KaieteurNews

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Murder of La Grange businesswoman…

Saturday Edition

AIETEUR Female mastermind

November 21, 2020 - Vol. 14 No.45

NEWS captured in Suriname, Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most escapes from police popular weekly station toilet in Berbice

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Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

Price $80 Wanted by police: Jankie Tapsie

Online readership yesterday 89,059

Harmon supports Trotman’s call for int’l investigation into oil blocks giveaway

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Coronavirus GRA suspends entire cases in scanning unit staffers Guyana over missing images pass 5,000 Belgium’s 11.5 tonnes coke bust…

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Patterson and Trotman not included in

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Parliament’s Natural Resources Committee Missing lecturer Govt. begins dumping over $742M worth found dead in Roxanne Burnham of expired drugs left by Coalition Garden home p.

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Senior officials of police’s Finance Dept. suspended as SOCU probes $150M fraud p.

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Listen how your oil block was granted to a company that cannot be found in the Registry - at 11:00 am on Kaieteur Radio today.

Saturday November 21, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Harmon supports Trotman's call for int'l investigation into oil blocks giveaway O

pposition Leader, Joseph H a r m o n , yesterday spoke favourably of the position by former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, that there should be an independent probe into suspicious oil blocks giveaways by a competent, independent firm.

Trotman had said he would prefer that there be an investigation into the awards as anti-corruption watchdog, Global Witness recommended in a report earlier this year.

Harmon held a press conference yesterday, during which he responded to questions from Kaieteur

Former Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman News on the Coalition's posturing on matters related

Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon to oil and gas.

“The statement by

Minister Trotman is, I believe, an eminently good statement that says he would not mind an international investigation, and I think that is a proper position to take.”

The contract was hidden for a year and a half after its signing, by the previous administration.

The then Government had also hid from the public that it received a signing bonus from ExxonMobil, of US$18M, which it kept in a special account.

In its call for an investigation into the award, Global Witness said that Trotman ignored expert advice on multiple occasions, and signed the

agreement away in a short period, leaving US$55B on the table.

Trotman has still left unanswered many substantive questions on the matter, but has admitted that he thinks government should have done better with the deal.

Two other suspicious awards also made regular news - of the Canje and Kaieteur blocks. While the Donald Ramotar administration made the award, the coalition is largely seen as complicit.

Trotman had declined to answer, explaining that he is not in a position to answer, since he – now out of office – did not have

access to the documents relating to those transactions.

On the other side of the p o l i t i c a l a i s l e , Vi c e President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has given no greenlight for the independent probes he spoke in support of while he was Opposition Leader.

He recently posited that an internal review being conducted by government into the awards would inform him whether there is a need for an investigation into the Canje and Kaieteur awards.

As of now, his view is that no laws were broken and that there was no corruption.

Jaipaul Sharma apologizes to AG Nandlall …but wants legal action dropped

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o r m e r APNU+AFC Minister, Jaipaul Sharma has issued an apology to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, one day after being slapped with a lawsuit over Facebook posts he made.

On his Facebook page yesterday, Sharma posted: “My family called a meeting and the consensus was that I apologise to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Guyana M O H A B I R . A .

NANDLALL on Facebook and to close my Facebook Account. My family all say that they are concern for my safety and they do not want a Die Hard Christmas but a

Merry Christmas. I had to agree with them, since I was outnumbered and since I believe in democracy. I therefore issue an apology to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Guyana MOHABIR. A. NANDLALL. In addition, I will close my Facebook account after 5 day of this post during which period I will not make any further post about the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Guyana M O H A B I R . A .

NANDLALL, if he discontinue with his legal action against me.” (sic) The AG slapped both Sharma and People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) member James

Bond with a joint lawsuit regarding posts they made on social media.

The issue originated from a post made by Sharma on Tuesday where he implicated Nandlall's private law firm in the transfer of state property under the last People's Progressive Party/C (PPP/C) government.

Bond later reposted Sharma's posts and issued one of his own to which Nandlall claimed he acted with “malice” and issued statements which the AG believes were derogatory towards him.

Nandlall is seeking from both men in excess of $25M for each of the libelous statements made in their respective posts along with

Former Minister, Jaipaul Sharma an order that the two publish a correction and apology within seven days of the date of the Court's order and an

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall order requiring the public posts to be removed.

The AG is seeking a

permanent injunction restraining Bond and Sharma and their representatives from publishing further posts or similar words seen as defamatory to him.

Additionally, Nandlall is asking the court to grant him in excess of $25M for special damages and in excess of $25M for aggravated and exemplary damages along with other Order(s) the court deems just and proper.

The AG denied the allegations and first reached out to Sharma, threatening legal action if the post was not deleted.

But Sharma stood firm on his utterances and published another post and then a third.

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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

Political Transition, Governance Transformation This nation has to move beyond its long ill-starred elections of 2020. It is becoming clearer, however, that the PPP/C government has embarked on a program to ensure that Guyanese-faithful supporters and enraged opposition loyalists-are reminded constantly of what took place, through highlighting in continuing slashes of how much damage was done to country today and the future in front of us.

In this storm-tossed 2020, elections delays and related elections wounds are constantly drummed up and put before the public with intents calculated to stir and bind, either in favor or against.

The delays of Elections 2020 are assuming a life of their own. Delays have become today’s equivalent of “28 years of darkness.”

Those were indeed so in the later decades of the last century, with the major plank in today’s opposition being the main architect responsible for those devastating years.

And in this commencement of the third decade of this millennium, ‘destructive elections delays’ seem poised to become today’s mantra.

It is undeniable and inescapable that there were those shoddy delays and that they cost us immensely. That is now beyond debate, past any kind of discussion. But, at some time, and we at this publication say so, there is urgent need for the politicking to stop and the governing to begin.

Real progressive governing.

We go further and assert that the political campaigning should be over, and real leading commence. Real leading starts with genuine visions and authentic efforts towards definite objectives for national healing, national reconciling, and national building. We would like to hear and see those endeavors start somewhere and flourish into the fullest flower. Most unfortunately, we are yet to hear or see anything with the degree of constancy and on the scale of intensity that is desirable. That would be most beneficial to the shredded and seething environments that make up the sum of this country.

To be sure, the nation did hear, what we identify as the first watchword in President Ali’s trinity during his acceptance speech in the immediate post-declaration interval.

The newly sworn-in leader of Guyana spoke of unity; holding it high, working hard and tirelessly, and making it mean something was how we interpreted that, since the man did do so under oath. It has become commonplace for oaths to be observed like so many New Year’s resolutions. That is, in the breach, condemned to the long list of things to do, nice things that always get obscured and overwhelmed by the more pressing demands of the moment.

There are always those, such as a ruthless pandemic, a sluggish economy, a hurting population, a war over oil management, among the countless many other things that compete for the attention, time, energy, and money of government.

True governance of the caliber that could be lauded is missing, truth be told. There is a continuing swirl of activity, but a close examination reveals that there is more of sound and fury than that of solid substance. On the governance issues that matter, it is less of bona fide governance and more of old-time politics.

The customary favors to be paid to insiders, while there are the grating contradictions from positions about meritocracy. The paths cleared for big money financiers, who come to collect their pound of flesh, and who must be coddled. The people singled out, some not unjustifiably, and sent into the wilderness, which is a cycle repeated with uninterrupted regularity after each elections season.

This is what fuels the animosities and deep-seated

Saturday November 21, 2020

‘Leadership’ fundamentally implies that there is ‘followership’ Published over recent months has been a series of changes in a wide range of public sector organisations.

Logically the substantive changes have begun at Board levels, at which there was little or no pretence of transition, but rather peremptory replacements. Presumably what performance evaluation was conducted must have consistently revealed that in each instance Board members consisted of the most culpable levels of decision-makers.

At the next lower level – mostly that of Chief Executive Officer/General Manager there was certainly no welcoming exchange, as the respective parties were never even to hail each other from any distance whatsoever.

Given the apparent absence of any ‘intelligence’ worth sharing about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to: a) organisation as a whole b) specified Departments c) identifiably individual underperformers some observers would be

left to wonder whether the new management team/s have been required to ensure that specific strategic objectives are achieved. For such a fundamental Mission would have informed how and why the respective teams would have been selected.

Indeed the approach of ‘teamanship’ is critically relevant - an attribute about which authoritarian decisionmakers do not appear to regard as of high priority. As a consequence the new Chairman of a Board needs to invest urgent time to familiarise with a series of personalities (members) who are in turn caught in the same ‘distance’ dilemma – one that would be better addressed by a comprehensively structured induction programme, which of course would include surviving senior executive employees of the organisation. It should be an exercise conducted on as level a playing field as possible, that would identify (in sporting parlance) ‘square legs’ if not ‘pegs’; ‘straight drivers’ and ‘square cuts’, if not ‘late cutters’; reliable fieldmen, if not ‘drop

catchers’, whether in the ‘slip’ or on the ‘boundary’.

The scenario of change becomes particularly challenging for an organisation which is forced to invest in a wide range, and different levels, of ‘managerial’ appointees to operational areas that might include existing aspirants for the advertised vacancies.

At least relationships between ‘newcomers’ and ‘old hands’ must be deliberately worked out.

It becomes more sensitive however, when that ‘newcomer’ is a total stranger to the type of organisation as a whole. Whose responsibility is it therefore to prepare a conducive, level playing field of accountability relationships?

In the immediate context such responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the ‘Captain’ who would be the Chief Executive Officer/ General Manager. The question then arises as to whether or not that new incumbent is a leader as distinct from just a Manager?

‘Leadership’ fundamen-

tally implies that there is ‘followership’; that example set can be productively followed; that ‘people’ are influenced to work with, rather than for by communication with, rather than directions – aimed at creating an environment of equality by listening intently; and in the process understanding that it is the expressed (and perceived)moral authority of that Leader which is reflected in the quality of performance of those for whom the former is accountable.

It has to be understood by all involved in offering and accepting respective responsibilities to change or renew systems, operations, processes, that they must be continuously conscious of the emotional implications of people learning to adapt to new or restructured careers, and the overflow onto domestic and other social relationships.

In the final analysis therefore our new corporate leader has little or no choice but to be a Servant Leader.

Yours truly, E.B. John

Sports, therefore must be integrated into the culture for it to thrive DEAR EDITOR, Culture as it relates to sports is not something we hear a lot about in Guyana.

This might be the reason why we are so lacking in understanding and far behind in developing a true sports culture.

In most advanced countries with a rich sports history you would find that sports is ingrained within the culture.

In the US, organized sports are governed by the highest standards from little league/mini/pee-wee to the professional levels.

In Europe, there isn’t much of an amateur system, so sports men and women are encouraged to push the boundaries - many become household names before their 13th birthday, and professional athletes, while still in high school, are widely celebrated by their community and countrymen.

It is well documented, the

success of Jamaica sports as it is integral to the Jamaica culture and brand, so much so that it is legislated from the highest level of government and given due priority to thrive from the primary school level up. The Jamaica model is noteworthy because of the social economic similarity to us here in Guyana, apart from that, we are miles apart.

In each of these examples, sports reflect the value of the people as a standard worthy of the society(country).

Sports, therefore must be integrated into the culture for it to thrive, and this could only be achieved through cohesive pro-sports policies from the highest level to the lowest level of the grassroots in society.

This understanding will lead to better and more accessible infrastructure regardless of the community or region because the standard would be the same.

dissents in this society that are never-ending.

The questions and concerns today, and not for the first time, are these: when does leading this country forward take precedence over the usual rank and naked party politics? When is a sincere and sustained effort made to break this society away from the depths that strangle it and lift it up? Last, when does true governing for all mean something? When do we as leaders, as citizens, as a community of contemporaries existing side by side, go beyond talking and deceiving, and into doing and inspiring?

Our challenges loom before us. They are many and they are heavy, whether we will ever be ready is another long story.

In the United States for example, the average high school has an indoor gym and synthetic track, and the same is true for China, where I had the privilege of visiting last year.

In China, we learnt that as a matter of policy every new school must be built with an indoor gym, football field, synthetic track and swimming pool.

Yet, here we don’t have basic recreational spaces and we wonder why we are not performing on par with our Caribbean neighbours.

If you ever went to an inter-Guiana games event in Suriname, you might understand where I am coming from, the culture and support is so rich. Because it is ingrained in the people’s psyche.

Creating a vibrant sports culture will lead to better student-athletes and stakeholders (parents, teachers, fans

and sponsors) understanding and participation.

It would lead to better practices and greater accountability.

Not what we have here, we awaken dreams in our youth but then kill those dreams with our anti sport mentality and practices- so there is really no realistic hope in the young athletes mind of achieving much from his/her discipline. This is what kills the motivation, so as soon as our best prospects finish secondary school they become former players.

