Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR Exxon, partners Monday Edition will walk away NEWS with US$653M in waived taxes by 2025

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

November 02, 2020 -Vol. 13 No. 45

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

Online readership yesterday, 99,850

Kaieteur, Canje owners violated principle purpose of licenses; Guyana should recover - Chris Ram - Companies sold blocks without doing any work

Extra pipelines for Payara well cost US$ billions more than Liza-2 - Hess executive VP

Police recover gun Govt. rescinds Health stolen as three Ministry HQ contract female cops robbed after 90% of $356M paid by lone bandit …project incomplete despite 317 days extension

Govt. terminates BK, Courtney Benn’s school contracts totaling $1.1B

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Exxon, partners will Local Company providing Online Courses specific to the Energy, walk away with US$653M Oil and Gas Sector in Guyana in waived taxes by 2025 The Green State Oil and Gas Services Inc., a locally registered ow ned company is seeking to offer online courses in a wide range o f c a p a c i t y building/training services in the field of oil and gas.

Founder and Managing Director, Eusi Evelyn said that the company has a wide range of courses and programmes specific to the oil and gas sector in Guyana. These include, NEBOSH, IOSH, OPITO, Marine certification in oil and gas.

Evelyn said that it is his company’s mission to contribute to the capacity building and career enhancement of the local workforce, though skillsbuilding programs with about 95% of the courses are available online.

This, he says makes it convenient to anyone, since it can be done from anywhere, by anyone with a smartphone, tablet computer or any device that is connected to the internet.

Evelyn noted the online courses are best suited especially in this COVID 19,

“our progressive thinking and creative approach are what makes us stand out from the crowd. I am proud of the work we are doing, adhering to the highest standards in conducting business, with a perfect safety record, rigorous management and constant search for improvement of performance.”

Since its formation in 2018, the founder noted, all their courses are accredited and Founder and Managing internationally Director, Eusi Evelyn recognized and demanded by leading oil companies in Guyana pandemic and the restriction for social gathering, as these and internationally.

Apart from training, he can be done from the said that the company offers convenience of one’s home a range of services such as or any other place of comfort.

According to him, The Human Resource/staffing Green State Oil and Gas solution, Supply Chain Services Inc. has a clear Management, including vision of what we want to be procurement & logistics “Leader in the Oil and Gas among others.

As Green State Oil and industry in Guyana.”

Gas Services Inc. celebrate “That’s why we provide its second anniversary, the an unmatched range of c o m p a n y is offering services and internationally accredited and recognized discounts and incentives to c o u r s e s i n t h e m o s t individuals and companies convenient environment who register for their both online and offline,” Mr c o u r s e ( s ) b e g i n n i n g Evelyn said adding, that November 1, 2020.

government through Instead of allowing payments from its thirdExxonMobil and its party taxpayers—is partners, Hess compromised in favor of Corporation and this contractual CNOOC/NEXEN to obligation. Stated pay their fair share of another way: If this Corporate Income Taxes contract provision did (CIT), Guyana has not exist, Guyana agreed to pay same on would receive a behalf of the contractor separate, US$653 from its share of oil million payment from profits.

(Exxon and partners) In other words, if over the five-year Guyana gets $50 in period.” profits and the taxes to A s i m p l e be paid to the Guyana mathematical Revenue Authority extrapolation of this (GRA) amount to $20, it figure over the 40-year means that Guyana has Tom Sanzillo, Director of Finance life of the agreement, only gained $30 in at the Institute for Energy profits. If Guyana did Economics and Financial Analysis considering Exxon’s plan for five oil vessels not agree to such a by 2026, would see provision in the “ G u y a n a ’s O i l D e a l : P r o d u c t i o n S h a r i n g Promise of Quick Cash Will Guyana losing US$40B in Agreement to begin with, it L e a v e C o u n t r y taxes throughout the deal. would have walked away Shortchanged.” In the However, the US$653M with a total of $70. report, he sought to show just projection is based on the Upon taking note of this, how much Guyana is losing early years of Exxon’s oil Tom Sanzillo, Director of by opting to pay the taxes for production in the Stabroek Finance at the Institute for t h e S t a b r o e k B l o c k block, when it is recovering most of its investment in the Energy Economics and consortium. development of the fields.

Financial Analysis, told Sanzillo who has 30 Exxon’s profit will Kaieteur News that the years of experience in public public is essentially being and private finance, noted increase substantially after it shortchanged when the that in a five-year-period, h a s r e c o u p e d t h o s e government pays the income ExxonMobil would be investments, hence, higher taxes for the company. w a l k i n g a w a y w i t h taxes would be due, and the Sanzillo also expanded on US$653M which it should actual loss of tax revenue for the net effect of this have paid in taxes. He said Guyana will likely be much provision to Guyana in a t h a t b a s e d o n h i s higher than US$40B. Several industry analysts damning report titled, calculations, this is what a s well as global Guyana would be paying organizations such as the from its share of the profits.

I n t e r A m e r i c a n Sanzillo said, “As a Development Bank and the revenue matter for Guyana, a International Monetary Fund tax owed by a taxpayer is not (IMF) have said that Guyana being paid by the taxpayer but by the government of should have taken more than Guyana. The taxpayer is a 50 percent split of the therefore not adding to profits made from the Guyana’s annual revenue, Stabroek Block since it is but the liability instead is satisfying the tax obligations being satisfied by a diversion of the oil companies. Both of resources from one i n s t i t u t i o n s h a v e G u y a n e s e a c c o u n t t o acknowledged that Guyana is shortchanging itself by another.” opting to pay the oil The Director added, “The companies’ taxes without purpose of the tax—to increasing its take. support the Guyanese

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Dominican lawyer chosen to represent Kaieteur, Canje owners violated Lowenfield in elections petition principle purpose of licenses; Guyana should recover – Chris Ram

- Opposition Commissioners call selection “prejudicial” Dominican Senior Counsel (SC) Anthony Astaphan has been selected by the Commissioners and Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to represent Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield in the upcoming elections petition.

Revealing these and other details was oppositionappointed commissioner, Vincent Alexander during a virtual press conference yesterday.

According to the Commissioner, during the commission’s meeting on Friday, he as well as the two other opposition-appointed Commissioners, Desmond Tr o t m a n a n d C h a r l e s Corbin, had restated their reservations on the retention of SC Astaphan. The three Commissioners based their reservations on that Astaphan “had made public statements, prejudicial to the CEO, on the 592 Kaieteur Radio broadcast and televised programme.”

Alexander did not state specifically what those “prejudicial” statements were, but maintained that they do not bode well for the necessary working

relationship between the CEO and Counsel.

“In keeping with the previous decision,” Alexander said, “Senior Counsel Neil Boston was proposed by Commissioner Trotman to be a member of the team. That proposition was rejected with varying degrees of negativity by the government- appointed Commissioners, but the Chairperson did not pronounce on that matter.”

Having listened to the aforementioned presentations, the Chairperson announced that Astaphan would be appointed, Alexander noted.

He went on to articulate that, “That announcement was greeted with questions about Boston`s nomination and the Chairperson`s adherence to the agreed approach with regard to the constituting of a team, including the fact that no feedback had been provided on the facilities that were to be made available to the CEO for his involvement in the process of selection.

According to Alexander, the GECOM Chair remained “mum” in relation to whether she had conveyed, to the CEO, the decision of

- Companies sold blocks without doing any work

GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander the previous meeting with regards to his involvement in the selection process.

“She also retorted that anyone who was dissatisfied with the situation, including the CEO, could approach the Chief Justice on the matter.

She was reminded that the matter had nothing to do with the Chief Justice, rather it had to do with her not carrying out the decision of the Commission with regard to the appointment of Counsels and the CEO`s involvement,” Alexander expressed.

“What has emerged at GECOM is untenable,” the Commissioner said, while adding that the Chairperson`s manner of handling this important matter is also “cause for concern.”

A t t o r n e y - a t - L a w, Christopher Ram has determined that the initial owners of the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks reneged on the commitments they made to explore the blocks and, in doing so, violated the principle purpose of the agreements when they flipped the licenses without doing any work. He explained that this violation constitutes sufficient grounds for Guyana to recover the asset, and that Government should so do.

Ratio Guyana (owned by Ratio Petroleum) and Cataleya Energy Limited (formerly Ratio Emergy) each sold 25 percent of their Kaieteur Block ownership to ExxonMobil in March 1, 2017. The transaction waited two years following their receipt of the license from former President, Donald

Anti-corruption advocate, Christopher Ram Ramotar on April 28, 2015, during which the companies did no work. It was only until ExxonMobil became operator that it conducted a seismic survey two months into its ownership, and is currently drilling the Tanager-1 well.

As for the Canje Block, Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas handed shares in the block to the Canadian JHI Associates on May 15, 2015 – just two months after it received the block from Ramotar. Neither of them did any work, save for JHI which claimed that it bought data on the basin. The two companies sold shares to ExxonMobil in February 2016, with ExxonMobil becoming operator later that year, then to Total SE in February 2018. The three companies which farmed in now owns 87.5 percent of the asset.

“It was a license to do exploration, not to flip the transaction.” Ram told Kaieteur News. “The government should move to recover it.”

Under the prospecting licenses, the initial owners Continued on page 16

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Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

Considering the Elderly Writer and physician, Dr. Ira Byock, in his book, The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life, speaks of an interview being done with anthropologist Margaret Meade in which the interviewer asks about signs indicating evidence of civilization. Meade indicates that the discovery of a healed femur, a human thigh bone, an indication that the person who broke the bone had been giving care enough to survive the injury.

Dr. Byock’s book is a meditation upon how it is a modern society considers not only healthcare but general policy for the elderly, particularly those nearing the end of life. It is a call for transformational thinking in care of the elderly, at a national policy level in America, a lesson that we in Guyana need but might be unqualified for.

Last week, this paper carried a story that the National Commission on the Elderly (NCE) was active again – this is a story that comes with an unfortunate history. Successive administrations have kicked the can so far down the road that persons who were young people when the original Senior Citizen’s Policy Committee (SCPC) was established sometime in the murky past would themselves be elderly now. While the David Granger administration was noted for the virtually boundless gerontocracy that it placed in the upper echelons of the public sector, the fact that the PPP itself was no stranger in finding jobs for the old boys and girls is itself an indicator that something is seriously lacking in the socio-economic safety net for older people, yet neither administration has shown any commitment to changing that situation.

Consider that the successor of the SCPC, the Commission of the Elderly was established in 1996, a quarter century ago. At some point, that Commission matured into the National Commission on the Elderly, one that by the time 2010 rolled around already had complaints of not having met for two years prior, a situation that would only be rectified a further two years after that when a new board was appointed in July of 2012.

When the Granger administration announced in April of 2017 that it was working on drafting a strategic plan for the elderly – presumably one separate and distinct from its staffing of senior public posts – there was no mention of the NCE whatsoever as being part of the process. Six months later – in November of 2018 – we were informed by then Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan that the strategic plan would be moving forward, with 2018 slated for such related measures as legislation to enforce standards in elderly-care facilities and a mobile money programme for epayments of pensions. None of this was of course actually done, and two years later, during the government’s Commemoration of the International Day of the Elderly 2019 in October, the National Commission of the Elderly was finally resurrected, at least in reference. As the November 1 edition of the Guyana Chronicle (it should be noted that IDE is celebrated on October 1, a month prior) informs us: “The National Commission for the Elderly is in the process of establishing guidelines to raise the operating standards of senior citizens’ homes across the country, as the draft national policy on aging is expected to be completed soon. This is according to Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, during a recent address, in observance of International Day of the Elderly, at St. Marks Anglican Church, Enmore, East Coast Demerara.” There was again no progress after that, with Harmon – at the vanguard of the Granger political machinery – going on to lead the charge in attempting to deny Guyanese, young and old, the right to have a government legitimately elected, with not insignificant forays into dementia thrown in for good measure.

Now that we have the National Commission for the Elderly established under a new old administration, it is time that we as a presumably civilized country finally get serious in how we commit to this important mechanism. We cannot continue to give it only nominal respect, provide it monies at our convenience, fail to adequately house it, give it nothing constructive to do, forget it exists for long gaps of time and only include it when it makes us look good – in short, we cannot treat it like how we treat our elderly.

Monday November 02, 2020

Why the delay in appointing a COI for GECOM? DEAR EDITOR, Free and fair elections are no longer possible in Guyana under GECOM as presently constituted. It is obvious that with the top leadership of GECOM CEO, Mr. Keith Lowenfield; Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, and Region Four Returning O ff i c e r, Clairmont Mingo, in court under charges for fraud that confidence in GECOM has been shattered irreparably.

