems is one of those chameleon terms like love, that mean different things to different people, but used and exploited by all of us all of the time.We must avoid encouraging people of groups outside of the intimacy of the family meddling too much in our affairs.Our family is the CARICOM Leaders. We must show reverence to the three ‘B’s,’ who planted the seed for CARICOM, when before Independence, the three big ‘B’s’ met at Dickinson Bay, in Antigua – Vere Cornwall Bird, Errol (Dipper) Barrow and Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. We must enhance and not diminish their courage and vision for a solid Caribbean Community.The next issue is the strident remarks made by Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Hon. Bruce Golding. Like all of us, we have our good days and bad days. Bruce Golding is admired by many Jamaicans and Caribbean citizens. When in office, he had his bad days by supporting certain folks, which led a Jamaican journal to describe Golding as a pathological liar.Those were bad days.His statement on an unfinished electoral voting process in Guyana is another bad day for him, quoting from figures that are not official, nor certified.Further, having attended a PPP Election rally and stayed at the home of the PPP Top Brass, he should have the good sense to recluse himself from the cut and

trust of Guyanese politics. Further, he must know that the OAS he represented has lost its luster since its establishment on the 30th April, 1948.In fact, one commentator refers to its discord that the OAS is about the few and not the many. Golding will be well advised to follow the example and perspicacity of another Jamaican Prime Minister, Hon. Percival James Patterson, O.E. In an article by Sir Ronald Sanders titled “Tied to no one’s Apron Strings, the Caribbean in an emerging New world,” quoted the Hon. Percival J. Patterson, O.E as follows: -” the interest of the less developed, less powerful and must vulnerable will not be taken into account unless we take the decisions to make our collective voices heard and our interest reflected in the New World Order.”It is at this level, we expect a former Prime Minister to operate from and not descend and dabble into the murky waters of Guyana’s political rivers.Of concern, is the apparent freedom and boldness of certain Diplomats and representatives of sections of our society, who seem to think that Guyana is some backward place where they can spit and sputter on us.Guyanese on every side of the divide must not tolerate this eye-pass. Remember the PPP’s Presidential representative, hostile and uncharacteristic attack on the US Ambassador, when instead of apologizing for the PPP’s vicious, verbal assault, the PPP Head of the Presidential Secretariat described the attack as a ‘ferrel blast.’I end by posting below the motto of the Chivalric Order, which is the most noble Order of the Garter, “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” which for generations appeared prominently on the front of Parliament and other major buildings in the British empire. It simply means “Evil to him who evil thinks.” Hamilton Green

Tuesday May 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

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Diamond Hospital denies poor conditions... Task Force approves return of law students... From page 7 not getting up to the tanks. That has since been corrected.” With regards to safety, the hospital would have been issuing face masks to patients three per day and upon requests. “None of the medical staff at our facility re-use face masks. The safety of our medical professionals and patients is of utmost concern and as such each time a professional goes into the isolation building and comes back out he/ she has to undergo a complete decontamination process, where they are sprayed with disinfectant solution from head to toe prior to taking off the protective gear, then again after those gears are discarded, then they proceed directly to the shower where they are expected to bathe from head to toe for a minimum of 12 to 15 minutes.” Dr. Jones also complained about the misplacement of

keys to the units, forcing the locks to be broken on a number of occasions. In other cases, discharged patients would have left with keys. “The hospital does not employ a carpenter as such finding someone who is willing to go into the building to repair or replace those locks is difficult. Our doctors and nurses already are functioning as garbage men and women, concierges, waiters, and waitresses it would be ridiculous to ask them to repair a broken lock.” In fact, the RHO said, patients have been asked to guard their belongings. He also addressed the issue of test results. “Finally, the issue of test results is not one that is handled by the Diamond isolation unit. The samples are taken off and sent to the National Reference lab for testing. They are the ones who process the results and then

feed the information back to us regarding who can be discharged. Until we get those results in hand, we cannot discharge the patients. For them to be issued with the certificate of clearance to return to their homes and families we need to have two negative tests at least 24 hours apart in hand.” The hospital will not be taking results over the phone. “Many patients do not understand this concept and work themselves up because of it. We have explained this over and over. This situation is new to us all. It is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. It requires tremendous effort from all involved 24/7. This includes the patients, staff, and the media. We are all in this together and it will require the assistance of all to overcome this battle. We are all responsible for how this turns out. And we must all own that responsibility and act in a manner that reflects it.”

From page 9 workers attached to Royal Caribbean to return to Guyana by air has been approved. 3. The application from CARICOM for a team of officials based in Guyana to travel to Suriname to observe the Surinamese election scheduled for May 25th and return to Guyana thereafter has been approved. 4. The application for the return of the body of trade unionist Mr. Komal Chand and his wife from Cuba has been approved. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Dr. Karen Cummings met with the son of Mr. Chand and spoke to Mrs. Chand via telephone and conveyed sympathies on behalf of the government and shared with the family the position of the government.

5. The application from four Guyanese in St Vincent to return home via SVG Air has been approved. 6. The application from 10 Guyanese in St Maarten to return has been approved. All approvals are subject to: (i) All requirements of the Ministry of Public Health and other relevant ministries and agencies being fulfilled. (ii) Results of COVID-19 test (PCR with results in English language) be provided 48 hours in advance of arrival. (iii) If pre-test is not available, prior written consent provided by each arriving passenger for quarantine if deemed necessary by the Ministry of Public Health. (iv) The applicants or their employers covering all costs for their return. An application from Car-

ibbean Princess cruiseline for 63 Guyanese crew members to return via sea was not approved given risks involved with seaport entry. The NCTF is however amenable to considering an application for these crew members to return by air. The NCTF also approved an application from Unicomer Guyana to open eight of their Courts stores for the purposes of receiving monthly installment payments from customers. This approval was granted for Monday to Friday openings during the non-curfew hours, is effective from Wednesday May 20th subject to fulfillment of all requirements and is for the following locations Main Street, Georgetown; Bartica; Richmond, Essequibo Coast; Linden; Mahaica; Parika; New Amsterdam and Diamond.