If you ask any athlete who has attained some level of prowess they would tell you they once dreamt of making the national team or competing at the collegiate level and probably even becoming an Olympian, what became of those dreams. It is a sad tale of what could have been.

So, if we are serious (Continued on page 5)

The Vice President needs no defenders DEAR EDITOR The steady attacks against the VP by a political aspirant begs the question is it a personal vendetta?

The VP needs no defender, suffice to say, as one writer puts it he is here for the long haul and may outlive the aspirant’s political ambitions.

Yours truly, Shamshun Mohamed

Saturday November 21, 2020

Crime fighting initiatives have to be integrated into national strategy DEAR EDITOR, Please don’t blame earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, droughts or floods for shattering the lives and dreams of many Guyanese.

Instead, put the blame for shattering lives and dreams onto predatory criminals (such as murderers, rapists, robbers, arsonists, etc.), who nonchalantly violate the sanctity of life and individual property. These criminals do not only hurt victims physically, including inflicting trauma upon them, but also drive fear into family members as well as other citizens.

From a broader socio-economic perspective, such crimes clog up social intercourse, scare away investment, hurt tourism, and stifle repatriation of Guyanese.

A few analyses on crime attest to the gravity of the situation.

The murder rate alone in 2019 was 15.2 per 100,000 compared with 5.3 in the US and 5.5 for Suriname. Relative to sentencing Bill Ramnarace writes (11/17/2020): “Devon Chacon, 26 years, ...home invader, who shot and killed Abdul Ameer Subrati, a father of two children at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara—was given 4 years imprisonment.”

While I and others have still been trying to grapple with the apparent rising tide of criminality, it was reported on the following day (November 17, 2020), that a 15-year-old boy of Kitty, Georgetown, was killed by his friend.

Still fresh in our memories are the brutal murders of the Henry boys, and Haresh Singh of West Coast Berbice, and the 86-year pensioner of La Grange, West Bank Demerara. No one has been charged yet with the heinous murder of the three West Coast Berbice boys.

These and other serious (violent) crimes add to the uneasiness and great concern of Guyanese, both at home and abroad.

Their feelings have not been helped by the issue of

Level 4 Travel Advisory by the US Embassy in August 2020. This is how Guyanese’s concern is dramatized: “One can get the best job, accumulate all the wealth, enjoy all the social welfare benefits, live in the best home, have fancy vehicle(s), but as soon as he goes onto the street he is cut down by a hail of bullets.

Or even in his home, he can succumb to robbery or murder.” So, what is the point of having all these material comfort but deprived of adequate public security?

We know that crimes cannot be fully eradicated.

No matter how effective is the maintenance of law and order (and this is the primary role of government), a certain level of crime will occur.

What people categorically reject is when crimes, particularly serious ones, get out of control (as measured by rising rates, low detection levels (unsolved), and high acquittal rates).

The lenient sentence delivered by the Judge in the Devon Chacon case, has been criticized by Freddie Kissoon, who has called upon the authorities to set up a COI (Commission of Inquiry) into the sentencing.

He continues: “Some humans are unfit for civilized society. They are beyond redemption.....Their uncivilized, bestial murders should be met with the state putting them to death. I do not support the general abolition of the death penalty.”

Ramnarace asserts; “no one cares for the victims of crimes and their suffering families.”

Well, not exactly. The victims of the West Coast Berbice mayhem, for example, have been promised partial

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Kaieteur News

relief in the form of monetary compensation. And there are efforts elsewhere to mitigate the crime problem through intervention and preventive measures.

The Spotlight Program grant of $US 5 million by the United Nations and the European Union to the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, provides for the intervention and implementation of strategic measures to minimize violence against women and girls.

In addition, the re-design of, and launch of community policing groups by the government is another useful step. But much more needs to be done to tame this monster.

For these and other programs (such as the Citizens Security Program and the Security Sector Reform Program) to have succeeded, they had to be integrated into a National Crime Fighting Strategy.

The agencies of law enforcement are linked organically, so if any one backfires the rest buckle too. .

Public security of which crime control is a dominant element must always be on the government’s as well as civil society’s political radar.

Accordingly, I am, once again, calling upon the current government to start a conversation on crime and the penal system, as part of an effort to develop a credible crime fighting strategy.

A national conference on Crime and the Penal System could ignite or give momentum to the national conversation. From these sources would flow a coherent set of policy measures into the government’s decision making process.

Yours truly, Dr. Tara Singh

Sports, therefore must...

From page 4 about discussing sports in the context of real life-changing transformational development, we have to go beyond a few facilities, programs and cosmetic patches, and begin to address the root cause of our institutional failures which would expose the anti sports culture we have allowed to become our norm.

This in my view is the biggest challenge facing our new Minister and his team in attempting to cultivate a modern sports society. I wish us well.

Yours truly,S Chris Bowman

Jagdeo has been recognized for his outstanding contribution DEAR EDITOR, I am writing in response to Audreyanna Thomas’s letter “Mr. Jagdeo is a leader of yesterday, not today” dated November 19th of this year.

What His Excellency Dr. Jagdeo achieved in Ecosystem Management has been recognized by leaders around the world as an outstanding contribution to humanity and the planet.

His ability to achieve this should not be disregarded because of political difference of opinion. It would be folly to throw out the baby with the bathwater. As the old saying goes actions speak louder than words. The course which His Excellency Dr. Jagdeo sets for the use of our natural resources in the future will say volumes of his ability to continue to Champion the cause of our planet

in ecosystem management.

It would be best for critics to not underestimate his ability to look beyond the usual path of resource exploitation. If he and his team are able to negotiate a payment for current and future discovered resources while also ensuring they are not exploited in a way that harms the planet, His Excellency would accomplish the single most significant achievement by any nation in the realm of climate change.

To do so as he did in the forestry sector while also keeping our nation on the path of economic development was and is thinking beyond that seen in other leaders of our generation. Norway and other climate conscious nations in Europe have also shown a willingness to embrace such an approach and

Guyana has a great ambassador for this approach in His Excellency Dr. Jagdeo who has shown the world that he can make this possible. His past experience should not be neglected when considering what he can accomplish today at such a critical juncture in human existence.

The Paris Agreement and the large investments being made in clean renewable energy around the world including in major oil producing nations in the middle east shows clearly that others are feeling the urgency of such a needed change in how we manage our planet and its resources.

Therefore the time for action is now and who best to champion this needed change than he who has done so successfully before.

Yours truly, Mr. Jamil Changlee

Parties are elected, MPs are selected, voters are short-changed DEAR EDITOR Since 1953 we have been going to the polls and ticking a box against the name of a political party of our choice. This process is called elections.

Each party contesting the elections must present a list of candidates to GECOM. Voters have no say as to who comprise the list of each party or who gets chosen from the list to become members of parliament (MPs).

The compilation of the lists and the selection of MPs are done in accordance with the internal procedures of each party. It is no secret that this process is hardly competitive and mostly complies with the “principles” of loyalty and nepotism. Am not certain loyalty and nepotism can be deemed “principles” since the latter term is usually understood in the context of “values”, “truths” or “morals”, generally in a positive connotation.

In short, we, the voters, are short-changed.

Our votes bestow upon current leaders of the main political parties extremely high levels of autonomy and authority, and no accountability. At the same time, these are leaders who suffer from very high levels of inferiority complex, which makes them autocratic, aggressive and excessively intolerant to alternative views.

The Guyanese people must elect their representatives, including their president and prime minister, directly. Individuals must be allowed to compete for any position of leadership. We must vote for people we know and trust and not for a list of names compiled by questionable and far-from-transparent processes.

Electoral reform is long overdue.

Yours truly, A. Adler

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

Who will answer the questions on the oil and gas giveaways DEAR EDITOR, The sensational and informative evening radio show, “The Glenn Lall Show,” that purports to tell it as it is, continues to educate, edify and entertain Guyanese and non-Guyanese at home and abroad with the oil saga, playing out to a packed audience, glued to the radio, phone or computer. The programme has developed into an irresistible show in quite a short time, its commencement being only two weeks ago. It has gained immense, popular momentum and may be rated as one of the best shows in town that Guyanese look forward to.

The host has become a wider known celebrity with his usual chiding, kidding and commenting in a fluent, acceptable, down to earth

language. His wavering tone, carefully selected terms and chosen societal expressions, explicitly convey the data, statistics and explanation of the controversial subject which has proven to be a hot topic.

He has become a crowd pleaser with his explosive emotions, pent up feelings and personal sentiments, communicated to the listeners and viewers in no uncertain terms. On reflection, he is the best thing next to “Aunty Cumsee.” He comes over as witty, wise and wacky and, certainly not wrong, wicked or wagging. He is just what the doctor ordered for Guyana and, although his medicine may not be immediately curable or necessarily applicable, the contents do contain a

possible catalyst for a probable antidote.

While his demeanor is more aggressively prolific, the moderator is contrarily apathetically passionate.

Kemol King’s harnessed patience respectfully restrains any rampant exuberance and he posts the received questions or queries in a quiet and rational aptitude.

Would you accept the disseminated information with great skepticism and cynicism or, with a grain of salt and reservation or, with wholesale acceptance and undoubtedly or, with optimism and joy or, with pessimism and sadness? We were told that from inception, the three triangular players, Dennison, Persaud and Ramotar, sold out the rights of Guyana by giving away her wealth with the Canje Block for free to Nelson and ChuckA Sang from a local company called Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Co. on March 4th, 2015, just days before the general election. Can you imagine that? The key players were cognizant that the Company was not professional, not experienced and had no money. They were all liaisons, never perused the agreement

but signed blindly, even ignoring external expert advice. How big of a pill is that to swallow? We further learnt that this company changed hands and sold shares and all of these transactions were done quietly without the knowledge of the Guyana Government and off shore in the British Virgin Islands.

How can Guyana’s property be sold and distributed to foreign agents without the Guyana government not being informed or approving or granting permission?

How much grease do you need for this bit to slide down smoothly? When contacted, relevant parties claim amnesia, the other cannot hear and the other’s voice mail is a long playing record.

Guyanese are not deaf, dumb or blind. They may be naïve and gullible some of the time but not all the time. Guyanese certainly do not go about walking with the word “Fool” imprinted on their backs for the public’s entertainment.

April Fool is one day of the year, not a life time of daily observation.

Some politicians couldn’t see eye to eye and so, the AFC wanted to see with the PNC what the PPP/C didn’t want others to see what was playing out at sea! The PNC and AFC want to make Guyanese believe that they were at sea because, to date, they’re still trying to put

together an oil team to understand the oil business and they claim that others know more about the oil than they do, even though they were in charge for the past five years!

Do you believe that?

Trotman signed a contract with ExxonMobil for a miserly 2% ( Suriname is enjoying 6% ) after being wined and dined lavishly in Texas, and he was proud to display more than bulging, gleeful eyes that glued with mischief, on his return to his mother country.

Oh, what a welcoming party he did receive with handshakes and slaps on the back from all and sundry for a mission accomplished. We were told that he did so after being instructed. Instructions came from whose authority?

To date, the question remains unanswered? Guyanese are anxiously awaiting the much craved answer for that burning question.

The PPP/C Party has been in office for over a hundred days and has access to all the records and that should have been an area of priority.

Why isn’t this information forthcoming?

Accepting US$18 million (the norm is hundreds of millions) as signing bonus is not only ridiculous and atrocious but unbelievable! This was kept quiet and remained a hidden secret until exposed. Why the secrecy? Who in their right

mind will settle for less when more was clearly available?

US$55 billion was left on the table and Guyana walked away with a stick in the hand to roll tire on the street instead of rolling in money!

Guyana’s business is every Guyanese business. Each citizen has a right to poke his or her nose into the affairs of the country when the wealth and health of the nation is affected.

Trotman is currently clamoring the court and parliament with other dubious issues. Is there collusion and conspiracy to pull the wool over the eyes of Guyanese?

Why is this matter being played down or ignored?

Why is there this deafening silence to quiet the quest of Guyanese? Is there anything sickening that is so terrible to reveal? The invigorating news received are quite intriguing, troubling and disturbing. Someone needs to counter, clarify, confirm, corroborate, compare, concur or condone the knowledge Guyanese are being fed and enlightened with. These are all beautiful questions and Guyanese are out there, fully awake, waiting with enthusiasm, following and falling over each word. Who will provide the slick answers? Will they be like oil, slippery?

Yours truly, Jai Lall

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Saturday November 21, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

A month in your life can be a reflecting one T

hree things I have reflected on as this month draws to a close and as I am getting to that term that the world has used since time immemorial – “an old man.” The first one was yesterday. I got a book I wanted to read. It was sent from Florida.

