K
AIETEUR NEWS
Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly
James Bond Wednesday Edition arrested in Peter’s Hall land giveaway probe November 25, 2020 - Vol. 15 No.45
Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80
Online readership yesterday, 105,787
Canadian hired to review Exxon’s US$9B Payara project benefited $$$ from Exxon subsidiary Trio gets 11 1/2 years Guyana may each for killing of introduce Beharry Group engineer visa system Ali in Suriname…
for Haiti soon
Corentyne bridge deal to be inked; ferry service Man dies after mishap issues to be resolved with truck during EBD - 7 Haitian children found during police operations likely trafficked
- business unit to boost trade
three-lane traffic
NY-bound Guyanese woman busted at CJIA with coke stashed in book, make-up
US company setting up shore base here known for bribing politicians, Customs Officers
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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
Conceding Defeat Conceding electoral defeat does not have to be automatic, immediate, or even timely. Regarding the latter, that is dependent on the sweep of related circumstances, and the strengths of them. It goes without saying, and as we emphasize today, those circumstances would be as backed by compelling facts on the ground, and not from those that are manufactured either premeditatedly or on the run to suit changing situations. Today, it seems that every election is an exotic mix of cliffhanger and nail-biter, well attended by impassioned agitators and troublemakers. Suriname had its moments and so, too, did Trinidad and Tobago. The only thing that could be said to sum up what occurred in Guyana’s most recent elections is that here there was a continuing reliving of a six-decade farce, with ingenious creativity, and a cast of characters unmatched anywhere. And to trump (no pun intended) all that came before, there is now the United States, that showpiece of democracy, from which place its pathological hypocrites go around the globe proselytizing about transparency, leadership integrity, and honor, duty, country. A clear loser, in more ways than one, is not conceding. What is preached worldwide (here, too) is not practiced. Yeah hope springs eternal, despite sentiments about democracy and all that amounts to so much forgettable jazz. But all of that is known, where conceding becomes an exercise in self-flagellation, a personal human sacrifice shrunk from before the altars of the Constitution, law, and tradition. The bottom line is this: leaders do not do so anymore. There are no such political saints or martyrs; their party would not let them do so. And, as is becoming evident in America, the leader that lost is not going to make his party do so either. Similar to what happened here; decent men lose their dignity, all the swearing about democracy vanishes. Over there, it is not happening anytime soon also, and a prince of perversity and paranoia only succeeds in digging a deeper home for himself in the sleaziest part of the cesspit. This is from the man that called a Third World country that kind of hole in which he has always resided, palace and executive mansions and all. How different is this from several decades ago, when a man threw in the towel on a presidential contest that was as close as can be. In 1960, Richard Nixon, of all people, rose to the occasion and acknowledged that his prospects looked grim, and that was within hours of the returns. The differential at that predawn hour was a mere 113,000 votes, not a massive five million and counting. On Election Day plus one, Nixon conceded. In hindsight, there is evidence that he was cheated in Cook County, Illinois, compliments of that king of crooks, Joe Kennedy, Snr. But gracious conceding he did and timely, which he may have done too early. Gore did that, too and he was cheated by chads this time, not dead voters. But he conceded after a struggle for continuity and the good of the country, though battleground Florida reduced to only 537 votes. Statesmen do that; principled leaders challenge, but only up to a point. They owe themselves, supporters, and campaign workers such clarity and cleanness. It must be when the writing is not just on the wall, the writing is the wall that bars further discussion, or playing dangerous games. There is a crying need for restoration of dignity and truth to politics. There is optimism that this could occur in America. There is little hope about similar electoral dignity and ethos taking hold here, as the kind of presences direly needed are totally lacking, without exception. As one fallout from the last elections here, there is
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Competency and integrity have no place around here DEAR EDITOR, It is barely three months since the PPP assumed office, and already its deceptions and intents are obvious. They bode ill for Guyana, increase daily. It has been one oil outrage after another, and this from a leader and government that swore commitment to transparency and accountability. President Ali and his controller were comfortable with a disgraced Alberta Premier spearheading Guyana’s Payara review. Despite promises from one deceiver after another, her report is still a national security secret. Perhaps, the departing or departed Canadian High Commissioner took it away under diplomatic cover, so revealing it would have been of the cover-up that could not pass muster. No wonder the President and Vice President and the gang are quiet on the disreputable Canadian’s report. But the point I wish to emphasize today is that they were all pleased with whatever was
cooked up and then delivered. On the other hand, a decent, patriotic, and honourable Guyanese was not even allowed to breathe, as they squeezed his neck with their knees. When the PPP leaders have problems with an honourable and extremely competent Guyanese public servant, it says so much about them. It says that the carefully selected phrases at the time of his being sent on leave were so many promises never intended to be fulfilled by disingenuous Guyanese political figures. They are so far gone in the dishonest and dishonourable that they have no idea how to deal with people who are not. So they created breathing space for themselves by sending Dr. Vincent Adams, then head of the EPA on leave. He was in the way. The Trumpian characters we have here for leaders muttered something about the right
place that matches with his skills would be found. That was a lie, a technique that Josef Goebbels perfected from long practice. PPP leaders have had more practice than even him by now. So they show a man of the caliber of a Vincent Adams the door. Goodbye, bro; and good riddance. Competency and integrity have no place around here. Again and again, this reiterates something to me. Whatever Exxon wants, Exxon gets. It didn’t want Dr. Adams, so Exxon did get its PPP co-conspirators in leadership position to get him out. This is the new slavery, the new colonialism that reigns over Guyana. Unlike the slaves in chains and the serfs fighting to sell themselves, Guyanese are delirious with joy at the chance to go on their knees and suck up to Exxon masters. The company is present and future; it is an unforgiving taskmaster: get rid of Adams. Because Exxon holds more than a few oil secrets for PPP leaders past and present,
it is obeyed to the hilt. This is taking the Chinese practice of full-blown facedown prostration in the form of kowtowing to depths that even the Chinese would not recognize. These are the slaves we have for leaders, who are pawns in the clutches of Exxon and America. Our government cannot break ranks with Exxon, would not even risk incurring its wrath. So, Adams had to go. I wait to see what manner of party men and national sellouts they are going to get to put at EPA and as oil czar. And that writing is as good as on the wall, since it cannot be otherwise. This is one great big fraud, this oil of ours, with Guyanese still not understanding that where they are now. That is, despite all the leadership promises and the personal hopes, all Guyanese are in the exact circumstances of poor Nigerians and Venezuelans. Like those places, this will not last. Yours truly, GHK Lall
We must achieve increased cooperation in Parliament DEAR EDITOR, A number of concerned citizens have written on the state of affairs in the country and have made observations on a number of interrelated issues such as the need for inclusionary governance, the reduction in corruption and improving governance, to name a few. The engagement of the populace and the press freedom being preserved is very encouraging. The long term commitment of many of our fellow Guyanese in the unselfish service of our country is to be applauded independent of political affiliation and it would be a disservice to both them and our country to not acknowledge and appreciate their willingness to contribute to the building of our young nation. Guyana does have a limited pool of talent available for the numerous critical tasks ahead. However, the level of integrity and honesty with which we build our government and nation is more important than the speed with which we accomplish our objectives. The underlying moral fabric upon which our society is built must take precedence
over expediency in order to ensure the gains made are lasting over the centuries and can be supported & further augmented by generations to come. Setting the example today of what we hope to be continued and achieved in the future is indispensable and will attract like minds. Thus, reinforcing the underlying culture of the society we hope to establish. As the saying goes “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you be”, which also goes for the multi-ethnic dimension of our society. Investment in national institutions which provide non discriminatory access to all ethnicities, religions and genders within our society helps lay the foundation for the development of all Guyanese. This is what institutions such as the University of Guyana have been accomplishing over the years and our University’s mission continues to be “To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community, the nation, and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical enquiry”. The issue then becomes
neither place nor reception for any political newcomers and their deceiving presences. That is how they will be viewed, given what the last batch turned out to be: all blabber and not an iota of character. Thus, we are stuck with the delusional, the dangerous, and the destructive. For all these reasons, conceding should be struck from political and electoral lexicons. It went from dying art to endangered species to dead on arrival. That is, stone cold dead!
how to ensure that those helping to build our national community reflect those within the community. Ability and merit must be the key standard used for ensuring that we provide access to leadership opportunities for our best and brightest while also retaining top talent. If this is done and its management is efficacious without bias then each subsequent level of our socioeconomic structure will continue
to be strengthened in both its moral capacity and competence. The disconnect that we have witnessed over the decades has been the departure from sound management practices in favour of expediency and nepotism, which in many cases can be linked to political affiliation. This has created a gap between the needs of our national institutions and the (Continued on page 5)
Urgent attention must be given to our sea defences DEAR EDITOR, I have been observing the drastic changes in weather patterns throughout the world over some time now, and noticed the vast and, sometimes catastrophic damages they have been causing in developed and developing countries. Special attention must be given to the Atlantic Hurricanes. They have been trekking closer and closer to Guyana and some of our close neighbours. Some of the outer bands from these systems have affected Guyana’s weather during this present hurricane season. Our seawalls proved to be too low and weak for enormous wave activities produced by these outer bands, resulting in flooding in some areas along the coastline. I’m afraid that we might not be in a state of readiness for the potential strike of, at minimum, a tropical storm. Urgent attention must be given to our sea defences, through strengthening and
improving just in case these storms inch even closer, or God forbid, make landfall. This year’s hurricane season has already shattered previous records in terms of named storms amongst others. Our building codes must be followed, and in some cases, also be updated to accommodate the likelihood of such events. I wish to also implore the government to immediately set up a National Emergency Management Agency/ Unit, staffed with professionals to complement the CDC and the Meteorology office. Together, they will be responsible for issuing alerts, watches and warnings, and spearheading any recovery efforts. The Atlantic Hurricane Season starts on June 1st every year and lasts for six months, or until November 30th. Remember, “failing to prepare, is preparing to fail.” Yours truly, Deavindra Jagroo
Wednesday November 25, 2020
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Kaieteur News
It will take some time before the impact of COVID on the global economy goes DEAR EDITOR, The world has welcomed with a huge sigh of relief the arrival of anti-COVID-19 vaccines. But just as how it will take a while before the vaccine makes headway amongst the world’s population, in the same way, it will take some time before the impact of the pandemic on the global economy withers away. In June this year, the World Bank in its ‘Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World’ had this to say: “The baseline forecast envisions a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP in 2020, using market exchange rate weights - the deepest global recession in decades, despite the extraordinary efforts of governments to counter the downturn with fiscal and monetary policy support.” The Bank’s outlook went on to state: “The crisis highlights the need for urgent action to cushion the pandemic’s health and economic consequences, protect vulnerable populations, and set the stage for a lasting recovery.” That was five months ago, since then, millions around the world have either been infected and/or died from the virus. Concomitantly, the economies of almost every country went into a tailspin. The manufacturing sector, along with exports have dwindled , tourism in particular and the services sector in general suffered immensely, and small, medium and large size businesses suffered heavy blows because of the economic and social impact of COVID-19. Late last month, a group of economists published an article in VoxEU, the portal for the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) entitled ‘Economic Consequences of Covid-19: Counterfactual multi-country
analysis.’ In the article the group concluded: “Our country factual analysis points to large and persistent negative effects of the pandemic on the world economy, with no country escaping unscathed. China and the ‘Emerging Asia’ group will fare better in the near term. The Swedish example, however, serves as a warning that no economy is immune from the negative consequences of COVID- 19 in an interconnected global economy...” (Chudik, Mohaddes, Pesaran, Raissi and Rebucci). The message could not have been clearer. Now a vaccine is in the offering, but as
was to be expected, the richer countries have already booked and paid up for their supplies of vaccines. And the poorer countries will have to depend on the donor community’s generosity for the supply of vaccines to help them fight off the deadly virus. In this regard, UNICEF has announced that nearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be shipped and flown to developing countries in a ‘mammoth operation’. (SN 23.11.20). While provision of the vaccine by the donor community is to be welcomed, it will not serve as a panacea for the persistent developmental challenges facing poorer na-
Time to revoke this medieval law that is barring dual citizens from Parliament DEAR EDITOR, Most of our national athletes that represent our country at the Olympics are dual citizens. Our national Lady Jaguars and men senior football teams have majority overseas based players that are dual citizens. Ambassadors that represent our country are sometimes dual citizens. Individuals who represent us at important world body like the UN and in Brussels are for the most part dual citizens. Beauty Queens that represent our country in international pageants are sometimes dual citizens. Yet when it comes to our Parliament our law prohibits dual citizens from being members. The main reason for this archaic law is that a person that holds dual citizenship might have divided loyalty in terms of their true allegiance if they have to mediate on a situation involving the two countries that they are both citizens of.