Tuesday May 19, 2020

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Kaieteur News

No artificial substance or saliva, use sweat to shine the ball - ICC ESPNcricinfo - Sweat, not saliva, will be permitted to shine the ball. Home umpires will replace neutral umpires. Every team will get an additional review per innings across formats. And there will be no Covid substitutes. These are the key recommendations finalised by the ICC cricket committee yesterday as cricket takes measures to return to the field in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Anil Kumble, the head of the cricket committee, said the above recommendations were “interim measures” for cricket to resume safely. “We are living through extraordinary times and the recommendations the committee have made today are interim measures to enable us to safely resume cricket in a way that preserves the essence of our

game whilst protecting everyone involved,” Kumble said in an ICC media release. These recommendations would now be sent to the ICC board, which is scheduled to meet on May 28 through a virtual conference, and are likely to be ratified. Monday’s meeting, also held through a virtual conference call, was also attended by former international players including Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Andrew Strauss, Belinda Clark along with Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur and current elite umpire Richard Illingworth, all of whom sit on the cricket committee. There was a presentation initially by Dr Peter Harcourt, the ICC’s chief medical advisor, on how cricket can safely resume and rules and changes to the play-

ing conditions. Following are the key recommendations that the cricket committee discussed threadbare. Sweat over artificial substance to shine the ball No artificial substance at all. Sweat will be sufficient. The committee discussed about the infection spreading much faster and more by saliva as compared to by sweat. It is not just cricket but even in other sport medical experts have barred athletes from spitting on the field because coronavirus can easily be carried by saliva. Hence, Harcourt is understood to have highlighted the point about no spit being used to shine the cricket ball. There was a long discussion between the committee members on the use of sweat

Saturday May 19, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Just when you're feeling good and solid in your plan, Aries, something or someone may step in to rain on your parade. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Restriction might weigh heavily on you today, Taurus. Perhaps you're reminded that there are some critical details about health and finance that you need to take care of.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Decisions will be even more difficult to make than usual today, Libra. On the one hand, you may feel a need to stabilize and specialize, while on the other hand, it's hard to deny the energy raging in a million different directions as you crave new experiences and interactions SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Feeling solidly grounded might also have you feeling less than energetic about getting the ball rolling, Scorpio.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Try not to worry too much today, Gemini. Take care of details and work to get things accomplished. When you can check items off your list, you'll feel much better about yourself and the direction you're headed.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Things will go more and more in your favor over the next four weeks, Sagittarius, although today they might seem slow to get moving.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Aspects of your life that you've neglected lately might haunt you on a day like today, Cancer. Make sure to keep up with all your responsibilities.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Discipline and duty have been major themes for you lately, Capricorn. It might seem as if someone has put the brakes on your current plan.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You might find it easier to connect with others at this time, Leo. It would behoove you to reconnect with friends or family members you may have lost touch with.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your ego and physical vitality should experience a boost today, Aquarius. Hone in on the solid, grounding energy that's encouraging you to come to terms with your emotions.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Disciplined action is the best way to go about your day, Virgo. Stay focused on your path. You can accomplish many tasks at the same time if you play your cards right today.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) It might be hard to find the exact direction you're looking for today, Pisces. Maybe there's a stro n g force urging you to slow down and be more practical with your energy.

to shine the ball. The committee, though, favoured the use of sweat to buff the ball and felt it was an equally effective alternative to saliva. The committee felt it was impossible to not sweat anywhere in the world, so they said the use of sweat on the ball was inevitable and acceptable. As far as the use of artificial substances went, the committee gave a thumbs down. Are you going to allow cloth with wax on it? Are you going to allow vaseline? Are you going to allow mints to be used? Those were among the questions the committee discussed on the use of an artificial substance to shine the ball. The committee felt that having barred the usage of any artificial substance to shine the ball which amounts to ball-tampering under the laws of cricket, it would be opening an unnecessary debate. The committee agreed, as a consequence, bat would dominate ball in the absence of saliva to some extent, but cricket could look at allowing pitches to become more bowler-friendly to balance the equation. In a media release, the ICC said the committee had “unanimously” recommended prohibiting the use of saliva on the ball. “The ICC cricket committee heard from the chair of the ICC medical advisory committee Dr Peter

Harcourt regarding the elevated risk of the transmission of the virus through saliva, and unanimously agreed to recommend that the use of saliva to polish the ball be prohibited,” the ICC said. “The committee also noted the medical advice that it is highly unlikely that the virus can be transmitted through sweat and saw no need to prohibit the use of sweat to polish the ball whilst recommending that enhanced hygiene measures are implemented on and around the playing field.” No neutral umpires during pandemic The committee agreed in the face of the travel bans across the world the ICC would need to relax the norms on neutral umpiring especially in Test cricket where both on-field umpires are from overseas, a norm established in 2002. In home ODIs, one umpire belongs to the host country while in a home T20I, both match officials are from the host board. The committee recommended in the “short term” home umpires would officiate. “Given the challenges of international travel with borders being closed, limited commercial flights and mandatory quarantine periods, the Committee recommended that local match officials be appointed in the short-term,” the ICC said. The ICC will