The PPP/Civic government operates under the belief that doing a good job of being fair and transparent without discrimination will translate into votes. That its economic policies will rule the day and this will be the winner come election time. That belief is erroneous. Elections are metered by GECOM and as

presently constituted it is not an impartial body as the facts have shown. The overwhelming majority of its employees are of one ethnic group without a balanced staff to reflect fairness and equity. Until this is corrected all does not bode well for future elections.

President Mohamed Irfan Ali recently stated that a Commission of Inquiry (COI) will be appointed to inquire and rectify GECOM and only after that is done then local government elections (LGE) will be held.

He did not indicate when the COI will be appointed. The last LGE was held in 2018; and as such, the next LGE is due this year by law.

That does not give much time for an international COI to be appointed, to do its work, implement changes and get

ready for elections with the top executives in legal limbo.

According to another news entity, the President said: “I am not getting into Local Government Elections now… We have to ensure that we have a system that is working, a system that we can trust, a system that is professional, a system that operates in an unbiased manner so that the people of our country can have confidence,” he said in response to questions from the media.

Addressing the glitches in the system is the only way to avoid future electoral impasse, the President said. “We have to address the system,” he said.

The team of investigators have not yet been named but Dr. Ali has said they will be drawn from regional and

International bodies; some of which were involved in observing the elections.

“I’m in constant contact with them (regional and international agents), they understand the urgency also and I am hoping we can get that off the ground very quickly,” he noted.

“The CoI and so on will help to highlight issues, weaknesses, challenges, opportunities, threats and in ensuring the system is fixed in the way it should be,” the President stated.

The PPP/Civic lost the 2015 elections in large part due to apathy from its supporters that they were neglected during the party’s 23 years rule. Even if it were to correct this anomaly their supporters may not get their votes r e f l e c t e d u n d er today’s GECOM. What are the reasons for the delay to appoint a COI? Vassan Ramracha

Some thoughts on the US Elections DEAR EDITOR, The first thing I wish to say about the November 3rd US elections is that I am not voting. As things stand currently, I do not plan to vote again anywhere.

My reason for not voting in the US presidential election has a lot to do with my very poor assessment of both the incumbent and the challenger.

The former is from outer space, while the latter has problems with keeping his feet on the ground.

To cut a real fine point on how I view these two candidates for the most powerful, most prestigious, office in the world, I think that both men are not of this world, since they have lost touched with it; one is certifiably delusional, while the other is dumbfounded.

The president is bent on bending any convention, any situation, any opportunity to maximize his sometimes nuanced, and most times not-so-subtle, race mongering an d fear mongering. The man is very good at it, and make no bones of where he stands and what he expects from his people. He knows what sells and how to play the militias, the conservatives (mild, or middle of the road, or red meat, or rock-ribbed conservatives), as well as the extremists and nativists. Though the numbers are against the leader in 1600 Pennsylvania, he is still hard to beat. And, unless soundly beaten, I find it

difficult to see him conceding willingly, early, or easily. I am thinking we should send Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, David Granger, and the crowd of democratic guardians in this country to show the Americans what electoral democracy is all about.

I am not being facetious, I am serious, since we will be repaying the favours delivered here by our American allies. We know about post elections troubles and disputes.

As for the challenger fielded by the Democrats and poll frontrunner, the first thing I wish to say is that I have a low regard for polls. People polled have become savvy at saying what serves the moment. They usually mislead.

The next thing is that the Democratic party’s challenger is a wishy-washy, lukewarm, unimpressive, vacillating, infirm of vision, and unsteady of purpose candidate. There is more, but I stop as an expression of kindness.

We have more spirited, more robust candidates of presidential lumber that he is.

The difference is that ours can deceive and get away with it, whereas the American has no such luxury.

Editor, I can and do say this: the challenger has certainly luxuriated with time and circumstance and dodged all over the place on law and order for fear of angering the minority base, and a potentially huge voter turnout. So, he has fiddled on that burning issue (literally) and a price could be

paid for such indecisiveness.

Already, the Republican, never a man to retreat before the face of controversy or danger, has come out for those code words once favoured by men with names like Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush.

The former spoke warningly and ominously about ‘law and order’, while the latter invested wisely and below the belt in a fella called Willie Horton.

Both were cases of: messages delivered, fears stirred, and damage done.

I believe that there will be heavy voter turnout, but mainly from Republicans.

Most of those folks that were running uncontrolled on the streets are not going anywhere near a polling booth.

That will hurt the Democrats. I see crime and police developments as key contributors to the outcome.

Also, some of the Democrat’s visions and numbers do not

make sense.

Think taxes and deficits.

In terms of immigration, he could be a boon for Guyanese, but that is a bone in the throat for red-blooded white bread American stock.

The coloured invasion could make that stock a minority in a small handful of decades.

The chaos of Rome is what is feared (and the long Dark Ages that ensued).

The last issue is closer to home. If the Democrat wins on Tuesday (and is allowed to assume office), I believe that he will be soft on Venezuela.

That is, less extreme and less hardline; even if only a matter of degrees that could be significant.

I say so because it has the potential to leave Guyana in the lurch, as in hanging, exposed, and vulnerable.

America has done this before.

We will see what is done on Tuesday.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Heartening DEAR EDITOR, It was heartening to see the prompt response of the pertinent government agency in the case of a deserving mother fighting for

her paralyzed son finally getting much needed attention.

Though late, it is better than never.

Shamshun Mohamed

The President has spoken DEAR EDITOR, It is vehemently being argued the date for LGE is prescribed by the constitution.

But so too was General and Regional Elections

following the successful NCM. And what followed was bizarre.

The President has spoken: no LGE until and unless GECOM is fixed first.

Shamshun Mohamed

Monday November 02, 2020

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Kaieteur News

My concerns go beyond the arithmetic of elections DEAR EDITOR, This is a delayed reply to a letter by Dr. Vishnu Bisram, published on October 24, 2020 and coming to my attention only on October 27, the same date on which I listened to the letter by Mr. Vassan Ramracha. Mr. Bisram’s letter, like the column of Mr. Kissoon, is based on an assumption that I place democracy in Guyana in jeopardy if I, a person long absent, do not join the chorus of those at home and engaged in denouncing election rigging.

I draw attention to a letter signed by Moses Bhagwan and me and published around March 10, 2020. This letter was written when younger Guyanese appealed to us to speak, after violent incidents had occurred along the Demerara-Berbice highway on March 6. That jointly signed letter included a statement that we welcomed the fact that observers were present and would be able to offer judgements on the process not coloured by competition for office.

The draft had been about power-sharing after the elections, but I added this paragraph to allow me to sign it. For those who wish to read what is written, this paragraph about observers was a declaration of our position that fairness of the election was a prior condition to any later arrangements.

Speaking for myself, I confirm as Dr. Bisram relates, that like others, I denounced

dictatorship of any race and not only election rigging and attempts at rigging but all forms of illegality. It must be understood however, that I did so as a person resident in Guyana with a first-hand, on the spot sense of the actions, statements and body language of the contestants involved. I strongly disagree with anyone who suggests that as a non-resident I have the same vantage point. Moreover, as I have said or hinted in letters, I had reasons to suspect both of the main contenders in the 2020 elections. What I heard coming from Guyana was a repetition of the names of party officials, who are ultimately employees. I have never been in the habit of attacking employees, and if you check, all my attacks in the past have been directed at members of the political directorates, the higher the better.

Moreover, matters from the time of the no-confidence motion and from an early stage of the counting had been referred to the courts whose proceedings I followed with relief at the fact that aggrieved persons could approach them and have their complaints adjudicated. It was the first time in 2020, to my knowledge, that this engagement of the courts in electoral disputes, as they arose, has been so intense.

I see no reason now for me, a person in self-exile to repeat or even dispute what the two main contending

sides in an election at home were saying or alleging from their vantage points within the process. While at home, I had no such reservations. To jump to the conclusion that it is racial solidarity that keeps me from joining in the condemnations is to me another brand of racial solidarity.

As my critics admit, I denounced and documented the PNC at close range when that was possible. More than that, I moved the High Court in an action first filed in 1976 and then about 1986 or 1987 to declare unconstitutional the habit of charging a Minister or the President with responsibility for registration and general and local elections, thus giving legal cover to political interference and direction.

This process was filed against the Attorney General, the Honorable Shahabudeen who can hardly be accused of racial solidarity with the President he advised. Next, how could I dare to suspect the innocent PPP of any interest in election rigging or manipulation? I listened to a discussion on Global Span 24X7 Live in which Mr. Henry Jeffrey, a former Minister of the PPP/Civic, said very plainly that, in the year 2006 the PPP set up a rigging machine, … and that he had written that in an article in Stabroek News.

Mr. Clement Rohee, former General Secretary of the PPP said, on the same programme, “well, the PPP is

Harmon shoots himself in the foot with untimely LGE demand DEAR EDITOR, Mr. Joseph Harmon, Leader of the Opposition, had been searching for issues on which to attack the Government but owing to his lack of political experience he has not been finding any, though they are staring him in the face. He hits upon demanding the calling of Local Government Elections next year and threatening dire consequences to the Government and country if such Elections are not held. But like so many of his actions over the last several years, he has shown a piteous tendency of badly misjudging. No one has ever become emotional about LGE and it leaves people cold, so he will be sorely disappointed in stirring up trouble.

There are a few things I would like to underline: (a) GECOM which is the body that has to conduct Elections, is badly fractured and its top officers are arraigned before the Courts on serious criminal offences,

its more junior staff are demoralized and have no respect for their superiors and the public have no confidence GECOM could be ever able to conduct efficient and Democratic Elections.

Mr. Harmon imagines that this fractured GECOM with its top brass on criminal charges and with its leaderless and demoralized staff would conduct the Elections. This exposes Mr. Harmon as a person who does not believe in Democracy and affirms to the public and the International community that he is not a man to be entrusted with power. (b) In any case, if the Government gets through with its COI and GECOM could be reorganized and they hold Elections next year, the PNC/APNU would be disastrously defeated with far reaching implications. Mr. Harmon would quicken the disintegration of the PNC. (c) Having begun the demand for LGE in the usual

PNC bullying style, he can’t drop it now. But he could turn this bleak situation into a victory by offering to work with the Government to bring about early LGE and claiming kudos and so stabilise the disintegrating PNC. Yours sincerely, Paul Validum Ramlochan

not full of eunuchs and angels.” My interest in conversation and drama does not allow me to miss the significance of Mr. Rohee’s remarks. He was in fact proclaiming the right of the PPP to rig elections if that was the prevailing practice.

Another factor that warned me against jumping on a bandwagon was this.

Each side started a narrative for public consumption but soon dropped the narrative and said nothing about it.

The first thing I heard as a non-resident, was that three Russian men had been apprehended in the Marriot Hotel on a suspicious mission and had been deported.

The rumour suggests that their mission was to hack computers and create false documents.

Since deportation is the act of a Government, the narrative of the three Russians was, to my mind, created by forces aligned with the Government.

The other narrative was that the spreadsheet generated within the Elections Commission had been used only in Region Four which the PPP/C had identified as the bone of contention.

As time went on, I heard Mr. Ganesh (Mahipaul) say “if any observer group were to say that in Region Three, Statements of Polls were used for the count, that will not be a true statement.”

As time passed, it became clear that the spreadsheet had been used in all regions except Region Nine. The PPP/ C quietly dropped the claim that spreadsheet had been used only in Region Four.

However, all the news indicates that only in Region Four was the spreadsheet systematically tampered with.

So why did I not join in the condemnation of the returning officer of Region Four? Good question! I did not attempt to defend him either.

I asked myself quietly the obvious question, that is,

whether he acted alone or was obeying higher orders. In addition to this, there was the whole question of fairness from my point of view. As the discrepancies in the Region Four spreadsheet became more and more revealed, the Coalition increasingly claimed that its opponent had procured invalid votes especially by using the names of persons not present in Guyana on voting day. The parties concerned moved to the courts with applications for judicial review of irregularities or claims of irregularities. My recollection is that the courts found jurisdiction to order that the numbers used in the count should be those on the Statements of Polls.

However, the court found that allegations about the casting of invalid votes were matters for an Election Petition and not for them as courts exercising judicial review of the functions of officials.

At some point, the party leaders reached an agreement for CARICOM to intervene and conduct a count of the voting of the general and regional elections. The results of this process were again brought up by a citizen for judicial review which took place and included an application that the validity of the votes cast be examined.