Another reason is that they do not participate in the day to day life of the country and pay their taxes hence they have not earned the right to be our representative in Parliament. Progressive sporting bodies like the Olympics and FIFA accommodate dual citizens to represent the country of their choice with the firm conviction that once an athlete wears a country flag above his heart, he will at all times give his complete commitment, skills , integrity and talent to that flag. If a Guyanese that holds citizenship to the US is representing Guyana at the Olympics, do you think they will deliberately go easy on the US athletes? On the contrary they will put all the sweat into glory for self and flag. The same will apply to a dual citizen in our Parliament, there is no reason to doubt that they will not represent themselves with integrity and patriotism. We are a nation that has lost a lot of skilled countrymen during the PNC
We must achieve increased cooperation... From page 4 current talent in place. By implementing a strong performance management system that holds each level accountable for not only their results, but also for how they accomplish those results, our institutions will begin to cleanse and replenish the talent pool with the most capable
tions. Addressing the annual lecture for the Mandela Foundation in July this year, UN Secretary General Guterres advanced the call for a ‘New Global Deal’ to ensure power, wealth and opportunity are shared more broadly and fairly at the international level. According to Guterres, the pandemic has revealed like an x-ray, “fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built.” The UN SG added; “Rich countries have failed to deliver the support needed to help the developing world and that the pandemic has brought home the tragic disconnect between self-interest
individuals available. Thanks to the University of Guyana and our larger unbiased education system, that talent pool will be multi-ethnic. The commitment to establish such effective national institutions must be important to non politically appointed leadership and it must also be
of utmost importance to our political leaders. The latter being the more complex of the two to accomplish. For this and several other reasons not mentioned we must achieve increased cooperation in Parliament. Yours truly, Jamil Changlee
dictatorship and ensuing years. If we are to propel ourselves into the gilded age, we need to harness as much talent in the diaspora and allow these dual citizens full participation in all the decision making bodies of the country inclusive of the Parliament. To weed out the carpetbaggers and allow for dual citizens to participate and pay their taxes, a five years mandatory residency in the country should be the precursor for entitlement of dual citizenship Guyanese to enter Parliament. It is time to revoke this medieval law that bars dual citizens from participating in Parliament. Yours truly, Reggie Bhagwandin,
and the common interest; and the huge gaps in governance structures and ethical frameworks.” (S/N 20.7.20) Guterres’ call for a ‘New Global Deal’ is reminiscent of Cheddi Jagan’s call for a ‘New Global Human Order.’ In his address to the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Irfaan Ali was reported as saying: “We trust and support the UN system to ensure fair, transparent and timely global access to the preventive tools, equipment and material for testing. In this regard... we look forward to increased international cooperation to contain, mitigate and defeat the pandemic.” At the recent G20 Summit, held in Saudi Arabia, the EU called for the mobilization of US$ 4.5 billion by the end of the year from the G20 to cover
the cost for COVID-19 fighting tools for poorer countries. And a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, the G20 nations pledged “to pay for a fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests around the world so that poorer countries are not left out...” Closer to home, the Prime Minister of Barbados has called for a ‘Caribbean Marshall Plan’ to address the economic decline the region faces as it confronts the deadly combination of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inherent social and economic disparities that continue to stymie the region’s development.( SN 15/7’20) Meanwhile, here in Guyana, the UN Resident Representative (Continued on page 6)
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Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
Officers of the Enforcement Arm of the Natural Resources Ministry have not been paid in months DEAR EDITOR, It is with great frustration and uncertainty that I pen this letter to you in hope that it reaches the relevant minister and governing body of our dear country. I am attached to the Natural Resources Enforcement Arm under the Ministry of Natural Resources and my colleagues and I have been without salary since September of this year. Our contracts would have come to an end in September and we were advised by the Permanent Secretary, that our contracts would be renewed and that we should continue to show up for
work.We have been doing just that, no money for transportation and hardly any to sustain our families yet we show up to work diligently and conduct our duties without pay. In August some of us were deployed to hinterland regions, although there is a pandemic, to ensure that our duties were carried out as mandated by our employers we are yet to see the fruit of this labour. Many of us are currently paying mortgages, loans, indebted to landlords and all calls to our PS are met with “hold tight”. I think we have been exhausted with what goes on politically in this
country; it does not have anything to do with us. We are humble public servants working in part and parcel with the government of the day in an effort to ensure that citizens uphold and respect the law. Why must we continue to face uncertainty and live as though we are not entitled to salaries we worked for? I would like to ask our Minister of Natural Resources to look into the matter , I know that he is a humble human who has the country and citizens at heart but how much more can we bear? Yours truly, Name provided
DOLL HOUSE IN GUYANA DEAR EDITOR, Ms. Audreyanna Thomas, in her letter to Kaieteur News on 24th Nov. 2020, heading Jagdeo, PPP/C playing Doll House with Guyana, is vociferous in putting down Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP/C Party that has only ascended to government a mere four months and whose challenge is to now clean up one helluva mess left by the incompetent and corrupt APNU/PNC Government. This is no easy task considering they inherited an almost bankrupt economy in this Covid-19 Pandemic. Yet, Ms. Thomas seems to live in a world created by Merlin the Magician where the mere waving of a magic wand fixes all that ails this country, in the blink of an eye! Not being able to do so instantly is a failure in your opinion. Many of those of a certain political persuasion love to vilify Vice President Jagdeo because he stands out as someone who is a thorn in the
side of the rigging APNU/ PNC cabal; he outmanoeuvred and made fools of them throughout the 2020 Elections and what followed afterwards. To those of you whose vociferous disapproval of our Vice President can be seen in this Newspaper and elsewhere, let me remind you, this Government and its Vice President have the support of the silent majority of this nation and the Guyanese Diaspora, like it or not, they have a mandate to govern and make decisions that are in the best interest of all Guyanese. For five years, while this country suffered under an incompetent and corrupt APNU/PNC Government, you remained silent only to now emerge from the shadows to spew hatred and rancour. Your Party had a chance to do right between 2015 and 2020, instead, they turned out to be one big disappointment, interested in only helping themselves and not the people. The evil and incompe-
tence of your Party’s leaders were recently on display when they used the tragic murder of the Henry boys to create racial strife and mayhem. Ms. Thomas is correct on one thing; Guyana needs a professional Public Service and in its current state, is in need of a great makeover. It cannot remain status quo. It is my belief the qualification of each and every Public Servant must be examined by this Government and those not suitably qualified for the job must be reassigned or jettisoned. Dr. Mark Bynoe who has no qualifications in Energy cannot be in charge of Energy. Like it or not, I encourage my government to create a Public Service based on qualification and ability, represented by people from all races in our multiracial population. Let me remind you of an old saying “Rome was not built in a day.” Yours truly, Dennis Balgobin
Horrific crime is rising in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, In the midst of COVID-19, crime, corruption, collusion and commerce, the Coalition has recently come in for more criticism for their callous performance during their tenure of governorship, which includes cunning craftsmanship. An ongoing issue is the recent revelation of the oil saga which is creating mayhem and havoc in many corners and causing uncomfortable discomfiture. The APNU+AFC government had signed the lopsided oil agreement, unfavorable to Guyana’s interest. Then there is the case of several plots of State land which were leased by individuals and then resold, resulting in huge profits. This has particularly been the case on the East Bank of Demerara. A popular attorney and member of the People’s National Congress Reform, James Bond, has been arrested for questioning in relation to the land giveaways under the former APNU+AFC Coalition. Another matter of engagement is the process of dumping over $742M worth of expired drugs by the Ministry of Health has begun since Thursday. This was disclosed by the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Antho ny who added that
the drugs would have cost approximately 3 million of taxpayer dollars to be wasted. While COVID-19 is taking a severe toll on the lives of Guyanese, the crime situation is out of control and is rampantly destroying the peace of mind of all Guyanese. It is so chaotic that it is has devastating effects politically, economically, sociologically and psychologically on the lives of all Guyanese and residents in the country and abroad. This cumbersome problem is causing a panic with rela-
tives abroad and is currently contributing as a destabilizing factor in each and every home in Guyana. This deplorable and unacceptable matter perpetuates both white collar and blue collar criminal activities. Recently, Guyanese born sociologist and former senior lecturer at the University of Guyana in the faculty of Social Science, Dr. Tara Singh,
had ample reasons to write ot once but twice this month regarding the terrible and horrific crime situation in Guyana. He has articulated some of the damaging effects and has called for a national forum to engage in a conversation regarding this heinous situation. Dr. Tara Singh has also impressed the urgency of this forum because of the gravity of its explosiveness. Many editorial pieces, reporters and writers have echoed and endorsed his sentiments and reiterated the immediate intervention of the government. The past government had turned a blind eye to this challenge and opened the room
urday, Koretta Otho,28, of Plaisance, ECD, was confronted by armed bandits in front of her home and robbed of some $100 thousand worth of cash and articles; 3 inmates escaped last Saturday from the Lusignan Holding Bay. “The issues of people escaping from the prisons has to do with poor administrative issues at the prison. There is corruption at the level of the prison officers. We have been firing prison officers for smuggling ganja, rum, vodka, whiskey, and cigarette. There are issues of them making knives there, and so searches have to be conducted,” a senior officer ex-
to entertain speculations. Guyana has been the victim of so many corruptions and collusions under the APNU/AFC regime and it is only now that Guyanese are becoming aware of all their
plained; last Sunday, a 52 year old man from Tuschen Housing Scheme, EBE, allegedly, took his life; an argument over undercooked rice resulted in a woman stabbing her brother to death at Parika Backdam,
white collar crimes committed during their past five years in office. Even though this comes as no surprise, it is the Guyanese public, more so, the man in the street who has to pay the cost. As if to add salt to the profusely, bleeding wound, since the publication of Dr. Singh’s last article, it would seem as if crime has taken an affront and criminals have been further provoked. It is as if they are competing with the law enforcement officers and challenging them to come catch us. A recent spate of incidents is grave concern for reflection: On Nov. 20th, Deonarine Harripersaud was robbed of $3 million dollars while withdrawing cash at the bank in Nauth Village, Corentyne,
West Coast Berbice; last Friday, it was discovered that there is a $150 million fraud from the Finance Dept. of the Guyana Police Force; a Sophia couple, Nyron Wilson, 33, and Nadira John, 19, were busted with $1.5 million in narcotics; 116 persons were arrested in Berbice for breaching the COVID19 protocols last Friday and Saturday; 11 GRA staffers were su spended last Saturday as authorities continue their investigation
into the Belgium’s seizure of 11.5 tons of cocaine shipped from Guyana worth about US$1 billion; last Sat-
East Bank Essequibo, EBE, on Sunday afternoon; 8 men from Corentyne, East Berbice, were arrested on Sunday engaged in cock-fighting and in breach of the COVID-19 emergency measures; Monday night, CANU intercepted a Suriname base Guyanese woman with 1.948 kilograms of cocaine at the CJIA; a
53-year-old Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara businessman, Terrence Dickie, was shot dead in the wee hours of Monday morning by armed bandits during a home invasion; last Monday, illegal logs were seized in the Potaro-Siparuni area involved in illegal mining. It is obvious that the crime situation is massively out of control and reinforcement is required from the Police Force, the GDF, the People’s Militia, the Neighbourhood Watch Committees, the private security firms and the public at large. The government is encouraged to take immediate actions and steps to curb this gigantic problem and the Minister of Home Affairs is urged to pay attention to Dr. Tara Singh’s suggestions. This matter is past nipping in the bud and is deeply rooted in the heart of Guyana and seeded in each home. Guyanese are urged, “If you see, hear or know something, say or do something.” It is your life may be at stake. Yours truly, Jai Lall
It will take some time before the impact ... From page 5 contextualizing the UN SG’s Mandela Foundation speech fired a tweet stating: ‘“Here in Guyana, the dual C-19 and political crises must open way for a new social contract based on inclusion and cooperation.” ( SN 20.7.20)Placed in the Guyanese context, the UN Res. Rep’s recognition of the dual nature of the pandemic’s impact
coupled with exigencies of an unstable democracy is instructive. It is a call for action.Very few Guyanese need to be convinced that the call for ‘a new social contract based on inclusion and cooperation’ is an option for the way forward. The big question is, who will take the lead and see it through to the end? Yours truly, Clement J. Rohee
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday November 25, 2020
NY-bound Guyanese woman busted at CJIA with coke stashed in book, make-up
The items in which the suspected cocaine were found.
Ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotic Units (CANU), on Monday, busted a woman at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with close to two kilograms of suspected cocaine. The coke was found stashed in a book and makeup. She was held just before she boarded a New York flight. The woman, Tommy Ann Bunbury, 42, a Surinamebased Guyanese, was scheduled to board a plane heading to the John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport that evening. The ranks, according to a CANU press release, searched her before she boarded the Eastern Airlines flight and found the illegal drug. CANU stated that it was hidden in a book, her makeup, personal hygiene items and office stationeries. It was detailed that an officer was tasked with searching the woman’s suitcase and a handbag she was carrying at the time. Inside her handbag, the suspected cocaine was discovered neatly concealed in her nail polish covers, a hardcover book, deodorants, mascara and permanent markers. She was immediately detained and taken into custody. Bunbury told investigators that she is a mother of seven children and is originally from Plaisance on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) but currently resides in Paramaribo, Suriname. Bunbury further stated to the investigating ranks that she is a food vender and only returns to Guyana periodically to fulfill her immigration obligations. CANU, in its press release, revealed that Bunbury had travelled from Suriname to Guyana on Saturday to board Monday’s flight to New York.
The suspected coke secreted in the book.
Arrested: Tommy Ann Bunbury.
Wednesday November 25, 2020
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Kaieteur News
The Prison Service is part of the problem The problems within our local prisons cannot be solved by the Prison Service. The Prison Service has become part of the problem and therefore cannot be expected to be part of the solution. There is rampant corruption within the Guyana Prison Service. The paraphernalia found in the prisons is an indictment against the Prison Service. Rackets are being run out of the prisons and prison officers are complicit in some of these schemes. One of these schemes involves selling phone credit to prisoners. If you have a relative in the prison and you want to talk to them, all you have to do is to send the credit to a number which is believed to be held by a prison officer and that credit is going to be transferred to the prisoner. On almost every raid conducted in the prison, cellular phones are seized. How were these phones smuggled into the prison and how are the prisoners, who are supposed to be manned, able to charge their phone batteries if there are no electrical outlets in their cells? The Prison Service is being run as a supermarket for prisoners. There is nothing which a prisoner wants which he cannot have so long as he or she has the money. Videos have surfaced of prisoners imbibing expensive vodka in the prisons. Prison officers have been caught taking narcotics and other prohibited substances into the prison. Just this month, a prison officer was accused of being in possession of marijuana, and it is believed it was for trafficking within the prisons.
Many years ago, there was a story about a prison officer at the Mazaruni Prisons who had a poultry farm and prisoners, it is said, were doing work on that farm. These sorts of allegations are often not investigated because they originate from prisoners for whom people have little respect. At present the Prisons are unstable. There is tremendous overcrowding, particularly in remand facilities. And there are insufficient prison guards to deal with the problem. Prisoners are kept in inhumane conditions. If there is any international inspection of our local prisons, there is going to be a recommendation for the closure of most of the prisons. In some prisons, three and four prisoners are crowded into a small space. Their cells are used not just for sleeping but for hanging their clothes. These cells are dirty and dark and ill-ventilated. But the greatest threat is security. It is ironic that the APNU+AFC has tabled a motion in the National Assembly calling for a Commission of Inquiry into the recent shooting to death of two prisoners at Lusignan. But when in office, 18 prisoners died during an inferno at the Camp Street Prisons which was later burnt to the ground, along with the Prison Officers sports club across the road. One day, not long afterwards prisoners took command of the prisons. It should therefore by now be clear to the Minister of Home Affairs that the Prison Service cannot be part of the solution to the problem of our prisons. In many coun-
tries, the services provided by prison guards are privatized. This should be done immediately. The management of the prisons should be privatized. But there are reforms which are needed, including legal reforms. One suggestion which was made recently was for the use of electric ankle bracelets, called electronic aging, as part of alternative sentencing. The argument is that instead of remanding someone to prison, they could be asked to wear a bracelet which would allow them to be traced if they decided to not turn up to court. The difficulty with this solution is that it is costly. It may be far cheaper for someone to post bail than to afford the cost of the bracelet. But it is an option in drug trafficking cases for example where trial could take months or even years while the accused has to be remanded for fear of skipping bail. It is a solution for certain types of offenses. Ultimately, there will have to be prison reforms in order to stem the corruption within the prison system. Legislation should be passed allowing for prisoners a certain amount of phone hours every week. Persons on remand should be allowed to have their own phones since they are not convicted. Also, prisoners should be allowed certain privileges related to drink. At least every month, each prisoner should be allowed a quota of cigarettes and alcohol. This will put some of the illegal traders out of business. In the final analysis, however, the problem is one of
Dem boys seh ...
Slack change is like condensed milk De government gat de people weh dem want dem. Deh gat de people running behind dem like junkie running behind a man fuh a $100. Is no different with de government. Dem gat de people running behind dem fuh a $25,000 COVID-relief and a $4,000 school uniform voucher which cannot even buy a proper sneakers. School closed and dem sharing out uniform voucher. Dem might share de $15,000 school voucher fuh Christmas and call it bonus seeing dat we deh pum emergency Budget.
But is suh how de government want gat de people. It gan distract them from wah tekking place with de oil blocks. De people getting excited over money distribution while dem foreign company fetching away de oil wealth and some middle men become billionaire overnight. De government operating like a professional pickpocket wah pick yuh wallet and then turn around and hand yuh some of yuh own money fuh spend. And dem gat you believing dat is dem money wah dem sharing to you. De government sign away
de country oil wealth and den turn around and give you back some slack change suh blindside yuh. And de slack change like condensed milk. It sweetening some people. A man bin sing a song about everybody peeping. He did seh dem peeping even with helicopter. Well, Guyana move from de peeping to de flipping. Is sheer land flipping and oil-block flipping tekkin place. And all de time de slipping people getting flapping robbing. Talk half and wait and see wah next thing gan flip!
numbers. If the size of the prison population becomes more manageable, the prisons will be more stable and less corrupt.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
PAGE 10
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
For me, Dr. Vincent Adams is no democrat Dr. Ivelaw Griffith, the former Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Guyana, was two years my junior as a UG student. After he graduated, he left Guyana. Dr. Griffith stayed out a long, long time. During his absence, some of us, like Griffith, went abroad to study and returned. I can think of Dr. Patrick Williams, Dr. Mark Kirton and many others from our class of 74. Combined I think myself, Kirton, and Williams gave UG more than 100 years of service. On returning to Guyana to
be VC, Griffith gave an interview with the Stabroek News in which he spoke of his experience of living abroad for more than 36 years. On his return to Guyana in 2016, the next year, he was given the CCH award while on the same list Dr. Kirton got AA and Adam Harris got AA. I did a column rejecting the gross indecency of the APNU+AFC government. If it wanted to give Griffith the CCH that was nobody’s business but to give an honour below CCH to Harris and Dr. Kirton in the same year was tantamount to the worst form
of asininity I have seen from colonial days right up to that year of award. See my article of Saturday, June 3, 2017, “Politicians in all countries use national awards as patronage.” The service to Guyana by Harris and Dr. Kirton will never ever be matched by Griffith. Now don’t get me wrong. My beef was not with what Griffith got but the patent idiocy of the APNU+AFC mandarins to give Harris and Dr. Kirton an award below that of CCH and yet give another person that hardly served a higher acco-
lade. A quick word of how life can never ever be predicted. In those 36 years that Griffith was out of the jurisdiction, I have been in Guyana working both with Harris and Dr. Kirton. One in the sphere of journalism and the other in the field of academia. I would never have believed that they would embrace what happened from March to August this year. But will we ever know people? Now let’s expose the hypocrisy of Dr. Vincent Adams. He is reported in a section of the press as saying, “I came from the alleys of Christiansburg and everything I am, I got from there.” My job as a social commentator and academic is to study Guyana. Prior to his return home in 2017, I never heard of the contribution of someone named Dr. Vincent Adams. I know there is a famous son from Christiansburg, Aubrey Norton who never left Guyana. I hope Dr. Adams correct me if I am wrong but the facts I have is that he came back in 2017 after retirement in the US at the age of 70. I remembered having fish and chips with him and Michael Carrington, both of the AFC, at DCC and those were the facts I gathered from the conversation. I stand cor-
rected. On a more ideological level, I do not see Vincent Adams as a democrat given his status as one of the leaders of the two parties that ran Guyana for five years and two months. From all the facts I have secured about the AFC’s authoritarian structure, Dr. Adams was no democratic radical, no democratic maverick. On the contrary, his role in the renegotiation of the Cummingsburg Accord placed him in the camp of those AFC monarchs who ran the AFC as a fiefdom. Dr. Adams was one of the AFC’s negotiators in the renewal of the Cummingsburg Accord. The AFC executives were never given the opportunity to endorse the final document. At the AFC’s executive meeting in December 2019 before the March 2020 election, the executives were given the proposed amendments to the covenant to look at on a screen. The General Secretary, David Patterson, operated the projector in such a way the executives could hardly see the points because they moved so quickly. An art of working a projector that Clairmont Mingo learnt from Patterson when Mingo did the same at GECOM head office with the
Frederick Kissoon Region Four statements of poll. The renewed Cummingsburg Accord was never made public. The PNC and AFC never revealed to their respective party executives what was inside those pages. Ramjattan and Harmon told the press that sections of the covenant have to remain secret. Finally, Dr. Adams told the press that given how he was fired, “If this is the way the country will be led, then we have a long way to go.” Dr. Adams should tell Guyanese if Guyana could have gone in any good way given the way he and others ran the AFC as a party and the Guyana Government. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
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PAGE 12
Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Services of Lands and Survey head, Trevor Benn, terminated The contract of the Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GSLC), Trevor Benn, has been terminated following a 42-day leave-of-absence in September. His termination will be effective from February 4th, 2021. When Benn was sent on his immediate leave, he was asked to prepare a document of all matters pending or in progress for President Irfaan Ali. In the letter that was penned by the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Office of the President, Abena Moore, it had been requested that the GLSC commissioner prepare a handover/ takeover statement to be given to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acting, Enriqe Monize. Notably, shortly after the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) had assumed office in August, President Ali had stripped the Commissioner of critical powers vested to him. This move, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, had said, was intended to prevent the Commission from further sanctioning the renting and granting of leases, licences and permission of occupancy of all government lands. Following the publication of the Official Gazette limiting the powers of the commissioner, AG Nandlall had announced that the government will be conducting a review of all
Fired: Trevor Benn the leases, licences and permissions to occupy Public Lands granted by the Commission following the December 2, 2018 No Confidence Vote. The AG argued that the APNU+AFC Government was reduced to a caretaker status following vote and hence was not authorized to issue documents related to land distribution. The Coalition was accused of significant wrongdoings by the PPP/C while the country was under a caretaker mode, pending the outcome of elections.
