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Amaila Falls Friday Edition NEWS Hydro project figures don’t add up AIETEUR

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

November 26, 2021 - Vol. 14 No.48

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday, 75,494

…onus now on Govt. to come clean- says Energy Institute

Audit Liza 1, 2, Payara Project costs before - Former

approving Yellowtail EPA Head FITUG raises concerns about 7% pay hike for public servants

The protest continues for change to ExxonMobil’s contract.

Man perishes Mohamed’s Enterprise in Enterprise defends receiving Govt. contracts house fire

Conflict of interest at tender board ...Jordan flags Balgobin’s roles as chair of NPTAB and director of projects at Finance Ministry

Liza 1 can safely pump 144,000 barrels per day - EPA Head clarifies

Guyanese must stand up to oil giants; they must refuse to have their rights trampled upon. @11:00hrs on Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM

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Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

Liza 1 can safely pump 144,000 - EPA Head barrels per day clarifies I

By Kiana Wilburg

An extract of the Liza Phase One EIA which highlights that production can occur safely beyond 120,000 barrels of oil per day and that impacts noted in the EIA were considered at peaks of 144,000 barrels of oil per day.

n light of concerns reported in the local media that ramped up production levels on the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel could leave Guyana exposed to grave dangers, Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram, has come forward to categorically state that nothing could be further from the truth.

Parsram was keen to note that the Liza Destiny does have a design capacity of 100,000 barrels oil per day. While this is confirmed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Liza Phase One Project, Parsram noted that the very document states that production can “safely occur” beyond the design capacity.

The EPA Head cited specifically Page 28 of the EIA which speaks to the production levels of the Liza Destiny. That section of the document states: “The FPSO vessel to be utilized for the Project will be a VLCC tanker, which utilizes a spread moored configuration to maintain station continuously for at least 20 years.

The FPSO will be designed to receive the full production wellstream from the development wells and will process crude oil at a design rate of 100,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), with potential to safely operate at sustained peaks of up to approximately 120,000 BOPD. For the purposes of this EIA, potential impacts generated by the Project will be based on the highest potential oil production volume, which is conservatively based on 144,000 BOPD….”

With the foregoing in mind, the Lead Environmental Regulator said it is the understanding of the agency that 144,000 barrels is safe while adding that it is on this basis that approval was granted to the American subsidiary operating the Stabroek block, being Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL).

“So it is not dangerous at all, we considered it based on the EIA and the safeguards are in the permit.

All this talk of a fresh EIA being done since production has been ramped up beyond 120,000 barrels is not necessary,” expressed

EPA Head, Kemraj Parsram Parsram.

The EPA Chief also noted that in the event that there is any variance that is needed for production or for any aspect of the project, e n v i r o n m e n t a l authorization must be had from the EPA. “…We also have the discretion to request any further scientific assessment based on the change being requested and that has been the practice over the years,” Parsram noted.

The foregoing comments from the EPA Head come on the heels of a publication in the Kaieteur News' Wednesday edition which quoted the concerns of the former EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams.

He is of the firm conviction that ExxonMobil's ramped up production is not safe for the country and could very well increase the potential of an oil spill in the Stabroek Block. Dr. Adams said it is in the best interest of the country to have a fresh assessment of the impacts of the increased production.

But the current EPA Head, as noted earlier, disagrees.

While the Liza Destiny is producing around 124,000 barrels of oil per day, John Hess, Head of Hess Corporation (which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block), revealed a few months ago that ExxonMobil's affiliate, EEPGL, plans to optimize the capacity of the Liza Destiny to produce as much as 140,000 barrels of oil to 150,000.

With respect to vessels for future projects, he said once they spend about a year in operation, each ship will undergo an optimization or debottlenecking exercise which would see capacity increase between 10 to 15 percent.

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Audit Liza 1, 2, Payara Project costs before approving Yellowtail F - Former EPA Head

By Davina Bagot

ormer Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams is calling on the Government not to approve ExxonMobil's fourth project- the Yellowtail Development -, until the USbased oil giant agrees to a belated audit of its US$9.5 billion spending.

The Government said that the audit was not conducted as the country lacks the skills to get the job done. However, Adams believes the administration should use as leverage the Yellowtail project which is yet to be approved to force Exxon into extending the time for the completion of the audit.

Adams said to not conduct the audit could result in the giveaway of billions to the oil giant.

It was Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who had said that the government is disappointed that it had not been able to push through with these critical audits.

He said the absence of strong local groups to do the audits is what stymied the process.

The only costs Guyana stands a chance of auditing and refuting if unreasonable charges are found, are those occurring from 2019 onwards. It therefore means

t h a t t h e P P P / C administration still has ample opportunity to review costs expended for ExxonMobil's Payara Development Project in the Stabroek Block. This project is expected to cost US$9B. I n t e r n a t i o n a l transparency bodies have strongly contended that the two-year deadline the government has accepted, along with the fact that it can only do one audit per year on Exxon, is not sufficient.

They have stressed that the timeline should be extended. Specifically making this point over the years is Oxfam America. It has made this perspective known since 2015 alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Oxfam America, a confederation of 20 charitable organisations which seeks to fight poor governance of extractive wealth, has said that the expiration periods for audit rights are set out in petroleum contracts and tax laws. It stressed, however, that these deadlines differ from one country to the next.

It noted that in Ghana and Kenya for example, the authorities there retain the right to complete auditing companies within seven years. In Peru, the time limit for audits is a minimum of four years. Even in the USA,

the transparency body highlighted, audits are allowed to be completed within a minimum of three years.

Oxfam warned however that even a three-year deadline is not advisable for developing countries such as Guyana, given the limited financial and human resources that are likely to delay the audit process.

Further, the organisation noted that it is equally important to keep an eye on record-keeping provisions in the petroleum contracts and tax laws.

It said, “Oil companies should be required to keep all their records in-country for easy access by the auditors during the audit period.

For his part, speaking at a news conference by the Alliance for Change, Dr Adams said, “The AFC joins the countless number of concerned Guyanese and the international community in calling out what could only be described as negligence by the PPPC Government against its people, in its nonchalant declaration not to audit Exxon's $9.5 Billion bill, due to failure to meet the

audit deadline; a non-action that could conceivably become a give-away of Billions of dollars to mega rich Exxon, with the robbery of every single Guyanese citizen of millions of dollars”.

According to Adams, the excuse of not having the expertise to conduct such an audit is a “highly incredulous excuse” since the AFC is well aware of a highly qualified firm, owned by a Guyanese in the Diaspora, that submitted a bid to conduct the audit.

He questioned, “Is the Government speaking with forked tongues when it extols itself as so badly wanting the help of the Guyanese Diaspora, but at the same time signaling that they are not being counted as Guyanese.”

The former EPA head said that the government's attempt to escape this backlash, is to distract the public with an empty promise to build capacity to hopefully get Guyanese to perform such tasks, but this is nothing less than a promise that is contrary to its own philosophy and practices.

Former Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Vincent Adams Adams explained, “Firstly, we all know the trustworthiness index of the Government keeping promises, especially when it comes to Exxon which was described by the Opposition Leader as “international bullies” with the “Government being under Exxon's hammer.”Secondly, there are too many unanswered questions about this promise, since the fact remains that there is no provision in the Agreement for reopening the audit after its two-year expiration period”.

He quoted sections of the agreement with ExxonMobil where it was settled that “the

Govt shall not amend, modify, rescind, terminate, declare invalid, require re n e g o t i a t i o n , c o m p e l re p l a c e m e n t o r substitution…without the prior written consent of the Contractor”.

In light of this, the former EPA head questioned how would the Government then keep its promise.

He inquired, “Is the Government making this promise with Exxon's consent per the Agreement; or without consent, in violation of the Agreement which the Government holds as sacred? And does the Government now find itself (Continued on page 22)

Cumberland woman 2004 LinMine, BIDCO's worker damages award… hurt after being CCJ to rule on GRA's tax deduction hit off electric bike

A

woman from Cumberland, C a n j e i s recovering from a fractured right foot and wrist after she was knocked off her electric scooter by a car on Wednesday.

Police have identified her as Bibi Razac, 57, of 104 Main Street, Cumberland, East Canje, Berbice, Region Six. Razac met with the accident around 15:45Hrs at Sheet Anchor Public Road, East Canje, Berbice.