In my column of Monday, November 9, 2020, “The horrific, horrible revelation of Fareed Zakaria on the US election,” I mentioned the communist revolutionary, American woman –Elaine Mokhtefi - who went to Algeria after its liberation from France and became a popular person with the

revolutionary government.

In that column, I mentioned a passing remark Mokhtefi made about Arab racism in the sixties against African people in an article she wrote many years ago for the London Review of Books. Her autobiography was published recently, but I was not in possession of it at the time. It came yesterday. I have completed it and it makes for depressing reading.

If you want to see how fiery liberation fighters can descend into selfish autocrats then Mokhtefi's book – “Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers: Algiers, Third

World Capital” - is an excellent source. My reading of the book comes at a time when there are two anniversaries that fell in the same week this month. And there is a part of Mokhtefi's book that connects to these two anniversaries – it is about the decisions that humans make that they must accept responsibility for.

The first one is exclusive to Guyana – the Jonestown massacre. The other is the Nuremberg Trial. In her book, Mokhtefi describes how she was intimidated by state security just for being a close friend of the wife of the deposed president, Ben Bela,

after he was ousted in a coup by his fellow liberation fighter, Houri Boumedièné, the defence minister.

The very people with whom he, Ben Bela, fought the French for Independence were taking orders to jail him and harassing his wife. The point is why do people not refuse to carry out orders that involve the committal of heinous crimes?

Jonestown occurred in 1978 because at that time, President Forbes Burnham sat at the apex of power and did whatever he wanted in Guyana. In 1978 when the massacre occurred, two years earlier, Burnham decreed that his party, the People's National Congress will have political and legal power over all state organs frame worked in the doctrine of the paramountcy of the party announced as part of a policy direction named the Declaration of Sophia, Sophia being the district in Georgetown where his party head office was located.

Two years after the Jonestown tragedy, Walter Rodney was assassinated.

The Commission of Inquiry into Rodney's murder ruled that President Burnham was involved in the conspiracy

that led to Rodney's death.

Boumedièné is dead.

Burnham is dead. But many of those who were involved in the plan to overthrow and imprison Ben Bela and murder Rodney are still alive today and the anniversary of

Frederick Kissoon t h e Nuremberg Trials this week brings into sharp focus the obligation of those ordered to commit murder to refuse to do such dastardly acts.

The Rodney Commission named two former military men who were involved in the plot and the post-plot arrangements. Time is going and I guess with the horrible degeneracy that now surrounds the surviving circle of close comrades of Rodney, we will never hear from these two men. We may never hear from two other military officials who were at the apex of the army who were also at the apex of the last government – President David Granger and Minister

of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon.

The former president was high up in the army hierarchy (de facto second in charge) at the time of Rodney's death.

Harmon was chief of military intelligence at the same time.

You cannot reply on Dr. David Hinds of the WPA leadership to make corrections to historical mistakes. He is refusing to. He and I discussed a situation where then President Granger raised his voice tempestuously at Dr. Clive Thomas during a dialogue between the PNC and WPA. He has denied such a conversation ever occurred.

A well-known, but currently disgraced trade unionist told Dr. Hinds and I that former army chief, Godwin McPherson, admitted to him that the army was involved in planning the logistics for Rodney's assassination. Dr. Hinds will write to deny such a meeting between the three of us ever took place. People ought to take responsibility for their action and not blame superior personnel. The Nazi war criminals used this as their defence at the Nuremberg Trial which was rightfully rejected and they were rightfully hanged.

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

Saturday November 21, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Saturday November 21, 2020

Adoption Board processing overdue applications - potential parents urged to consider older children

T

he Ministry of Human Services and Social Security's Adoption Board is making major headway by processing long-overdue adoption applications.

This comes weeks after a new board was sworn in

back in October.

Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud said placing or reintegrating children with their families in a safe environment is one of the Ministry's top priorities as it aims to lessen the number of children in institutions.

While the Board advances its work, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges as the preventative measures have hampered home evaluation visits.

As such, the Ministry is trying to find innovative ways to ensure that children

are monitored for abuse, and that timely reports are made.

“One of the avenues they have to report would be at school, where they will be able to tell. So, we are working diligently to let them know that they can still tell someone, so we will be coming up with creative ways to ensure that this is different,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, Minister Persaud is urging potential adoptive parents to adopt older children.

“There is nothing wrong with adopting an older child as it will give them a good home because they are children who need love… we will walk through the process of adoption, once you qualify it and satisfy the criteria that we are looking for adoption,” she added.

Highlighting the Government's agreement with The Hague Convention

on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention), Dr. Persaud said international adoption will be on hold until the Ministry's legislation is aligned with the Convention.

“The legislation is up for the parliamentary agenda, which will be addressed at the next parliamentary sitting,” she added.

The Hague Adoption Convention addresses issues

related to international adoption, child laundering, and child trafficking to protect children from corruption, abuse and exploitation, which sometimes accompany international adoption.

According to the United Nations, child laundering refers to fraud in the adoption of children, the sale of children and falsification of documents relating to the adoptability of children, which may lead to their exploitation. (DPI)

Coronavirus cases in Guyana pass 5,000

T

he Ministry of Health (MOH) y e s t e r d a y reported 29 new COVID-19 cases along with 16 recoveries.

This information was presented in the ministry's daily dashboard update,

which shows the total number of confirmed cases increased to 5,005.

The dashboard also states that nine persons are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit; 101 in institutional isolation; 768 persons in approved home isolation and

73 persons in institutional quarantine.

To date, 143 deaths have been recorded as well as 3,984 recoveries.

Additionally, the total number of persons tested countrywide for COVID-19 was 26,580.

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

PAGE 13

New Jersey lawyer accused of Ponzi crimes fled US to hide in Guyana - prosecutors

N

ew Jersey (North Jersey) Prosecutors said a former Teaneck attorney planned to escape prosecution for running a multi-million-dollar real estate Ponzi scheme in North Jersey by starting a new life in South America, but was arrested last week before he could flee the country.

Chander Singh, who faces charges of money laundering, theft by deception and forgery, lived abroad for most of 2020 in Trinidad and Guyana on the advice of his family, who counseled that he either repay some 30 investors $4.7 million or avoid certain jail time by disappearing, according to the state.

The alleged gambit was enough for prosecutors to declare him a flight risk during a virtual court hearing o n We d n e s d a y, a n d requested that he remain in Bergen County Jail until his case is resolved.

However, due to Singh's strong roots in the state, a Superior Court judge agreed to set him free provided he hands over his passports.

"He was born here, he grew up here, his parents still live here, he has a child here," Judge Gary Wilcox s a i d We d n e s d a y. " H e certainly has very strong ties to New Jersey."

Bergen prosecutors said they successfully appealed the judge's decision following Wednesday's

In trouble: Chander Singh hearing, and will make further arguments in appellate court to keep Singh behind bars.

Singh, 44, allegedly ran the scheme from 2014 through 2019 by soliciting loans from investors to buy residential properties in Bergen County, promising double-digit returns once the properties were flipped.

He founded SC Capitol Investors LLC and enlisted his parents and brother, all of whom work as real estate agents, to help find properties, according to the state.

However, behind the scenes, the venture functioned like a classic Ponzi scheme, Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Torre said Wednesday.

“The bank records show that the funds were not used for these properties at all,”

Torre said.

“If any investors were getting paid back, they were getting paid back not from their investment but from other victims, who had similarly invested into this scheme.”

Singh attempted to cover his tracks by running the money through a network of banks, often making deposits less than $10,000 to avoid cash transaction reports, Torre said.

In January 2020, Singh left New Jersey and lived with relatives in Trinidad and Guyana, and even made inquiries to become an attorney in the West Indies, according to the state.

Meanwhile, investors in New Jersey complained to the state's Office of Attorney Ethics that Singh was funneling money in and out of his attorney trust fund while not paying his debts, Torre said. The office officially disbarred him in June 2020.

“This is evidence that the defendant fully intended to remain out of the country,” Torre said. “He was doing this because his Ponzi scheme started to collapse.”

Family allegedly told authorities that Singh returned home in October, but planned to “high-tail” back to Guyana in January 2021. Authorities arrested

Man who claimed he was shot now in custody over rape allegation

A

labourer, who claimed that he was shot last Sunday night at Onderneeming, went from being victim to suspect.

This was after he was placed in custody for alleged rape.

This was confirmed yesterday by police sources on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two. Police told Kaieteur News that the suspect, Brad da Silva, was wanted by police for a rape allegation since June of this year.

He was accused of evading police for several months now.

Last Sunday night, at his Onderneeming, Sand Pit Home, Da Silva was reportedly shot in the back by an unidentified man.

The man told police that as he was about to enter his yard, he heard three gunshots ring out behind him. He said that he felt a sudden pain in his back.

Police said too, that based on the information received from the medical

In hot water: Brad da Silva

experts, the wound that Da Silva suffered is consistent with that of a lash, and not a gunshot wound.

Da Silva remains in police custody as investigations continue.

him in early November at his parents' home in Emerson.

Sooruj and Savitree Singh, his parents, along with his brother Subhas Singh and their family friend, Chandrika Singh, were all charged with conspiracy-related offenses.

They are released from jail,

pending their next court date.

On Wednesday, Singh's attorney disputed that he fled the country to escape criminal charges.

Rather, he left because many of his investors were upset at the losses they suffered and paid him house visits to make threats, according to Jason Foy, his attorney. Then, the COVID19 pandemic struck and

disrupted his plans to return home.

“H e w as n ' t f leein g criminal prosecution, he needed to get away. He was going through some depression and mental health issues,” Foy said.

Singh faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges. ( E m a i l : nobile@northjersey.com Twitter: @tomnobile)

Saturday November 21, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Belgium's 11.5 tonnes coke bust‌

GRA suspends entire scanning unit staffers over missing images A

senior manager was among 11 G u y a n a Revenue Authority's (GRA) staffers who were suspended, as authorities continue their probe into Belgium's seizure of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine shipped from Guyana.

Investigators had discovered that the scanned images of the containers taken at the Lombard Street facility, manned by GRA's staffers were deleted.

Kaieteur News was made to understand that four containers left Guyana on September 25, shipped by Marlon Primo's MA Trading, of Atlantic Ville, East Coast Demerara, to the consignee, Lotraco Recycling BV, The Netherlands. According to sources, only images of three containers were found, the images of the fourth were deleted.

Un d e r r e g u l a t i o n s , containers considered high-

What Belgian authorities found

Wanted for questioning: Marlon Primo risk leaving Guyana, have to be scanned at the facility on Lombard Street, Georgetown as part of the country's protocols for exports.

It would have been impossible for the container to escape GRA's system of being scanned. So far, officials have failed in their bid to retrieve the deleted

images, leading to the suspension of the unit.

The staffers including managers, supervisors and support staffers.

Meanwhile, CANU is

still seeking local scrap iron dealer, Marlon Primo, a person of interest in the probe. A wanted bulletin has since been issued.

The massive load of

cocaine left Guyana on September 25 and was opened in Belgium on October 27.

The seized cocaine has an estimated street value at â‚Ź900 million (about US$1B).

It was disguised as scrap metal and placed inside a steel container, which was in turn packed into a sea container and loaded onto a transAtlantic vessel.

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

PAGE 15

Once again‌

Harmon fails to honor commitment on oil & Today for a gas press conference rebroadcast The

O

pposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, has failed to honor his commitment to deliver information on the awards of the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks at an oil and gas specific press briefing.

It has been more than a month since that promise was made by Harmon and to date, there has been no word on when that press conference would be held.

Kaieteur News, for weeks on end, chronicled articles on the shoddy awards of the two lucrative assets that were signed away by the Donald Ramotar administration under rather questionable circumstances.

The newspaper sought answers from those in high office.

B a c k i n O c t o b e r, Kaieteur News posed questions to Harmon about who the beneficial owners of the blocks are.

He had committed to

UR IIOO E T E KAI99.1 RRAADD 5

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Senior Journalist Jounalist Kiana Wilburg

O EQUIB | ESS A R A DEMERICE e e nc BERB ffer

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Tell it Like it is!!!

Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon passing on the questions to the Member of Parliament with responsibility for natural resources to see how they may assist.

Consequently, he explained, information may be shared in an upcoming oil and gas press conference to be held by the Coalition. “We will have a specific (continued on page 19)

Listen how your oil block was granted to a company that cannot be found in the Registry - at 11:00am

on Kaieteur Radio today.

See you then!