The court ruled that the only jurisdiction for a decision, on the validity of votes cast, was that in which the High Court was hearing an Election Petition.

Two election petitions were filed within the time limit set by law and their trial is eagerly awaited.

A new President took the oath of office on August 2, as a result of hotly contested court proceedings. As I have argued, all this has been achieved without my participation, showing what ought to be clear to everyone with a little commonsense, that the constitution, the Representation of the Peoples

Act, the Guyana Elections Commission, the Courts, and the Political Parties have overcome an impasse and that all parties must now await the hearing and outcome of the elections petition. It should be noted, in fairness, that at no time have I written or said anything in support of the rigging of elections including the most recent.

My concerns however, go beyond the arithmetic of elections and have always been more strongly rooted in the public morality, legality and the political culture prevailing.

At this point, a number of electoral officials stand accused of executing what came to light in Region 4 and are likely to face trial soon. I have no interest in joining the cowardly clamour against petty officials and subordinates. I shall await their days in court where they are presumed innocent as they stand trial.

My main interest, however, is in the elections petition, the evidence that the petitioner will reveal and the way the lawyers and then the court evaluate and agree or disagree on the weight of this evidence.

That will be the proper time for me as a concerned observer from a distance to make comments that I consider fair and helpful.

Because of the length of this explanation, I am leaving my defense against Dr. Bisram’s charge of murder of the trees for another letter.

Yours sincerely, Eusi Kwayana

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

A convoluted country consumed with COVID-19, crime and corruption DEAR EDITOR, Guyana recently observed the important significance of Youman Nabi and Sharada Navratri and is quickly in the process of preparing for the celebration of Christmas.

All three events incur religious meanings and the majority of Guyanese of all races participate in these engagements.

Thus, it’s safe to say that throughout Guyana, there is a concerted haven for religious compassion, comfort and contention.

Yet, this complexed country is consumed with COVID-19, crime and corruption. Isn’t this complication controversial to the confines of Guyanese

thinking, feeling and expression? On one hand, we lend and blend with religious commitments and on the other hand, we bend and mend with illegitimate covenants.

Of course, there are the exceptions who are not composed of these attributes and are exempted from this compressed and condensed litany of complaints.

The coronavirus is a pandemic and as such, it is expected that Guyana could not escape from the dangers of its repercussions.

Unfortunately, Guyanese have been assailed by hindsight from the inception from a heartless APNU+AFC administration who lacked the

temerity to handle such an unchartered issue.

It is an open secret that there priority was attached to regaining political power through the back door and as such, politics came before people and policy.

The temporary platform set up as a task force to handle the situation was only a vein to drain financial remunerations for personal benefits.

The infrastructure provided salaries, allowances and perks to be enjoyed from the formation of committees and an incomplete building for a “hospital.”

Most of the appointed personnel lacked medical leadership and so, the quality

of service did not cater for the immediate needs to curtail this virus but did accommodate the greed for the colour green. The Health Ministry was poorly run as evidenced by millions of dollars’ worth of expired medicines and the unnecessary high rents involved for the leasing of a bond for storage of “what?”

Granger, the invisible “sanctimonious gangster,” squatting in office with his merry men of cabals, failed to solicit financial and medical aid to assist in curbing the spread and treatment of this pandemic because, they were too busy undermining democracy and the international community

When should Local Government Elections be held?

DEAR EDITOR, At a recent meeting of the Opposition Leader he was overhead making certain remarks which really amounts to an issuance of threats to the present government if taken in its truest context. He was at the time speaking to his constituents in Region 10.

Now, his problem stems from the fact that local government elections (LGE) is constitutionally due in 2021 and from his perspective, the Irfaan Alli Government is not going to hold those elections, so as a natural reaction to such an event ever taking

place there will be violent resistance from the opposition.

He contends that the PPP/ C Government is dragging its feet on matters involving LGE which, according to him, leads to a dictatorship in the making. He further explains that the PPP/C Government is breaking the law since taking office and for this cause there will be robust resistance from his party to the PPP/C Government.

Harmon and by extension the party he serves, have disregarded every known law there is in this country.

I view this from the time of the No-confidence motion and the fall of his government, to the fivemonth standoff in the courts holding up an entire country due to their stubborn actions to rig the election, if this is not breaking the law then what is? The PNC Led Coalition have shown total contempt for all things legal.

So, Mr. Harmon is in no position to speak on anything involving the law because his party broke every law there is in the Guyana Constitution, so to now turn again speaking as though he is paying strict adherence to the law comes over as very poor on his part and makes him out to be a shameless hypocrite.

Secondly, on the issuing of threats I must tell Mr. Harmon that the PPP/C

Government is not working under any threat or under the dictates of the opposition for that matter, the PPP/C works under the dictates of the law and that’s how it is going to be.

As it stands there are numerous court cases involving the corrupt practices of some of the top brass of GECOM and these have to be dealt with before we can move safely and successfully forward on the electoral front. There is also the sanitation of the electoral list - the house to house registration exercise something himself and party have strongly advocated, so in true legal terms I cannot see a LGE coming in less than two years. I rest my case Respectfully Submitted, Neil Adams

would not tolerate this idiocy.

Not surprisingly, help started to immediately pour in with the swearing in of the new President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and the PPP/C Party as the legitimate government. The lack of adequate testing facilitated the spread of the disease because people were unaware of becoming carriers and being asymptomatic. In addition, the APNU+AFC Party did engaged in a relentless campaign to deliberately exposed innocent Guyanese citizens, both young and old, to become contaminated with this deadly disease.

Guyanese can recall all the various illegal gatherings on numerous occasions in the streets and indoors without properly observing all the required protocols. By the time the new PPP/C Party was able to organize a decent sense of control for the pandemic task force and institute a rigid programme for its implementation to resolve and salvage this dilemma, it was not only too late but, dangerous and damaging.

The APNU+AFC fall back to “cheap talk” now is petty, poor and pathetic.

The absurd need to gain political mileage reflects, clumsiness, foolishness and silliness.

How profane can their leadership become is simply highlighting a continuity of a desperate grapple by insecure and scared men and women attempting to disguise irresponsibility, imprudence and insanity. No wonder, their followers have to ponder why is it that “The man for all seasons” is simply, suitably “seasonal!”

To attempt to mention about the senseless, hapless and reckless crime situation is not only an exercise in futility, but also, a sad and heartless intonation that has, “Gone with the wind.”

Is this deplorable “epidemic” so contagious that it is beyond the reach

of control, censorship and care? It is unimaginable that a country with such a small population cannot administrate the full content of the constitution, court and judiciary to maintain law and order with the help of the disciplined force. The safety and security of the people is paramount to the pursuance of side attractions and should be treated with prominence and expedience with a sense of urgency. The Ministry of Home Affairs is once again urged to call out the “riot squad” to harness this bull by its horn.

The nightmare becomes more a reality daily as the revelations of more unabashed and unashamed corruptions are explicitly unveiled. Collusions and corroborations have been “the order of the day” for previous administrations and transparency is now detrimental to the health of many of the “chosen few.”

Will the buck stop somewhere sometime, or, the dice players will have to hope for a spinning wheel to unceasingly spin? This madness is senseless, starting with the soil of oil, trending with the land with a band of improper sellers and buyers and ending with implications with financial applications.

The sore loser is, of course, the ordinary man in the street from both sides of the divide who are both naïve and gullible, cannot understand the legal ramifications but will still listen and vote for the foul mouth politicians.

The upper echelons will hang their mouths where the soup leaks and the top brass will ride the gravy train. Will this country ever change for a better country? The only thing that will change is the climatic condition and that conversation is conveniently covered in a corner while the sea is over spilling the seawalls!

Respectfully, Jai Lall

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Three children among several Driver on the run after hitting down teen persons injured in Moblissa accident Police are now trying to locate a driver who fled on Saturday after hitting down a 14-year-old pedal cyclist along the Annandale Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The teenage boy is presently at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in a critical condition.

According to a police report he was struck down at around 23:45Hrs in the vicinity of a tyre shop.

Investigators reported that the teen and his friend heading east along the inner lane of the northern side of the road when a car struck him from behind. The impact flung the boy some distance away where he fell onto the road surface. Instead of stopping to render some assistance, the driver of the car continued his journey.

Public-spirited citizens picked up the boy in an unconscious state and rushed him to GPHC where he was admitted. The teen suffered multiple injuries to the head and body including a fractured skull.

Three children among several persons were on Saturday injured when the cars they were traveling in collided with each other on the Moblissa Public Road, Soesdyke, Linden Highway.

Among the injured are A n d y P o m p e y, 4 1 , t h e driver of motor car PXX 8574 a major of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) stationed at Camp Seweyo; S h e n n e t P o m p e y, 4 2 , Shaquida Pompey, 13, and Aqueena Pompey, 11 all of 586 Section A, Block Y, Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD); Krishna

Seenarine, 28, driver of motor car PVV 8911 of Kara Kara Squatting area Amelia’s Ward, Linden; Sonia Roopnarine 19; and one-year-old Jaden Lall of Lot 466 Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

According to the police report, the accident occurred at around 10:45hrs.

Investigators disclosed that motor car PXX 8574 was proceeding south along the eastern side of the road, when it was alleged by Pompey that motor car PVV 8911 – which was proceeding north along the western side of the road –

overtook a vehicle and ended up in his path.

Upon seeing this, Pompey told police, he pulled to the east to avoid a collision but despite his effort the other vehicle ended up colliding with the right side of his vehicle. It was reported that both drivers lost control of their vehicles and ended up off the road in a ditch.

The drivers and occupants were taken out of their vehicles in a conscious state by public spirited citizens and were taken to the Linden Public Hospital. According to the report, Shennett Pompey, Aqueena P o m p e y,

Shaquida Pompey and Jaden Lall were seen and examined by doctors on duty and were treated and sent away. Andy Pompey reportedly suffered a fractured right leg and was treated and also sent away.

Sonia Roopnarine was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she was further seen and examined by doctors on duty and was admitted a patient in the female surgical ward suffering a fractured right hip.

Meanwhile, the driver of motor car PVV 8911, Krishna Seenarine is in custody as the investigation is still ongoing.

Police recover gun stolen as three female cops robbed by lone bandit A bandit got more than he bargained for when he reportedly walked into the National Insurance Scheme compound at Corriverton and stole a bag with a gun and some other valuables belonging to three female police constables.

According to information, Symeon Lynch called ‘Burn Hand’, 26, a farmer of Lot 39 Hazel Street, Springlands, Corriverton is accused of committing the acts on the 28th of October at No. 78 Springlands, Corriverton, Berbice.

He is accused of robbing Anett McKenzie of one .38 Taurus revolver with five Live .38 rounds, as well as robbery committed on Shibike Calder of one Samsung A20 cell phone and $45,000.

He is also accused of two counts of simple larceny committed on Pamela Trotman of one Samsung J3 Prime cellphone and Anett McKenzie of one haversack and $30,000.

Accused, Symeon Lynch The firearm was found nearby not too long after the incident in a flower pot. The police acting on information nabbed the bandit the following day.

When he was arrested he had one of the stolen cell phones in his possession. He is in custody as investigation continues and is expected to appear in court today.

ATV mishap along Puruni trail leaves cops injured Two policemen are now seriously injured after the ATV on which they were travelling on overturned on Saturday along the Puruni trail, Region Seven.

Injured are sergeant Kester Moriah, 46 and constable Shaquille Downer, 25.

The serious incident took place at around 17:20Hrs. According to a police report Moriah and Downer were pillion riders on the ATV and were at the time returning from a simple larceny investigation at Puruni Landing.

While en route to Bartica the rider collided with a speed bump and lost control of the ATV. This resulted in the cops being thrown onto the road surface. Both Moriah and Downer received injuries about their body.

Moriah, however, was picked up in a semi-conscious state and rushed to the Bartica Regional Hospital where he was admitted.

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

World Cup victory of 1975 was the ultimate moonshot moment President Irfaan Ali stepped out of his crease this past week to venture into the cricket arena. Addressing a Caribbean forum, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the President described the 1950 West Indies cricket team’s tour of England and its victory on that tour as a moonshot moment for the Caribbean.

The report on the President’s address noted that he “recalled one of the greatest feats in Caribbean history which he associates with the idea of moonshot, when the West Indies team defeated England for the first time at Lords on June 29, 1950. “ The outcome of that tour created some excitement in the Caribbean, as most tours

by West Indian teams did during the early post-War era when radio was the main means of informing West Indians about the performance of the regional team. But to categorize the 31 series win by the West Indies as a moonshot moment is a case of exaggeration.