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
PAGE 13
Cabinet to review bill to remove jail time for small quantities of “ganja” - AG The Cabinet is expected to review a draft bill, which seeks to remove custodial sentences for persons caught with small quantities of ‘ganja.’ This is according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall. A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence, which suspends someone’s liberty and entails spending time in prison. Custodial sentences are usually handed down after someone is found guilty for serious offences. Kaieteur News had reported that the General Secretary of the Guyana Rastafarian Council, Khafra Messdjehuti, had called on the previous government to decriminalize the use of small quantities of marijuana. On Monday, during a press briefing which was held at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown, Minister Nandlall revealed that the People’s Progressive
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall. Party/Civic (PPP/C), is committed to remove custodial sentences for small quantities of marijuana and that the Cabinet is now deliberating on the quantity of marijuana that will attract sentencing. According to the Attorney General, the Cabinet will be guided by statistics and is
seeking guidance from similar legislative measures already implemented in the Caribbean. “I would not want to preempt Cabinet’s deliberation, but all these factors are currently being taken into account,” the Minister stated. The Minister stated that it is the government’s view to move custodial sentences to reduce the prison population. The Minister stated that he has already consulted the Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, for information on the number of inmates incarcerated for possession of marijuana. The information has since been passed to Cabinet and it is under review. Nandlall explained: “It does not mean that it will not constitute an offence; it will still remain a criminal offence but it will not carry custodial sentence as a penalty and that is what I understand we promised in our manifesto.”
The Cabinet is expected to review a draft bill, which seeks to remove custodial sentences for persons caught with small quantities of ‘ganja.’
PAGE 14
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
James Bond arrested in Peter’s Hall land giveaway probe S
enior People’s Na tional Congress Re form (PNCR) member and attorney-at-law, James Bond, was yesterday arrested as investigators continue their probe into the large-scale giveaway of prime state lands at Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, confirmed Bond’s arrest. Bond was fingered by two businessmen embroiled in the scandal – Life 1 Pharms Inc. Director, Avalon Jagnandan; and Director of A-Z Pharmaceuticals Medical Supplies and Equipment Inc., Eddie Doolal; as being the mastermind behind identical land deals which saw 30 acres of land being transferred to Chinese national, Jainfen Yu, in deals which saw the state being robbed of tens of millions of dollars. Bond was a prominent face for the Coalition in the
recent elections fiasco, which saw President Irfaan Ali being forced to wait five months before being sworn in. This was because the David Granger-led Coalition was challenging the results, leading to several court cases and a recount of the March 2 election results. Bond posted on his private Facebook account that he was being taken into custody at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters at Eve Leary. “I’ve been taken into police custody for questioning at CID Headquarters. I’ve been asked to take a lie detector test surrounding the allegations made against me by Mr. Eddie Doolal and Mr. Avalon Jagnandan. I am currently cooperating with the police,” Bond posted. Shortly after, he issued another Facebook post saying: “I’m still in police custody and am being kept for 72
Arrested: James Bond
Wanted: Jermaine Richmond
hrs. at Brickdam Police Station.” He said: “I will not request bail, because I have nothing to hide… I am ready and will-
A-Z Pharmaceuticals Medical Supplies and Equipment Inc. Director, Eddie Doolal ing to do a lie detector test to prove my innocence, but I am still to be provided with the opportunity to do so.” However, according to the police, at no point was Bond asked to take a lie detector test. In a statement, the Guyana Police Force clarified: “Mr. Bond is in custody; but at no time was Mr. Bond asked to submit to a polygraph test or as described by the post, a lie detector test. Further, the Force has no intention to make any such request.” While in police custody, Doolal and Jagnandan reportedly told police that not only was PNCR senior member the brains behind the operations, he also received a hefty payoff from both deals, amounting to more than $100 million. Jagnandan and Doolal both leased from the stateowned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), 15 acres of land situated at Plantation Peter ’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. Kaieteur News discov-
Life 1 Pharms Inc. Director, Avalon Jagnandan
ered that both land deals carried glaring similarities. Both companies were registered on March 1, 2017 and the lease agreement details for both companies were also identical – both agreed to pay US$11,700 plus tax in lease fees annually for a 20-year period; both received 15 acres in total and both agreements were signed on the same day - May 17, 2018. Not only that, this paper also discovered that both companies transferred its lands to Yu, on the same day – January 28, 2020 and for the same price of G$100. Those details would align with what was reportedly told to investigators by the businessmen. Both businessmen relayed to police that it was Bond who encouraged them to start up companies and apply to NICIL to acquire lands. Later on, Bond was said to have played a hand in the NICIL transaction and penned lease agreements for the businessmen. Bond was said to also have encouraged
the men to transfer the state lands at a price. Bond reportedly also found the buyer, Jianfen Yu, whose address is listed as 43 Wellington Street, Georgetown. Instead of the businessmen receiving the funds from the sale, sources said that it was Bond who demanded to receive 50% of the payment for the land and both businessmen reportedly handed Bond close to $100 million. However, that was not the only land deal that Bond also allegedly benefited from. Kaieteur News would have reported that Bond received a US$1 million payment from Trinidad logistics company, Lennox Petroleum, for the sale of 10 acres of land leased to ARKEN Group Inc. In that deal, ARKEN and its principal, Jermaine Richmond, leased from NICIL 20.8 acres of land at Peter’s Hall on May 9, 2018 for a 20-year period at US$16,224 per year. ARKEN later sold the 10 acres to local logistics company GLASS Holdings Inc. on (Continued on page 27)
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
Man dies after mishap with truck during EBD three-lane traffic
A still of a video showing the man after he was first hit by the truck along the Agricola Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on Monday. It appears as if a man was not aware that the three-lane traffic along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) Public Road was open on Monday morning. He walked right into the path of a truck. The fatal accident, according to police, took place around 07:10 hrs. along the eastern carriageway of the Agricola Public Road. A video seen by this publication showed the man crossing the road from the western
carriageway. He stood for a while on top of one of concrete medians looking towards the northern direction, waiting for the road to clear. Without looking south, he decided to walk over quickly but ended up walking into his death. A truck, which was heading north using the western lane on the eastern carriageway, struck him down. It ran over parts of his (Continued on page 27)
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Traffic lights to include sound signals for visually impaired The Government is taking steps to improve traffic lights at major intersections by implementing sound/acoustic signals to ensure safer road usage for persons who are visually impaired. Minister of Public Works, Bishop Edghill, made this disclosure during the launch of National Road Safety Week 2020 on Monday. Persons who are visually impaired, the Minister said, “are also users of the roadway, and they should not be taken advantage of nor should they be injured…We are working assiduously, especially at the major
intersections to put in special sounds so that the visually impaired will know it’s time to cross on the pedestrian crossing.” Some research and pricing of the technology to ensure delivery of this safety option have already begun. Minister Edghill also said that theft of traffic light equipment has been a major challenge in the city. “We have to look at ways and means of how we install these panels with a greater security mechanism to ensure that they can (Continued on page 27)
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
PAGE 17
Berbice records another COVID-19 death Guyana has recorded 35 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total confirmed cases to 5,189 as of November 24, 2020. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the total number of deaths due to the virus stands at 147. The latest fatality is that of an 87-year-old male from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) who died while receiving care at a medical facility.
Of the new cases recorded —-Region 10 has 15 new cases; Region Six- 9 cases while Region Four has 8. Regions One, Three and Seven each has one. Meanwhile, 36 persons are now in institutional quarantine; 72 in institutional isolation and 766 in home isolation. Seven persons are currently in the COVID19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while 4,204 persons have been recovered from the virus.
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
Metro donates 4,000 masks
Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, who is performing the functions of President, yesterday afternoon received a donation of 4,000 face masks from Metro Office and Computer Supplies. The masks were handed over to the PM, during a simple ceremony in the boardroom at his office. The PM, who has been consistently calling for the public to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines, said that he was grateful to have received the donation from the company and will ensure that the masks are utilised by persons who are in need. “We’re indeed grateful and we will ensure that the masks reach where they are needed. The people of Guyana will use these masks in our effort to curb the
spread of COVID-19.” Representative of Metro, Niande Mckenzie, said corporate social responsibility is among the company’s core values and they are happy to assist and to play a role in the fight against COVID-19. “We donated these 4,000 masks to ensure that it reaches the length and breadth of Guyana to ensure that all Guyanese can benefit… we can never back down from corporate social responsibility. We ensure that in whatever way we can, whether it be donations monetarily or non-monetarily, that we continue to ramp up the fight of corporate social responsibility in every aspect of our business.” (Office of the Prime Minister)
PAGE 25
Prime Minister Mark Phillips, performing the duties of the President, receiving the facemasks from representatives of Metro Office and Computer Supplies yesterday.
15-year-old shot to head…
Best friend granted bail as mom lays son to rest
Died: Rockey Sawh As a mother laid her 15year-old son to rest, his best friend,16, who allegedly accidently shot him to head, is out on bail. Police said yesterday that the juvenile accused of shooting Rockey Sawh, 15, has been released on $100,000, bail as investigations continue. Meanwhile, on Sunday, family members and friends of Sawh said their final goodbyes as they attended his funeral service. Those who could not make it to service, expressed their condolences and paid tributes to him through Facebook posts filled with mixed emotions. At the end of his funeral, his mother posted a childhood photo of Sawh with these words: “The bond that my son and I had was special. We were so close. The amount of pictures we have together. He was only 15. To see him like this yesterday, a coffin. Knowing that I won’t be able to see him anymore, hold him, hug him, kiss him or cook for him only makes this pain worse!!!” She also called for answers to her questions sur-
Mom, Amrita Panday with her son, Rockey, in happier times.
rounding his tragic demise. “We want answers. This can’t go down so easily. We want them to come forward with the truth so I can get peace as a mother. I lost my son, my baby. He was my anchor and hope.” She further stated that “anybody that reads his story are left with questions with how this happened. I’m his mom and I don’t have the answers and this pain in my stomach won’t leave because I buried my son with no answers.” Sawh was shot to the head on Tuesday last during a sleep over at his friend’s house in Sandy Babb Street, Kitty. According to police, it was accidental. Sawh’s friend found his dad’s licensed firearm and allegedly pointed it at his friend and accidently pulled the trigger. Sawh was struck and he fell to the ground.He died the following day while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).Sawh’s family, however, are still in dark with regards to what really transpired there that night.
Nearly $190M in COVID-19 cash grants distributed in Region 9
T
he Government has successfully dis tributed COVID-19 relief cash grants totalling some $190M to households in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine), to cushion the economic burden of the pandemic. Minister of Local Gov-
ernment and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, made this disclosure during a series of community engagements in the Amerindian villages of Region Nine.Speaking with DPI,
the Minister said: “The cash grant has served as an economic impetus. We have seen how the shops have become abuzz. We have seen how the stores of Lethem are [busy] with people. That is because resources
have now come back to the Rupununi.” Minister Dharamlall said the grant, which has been shared across the five districts of the Rupununi, is even more significant for the Region because it, “did not see any type of investment in the last five years of the last Government.”