Stream us online www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/radio or Download

MY TUNER APP

RADIO GARDEN KAIETEUR RADIO

THE RADIO WITH A DIFFERENCE

Senior Journalist Kemol King

Saturday November 21, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Army celebrates 55 years…

Soldiers to benefit from more scholarships P

resident Irfaan Ali said systems would soon be in place to facilitate more soldiers being registered in academic programmes, aligned to the development needs of the country.

The Head of State made this announcement during the Guyana Defence Force's Anniversary Dinner in commemoration of its 55th year in service to the nation.

The celebratory event was hosted at the Officer's Mess, Base Camp Ayanganna, on Thursday

evening.

In his feature address as Commander-in-Chief, President Ali said that the GDF would have a pivotal role to play in the emergence of a new Guyana.

He pointed to its human resource capacity, which he said, “was extremely important.”

The President noted that the milestone celebration should be seen as an opportunity for renewed commitment, renewed loyalty, renewed spirit and the renewal of our collective

President Irfaan Ali at the army's th 55 anniversary on Thursday evening.

energies in ensuring that the next 55 years and beyond can be celebrated under the glorious cloud of knowing that national development was at the forefront.

“I compliment you for all the work that you have done and you will continue to do; for me, you are the e m b o d i m e n t o f professionalism,” a release from Government says.

President Ali also pointed to the importance of collective awareness and knowledge of the country's development trajectory, as well as the factors that pose a threat to our overall development.

“We can only develop and defend that development trajectory, if we are aware of where they are and if we are aware of the development that lies ahead. We have to be aware, not only of the economic prosperity that lies ahead, we have to be aware of every single sector, we have to be aware of our threats…climate change is a threat, and we have to be aware of the impact it can have on our country.”

On this note, the Head of State said that it is imperative that the army is

equipped, not only physically, but also, with the necessary human resource capacity.

“It is important that within the army we have experts in oil and gas. It is important that within the army, we have experts in oil and gas related disasters. It is important to have experts in climate change. It is important we have experts in GIS mapping… I've already discussed with the Chief of Staff an aggressive programme in ensuring we get more army officers, more soldiers registered in academic programmes that are aligned to the development needs of our country.”

He said that the Joint Forces would also benefit (continued on page 17)

Saturday November 21, 2020

Blue For Children's Rights: To observe World Children's Day, the Office of the First Lady, in partnership with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), yesterday illuminated State House in blue to raise awareness of the challenges facing children- to bring more awareness of their rights.

Soldiers to benefit from more scholarships From page 16 from the 20,000 scholarships, which will be offered over the next five years.

“You have tremendous human resource potential that I'm going to tap in to as Commander in Chief.

All of this, of course, should lead us to be better citizens. But, I believe strongly to be better citizens, the government has some responsibilities. And you have some; all of us have s o m e p e r s o n a l responsibility.”

President Ali reminded those gathered that regardless of where executive power lies; it is their right as citizens to participate in the country's development process. He urged the soldiers to take part in the national development drive.

“I believe, very strongly, that together we have to build a solid partnership and that partnership has underlying goals: the protection of our country, the advancement of our country, and the development of the citizens of Guyana.

Once we all subscribe to this, these noble aspirations

in service, I think we can all hold our heads high and know that we have done our best, and you can depend on us as a strong partner, moving forward.”

The Army's Chief of Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, also used the opportunity to assure the Head of State that the GDF aims to continue its transformation in order to become resolutely capable of defending the country against all threats.

“The security, safety and stability of our nation have now become much more important. There is now much more at stake for us to secure.

There's much more to be done to ensure the continued viability of our nation and the safety and prosperity of our citizens.”

Brigadier Bess also expressed gratitude to the President for his continued support and commitment.

Observations to mark the 55th Anniversary commenced earlier this month and are held under the theme, “Together we toiled to arrive at fifty-five, with g r e a t e r e ff i c i e n c y f o r National Security.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Saturday November 21, 2020

Missing lecturer found dead in Roxanne Burnham Garden home A

lecturer's decomposing body was yesterday discovered by one of his co-workers, who went to check on him after he had missed several online classes The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old Dr. We s l e y To r r i n g t o n , a medical doctor and lecturer attached to the Lincoln American University School of Medicine, lives at Lot 54 Marigold Street, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Georgetown.

When Kaieteur News arrived at the scene, the body of Dr. Torrington was not yet removed. Several persons including close friends and neighbours were gathered in front of the home, in shock.

According to the police report, Torrington's body was discovered at around 11:00hrs motionless in a chair in the living room of his home.

Kaieteur News understands that the man's body was discovered by one of his co-workers, Melroy Jeffrey.

Jeffrey told reporters that the last time he saw Torrington alive was on Monday at the office after he

Dr. Torrington body being removed from his house (Torrington) asked him to get some food. This was shortly before the doctor was scheduled to begin a class at 13:30hrs.

Jeffrey added: “I got a call yesterday (Thursday) from Dr. Jerrick, Dr. Nancy and Dr. Wilkson to check on Mr. Torrington.”

According to Jeffrey, he was asked to check on Torrington after it was noted that the doctor missed

several of his online classes.

He said that he first checked a house on North Road, that was linked to the lecturer.

He found no signs of the d o c t o r .

“I wasn't aware of the other address, and this morning my boss called and asked me if I can find the other address. My co-worker, Michael, had a number for a t a x i s e r v i c e t h a t D r.

Torrington usually use...I

Dead: Dr. Wesley Torrington called and got the directions and when I came the gate was locked and the front door was locked also, but the back door was looking like somebody was in there…but I was getting a scent,” Jeffrey disclosed.

According to Jeffrey, he then jumped the fence and summoned the police.

“When the police came and walked up the step, the scent was correct. He was in

a chair in his vest and [underpants], no marks or signs of violence. He just look like he sit back and pass out.”

Speaking with this publication also, was a man who claimed to be a very c l o s e f r i e n d o f D r.

Torrington, who described him as “one of the best medical school lecturer in the country.”

H e a d d e d t h a t D r.

Torrington was “thorough…he was competent and was very Christian-minded”.

The police report revealed that checks were made but no marks of violence were seen. Further checks conducted in the home showed no signs of forced entry, or that it was ransacked.

The body is presently at the Lyken Funeral Home awaiting a post mortem examination even as investigations are ongoing.

Senior officials of Police Finance...

From page 8 officers received letters to immediately proceed on leave.

Kaieteur News was made to understand that the missing funds were allotted to officers for extra duties performed.

But while documents were signed to say that the funds were released, they reportedly never reached into the hands of the ranks.

Up to press time, there were no statements from the Force on the allegations.

Investigations are ongoing.

However, this newspaper was told that investigators from the Police Force Special O rg a n i s e d C r i m e U n i t (SOCU) raided the offices of the Finance Department, taking away files and harddrives on Thursday.

From reports, several other top officials in the force are likely to be questioned because of their alleged involvement.

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

PAGE 19

Kwebanna is free of COVID-19 Harmon fails to honor commitment on oil & gas press conference

- numbers falls in St. Cuthbert's Mission

CDC has been delivering food and other supplies to COVID-19 hit St. Cuthbert's Mission.

M

inister of Health, Dr. F r a n k Anthony yesterday announced that active COVID-19 cases continue to decline in St. Cuthbert's Mission, even as monitoring of infected persons continues, particularly those who are asymptomatic.

The Minister made this disclosure in his COVID-19 update. “ We h a v e b e e n monitoring people and once the attendee [met the] asymptomatic deadline, we discharged. However, at the moment, at least 11 persons are asymptomatic and we are paying close attention to them, the asymptomatic, because we don't want anything to go wrong with them.”

O n T h u r s d a y, t h e ministry said that the remote community, located up the Mahaica River, had 153 cases. Just a few days ago, the positive COVID-19 cases in that indigenous people's community, was over 230.

While the World Health Organization has said there is still much to learn about the disease, evidence suggests that people with symptoms are most contagious and asymptomatic persons are less likely to transmit the disease.

Measures remain in place in St. Cuthbert's Mission to treat any patient whose condition worsens.

With regard to the other regions being monitored, Dr. Anthony said health officials are pleased that Kwebanna,

Barima-Waini (Region One) is now COVID-19 free. This has been credited to compliance, collaboration and the support of the community.

“We are extremely happy that right now we are not recording any cases, a couple of things the team would normally do, but the main one is really working with the Village Council to ensure that the residents … comply,” he said.

The Minister emphasised that positive results were only possible because residents complied with the guidelines officials put in place to manage the disease and reduce transmission.

“If we don't have compliance, then we would see an escalation of cases.

So, we have been able to get

that compliance and we feel where people are more compliant with the guidelines, then we are able to actively reduce the cases.

In addition to that of course, we put measures like restriction of movements,” Dr. Anthony explained.

Meanwhile, monitoring is ongoing in Warapoka, Region One, where cases have remained stable over the past week.

Bartica, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) which showed a spike on Monday, also remains stable with 43 active cases.

Minister Anthony is appealing to community leaders to educate residents about the dangers of the disease and to encourage them to observe the preventative measures.

From page 15 press conference on oil and gas,” he had said, “and at that time, the question will be answered once it is posed.”

Just a week later, at another press conference, Kaieteur News posed questions to Harmon about the award of the blocks.

However, he avoided giving a direct answer and indicated that information would be shared at the special press conference.

“Let me say that I am not in a position this week to indicate to you. However, I did say in my press conference last week that we will have a special conference on the question of oil and gas.

That has not happened as yet. I will inform you when that will take place. But it is something that the team is looking at carefully.

I am not in a position to say to you anything on those blocks, beyond what I have said and beyond what is published in the media, Kaieteur News in particular,” the Opposition leader stated.

Kaieteur News' reporters repeatedly posed questions to the Opposition Leader in hopes of getting clear answers on how these sweetheart deals were awarded.

H o w e v e r, H a r m o n

continues to claim ignorance.

In fact, at Harmon's press briefing yesterday, he was again asked to provide a date for the press conference. But to this question, he gave no answer.

Despite it being that the People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) signed away the blocks, the Coalition that Harmon leads in the National Assembly is accused as being just as complicit.

For the entirety of the coalition's term in government, Harmon was a key figure at the helm of the Ministry of the Presidency.

He was Minister of State, then Director-General and throughout that period, the Ministry of Natural Resources fell under the Presidency.

The coalition would not have had to rely on information from outside sources, since it should have already been in possession of such information while in government.

This is because every time stakes were transferred in the two blocks, the government is responsible for approving the transfer.

In this regard, when signing deals, the government has to know the hands the stakes are leaving, and the hands to which they will go.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Saturday November 21, 2020

Authorities seize over 700 lbs. of illegal Brazilian meat products A quantity of the seized meat products

A Ministry of Health official examines the meat products

T

he Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health on Friday seized more than 700 pounds of meat products imported from Brazil at the Casa Mato Grosso Supermarket on Robb Street.

Dr. Grayson Halley, Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), told the media that Guyana does not import meat from Brazil because of the presence of foot and mouth disease in that country.

“We have here at this store on Robb Street over 700 pounds of imported meat from Brazil of different kind. We have mostly beef products, pork products and we have some tripe and other products, mixed meat products and so on,” Dr. Halley said.

The CEO explained that sometimes officers exercise leniency if a person is found with a quantity of meat for personal consumption, “but when you have products coming in huge quantities like this one, that's going to consumers, that is being sold

w i t h o u t p r o p e r documentation, we certainly have a strong objection against those.”

He said the GLDA is clamping down on errant supermarkets, especially when it comes to meat products.

The raid and seizure are part of ongoing monitoring exercises, which have been ramped up for the Christmas season.

With regard to foot and mouth disease, Brazil has been categorized as free, but with vaccination. However, Dr Halley says he does not have confidence in that information as the country still has to vaccinate to prevent the disease.

“Guyana is considered free without vaccination and we have to protect that status. We cannot afford now, when we want to develop our livestock industry, to lay back and allow people to bring illegal products that can possibly expose our cattle population and our livestock population in general, and then it can cripple our industry before it even takes off,” he explained.

Apart from the dangers of foot and mouth disease,

the meat products, imported only recently, are close to expiring.

“They import them close to expiry, and then they repackage them to give the consumer, while they are expired because the labels are printed on to the packages so you cannot leave it there. You have to

repackage them so consumers do not know what it is they are buying,” the GLDA head explained.

Meanwhile, he is urging the public to be mindful when making purchases of imported meat.

“We tend to not look for the expiry date. We tend to just pick up a pack of meat or

sausage or whatever; we need to become more conscientious and read the labels, see where it's coming from and we need to educate ourselves. GLDA would be running off a series of educational programmes on TV so that people could be aware,” Dr. Halley said.