Tallawahs eyeing match

From page 23 said he expected the rebuilding of the franchise to coincide with improved performances. “Once that is done and the Tallawahs start winning, we will get back on the fans’ good side,” Powell noted.While organisers have forged ahead with their planning, the season still remains up in the air amidst the public health threat posed by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, and no date has been set for the draft.There has been a cessation of cricket across the globe with the lucrative Indian Premier League, scheduled to start last March, postponed indefinitely by the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI). CPL organisers have already floated novel ideas like employing social distancing in stadiums and strict quarantine measures in hotels, if the tournament was go ahead this year.

finalise the best pair of umpires from the elite and international panel. The ICC also decided to increase one review per innings for both teams. “The use of technology is increased to support the appointments of a wider pool of umpires from around the world and has proposed an additional DRS review per team per innings is introduced in each format as an interim measure,” the ICC said. No Covid substitutes allowed In order to restart football quickly, FIFA had permitted clubs to utilise five substitutes instead of regular three for matches taking place this year. The ICC committee deliberated on whether cricket should follow a similar process and allow more substitutes over and above the concussion substitutes that came into being in the 2019 Ashes when Marnus Labuschagne replaced Steven Smith in the Lord’s Test. The idea for having more players in the dressing room is primarily to play cover to any team member getting infected during the course of the match. It is understood that Harcourt told the committee that potentially a test could be done in half an hour. Some of the committee members felt if testing could be done that quickly and a player was found infected that would mean both teams and coaching staff would need to go into isolation for two weeks as per the medical procedure. The committee felt in that case Covid substitutes were not needed. The ICC cricket committee comprises of Anil Kumble, Andrew Strauss, Mahela Jayawardene, Rahul Dravid, Tim May, Mickey Arthur, David White, Richard Illingworth, Ranjan Madugalle, John Stephenson, Kyle Coetzer, Shaun Pollock, Belinda Clark, David Kendix, Shashank Manohar, Manu Sawhney and Clive Hitchcock.

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No attempt by CWI to hide audit findings, says Skerritt

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Cricket West Indies president, Ricky Skerritt, said there was never any intention of the regional governing body to “hide” the contents of a recent audit report which had uncovered “illustrations of questionable executive standards and practices”. In a statement late Sunday, Skerritt pointed out that the audit commissioned by his administration and carried out by accounting and management consulting firm, Pannell Kerr Foster (PKF), was for internal consideration only and thought had not been given to releasing it publicly. He was speaking in the wake of a leak of the report, which saw international broadcaster and legendary former West Indies fast bowler, Michael Holding, revealing sections of the document on a Youtube cricket show called “Mikey – Holding Nothing Back” hosted by Asif Khan. Telling the host that he had obtained a copy of the audit report, Holding said CWI had been in receipt of the audit for some time but had chosen not to release it “for what reason I don’t know”. Skerritt, who came to office last year March after unseating three-term incumbent Jamaican Dave Cameron, said serious consideration would now have to be given to releasing the report especially since it had now been made public. “Since the adoption of the PKF report six months ago, numerous references to the existence of the report have been made in media statements and interviews by the CWI CEO (Johnny Grave), Vice President (Dy Kishore Shallow), and myself,” Skerritt said. “I can confidently assure you that at no time was there any decision taken by the Board or anyone associated with CWI to ‘hide’, ‘conceal’, ‘withhold’ or ‘hold-back’ the PKF report. “However, in light of an apparent recent access to some of its contents by the media, the CWI Board will now have to contemplate whether it may be appropriate at this time for the report to be shared publicly.” In assuming office in April last year, Skerritt said the commission of the audit was one of three immediate actions taken, in keeping with his campaign promise to reform the governance structure and enhance financial transparency. As such, PKF was “was engaged for a six-month pe-

Tuesday May 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

CWI president Ricky Skerritt.

riod to conduct a business situation assessment and review of the organisation’s financial management systems, and to provide recommendations for addressing any shortcomings”. “In carrying out its assessments PKF uncovered some illustrations of questionable executive standards and practices,” Skerritt said. “It verified and emphasized the need for drastic operational reorganization and realignment, with an urgent need for improved risk assessment and cash flow management. “The PKF consultants accordingly presented their report in person to the CWI Board of Directors in December; and their twenty-eight (28) recommendations were unanimously adopted. “Publishing the document was never considered by the Board, as the report is an internal report.” According to Skerritt, CWI had moved “ as swiftly as we are able” to implement several of the report’s recommendations, pointing out that some had already been made operational in CWI’s daily functioning.

Listing a number of the changes, the former St Kitts and Nevis cabinet minister said the board had acted to ensure timeliness in accounting, strengthened internal controls, modified management practices to ensure best practice and further empowered the CEO and management team while reinforcing the non-executive role of the president. Importantly, Skerritt said CWI had also instituted the timely reporting to the board of the “accurate financial situation”.Skerritt said it was critical the board continued its mandate of governance reform while also learning from the mistakes of the past. “I want to assure all stakeholders of West Indies cricket that whether the PKF report is made public or not, CWI will not be distracted from correcting, and learning from, any identifiable missteps or shortcomings of the past,” he stressed. “I am determined as the President of this Board, to ensure that CWI conducts its business with integrity, accountability and transparency and without fear or favor, affection or ill-will.