Traffic investigators have learnt that the driver of the car was reportedly traveling west along the

public road at a normal rate.

The driver alleged that as he was approaching Burn Bush Dam he put on his trafficator to indicate that he was turning off the Public Road and into the village.

However, as he made the turn, Razac allegedly rode into his path with her electric bike and he could not avoid a collision.

According to police, he picked up the injured woman and took her in his car to the closest hospital where she was admitted for treatment.

He has since been detained

by Berbice Police to assist with the investigation.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is expected to hand down its ruling in the appeal of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) decision to asses and deduct tax from damages that were awarded to former bauxite employee, James Ramsahoye, some 17 years ago.

Ramsahoye appeal was yesterday heard by Justices at the CCJ which included its President, Justice Adrian Saunders, Justice Jacob Wit, Justice Winston Anderson, Justice Denys Barrow and Justice Andrew Burgess. The case stems from a legal

challenge filed by Ramsahoye in 2004, five years after he was terminated as an employee of the then Linden Mining Enterprises (LIMINE) and Bauxite Industry Development Company Limited (BIDCO).

Ramsahoye won a judgment award for damages t o t h e t u n e o f US$174,032.49 and a pension of US$2,000.72 monthly. The judgment award for damages was deemed taxable by GRA. As a result, Ramsahoye moved to the Court to challenge GRA's right to deduct taxes

from his award. Yesterday the matter came up before CCJ in which the judges were made to review the conditions by which the monies were deducted and whether GRA had the legal right to do so.

The Court heard that being terminated in 1998, after 26 years of service, Ramsahoye took legal action against his former employers, Linden Mining Enterprises and Bauxite Industry Development Company Limited (BIDCO), which were state enterprises.

He was unsuccessful at

the High Court, and in 2004, he appealed the judgment and was awarded damages of US$174,032.49 and a pension of US$2,000.72 monthly.

According to reports, following the ruling by Guyana's Court of Appeal (COA), there were multiple proceedings between the parties aimed at either preventing the payment of, or enforcement of, the sums awarded in the decision.

The aforementioned ruling later led to Ramsahoye approaching the CCJ. The appeal at the CCJ (Continued on page 24)

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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

Manaus - a free, hard lesson from right next door For those Guyanese interested in the devastations that can be wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic, they don’t have to think of Wuhan or India. The swath of destruction and some of the root causes are right next door in a place familiar to many Guyanese: Manaus, Brazil.

Thanks to The Telegraph, and its reporter, Sarah Newey, embedded in Amazonas, we have a story titled “A perfect storm. How did one city lose so many to COVID-19?” The brutal lessons of Manaus have some eerie messages for us here. We, who have taken all the precautions known to man.

We, who have been slow, casual, and not taking the recommended actions. We who rightly fear the fallouts from those who don’t care, those who seek to exploit the situation, those who minimise the potential consequences of what is going on, and the likelihood of it happening here. This is the misery of Manaus. May it never come close to being something similar here.

Things got so bad so quickly that “The hospital system was on the verge of collapse, with ICU occupancy surpassing 100 percent…” Ambulances were working round the clock without interruption, with graveyards visited with an unending procession of the dead and those mourning their passing. This barebones combination forced a leading politician in the state to share that, “Our state is no longer an emergency; it is a calamity.”

It is why the outbreak in Manaus attracted the interest of epidemiologists around the world. What made the city so vulnerable? Why did the virus spread so fast? The answers have an eerie resemblance to what is almost the norm in Guyana. There are some cautionary tales for us, if only we care to listen, to be concerned, and to act accordingly.

First, “the viral storm in Manaus followed a party. In late February, as the first 1,000 infections were confirmed outside China, the city was engulfed in carnival – the Brazilian festival to mark the beginning of Lent.” We know about the days leading up to Lent in Guyana, which are not alarming. Rather, it is of our weddings, and house parties, and the long December Christmas Season, and how we are on all those occasions. We say no more.

Second, “People here thought that the climate and the isolated geography would prevent an outbreak,” says Lucas Ferrante, a researcher at the National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA). We have those here, too.

Third, “the disease had a firm hold in…crowded markets where social distancing was implausible”, and to which we point to our own crowded river crossings and bus parks, and malls and bars and so forth. By now, a picture should be emerging that is troubling in its parallels.

Fourth, “the state’s assistant secretary for health, Dr. Thales Schincariol, insists that the government “did nothing wrong”, which should sound right at home here, with that being the automatic first and every line of defense.

Fifth, “in the Amazonas high rates of comorbidities, including diabetes and hypertension, made infections more severe,” Dr. Schincariol notes.

Sixth, “He adds that much of the population ignored social distancing rules and regulations mandating face masks. This is in part because many here are Jair Bolsonaro supporters – the country’s President has repeatedly downplayed COVID19 as “little flu”. Seventh, the “pandemic was also exacerbated by existing disparities; isolating at home was a luxury for the wealthy. For large inter-generational families living together…social distancing was an almost impossible feat.

Eighth, “According to a churchman, decades of opportunism are to blame for inadequate resources.”

“But it doesn’t work because of corruption. If people weren’t robbing the system”. He was speaking of much money spent, little benefits gathered. We think of COVID-19 cash relief, and vaccines obtained under a cloud. All fit.

Ninth, “experts at São Paulo University” believe “that immunity may only be temporary.” And “we’re using herd immunity as an argument for why we don’t need to act.”

We urge our fellow citizens to take a close look at all of those points, and ask if we are not behaving in mostly the same ways. The people of Manaus paid a bitter price. Are we ready to pay the same? Can we pay it?

Friday November 26, 2021

Former Minister of Finance raises public procurement concerns Dear Editor, I refer to article, “”Absolute nonsense” President Ali tells ‘greedy’ Govt. contractors,” which was published in Kaieteur News (KN, Wednesday, November 24, 2021). It was reported that during a meeting with contractors – who are currently executing works of $100 million and above – at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), the President allegedly scolded contractors who “had already secured large scale contracts [but] are also pursuing smaller contracts, such as those valued between $1M and $5M.” He, therefore, appealed to them to not bid for smaller procurement contracts, citing, among other reasons, negative consequences such as inefficiency and the sidelining of the small contractors.

It seems that the government’s preferred approach to dealing with the private sector is to use moral suasion. While this soft option of engagement has its advantages, the question is: how should the government react when moral suasion fails?

Happily, in this instance, the government has existing legislation in its armoury that just needs to be activated and enforced. It will be recalled that, in 2019, the Coalition government amended the Procurement Act to provide for the registration of contractors. Once done, contractors can be categorised according to a set of criteria, including financial capacity, track record and technical capacity. The amendment also linked the Procurement Act with the Small Business Act, thus allowing small businesses easier and smoother access to public procurement.

A key outcome from the amendment is that the government can set aside procurement contracts exclusively for small businesses, which are defined in the Small Business Act. Again, small businesses will be required to register with the Small Business Bureau.

The amendment also requires that all budget agencies submit their procurement plans, in keeping with their approved budgets. These plans should be in the public domain.

While on the subject of

public procurement, I recall a long standard practice, during the Coalition government, was the requirement that all budget agencies clear their tender documents (with values above their Ministerial, Regional or Agency tender board thresholds) with the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) before they were released to the public for tendering. This practice by NPTAB allowed for checks and balances by ensuring, for example, that there was consistency in the documents and that the evaluation criteria were suitable for the type of procurement (works, goods and services).

Budget agencies were required to make the necessary corrections before the bid documents were approved.

With NPTAB imprimatur of the bidding documents, bidders were assured both of the authenticity of the document and the process.