The GLDA will also be

engaging a legal team to prosecute persons found breaching its guidelines.

Ye s t e r d a y ' s s e i z u r e follows closely on the heels of a similar exercise on Monday where a quantity of undocumented and expired duck meat was seized from an unnamed city business.

(DPI)

'Seawalls and Beyond Group' receive cleaning materials from Tourism Authority

A

s part of its programme of activities for Tourism Awareness Month, t h e G u y a n a To u r i s m Authority donated a collection of solid waste management items to the Seawalls and Beyond group to assist with their continuous efforts to maintain and clean the Georgetown seawall and its environs. “The Seawalls and

Beyond Group has been making a number of strides in their efforts to promote this initiative. Volunteers who are passionate about the environment, with support from enthusiastic Guyanese have been able to transform the seawall areas, specifically in the vicinity of the Kingston Seawall bandstand. This initiative has since created a positive ripple effect around Guyana

as a number of other persons have been taking the conscious effort to clean and beautify their surroundings,” the Ministry said in a statement.

T h e G TA s a i d i t understands that this is a continuous effort and the responsibility should not lie within one group alone, but also with all of us as Guyanese.

“As such, the GTA is

calling on everyone to make a more conscious effort to form better habits that will restore Georgetown to the Garden City title it once claimed and keep our communities clean.

The GTA will continue to raise awareness of and pursue a collective approach to keep our beautiful country clean and maintain Guyana's position as a top sustainable destination in the world.”

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

PAGE 21

Murder of La Grange businesswoman…

Female mastermind captured in Suriname, escapes from police station toilet

T

he female mastermind of the gruesome murder o f L a G r a n g e businesswoman, Bibi Ramjit, 85, has escaped from police custody. The police have since issued a wanted bulletin for Jankie Tapsie, 30, of Devisieweg #7 District Commewijne, Suriname and Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

She is wanted in relation to the murder of Ramjit, who was found dead on October 25, in the upper flat of her two-storey home and business place, located at La G r a n g e , We s t B a n k Demerara (WBD). She will be slapped with charges relating to her escape, when c a p t u r e d .

An autopsy report revealed that Ramjit, was strangled to death.

Meanwhile, Rishiram Singh also called Shane, 34, a taxi-driver of 204 D'Andrade Street, Newtown, was yesterday, remanded to prison on a murder charge.

It was reported that Tapsie and Singh were nabbed in Nickerie, Suriname, transported to Guyana on Wednesday and handed over to members of the Guyana

in question in her shop, but when he returned at around 17:00 hrs. to pay off a debt, she was discovered dead.

Crime scene experts had found the place ransacked and suspected that she was killed in the furtherance of a robbery. Family members

Wanted by police: Jankie Tapsie Police Force (GPF).

Regional Commander, Jairam Ramlakan, confirmed with this publication that Tapsie escaped from a toilet at the Springlands Police Station, moments after she was handed over by the Surinamese authorities.

It should be noted that, Springlands Police Station does not only include police officers, but also Special Constables (SC) and community police ranks.

There are also three police

Murdered: Bibi Ramjit ranks that guard the gate.

Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Jankie Tapsie, are asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 2292289, 220-2222, 227-1149, 911, or the nearest police station.

The GPF assured that all information would be treated with the strictest confidence.

Kaieteur News earlier reported that a farmer had last seen the woman alive at around 15:00 hrs. on the day

US citizenship furore…

'I have full legal rights to sit in the National Assembly' - Min. Walrond

M

inister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond is insisting that she sits in the National Assembly as a “legal representative.”

The Minister's statement comes on the heels of an application filed in the High Court by the main Opposition to have her removed from the National Assembly. Minister Walrond, responding to questions on the side-lines of an event at the Guyana Marriott Hotel on Friday, rebuffed the Opposition's attacks.

The Minister maintains that she has done nothing illegal and will deal with the matter in the court.

“The attempt to besmirch my character has not gone unnoticed by the public. I am convinced that I have full legal rights to sit in the National Assembly and that I have done nothing illegal and I continue to sit in the National Assembly as a legal representative,” she said.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond The Opposition is arguing that when Minister Walrond took the Oath of Office and attended the National Assembly on September 1, she was still a citizen of the United States. However, the Minister said that argument is baseless.

“My position has been the act of renunciation is a unilateral act that when a citizen has done the legal

standard, when a citizen has done all that is within her power to renounce, which is what I did on (August) 18, paying a substantial amount of fees which is over $500,000 on August 27, I did all of this before I swore in…

The fact that I received my certificate two days after swearing in, in my opinion, cannot support the argument that I was there illegally,” Minister Walrond explained.

The Minister, who is also an attorney, reiterated that the law states that “the citizen ought to have done all that was in her power to renounce, which is what I did by indicating to the Counsellor on August 18. I was informed that there was an administrative procedure that I had to follow in order to receive my certificate, which is what I received on September 4.”

Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sherlock Isaacs earlier this month said Minister Walrond lost her US Citizenship upon taking the Oath of Renunciation. (DPI)

also agreed, since they could not locate a gold ring she normally wears.

Investigators were following leads from camera footage. They also mentioned a strange car was seen close to her premises during the time they believe she was

murdered.

Detectives made their first break in the case after they arrested a juvenile, 16, who admitted to being involved in the woman's murder. He is currently on remand as detectives continue their investigations.

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

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NOTICE TO: ALISTER MCKENZIE Lot 124 Grove, East Bank Demerara.

TAKE NOTICE that the Fixed Date Application was filed on the 30thday of July, 2020, in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Guyana at Georgetown, Demerara byPRITIPAUL SINGH INVESTMENT INCinwhich the Applicant claims: a. The sum of four hundred and thirty six thousand two hundred and eighty five dollars ($436,285.00) being monies owe and due to the Applicant. h. Interest on the sum of four hundred and thirty six thousand two hundred and eighty five dollars ($436,285.00) at the rate of 6% per annum from the date hereof until judgement and thereafter at the rate of 4% per annum until fully paid. c. Costs d. Any other Order as this Honourable Court may deem just.

UPON APPLICATION in person or by letter to Mr. Yoganand Persaud Attorney-atLaw for the Applicant, whose address for service and place of business is at Lot 185 Charlotte & King Street, Lacytown, Georgetown, copies of the Fixed Date Application, filed herein, will be delivered or sent to you.

Saturday November 21, 2020

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

AND TAKE NOTICE if you desire to defend this action you must forthwith within 28 days after the final publication of this notice, prepare an Affidavit in Defence in Form 10C prescribed in the Civil Procedure Rules 2016, serve it on the applicant’s attorney-at- law, to Mr. Yoganand Persaudwhose address for service and place of business is at Lot 185 Charlotte& King Street, Lacytown, Georgetown, and file it with proof of service at the Registry at Georgetown, Demerara, not later than 4 days before the date fixed for hearing of the application, and you or your attorney-atlaw must appear at the hearing.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you fail to file such affidavit and or if you fail to appear at the hearing, final judgment may be given against you notwithstanding your absence.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that this matter stand adjourned for the Honourable Mr. Justice Sandil Kissoon on 18/12/2020 at 1:00 pm.

Dated this 8th day of November, 2020

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that as part of an Order made on the 16th day of January, 2020 the Petitioner was directed to effect service of her Petition on you by publication of this Notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issues of the Kaieteur News Newspapers, a daily Newspaper printed, published and circulated in and around Guyana and on the Worldwide Web (Online).

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire you may appear or attend in person or by your duly authorized agent or Attorney-at-Law at the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara where you will be issued with a certified copy of the Petition together with related documents.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire to Defend this Divorce, then upon receipt of the certified copy of the Petition, you must file an Acknowledgement of Service, Notice of Intention to Defend (Forms are available at the Registry), an Answer and/or Cross Petition in the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara within 28 (twenty eight) days from the date of the Second and final publication of this Notice.

Honourable Madam Justice Damone Younge via Zoom Meeting ID: 895 85950404 and Password: 206125 at the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown.

TAKE NOTICE that the divorce is fixed for Directions Hearing on Monday the 11th day of January, 2021 at 10:00 am before the IN DEFAULT of you filingan Acknowledgement of Service/Notice of Intention to Defend, an Answer and/or Cross Petition the Court may proceed in your absence and may make any Order it considers appropriate, including granting the Divorce.

The Registry of the Family Division of the High Court is located at the Law Courts [Georgetown, Demerara].

The office is open to the public between 8:00 am and 3:30 pm Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00 am to 2:30 pm on Fridays except on public holidays and on such other days as the Registry is closed.

Dated the 30th day of October, 2020

LEGAL NOTICE 2019-HC-DEM-CIV-FD13S2 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE FAMILY, DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION FAMILY DIVISION PETITION NO. FD-13S2 BETWEEN:(KENNEDY) BASMATTIE nee HOWARD Petitioner -and- (KENNEDY) LENNOX JOSEPH Respondent TO: LENNOX JOSEPH KENNEDY (Last known Address) Lot 103 Triumph East Coast Demerara Guyana.

Saturday November 21, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

Saturday November 21, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Nadal overpowers Tsitsipas to reach ATP semis LONDON (Reuters) Rafa Nadal’s hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time live on after the Spaniard beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 4-6 6-2 on Thursday.

The last round-robin match in the London Group had become a straight knockout with both men having lost to Dominic Thiem and beaten Andrey Rublev earlier in the week.

But it was Spaniard Nadal who always appeared the more likely winner despite a lapse which allowed Tsitsipas to extend the contest into a decider at a near-deserted O2 Arena.

After a flurry of service breaks at the start of the third set, the 34-year-old Nadal showed all his experience to pull away and reach the semi-

finals for the first time in five years.

As group runner-up behind Austrian Thiem, he will face Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final with the Russian already assured of top spot in the Tokyo Group.

World number one Novak Djokovic plays Alexander Zverev on Friday with the winner to play Thiem in the other semi-final.

“In general this was a very positive match for me,” said Nadal, who despite winning 20 Grand Slam titles has only two runners-up places to show for his previous nine appearances at the ATP Finals. “Excited to be in the semi-finals.”

Nadal was untouchable on his serve in the first set, losing only five points, and the pressure told on Tsitsipas who was unable to unleash

Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning his group stage match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.

(Reuters/Toby Melville)

Spain’s Rafael Nadal is interviewed after winning his group stage match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs) his attacking game.

SUCCESSIVE ACES The Greek fought off break points at 3-3 but at 4-4

Saturday November 21, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) The latest equipment might suddenly be available to you. It's likely to make life easier and more interesting.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Friends or a group could bring new and exciting information your way, perhaps involving career or educational opportunities.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you could decide to host a virtual party or small meeting in your home. You miss having a lot of visitors.

This should be an exciting occasion, Gemini, and you could go out of your way to make this the best small event possible.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Vast amounts of information could come to you through email or phone. Expect to hear from groups. You could make new friends, Cancer, possibly in your n eighborhood, as

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today your mind might be on social and political issues.

If you aren't currently involved with groups dealing with these issues, you might consider joining one.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Information could come your way today that starts you thinking about new and revolutionary ideas.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Unusual and unexpected opp ortunities to better your career could come to you today through friends. These friends could provide you with valuable information about making maximum use of your skills, Sagittarius.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The possibility of taking a trip by air could present itself today. The trip might be made with friends or a small group, if

changes could be taking place in your community.

possible. If you've been working on projects connected with education or publishing, this is the day to move them forward.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Have you been thinking about expanding your computer skills? If so, this is the day to do it.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) The possibility to advance your career through increasing your technological skills may present itself today.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Social events, possibly involving small groups, could put you in touch with knowledgeable people who could provide valuable information. You might decide to go back to school or otherwise advance your education.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A number of social invitations could come your way today, possibly connected with groups you’re affiliated with. Accept as many as you can handle, Pisces; you should have a wonderful time, learn much that

he buckled with a double-fault allowing Nadal the chance to serve for the opening set, a

task he achieved with successive aces.

Nadal had won his previ-

ous 70 matches when winning the first set so Tsitsipas’s prospects looked bleak, but he was handed an unexpected lifeline when Nadal hit trouble serving at 4-5.

A well-struck backhand earned Tsitsipas a couple of set points out of the blue and while Nadal saved one with a first serve he then doublefaulted to send the match into a decider.

Tsitsipas immediately dropped serve, but broke Nadal again when the Spaniard netted a backhand. The Greek could not seize the initiative, however, and a loose backhand ensured a fourth straight break of serve after only one in the first 19 games.

Nadal then regained his authority to power home.

Tsitsipas, who enjoyed his breakthrough moment here last year when, aged 21, he beat Thiem in the final, was downbeat about his performance.