Usain Bolt becomes a father NBC Sports - Usain Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, world-record holder and fastest man in history, just added a new title: dad. Bolt’s longtime girlfriend, Kasi Bennett, gave birth to a baby girl, according to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ social media and Jamaica’s two primary newspapers. In February, Bolt said he would not encourage his child to pursue sprinting. “That’s going to be hard for my kid,” he said during Super Bowl weekend in Miami. “If they want to do it, I’m fine with it. But initially I’m going to say don’t do it, ’cause I know the pressure that will come along with it.” After Kobe Bryant’s death, Bolt said he was hoping for a daughter. “I could see in his eyes how much he loved his girls,” Bolt said. “I would love to have that feeling.” Bolt, 33, has said he hopes to have three children.“I’m excited, but I’m nervous,” he

Usain Bolt

said. “I’ve always been a fun guy, I’ve always been that person. But should I be that person and make my girlfriend be the bad guy? Those are the questions I’m asking, so we’ll see what happens.” Bolt, who holds world records in the 100m (9.58 seconds) and 200m (19.19), retired after the 2017 World Championships. The Tokyo Olympics in 2021 will be the first Games without the Jamaican legend since the 2000 Sydney Games.

When did Lance Armstrong start doping?

Lance Armstrong NBC Sports - Lance Armstrong said he first doped at “probably 21” years old, according to ESPN. ESPN published a teaser video for its upcoming twopart Armstrong film that premieres Sunday night. The clip aims to show Armstrong and U.S. Postal Service teammates Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie being asked the first time they doped.

Armstrong saying “probably 21” was mixed into the clip after he was asked the question and then after Hincapie and Zabriskie were asked, but the video’s message is clear that Armstrong’s answer was to that specific question.“There’s a bunch of ways to define doping,” Armstrong later said. “The easiest way to define it is breaking the rules. Were we getting injections of vitamins and other things like that at an earlier age? Yes, but they weren’t illegal. … I always asked [what I was being given]. I always knew, and I always made the decision on my own. Nobody said, ‘Don’t ask, this is what you’re getting.’ I never, ever would have gone for that. I educated myself on what was being given, and I chose to do it.”In 2012, Armstong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005 for dop-

ing during that stretch. He was also stripped of a 2000 Olympic time trial bronze medal. All of his results from Aug. 1, 1998 forward were annulled.USADA said numerous witnesses provided evidence that Armstrong doped going back to at least 1996. In 2016, Armstrong told a University of Colorado class that he and his then-team Motorola started a programme in late spring 1995. If Armstrong began doping at age 21, it would have been in 1992 (at least a month after his Olympic debut) or 1993, possibly before he won the 1993 World Championships road race (which he has not been stripped of). Armstrong also competed in the 1996 Olympics, two months before his cancer diagnosis. His Olympic results from 1992 and 1996 have not been disqualified, though he earned no medals.

Bundesliga: Players need to respect clear guidelines - Robert Klein BBC Sport - Bundesliga players will be reminded of the return-to-play guidelines before next weekend’s matches after Hertha Berlin’s players ignored them during Saturday’s 3-0 win at Hoffenheim. The DFL [German football league] has already said Hertha will not be punished for their celebrations. However, Bundesliga International chief executive Robert Klein says the guidelines need to be followed. “[There are] clear guidelines. We need everyone to respect them,” he said. “In the hygiene concept, the guideline is to celebrate within social distancing rules. One can imagine at the height of a goal being scored that maybe, sometimes, the players get closer. “The clubs are working

actively with the players. They speak to them every day to remind them of what needs to be done to ensure we earn the right to a second matchday and a third and to finish the season.” Successful return Klein regards the opening weekend of post-Covid-19 top-flight football in Germany as a success. Despite concerns, he has not been informed of any groups of fans gathering in significant numbers at stadiums or city centres to watch matches. “It was a big sense of relief,” he said. “The fans understand the times we are living in are unusual. Sometimes these requests are difficult for them but everything has gone smoothly.” Klein has not been in-

formed o f a n y p o s i t i v e Covid-19 tests around games and while the weekly meeting with clubs will go ahead as normal, he is not aware of any issue that would threaten the next round of matches and the midweek games after that, which include Borussia Dortmund’s encounter with Bayern Munich on Tuesday,

26 May. As none of the other major European leagues are due to restart until next month, Klein understands ‘the eyes of the world’ are on Germany. And early figures suggest there has been unprecedented global interest in the Bundesliga. A record six million view-

ers watched Sky Germany’s goals programme on Saturday, which was shown for free. The p r e c i s e i n t e r n a tional audience numbers will not be known until later in the week but Klein noted ‘quite incredible’ interest, and that ‘Bundesliga’ was trending in South Africa, Colombia and Ghana, among others, on Saturday.

Alistair Overeem stops Walt Harris in UFC on ESPN ... From page 23 didn’t want to give up. He was tired, but he hung in there.” “The Demolition Man” hopes to fight one more time this year and potentially set up another shot at the UFC title. “Let’s look at the rankings, fight again later this year and then maybe we’re going to see if there’s one

more shot at the title,” he said. For Harris, it was a tough defeat. He thanked those who stood by his family during their time of need. He vowed to return better next time. “I want to say thank you, first and foremost to the UFC. They’ve been amazing through this whole process. My wife and family and I are so grateful. We owe you

guys everything,” said an emotional Harris after the loss. “To the fans watching at home, I’m sorry. I’ll be back better. I promise. You haven’t seen the last of the Big Ticket. I’m going to go home and recover. I’m going to heal emotionally and physically and I promise you that I’ll be better,” he said.