It was a historic series win – the first ever by the West Indian team in England. But it was far from being a moonshot moment.

A calypso was made out of the series victory – “those two pals of mine: Ramadin and Valentine.” But the team’s success was built around a team effort. All of the top batsmen dominated.

Frank Worrell scored two centuries and had an astounding average of almost 90. All of the other frontline batsmen – Allen Rae, Everton Weekes, Jeff Stollmeyer and Clyde Walcott – had averages above 40. The bulk of the wickets were taken by the spin twins Ramadin and Valentine.

The team, however, never replicated that performance afterwards. In fact, it took a drubbing in the 1951-52 series in Australia where the spin twins failed to reproduce the form which had bamboozled the English batsmen. When England toured the West Indies in 1953-54, they drew the series after initially doing down in the first two tests.

Australia also defeated the West Indies 3-0 in the 195455 Test series.

The 1950 series win was not the first time that the West Indies team had won tests against England. It was right here in Guyana in 1930 that the West Indies team won its first ever Test match against the Englishmen. This took place at the famous Bourda sward. West Indies won on the backs of double century from Clifford Roach, a century by George Headly and a match haul of nine wickets by Learie Constantine.

England had toured the West Indies in 1948 and were beaten 2-0 by the regional side. The West Indies team was expected therefore to do well in England. And as well as they did in 1950, the series victory cannot be classified as a moonshot moment.

It was equally surprising that President Ali suggested that the West Indies series victory inspired the South Africans. This is far from the truth. At the time, South Africa was already emerging as a cricketing force. It defeated England 4-1 in the series between the teams in the 1953-54 series.

If the President was looking for a cricketing moonshot moment for the West Indies he, perhaps, should have looked to the aftermath of the 1975-76 series between West Indies and Australia in Australia.

Just recently, a Caribbean Cricket: The Vintage Collection quoted Sir Vivian Richards as saying,” Clive Lloyd did a magnificent job.

You hear people say it was easy for Clive as captain because he had great players but that was bulls**t. We never started out as a great team. There were a lot of individuals who hadn’t done it and we had to have a leader.

Clive was it. I looked up to him.”

He went on to talk about the drubbing which the West Indies took in the 1975-76 tour of Australia. He said, “We got beat 5-1 in Australia and Clive said to me over a drink ‘the only way we’re going to compete with these guys, Viv, is having four guys who can bowl just as fast as them or even faster.’ We never looked back once we had established that.”

After the debacle of the 1975-76 tour of Australia, the West Indies would assemble a four-prong pace attack which under Lloyd’s and Richard’s leadership would dominate world cricket for the next 20 years.

The foundation of the great West Indies teams that developed under Lloyd and Richards, however, can be traced to the team that won the World Cup in 1975 in England.

International limited-overs cricket was still in its formative years. The West Indies dazzling performance in that tournament can be considered the ultimate moonshot moment in West Indian cricket.

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

Dem Boys Seh…

School reopening next week De Ministry of Education decide dem opening school for Grades 10, 11 and 12 from next week. Dem boys know this as Form 5, Lower Six and Upper Six. When dem boys hear about school reopening dem boys had to ask which world de Minister of Education living in.

Some of dem students nah even get accept as yet in new school fuh Lower 6, much less fuh go and mek uniform fuh go to school next week. But is so when yuh rushing fuh do something and nah thinking it through. Dem boys read about blackboard getting nail up all over dem communities. Dem boys wan know is what de Ministry of Education doing with blackboard and chalk.

De new normal is nat about blackboard and chalk. De world moving away from that sort of teaching. But dat is another example of the backward thinking wah tekkin’ place.

Dem boys know that de quickest way fuh infection spread in a country is fuh let it get in the school system. Never mind is only three grades going to school from next week. Once de virus get in de school, half de country gat get infected and thousands gan die. Dem nah gan gat enough blackboard fuh write out de name of all dem wah gan dead.

Dem boys seh Aunty Priya going all over de country sharing out worksheet. Dem worksheet thinner dan dem wafer biscuit wah does sell in dem shop. Dem children gun done wuk out that in one hour time. But that is a big thing fuh Aunty Priya.

Dem boys hoping that by the time the confusion done in the Ministry of Education dat de coronavirus gan disappear because is sheer nonsense tekkin; place.

Talk half and find out if any of dem Minister children going to school next week.

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The world has never before seen such political jokes The deadly nature of the rigging of the 2020 election was so frightening, scary and diabolical that no Guyanese and foreigner that crusaded against it had the stamina to laugh at the comical dimensions that began on Thursday, March 6 and ended on July 31 when it was all over.

I put March 6 as the beginning of the circus and not March 4 when Clairmont Mingo began the rigging process. There was nothing funny, laughable and comical with what Mingo was doing on March 4. He was inventing fictitious numbers to dissolve the scientific results of the 2020 election.

It was two days later on Friday evening at GECOM head office in Kingston that Guyana’s election of 2020 became a huge circus. Let’s document the show and come to the latest asininities of WPA office manager, Desmond Trotman, and Joe Harmon. Readers must always remember that

Trotman wrote a long missive in the newspapers during the election rigging articulating the theory that his actions as a GECOM commissioner during the rigging ordeal would find support by Walter Rodney if he was alive and among all those who today still belong to the WPA. He named iconic Guyanese Moses Bhagwan and admired WPA scholar, Dr. Nigel Westmaas. I wrote to both gentlemen asking them to respond to Trotman’s sick polemic but they have politely declined. One wonders if both men can ever show their faces again to this nation. More on the death of the legacy of Bhagwan later.

On the night of Friday, March 6, Mingo secured a half-dead projector, got a dirty bed sheet and a piece of card board and displayed the fictional votes for Region Four only this time he did it as a film show. For the reason why he did it as a film show, see my column of Friday, April

10, 2020, “Libel case; Mango being crossed examined by Datadin.”

From March 6, the three PNC commissioners and the PNC, the AFC and its surrogates like Dr. David Hinds, Lincoln Lewis, and the PNC fanatics in the diaspora became literally circus personalities.

There is just one intervening factor before Mingo’s bed sheet drama of March 6. Because of the foolishness of this pantomime, one can actually date the election circus from March 5.

This was the date that Cathy Hughes and the man the satirical column, Dem Boys She, refers to as Rumjattan, held a press conference at the PNC election command Centre at Lamaha and Camp Streets, Georgetown and announced a Russian team was in Guyana to rig the elections for the PPP using pens and erasers. For a description of

‘Puppy’ stabs, chops walking buddy A man who goes by the alias of ‘Puppy’, on Friday last allegedly stabbed and chopped his walking buddy, a miner, along an access Road at 14 Miles, Arakaka, North West District (NWD), Region One. Currently at the Pakera Hospital, Matthews Ridge, in a serious but stable condition is, Michael Lynch, 35, of Mabaruma. Lynch was attacked at around 17:30hrs while walking to work.

According to a police report, the suspect, ‘Puppy’, was walking along the trail with Lynch and another man.

Investigators were told that ‘Puppy’ was imbibing alcohol with the man as they walked together with Lynch.

During the course of the journey, stated

police, ‘Puppy’ and the man stopped and allowed Lynch to walk ahead alone.

When Lynch was some distance away from them, the suspect ran up from behind and stabbed him to his lower back with a cutlass. He also dealt Lynch one chop to his left wrist and another to the left side of his face.

Lynch, according to police, managed to escape the brutal attack and arrived at Arakaka Health Centre at around 18:00hrs that evening.

The incident was reported to the police and the Medex on duty treated Lynch and later referred him to the Pakera hospital where he was admitted.

‘Puppy’ is still to be arrested.

this asininity see my column of Monday, April 6, 2020, “The Russians are coming!

The Russians are coming!”

From March 5 and March 6, the jokes were rib tickling but we chose not to laugh because Guyana’s future was melting away before our very eyes in the downpour of lava that was coming from three epicenters of the volcano GECOM, the PNC election command Centre and the AFC head office on the Railway Embankment, a five minutedrive from where I live.

So let’s do a quick documentation before we laugh at Trotman who thinks he is the reincarnation of Walter Rodney (God forbid!) and Lil Joe AKA Joe Shanlin AKA Joe Harmonica who stole the leadership of the PNC from Volda Lawrence.

The PNC hired an American PR company which submitted a document that argued the

election was free and fair while back in Guyana, the PNC, in the same breath, said the election was filled with frauds.

The American firm listed David Granger as an American citizen. Granger told Guyanese he didn’t know Joe Shanlin hired the firm.

Lil Joe told the world that the votes of the security forces were not stamped and therefore did not count. Mr. Harmonica could not know that since those ballots were mixed with the rest of the country’s votes. Foreign Guyanese who could not vote did in fact vote according to the PNC and AFC. They supplied names but the joke was rib-tickling because those names turned up in person; they were in Guyana.

Let’s end with Trotman.

He wants Neil Boston to represent GECOM in the election petition, the same Boston that argued several

Frederick Kissoon court cases during the fivemonth ordeal that if he had won, the PPP would not have been declared the winner and the PNC and AFC would have been in office today. Joe Shanlin wants Mingo, Roxanne Myers and Lowenfield to administer local government election next year.

Isn’t that funny? They may be in jail by that time.

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

Govt. rescinds Health Ministry HQ contract after 90% of $356M paid Although Chung’s Global Enterprise was handed more than 90% of the $356 million contract cost and given a 317day extension period for the construction of the Health Ministry’s main office, works remain incomplete forcing the governing administration to terminate his services.

In the termination letter sent to Cleon Chung of Chung’s Global Enterprise, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall informed him that the contract was being terminated with immediate effect starting October 31 on the grounds of fundamental breach of the conditions stipulated in the contract.

Chung was handed the $356.8 million contract since 2017 with works officially commencing on July 19, 2018.

He was later handed two extensions totaling 371 days but failed to meet the agreed deadline.

In fact, the AG pointed out that permanent works at the end of September 2020 was “less than 70% complete” after the contractor received $308.4 million for advanced payment/ mobilization and payments on eight Interim Payment Certificates.

The AG stated that Chung, just one day after the new People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government took office, handed them a repriced bill of quantities for variations to the contract, containing a breakdown of outstanding works to be completed and its corresponding value. “…and its estimated value in which the estimated value and additional amount of money to complete the

… project incomplete despite 317 days extension

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall

CEO of Chung’s Global Enterprise, Cleon Chung

works exceeded the contract sum by the additional sum of $513,382,164 being required,” the Minister wrote.

In further breach of the contract, according to the AG, Chung failed to respond within the required time in submitting additional requested information of the priced bill of quantities pursuant to “Clause 28.2 of the General Conditions of Contract.”

That clause provides that at request of the employer, the contractor within seven days of the receipt of request should provide the employer with a detailed breakdown of prices of changes in the quantities indicating the rates for kinds of works and value of consumable material. It says too that the employer shall also evaluate those rates and value of consumable materials in comparison with the bill of quantities.

“In consequence of the aforesaid fundamental breaches of the said Contract, and in additional to

termination, you are hereby informed that the Government of Guyana intends to institute legal proceedings against you for breach of contract and liquidated damages,” Nandlall said.

Further, the AG instructed that he stop the works immediately, make the site safe and secure and leave the site as soon as reasonably possibly “pursuant to Clause 40.5 of the Contract.”

The project was previously flagged by the Auditor General, Deodat Sharma in his 2017 report after a 2018 site visit revealed that the project was stalled but the contractor had already received an advanced payment of $71.3 million.

Sharma had said that almost nine months after the signing of the contract, only the piles of the foundation were driven at the worksite.

Additionally, he said only two workers were present at the site, despite works being significantly behind schedule.

Monday November 02, 2020

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Monday November 02, 2020

University student aims for continental vision in custom printing

By Sueann Wickham

La Phonso Austin

R

ecently a local custom printing business named Conred South America has been making its mark in the custom printing arena in Guyana, enabling many people to channel their creativity into their apparel.

Its pioneer, La Phonso Austin is a 20-year-old Civil Engineering student at the University of Guyana who has always had a passion for

art and designing.

Since his early days at the St. Roses High School, the young entrepreneur has been eager about designing and believed it was a skill he could later put to use one way or the other. In describing his goal for his business, Austin stated that he would like to develop a continental brand, providing persons with mass custom printing.

Austin expressed that he has always had a passion for designing, building and

One of his many personalized masks

A specially designed anime shirt. artistry- a passion that led to him taking up a career in construction after completing his CSEC examinations. After his high school days, he moved to the G o v e r n m e n t Te c h n i c a l Institute where he completed his Diploma in Civil Engineering.