However, this proven procedure is no more. In a letter dated September 24, 2020, which was addressed to the Heads of Budget Agencies (HoBAs), Tarchand

Balgobin, in his capacity as Director, Project Cycle Management Division, Ministry of Finance disclosed, “The NPTAB has advised that the process of clearing tender documents prior to the launch of tender has been removed.” It is instructive to note that Tarachand Balgobin is also the Chairman, NPTAB. While Balgobin’s disclosure appears innocuous, it has serious implications; it has, with the stroke of a pen, removed a critical check and balance from the NPTAB and deposited it in the Budget Agency. Each HoBA can now, for example, develop their own set of evaluation criteria for projects under their control, thereby creating confusion and laying the basis for corruption. This approach is anathema to the noble ideals of public procurement enshrined in the Procurement Act 2003, which are to foster and encourage participation; promote competition; provide fair and equitable treatment; promote integrity, fairness and public confidence; achieve transparency; and maximise (Continued on page 6)

Authorities must consult more widely on matters of national importance Dear Editor, The Guyana Foundation believes that the human resources of Guyana constitute the country’s most valuable asset. Therefore, we have to do everything within our power to develop it, to protect it, and to ensure that all people can live long productive lives with dignity and in unity.

Guyana Foundation launched one of the first and largest privately funded mental health initiatives in the country.

The number of people ending their lives by suicide caused the World Health Organization to publish in its report a few years ago that 44.2 per 100,000 people ended their lives by suicide. At one point, Guyana had the highest rate of suicide in the world as we have all become aware. We have dropped from that position but not enough.

In 2013, Guyana Foundation sponsored Serena Coultress, of Maastricht University, to look into the causes of suicide in Guyana. It is based on her findings and guidance that we shifted gears from being a purely charitable organisation based in the Capital City, to establishing a permanent

presence in the regions.

We opened our first Sunrise Centre in 2016 in Essequibo. The centre was so named with the hope that our work to offer free mental health counselling, mentorship, vocational skills training, and village renewal projects would cause people to want to live to see another sunrise.

We invested in training our core team in counselling.

We offered mental health workshops to sensitise the population, conducted by Guyanese Canadian mental health professional, Dr. Latchman Narain, a registered member of the Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrics and Psychotherapists (OACCPP) and holds a master’s degree as well as a Doctorate Degree in Counselling Psychology. Dr. Narain also runs the Anger Management Centre of Toronto Inc. In addition, Lauren Johnson, an internationally recognised Guyanese Canadian psychotherapist assisted with workshops. The Foundation also established links with the British Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy through

its Board member, Guyanese born Krish Nath. We s p o n s o r e d several highly recognised and trained mental health professionals from the UK to conduct mental health sensitisation campaigns in which they incorporated sports and workshops in Regions 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1.

The University of Medical Sciences in Ciego De Avila, Cuba signed a MoU with the Guyana Foundation, to collaborate for a period of five years to hold annual conferences on mental health name the Psychoavila Conference Series. This is the Foundations fifth year of collaboration hosting a conference in Cuba in April 2022.

Mental Health workshops were also conducted in collaboration with the George Brown University, Queens Health Outreach, Canada and several mental health academics over the past several years.

Our Sunrise Centre has remained fully attended, vibrant and well integrated into the surrounding communities. We have impacted positively thousands of people to the extent that people, who came

to us after having survived a suicide attempt, have now become valuable members of our team, assisting others, and giving back to their communities.

We have conducted mental wellness and suicide prevention workshops with first responders, in Regions 2, 3 and 4 and with citizens and schoolchildren. We have sponsored ads in the local media; we have created our own database of the findings from our work.

The scores of Guyanese and non-Guyanese who made valuable contributions to our work of the past six years were somewhat surprised that the Foundation was not invited to the recent mental health conference held in Georgetown.

Our findings from actual work with suicide and mental health matters differ in some instances from the recent utterances coming out of the conference. It is our hope that the authorities will make a better effort to consult more widely on these other matters of national importance, particularly when it involves the most vulnerable citizens in the country.

The Guyana Foundation

Friday November 26, 2021

Policing in a multi-cultural society, distrust high in segments, diversification necessary Dear Editor, The recent letter by retired Assistant Commissioner, Clinton Conway, was very revealing and insightful.

Focusing specifically on the opportunities for policing in a multi-cultural society and the importance of being sensitive to the differences in the cultures in our society, the problematic becomes very complex. The difficulty is further amplified by the historical political climate and growing mistrust between the two main cultural components of our complex society. Currently, the GPF is dominated by African Guyanese and the Indian communities have a healthy level of mistrust for the police.

On the other hand, the African communities are more trusting and when they interact with the police, they see a member of their community, who is approachable, and can be confided in, and trusted to do right by them.

As for the Indian populace, feelings for the police are not the same and instead of seeing someone who is trustworthy, the Indian community sees a PNC opposition member, who will not do right by them, especially in a situation where the suspect is African

Guyanese.

If on the rare occasion the police officer is from the Indian community, then the expectation is that the officer will help and can be trusted to deal fairly with members of the Indian community.

Unfortunately, this sentiment is rooted in the incidents that occurred during the massacre of Indians in the 1960’s by the African Community in what is now known as Linden.

According to numerous accounts of the events, many of these atrocities were allegedly carried out with the help of some members of the Guyana Police Force. Thus, the obstacles before us towards improving the image of the GPF are that significant, and the difficulty of overcoming our history of conflict is quite substantial.

The first step to reconciliation is the removal of denial. We must as a Nation, begin our journey on the path towards acknowledgment of the horrific events that took place during the 1960’s. No longer can we afford to turn a blind eye to the deep seated mistrust between our communities.

Diversification of the GPF is necessary and must also occur when policing a multicultural society, such as

ours. Members of our diverse communities must see those from their culture in their communities engaged in constructive policing, where the focus is to protect and serve fellow members of their communities. This is a key step towards encouraging a national culture, where the police are respected and trusted to help safeguard our citizens.

Such increased cultural sensitivity within the Force will help make our land of six people adhere more uniformly to our laws, and will also help guide the Force towards less perceived and real bias in how citizens are treated by the police. Officers will also benefit from the increased diversity within the GPF, and begin to better understand and respect the cultural differences of the diverse communities within our society.

As mentioned previously, the way forward is not the easiest, but it is becoming more necessary as cultural realization continues within our multiplex of communities and the divide between our cultures increases.

Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

A bit of an absurdity Dear Editor, I noted a very spirited letter in Kaieteur News, Nov. 25, 2021, written by Neil Adams, criticising the Coalition Government of 2015-2020, while extolling the virtues of the PPP administration so far, as the paltry seven percent increase over two years for Public Sector employees.

Through his propaganda competence, not a word of the $250,000 cash handed out to sugar workers, a mere political ploy.

Not a word from Neil Adams about the recent loan, and juggling by the Government and the control of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by

our erstwhile masters.

Mr. Adams, in his spirited letter failed to remind readers of the vast sums available to this Government, which was not available to the previous administration.

This by itself makes the seven percent ridiculous and a bit of an absurdity, when one considers that the Coalition gave a 10 percent increase when these vast sums were not available to the coffers of the Government.

The recent offer without

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consultation with the Trades Unions must be seen in this context.

Further that the PPP had as part of its pre-election campaign promised to an undertaking to give Public Servants a 50 percent increase. Please note, it is not my wont to defend the Coalition, but to comment as I have above on the absurdity of the recent Neil Adams correspondence.

Hamilton Green Elder

Guyana’s 7% salary increase looks good, comparatively speaking Dear Editor, I am not one to dabble in politics or anything of the sort, but I feel compelled to write this letter to you to share my view on the recently announced seven percent salary increase for public servants. I will keep this as short as possible and get straight to the point.

At a time like this when everyone is faced with challenges that were brought about by the pandemic, there is a growing need for more disposable income to reach the people. People need more money so that they can survive at a time when prices are rising. We examine the situation in our neighbouring countries, or even CARICOM and we see how people are crying out for help. It is not just something that is confined to Guyana.

Everyone needs help and even a seven percent increase in salary will help in some way or the other.

I did some research on salary increases in other CARICOM countries and what I found is something that I am sure will never see the light of day from the Opposition’s end.

In Antigua, the government has been struggling to pay salary increases to its workers. In fact, an article published by Nation News on September 7, 2021, outlined the challenges the government has been facing with paying the increase.

The main issue was the pandemic and the impact on the country especially with lockdowns and so forth.

Shifting focus to Jamaica, we see that they also had a struggle with salary increases because of the pandemic.

Reports from the Jamaican

government, as well as the Jamaica Gleaner publication, outlined that workers will receive a four percent salary increase come 2022, but they will be getting retroactive payment from April 1st, 2021.

Looking at these figures, it is clear that Guyana has done better by offering a seven percent increase and retroactive salary to January 1st, 2021.