Distribution is currently underway in Region Five, after which Region Four residents are set to benefit. The cash grant was first announced by President Irfaan Ali in September. It numbered among a
range of COVID-19 relief measures designed to stimulate economic growth, put Guyanese back to work and to remove the heavy tax burdens implemented by the previous administration.
James Bond arrested... From page 14 October 10, 2019 for $200M. Kaieteur News was informed that Richmond is or was at some point employed by James Bond. A wanted bulletin has so far been issued for his arrest. Like the other deals, instead of the principals of the companies receiving the payment, it was Bond who allegedly pocketed the funds. Documents received by Kaieteur News showed that the monies were sent directly to a local bank account with Bond’s name as the receiver. Under normal NICIL agreements, sugar lands are sold and not leased, as was the case in Ogle, East Coast Demerara. The lands at Peter’s Hall are considered to be very prime lands, valued at hundreds of millions of
dollars.Kaieteur News reached out to various executive members from the PNCR to comment to Bond’s arrest. The party’s Chair, Volda Lawrence, referred the reporter to General Secretary, Amna Ally. When Kaieteur News made contact with Ally, she stated: “I will not comment.” Later on, Opposition leader, Joseph Harmon, issued a statement deeming Bond’s arrest “a bad practice” by the force. According to Harmon, if there is clear evidence that a crime was committed, the police must be allowed to conduct their investigations. However, he posited, “I believe what is happening before us is the clear directions given by this government to the police to harass professionals.”
Man dies after mishap... From page 15 body before coming to a halt. The man lay motionless, sprawled and face down. He was subsequently picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). He died around 07:30 hrs. yesterday. A police report stated that he was being treated for multiple head in-
juries, broken legs and internal bleeding. His body is currently lying at the morgue waiting to be identified, while the truck driver has since been detained. The three-lane system was implemented to assist with the constant traffic chaos along the East Bank public road during peak hours.
Traffic lights to include... From page 16 remain at all times so we can have these signals up and running,” he said. The Ministry of Public Works will be partnering with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana National Road
Safety Council to ensure effective security for the im proved traffic lights.Additionally, Minister Edghill has conducted a major inspection of pavements in the main thorou ghfares of
Georgetown to ensure safer road usage. (DPI)
PAGE 28
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
School vouchers distribution taken to Region 10 Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand yesterday visited the One Mile Primary, One Mile Nursery and the Mackenzie High Schools in Region 10 to distribute the school uniform and supplies voucher to parents in the region. During her visits, Minister Manickchand said that the Ministry of Education and the Government of Guyana are very cognizant that parents are worried about their children’s education particularly due to COVID-19. She told parents that the Region has received $45M worth of school uniform and supplies vouchers which
translates into approximately 11,250 students benefiting from this financial assistance to purchase items they need for their academic progression. She told parents that the voucher will help them to buy school items for their children and ease the expenses parents have relating to their child’s education. She added that in 2021, the Government of Guyana will restart the ‘Because We Care Cash Grant’ programme. She said that the programme was started in 2014 with $10, 000 per child and was intended to grow until it reaches $50, 000.
However, that programme was stopped. “It was abandoned and nothing replaced it, but we’re starting it back next year and each child will get $15, 000,” Minister Manickchand remarked. Addressing the issue of the re-opening of schools, Minister Manickchand said that studies have shown that the longer students are out of school the more likely they will suffer from learning loss or dropout from school altogether. She said that based on data, a considerable percentage of students in the region have not been engaged online since schools were
Minister of Education Priya Manickchand handing over a voucher to a parent and student while at the Mackenzie High School, in the company of regional officials closed. Minister Manickchand explained that teachers have used various modalities to ensure their students are engaged including Zoom, Google Classrooms, WhatsApp and even Facebook. She said that these methods had challenges since not every household has access to internet and while some may have, their connection is not strong enough. Adding to these difficulties, each student does not have the necessary devices to participate in online learning. Further, the Education Minister explained that the Ministry is trying to reach as many children as possible through television on the Guyana Learning Channel which has been dedicated completely to timetabled learning that teaches what students should learn if they
were in school at this time under normal circumstances. She said that efforts are being made to expand the Guyana Learning Channel to broadcast on six frequencies so that longer hours can be dedicated to each grade of students. It presently broadcasts on one channel. Minister Manickchand added that the Ministry is also using the radio to reach its students. Minister Manickchand also noted that worksheets were written, printed and distributed for each child across Guyana’s public school system. Over the weekend, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips visited the Kwakwani Waterfront Nursery School and the Kwakwani Primary School in the Region where he also distributed the school uniform and supplies vouchers in the community.
During his visit, the Prime Minister said that not only has the Government restarted the distribution of the uniform vouchers, but it has doubled its value by 100%, taking it from $2000 to $4000. He added that from January 1, 2021, parents across Guyana will receive a grant of $15,000 for each child in school. He said, “We are happy now that we’re in office again so that we can continue this initiative, but more than that, we have decided to increase the money available by 100% and that is from an emergency budget”. Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Anand Persaud visited the community of Ituni on Saturday where he also distributed vouchers to parents. (Ministry of Education)
Albion man charged yet again, busted with ganja A 39-year-old man was sentenced to three years imprisonment for possession of 20 grams of cannabis. Khemraj Ramlall, unemployed, of Doctor Bush, Albion, Corentyne, Berbice was on Sunday November 22, arrested and charged on with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking - 20 grams of cannabis. He appeared at the Albion Magistrates Court before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh, where he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison. Based on reports, the police executed a search on Ramlall’s home and found the drugs. He had been previously charged with a similar offence and fined. There is also an ongoing matter with him before Magistrate Renita Singh.
Jailed: Khemraj Ramlall
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
Authorities push for more plea-bargaining - UG trained prosecutors will take lead in magistrates’ courts; police to assist Negotiations are ongoing between the Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) programme and the University of Guyana (UG) to start the one-year accredited prosecutorial training programme for law graduates and police prosecutors. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, made these statements at a press briefing Monday at the Umana Yana. The SCJS is currently procuring the services of a consultant, who will be tasked with crafting a syllabus and coordinating the programme, he said. On completion of this process, it is anticipated that the first semester of the programme will start by year-end. Minister Nandlall said the response by Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees holders has been remarkable. “We have, already, enough persons who have expressed an interest, to staff each magistrate’s court in the country with a prosecutor …” Once a corps of properly trained prosecutors is in place, all avenues of the law about alternative sentencing will be explored. This will result in a vast reduction of custodial sentencing for non-violent offenders. “We also believe that a
Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall properly trained prosecutor will be able to take advantage of devices that are currently in the law, for instance, pleabargaining, which is highly under-utilized… The criminal justice system can be saved months of work and millions of dollars of resources if pleabargaining arrangements can be struck, obviating the need for prolonged and protracted trials,” Minister Nandlall noted. Nevertheless, he said the programme would not phase out the Guyana Police Force
(GPF) prosecution but enhance it. “You still need the police because they understand the force. They will be assisting the principal prosecutor, who will be the one with the Bachelor of Laws degree. They will be responsible with getting the evidence from the Police and so on and so, I believe that a combination of the two would work well.” While acknowledging the work of the GPF, the Minister said they are not knowledgeable about all the facets available in the current criminal law to take advantage of the law relating to alternative sentencing. Once that programme is up and running, he expects that it will transform the prosecutorial landscape of Guyana. The programme is a major component of the Criminal Justice System programme, which is funded by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) aimed at strengthening Guyana’s prosecutorial services. (DPI)
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Return of fans brings new set of headaches for clubs
General view inside the Turf Moor, Burnley stadium before the match Burnley v Crystal Palace. (Pool via REUTERS/Martin Rickett)
Wednesday November 25, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you, Aries. The problem with the energy today is that there may be some sticks and stones tossed in your direction. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Emotionally, things might get rather tense for you as others tend to demonstrate a selfish attitude, Taurus. Selfishness doesn't always have to be considered a negative. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You might be stirred by the energy present in the air today, Gemini. Put on your armor and get ready to do battle. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Move in for the touchdown today, Cancer, and don't stop until you succeed. Don't let other people's insecurities become yours. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Now is the perfect time to say something to someone that you've been meaning to say for quite some time, Leo. Get it out in the open. VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Your opinions might be the topic of conversation all day, Virgo. You have a very strong will and you aren't afraid to express it. Today you will get that chance. Feel free to enlighten others with your tremendous wealth of knowledge.
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Kaieteur News
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your sensitive heart may be sparked by anger today, Libra. Don't be afraid of hurting other people's feelings. You'd be doing yourself and others a disservice by not revealing the true scope of your emotions. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You might feel a great deal of physical power on a day like today, Scorpio. If someone asks you to come help move a couch, you're likely to be able to pick
up the whole thing by yourself. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) A charismatic person might contact you today and want your help with something. Emotional issues regarding family might have you feeling gloomy. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Worries about relatives or fri ends could plague you throughout the day, Capricorn. Perhaps you aren't sure what's wrong and so you feel helpless.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Small group functions and social events might not prove as satisfying as usual today, Aquarius. You may not be in the mood. You might feel pressured to mingle when you'd
rather sit on the couch. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Pride might get in your way today, Pisces. Perhaps you will be asked to do a task that you consider beneath you. Perhaps the people around you are feeling persnickety.
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Fans can return to English football stadiums next week, ending an eight month absence due to COVID restrictions, but while the government’s decision to open the turnstiles has been welcomed it also presents a series of new headaches for clubs. The first hurdle clubs must clear will come tomorrow when the government announces which tiers of restrictions given regions in England will be placed in. Clubs which fall into tier three areas, which contains the strictest restrictions, will still not be allowed to let any fans into their grounds. Only those in the lowest risk, tier one, region will be allowed to have the maximum of 4,000 fans while the middleranked tier 2 areas will be restricted to up to 2,000 fans. “So some clubs will have fans backing them in home fixtures and others will have empty stadiums with no fans! Unfair competition or not?” asked former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, who is co-owner of League Two (fourth division) Salford City.Even those clubs that are allowed to have fans in stadiums from Wednesday Dec. 2, will need to have ensured that local safety advisory groups have been consulted and given the go ahead.Clubs
would also have to bring stadium staff, including safety officers, some of whom may have been furloughed, legally back to work in time for the games.Oxford United, who play in League One, English football’s third division, expect to be in tier two, meaning they could have 2,000 fans in their 12,500 capacity Kassam Stadium. But club managing director Niall McWilliams said that might not be possible right away.“A few weeks ago we submitted plans for a trial game with 1,000 fans allowed in the ground and it may be that we have to be patient just a little longer and trial it with that plan and then step up to a larger number for the next game and hopefully keep building from there,” he told the club’s website. Then there is the thorny issue for clubs of who will be the lucky fans who will be allowed to attend games and which loyal season-ticket holders will still be kept out and stuck at home? Clubs will be wary of the potential for a backlash if they give priority to high-paying corporate customers and the danger of long-term supporters feeling snubbed. Premier League club Chelsea said they were working on plans to “accommodate as many fans as possible, as fairly as possible”.
Tony Stewart, chairman of Championship club Rotherham United, said: “We’ll have to create some form of lottery and prioritise our long-time season-ticket holders, that’s what we’re looking at now.” As soon as the tiers are confirmed, clubs will have to quickly begin making plans and EFL chairman Rick Parry suggested they might not be as ready as may have been expected. “We weren’t really expecting anything before Christmas. There’s a lot of work to do quite quickly and it’s really important that we get this right. It’s not a case of rushing into this and tripping over. It’s a case of being measured, getting it right,” he said.