After finishing his diploma he then went on to the University of Guyana, where he is currently pursuing a Bachelor in Science in Civil Engineering, but still holding on to his admiration for designing, he was motivated to start his business.

Austin stated that creating his businesses not only enabled him to make a first step in being successful, but he was also paving the way to be successful at something he loves.

Conred South America was officially launched in September this year, with the

sole purpose of providing customers with their own unique pieces- pieces that reflected whatever they desired. His product line includes design printed and painted t-shirts/jerseys, shirts, hats and masks.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many could be seen rocking their custom masks from Conred, which has been one of the most popular products of the business.

Since COVID-19 requires persons to wear a mask everywhere they go, Austin thought it would be wise to produce masks that reflected his customer’s ideas, enabling them to be safe yet fashionable.

With the presence of the virus, the young entrepreneur also had to carefully craft plans to efficiently deliver the best products and customer Continued on page 17

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Fear tactics often dominate US elections advertising

By Kemol King Contributing Editor of Politico Magazine, Joanna Weiss believes that fear is often the emotion which candidates and, their supporters pander to, when they advertise.

During an October 7 briefing with foreign journalists on the US Foreign Press Centers: Elections 2020 Virtual Reporting tour, the journalist spoke about the role of TV ads and social media in US elections.

Weiss plugs an iconic Hillary Clinton advert used during the 2008 Democratic Party Presidential Primaries to demonstrate how fear is

used to pander to voters.

In the advert, Clinton attempts to convince voters that her experience makes her a more suitable candidate than Obama.

A voiceover plays while a clip shows a child sleeping soundly in bed, saying “It's 3:00 AM and your children are safe, but there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing. Something's happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call, whether it's someone who already knows the world leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It's 3:00 AM and your children are safe and asleep, who do you want answering

Stolen motorcycle found at home of ‘Rice’ and wife - police hunt ‘Two Feet’ and ‘Buckman’ The police have taken a 53-year-old man and his 48years-old wife into custody after they found a stolen motorcycle in their possession at their Lot 716 No 76 Housing Scheme, Corentyne, Berbice home.

In custody are Suresh Chand Latchman called ‘Rice’, unemployed and Nafiza Halima Lackhan a domestic worker. According to information, police acting on information with regards

to a stolen motorcycle, went to the home of the couple and upon conducting a search f o u n d o n e b l a c k 11 0 Shineray Motorcycle with the registration number missing in their yard.

The bike was reported stolen between the 20th and 21st October 2020 from a resident at Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice.

Upon being questioned they told investigators that about two weeks ago one ‘Two Feet’ brought the motorcycle for Nafiza’s 18- year-old son Shameed Shamshuddeen, called ‘Buckman’, to keep. They told investigators that Shameed, who is a fisherman, has since gone to sea.

Arrested, Suresh Chand Latchman

The stolen motorcycle.

the phone.”

Though Hillary lost the primaries to Barrack Obama, who went on to serve two terms as President, Weiss said that ad has really left a mark.

“This ad really has become a part of American c u l t u r e . ” We i s s t o l d journalists in October, “You will still hear people talking in the context of a presidential race or an important race about who's going to take the 3:00 AM phone call.”

She notes that the advertisements use calming music, beautiful children, (Continued on page 19)

- contributing editor, Politico Magazine

From left: Republican Presidential nominee and incumbent, President Donald Trump and Democratic Presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden (AP photo)

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Monday November 02, 2020

Second nat’l diabetic eye care centre established in Enmore The second Diabetic Eye Centre established at Estate Road, Enmore.

Director of the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Programme, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim.

With a population of about 750,000, Guyana has an estimated diabetes prevalence of 11 percent which is above the average of other South American countries and similar to the high levels in the Caribbean.

According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), of that number, an estimated 18,630 Guyanese suffer from diabetic eye disease (DED), with nearly 5000 having their sight threatened.

What is most pressing is that the diabetes eye complications, called Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), is a

leading cause of permanent blindness worldwide. Nearly one in six patients seen in the Eye Care Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in 2016 being diabetic, the local healthcare sector joined forces with its international partners to facilitate a project which cater for persons with DR. In August, the second Diabetic Eye Centre (DEC) was established at Enmore, kick started under a World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) funded initiative geared towards offering a multi-faceted diabetic

healthcare system. Under the name Guyana Diabetes Care Project (GDCP) the project will focus on expanding care through the establishment of Diabetic Eye Centres (DEC). This component of the project is heavily supported by the University of Toronto, Orbis International and Department of Ophthalmology of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

According to Clinical Director of the Guyana Diabetic Retinopathy Programme, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim, the facility at

the Polyclinic Clinic located at Estate Road, Enmore, East Coast Demerara will help give more people access to the service.

“The Diabetic Eye Centres,” he said, “are intended to be easily accessible to the general public and will provide free diabetic eye screening along with general eye screening to identify other sorts of eye conditions such as cataract and glaucoma.”

He disclosed that a site for a third DEC is being discussed with the Ministry of Health in the country’s second most populous

region – Corentyne, East Berbice.

“With two functional DECs in the Demerara-Mahaica region, the addition of the East Berbice Corentyne Region will increase the catchment area to cover over 56 percent of the total national population,” he explained.

Added to this, the eye care professional stressed that early detection of the disease allows for the opportunity to initiate treatment to prevent blindness from diabetes.

“These centres are run by locally trained optometrists who Continued on page 17

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Monday November 02, 2020

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Govt. terminates BK, Courtney Benn’s school contracts totaling $1.1B

By Mikaila Prince After failing to meet their contract obligations, thereby costing taxpayers millions of dollars, the government yesterday exercised its right to terminate two multi-million school contracts which were awarded to Brian Ti w a r i ’s B K I n t e r n a t i o n a l Incorporated and Courtney Benn Contracting Services.

The Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, this morning dispatched letters to the Company Secretary of both of the local contractors for the construction of the $352M St. Rose’s High School and the $827M Yarrowkabra Secondary School.

In the letter dispatched to Courtney Benn’s Company Secretary, the AG reminded that the Ministry of Education (MOE) had awarded the $352M St. Rose’s contract to Courtney Benn on August 8, 2018, with completion projected on or before April 8, 2020.

“The Government of Guyana,” AG Nandlall wrote to the Secretary, “then executed an addendum to the contract dated the 23rd December, 2019 to facilitate the driving of piles by your company. The contract was extended for a period of 20 months and is now scheduled to be completed by 23rd August, 2021.”

The official went on to indicate that

the contract sum was then increased to the sum of $412,340,357. Despite the fact that Courtney Benn Contracting was given the contract to construct this state-of-the-art school two years ago, the company has only managed to complete 9% of the schedule of works, the letter said.

“As a consequence,” it continued, “your company has committed a fundamental breach of the terms of the contract and as a result thereof, the Government of Guyana hereby exercises its right to terminate the contract with immediate effect.”

This contractor’s termination was grounded on the breach of Clause 40.2 (a) for failing to comply with the schedule works; as well as the breach of Clause 40.2 (g) read along with the special conditions of the contract for inordinate delay in the completion of works under the contract.

Kaieteur News had reported in September that an advancement of $60M was issued towards Courtney Benn for this school’s construction.

However, shortly after the initial stages of a pile-driving exercise begun in January 2020, the school’s Board of Governors observed that the contractor had abandoned the site. In fact, the school’s board reported that the contractor had removed all of their construction gear and personnel from the Camp and Church Streets site, and Continued on page 17

An aerial shot of the worksite of the St. Rose’s High School, taken in September 2020.

An artist’s impression of the $826M Secondary School to be constructed at Yarrowkabra, on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Health Ministry replaces $742 million worth of expired drugs with $3 billion spent on medication

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The government has replaced $742 million worth of expired drugs within the $3 billion recently spent to replenish Guyana’s supply of medicine according to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony who also stated that the supply is expected to last around six months.

The expired drugs stored in the Ministry of Health’s medical warehouses were found by the PPP government upon taking VACANCY office in August.

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expired medicines or medical supplies, or items deemed unfit for human use,” Dr. Anthony had said.

He also disclosed that a quick survey was done with the MMU and on August 5 it was found that there were 206 items of medicine and medical supply that were out of stock and 156 medical items had a zero stock level.

The Minister also stated that the money spent on drugs has fixed issues with HIV pharmaceuticals and kits. At the budget presentation, Anthony had said, “We have had problems with HIV medicines. Again, not only the medicines but kits were not available. So, we have now gotten back kits, [and] you will get kits if you don’t have them.”

Additionally, the Health Minister said that the government will be returning borrowed supplies that were given by Suriname and Brazil.

The countries had given medical supplies to Guyana during the drug shortage period.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony Despite the acquirement of new drugs the government is still sourcing medication to treat tuberculosis, according to the Minister.

He had also stated that the APNU+AFC government had not purchased drugs for tuberculosis patients, HIV patients and malaria patients.

Man arrested for gun turned in by son Police have arrested one person in connection with an illegal firearm that was found in the suspect’s garden by his young son. Reports are that at about 08:10hrs, a Corentyne, Berbice minor visited the #51 Police Station and handed over an unlicensed pistol to the police.

The child reported that he went to water his father’s garden and it was while he was there, his father came into the garden some 20 minutes later and was heard quarrelling. The minor told police that his father then took out a black bulky plastic bag from his right side pants waist and stuck it under some plants on the ground beside the garden’s inner fence and subsequently left to an unknown destination. He said after his father left, he went to check and found the pistol. He then took it to the station.

Sometime after, the police acting on information went to the home of the suspect. He was confronted about the allegation but he denied ownership of the gun. His house and yard was

The gun turned in by the young man. subsequently searched but no illegal items were found.

He was then arrested and

taken to the #51 Station where he was placed into custody pending an investigation.

...Kaieteur, Canje owners violated From page 3 committed to “have, or… acquire, the financial resources, the managerial, technical and industrial competence and the experience to carry out Petroleum Operations and will provide a guarantee” that they will observe the conditions of the license.

Such a guarantee is required

under Section 13 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act. Kaieteur News has carried a sustained series of articles for several weeks, detailing the red flags which have occurred in the handling of these licenses.

Yet, the government has remained silent on the matter,

with former President Ramotar and Foreign Secretary (once Minister of Natural Resources) Robert Persaud opting not to explain why so many red flags have manifested in the handling of these licenses.

“It is disappointing that the administration seems willing to ignore those concerns.” Ram said.

Monday November 02, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Giftland boss clears the air on 46 new COVID-19 cases recorded cost of power purchased by Govt.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday recorded 46 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 4,208 as shown in their daily dashboard update.

Ministry officials indicated that the newly recorded cases were from Region One which has 19 new cases, Region Three which has four new cases, Region Four which has 11 new cases, Region Six which has one new case, Region Seven which has two new cases, Region Eight which has six new cases and

…says $35M taken out of context Roy Beepat, proprietor of the Giftland Mall sought to clear up the public misconception that he was being paid $35 million from government for the extra 4.5 megawatts of power to the grid in order to compensate for the shortfall of electricity badly needed.

“Giftland notes with alarm of recent press reports alluding to being paid $35 million a month from GPL for the supply of power,” Beepat said in a statement yesterday citing that the sum was “taken out of context.”

According to the Giftland boss, if the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) were to purchase $35 million worth of power, “then the fuel requirement for that would be around $26 million.”

The remaining funds, he

added, would be split between wages, parts, depreciation and servicing for 5MW engines being run24/7.

Beepat had previously disclosed to Kaieteur News that the power itself would cost around $9.9 million per month while fuel cost is estimated to be $29.5 million.

Guyana’s blackout woes is expected to ease as Giftland is set to supply the DemeraraBerbice Interconnected System (DBIS) with almost five megawatts of power needed to boost the current supply of electricity to the national grid .

Once this is in place, it will aid in the shortage of power outages on the East Coast Demerara corridor.

The power supply is expected to be spilt with 1.5 megawatts being supplied

Region Ten which has three new cases.

The dashboard also shows that eight persons are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital, 73 persons are in institutional isolation, 757 persons are in approved home isolation and 35 persons are in institutional quarantine.

Further it states that 126 persons have died and 3, 242 have recovered from the virus to date.

A total of 19,944 persons have been tested for the COVID-19 countrywide.

Giftland boss, Roy Beepat during the daytime hours and 3.5 megawatts in the peak evening hours. Giftland’s power system has a 6.7 megawatt output capacity but merely utilizes 1.6 megawatts during peak operation periods.

Second national diabetic eye care...

From page 14 have undergone specialized training in Diabetic Eye Screening and Grading via the use of retinal photography. The use of retinal photography is the current worldwide standard for early detection of diabetic retinopathy,” Dr. Sugrim added.