If this does not put into perspective how good we are getting it in Guyana, allow me to point out the situation in Dominica. The Dominica News Online publication reported early in March 2021 that public officers will be getting a 1.25 percent increase. This is far less than what Guyana’s public officials are getting, in addition to being retroactive.

I think it is very important for people to consider all the facts before launching on

social media to criticise the government. I saw that many of the opposition members like Duncan, Jones and McDonald to name a few, were using the comparisons put out by the PPP/C, to say that even though those countries received lower increases than Guyana, they pay higher wages and, as such, the people have more spending power.

Even though that may be true, every single country struggled to settle at a specific percentage because of the pandemic. They could not give their workers anything sizable, and many could not make it retroactive.

Guyana has given seven percent retroactive across the board which, in the context of Guyana, is noteworthy especially with the pandemic still in full swing.

Sincerely, Alvin Hamilton

Seven percent can’t “wuk”!

Dear Editor, Surely the Government cannot be pleased with the seven percent increase— which amounts to five thousand dollars to public servants in receipt of the minimum salary—in view of rising cost of living. How can this be seen as conscionable?

The authorities got this one wrong. The increase for this category of employees should be tax-free. But it is

better, if it could have been offered at least for the lower rung employees. Seven percent can’t wuk!

Shamshun Mohamed

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Friday November 26, 2021

Continuous sidewalks are a good fit for us Dear Editor, I do not believe that we as a society are on the same page, especially when it comes to the use of our roadways. Alfred Bhulai in a recent letter pointed out that vehicle owners believe themselves to possess an unassailable right to the space when they are in their own mode of transport. I myself, drive a car when I move around and I tend to agree that this is the attitude of many who drive. I have taken the bus for most of my commuting life and as it is said in Guyana, I know how to handle the ‘rockings’.

Walking along inhospitable passages to get to transit stops; navigating chaotic walkways and obstacles; having to contort your body to get in and out of minibuses, these things are not ideal. As a driver, I observe a certain respect for people walking and when I think about urban planning, I consider the truth;

that not everyone has to own a car. I have noticed that there is a sentiment in Georgetown that the destiny of all working people is that they must one day drive. I belligerently disagree with this imbalanced, elitist and materialistic sentiment by saying that that narrow view is an emanation of a psychology that I believe keeps us unappreciative, without understanding, and dare I say even, poor.

Editor, I do notice better sentiments coming from the more integrated among us: that there must be an optimal walkability programmed into our city designs. Imagine being able to walk to work, to school and to play all in the same trip.

This is possible for us. We have access to all of the world’s knowledge on the integrated subject of urban design. We can get so many things right with our expanding spaces, applying effective spatial design

principles like road hierarchy (for controlling access to property) while we devise our own way towards becoming a super-powered cost-ofliving paradise.

Using roadways in tight, close-knit inner cities like Georgetown is not so much about order and discipline as it is about interactivity and respect for different classes of road users. So what if somebody is on a bicycle? Are they in your way? Really? Slow yourself down and share the roadway and I say this even after a few bicycle men tried to throw their front wheels into the path of my slowly passing car to get some dineros out of me - yes this happens. I sometimes drive with empty pockets by the way, so don’t overthink it bicycle boys!

Editor, that our officers have to be out on the streets for so many hours in a day, overriding the

Former Minister of Finance raises public...

From page 4 economy and efficiency. With the removal of experienced staff from NPTAB and the continued procrastination in the reconstitution of the Public Procurement

Commission (PPC), concerns mount about the state of public procurement in Guyana.

Yours faithfully, Winston Jordan Former Minister of Finance

traffic lights to manage traffic, seems extenuating. It is becoming clearer to us that there is a growing need for design solutions toward a more reliable infrastructural pattern for the city. That said, I would like for a chance to shoot another suggestion, as I have in previous letters, about an innovation that I believe can enhance the charm and functionality of inner city streets: the continuous sidewalk.

See “The Dutch Solution for Safer Sidewalks Continuous Sidewalks” uploaded to the “Not Just Bikes” YouTube channel.

The continuous sidewalk would force impatient drivers to interact with other road users, as it provides that well timed ‘interrupt’ that we need

to keep our own pace in check, slowing us down, causing us to interactively, share the space with people on foot, people who can now navigate with more confidence that they are safe.

I also wonder what this might do for our moods.

Editor, in roundabouts; in the emphasis on designated bus stops; in the repositioning of the main fire station alongside Homestretch; in the inclusion of cycle lanes in road programming and in the use of changing medians, I see signs of a brighter future for the city. It is beginning to step ladder its way toward optimality. I believe persons would eventually understand that roundabouts reduce the likelihood of one or two of human error and would save

on fuel costs by keeping us moving, albeit more carefully.

Learn this, I say to the skeptics, learn how to INTERACT with the roadways and stop being scared of the roundabout boogeyman! We need more roundabouts not less.

Consider the uncertainty you face at a junction even with traffic lights, with your head spinning in all directions before you move. Human error is an increasing function of the number of steps required to carry out a decision. Allow me to say: let’s just slow it down and get with the programme of a more careful and functional inner city that respects us as we move about its passages.

Sincerely, Emille Giddings

What if, my fellow Guyanese?

Dear Editor, There will be those in the midst of this paralysed Guyanese society who will point to the Ahmaud Arbery trial and verdict, and wax righteously about justice, and the long wait, and righting wrongs. I can only find what is right in such heavenly verbal delights; and I say absolutely. But another part of me, asks what about here, my friends, my brothers, my fellow sojourners of and along this soil? In a simpler form, the issue is embedded in this inquiry: what if.

What if we have a similar, or reasonably close, situation, and there are 11 of one, and only one of the other sitting in judgment and then standing to declare before the world of rapt listeners and absorbers that this is where their deliberations led them?

Before we were even to reach such a judicial terminal, prompted by such a set of circumstances, what if our law enforcement agents and the entire umbrella of our law justice apparatus were faced with decisions to be made, from the weight of evidence gathered and sifted, analysed

and concluded, how and where would they be then? I pause for breath.

Editor, we love to cheer and commend, but what if we were/are faced with circumstances that, though dissimilar, still provokes rage and cries and the pains that follow? I say we have them here, and it is my tragic duty to put them before my alternately celebrating and seething Guyanese brethren.

There was Cotton Tree, and two.

There was Number 2 Village and one, the collateral fallout. And just two months ago, there was an outpost named Dartmouth. No! it is not the mysteries of Yorkshire, but just another insoluble one among the many in Guyana.

What if those, too, one or two or three all ease into the mists of the unadjudicated?

What if, despite developments and charges and inquests and all the rest, all that they peter out to be are the coldest of cold cases?

The mere thought brings a chill, and it is not a Thanksgiving November in Georgia, America; but a still

occasional warm Guyana approaching December.

We have heard and flourished with justice delayed is justice denied. But I ask what if the reality is that justice is being destroyed layer by layer, from the heights of the head (who make empty promises), down through the body to the bottom that obey the dictates of the head, then what do we have, editor?

What do we have if not nothing left to be delayed or denied? What if we have nothing left to be destroyed in our system of justice, because we have been so thorough in our efficiencies to suppress truth, to foster the fearsome oppressions of a national system of injustice?

And because I am in a place of pondering and provocative thinking today, the strangest of strange ‘what if ’ questions came.

What if the presiding tribune in the Ahmaud Arbery case was a fine jurist by name of Clarence Thomas, one also hailing sweet Georgia, too?

Sincerely, GHK Lall

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BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

Region 10 people are objecting. Disappointed contractors are complaining.

How does an 'overnight' contractor get a $364 million dollar contract?

Tender Boards don't matter.

Procurement Commission means nothing.

What matters and means something is AFFILIATION WITH THE PPP. A year and a half from now (20 months) we shall see the results.

PAGE 07

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Proposed law demands locals supply oil sector with materials not produced in Guyana G Local Content legislation…

uyana's proposed Local Content Bill has been condemned by some international experts as being 'unrealistic' and a perusal of the first schedule of the draft bill would see the assumption appearing to bear true, since it demands and reserves for Guyanese, the supply of several types of materials currently not produced in Guyana.