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Premier League clubs to resume training from today MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Premier League clubs will return to training today after agreeing to allow “small group” sessions to begin, with a possible return to normal ‘contact’ training next week. The league held a conference call for all 20 clubs yesterday where the move was given unanimous backing but there remains no firm date for the season to resume. Another meeting is scheduled for early next week when the league will decide on whether to move to the second phase which allows for training involving contact. It is the first move in the league’s ‘Project Restart’ plans to resume play in the league, which has not held a game since March 9 due to

the novel coronavirus pandemic.The league has set June 12 as a tentative date for a restart of action but chief executive Richard Masters said they were aware they would need to be flexible. “We have been focused on this staging post, it’s not a firm commitment, for June 12. What we are able to do today is basically to move forward on small group training,” Masters told reporters on a conference call. “Next week we are going to be discussing full contact training protocols. “Once you know when you can start full contact training, and we’ve had a proper discussion with clubs about how much is required to create the fitness levels before they can start playing,

we are then in a position to be able to confirm when the season start is. “What we don’t want to do is continually move that start date so we haven’t changed it. We need to be flexible and acknowledge we are in a step-by-step process,” he added.Failure to resume the season could cost the league around 750 million pounds ($913.80 million) in lost revenue from broadcasters according to British media estimates. Some reports said clubs could lose out even if the league restarts should broadcasters demand a 330 million pounds rebate. DOOR OPEN The Government last week opened the door for the return of elite sport, but sev-

Federer is the best but Djokovic tougher for Nadal, says uncle Toni MUMBAI, (Reuters) Roger Federer is the best tennis player of the current generation but reigning world number one Novak Djokovic remains the most difficult opponent in Rafa Nadal’s career, the Spaniard’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal has said. The “GOAT” (Greatest of all Time) debate in men’s tennis has divided opinion for a decade and remains a hot topic as the trio continue to dominate, having won the last 13 majors. Federer, who will be 39 in August, is nearing the end of a glittering career and leads the race on 20 Grand Slam singles titles, with Spaniard Nadal close on his heels with 19. Djokovic is three behind the Swiss with 17 majors and is a year younger than Nadal, who turns 34 next month. “For me, he (Federer) is a wonderful player. I like to watch Roger Federer a lot,” Toni told Eurosport’s Players’ Cut programme, which features Nadal this week.

Federer is the best but Djokovic (left) tougher for Nadal (right), says uncle Toni.(File Photo: ATP Cup) “If I wasn’t the uncle nor the coach of Rafael, I would want Federer to win all the matches. But at the end, I like how he plays, because he’s very elegant but he’s very effective too. “I know Federer is the best ever with I don’t know who; maybe Rod Laver or maybe Rafael, he’s not too far (behind). But at the moment Federer is the best.” Djokovic looked unstoppable this season before the

Roger Federer during the “The Match In Africa” Exhibition Match.

novel coronavirus pandemic brought the tennis circuit to a halt in early March. He lifted the ATP Cup with Serbia, won an eighth Australian Open title and then completed a fifth triumph at the Dubai Tennis Championships, extending his unbeaten run to 21 matches. The Serb has a slight edge on world number two Nadal, having won 29 of their 55 career meetings so far. “For us it was always more difficult to play against Djokovic,” Toni said. “Because it’s not about who of them is better. For us, when we play against Federer, we have a way to beat him. In my mind, before going on court, I know what we have to do. “When we play against Djokovic, many times we didn’t know exactly what we had to do. This is more difficult, for me. I prefer to play against Federer.”Nadal currently trains under former world number one and fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya after uncle Toni stepped down as his long-time coach at the end of the 2017 season.

eral hurdles remain before the Premier League can resume behind closed doors with the aim of completing the remaining 92 matches of the season. Some players have expressed concern about the health risks involved in a return to play but Masters said the league had done its best to create a safe environment through consulting with government and health experts. “Clearly we cannot de-risk the entire thing. But I think what we have created is an extremely safe environment that is the first stage of a return to training. So hopefully we have reassured all players and managers on that basis,” he said, adding there would be further consultations ahead of each stage. Some managers, such as Newcastle United’s Steve Bruce, have expressed concern about whether there will be enough time for players to get match-fit before the league resumes. Mark Gillett, the Premier League’s medical advisor, said they were aware of the need for preparation time. “Safety is the key thing running through all the measures we’re putting in place. I spend a lot of my time in club football, so I do understand the need for football-specific

A man is seen running outside the stadium at the time the final match of season between Manchester City and Norwich City was due to take place before it was postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (REUTERS/Carl Recine) training,” he said.“We will do everything possible to try and ensure that clubs get enough time to try and prepare in the best way possible, to keep them safe during games.” Clubs will have been encouraged by the return of the Bundesliga at the weekend — the first major soccer league in the world to resume after the lockdown. The prospect of clubs playing their remaining matches at neutral venues has receded with more than half

speaking out against such a proposal.Safety measures for group training are expected to include tents where temperature checks will be conducted, strict hygiene criteria, no canteens and no showers. A maximum of five players will be allowed per pitch with tackling forbidden. Players will be tested twice a week and are being asked to provide written approval that they have received and understood the club’s COVID-19 policy.

Ponting fears Khawaja’s Test career Ponting fears may be over Omnisport - Ricky Ponting believes it will be “difficult” for Usman Khawaja to force his way back into the Australia Test side. Khawaja was a notable absentee when Cricket Australia announced its list of centrally contracted players last month. The 33-year-old batsman has not played for his country since the drawn Ashes series in England last year and Marnus Labuschagne has looked very much at home at number three. Former Australia captain Ponting thinks we may have seen the last of Khawaja in the longest format, despite the left-hander saying he believes he is among the top six batsmen in the country. Ponting told ABC Grandstand: “I honestly think now he’s going to find it difficult [to regain his place] and I feel for him. “I love Usman Khawaja, I got really close to him over the last 10 years since he made his debut and I talk to him quite regularly.

Khawaja’s (pictured) Test career may be over.