He said that, “One major strength of the programme, is the concentration of

prevention of complications of diabetes through promotion of good nutritional habits.”

“This has resulted in close collaboration with the staff of the GPHC Nutrition Centre that assists patients to manage their diabetes through health nutritional practices. The nutritionists have also been involved in training the optometrists and

University student aims...

From page 12 service while keeping customer safety in mind.

These measures included the thorough handling of products among other things.

In terms of the public’s response, Austin stated that upon commencing his business he has received nothing but positive feedback from early customers and even new customers are nothing less than pleased when they make a purchase.

The young entrepreneur said, “The formula to a successful business begins with faith in the product or service being provided and also being able to market it in a fashion that is acceptable to the clients. In addition to that, a lot more can be done to promote businesses like

mine in Guyana, which includes having more efficient marketing techniques and displays of the products or services being offered in a suitable standard. “ In becoming the leading supplier of custom designs in Guyana, he would also like to see his range in design being expanded so his company is not only limited to clothing designs but personal items which may include bottles, folders, etc.

Austin is one of the many young entrepreneurs that have taken the risky leap of starting a business amid a pandemic, still focused on his goals despite obstacles that may arise. All of his products are marketed on Facebook and Instagram via the @conredsouthamerica handle.

also eye care professionals on the importance of counselling patients about their diet,” added Dr. Sugrim.

He emphasized that despite limitations imposed by the pandemic, efforts will continue to strengthen ties with existing providers of diabetic eye care. In 2015, GPHC (the national referral hospital in Guyana) became the pilot site of a newlyestablished Diabetic Retinopathy Screening and Laser Centre. The DEC provided, for the first time in the public system, free laser treatment to the general public for diabetic eye disease.

Back then, the International Council of Ophthalmology Protocols for Diabetic Eye Screening were adapted and used in establishing a formal screening and referral system in Guyana. Additionally, considerable resources were provided by Orbis International in training a number of eye health professionals and other technicians that aided in the implementation of the project.

This has led to increased capacity of the eye care clinic staff of the Department of Ophthalmology to screen and treat diabetic eye disease, thanks to investments in equipment and clinical training, and improved patient flow and management systems. Categories of staff that were trained include ophthalmologists, optometrists, nurses, general physicians and biomedical technicians. Additionally, awareness and health promotion materials have been designed, to increase public awareness and drive community demand for eye care.

Govt. terminates BK, Courtney Benn’s...

From page 15 was keen to note that no explanations were given to them by the contractor for their abandonment.

With regards to BK International, it was recalled that the $827M contract was awarded through the MoE on December 31, 2019. Despite the law preventing the government from signing contracts after mid December, the former A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) regime nonetheless illegally went ahead and awarded the contract. It was signed on January 7, 2020 with completion projected for

March 12, 2021.

Even with receiving a $214M advance, the AG made it explicitly clear that only 5% of the scheduled works have been completed. Similar to Courtney Benn’s case, the AG Nandlall indicated that BK International has committed a “fundamental breach of the terms of the contract”, with the government terminating the contract with “immediate effect”.

The grounds for BK’s termination were akin to those of Courtney Benn Contracting. Notably, these two contractors will not walk scot free, as AG Nandlall made it clear that the government

will impose the enforcement of 10% of the contract sum as liquidated damages.

Further to this will be the surrendering of the performance security as consequence of the two company’s “fundamental” breach of the contracts.

The government reminded the contractors that it reserves its right to institute legal proceedings against the two companies for compensation for their breach of contract. Both BK International and Courtney Benn Contracting Services were requested to have the sites of the two schools cleared “immediately.”

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

...Fear tactics often dominate US From page 13 and an undercurrent of worry and fear that if someone less experienced answers the phone (their opponent), a lot could go wrong.

Weiss posited that the COVID-19 pandemic is the most potent issue for candidates to weaponise in their advertising for this year's presidential race.

The US is one of the COVID hotspots of the world with 9.2M recorded cases as of yesterday, and over 230,000 deaths. President Donald Trump has been staunchly criticised for treating lightly with the pandemic, and not encouraging supporters to follow safety guidelines.

According to political scientist Dr. Mark Rozell, Trump's treatment of the COVID pandemic has had so much of an influence on his supporters that they are more likely to vote in-person and refuse

to wear a mask, than the persons likely to vote for Democratic nominee, Vice President Joe Biden.

One advertisement being used by the Biden campaign (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=49YmR8GFnnU) attempts to portray Trump as treating with the pandemic in a cavalier manner, pitting that portrayal against Biden as a more concerned candidate.

It opens with a reporter asking Trump during a press briefing, “What do you say to Americans that are watching you right now, that are scared?”

“I say that you're a terrible reporter. That's what I say.”

Trump responds.

The screen then shows Biden being asked “What do you say to the American people who are confronting this new reality?”

Biden responds “This is bigger than any one of us.

This is – calls for a national rallying to everybody to move together.”

The advert pans back to Trump, who calls the reporter's question a “nasty” one and accuses him of utilizing sensationalism in his journalism when the American people are looking for hope.

This is juxtaposed against Biden who said that he has laid out in detail what he would do were he President today, then invites the listener to visit his campaign website to read about his plan.

The advertisement uses different background music for the two candidates, likely meant to evoke a feeling of calm and respect for Biden, against a stressful worry when it comes to Trump.

Weiss said it's not likely that advertisements would sway a voter's choice, only that they serve to galvanise the candidate's own support base and that, in this regard, advertising has become quite sophisticated over the years.

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Monday November 02, 2020

Simmons optimistic late-arriving players will be sharp for start of NZ T20 series

Phil Simmons

SportsMax - Phil Simmons believes several of his T20 players, who will be arriving late to New Zealand, will be ready to be at their best for the upcoming three-match T20 series against New Zealand next month, despite being in isolation until the eve of the opening match.

Several members of the T20 squad including Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Oshane Thomas, Nicholas Pooran, and Jaspon Holder, are expected to arrive in New Zealand near midNovember to join the

Monday November 02, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Electrical or plumbing problems with your house might come up. Call a professional, Aries. Don't try to fix it yourself, because you could make it worse.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your physical energy is very high today. You're likely to want to get out and exercise, perhaps jog through the park or attend a virtual aerobics class. Be careful!

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Stay close to home today.

Spending too much time in the car could lead to stress or, in extreme cases, minor accidents. On the job, this could turn out to be one of those days.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Uncertainty about spiritual matters and doubt about your insights might have you down in the dumps today. Don't try to force any solutions - it won't work.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Money matters might take a turn for the worse today. Don't fly off the handle because of this, Gemini. Use every bit of financial savvy you have to put things straight.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) If a friend or acquaintance gives you adv i c e a b o u t money or investments today, don't take it. To follow this unknowledgeable person's lead might prove to be disastrous. Participation in group activities also isn't advisable.

CANCER(June21–July22) Cancer, check your house to make certain everything is in working order. There are indications that small hazards could exist that need correcting. Tension might run high among family members, and quarrels could result.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Short visits in your neighborhood could catapult you into some negative situations. It's best to stay close to home if you can. An angry letter or call could put you in a shaky mood.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) oday you might be a bit worried about your financial affairs.

A past mistake could have led to some rather upsetting consequences. Now you need to harness every bit of skill you have in order to set things straight.

Your knowledge of modern technology could help.

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Kaieteur News

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Gossip and bad feelings among co-workers or in a group could occur today, and there might be some political shenanigans that it would be in your best interests to avoid.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Too much running around might have you feeling exhausted and under the weather today, Aquarius.

You may have been exercising a little too much.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You could feel extremely passionate today. You might want to connect with a love partner but be prevented b y c i r c u m s t a n c es. You might be attracted to racier novels or movies.

touring party that arrived in New Zealand late last week.

The players were engaged in the ongoing IPL tournament that concludes on November 10.

Pooran’s time in the IPL will be winding down soon after his KXIP team were eliminated from playoff contention after losing to CSK earlier yesterday.

Notwithstanding, for those playing in the international T20 series, it means they will be quarantined for two weeks and will only be cleared to play just prior to the start of the series on November 27.

However, Simmons, the West Indies head coach, is optimistic that the period of inactivity will have that much of an impact of the late-arriving players.

“The plus about that is that they are coming from playing in a high-quality tournament so they will be sharp.

The guys that are with us, we have to get them up to that level so when we meet on as a full squad everyone is on the same page,” he said.

...Du Plessis and Gaikwad From page 22 composure and experience as he rotated the strike cleverly, but with a dash of inventiveness as he scooped Jimmy Neesham for six.

GAYLE’S IPL SWANSONG? At the age of 41, Gayle’s knees are starting to creak and the left-hander was unable to muster a boundary in a scratchy 12 off 19 balls for the Kings XI here.

Handed the ball to bowl an almost ceremonial last over will raise questions of whether he is set to bow out.

The elder statesman of T20 cricket is still a draw, but he is not getting any younger and if this ends up being his IPL swansong, it was a meek way to go.

Scores: Chennai Super Kings 154 for 1 (Gaikwad 62*, du Plessis 48, Jordan 1-31) beat Kings XI Punjab 153 for 6 (Hooda, 62*, Ngidi 3-39, Jadeja 117) by nine wickets.

...GABA in talks to resume From page 23 3X3 tournament that they will propose to be bounced off in December.

Slater explained that a team from GABA is scheduled to have a meeting with the relevant authorities to receive the return to play protocols but he is optimistic that approval will be given.

GABA is yet to host any event for the year after the Andrew Ifill knockout that was schedule for March was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Some other associations are currently considering whether or not to take this opportunity to return to play, but the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) has confirmed with Kaieteur Sport that they will not have any event for the rest of the year and will resume with the first event of the 2021 season, the Endurance Championship round 1 that is slated for January 24 at South Dakota. (Calvin Chapman)

...Trump signs U.S. reform From page 21 because of a lack of transparency and accountability among U.S. Olympic officials, coaches and trainers.

The bill’s authors Republican senator Jerry Moran and Democrat senator Richard Blumenthal said they were pleased to see their “sweeping reform legislation” signed into law and praised the athletes who had testified before Congress.

“This law would not be possible were it not for the athletes and courageous survivors who traveled to Washington, shared their stories and demanded change so that future generations of athletes can train, compete and succeed without fear or abuse,” the senators said in a joint statement.

“We are grateful to our colleagues, athlete advocates and the many survivors who helped create and advocate for this law to bring about change in the Olympic movement and allowed us to keep our promise to the survivors to get this bill across the finish line.

“We will make certain this law is being implemented to the fullest extent and continue to hold accountable the institutions that have the responsibility to keep our athletes safe.”

The Nassar scandal triggered lawsuits and mass resignations at USOPC and USA Gymnastics over the organizational failures to adequately respond to the abuse. It has led to the Congressional oversight, with regular reports and audits to be made available.

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Morgan and Cummins keep Knight Riders’ playoff hopes alive; Royals knocked out ESPNcricinfo - Both the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals had come into this game knowing it was not just must-win, but they needed to win it with a big margin to get some playoff security. Both teams showed the intent to go hard, and maximise their chances, but it was the Knight Riders who came out smiling at the end, having romped to a 60-run victory that vaulted them from last place in the points table to fourth.

The margin of the win meant their net run rate had lifted to -0.214, within touching distance of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Capitals, with all three teams on 14 points.

A big enough loss for either of those two, when they face off on Monday, could see the losing team slip below the Knight Riders, an important cushion should qualification come down to net run rates.

The first game on Sunday had already seen the Kings XI Punjab crash out with a defeat to the Chennai Super Kings, smoothening the way further for the Knight Riders.

Intent was shown before the game itself, when the Knight Riders included a still not fully fit Andre Russell for this match. The thinking was evident: with the season on

the line, you need one of T20’s best players in the XI. Eoin Morgan led the way with the bat, while Pat Cummins was devastating with the ball, as the Knight Riders won crucial passages of play handsomely. Morgan had come in at 74 for 3, after a double-wicket over, and paced his innings to a nicety.

He expertly picked the bowlers to target, and bludgeoned his way to his highest IPL score. The unbeaten 68 off 35 he scored was also his first half-century of IPL 2020. The Morgan blitz took the Knight Riders to 191 for 7, a total well in excess of what they looked like getting more than halfway into the innings.

The Royals innings began at breakneck speed but their unravelling was equally swift.

The first five legal balls brought 19 runs, the next 4.1 overs produced 18 for 5 - four of those wickets going to Cummins. It was only the fourth time ever that a bowler had taken four or more wickets in an IPL powerplay.