Table four of the Bill's Schedule outlines that in ten years time, the supply of Steel Plates, Flat Sheets, Sections, Steel Pipes, Low Voltage Cables, High Voltage Cables are all to be supplied 100 percent by Guyanese companies.

Guyana produces none of

the items reserved as materials to be procured exclusively by Guyanese.

According to the draft schedule, other demands being reserved for Guyanese to supply up to 95 percent, include the supply of valves and pumps, Drilling mudbaryte, bentonite, Cement, Heat Exchangers and other piping accessories, Steel Ropes and other mooring accessories, Protective Paints and Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) pipe.

Additionally, when it comes to legal services, all legislative drafting for the sector has been reserved for Guyanese from day one as well as Legal Consultancies.

The proposal does allow for a sliding scale at the lower end

Some Guyanese employed in the oil and gas sector. of between 50 and 60 percent, to at the end of 10 years, 95 percent of in-house legal work as well as legal Advisory services be supplied exclusively by Guyanese.

Another red flag in the proposed legislation is the fact that it reserved 100 percent for Guyanese in relation to Accounting Services.

These include, tax return

preparation, payroll support, accounting support, tax advisory accounting and finance employment.

With the exception of Financial Advisory a service, which in ten years is reserved 95 percent for Guyanese, each of the other slots are to be supplied exclusively by Guyanese.

N o t a b l y, o n t h e administrative side of things, Management Staff has only been reserved at 45 percent for Guyanese, while supervisory staffing positions at the end of ten years should be provided by a 65 percent local workforce.

Technical and professional support staff has been capped at 80 and 90 percent respectively while all of the semi skilled and unskilled administrative labour will be reserved for Guyanese throughout.

Other services that see high expectations on the part of the ratio of work to be provided for by Guyanese include Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), Detailed Engineering and other services.

These positions, as contemplated by the proposed bill, are to be reserved by as much as 90 percent for Guyanese.

Fabrication, Construction and Storage also accounts for a high supply of Guyanese input between 80 and 100 percent, in addition to transportation, supply, and disposal services.

The first schedule did point out that “Given that some services such as well

cementing services, ROVs, directional drilling services, tools and wireline logging are currently being implemented

by International Tier 1 Contractors, Guyana is moving towards an encouragement of more joint ventures and partnerships through technological adaptation and skills transfer.”

This, the draft bill said “would allow for our local labour force and business to better participate in the provision of these services.”

Guyana's Draft Local Content Policy and proposed legislation, making the requirements legally binding, have been condemned by some as being unrealistic.

One such expert—CoFounder of Americas Market Intelligence (AMI)—Arthur Deakin is of the firm belief that Guyana has still fallen short of outlining realistic procurement, training and employment goals for oil companies.

In one of his most recent columns, Deakin highlighted that the government, for example, expects that within 10 years, Guyanese firms should be used to cover 95 percent of the energy sector's insurance risks.

Deakin was keen to note that this alone is just not practical. Except for Brazil, which has managed oil and gas projects for half a century and has the 12th largest economy in the world, the analyst said, no other Latin American country has the local insurance capacity to provide this type or level of coverage.

Using this reasoning, he concluded that such an expectation or target shows a mismatch between the government's expectations and the current reality on-theground.

Friday November 26, 2021

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

The PPP/C is shameless The government is back to its old ways. Nothing has changed from the discredited actions which caused the PPP/C to lose its majority in 2011 and office in 2015.

There was one common denominator in those defeats and that common denominator is now a multiplier. The PPP/C and the country will go nowhere so long as that factor remains entrenched and pulling the strings.

The Opposition hold no chance of regaining power and they do not deserve ever to hold office again. Not after what they put this country through for five months; and certainly not after squandering the golden opportunity to make a difference. Instead of rebuilding under the man responsible for bringing the PNC/R back to power through free and fair elections, there was mutiny against him and now a struggle for power.

Instead of a frank and forthright assessment as to why the APNU+AFC lost political power, there is a mad scramble to depose the one man who delivered them out of the political wilderness.

What is taking place in the PNC/R now is a vendetta against Granger. But after what happened between March and August 2020, the PNC/R in another couple of weeks will get the leaders it deserves.

What is clear is that the

PNC/R cannot be part of any democratic solution in Guyana and lacks the moral authority to hold the PPP/C accountable and to stem its excesses.

I have said before that the PPP/C is now controlled by an economic oligarchy – a small grouping which is stinking rich and which expects that every cent that it gave to the party for its election campaign, must be returned with interest. And this is what we are seeing now.

We are also back to the days of micromanagement.

Decision-making has become so centralised that billions are falling through the cracks because decisions are not being made in a timely fashion. And instead of reorganisation of the political management of the State, the country is being treated to pappy shows.

Every day is a pappy show. Every day is sheer fluff and no substance. Every day is a picture moment while the country waits for a perfect moment.There is no credible Opposition because the Opposition lacks credibility.

And this is granting licence for the government to do as it pleases. And it is doing as it pleases.

From the failure to audit the expenses and credits of the oil companies, to making controversial award of contracts, to making a mockery of public consultations, to dubious

appointments to foreign missions while the key foreign service appointments are not being made, to the retendering of contracts, to poor educational policies, to absence of public service reform, to a dubious distinction between core and non-core sports, to the usual talk about fighting crime through increased injection of resources, to the absence of a depletion policy for the oil and gas sectors and to the return of the usual flawed business models.Guyana is on the road to eternal torment.

If you have young children, this is not the government or the country for them. Get them out on the earliest flight after the pandemic has abated and tell them not to ever contemplate coming back here.

Young people have no future in this country. The government lacks the vision to create a society of opportunities. All it is doing at present is allowing the oligarchy to make merry while the masses continue to suffer.

And suffering they are.

Burdened by heavy taxes, poor pay and soaring cost of living, they are thrown crumbs in the form of meagre salary increases and there is gumption to force the private sector to increase the minimum wage from the paltry $45,000. The PPP/C, built on the backs of the working class, is shameless.

Mediocrity now rules the

Dem boys seh ...

Guyanese becoming copycats Guyanese losing dem identity! We people travel so much to America and get smitten so much by Uncle Sam dat is everything dat country do we wan do. We now celebrating Halloween, even dough nobody nah trick or treating.

Dem leaving de trick and treating to de guvament. De guvament does tek ‘tricks’ and mek a living and dem ‘treating’ dem friends handsomely.

Now Guyanese celebrating Thanksgiving when

poor people can’t even afford bangamary much less de cat fish wah Uncle Sam nah want.

Nuff Guyanese had Thanksgiving Dinner last night. Yuh did believe dat yuh deh in America.

And today is Black Friday sale. But only 10 percent off in some places.

But people want get in on de action and dem flock to one ah dem store wah dem think dem gan get bargains.

People turn up before de place open. Dem even form a line.

A well-dress man bin in front de line. He try fuh get to de door and de people pounce pun he and give he a sound beating.

He try again and he get lift up and knack down. He get up and start to mutter, “If y’all continue like dat, I ain’t opening de store.”

As fuh dem boys, dem savings 100 percent in every store.

Dem boys nah buying nothing.

Talk half and save yuh money!

roost. And as is said, who the Gods despise they first make mediocre.

(The views expressed in

this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Friday November 26, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The usual suspects and the shape of the mind in Guyana

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h a t h a s happened in Guyana is adequately described by Mr. Dominic Gaskin during the election rigging. Gaskin who rejected the rigging wrote on his Meta page of July 17, 2020: “While I empathize with many who do not wish to see the PPP return to power, the harm that will ensue can never justify what is contemplated.”

What has happened since then is that those who did not want the PPP to rule again, have substituted the PPP for the existence of the country.

What happens then is that every move by the government is seen as a conspiracy by the PPP and it has to be condemned using both political and racial vitriol. The emotions come from the usual suspects.

There is no policymaking process in Guyana anymore. For these people, anything government does is a racial and ethnic conspiracy. And the output is characterised by unmitigated

propaganda. They hate the PPP, do not want the PPP to rule and certain sections of the media feed these people's phantasmagoria.

And who are these people – the usual suspects.

Not the opposition which naturally has to oppose and that is logical. By the usual suspect is meant certain civil s o c i e t y o rg a n i s a t i o n s , certain frequent letter writers in the newspapers, certain type of middle class, nonIndian personalities. These people's mental flow is easily predictable.