“I’ve always felt he’s a very good player and we probably never saw the absolute best of him at international cricket. “We saw glimpses of it, and dribs and drabs, but not the consistently good player I thought he could have been for Australia.”

‘Massive hole’ in Cricket West Indies finances, ... From page 22 recorded as the most successful in the recent history of West Indies cricket outside the 19801995 era.“The author of this report is therefore not well informed or independent, and/or acted on instructions of those who hired him.” CWI is coming under increasing pressure to publish the report in full - Michael Holding, the former fast bowler, has called on Skerritt to match his pre-election talk of transparency with action.But Skerritt says there was never any plan to publish the report and insists its recommendations - most of it which relate to greater clarity and accountability in reporting and a lessening of the executive role of the president - have been enacted.“The PKF Re-

view was an internal alarm bell for CWI,” board president Skerritt told ESPNcricinfo. “In carrying out its assessments, PKF uncovered some illustrations of questionable executive standards and practices. It verified and emphasised the need for drastic operational reorganisation and realignment, with an urgent need for improved risk assessment and cash flow management“Along with the Wehby Governance report [a review of the CWI governance], which is due shortly, the report has already formed one of the foundations on which significant reforms will be built. I am unable at this time to comment on your questions about its more specific findings about the action of the previous president.”

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‘Massive hole’ in Cricket West Indies finances, says report ESPNcricinfo - An audit into the financial problems affecting West Indies cricket has found a “massive hole” in its coffers and, according to board president, Ricky Skerritt, sounded “an alarm bell” for its future. The report, compiled by external and independent auditors PKF, suggests Cricket West Indies (CWI) has suffered from overly optimistic revenue projections and unsustainable costs. It also criticises an opaque and inadequate accounting system, which enabled abuses to go unreported and posed a threat to “the board’s long-term sustainability.” News of the report’s findings comes as CWI struggles to pay match fees owed to its players. But while it is clear the current board management is grappling with a cash flow crisis, the report puts much of the blame on historic factors. Those historic factors centre predominantly on the previous administration, headed by David Cameron; Cameron has told ESPNcricinfo that he is the victim of a “smear campaign” and questioned the “credibility of the report and its findings.” The report - intended only for the attention of CWI directors but seen by ESPNcricinfo - criticises the previous administration for creating an unsustainable bureaucracy. Among the key issues was the decision to promote the Corporate Secre-

tary to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) within the same accounting period as recruiting a new CEO (Johnny Grave) to perform similar tasks. The report estimates this squandered over $300,000. “To put into perspective since January 2017 the corporate secretary [the COO] earned US$19,000 per month or about US$646,000 for the last 34 months,” the report reads. “Assuming that the fair market value for such service is US$10,000 a month (at extreme) CWI has paid an unnecessary premium of approximately of US$306,000 over that period for no apparent reason.” There is also criticism of the manner in which Richard Pybus was re-employed. “Mr Cameron brought back the former Director of Cricket as Director of High Performance without prior knowledge of the board, the CEO or current Director of Cricket. Furthermore, this new position within the Cricket Department was never identified as a key role by the Cricket Committee. As well, the appointment was not approved by either the HR Committee or board in advance of a contract being offered. The CWI contract was worth US$280,000 for a two year-period.” Pybus has subsequently left the organisation, while the position of COO has been made redundant. The report has also interpreted a dip in the projected

Richard Pybus takes charge of West Indies training. (Getty Images) revenues CWI is due to receive from the ICC as a “massive hole” in board finances. In 2018, CWI was projected to receive $128m over the next eight years from the ICC, a payment of $16m a year. But while the ICC had, indeed, projected that figure, it was only a projection, based on how much revenue future ICC tournaments were expected to raise. That has since been revised downwards (though there is a possibility it could go up again, given two ICC events are due to be held in India before the cycle ends in 2023). Currently, CWI is forecast to receive around $117.6m over that eight-year period leaving them with, as PKF reported it, “a massive hole” of over $10m in their finances. The report, however, focuses on a $50,000 bonus to

Dave Cameron speaks at a WICB townhall meeting. (WICB Media/ Brooks LaTouche Photography Ltd)

Cameron, the CWI’s president at the time, for his role in securing the $128m projection. “At a directors meeting dated March 10th 2018 (as CWI moved towards a cash flow deficiency of $21m),” the report states, “a resolution was passed authorising an honorarium of $50,000 for the then President for having “worked beyond the call of duty” to get the ICC to allocate the $128m to CWI. This honorarium was paid in two payments of $25,000 on 5th June 2018 and 31st July 2019. “The revision downward from $128m… has caused significant hardship. This is a massive hole.” Cameron - who has not seen the report - believes the current regime is “bent on covering their incompetence and failure to deliver… by

NASCAR official: Return ‘smoother than expected’ Kevin Harvick rolled to his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series win and Darlington Raceway provided a victorious backdrop on Sunday afternoon in South Carolina. NASCAR officials said the Real Heroes 400 went over without a hitch and exceeded expectations as racing helped pave the way for popular sports pointing toward a potential return to competition. It was the first event since March 8 for NASCAR, which put numerous major restrictions in place. No fans were in the stands, only a handful of media got into the event, pit crew size was reduced dramatically and no practice or qualifying took place. “Things actually went smoother than we could have expected,” said Steve O’Donnell, vice president and chief racing officer of NASCAR. “Getting all the teams in and inspection went well. All in all, a really good day for the sport. Excited to be back.”