In seven of their last eight games, the Knight Riders had gone wicketless in the powerplay, and as if to revert to the mean, they got five on Sunday. Morgan took the aggressive option and bowled Cummins for three overs in

the powerplay, and was amply rewarded for it.

Cummins shrugged off those 19 runs he conceded first up to eventually end with 4 for 34.

Archer at one end, runs at the other The match began in familiar fashion for the Royals. Jofra Archer was quick, hostile, accurate at one end. The runs leaked from the other. Archer’s first spell read 2-0-3-1 but the Knight Riders still had 55 for 1 in the powerplay, with Shubman Gill in his new avatar as an aggressive opener leading the way. Gill carted the other bowlers around as the Knight Riders shrugged off the firstover dismissal of Nitish Rana to continue to hit out against all bowlers save Archer, with the rest offering ample waywardness in line and length.

Steven Smith also erred in giving Shreyas Gopal the fourth over, when pace might have been more suited and with the Royals having enough options.

Gopal’s over went for 17 runs and the control Archer had given them first up disappeared. Later on, Smith would also call on Gopal when Russell was new to the crease - again with pace options available since the Royals had six frontline bowlers - and that over went for 21 after a middle-overs lull.

Pat Cummins sent back Ben Stokes and Steven Smith in the same over. (BCCI) Tewatia strikes Rahul Tewatia continued to enhance his reputation as one of the stars of this tournament with a canny spell in the middle overs that dragged the Royals into the game for a while. He didn’t rip the ball a great deal, but kept it flat and on difficult-to-hit lengths. He also kept it out of the strike zone of the batsmen, denying them room to free their arms.

He struck twice in the ninth over to get a fluent Gill and then the promoted Sunil Narine for a duck. Later on, he took the important wicket of Dinesh Karthik, who

chipped tamely to short midwicket, finishing with 3 for 25 in his four overs, bowled on the trot. When he was done, the Knight Riders had been reined in to 100 for 5 in 13 overs after a quick start.

Morgan’s blitz He had been busy at the crease since his entry, though he had to temper his aggression against good bowling by Tewatia, while also setting himself up for launching in the death overs.

Still, Morgan hadn’t let a scoring opportunity go, looking to attack even through the middle overs.

The re-entry of Gopal for the

14th over opened the sluice gates, as Morgan smashed two fours and two sixes.

Russell then showed some of his prime hitting form, even taking Archer for a six after an edged four. Though Russell was out for an 11-ball 25, Morgan stayed on, taking down England team-mate Ben Stokes in a massive 19th over that yielded 24 runs.

Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 191 for 7 (Morgan 68*, Tripathi 39, Tewatia 325, Tyagi 2-36) beat Rajasthan Royals 131 for 9 (Buttler 35, Cummins 434, Mavi 2-15, Varun 2-20) by 60 runs.

Aubameyang penalty gives Arsenal victory at Man Utd BBC Sport - PierreEmerick Aubameyang’s second-half penalty gave Arsenal their first Premier League away win over Manchester United since 2006.

Aubameyang ended a run of five games without a goal by sending David de Gea the wrong way on 69 minutes after Paul Pogba had fouled Hector Bellerin.

United tried to rally but came no closer to an equaliser than when Donny van de Beek’s cross-shot flicked off Mohamed Elneny and then into the face of goalkeeper Bernd Leno before bouncing to safety off a post.

It was not the greatest contest between two clubs who used to fight it out for the biggest prizes but are now a pale imitation of their former selves.

While Arsenal will be delighted at the deserved victory, this was not the kind of United performance that did justice to the memory of club legend Nobby Stiles, who died on Friday.

Pogba is the most highprofile figure in the United midfield that World Cup

winner Stiles used to operate in.

But the Frenchman had a day to forget, giving the ball away too cheaply when his side attacked and needlessly fouling Bellerin to turn the contest Arsenal’s way.

The Gunners now have 12 points and are up to eighth and United remain in 15th on seven points.

Arsenal end long wait for a ‘big six’ away win It is only two weeks since Arsenal visited Manchester and did quite well, only to lose to a Raheem Sterling goal at City. Last week, United and another London club, Chelsea, played out a thoroughly forgettable goalless draw at Old Trafford.

The first-half of this contest felt like a combination of the two games.

United were a shadow of the side that hammered RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday. Their one decent opportunity came when Marcus Rashford found Mason Greenwood with a superb pass across the area but Bernd Leno saved with his feet and would have been disappointed if he had been

Aubameyang ended a run of five league games without a goal - scoring with his first shot on target in his past three games in the competition. (EPA) beaten at the near post.

Arsenal were decent.

Egypt midfielder Elneny justified his selection ahead of Granit Xhaka with an excellent performance screening the visitors’ defence.

William schemed ahead of

him and Arsenal enjoyed the majority of possession.

But they never really looked as though they believed they could score.

Alexandre Lacazette might have done had Victor Lindelof not nudged Aubameyang’s pass away

from him.

Willian skimmed the bar with shortly afterwards and Bukayo Saka should have done far better when Bellerin picked him out with a rightwing cross.

Aubameyang also lacked conviction when he curled an

excellent chance wide after the break but given an opportunity from the spot, the former Borussia Dortmund man delivered, in the process ending Arsenal’s unwanted 29-game wait for an away win against a fellow ‘big six’ rival.

Monday November 02, 2020

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Kaieteur News

F1 Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton overcuts wounded Bottas for Imola win Autosport - Lewis Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas to victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, where Mercedes clinched Formula 1’s 2020 constructors’ title, as a puncture took out Max Verstappen.

Hamilton easily survived a five-lap shootout to the finish following the Red Bull’s dramatic spinning retirement, racing away from Bottas, who had led the early stages before losing ground due to floor damage as he ran ahead of Verstappen.

At the start, Bottas comfortably led away on the long run to the Tamburello chicane, but Hamilton, although he reacted well, lost ground to Verstappen as they progressed through their acceleration away from the line.

Verstappen was alongside by the time they arrived for the braking zone for the left first part of Tamburello and he easily moved into second place, with Hamilton even forced to defend slightly against Daniel Ricciardo, who had moved up fourth when Pierre Gasly was crowded out by the second Mercedes ahead on the approach to the race’s real first corner.

The top three quickly raced clear, much as they have at many other events in 2020, with Hamilton tracking Verstappen within a second early on, before falling back out of DRS range after he had reported difficulty following the Red Bull.

By the start of lap eight of 63, Ricciardo was already over 10s off first place, as the top three were able lap in the 1m19s bracket - more than a second quicker than the rest at this stage.

Bottas gradually edged his lead up to the two-second

mark by the start of lap 16, where he was told to push as the soft-starting runners behind the top three began to pit to get rid of their suffering rubber.

The Finn set a string of fastest laps in the 1m18s, and with Verstappen only able to reach that pace two laps later, the Red Bull driver came in at the end of lap 18 to take the hard compound tyres.

Bottas followed him in and took the same tyre, easily rejoining in front, while Hamilton was told he would be extending his stint in a bid to jump Verstappen.

Hamilton had been nearly two seconds behind the Red Bull before it stopped, and so now Mercedes concentrated on how to get the world champion back into second place.

He produced a series of fastest laps, briefly reaching the 1m17s, before Mercedes asked if he could go considerably longer as he reached the rear of the pack to lap the backmarkers.

Bottas, who was informed he had picked up floor damage on the left-hand side of his car in the second lap, possibly as a result of striking debris from another car, was just keeping Verstappen out of DRS range, but was regularly lapping slower than his team-mate, before being told he was “one-second unsafe” to Hamilton on lap 30.

The lap before, Esteban Ocon had pulled over on the run to the Variante Alte with a suspected gearbox problem, and as the Renault was being recovered, race control opted to activate the virtual safety car.

This gave Hamilton the chance to pit and he rejoined easily still in the lead, with a near four-second margin to his team-mate.

Hamilton beats wounded Bottas for Imola victory.

In the second half of the race, Hamilton quickly extended his lead over Bottas as he lapped in the low 1m18s, reaching a 10-second advantage at the end of lap 40.

As Hamilton was untroubled up front, Bottas had to fend off Verstappen with his hobbled car.

He was able to stay ahead despite dipping his wheels into the gravel trap on the outside of the two Rivazza turns on lap 36, but when he went deeper into the gravel at the same spot six laps later, Verstappen got his chance to retake second.

He used DRS to close on the momentum-robbed Mercedes, and roared ahead around the outside on the approach to Tamburello at the start of the next lap.

Verstappen immediately reached Hamilton’s pace, but was unable to close his 13s lead before he dramatically retired from the race on lap 51, when a sudden puncture of the right-rear of his car spun him off and out in the gravel at the Villeneuve chicane, coming to rest with his rightrear tyre destroyed.

Bottas pitted for used softs immediately as the safety car was called, but Hamilton was forced to wait an extra lap, and just rejoined ahead of his team-mate, warned urgently to respect the delta time to avoid a

Gayle fined 10 percent of match fee after losing cool SportsMax - West Indies and Kings XI Punjab star Chris Gayle has been fined 10 percent of his match fee after breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during Friday’s loss at Rajasthan Royals.

The IPL’s release did not specify the nature of the offense but it in all likelihood it was due to an outburst of anger the player displayed after being dismissed during the match.

Gayle admitted to the Level 1 offence 2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct and

accepted the sanction.

The release read: “Chris Gayle, the Kings XI Punjab batsman, has been fined 10 percent of his match-fee for breaching the Dream 11 Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Rajasthan Royals at Abu Dhabi.”

Gayle smashed a whirlwind 99 from 63 balls, on a historic day that also included the batsman being the first player to get to 1000 T20 sixes. His crowning

moment was somewhat ruined by another West Indian, England bowler Jofra Archer, who dismissed the batsman with the very next ball.

An irate Gayle, who narrowly missed out on scoring a 7th IPL century, swung his bat in frustration before congratulating Archer and leaving the pitch. He became the only player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to miss a century by a single run on two occasions.

penalty.

The race restarted on lap 58 - extended after George Russell crashed while following the safety car on the approach to the first part of the Acque Minerali doubleright, spearing into the wall on the outside of the track and out of P10.

Hamilton streaked clear from a 0.6s lead at the restart, lowering the fastest lap considerably in the final tours, setting it for good on the last lap, to win by 5.7s over Bottas and seal Mercedes’ seventh constructors title in succession.

In the pack behind, Ricciardo took what had at one stage looked like an unlikely best-of-the-rest finish in third for Renault.

The Australian was boosted up to the final podium spot by not stopping under the safety car, while Sergio Perez, who had risen up ahead of Ricciardo from 11th on the grid, starting on the advantageous mediums and running longer in the first stint as a result, did come in.

That dropped Perez back behind Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon, with Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris also taking fresh soft rubber during the interruption.

Kvyat used it best, shooting up to fourth when the race resumed - including a brave pass on the outside up the hill to the Piretella turn - but he could not cut into Ricciardo’s advantage and finished 0.8s adrift at the flag.

Leclerc held onto fifth, with Perez sixth after passing Albon at the Villeneuve chicane and the Red Bull spinning down to last place on the exit.

Sainz was seventh ahead of his team-mate Norris, with Alfa Romeo pair Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi rising up from P18 and last on the grid to take the final points positions.

Raikkonen ran longest of anyone before stopping, getting into the points after the two late crashes, with the safety car boosting Giovinazzi who had run the reverse strategy to his team-mate, stopping early after starting on the softs.

Nicholas Latifi finished 0.7s off the first point of his F1 career in 11th, leading home Sebastian Vettel, Lance Stroll and Romain Grosjean who all stopped under the safety car while the Williams did not (Stroll knocking over his Racing Point jack-man as he slid into his pitbox with cold brakes).

The other non-finishers were Kevin Magnussen, who retired in the pits after reporting his car’s upshifts were giving him a headache, and Gasly, who also came into retire - in his case on lap seven.

Boxing match ends in grotesque fashion after Jaime Munguia punches piece of opponent’s lip off Yahoo Sports - There have been some gross ways to end a boxing match in the sport’s history, but not many are going to top one that ended with a boxer missing more than 10 percent of his upper lip.

That was the case in Friday’s bout between WBO Intercontinental middleweight champion Jaime Munguia and Tureano Johnson at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in California.

Specifically, it was Munguia landing an uppercut on Johnson in the sixth round that left the Bahamian veteran without a sizable chunk of the skin above his mouth. The fight was called soon after the blow as a KO victory for Munguia, who improved his record to 36-0 with 29 knockouts.