Shastri backs India’s ... From page 40 the Second World War. “We are going through the drills of staying mentally tough and approaching the series by taking one step at a time.”India, who are undergoing a two-week quarantine in Sydney, are hoping senior batsman Rohit Sharma and Ishant will be able to join them for the Tests. Rohit, who led Mumbai Indians to their fifth Indian Premier League title on November 10, has a hamstring injury and will miss the limited-overs matches which start on November 27 with the first of three one-day internationals. Shastri said that if the pair were not able to board a flight within a few days then the strict 14-day quarantine rules would “make it difficult for them to play the first Test”. Kohli will lead the side in three ODIs, three Twenty20s and the opening Test — a day-night game in Adelaide — before taking on paternity leave and returning home.
Best-case scenario.. From page 36 Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga later on Tuesday to discuss a domestic travel promotion campaign introduced by the government earlier this year to try to stimulate local economies hit by the near-complete absence of foreign tourism amid the pandemic.“It is clear that the movement of people is having an impact on the increase in cases,” Koike said. “It is necessary to look at what kind of restrictions on the movement of people might be needed.”The Japanese government is preparing to pause the travel campaign in Osaka and Sapporo following sharp rises in COVID-19 cases, the minister handling the government’s coronavirus response said on Tuesday.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Four teams advance in Demerara Zone
GCB/ Tropical Spring T20 O-40 Cricket
No matches played in B’ce zone where W/B’ce & Jai Hind remain unbeaten
By Sean Devers Regal Masters, RP Construction and West Demerara Mavericks won their matches in the third round of the GCB/ Tropical Spring T20 O-40 Cricket league yesterday, while Sand Pippers got a Walk-over from KV Construction Masters who have withdrawn from the 16-team tournament which includes teams from Berbice and Essequibo. At Everest, in overcast conditions with a slight drizzle for most of the game, Regal Masters defeated Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec by four wickets. The Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec batsmen struggled to get the ball away on slow outfield caused by two days of torrential rain in the City before reaching 73-8 off their allotted 20 overs on a sluggish
Roy Persaud led Regal Masters to victory at Everest yesterday.
track before Regal Masters romped to victory by reaching 74-6 with 4.4 overs to spare. Chandrika Jeenarine top scored with an unbeaten 16 with his only boundary coming off the final ball of the innings when he was drooped on the long-on boundary. However, Dexter Jones 13 and Nirmadeo Sarwan 10, were the only other batsmen to reach double figures. When Regal Masters began their chase, opener Anthony Ifill wasted a good start of 15 but 21 from Roy Persaud and 12 from Ejaz Mohammed was enough to see Regal Masters home despite two wickets from medium pacer Shawn Massiah. As the sun came out in all
its glory for the second game, KV Construction Masters, who has pulled out of the Competition after their washed out opening game Everest, conceded a walk over to Sand Pippers Masters after giving West Demerara a walk over at Enmore in the second round. At Enmore, under overcast skies, West Demerara Mavericks beat West Demerara Masters by six runs in a game reduced to 17 overs due to a delayed start. West Dem Mavericks made 106-4 with Lalta Suknanan, who stroked his way to an unbeaten 40 and opener Mahendra Balgobin, with 30, adding 39 for the second wicket before Balgobin was bowled.
Chandrika Jeenarine (left) top scored for Bel Air Rubis Ultra Tec against Regal Masters at Everest yesterday.
Diamond League announces calendar for 2021 season (Reuters) - The Diamond League yesterday released its provisional calendar for the 2021 season, which will consist of 14 athletics meetings beginning in Rabat in May and ending in Zurich in September. Doha will stage a meeting on May 28 after which Rome will host the first European event of the season on June 4, with Oslo hosting a week later. Meetings in Stockholm, Monaco and London are scheduled for the first two weeks of July. After a one-month break for the rearranged Tokyo
Olympics, action will resume in Shanghai on Aug. 14. Eugene will host its first Diamond League meeting on Aug. 21, with China to hold its second event of the season the following day. The final leg will take place in Europe with meetings in Lausanne, Paris and Brussels before the season finale in Zurich from Sept. 8-9. The calendar remains provisional and is subject to changes depending on the global health situation, the Diamond League said. The 2020 calendar was hit hard by the COVID-19 pan-
demic, with several events cancelled and others rescheduled. 2021 Diamond League calendar: Rabat - May 23 Doha - May 28 Rome - June 4 Oslo - June 10 Stockholm - July 4 Monaco - July 9 London - July 13 Shanghai - Aug. 14 Eugene - Aug. 21 China - Aug. 22 Lausanne - Aug. 26 Paris - Aug. 28 Brussels - Sept. 3 Zurich - Sept. 8-9
In an exciting finish which went ‘down to the wire’ West Masters got to 100-4 off the last ball of the encounter as Elroy Fredericks 17 and Ramesh Thakur 32 shared in 26-run opening stand in an eventual losing cause despite an undefeated 25 from Khemraj Ramdeen. In the afternoon game at the East Coast Demerara First-Class venue, Everest Masters lost to RP Construction by 10 runs. RP Construction won the toss and elected to bat led by
a 30-run opening stand from Remlall Jailall 27 and Vishal Persaud 10 and a third wicket partnership between Parmanand Dindyal unbeaten on 36 and Latchman Yadram 17, reached 110-6 when their overs expired. Everest Masters, in reply made 100-9 when their 20 overs expired after Stanford T20 player Sahaid Mohammed 23 and former Essequibo Inter County player Sahadeo Hardaiow 18 had given their team a 32-run opening stand, but once
Hardaiow was removed by Dindyal in the fifth over, only Basil Persaud 16 of the remaining batsmen reached double figures as Seemangal Yadram had 3-7 got support from Dindyal who captured 215.No matches were played in the Berbice zone yesterday where Berbice teams West Berbice and Jai Hind Legends have played unbeaten so far, while the Essequibo Zone has not commenced as yet. After a break today the fourth round of matches are scheduled for tomorrow.
Ross Taylor says 2023 ODI World Cup ‘definitely on the radar’ ESPNcricinfo - Ross Taylor is just five games away from becoming New Zealand’s most-capped international cricketer, across formats, and might end up setting the bar really high by the time he decides to quit, because the next 50-over World Cup - in late 2023 - “is definitely on the radar” for him. Taylor, who is nearing 37, should go past Daniel Vettori’s mark of 437 international caps during the upcoming home series (three T20Is and two Tests) against West Indies. He said he had been using the Covid-19-enforced break to think about the future, and admitted that it would be a challenge to go on for another three years to sign off at the World Cup, to be played in India. Speaking at a press interaction after the New Zealanders reached Auckland, the venue for the first T20I on November 27, Taylor said, “2023 was going to be a stretch, I think, at the best of times, when it was (supposed to be held in) February and March. And now, the World Cup has been dragged out to October and November ’23, it’s another six or seven months to hang around. “You’ve got to have short-term goals and longterm goals and the one-day World Cup is definitely on the radar. I might have to trim things back leading into that - I’m not getting any younger. It doesn’t mean I will make it, but, it’s definitely one of my goals.” New Zealand’s last international game was the first ODI against Australia in Sydney on March 13, played in front of empty stands, be-
‘I’m not getting any younger, so I’ve got to make the most of every opportunity I can’. (Getty Images)
fore that series was called off in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Taylor might well have gone past Vettori’s mark had there been a normal calendar through 2020, and jokingly said, “don’t jinx it, when asked about the impending milestone. From an international debut in an ODI - also against West Indies - in Napier in March 2006, Taylor has treaded a long path, playing 101 Tests, 232 ODIs and 100 T20Is prior to the start of the upcoming series. “I was really happy to play one or two games for New Zealand,” he said, looking back. “I’ve still got to get there first, but my mentor, Martin Crowe, always used to say records are meant to be broken for the next guy to come beat. Whatever number of games I end up on, hopefully Kane [Williamson, who has 291 caps] and whoever comes through can beat that and keep setting the bar higher.” Taylor was away playing the Caribbean Premier League not too long ago, and agreed that it wasn’t always easy to play in crowdless stadia, even though players were used to empty stands at domestic
matches. No fans made it “a little bit dull, almost like a warm-up game”, Taylor said. “In domestic cricket, we don’t really get a lot of people, so that hasn’t felt any different,” he said with a laugh. “(From) playing in front of nobody to having the possibility of playing in front of thousands of people, I think - that’s why you want to play for, you play for your family and friends and the fans.” Like with many others, a break from the hectic schedule went down well with Taylor, but he conceded that he was desperate to get back to playing.“When you’re a parent, it’s nice to have your kids around, but you’ve normally got a little bit of your mind on the game you’re playing in a couple of days’ time,” he said. “To have a complete break away from that and not have the excuse to that you’ve got a game in a couple of days’ time and to be present with my family was something I’ll never forget. “But, at the same time, you’re only a cricketer for a certain period of time, and I’m not getting any younger, so I’ve got to make the most of every opportunity I can.”
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Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
Best-case scenario for Games is venues Darren Bravo says Red Force captaincy full of spectators: Tokyo governor aided in his development, maturity SportsMax - West Indies Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike attends a news conference, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan. (Reuters/Issei Kato)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said yesterday that the best case scenario for the 2020 Olympics postponed until next year is to have venues full of spectators, as organisers wrestle with how to plan for the Games amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. With COVID-19 infections on the rise in many countries around the world, Olympics
organisers have yet to decide whether to allow spectators into venues next year and if so, how many. Koike, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, said organisers were still hopeful venues could be filled with spectators when the Olympics begin in July. “The best-case scenario ... would be when all athletes
Greg Barclay elected ICC ... From page 37 game in our core markets as well as grow it beyond that ensuring more of the world can enjoy cricket. I take my position as a custodian of the game very seriously and am committed to working on behalf of all 104 ICC Members
to create a sustainable future for our sport. “I’d like to thank Imran Khwaja for his leadership as acting ICC chair during a difficult period for the game and I look forward to continuing a close working relationship with him in the future.”
from all countries come here in safety and with peace of mind and the Olympics can, as in previous years, be held with full spectators present as well,” said Koike. Organisers have said previously they will not make a decision on spectator numbers until the spring. Although Japan has largely avoided the huge numbers of COVID-19 infections seen in other countries, daily cases in Tokyo rose to records above 500 last week. Koike warned that Tokyo was seeing a rise in infections among older residents, including cases where people had contracted the virus while eating out and brought it home to elderly relatives. She is due to meet with (Continued on page 31)
batsman Darren Bravo believes that being appointed captain of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in January aided in his development and his maturity as a cricketer. Speaking to the media on Sunday, the 31-year-old, who has so far made eight centuries in 54 Test matches, said even in the nets, he is trying not to get out, and he is constantly challenging himself to lift his game and helping other players. The most recent example of his development came on Saturday when he made a stroke-filled 135 against New Zealand ‘A’ in their drawn match against the West Indies at the John Davies Oval at Queenstown. Bravo said the runs were not the most important thing about that innings, it was more about spending time out in the middle and getting to understanding the conditions. The maturity, he said, has developed after being given the opportunity to lead. “I am at a stage where I think I understand my game much more. I am more mature in the way I think, so we will
West Indies batsman Darren Bravo.
see how it goes. I am excited about this series and I think it is about time I get the runs flowing once more,” he said. “I think captaining Trinidad and Tobago Red Force gave me that insight as to what it takes to be a leader. It helped me with my game and the way I see things. I enjoy the game a lot more now, so I am looking forward to the challenge.”
The Test squad will remain in the southern island city for a four-day warm-up match, starting Thursday just prior to the start of the first Test from December 3-7 at Seddon Park in Hamilton, and the second Test on December 11-15 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Before that, West Indies will face New Zealand in the first T20 International at Eden Park on Friday night.