“I fought hard in the second set but very disappointed with the third, I was rushing and didn’t know what I was trying to do honestly. I should have been a bit more clever,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Rublev beat Thiem 6-2 7-5 to end his maiden appearance on a high — earning himself $153,000 for the group win and 200 ranking points in the process.

Mohamed Salah: Liverpool...

From page 27 Atalanta.Klopp said Salah was back on Friday and the pair’s relationship was “fine”.

The German added: “He is in a good place. He feels well.

“There is nothing to say in public about all the things I talk to my players about but I can say in the summer I was in Germany and a friend moved his birthday party because I was there.

“There were 50 people attending. I decided at the last minute not to go and it was allowed in Germany. It was outside but I did not go.

“In other countries there is more social pressure on you and a brother’s wedding is a very special moment.

What I can say is that my players are all incredibly disciplined. There were some cases but they all know about the situation.

“But sometimes it doesn’t work out like this and something happens, and we are in the situation we are in, but all the rest is between me and Mo, and we did that already so we are fine.”

Salah has scored 10 goals in 13 games in all competitions this season.

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

Windies lose Campbell early after Ravindra anchors New Zealand “A” with hundred Windies lose Campbell early after Ravindra anchors New Zealand “A” with hundred QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand, CMC – Opener John Campbell failed to ease concerns about his durability and was dismissed early, after solid top-order batting from New Zealand “A” – led by a hundred from Rachin Ravindra – put West Indies bowling under pressure in their three-day tour match yesterday.

Campbell made only four before fellow opener Kraigg Brathwaite, not out on two, and left-hander Darren Bravo, not out on eight, batted through almost half-hour to carry the Windies to 17 for one, in reply to the home team’s first innings total of 308 for three declared, at the close on the first day of the match at John Davies Oval.

The visitors’ batsmen were given an object lesson in occupation of the crease and their bowlers an early indication of the hard toil they may endure in the forthcoming two-Test series against the Blackcaps, with a steady 112 from Ravindra that anchored the New Zealand “A”

batting.

The Windies think-tank are hoping that they can get solid starts from their openers in the Test series in an effort to blunt the Blackcaps’ pace attack of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, in particular, on typically helpful pitches.

But Campbell failed to reassure them that he can bring more stability to the top of the batting order, when he chased after a wide, short, lifting delivery from pacer Blair Tickner and was bowled, dragging the ball into his stumps, in the second over of the innings.

Bravo came to the crease and soaked up the pressure from the New Zealand “A” bowlers with Brathwaite before he loosened the shackles with a typically fluent cover drive for four off Tickner.

Bravo and Brathwaite batted through the remainder of play and will return on Saturday, hoping to get their groove ahead of the Tests.

Earlier, West Indies met defiance from Ravindra and Test batsman Will Young through the first hour, the New Zealand “A” opening pair putting on 43 for the first

wicket.

Chemar Holder made the breakthrough, when he had Young caught down the legside for 27 from an under-edge at a short ball, three overs af-

World Champions West Indies unveil spectacular T20I playing shirt as countdown to World Cup starts ST JOHN’S, Antigua — Cricket West Indies and the West Indies team yesterday revealed the new T20 International (T20I) team playing shirt as they prepare to face New Zealand in a three-match T20I series starting on November 27 in Auckland.

The T20I shirt features an eye-catching, contemporary maroon and yellow geometric pattern on the shirt front, with contrast maroon sleeves.

The bold, vibrant colours and design are a trademark of the #MenInMaroon, one of the most successful, exciting and skillful teams in world cricket.

The playing shirts are made with a premium, lightweight performance stretch fabric and are available in both short sleeve and long sleeve versions.

The new playing jersey has already sparked great interest among fans who first saw it on West Indies’ social media channels and it completes the new range of West Indies playing and training kits designed by official team kit supplier, Castore, available

to buy immediately through the Castore website www.castore.com/collections/west-indies.

The T20I shirt will be worn for all T20I matches in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup and in all West Indies Women’s T20I matches. West Indies are the defending and two-time men’s T20 World Champions, having won World Cups in 2012 in Sri Lanka and again in 2016 in India.

Dominic Warne, CWI’s Commercial Director, said: “We’re really excited for the new T20I shirt to debut with the West Indies Men’s team in New Zealand on the road to the ICC T20 World Cup. We know that fans will love the bold design and rally behind the #MenInMaroon for this Series and throughout 2021. Castore have created a superb range of playing and training gear that have been in demand since launching prior to the Sandals Tour of England 2020 and we expect to see great demand from West Indies fans, the

Alzarri Joseph took a wicket but the West Indies bowlers toiled as only three wickets fell ©AFP via Getty Images

Henry Nicholls hit a half-century for the New Zealand side ©Getty Images

most passionate cricket fans in the world.”

Pascal Lafitte, Head of Team Partnership at Castore added: “We are thrilled to be revealing the new T20I shirt to West Indies fans.

The kit shows Castore’s desire to be different with audacious designs, and this is testimony of all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to make it a success.

We can’t wait to watch the West Indies put it through the paces in New Zealand over the coming weeks.”

Fans who sign up to the West Indies fan newsletter — h t t p s : / / www.windiescricket.com/updates will have the opportunity to get an exclusive team kit discount throughout the tour to New Zealand as well as receiving exclusive content and the latest team and series news.

Fans in the Caribbean can also benefit from free shipping when spending - EC$350, BD$260, GY$26,790, J$18,845 and TT$870 on any of the new West Indies team kit ranges.

ter the morning drinks break.

For the next 2 ¾ hours, the Windies bowlers were made to toil on the hard, true pitch, and Ravindra found Test batsman and fellow lefthander, Henry Nicholls a stable partner, putting on 155 for the second wicket.

The Caribbean side bowled steadily, but Ravindra and Nicholls resisted to carry the home team to 81 for one at the lunch interval and batted through the entire second session to take them to 198 for one at the tea break.

Left-arm pacer Raymon Reifer broke the stand with the fourth ball after tea, when Nicholls was caught behind for 76, edging a back-foot drive at a rising delivery, and was the same bowler, when Ravindra drove to mid-on for a single to reach his milestone from 173 balls.

Alzarri Joseph removed Ravindra three overs later, when the left-hander miscued a pull and was caught at deep fine leg after batting 4 ½ hours, facing 187 balls and stroking 10 fours and two sixes.But the Windies bowlers met another roadblock, when Joe Carter joined South Africa-born left-hander Devon Conway and they consolidated for New Zealand “A” with an unbroken stand of 81 for the fourth wicket before captain Cole McConchie ushered them off.

No Windies bowler finished with more than one wicket, and Conway, who became eligible for New Zealand selection in August, was not

Rachin Ravindra scored a hundred against the West Indies © Getty Images

out on 46 and Carter was not out on 41.

The first Test between the Blackcaps and the Windies starts on December 3 at Seddon Park in Hamilton and the second Test begins on December 11 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Before that, the two teams contest three Twenty20 Internationals on November

27 at Eden Park in Auckland, and November 29 and 30 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

Summarised scores: NEW ZEALAND “A” 308 for three declared (Rachin Ravindra 112, Henry Nicholls 76, Devon Conway 46 not out, Joe Carter 41 not out, Will Young 27). WEST INDIES 17 for one.

Djokovic reaches ATP ...

From page 27 into a third set.But the 17time Grand Slam champion raised the intensity level in the tiebreak, edging 5-3 ahead with a fizzing backhand pass.

He brought up two match points with a hefty first serve before pressurising Zverev into an error to complete victory.Djokovic is bidding

to equal Roger Federer’s record of six ATP Finals titles, while Nadal seeks a first.Round-robin action was set to conclude later yesterday with Medvedev looking to complete a sweep of the group by beating Argentine debutant Diego Schwartzman who cannot progress.

Saturday November 21, 2020

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

Djokovic reaches ATP Finals Gold is Money capture Faye Joseph dominoes title semis, Nadal showdown still on Gold is Money chalked up 80 games to win the final of the Faye Joseph dominoes tournament which was contested on Sunday last at Transport Sports Club.

Quiet Storm took the runner up spot with 77 games while Wild Bunch placed third on 70.

Gold is Money were led by 17 games from Mark Welch and 16 from Shawn Morgan, while Kanhai Samaroo marked 17, Mark Abinash 16 and Paul Samaroo 15 for Quiet Storm.

Jermaine Jackson scored 16 for Wild Bunch. Gold is Money pocketed $150,000, Quiet Storm $75,000 and Wild Bunch $35,000.

Meanwhile, teams will be in action again today when the Samantha Vickiere competition commences at 14:30hrs at Favourite

Sports bar, Meadowbrook Gardens.

Entrance fee is $15,000, but any team that is registered before 13:30hrs will pay $12,000.

US$500 will be added to the prizes while the first two teams that register will be given a prize. The most valuable player will receive US$25.The competition will conclude tomorrow and among the teams expected to participate are Mix Up, All Season’s, Providence, Gold is Money, Black Gold, C7, West Side and Turning Point. Samantha Vickerie, Fidel Fredericks and Egbert Noel have sponsored the first, second and third place trophies in that order.

Teams can contact Vickiere on 692-0562 or Mark Wiltshire on 659-8672 for registration.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

Exciting dominoes action is set for Favourite Sports bar this weekend.

FIFA bans Jean-Bart for life ZURICH, Switzerland, CMC – Haiti soccer federation president Yves Jean-Bart was banned from the sport for life yesterday, following accusations of systemic sexual abuse of female players.

The FIFA ethics committee found JeanBart guilty of “having abused his position and sexually harassed and abused various female players, including minors”.

He was also fined one million Swiss francs (US $1.1 million).

Jean-Bart has denied the allegations, which involve national team players. The accusations were first revealed by British newspaper, The Guardian in April.

The abuse is said to have happened at the country’s national training centre at Croixdes-Bouquets, which FIFA helped fund. It was known as “The Ranch”.

As the head of Haitian soccer since 2000, Jean-Bart “wielded huge power…and has high-level connections into the government, political and legal systems,” Human Rights

Yves Jean-Bart

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic after winning his group stage match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs) LONDON (Reuters) London’s farewell edition of the ATP Finals could still have its dream climax after world number one Novak Djokovic beat Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(4) to seal a lastfour spot yesterday.

Defeat by Russian Daniil Medvedev had left the fivetime champion needing to beat Germany’s Zverev to avoid a group stage exit and he obliged with a relatively comfortable win.

Djokovic will finish second in the Tokyo Group, named after the first edition of the season-ending tournament 50 years ago, and with Spanish world number two Rafa Nadal finishing second in the London Group, they have avoided a semi-final clash.

The 33-year-old Serb will

face U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem in today’s semi-final, when Nadal plays Medvedev.

Tomorrow’s final will end the tournament’s memorable 12-year stay in London before it re-locates to Turin.

Djokovic was pummelled 6-3 6-3 by an inspired Medvedev on Wednesday, but was much sharper against Zverev, another one of the new generation trying to barge the old guard off stage.

“In contrast to the match against Daniil I found the right shots at the right time,” he said. “I have tremendous respect for Sascha, a great player and not easy to return 140mph first serves. It was anybody’s game for most of the match.”

Djokovic was soundly beaten by Zverev in the 2018

final, a match played out in an electrifying atmosphere in front of 18,000 fans. This time the arena was empty because of the COVID-19 lockdown, a surreal backdrop for a match with so much riding on it for both men.

Despite the flat feel, Djokovic was quickly into game-mode and when world number seven Zverev doublefaulted to drop serve in his first service game he seized control.

Zverev dug in his heels in the second set but missed a chance for an early break before recovering from a couple of double faults to fend off a break point in the following game.

Djokovic looked edgy at times and twice had to hold serve to avoid being dragged (Continued on page 26)

Jamaican native Romario Gill signs with Utah Jazz after missing out in NBA draft

Watch said.

Haitian state authorities have been urged by the advocacy group to investigate the allegations and protect the players, who also said they were intimidated and threatened.

Romario Gill

Mohamed Salah: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp reminds forward about conduct BBC Sport - Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has spoken to forward Mohamed Salah about his conduct after he returned two positive tests for coronavirus while on international duty with Egypt.

The 28-year-old was reportedly seen dancing at his brother’s wedding.Salah, who is self-isolating, will miss tomorrow’s game against league leaders Leicester and is likely to miss the Champions League tie against (Continued on page 25)

Salah joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017.

(Getty Images)

SportsMax - Romario Gill has signed with the Utah Jazz after not being selected in the 2020/21 NBA Draft.