It should come as no surprise that as soon as the amendment to the Representation of the People's Act (RoPA) was published, the usual suspects were on the rooftop. It should come as no surprise that propaganda would replace academic analysis and anti-PPP venom would be substituted for decency.

The usual suspects will shut out from their minds that hundreds of thousands of citizens in this country want

to see legal and constitutional changes that would make a repeat of the Mingo/Lowenfield/Myers playbook impossible.

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) as predicted sees nothing positive about the changes.

This is the same body that didn't have psychological functionalism to condemn five months of election rigging but could condemn legal changes that would ensure those five months are impossible to return.

Then they are those who lost their prominence and friends when the APNU+AFC was defeated at the poll last year and in the process lost their minds.

They welcome the dishonest content of GHRA's output and on reading that, I silently exclaimed – what a mind!

No one in this country who believes the government of the PPP does wrong things and want them corrected can retain their credibility by citing the GHRA as a signpost of

human rights activism. The GHRA is plain and simple a non-functioning body that seeks publicity by periodic issuing of press releases specifically designed to attack the government because the PPP is in power.

This moribund body is kept alive by a certain section of the press to whom it is grateful because the GHRA writes frequent editorials for it.

For anyone to look at the silence of the GHRA during the five months of election rigging and see it as a credible civil society group has a contorted mind.

One letter writer attributes racial motive for the amendment to RoPA. I read the amendment and someone has to tell me how Indian voters in this country, who vote for the PPP, will have a strategic advantage in voting over other ethnic groups.

These letter writers, the GHRA and others have knocked the amendments because GECOM remains

untouched in the proposed changes.

Either this is dishonesty or downright intellectual Frederick Kissoon incompetence. The This was at a time when Carter/Price formula that has s h a p e d G E C O M i s a Alexander and Corbin were constitutional article. It locked in confrontation over cannot be changed. Only a the leader position in the two thirds majority in the PNC. Alexander refused to resign citing his position as a House can do that.

You can change RoPA to constitutional one not ensure the procedures are subject to recall by any legally water-proof, for human in Guyana, including example – making the the president.

He was right. The statements of poll immediately available to all Opposition leader Corbin and sundry after polling could not have fired a PNC GECOM commissioner closes.

But the ruling party because the constitution only cannot pass legislation to r e c o g n i s e s G E C O M amend the anatomy and commissioners, not party physiology of GECOM. commissioners. I guess Here is an interesting story of tomorrow the usual suspects h o w u n t o u c h a b l e will come up with more of constitutionally GECOM is. their anti-PPP madness.

Three of the commissioners Decent Guyanese should must be from the opposition. know better.

(The views expressed in Then opposition leader, Robert Corbin requested this article are those of the Vincent Alexander to resign a u t h o r a n d d o n o t so he, Corbin, could have necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) him replaced.

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Govt. moves to tackle road accidents ...spending US$150,000 on consultancy to design road safety action plan

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mid a spike in road accidents, government through the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is seeking help to address the situation.

M a n a g e r o f Traffic/Safety and Maintenance, Kester Hinds in an interview with this publication recently explained that the ministry has recognised the urgent need for an intervention into the road safety situation. “It is imperative for us to understand the situation, so we can act accordingly,” he said.

As such, the Ministry is seeking Consultancy Services for the design of a Road Safety Action Plan, geared at analysing the situation and suggesting methods to address same.

In an advertisement published in the Sunday Kaieteur News, the ministry said, “The Consultancy Services will be used for the design of a Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) including the studies needed to be developed and the activities required in implementing the programme. More specifically, this plan will

diagnose and analyse the overall situation, identify key risks, opportunities and entry points for improvements and prepare an action plan of activities to be financed and implemented in order to reduce the number of road casualties and fatalities over time”.

According to Hinds, the Consultancy Services are estimated to cost about US$150,000. The estimated implementation period for the Consultancy is six months.

He explained that the selected firm will be required

Over 300 fatal accidents have been recorded this year thus far. to, not only analyse all categories of road accidents, but also the contributing factors, which will pave the way for measures to be adopted to address the risk factors.

Financing has been made available by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB). Firms must be experienced in conducting road/traffic safety analysis, particularly relating to

engineering, enforcement and investigation, Hinds pointed out.

Statistics reveal that there has been an increase in serious accidents, minor accidents and damage accidents. In fact, there was a 25 percent increase in serious accidents, with 248 recorded cases for 2020 in contrast to 309 cases for the year 2021 (corresponding period – end of October).

Minor accidents increased by 53%, with a total of 444, compared to last year's recorded cases of 291.

Damage accidents saw an increase of 30%, while deaths decreased by 31%.

Meanwhile, 106 cases of fatal accidents were recorded for the year 2020 in comparison to seventy-four (74) for the corresponding period in 2021. That is a 30% decrease.

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

FITUG raises concerns about 7% pay hike for public servants The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has acknowledged that the seven percent pay increase offered to public servants is inadequate, but said in the private sector the increase is several times more than what those employers are offering to their workers.

The umbrella trade union movement made the comments in a statement issued on Thursday on the matter. Last Thursday, the Irfaan Ali Government announced a mere seven percent, across-the-board salary increase for public servants, retroactive from J a n u a r y 2 0 2 1 .

This comes even after the State workers did not get an increase in salary last year.

Making the announcement on behalf of the Government was Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh.

“I am pleased to announce now that your Government will be paying an across-the-board increase of seven percent to public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, as well as government pensioners.

This increase will be granted retroactively to 1 January 2021, and work will start immediately to ensure that it is processed and paid to eligible employees together with their December salary and in time for the festive Christmas season,” the Minister explained. Since then, there has been widespread condemnation of the seven percent imposition.

According to FITUG it has noted the comments and analysis offered by several commentators and organisations.

“For its part, the Federation itself has concerns with the pay rise as we take the wider situation into account and the plight of the ordinary people.

The announcement by Dr. Singh came soon after an address to the nation by His Excellency President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali who reiterated his government's commitment to improving

workers' pay. In that address, the President called to attention the impact the global supply chain issues were having on the local populace.”

FITUG says while it recognises there may be little the Government can do to control these external events, “we note too, the President's seeming disappointment in that the measures his government took to relieve some pressures, are not reaching the ordinary people. Indeed, it is saddening that despite the Government foregoing of billions of dollars to the Treasury, businesses are not transferring the intended benefit to the consuming public.”

“While the pay rise may not have met the expectations of some, at the same time, we are aware that in the unorganised private sector, the increase is several times more than what those employers are offering to their employees.

We h a v e r e c e i v e d information that some businesses have hardly sought to address their employees' plight while in other cases have ignored it altogether.

This comes at a time when we see increased buoyancy in the business sector and many businesses reporting record-breaking profitability and expansive plans for future investment,” the union said.

According to FITUG, undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic, from all appearances, had little impact “and we congratulate the business sector on its achievement.

We also cannot ignore that the successes recorded cannot and we daresay should not be delinked from the efforts of the employees of those businesses. Indeed, many businesses do not exist on their own but are supported by their employees.

U ndoubtedly, those employees should benefit from the successes their firms enjoy.” FITUG said it believes, at the very least, (Continued on page 22)

Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

Man in handcuffs chokes lover in court Chaos broke out on Thursday at the Wales Magistrate's Court when a Colombian man chocked his reputed wife while being arraigned on a charge of assault.

The Colombian national, Alberto Jose was actually in handcuffs when he jumped

out of the prisoner's dock and choked the woman, Yurlerdy Caromota, a Venezuelan woman in front of the magistrate.

Kaieteur News understands that prior to assaulting the woman Jose was taken to the court by (Continued on page 24)

Alberto Jose

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Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

Gold miner pleads guilty to killing neighbour at Essequibo

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yan Alberts, a gold miner who is originally from Yarakita Village, in the North West District on Thursday, at the Georgetown High Court, pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter for the killing of his neighbour back in March 2016 at Essequibo.

Alberts called 'Maurie' appeared before Justice Joann Barlow during a virtual hearing of his case. He accepted that he had fatally stabbed his neighbour Dalton Emanuel. The incident occurred on March 29, 2016 in Essequibo. He accepted that on the same day he assaulted Mark Edwards with the intent to cause him grievous bodily harm. The indictments were presented by State Counsel Latifah Elliot. Alberts was represented by attorney Ravindra Mohabir. Given the early guilty plea, Alberts will be sentenced for the crime. Justice Barlow set December 9, 2021 as the date on which the sentence will be handed down.