XFINITY Series racing resumes today at Darlington before NASCAR runs again tomorrow in the Monster Energy series. NASCAR held a meeting yesterday to review the weekend that was and plans to adjust any protocol that might need to be modified. Masks are required on race grounds and teams received strict instructions about maintaining social distancing during the time off this week. There will be another review Thursday after teams pick up to make their way to Charlotte, where the next two NASCAR events are being held. O’Donnell said drivers and teams were more than willing to walk the line in the name of safety. Medical personnel at the track cleared all participants and track employees following COVID-19 screening. Testing will again be conducted this week before races start. “I think the industry re-

Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning celebrates after winning the Real Heroes 400. (Brynn Anderson/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network) ally came together and did a tremendous job to enable us to get to the race,” O’Donnell said. “I think it just felt a little odd with the garage area be-

cause it was so scaled down in terms of personnel, but all in all, I thought it went really, really well.” (Field Level Media)

desperately trying to shift focus to me with baseless accusations.” Cameron was president of CWI (previously WICB) from March 2013 until March 2019. At that time he was defeated in his re-election attempt by Skerritt who called for this report. While Cameron is a focus of the report, the board of CWI also come in for criticism. They are censured for being “unduly accommodating” of Cameron and for failing to heed previous warnings. “We are of the view Mr Cameron recognised that the Board would not substantively oppose his course of conduct,” the reports states. Cameron insisted every decision he made had the appropriate approvals.“I flatly deny each and every allega-

tion made whether expressly or implicitly against me,” Cameron told ESPNcricinfo. “Every single payment, whether to me or otherwise, was approved by the Board of Directors and/ or the Sub Committees created specifically for the purpose of ensuring independence and transparency. This is especially the case with the honorarium paid to me, which was approved in accordance with Article 50.7 of CWI, which provides for such payments. “The honorarium was based on the tremendous amount of work done by myself in the capacity of Chairman/President in leading the organisation and the tremendous sacrifice and commitment over the years and not for any specific achievement. The item was suggested by a Director and a special committee was constituted to review and advise. “Most members of the current CWI board also served during my tenure including the current president and vice-president. All decisions made were endorsed by them. You must therefore ask the current president and vice-president to explain their participation and votes on these matters. “The fact that CWI cannot now pay its players is as a result of the current Board’s lack of, or poor planning and cannot be blamed on the former Board. My six years at CWI as President, will be (Continued on page 21)

Callum Hudson-Odoi: Chelsea and England winger arrested and bailed BBC Sport - Chelsea and England winger Callum Hudson-Odoi was arrested on suspicion of rape in the early hours of Sunday morning.Police and an ambulance were called to an address in London at 03:53 BST to a report of an unwell woman.When emergency services attended, a woman reported that she was raped. She was taken to hospital. Hudson-Odoi, 19, was arrested at the scene and has since been released from custody.He has been bailed to return on a date in mid-June as enquiries continue.Chelsea have declined to comment.HudsonOdoi, who has three England caps and in September signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea, was the first Premier League player to test positive for coronavirus.He made a full

Callum Hudson-Odoi made his senior England debut in March 2019. recovery and, like other Chelsea players, is waiting to return to training before any proposed restart to the season.Some reports have suggested the woman involved visited Hudson-Odoi from another address. Lockdown rules specify that only one person from each household may meet as long as they remain outdoors and keep two metres apart.

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Tuesday May 19, 2020

Bartica continues to lead the way in recognising Sports Personalities – DoS Jones By Franklin Wilson s felicitations continue to flow following the Bartica Mayor and Town Council (M&TC) commissioning of a Sports Wall of Fame in recognition of the sterling contributions that have been made to the community by locals, Director of Sport (DoS) Christopher Jones is the latest public official to commend His Worship Mayor Gifford Marshall for his visionary leadership. Jones, in commending the M&TC of the Region #7 community stated that it could have been business as usual with Marshall and Councilors just taking care of the usual business but they have opted to maneuver in unchartered waters by being an all-encompassing body focused on collective human and other development. Honouring your legends, Jones said, is always the right way to go as this serves to motivate in a positive way, the younger generations of aspiring sports men and women which can only rebound to loads of positive

o f f s p i n s . The Sports Personalities recognised in the inaugural batch of the Wall of Fame inductees are:Christopher George (Former National Footballer), Ivor Mendonca (Former National & West Indies Cricketer), Calmeth Younge (Former National Footballer & Coach), the late Neil Hernandez (Former National Footballer), Mark Smith (Former National Footballer), Diane Ferreira James (Former National Footballer, Cricketer & FIFA Referee), Basil Singh (Former National Cricket Umpire), Brian Tracey (Former National Footballer), Terrence Archer (Former National Football Captain), Vibert De Fretias (Former National Footballer). ”I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate His Worship the Mayor, Council and the people of Bartica on this monumental move. Once again, Bartica has continued to lead the way in terms of recognising their sports personalities and honouring them.”

Jones posited that the ‘Wall of Fame’ is the perfect icing on the cake for the expanded focus on development of sports in the community both from a human and infrastructural perspective. He reflected on the ‘Tour de France like’ Bartica Cycling Challenge held in March 2019 which attracted the cream de la cream in Guyana. Jones also recalled the community hosing for the first time ever in Guyana, the Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships in August 2019 apart from the much looked forward to Easter Regatta Powerboat Racing and other sports activities that sets the community apart. ”As we keep saying all the time, such sports activities lends to, not only the development of sport in the Town but it also lends to attracting tourists to the municipality because when those two cycling events took place in the region, you saw hundreds of Guyanese raveling up to Bartica and over-nighting with some spending the entire