The 7-2 Seton Hall alum, who was not expecting to be drafted, signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which is essentially a training camp invite that guarantees the player up to USD$50K if he’s waived and then is assigned to the NBA team’s G League affiliate.

Last season, Gill averaged 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks en route to being

named both the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and its Most Improved Player. He runs the floor well for a big man and, on the advice of NBA personnel, has been working on his mid-range game.

“I’m going to bring the energy,” the former St Thomas Technical player told NJ Advance Media before the draft.

“I’m not going to stop. I’m just going to go out there and do my best every game. I’m

going to be open to whatever the coaches have to say. Just hoping to learn and adjust to whatever program I’m in.”

If he is not cut by the Jazz, Gill will join former Jamaica College and Kentucky Wildcat Nick Richards as Jamaican players signed by NBA teams coming out of the draft.

Richards was selected 42nd overall in the second round of the draft on Wednesday and subsequently traded to Charlotte.

PAGE 28

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

GCB/Tropical Spring T20 Over 40 Tourney launched Sponsor promise to continue support in 2021

By Sean Devers The Guyana Cricket Board has collaborated with Tropical Spring for its T20 Over-40 Tournament which bowls today from 09:30 hours at three venues in each of Guyana’s three counties.

Lalta Gainda, who is expected to turn out for Bel-Air Rubis Ultra Tec, said Tropical Spring is a Company owned by his wife and himself. “Today I am wearing the Cap of Sponsor and Tropical Spring has been a long-time supporter of softball cricket but this is the first time we have sponsored a Hard Ball competition. I am proud to be associated with this tournament and I commit to being the sponsor again next year,” promised Gainda, who in his younger days was good batsman for Everest.

At Everest, pre-tourna-

ment Everest Masters will face-off with West Demerara Masters from 09:30 hrs, while the afternoon game in the City will see KV Construction Masters opposing Regal Masters from 13:45 hrs.

At Enmore on the East Coast, West Demerara Masters will battle RP construction Legends in the morning game, while Sand Pipper Masters will come up against Bel Air Rubis in the afternoon encounter.The Berbice Zone will see General Marine Maters taking on Jai Hind Master in the morning game before Sarjoo Tigers face West Berbice Masters at the Jai Hind ground. No games will be played in the Essequibo zone today.

The tournament will be the first competition since the GCB was forced to halt its cricket activities in March due

to the COVID-19 pandemic.

GCB’s Secretary Anand Sanasie said they opted for an over-40 tournament to mark the return of cricket after an almost nine-month absence from the field due to the pandemic because this age-group would be more responsible and should set a positive example for the other remaining tournaments planned for the year.“As a consequence, the players of the GCB Tropical Spring T20 Over 40 Tournament, will have both the privilege and responsibility to engage in a tournament being used to facilitate a smooth return to cricket and other outdoor sporting activities,” Sanasie added.

Territorial Development Officer of the GCB former West Indies pacer Colin Stuart explained the main aim of the National Over 40 Tournament

New Zealand’s grounds to get gender-neutral facilities ahead of 2022 Women’s World Cup

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Sophie Devine, Mithali Raj and Debbie Hockley at the World Cup launch. (Getty Images) ESPNcricinfo - The New Zealand government is funding a NZD 2 million (USD 1.38 million approx) upgrade of five venues to ensure the gender-neutral facilities for the players.

The tournament is to be played across five venues: the Basin Reserve in Wellington, Seddon Park in Hamilton, Hagley Oval and the NZC High Performance Centre in Christchurch, and University Oval in Dunedin.

The upgradation of the venues will focus on revamping player facilities, including the toilets at the grounds, to ensure they are gender-neutral ahead of the World Cup. “This is what major events are all about,” Andrea Nelson, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 CEO, said while welcoming the announcement of the package.

“Beyond the nationwide celebration of cricket in 2022, the Cricket World Cup ’22 legacy will improve the experience of our women and girls in cricket for future generations.”

Earlier this year, Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sport and Recreation, had also announced an NZD 265 million (USD 183 million approx) Sport Recovery Package as part of the Covid-19 response funding. Out of that amount, NZD 7.3 million (USD 5.04 million approx) was part of the World Cup Accessible Venues Fund to push for upgradation of facilities across venues for three major women’s events - the Cricket World Cup in 2022 as well as the Rugby World Cup in 2021 and the 2023 FIFA World Cup. “Hosting three women’s

World Cups in three years is a massive opportunity to drive positive change and put New Zealand on the world map when it comes to women in sport,” Robertson said.

An ICC release said Auckland’s Eden Park - which could host matches across all three World Cups - has also been earmarked for genderneutral upgrades, while the facilities at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui have been adjudged to already be at an acceptable standard.

In August, the ICC had postponed the Women’s ODI World Cup from 2021 to 2022 with the Covid-19 situation around the world not allowing the participating teams to prepare for the event.

The qualifiers for the 2022 edition are scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka in July 2021.

is bringing former experienced players back to the cricket environment and thereby serving as an impetus for their involvement in relevant facets of the administration of the game, inclusive of coaching and mentorship.

The tournament, which involves 16 teams, will have eight teams in Demerara competing for four quarter final places, four Essequibo teams battling for two quarter final places and four rival teams representing the Berbice location, competing for two quarter –final places.

The preliminary round of matches will commence today, Saturday 21 November 2020 and conclude on Saturday 5 December 2020.

The Quarter-Finals will be held on the Sunday 6 December 2020, the Semi-Finals on Friday 11 December 2020 and the Final on Saturday 12 December 2020.

The GCB is grateful to the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Task force for seeing it fit to grant approval to return to cricket activity.

The GCB is urging the players and officials to assist in ensuring that there is strict adherence to the protocols with respect to the COVID-19 measures.

Cricket was allowed to return with no spectators and no Bars at any of the venues.

The GCB is grateful to the Ministry of Health and COVID-19 Task Force for seeing it fit to grant approval to return to cricket activity.

The GCB extended gratitude to its T20 Over 40 sponsor, Tropical Spring and is proud to be collaborating with Tropical Spring and wished the entity increased productivity with their business.

The GCB is also grateful to the individual sponsors of the many teams that are a part

of this tournament and wishes them all success in their endeavours.

The tournament promises to be exciting and will witness the 16 teams competing for a first prize of $250,000 and a runner’s prize of $100,000.

The teams: Essequibo Reliance Sports Club Invaders Masters Imam Bacchus Over 40 Jaguars Over 40 Demerara West Demerara Masters West Demerara Mavericks Everest Masters Regal Masters KV Construction Masters RP Construction Legends Sand Pipper Masters Bel-Air Rubis Ultra Tec Berbice Representative Teams General Marine Masters Jai Hind Masters Sarjoo Tigers West Berbice Masters

Youssoufa Moukoko: Meet Borussia...

From page 30 club,” Meikel Schonweitz, the head coach of Germany’s youth teams, said.

The German FA didn’t select Moukoko for any more youth matches until this year, when he made his debut for Germany’s Under-20s.

“The hype doesn’t do anyone any favours,” said Stefan Kuntz, coach of Germany’s Under-21s. “The first low is always the toughest.”

Moukoko has experienced people at his side, including those who know the pain of not fulfilling early promise.

One of his closest advisers at Dortmund is assistant manager Otto Addo, a promising midfielder in the late 1990s and early 2000s whose ambitions were ultimately thwarted by a succession of knee injuries.

Lars Ricken, head of Dortmund’s youth academy, was the club’s wunderkind in the 1990s. When he scored a 30-yard chip in the 1997 Champions League final win over Juventus, Ricken was tipped to become a global superstar.

Injuries wore him down and destroyed his ambitions.

“We don’t have to cram the rucksack he has on his back even more,” Ricken said. Others agree.

“As of yet, the sun always shines for Youssoufa. He hasn’t had any rainy days, but these rainy days will come,” Nuri Sahin, a former Dortmund midfielder, told German football magazine Kicker.

Sahin’s record as the youngest to ever play a Bundesliga match will soon be broken by Moukoko. The two have been in touch for a few years.

‘I will continue to do my thing - that is my passion’ Moukoko has already had to deal publicly with abuse and criticism.

He started at Dortmund’s Under-16s at the age of 12, and proved a prolific scorer against much older defenders.

People started questioning his age. National newspaper Bild asked if it could be true that a 12-year-old was so dominant.

His father presented a birth certificate that was issued by the German consulate in Yaounde, but doubts have continued to follow him.

“It was hard to deal with all these stories,” Moukoko said in 2018. “It is not my fault that things go so well.”

“He was challenged mentally early on,” Michael Feichtenbeiner, his former coach with Germany’s Under16 team, said. “The rage about him was extreme, and the public speculation about his age often pushed aside the appreciation of his actual performance on the field.”

A few weeks ago, he again dominated a youth game, this time the derby between Dortmund’s and Schalke’s Under-19s.

After scoring his third goal, spectators were screaming that they would “break all your bones” and Moukoko should “lie down in your grave”. The clip went viral,

while Moukoko addressed the situation in the most professional way possible.

“I will continue to do my thing. That is my passion.

That is what brings me joy,” he wrote on Instagram. He also addressed those who insulted him by saying that they “can hate and slander me, but you can never hold me down.”

‘Moukoko is much better than I was at his age’ - Haaland Moukoko’s coaches and team-mates stress how professional and determined he is. “I see him being extremely focused,” Ricken said.

“I don’t know a player who invests so much in training and during the matches.”

Club officials are convinced that Moukoko has earned his spot in the first team not only because of his talent but also because of his work ethic. They didn’t sign a back-up for striker Erling Braut Haaland during the summer transfer window, because they trust Moukoko to become exactly that in the near future.

Haaland himself is a big fan. “Moukoko is much better than I was at his age,” he says. “I have never seen such a good 15-year-old in my life.”

Dortmund know that they will walk a tightrope with him.

The hype will only get bigger if he succeeds in the Bundesliga right away.

Moukoko, however, has proven that he can deal with the attention and stay focused on what he loves most - playing football and scoring goals.

Saturday November 21, 2020

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

Cold Fusion to face Blairmont GFF appoints COVID-19 Blazers tomorrow at Tuschen bounceback task force to prepare for safe resumption of football

Entertainment will be at its best tomorrow at the Tuschen Cricket ground, East Bank Essequibo when Cold Fusion Cricket Club clash with Blairmont blazers in a limited overs fixture from 09:30hrs.

The match is being organised by Mr. Boodnarine Persaud, Deputy Commander Region No. 3 and former President of the Cold Fusion Cricket Club.

The 20-over fixture will be contested in two innings with a seven minutes break between innings. Each team could make a maximum of four changes in the second innings. The Match is being sponsored by Supreme Petroleum of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. The organizer has expressed gratitude to the Management of Tuschen Cricket Club and Mr. Khan, Director of Supreme Petroleum. Among those expected to grace the event are Archie Mohan of Hawaian Arctic Cricket club of Canada, Mr. Anil Beharry of Young Warriors Cricket Club Berbice, Mr Maniram Shew and cricket commentator Mr. Inderjeet Persaud.

Deputy Commander Region No. 3 Boodnarine Persaud

LPL 2020 - Sohail Tanvir, Canada batsman Ravinderpal Singh test positive for Covid-19 Sohail Tanvir appeals for a wicket.

(Randy Brooks CPL T20 / Getty)

ESPNcricinfo - Pakistan quick Sohail Tanvir, who is a part of the Kandy Tuskers franchise, has become the second player* to test positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Sri Lanka for the Lanka Premier League (LPL).

Ravinderpal Singh, the Canada batsman who had been picked by the Colombo Kings franchise, had tested positive earlier in the day. The two are being treated and isolated at a separate hotel from the remainder of the LPL’s players and coaching staff.

Details of Tanvir’s posi-

tive result were conveyed to the Tuskers’ head coach Hashan Tillakaratne shortly after mid-day yesterday. “We have to talk to the franchise owners and find somebody to replace Tanvir,” Tillakaratne told ESPNcricinfo, even though Tanvir hasn’t been ruled out of the tournament yet.

Tanvir is not believed to have come into close contact with any other player or official, and the remainder of the Tuskers team will prepare for the tournament as planned.

Tanvir himself had been a re-

placement player of sorts for the Tuskers, who had initially drafted Wahab Riaz and Liam Plunkett as the overseas fast bowlers, before both of them withdrew from the tournament.

Earlier, Singh was confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19 after traveling in the same flight and bus as several other players, including Andre Russell. His illness, too, is not believed to have had an impact on anyone else involved in the tournament, according to LPL organisers. “[Singh] has been sent for

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has appointed a diverse COVID-19 Task Force to oversee all preparations for the safe and responsible return of football activities in the coming months, following a request to the Government of Guyana National COVID-19 Task Force to resume training and competition as conditions allow.