It was a hard right uppercut from Munguia that left Johnson with his lip injury.

In slow motion, you can see sweat, blood and potentially

other stuff flying off the boxer as the punch lands. The whole thing was pretty apt for the night before Halloween.

It wasn’t too long ago that we saw something similar in the world of MMA, as a UFC heavyweight fight between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alistair Overeem left the latter also missing a chunk of his lip.

These guys don’t get into boxing and MMA to become prettier, we can tell you that much.

Trump signs U.S. reform bill into law after Nassar abuse scandal (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday signed into law a bill designed to give Olympic athletes greater protection and more input into decision making in the wake of the Larry Nassar gymnastics sexual abuse scandal.

The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act increases funding for the U.S.

Center for SafeSport and creates more athlete representation on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) board and sport National Governing Bodies (NGB).

If both fail to follow up on reforms, new mechanisms will be in place to allow Congress to dissolve the USOPC board and decertify NGBs.

USA Gymnastics is still reeling from the scandal that involved former team doctor Nassar, who was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in 2018 after more than 350 women testified about abuse at his hands. The bill followed an 18-month bipartisan investigation that found Nassar was able to assault hundreds of girls and women (Continued on page 19)

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Kaieteur News

Monday November 02, 2020

Alia’s splash helps London Roar to another win in ISL series Jamaica Observer Jamaica’s champion swimmer Alia Atkinson was at it again, securing another series of stellar performances to lead her London Roar team to a second-match win and ensure they continued their rich vein of form at the second edition of the International Swimming League (ISL) in Budapest, Hungary.

After opening their campaign with a convincing victory over Team Iron, DC Trident and Aqua Centurions in match two of the season a few weeks back, Atkinson’s London Roar picked up where they left off, as they bounced back from a slow start on day one to finish tops in match five at the Duna Arena Saturday.

Atkinson, for her part, won the 50m and 100m breaststroke and had a hand in the 4X100m medley relay win, which resulted in her contesting the 50m breaststroke Skins Race where she added more points to contribute 40.5 points to

Alia Atkinson...won the 50m and 100m breaststroke and had a hand in the 4X100m medley relay victory (Photo: Mike Lewis/ISL/Europe) her team’s tally of 499 points.

London Roar won ahead of LA Current (478.5 points), with Tokyo Frog Kings (446.5 points) and DC Trident (287 points) completing the frame.

Following the early tussle with LA Current, where the lead in the standings swung back and forth three times on Friday’s first day of the twoday match, London Roar

eventually grabbed the initiative and held firm from there to steal the four points up for grabs.

The Melanie Marshallcoached London Roar had to wait until the seventh race of the match for their first victory, but then added five more individual wins to keep LA Current in check.

Jamaica’s darling of the

Du Plessis and Gaikwad deny Kings XI Punjab IPL play-off spot SportsMax - Faf du Plessis hit 48 as Kings XI Punjab were denied a place in the Indian Premier League play-offs after a nine-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings yesterday.

Deepak Hooda whacked an unbeaten 62 off 30 balls as Kings XI posted 153-6 with Lungi Ngidi (3-39) doing the damage for the Super Kings with the ball.

South African Du Plessis laid the platform for CSK’s response with a 34-ball 48 before Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten half-century got them home.

The Super Kings were unable to qualify for the playoffs but their victory, with seven balls to spare, deprived Kings XI of a chance to make the top four.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and asked Kings XI to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and rotated his bowlers with good effect.

KL Rahul (29) and Mayank Agarwal (26) made a slow start and the experienced Chris Gayle (12) was unable to get going, trapped lbw by spinner Imran Tahir (1-24).

Hooda boosted the total with a brutal assault on the Kings XI attack late on as he struck four sixes and three fours and scored his first IPL half-century since 2015 with a strike rate of 206.66 The Super Kings reached 82 without loss from 9.5 overs

Faf du Plessis hit 48 as Kings XI Punjab were denied a place in the Indian Premier League play-offs. in their reply before Du Plessis misjudged a slower delivery from Chris Jordan and his attempted ramp shot was comfortably caught by Rahul.

Fellow opener Gaikwad took the initiative from Du Plessis as he hit 62 not out from 49 balls and got CSK over the line with Ambati Rayudu who finished on 30.

DU PLESSIS SHOWS HIS CLASS This was the type of chase that required a disciplined approach with wickets in hand and Du Plessis produced a typically consistent knock, just missing out on a fifth half-century in the tournament. The CSK opener showed all his (Continued on page 19)

pool got her show on the road, when she topped the 50m breaststroke in 29.66 seconds, ahead of DC Tr i d e n t ’s Lindsey Kozelsky (30.02s) and London Roar teammate Annie Lazor (30.20s).

She then joined forces with Kira Toussaint, Marie Wattel and Freya Anderson to lead London Roar’s A team to victory in the women’s 4X100m medley relay in 3:47.85.

Tokyo Frogs (3:50.41) were second with the other London Roar team finishing third in 3:51.72.

Atkinson picked up where she left off on yesterday’s final day of action, as she roared to victory in the 100m breaststroke in a fast 1:03.75, ahead of teammate Lazor (1:04.45) and Kozelsky (1:05.29).

By virtue of winning the women’s 4X100m medley relay, London Roar’s Coach Marshall determined that the Skins Race stroke would be the breaststroke, with Atkinson and Lazor to fly the

team’s flag.

A skins race is a series of back-to-back 50m races, operating on a knockout basis.

Four of the eight starters are eliminated from the first round, with another two being eliminated in the second round, leaving only two swimmers to go head-tohead in the third and final round.

As expected, Atkinson blazed the trail in the first round, clocking 29.61 seconds in victory, ahead of Kozelsky (30.07) and Reona Aoki (30.09) of Tokyo Frog Kings.

Atkinson’s teammate Lazor and LA Current’s Anastasia Gorbenko were joint fourth in 30.20 seconds respectively, which resulted in five swimmers contesting the second round instead of four.

From that five, the 31year-old Atkinson again cruised to a comfortable win in 29.89 seconds, beating Gorbenko (30.21) and setting up another duel for the final, where the Jamaican again

came home in front in 30.28 seconds. Gorbenko finished in 30.38.

Atkinson’s performance placed her third in the Match MVP standing on 40.5 points behind the LA Current pair of Tom Shield s ( 6 2 . 5 ) a n d Beryl Gastaldello (54.5).

However, with a total of 72.5 points from the two matches so far, she sits 17th overall on the season’s MVP standings.

Meanwhile, LA Current after three matches lead the season’s club standing on nine points, one point ahead of Cali Condors and Atkinson’s London Roar, who are on eight points each from two matches.

Team Iron (six points), Tokyo Frog Kings (five points) and DC Trident on four points from three matches are next.

Defending champions Energy Standard and NY Breakers are joint seventh on three points, with Aqua Centurions and Toronto Titans sitting at the bottom of the 10-team table on two points each.

Sir Bobby Charlton: England World Cup winner diagnosed with dementia BBC Sport - England World Cup winner and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with dementia.

The news follows the deaths of his older brother Jack in July and fellow World Cup-winner Nobby Stiles on Friday, both of whom had also been diagnosed with dementia.

Sir Bobby, 83, won three league titles, a European Cup and an FA Cup with United during 17 years at Old Trafford.

He finished his career with spells at Preston and Irish side Waterford.

His wife, Lady Norma Charlton, expressed the hope that the knowledge of his diagnosis - first reported by the Telegraph - could help others.

Manchester United said in a statement: “Everyone at Manchester United is saddened that this terrible disease has afflicted Sir Bobby Charlton and we continue to offer our love and support to Sir Bobby and his family.”

Air crash survivor and Ballon d’Or winner Joining United in 1953, he scored 249 goals in 758 games for the club, longstanding records which were eventually broken by Wayne Rooney in 2017 and Ryan Giggs in 2008 respectively.

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, he remained England’s record goal scorer until Rooney surpassed him against Switzerland in September 2015.

At the age of 20, Sir Bobby was a survivor of the Munich air crash of 1958 in which 23 people died, including eight of his Manchester United team-mates.

He inspired United to a first European Cup win in 1968, scoring twice in the final, and was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1966 after playing every minute of E n g l a n d ’s Wo r l d C u p victory.

Sir Bobby came second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 1958 and 1959. In 2008, he received the lifetime achievement award.

United renamed Old Trafford’s South Stand in honour of Sir Bobby in 2016.

Dementia in football Sir Bobby is the fifth member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning side to be diagnosed with dementia.

In addition to his brother, Jack, and Stiles, both Martin Peters and Ray Wilson - who died in 2019 and 2018 respectively - also had the condition.

Stiles, Peters and Wilson were diagnosed with it while still in their sixties. In a BBC documentary screened in 2017, Stiles’ son John told

former England captain Alan Shearer he was “utterly convinced” heading a football was responsible for his father’s dementia.

A study by Glasgow University in 2019 found former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population.

The study began after claims that former West Brom striker Jeff Astle died at the age of 59 because of repeated head trauma and compared deaths of 7,676 ex-players to 23,000 from the general population.

The inquest into Astle’s death found heading heavy leather footballs repeatedly had contributed to trauma to his brain, but research by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association was later dropped because of what were said to be technical flaws.

Astle’s daughter, Dawn, said “players who have suffered dementia must not be a statistic” after she was left “staggered” by the study’s findings.

In response, the FA launched new coaching guidelines to restrict the amount of heading by under-18 players in training.

Monday November 02, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 27

National Stadium to be used for recreational activities from today The parking lot at the Guyana National Stadium will be opened to the public for recreational activities.

Charles Ramson Jnr. The outer pathway and parking lot of the Guyana National Stadium, Providence will be opened to the public for recreational u s e f r o m t o d a y. T h i s disclosure was made by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Hon. Charles Ramson Jr. The facility will be opened everyday to the p u b l i c f o r recreational/exercising purposes from 05:00hrs to 18:30hrs.

The Minister said that the Government of Guyana appreciates that the residents of the East Bank Demerara and southwest Georgetown area will have access to a public facility to exercise and play recreational sports

in an environment which is both safe and within proximity. He added that the Government of Guyana also appreciates that physical activity and exercise can be an important avenue for maintaining mental health, supporting healthcare, and encouraging family activities especially as our country continues to navigate the vicissitudes of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is with this appreciation that I am pleased to announce the decision of His Excellency, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, to open the Guyana National Stadium for the purpose described above.

The public is hereby reminded that it is our national responsibility to care the national facility and to protect the health and

GABA in talks to resume play

Basketball in Georgetown may return to play before the end of the year pending approval.

The Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) may be one of the first sport bodies to resume play following the latest Official Gazette with COVID-19 measures issued by the government which provisions for sports to recommence after a lengthy eight-month period.

The Official Gazette, which was issued Friday,

noted that, “Sporting events are permitted subject to the approval of the Minister of Health and compliance with any guidelines that the Ministry of Health may issue and every person or organiser hosting an approved sporting event shall be responsible for ensuring that the measures under this Notice as well as any guidelines that the Ministry of Health may issue

are complied with.”

To this end, in an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, head of the GABA; Jermaine Slater, has revealed that his association is working towards having some pickup games on the weekend where teams will be vying for trophies.

In addition, GABA will also be seeking approval for a highly anticipated club (Continued on page 19)

safety of Guyanese at all times.”

The covid 19 pandemic has put a halt to all sporting activities, but having access to the stadium can help athletes maintain a decent fitness level.

Meanwhile, the long awaited return of sporting activities was approved by the Government, but it would be subjected to approval by the Ministry of

Health.

This is expected to bring much needed satisfactions to sportsmen and sportswomen who have been restricted from playing their respective sports for several months.

“Sporting events are permitted subject to the approval of the Minister of Health and compliance with any guidelines that the Ministry of Health may issue and every person or

organiser hosting an approved sporting event shall be responsible for ensuring that the measures under this Notice as well as any guidelines that the Ministry of Health may issue are complied with.”

Additionally gyms have also been given the green light to resume operations, but that will be done at half capacity and only by appointment.

F1 Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton overcuts wounded Bottas for Imola win

rt Spo

Valtteri Bottas goes off track a bit during his bid at Imola.

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton crosses the finish line to win the race at Imola. (Pool via Reuters Miguel Medina)

Sir Bobby Charlton: England World Cup winner diagnosed with dementia

West Indies and Kings XI Punjab star Chris Gayle has been fined 10 percent of his match fee.

Sir Bobby Charlton regularly attended matches at Old Trafford. (Getty Images)

National Stadium to be used for recreational activities from today

Gayle fined 10 percent of match fee after losing cool

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