Devon Ramnauth Development Youth Cricket League postponed
Thompson-Herah makes five-athlete shortlist for Female Athlete of the Year SportsMax - Jamaica sprinter Elaine ThompsonHerah has been included in a shortlist of five athletes in contention for the World Athletics 2020 Female Athlete of the Year. Despite the pandemic wreaking havoc upon the international track and field calendar, the Jamaican managed to put together a series of strong performances. Thompson-Herah ran unbeaten over seven races in which she also set a world-leading 10.85 over the 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Rome. She also closed the season with a strong 10.87s in Doha. Making the final five with Thompson-Herah are Letesenbet Gidey (Ethiopia) Sifan Hassan, Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, and Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela). Gidey set a world record of 14:06.62 over 5000m and was second in the 5000m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco. Hassan also set a world record in the one hour run as well as a European record of
Jamaica sprinter Elaine ThompsonHerah The respective teams’ representatives during the launching of the competition at the Imam Bacchus ground earlier this month.
29:36.67 over 10,000m, the fourth-fastest performance in history. Jepchirchir won the world half marathon title and twice broke the world half-marathon record, while Rojas was undefeated in four triple jump competitions indoors and outdoors and broke the world indoor triple jump record with
15.43m. The male and female World Athletes of the Year will be announced live at the World Athletics Awards 2020 to be staged as a virtual event on Saturday 5 December and streamed live on the World Athletics YouTube channel, its Facebook page, and via Twitter.
The inaugural Devon Ramnauth Development Youth Cricket League, which is schedule to be played in Region Two, has been postponed due to the inclement weather. Constant rainfall has left the grounds unsuitable to host matches at the moment and a new schedule will be released as soon as play can be facilitated. The tournament was scheduled to commence earlier this month at Pomona, Golden Fleece and Imam Bacchus grounds. The competition involves six teams; Essequibo Eagles U19, Golden Fleece Vikings Youths, Queenstown U19, Rising Star Spartans, Reliance
Hustlers Youths and United Warriors. The top two teams will contest the final, while there will also be a third place play off and a female exhibition T10 game. The winning team will receive the Courtney Gonsalves trophy, the runner will take home the Alfred Maycock trophy, the third place team will be given the Morris Brandon trophy, the most valuable player will pocket the Forbes Daniels trophy and the female winner will receive the Hakim Khan trophy. There will also be awards for the male and female players with the most runs and most wickets.
Devon Ramnauth
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Hands on: Smith comes to grips with style for India series SYDNEY (AP) — Steve Smith spent extra time in the nets in quarantine and reckons he has got a good handle on his peak technique in time to face India. The former Australia test cricket captain had a disappointing run in the Twenty20 format of the Indian Premier League. An enforced break has been a good remedy. “The past few days I have found something ... I have found my hands, which I am extremely excited about,” Smith told an online video conference yesterday. “It’s taken me about three-and-ahalf or four months to do it .... a lot longer than usual.” He said the delay getting it right maybe was because he didn’t bat for months because of the lockdown for COVID19, which shuttered international sports in March Australia will face an almost full-strength India in three one-day and three Twenty20 internationals starting Friday before the teams contest a four-match test series, which is scheduled to start with a day-night match in Adelaide on Dec. 17. Smith said he’s had the feeling before, attributing his stellar form in the 2017-18 Ashes series, when he averaged 137.40, to finding the perfect batting balance with his hands. “Theoretically it is a simple thing,” Smith said. “It’s just getting that feel of the bat behind my toe the right way, the way my hands come up the bat, it’s hard to explain. But it just hasn’t quite been right until two days ago. I found a little something and everything just clicked in. “It changes where you meet the ball, so you hit it in different places.” He said tiny things could make a big difference with rhythm, and conceded he had a “big smile on my face” after practice on Sunday when he let the team coaches know “‘I found them again.” Smith had to quarantine on return to Australia earlier this month following a trip to England and the IPL, which was held in the United Arab Emirates. Smith averages 69.41 against India in all formats. He missed India’s last tour Down Under because he was banned for his part in a balltampering scandal during a test in South Africa earlier in the year. Virat Kolhi’s lineup took advantage of the turmoil in Australian cricket in 2018-19, becoming the first from India to win a test series Down Under. Kohli, who rivals Smith at
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Kaieteur News
Liverpool’s Salah available for action following negative COVID-19 test Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0 in the reverse fixture. (Getty Images)
Australia’s Steve Smith bats against New Zealand during their cricket test match in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File) the top of the international batting rankings, will play in the shorter format and the first test before returning to India to be with his wife for the birth of their first child in January. Smith is determined to play a big role this time. “In big series I try and stand up and get the best out of myself, whether it be an Ashes or India series,” Smith said. “Whether there is something more inside me that comes out, I’m not sure.” There’s been speculation an India attack led by Jasprit
Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will bowl short to Smith, trying to extract the extra bounce in the Australian wickets and replicate the pressure New Zealand left-arm medium pacer Neil Wagner put on him last year. “If others want to take that type of approach, then great,” Smith said. “In a way it’s a bit of flattery if people believe that is the only way they can get me out because they have exhausted so many more options. “It gives me a lot of confidence to know that.”
BBC Sport - Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is back in training and could face Atalanta in the Champions League today. The 28-year-old missed Sunday’s 3-0 win over Leicester after testing positive for coronavirus while on international duty with Egypt. But he has since tested negative and took part in training on Monday. Liverpool have a 100% record in this season’s Champions League and will reach the last 16 if they beat the Serie A side at Anfield (20:00 GMT). Salah scored against Atalanta in the away fixture which Liverpool won 5-0 earlier this month - and has netted 10 goals so far this season, two in the Champions
League. Liverpool’s list of injuries remains long, with centrebacks Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez long-term absentees, and captain Jordan Henderson, fellow midfielder Thiago Alcantara and rightback Trent Alexander-Arnold all still unavailable. Midfielder Naby Keita went off with an apparent muscular injury against Leicester on Sunday. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said: “Atalanta are a threat even without a point to prove. We were exceptional [in Italy]. We did everything right and it all came together. They’re a top team with a special way to play. I expect problems in this game.” Forward Roberto Firmino could feature after scoring
against Leicester at the weekend, his second goal of the season in nine appearances. “Scoring was always important for Bobby, but he is a complete footballer,” said Klopp. “Football is like an orchestra and if you have different people for instruments some of them are louder, but all are important for the rhythm. Bobby can play without [goals] as well. “We always celebrate goals - but this one was really emotional. The players read the newspapers and they saw some of the criticism.” Early qualification from their Champions League group would potentially allow the Reds to rest players for the final two matches. Klopp is among the Premier League
Greg Barclay elected ICC chairman after second round of voting ESPNcricinfo - The white smoke is visible and after a long and fractious process, the ICC has elected Greg Barclay as its new chairman. Barclay, the NZC head, secured an all-crucial 11th vote from Cricket South Africa in a second round of voting, to beat Imran Khwaja, who had been the interim chairman after Shashank Manohar stepped down from the post in July this year. Barclay had 10 votes to Khwaja’s six in the first round of voting last week, but ICC stipulations meant he needed 11 - a two-thirds majority of the 16-person ICC Board. That vote arrived in the form of CSA this time and Barclay now becomes, after Manohar, the second independent chairman of the world body. It also ends a secretive and long drawnout process which has brought to the surface clear divisions among those running the game, and how they see it being run. Working through those divisions, deepest around the balance between ICC events and bilateral cricket in the next cycle will be front and centre
Greg Barclay will be the new ICC chairman. (Getty Images) of his briefs. That had become one of the major running themes in this election. Barclay, a well-respected administrator admired for his overseeing of the game in New Zealand, is a believer in the primacy of bilateral cricket. “New Zealand Cricket’s been pretty clear in our view around the bilateral playing arrangements, we want to make sure from an international point of view that there
is relevance and currency and interest in the international programme. We certainly don’t want to be totally reliant on an ICC events programme,” Barclay told New Zealand’s Radio Sport earlier this year. Those comments had come after a meeting in Mumbai with officials from the BCCI, CA, ECB and CSA in which the five appeared to find common ground in wanting to push back against the
ICC’s wishes to squeeze an extra ICC event in the next cycle. “The commonality in terms of the five is that we’ve been quite well voiced that we want to see our bilateral rights protected because we see genuine value in them,” Barclay said. “The Black Caps are playing well at the moment, they’re reasonably well ranked, they’re getting good opportunity to play against some of the better countries and we’re fortunate that we produce reasonable revenue out of it. So absolutely we want to see those bilateral rights catered for.” The other side, represented by Khwaja, wants to push for the primacy of ICC events in the next rights cycle. Last year, the ICC Board consented to include an extra global tournament in the next cycle, beginning after the 2023 World Cup, meaning that the next eight-year cycle (to 2031) would have one ICC global event (men’s and women’s) every year: two 50over World Cups, four T20 World Cups and two editions of this extra event, which is
understood to be in the 50overs format and could be similar to a Champions Trophy, but with six sides. A commercial lawyer by trade, Barclay has served as a director of NZC since 2012 a position he will give up to become ICC chair. He was a director of 2015 Men’s World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, and is a former board member and chairman of the Northern Districts Cricket Association. He is also an experienced company director holding board positions with various New Zealand and Australian companies. “It is an honour to be elected as the chair of the International Cricket Council and I would like to thank my fellow ICC directors for their support,” Barclay said in an ICC release. “I hope we can come together to lead the sport and emerge from the global pandemic in a strong position and poised for growth. “I look forward to working in partnership with our members to strengthen the (Continued on page 36)
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 25, 2020
GCI’s LBI facility will be International Standard High quality Floodlights already installed
The Generator to power the lights.
The Caretaker’s home has been completed (Sean Devers photo)
By Sean Devers When completed the LBI ground on the East Coast of Demerara will be transformed into an International Standard venue with Flood lights, a six lane indoor practice nets, an International standard Media Centre, a Care Taker quarters, self-contained refurbished dorms with a Kitchen, dining facilities and full internet access which could accommodate First-Class players. The ground is owned by GUYSUCO, hosted senior Inter-County matches in the 1990s and has been leased by the Cricket Guyana Inc (CGI) for 99 years. “Some time ago we began doing work at the LBI…about a year ago. It has moved significantly, when we started there were dilapidated buildings and the ground was like a pasture. We took it over and we have come a long way. The surface is completely finished and just a little more grass has to be grown on the pitches. The lights, which are 120 feet, are going up and we are presently doing some sand fillings behind the pillions before we put them up… ac-
tually two are already up… so within a week or so everything will be up,” disclosed CWI Director and CEO of Cricket Guyana Inc Anand Sanasie on last Friday’s Sean Devers Sports watch on Kaiteur Radio. According to the CWI Director, the transformation of the facility is costing a lot and funding is coming from the local board without any borrowing. “Hopefully when CWI is firmly on its feet financially, we will be reimbursed. The lights are already assembled and only a matter of lifting them into position. There was a slight glitch with getting a crane with the extension to go up to that height but that has been resolved with some solutions from the engineers,” Sanasie continued.The generator system and all of the cables are in place and a second generator will be added to power the Flood Lights, while rest of the facility with be electrified by GPL.” “We have finished the main pavilion that was there, we have completed a building to house the caretaker
quarters and we have built a new building in which we keep our preparation equipment with space at the top of that building. In the next phase we will be building the press box …well a stand for the media that meets international standards and the practice facility just to the south of the main pavilion,” added Sanasie, who came up with the elaborate idea. The national players are currently using the only indoor facility in Guyana at LBI in small numbers at a time, they train there from Monday to Friday except Wednesdays so the Chetram Singh indoor nets, named after the longserving former GCB President, is being utilised with the rains expected. Presently there is a two lane nets and the plan is to build a six lane indoor nets with space for a longer run up than is there presently, so fast bowlers can have their full run in.“The GCB realised many years ago that there was a need for a cricket special training venue, hence we built the Chetram Singh Centre of excellence, it took us five years
Anand Sanasie to negotiate a lease on the entire LBI facility, in less than a year we have completed the playing surface,” Sanasie explained. A state of the art facility with adequate space outside the playing area, which when fully completed could be rented for various Sporting and Cultural events to generate funding to help sustain the venue. According to Sanasie, a four-story stand is being built with a capacity of 7,000 with
NFL: All-black team officiate match in historic first for competition
Jerome Boger was the referee for Super Bowl XLVII. (Getty Images)
BBC Sport - An all-black team officiated an NFL match for the first time in the competition’s history. Referee Jerome Boger led his six-man crew in Monday’s 27-24 win for the Los Angeles Rams against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “I am proud of my heritage and excited about my participation in this historic game,” Boger said in the build-up. The 65-year-old, who took charge of Super Bowl XLVII, has been an official for 17 years. Monday’s crew also included umpire Barry Anderson, side judge Anthony Jeffries, line judge Carl Johnson, down judge Julian Mapp, field judge Dale Shaw and back judge Greg Steed. “This historic week-11 crew is a testament
to the countless and immeasurable contributions of black officials to the game, their exemplary performance, and to the power of inclusion that is the hallmark of this great game,” said Troy Vincent, the league’s vicepresident of football operations.