The Task Force, which met for the first time virtually on 17th November, will manage all areas of the GFF’s “Bounceback” plans, including all health and medical factors, legal matters, coordination with the National COVID19 Task Force and communication and collaboration with GFF members and all football stakeholders.

“The GFF is taking every action necessary to bring football back in the safest way possible, once we get the green light from the authorities,” said GFF President Wayne Forde. “This is likely to be a gradual return to action in order to manage the risks as we roll out the robust and pragmatic plan we have developed in our partnership with UEFA.” “The key to a successful resumption of football will be making sure we remain flexible, respect the guidelines at all times while guaranteeing that all stakeholders are engaged and consulted, so that we can all get back to the game we love as soon as possible.

For now, it is important to remind our community that football is not currently allowed under the current restrictions – we urge all of our peers to respect the rules and protect themselves and their loved ones.”

The “Bounceback” programme is a UEFA initiative that the GFF, as part of its ongoing partnership with European football’s governing body, is participating in so as to ensure a safe resumption of football. Under the programme, Guyana is the second nation in the Concacaf region to join forces with experts from the European football Administration to prepare for the return of

football.

“The UEFA Assist Team has been very impressed with the quality and attention to detail shown by the Guyana Football Federation in developing the “Bounceback” ac-

tion plan,” said Eva Pasquier, Head of International Relations at UEFA. “This has been evident right from the top of the organisation and the President, Wayne Forde, has fully supported the initiative, participating fully in all sessions and inspiring his leadership team to be creative in their approach.”

“I would like to congratulate the “Bounceback” manager, Ian Greenwood, in particular for an excellent piece of work preparing for the re-

sumption of football on the pitch and looking at how to connect with all football players, coaches, referees and volunteers.”

The 17-member Task Force, which will meet weekly for an initial period of one month, is made up of a wide range of stakeholders from across the football ecosystem.

This is to ensure that all voices are heard and included in decision-making during this crucial process.

Concacaf Senior Projects Manager Howard McIntosh, who has also been involved in the process, said: “COVID19 has changed the world and football is no exception. It is critical that all member associations and national teams establish a framework for operation in a COVID-19 world.

We salute the GFF’s efforts in this regard.

“The GFF has continued to implement best practices in football leading to many of its successes on and off the field. It has sought out and participated in numerous programmes to improve as an association, using this downtime efficiently and effectively as it plans to return to play.

This makes the GFF a model in many ways. This type of drive to succeed must be heralded and emulated.”

The GFF COVID-19 Task Force Chair - (GFF President) Wayne Forde Representative of the GFF Medical Committee - Kojo Sandiford (Dr.) GFF General Secretary Ian Alves (Rev.) Representative of the clubs - Eton Moses GFF Head of Finance Marco Meredith Events & Competitions Organiser - Troy Mendonca Legal Representative Kalam Juman-Yassin GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood Representative of Women’s Football - Andrea Johnson Representative of Referees - Dion Inniss Representative of Players’ Association - Akel Clarke Representative of Regions - Otis James / Orin Ferrier Representative of the Coaches’ Association Dillion Roberts Representative from the Ministry of Sport, Guyana Government Representative of the National COVID-19 Task Force - Loring Benons (Maj.) Representative of Corporate Guyana - Fitzroy McLeod National Head Coach Marcio ‘Maximo’ Barcellos

PAGE 30

Kaieteur News

Saturday November 21, 2020

Youssoufa Moukoko: Meet Borussia Dortmund’s 16-year-old ‘wunderkind’ BBC Sport - Youssoufa Moukoko once told reporters: “It is my goal to become a professional player in Dortmund, capture the Champions League with Borussia, and win the Ballon d’Or.” He was 13. From anyone else at that age, such talk

might have seemed naive, perhaps arrogant. But those who listened to Moukoko thought he might be right.

Today, Moukoko turns 16, and is an international sensation thanks to his ridiculous goal rate - he has scored 141 times in 88 youth matches for Borussia

Youssoufa Moukoko made his debut for Germany Under20s earlier this year. (Getty Images)

Dortmund since 2017.

In the summer, Dortmund selected Moukoko for their official Bundesliga squad, knowing they would have to wait a couple of months before the young striker would be eligible to play. They convinced the German Football League earlier this year to lower the minimum age for players in the top two divisions from 17 to 16.

Moukoko has a chance to break two records in the next week. If he features against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday, he will become the youngest person ever to play a professional match in Germany. If he faces Club Bruges three days later, he will become the Champions League’s youngest player.

Who is Moukoko?

Born in Yaounde, Cameroon, he grew up with his grandparents and a passionate love for football.

When he was 10, he moved to live with his father, who had been based in Ger-

Youssoufa Moukoko has scored 141 goals in 88 youth matches for Borussia Dortmund.

(DEFODI Images) many for many years, and joined the youth set-up at St Pauli.

Moukoko went to his first training session in running shoes, as he wasn’t used to organised football. But that didn’t prevent him from scoring goals right from the beginning.

“He is a huge talent and makes decisions at an impressive pace,” Guido Streichsbier, coach of Germany’s Under20s, said.

“I’m convinced that

Youssoufa has the football IQ to find spaces so that he won’t be dismantled by experienced defenders. It will be important that he moves in specific zones to stay away from the physical fights.”

Dortmund first-team boss Lucien Favre added: “You don’t know which foot he uses to play. He is a left-footer and a right-footer. He is very efficient.”

‘He hasn’t had any rainy days, but they will come’ Last year, sportswear com-

pany Nike signed Moukoko to a long-term deal. And the spotlight has been on him from very early on. So both Borussia Dortmund and Germany’s football asoociation have opted to take things slowly.

“After Youssoufa’s first international games at the under-16 level [in 2017], the hype was at times so huge, that, together with Dortmund, we decided to let him make his next steps solely with his (Continued on page 28)

Former Dallas baseball stadium to become ‘new home of USA cricket’ ESPNcricinfo - USA Cricket has announced that its commercial T20 franchise league partner, American Cricket Enterprises, has signed a 15-year lease to acquire AirHogs Stadium, formerly a 6,000 seat minor league baseball and soccer facility located in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, Texas.

According to ACE cofounder Sameer Mehta, the ambition for the venue is to host a Major League Cricket franchise for the league’s opening season in 2022, develop a USA national team high performance center and “hopefully be the home of USA Cricket”.

The $20 million stadium venue opened in 2008 and housed the Texas AirHogs, an independent minor league baseball team for the last 13 seasons. However, the AirHogs folded in the summer of 2020, one of numerous minor league baseball organisations to go under as a consequence of the devastating financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Major League Baseball made the decision in June to cancel the entire minor league season for all of its affiliate franchises. It opened the door for ACE to take over the facility with a new lease agree-

ment, including plans to spend at least $10 million to renovate the facility into a cricket-exclusive ODI-accredited turf wicket venue, ready to open by the summer of 2022.

“This is a watershed moment for us. We’re pretty excited,” said USA Cricket chairman Paraag Marathe, who also serves as executive vice president of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. “We’re going to put Grand Prairie on the global map because hopefully when we get World Cups and international events, this is going to be one of the key stadiums we’re playing matches in.

The flagship where we’re going to be first putting up our flag and announcing USA Cricket to the rest of the world is going to be right here in Grand Prairie.”

One of the major challenges that USA Cricket officials may have is overcoming a string of underwhelming ventures in other cities. National cricket administrators were similarly enthusiastic about the opening of the $6 million Indianapolis World Sports Park before city officials subsequently ripped up a three-

The AirHogs Stadium in Dallas, which will soon become a new cricket facility. (USA Cricket) year contract to host the USA Cricket National Championship from 2014-16. After hosting a solitary ICC Americas T20 championship in 2015, the venue has mostly laid dormant to international cricket.

Similarly, the Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida was approved with hopes of drawing warm-up matches, if not full-fledged tournament games, for the 2007 World Cup hosted by the West Indies.

The $70 million park venue eventually opened in 2008 and has hosted a string of T20 internationals, including India v West Indies to 12,000+ crowds in 2019.

However, the venue has struggled to attract similar support for USA national team matches, with just 20 people attending USA’s first ever ODI on home soil in September 2019 against Papua New Guinea, six weeks after

India and West Indies played to a full house.

Similarly, the Caribbean Premier League pulled the plug on their foray into Florida after three years.

Though CPL organisers were able to sell out a doubleheader slate for 10,000 fans in 2016, crowds had shrunk to as few as 700 people in 2018 for a weeknight contest featuring Andre Russell’s Jamaica Tallawahs and Steven Smith’s Barbados Tridents.

However, Marathe and Mehta believe that the Grand Prairie facility is much better suited to drawing people in.

Mehta introduced data stating that Willow TV, a major rights holder cable network for US market TV cricket rights content, has 250,000 subscribers that are based between Dallas and Houston, demonstrating a strong local appetite for international cricket viewing.

The stadium venue is ad-

jacent to Lone Star Park horse racecourse and is a short drive along Interstate 30 from AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Park, home to the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.

Marathe also stated that the success of the venue should not be judged by attendance figures or profits.

“We just have really great infrastructure around AirHogs Stadium,” Marathe said. “The opportunity to grow and develop, whether it is bringing in a high performance center in the DallasGrand Prairie area, whether we do other things as the Mayor said, adding more pitches as demand and popularity grows, there’s the infrastructure that’s already there to grow more. We also feel really good about the opportunity to expand this current stadium. That’s from a geography and infrastructure standpoint.

“The measurement of

growth when you’re trying to build something and make something very special… we’re not just looking at dollars and cents.

We’re looking at building popularity and building interest.

That doesn’t just mean what your profit is on events or how many fans are attending. Number one I think we’re going to have a tremendous amount of fan support, especially in the Grand Prairie area.

We’re really excited about that.

“But at the same time, we’re also building viewership.

We’re also building people who are hopefully watching it when they’re not sitting in the stadium and we’re building a groundswell of popularity for it. We’re not just looking at the bottom line of dollars and cents. It’s really just building the popularity and putting us on a path.”

Saturday November 21, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 31

Table Tennis to resume in December

T

he head of Guyana Ta b l e Te n n i s Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe, has confirmed with Kaieteur Sport that the body’s ‘Restart Competition’ which was scheduled to serve on next Friday (November 27) will get underway the following week instead.

The association is in consultation with the relevant authorities and Munroe has confirmed that they will follow all rules and regulations set by the national COVID-19 task force and the Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of its players and officials.

In a release to the media the GTTA had noted that, “The athletes’ health, well-being and safety is of paramount importance to us, so we want to ensure we get this right as we venture out.

In this regard we will use the National COVID 19 Task Force and ITTF guidelines in addition to the utilisation of

Head of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe. some independent health personnel to assist us with the reviewing of our processes, while ensuring necessary approvals from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport are secured.”

The plan is to use a top 12 and top 16 duel format which would allow us the opportunity to schedule and timetable the matches in advance so players will be aware of their schedules and

Table Tennis will resume in December. we will be able to promote the matches in advance.

This format also allows us to limit the amount of players participating in the competition so as to comply with the social distancing policy.

The intention is to invite players as they are scheduled to play, so the venue would not have more than six players in the area at one time.

The correspondence explained that players will only come to the venue based on the schedule of matches.

“We will have a period to allow for sanitizing of the playing area after each match, so space and time would have to be allowed between matches and for players to warm up,” the release stated.

Another key feature of the GTTA’s restart process is that they would have meetings with the players, umpires and table officials to go over the safety protocols to ensure compliance.

The categories to be contested for the initial ‘Restart’ competition are Men’s Top 16 Duels which will come from among the nation’s top 16 players who

competed at the 2020 edition of the Senior National Championships, while the boys’ competition will also include the top 16 juniors.

The girls’ clash will be between the top eight junior females, while the Senior Females will be an open battle among the active local players.

The games will be streamed online.

World Champions West Indies unveil spectacular T20I playing shirt as countdown to World Cup starts p.

26

Fast bowler Romario Shepherd in the new T20I jersey.

All-rounder Rovman Powell in the new T20I jersey.

Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh jr and keeper Andre Fletcher in the new T20I jersey.

Table Tennis to resume t r o in December Sp p.

31

GCB/Tropical Spring T20 Over 40 Tourney GCB/Tropical Spring T20 launched Over 40 Tourney launched p.

28

Sponsor promise to continue support in 2021

Launch of 40 and over Tournament – GCB officials, team representatives along with officials of the sponsors at yesterday’s launch of the over40 Tropical Spring cricket tournament.

Windies lose Campbell early after Ravindra anchors New Zealand “A” with hundred p.26

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