Tallawahs eyeing match

-winning spinner KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica Tallawahs will be in search of a matchwinning wrist spinner in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League draft. West Indies white-ball specialist, Rovman Powell, who is expected to lead the franchise in the August 19 to September 26 tournament, said while the squad already possessed good pace in its attack, there was a need for a quality slow bowler. “I think it’s a pretty decent bunch we have retained. Obviously, Chris [Gayle] will be missed, but we have batters in myself, (Andre) Russell, and C h a d w i c k ( Wa l t o n ) , ” Powell said here recently. “We have pace with Oshane (Thomas) and Russell, but what I think is needed is a good-quality wrist-spinner because every good team has one. “I believe we will have to do the bulk of the shopping in the draft.” The charismatic all-

rounder was speaking against the backdrop o f Ta l l a w a h s ’ announcement t h e y h a d retained just four players for the upcoming season i n Russ ell,

Afghan left-arm spinner Zahir Khan. Wa l t o n , T h o m a s a n d himself. Last year, Tallawahs boasted several slow bowlers including homegrown left-arm spinner Chris Lamont, Trinidadian leg-spinner Imran Khan and G u y a n e s e o ff - s p i n n e r Steven Jacobs but all three proved ineffective, with just 10 wickets among them. Afghan left-armer Zahir

Khan was their best spinner with eight wickets while Jamaican leg-spinner Ramaal Lewis chipped in with five wickets.Overall, the Tallawahs season was a disaster. They lost eight of their 10 matches to finish bottom of the table and miss out on the playoffs for the first time in the league’s seven-year history.Powell (Contined on page 19)

weekend. That in itself brought monies to the hoteliers, of course the clubs the shops, bars, taxi’s, all benefited from that and now with the establishment of the Wall of Fame, it’s another tribute and fillip to the sports in the region and Bartica is again l e a d i n g t h e w a y. ” The DoS is hoping that the other municipalities take the lead from Bartica and also acknowledge their sports personalities that did well for themselves and Guyana. ”As you know, the National Sports Commission continues to lend support to the Bartica municipality as it relates to sports development, you would have seen the work that we would have done as it relates to the Community Centre Ground, Basketball Court, Vo l l e y b a l l C o u r t , t h e establishment of Karate that is now being had there. Cycling is now re-emerging there and of course we will continue to lend support to the Bartica municipality because His Worship the Mayor and the Council have continued to demonstrate

Christopher Jones - Director of Sport that they take sports seriously and as well, that sports is a business.” Looking ahead, Jones posited that there’s lots more to be done in partnership with the municipality: “For example, we want to revisit open water swimming because we know there are lots of young people who would s wim the river on a regular. So we have to find a way of ensuring that they are taught the requisite techniques for this aspect of the sport.

We started archery there and we have level one trained and certified coaches in this sport, so we’ll have to build on that.So kudos to His Worship the Mayor, the Municipality, the residents of Bartica and the Cayuni Mazaruni region as a whole for the establishment of the ‘Wall of Fame’ to recognise and honour their leading sports personalities for their outstanding contributions to the region and Guyana by extension, we all celebrate this momentous occasion with you, congrats.

Alistair Overeem stops Walt Harris in UFC on ESPN main event MMA Weekly - A bout between top 10 ranked heavyweights Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris headlined Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8 fight card in Jacksonville, Fla.Overeem was looking to rebound from a knockout loss in his last outing to Jairzinho Rozenstruik in December. For Harris, the bout meant a lot more than sport. Harris entered the Octagon at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena riding a two-fight winning streak that earned him Performance of the Night bonuses. He last fought in July 2019 but his world came crashing down in October when his stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, disappeared in Auburn, Alabama. Harris pleaded for her safe return but details emerged painting a tragic picture.Blanchard’s remains were found in December in a wooded area of Macon County. An autopsy revealed that the 19year old was fatally shot in her vehicle at a gas station

Alistair Overeem stopped Walt Harris in the main event. while trying to fend off her attacker. The Auburn Police Department arrested I b r a h e e m Ya z e e d a n d charged him with capital murder. District Attorney Brandon Hughes plans to seek the death penalty in the case. Saturday was Harris’ first fight since the horrific event.In the opening round, it looked like Harris was going to pull off an emotional victory after dropping Overeem with a right hand. He followed Overeem to the canvas and delivered punches as Overeem covered up. Overeem scrambled to his feet revealing a cut over his left eye. Harris unloaded a high kick but slipped in the process. Overeem seized the

opportunity to gain dominant position. He landed short punches for the second half of the round until Harris worked his way back to his feet in the closing seconds of the frame.In the second round, the pace dramatically slowed but not for long. Overeem landed a head kick that stunned Harris and followed up with a left hand that put Harris down. Overeem took Harris’ back, flattened him out and hammered away with punches until the referee stepped in to stop it.“It’s been a long ride, but somehow I keep finding the focus. I love it,” said Overeem after the win. “He was tough. He (Continued on page 20)

â€˜Massive holeâ€™ in Cricket rt o p S West Indies finances,

No artificial substance or saliva, use sweat to shine the ball - ICC

says report

p. 22

Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury talks with interested venues begin p.22

p. 19

The West Indies men have not been paid their match fee for the home series against Ireland(January) and the tour of Sri Lanka (February-March) AFP

How would you shine the cricket ball in the time of Covid-19? (Getty Images)

Bartica continues to lead the way in recognising Sports - DoS Jones Personalities p.23

Mayor Gifford Marshall

p.21

Flashback! Top Junior at the inaugural Bartica Cycling Challenge Ajay Gopilall being rewarded by Director of Sports, ChristopherJones. Ralph Seenarine is at left with David Hicks, right.

No attempt by Usain Bolt Tallawahs CWI to hide audit becomes eyeing match findings, says Skerritt a father -winning spinner p. 23

p.20

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Premier League clubs to resume training from today p. 21

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