According to reports, on the day in question at 22:00 hours, the now dead Emanuel was involved in a dispute with the accused.

The argument seemed to have been resolved that evening but it surfaced the following day.

The suspect, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, ran into Emanuel and confronted him again. A fight ensued and the

Ryan Alberts.

accused pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed Emanuel in his abdomen. It is said that during the same fight Mark Edwards was assaulted.

Back then, the Divisional Commander, Ravindradat Budhram, said that he had instructed the dispatch of ranks from Mabaruma early the next morning in order to prevent the suspect from fleeing to neighbouring Venezuela. He said that when captured, the accused cooperated with the ranks and gave a statement in which he admitted killing Emanuel.

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Health, community workers trained in early childhood development ...space established at Annai Health Centre with Canada, UNICEF support

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Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Development Program, Global Affairs Canada, Sharon Peake assists a child to cut the ribbon to officially open the ECD space at the Annai Health Centre on Monday, 22 November 2021.

Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Development Program, Global Affairs Canada, Sharon Peake (fourth from left) with UNICEF staff and participants of the ECD training at Annai on Monday, 22 November 2021 .

dedicated Early Childhood Development (ECD) space, the first ever at the Annai Health Centre, was commissioned on Monday, following the training of 15 healthcare and community workers from Annai and surrounding villages in the North Rupununi, Region 9.

According to a release from UNICEF, Sharon Peake, Executive D i r e c t o r, C a r i b b e a n R e g i o n a l Development Program, Global Affairs Canada joined local health and other officials for a handover event. It is the first under the ECD component of the Canada-funded Promoting safe and healthy learning and living environments to migrants and host communities in Guyana's hinterland project, which is being implemented by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in close collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.

The ECD aspect of the project focuses on ensuring that all girls and boys, 4 years and younger, and their parents, have access to quality ECD programming. “Much of Canada's work in Guyana focuses heavily on

supporting indigenous women, youth, vulnerable and hard to reach populations,” said Peake, who is on her first visit to Guyana. She highlighted that the project with UNICEF also caters for migrants from neighbouring Venezuela, who have been forced to flee harsh economic conditions in their homeland. “The project will work in Annai and other similar communities across Guyana and will focus on early childhood development activities for children under 4 years of age as well as providing safe, healthy, genderfriendly and climate smart dormitories for adolescent children,” Peake said.

She further reiterated that, “all of Canada's international assistance is guided by a Feminist International Assistance Policy which places the empowerment and advancement of women and girls as the key priority.”

For the recent exercise, 15 community health and community stakeholders from Annai, Wowetta, Aranaputa, Rupertee, Kwatamang and Surama were trained in ECD activities over a period of three days. Aside from the dedicated space at the Annai Health Centre, materials were (Continued on page 23)

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Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

Man perishes in Enterprise house fire Shwavash Goolchand died in a fire that destroyed his house on Thursday.

A 54-year-old man was burnt to death early Thursday morning in a fire at his Lot 156 Market Street, Enterprise, East Coast Demerara (EBD) residence.

In a press release issued by the Guyana Fire Service, it states that the 54-year-old man, Shwavash Goolchand resided in the flat wooden building with his brother Suresh Goolchand.

The Fire Department was made aware of the blaze at 03:40 hrs and Water Tender 103 from the Melanie Fire Station was immediately dispatched to the area. An ambulance and crew as

well as members of the Guyana Police Force also responded to the scene. As a result of the fire Goolchand tragically lost his life and the entire building and its contents were destroyed. Due to radiated heat, two vehicles located on the western side of the building were severely damaged.

The Guyana Fire Service urges citizens to equip their homes with smoke detectors and fire extinguishers and to be careful when cooking or using electrical appliances, the release added.

Friday November 19, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Conflict of interest at tender board ...Jordan flags Balgobin's roles as chair of NPTAB and director of projects at Finance Ministry

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gainst the background of a s l e w o f controversial contract awards, Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan is calling for an investigation into the operations of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) whose chairman, Tarachand Balgobin, is also the Director of Project Cycle Management at the Ministry of Finance.

In an interview with this newspaper, Jordan explained that with the watchdog entity- the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) inoperable 'super contracts' are being given away to companies with no prior experience in construction, in violation of the Procurement Act of 2003.

In fact, the former Minister said a glaring anomaly is that the Chairman of National Procurement and Tender Administration Board ( N P TA B ) , Ta r a c h a n d Balgobin also serves as the

Director of Projects. “What I know is the Watchdog for the Tender Board is not there, which is the Public Procurement Commission and therefore a lot of things are sliding away. We first have the anomaly of the Chairman of Tender Board being the Director of Projects.

If that is not Conflict of Interest, I don't know what else the definition is, but that is going on,” he explained.

Back in September last year, Minister of Public Wo r k s , J u a n E d g h i l l appointed the new board for NPTAAB. At the time, Edghill was tasked with the responsibility of Finance.

Among the appointments announced, was that of Balgobin, as new 'temporary' Chairman of the Board. He assumed chairmanship from Berkley Wickham.

Since then, there has been no further update with regard to the appointment of Balgobin. Kaieteur News on Thursday reached out to the

Tarachand Balgobin is the chairman of National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) as well as the Director of Project Cycle Management at the Ministry of Finance.

Communications Officer of the Ministry, Candace Field, who confirmed the designation of Balgobin as Head, Project Cycle Management Division. This has sparked questions concerning the credibility of the tender board.

In addition to this, Jordan argued that the trained staff of NPTAB was removed by the Government, and replaced with persons with no experience, following their ascension to office.

Considering this, as well as the recent awards of contracts to companies with no experience in construction, Jordan said a complete investigation must be done.

“It calls for a detailed investigation of the Tender Board and the Tender Board activities over the last 15 months, because clearly the body is now throwing up projects and are now throwing out companies of which we are now hearing about.

We are not certain of their track records, but they are being given super contracts to build different schools and other buildings...what needs to happen is a complete investigation of the operations of the Tender Board before it degenerates further,” he pointed out.

Jordan also voiced his concerns over the removal of certain guidelines at the NPTAB, which in turn is allowing the Heads of Budget Agencies (HoBAs) to develop their own set of evaluation criteria for

projects under their control, among others.

According to him, the Coalition government amended the Procurement Act, in 2019, to provide for the registration of contractors.

This allowed for contractors to be categorised according to a set of criteria, including financial capacity, track record and technical capacity. The amendment also linked the Procurement Act with the Small Business Act, thus allowing small businesses easier and smoother access to public procurement.

He said the amendment also requires that all budget agencies submit their procurement plans, in keeping with their approved budgets.

These plans should be in the public domain.

Jordan explained, “This practice by NPTAB allowed for checks and balances by ensuring, for example, that there was consistency in the documents and that the evaluation criteria were suitable for the type of procurement (works, goods and services).

Budget agencies were required to make the necessary corrections before the bid documents were approved. With NPTAB imprimatur of the bidding documents, bidders were assured both of the authenticity of the document and the process”.

However, this procedure is no more. Jordan noted that in a letter dated September 24, 2020, which was

Former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan addressed to the Heads of Budget Agencies (HoBAs), Tarachand Balgobin, in his capacity as Director, Project Cycle Management Division, Ministry of Finance disclosed, “The NPTAB has advised that the process of clearing tender documents prior to the launch of tender has been removed.”

“While Balgobin's disclosure appears innocuous, it has serious implications; it has, with the stroke of a pen, removed a critical check and balance f r o m t h e N P TA B a n d deposited it in the Budget Agency,” Jordan highlighted.

As a consequence, each HoBA can now develop their own set of evaluation criteria for projects under their control, he noted, which not only creates confusion but also lays the basis for corruption.

Only on Wednesday Kaieteur News reported that the new Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Jermaine Figueira flagged the need for the PPC to be established. Figueira's comments came on the heels of the recent announcement (Continued on page 22)

Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

PAGE 21

Ramsammy asks court to set aside default judgment in libel suit F

ormer Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy has applied to the High Court for the setting aside of the default judgment granted in the libel suit brought against him by veteran journalist and former Chief Executive O ff i c e r ( C E O ) o f t h e National Communications Network (NCN), Enrico Woolford.