a Gym at the bottom and concession areas and the parking area at the back of the Northern end of the venue in the next phase of construction which has been hampered due to COVID-19 Pandemic which has halted sports since March. Grass banks for spectators would be built beyond the Eastern and Southern boundaries which is a minimum of 70 Meters from the Pitches which are four feet above the ground, which is three feet at its lowest point, to mitigate against flooding. It was explained that new drainage constructed along the new highway should allow for better drainage. “The ground is sand based (similar to the Providence Stadium) and was tested during this rainy season and the water drained off quickly which means more cricket being played.
The surface is also important since most of the club grounds struggle to maintain a smooth ground where players can do proper fielding drills. Those who are Professionals or keen on making cricket a career can practice during the day since the pitches at most clubs are being prepared for 4PM practice,” added TDO of the GCB former West Indies pacer Colin Stuart, also a guest on the programme. Stuart said the terms and conditions for the utilisation of the venue by the players are being worked out, while Sanasie said there is the possibility that the final of the ongoing GCB/Tropical Spring over-40 T20 tournament could be played at LBI. Administratively this will be of benefit for the Board since we can set programmes and not worry about unavailability or rent for a venue.
Windies not worried by low T20 world rankings - Fletcher SportsMax - West Indies T20 opener Andre Fletcher insists the team does not sweat about its current position in the world rankings, which stands at 9th despite being two-time world champions. Heading into the series against New Zealand, which bowls off on Friday, the Windies will stand a full three places below their hosts on the global charts. In terms of world titles in the format, however, it is the West Indies who lead having claimed two, with New Zealand yet to win one. Fletcher does not believe the rankings will influence the team; in terms of the way it operates playing cricket internationally.
“Sometimes it’s tough winning two World Cups and ranking at 9th in the world. It’s kind of unbalanced but we will get back up there with the ranking as long as we continue to play our brand of cricket,” Fletcher told members of the media. “I don’t think anything will change, we’ll continue playing our brand of cricket,” he added. Of course, one disparity that could account for the difference between the titles and world ranking is the fact that the West Indies often has key players missing for T20 internationals, due to other T20 league commitments or injury. They remain the only team to have claimed the title on two occasions.
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
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Pakistan invite Afghan neighbours on first official cricket tour AFP - Pakistan have invited Afghanistan’s national cricket team on a recognised tour for the first time, officials said yesterday, following a visit to Kabul by Prime Minister Imran Khan — one of the game’s greatest players. “We’ll try to look for a possible window for this tour — and if not 2021, we’ll definitely try to plan a series in 2022 season,” said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan. “A cricket series between Pakistan and Afghanistan could be a harbinger of love and peace between the two countries,” he told AFP. An Afghan national side toured Pakistan in May 2011, although they only played a second-string side and matches were not given first-class status. Pakistan premier Khan visited Afghanistan on Thursday, where he vowed to help reduce spiralling violence and push for a ceasefire between the Taliban and Afghan forces. Before entering politics, the Oxford-educated Khan was one of the world’s leading cricketers — a destructive all-rounder with a devastating ability to swing the ball and brutally attack the opposition’s bowling. As a member of world cricket’s
second tier, Afghanistan’s usual opponents are teams such as Ireland, Scotland and Hong Kong.But Afghanistan beat Pakistan last year in a friendly ahead of the World Cup in England, sparking wild scenes in Kabul where jubilant fans fired machine guns into the night sky, triggering security lockdowns in foreign embassies. Most Afghans only became familiar with the game from the 1980s, when millions were exiled as refugees near the Pakistan city of Peshawar, just 50 kilometres (36 miles) from their border. The two countries have played only a single official oneday match and one Twenty20 international — both in the United Arab Emirates.Relations between the two national cricket bodies are strong, however. “A strong Afghanistan means a strong Asian block... so Pakistan will continue to play its part and help Afghan cricket,” said Wasim. Afghanistan are scheduled to host Pakistan for three one-day internationals as part of World Cup 2023 Super League, most likely to be played in the United Arab Emirates.
Masks required for players on sidelines as league enhances COVID-19 protocols
The NFL logo is pictured at an event in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri) (Reuters) - Players in the National Football League (NFL) must wear masks on the sidelines unless they have their helmet on and are preparing to enter the game, the league said on Monday as it unveiled an enhanced set of COVID-19 protocols. In a memo distributed to teams, the NFL also outlined increased safety regulations for play-callers and said postgame interactions between players and staff would be limited. Players that failed to comply would be subject to discipline, the league said. “Clubs are required to enforce these rules. Violations by players and/or staff will result in accountability mea-
sures being imposed upon the club,” the NFL said. The league added that the maximum number of players permitted to travel to road games would be reduced to 62 and access to club facilities would be limited for nonessential personnel. From Week 13, all members of a team’s traveling party must wear N95 or KN95 masks on team planes and buses, it said. The new guidance was issued on the same day multiple players, including Baltimore Ravens running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, were placed on the Reserve/ COVID-19 list.
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Hashmatullah Shahidi (centre) shake hands with their Pakistan opponents after beating them in a friendly in May 2019.
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Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
Razgatlioglu says 2021 Yamaha will be “very strong”
One of the bikes being tested that will feature in 2021 season.
Motorsport - Yamaha was one of the three WSBK manufacturers present at the two-day post-season test at the Spanish venue last week along with Kawasaki and Honda. The R1 test bike featured several new parts that will go on the 2021 machine, including new brake pads, with the aim of improving its braking and turning ability in slow corners. Razgatlioglu set the second fastest time on the final day, finishing half a second down on six-time champion Jonathan Rea who was trialling the latest iteration of the ZX-10RR.
Yamaha is expected to challenge the other bikes in the new season. (Andrea Locatelli, Pata YamahaGold and Goose / Motorsport Images)
The Turkish rider also tested the current-spec R1 for a back-to-back comparison and immediately felt the 2021 parts bringing a noticeable improvement. “I rode again with new parts on the test bike and set a very good lap time,” said Razgatlioglu. “Also I’m surprised because we saw a 1m38.8s this is the very first laptime. “We tried the Q [qualifying] tyre but the laptime was not coming, a 39.2s maybe. After I tried again the old bike and we tried different clutches and also different parts.
“The two days [were] very positive. Also the weather was very good, hot conditions, because I need hot conditions [to test the] bike. In Aragon, the rear was sliding too much, now we are working on the rear, it’s [not] great, but not bad. “Now I wait [for the full] 2021 bike. I think the new R1 is very strong because we tried just some parts and the bike is [already] better.“And good turning, this is for me a good point because I need a good turning bike. And with rear grip [we made a] very small step, but the bike is not the full 2021 bike.”
CWI to send inspection team to Shastri backs India’s ‘fabulous Bangladesh ahead of scheduled five’ quicks to rule Down Under tour in January 2021 ST JOHN’S, Antigua — Cricket West Indies (CWI) will, this week, send a two-member inspection team to Bangladesh to conduct a detailed assessment ahead of the scheduled ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) tour in January next year. The tour is due to feature matches in both the ongoing ICC Test Match Championship and the ICC One-Day International Super League. The recce will be conducted by CWI Board Director, Dr Akshai Mansingh (member of the CWI’s and ICC’s Medical Advisory Committee) and Paul Slowe, CWI’s Security Manager. While in Bangladesh, they will visit all the proposed facilities for the tour in both Dhaka and Chattogram, attend matches in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup and also get a firsthand look at the country’s COVID-19 response protocols. CWI’s CEO Johnny Grave said: “We would be the first International Team to visit Bangladesh since the onset of the pandemic and, acting always with the health and safety of our touring party at the forefront of our minds, we have decided to conduct a pre-tour recce by sending two highly experienced professionals to assess the BCB’s bio-secure plans and protocols. Our respective medical and operations teams have held a number of positive meetings over the last few weeks and following receipt of the report from our inspection team, a recommendation will be made to our Board of Directors on whether it is safe to tour Bangladesh early next year.” The tour of Bangladesh would be the third
Johnny Grave, CWI’s CEO tour for the West Indies Men’s team since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are presently in New Zealand for three T20 Internationals, two Test matches and two ‘A’ Team Four-Day matches. Earlier this year they visited England where they played three Test matches, in a bio-secure environment, which marked the return to the game on the international stage. The West Indies Women’s team also toured England in September for five T20 Internationals.
AFP - Coach Ravi Shastri believes India’s pace attack can conquer Australia “in their own den” in the upcoming Test series between the world’s top two sides. India’s quick bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, will face a powerful home batting lineup including David Warner and Steve Smith when the four-Test series begins on December 17. But Shastri said his team’s pace unit was the best in the world, despite being likely to be without the injured Ishant Sharma who is receiving treatment India for a muscle tear. “His absence does make a difference to the fast-bowling department, but then we have the capacity among the young bowlers to deliver,” Shastri told Indian magazine Sportstar. Shastri dubbed Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini the “fabulous five”, adding, “Yadav has the experience. Saini is young and fast. Bumrah one of the best in business. Shami is raring to go. Siraj is an exciting prospect. “You put up runs on the board and watch these fast
Pace spearhead: India’s Jasprit Bumrah. bowlers hunt the opposition. They can beat Australia in their own den.” Australia last week overtook India at the top of the inaugural world Test championship when the scoring system was amended due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Virat Kohli’s men enjoyed a historic first Test series win Down Under on their last tour in 2018-19. Shastri is confident his
team can stay focused on and off the pitch during the tour, which requires travel bubbles and isolation because of the pandemic. “You have to back your self-belief and take the field with a fearless attitude,” said the former India all-rounder. “We are prepared and let me remind you that never has cricket, or a cricket team, faced such a situation since (Continued on page 33)
Wednesday November 25, 2020
Kaieteur News
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Windies not worried by low T20 world
rankings
CWI to send inspection team to Bangladesh ahead of scheduled tour in January 2021
- Fletcher Andre Fletcher Paul Slowe, CWI’s Security Manager
t r o Sp
The lights at LBI.
GCI’s LBI facility will be International Standard - High quality Floodlights already installed
The Players Pavilion has been refurbished and-will be named-the-Lance Gibbs Pavilion. (Sean Devers photo)
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