According to court documents seen by this newspaper, Dr. Ramsammy has filed an application seeking inter alia, an order that the default judgment be set aside, and that he be

Former Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy.

allowed to file a defense. Dr. Ramsammy is contending in his application that he was never served any documents in relation to the case because the Court Marshall providing the service failed to reach him at his correct address.

Among other things, Dr. Ramsammy contends that he does not reside at the address stated in the document. The former minister who is now an advisor to the current Minister of Health stated too that he was never evading the service of the court, but was rather busy in the fields conducting awareness of the COVID-19 immunization

Health Ministry now reports Covid-19 death from April The Ministry of Health on Thursday reported three more deaths from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease- one of which was since April this year.

The ministry reported that the fatalities are that of two unvaccinated women and a fully vaccinated man.

Those who died are: a 77-year-old man from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and a 76-year-old woman from Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) who died on November 24, and a 63-year-old woman from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) who died on April 22, last.

As a result of this, Guyana's COVID-19 death toll has moved to 983.

Further, in its daily COVID-19 dashboard, the Health Ministry recorded 89 new infections, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 37,613.

The dashboard also shows that there are 14 patients admitted into the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 72 persons admitted into institutional isolation, 1,525 in home isolation and three in institutional quarantine.

To date, a total of 35,019 persons have recovered from the virus.

drive.

As such, Dr. Ramsammy asked the court to reconsider the default judgment granted against him for failing to file a defense. Last August, Justice Fidela CorbinLincoln granted a default judgment to Woolford, in a $150 million libel suit he filed against Dr. Ramsammy.

In a statement released on Woolford's behalf, lawyer Eusi Anderson said that his client was grateful for the ruling. According to Anderson, the default judgments were granted in keeping with the Civil Procedures Rules when the

defendant to a claim fails to file a defense within the prescribed time.

“My client tried to bring the proceedings to Dr. Ramsammy's attention both through personal service then through substituted service.

In both situations, he incurred tremendous expense and failed to serve Dr. Ramsammy,” Anderson said in the statement.

Further, the lawyer said “My client looks forward to removing, with the passage of time and financial damages, the stain of alleged election rigging from his (Continued on page 22)

Journalist: Enrico Woolford.

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

Audit Liza 1, 2, Payara Project costs before approving Yellowtail...

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Conflict of interest at...

From page 20 that a 'fly-by-night' company, St8ment Investment Inc. has been granted a whopping $346 million contract to build a new Primary School at Bamia in Region 10, with no LAND FOR SALE public records indicating any 102 GoodHope Mahaica, construction experience.

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safe way of saving face of its dilemma, the AFC is calling on the Government to not approve the Yellow-Tail project until Exxon agrees to the Audit.

According to him, a similar demand of the EPA under the previous administration proved to be successful in obtaining unlimited liability assurance coverage from Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) as a condition for approving the Liza 2 project; but unfortunately, the PPPC Government promptly reversed that decision.

Friday November 26, 2021

Ramsammy asks court to set aside default judgment in libel suit...

From page 13 name in local, regional, and international quarters. He exhausted the judicial process and was vindicated in the end.

He played no role in the alleged rigging of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.”

Woolford, had filed a $150 million claim against the Guyana Times and Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, a columnist and former Minister of Health, for libel.

According to court papers, Ramsammy was sued over an article printed in the Guyana Times in which

he alleges that he (Woolford) colluded with the APNU+AFC to rig the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

In his statement of claim, the veteran journalist outline d t h a t o n March 18, 2020, in a column titled: “Ramsammy's Ruminations” the former Minister of Health defamed him.

In the circumstances, Wo o l f o r d w a s s e e k i n g damages in excess of $150 million from Dr. Ramsammy and Times Media Group Inc., publisher of the Guyana Times newspaper.

FITUG says 7% pay hike not enough...

From page 14 businesses should award their employees no lesser than a seven per cent pay rise. “It is our considered view that it allows private businesses to continue to attract and retain skills to sustain their operations while seeking to alleviate some of the burdens their employees are fetching currently.

“As we contrast remuneration in the public and private sectors, we also can-

not ignore the widening disparity between the national and public sector minimum wages. With the recent increase approved by Government, the valley between the two wages has widened to $30,700 per month. Thus, employees at the national minimum wage level must work some two (2) months before they earn what their counterparts earn in the public sector. We are aware that a few businesses pay more than the

national minimum wage, but yet there are very many that are rigidly adhering to the basement pay level.

At its current level, the national minimum wage is really a pauperization wage and we again, as we have several times before, urge the authorities to address in a meaningful manner the long-outstanding issue.

Certainly, there is urgent need for an adjustment,” FITUG said.

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 23

Seven firms Mohamed’s Enterprise defends bid to provide receiving government contracts security for EPA

D

uring the opening of the tenders at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), at the Ministry of Finance yesterday, seven companies tendered for a contract to provide security services for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to the EPA, the security services are for its head office and suboffice in Whim, Berbice, for

The handing over of the contract for the construction of the GFS headquarters on Wednesday last.

the period January to December 2022.

Other tenders opened by the board were for the procurement of children Christmas gifts, a project put forward by the Guyana Defence Force and for consultancy services for the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA), a project which falls under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Below are the companies and their bids:

Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Procurement of children Christmas gift items.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Provision of Unarmed (baton) Security Services at EPA head office and the Whim sub-office for January to December 2022.

By Shervin Belgrave Mohamed Enterprise on Thursday sought to set the records straight and defend why it has been so successful recently in winning quite a few multimillion construction contracts from the government.

The company came under the spotlight after it was awarded a $614M

contract on Wednesday to construct a new Guyana Fire Service Headquarters along H o m e s t r e t c h Av e n u e , Georgetown.

Questions were raised a b o u t t h e c o m p a n y ’s experience and whether it is qualified enough to undertake such a project. It was reported too that Mohamed’s Enterprise had

placed the highest bid of $858M for the construction of the new GFS headquarters and was still awarded the contract for a sum of $614M. This newspaper on Thursday asked the Company’s proprietor, Nazar Mohamed, if the government had renegotiated with him to accept $614M instead of the

amount he had tendered. In response, Mohamed said that his company did not submit a bid of that amount and related that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) made a mistake when it published the bids.

The Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn who (Continued on page 24)

Health, community workers trained in early childhood development...

Ministry of Natural Resources Consulting services for the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) - Commencement of procurement activities submission of Request for Expression of Interest (REOI).

From page 17 handed out to each of the communities to aid with delivery of ECD sessions.

These will include sessions at health facilities and through home visits with parents of children attending antenatal, infant and preschool clinics, all adhering to COVID-19 protocols. Some 417 children from the district are expected to initially benefit in the near term.

“In the first three years of life, the child's brain develops more rapidly than at any other time of his or her life and the care they receive will determine the adults they will become. These are the years when the foundation for growth and development, health and nutrition, physical, social, language, creative and intellectual abilities is laid.

That is what early childhood development is about; to lay that foundation to improve the quality of life of children.

This has been the focus of the training.

Healthcare workers from Annai and other communities are now better

equipped to support parents and help our children have the best start in life, including better performance at school,” said Jewell Crosse, Adolescent & Youth Development Officer at UNICEF. In welcoming the ECD initiative, Doctor in Charge of the Annai Health Centre, Dr. Narash Torres said that there is a need for such a programme in the area to give children a better start in life. He noted that hinterland children did not have similar access to resources as others, and the ECD program will set the foundation for better education and a more promising future. “We have our staff well equipped with the training and skills required…we will do our best to get our children stimulated at a very young age so they can grow up to be well rounded and educated adults,” Dr.Torres added.

Similar sentiments were e x p r e s s e d b y Ya s m i n Andries, the Community Health Worker for Wowetta, who added that the ECD materials for the

communities will assist greatly in their outreach to parents. Andries noted that part of the training included developing their outreach plans and they are ready to begin immediately.

Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Human Services a n d S o c i a l S e c u r i t y, Executive Officer of the Ministry's ECD Unit, Lavern Thorne said the Ministry recognizes the significant impact ECD has on the lives of children and has joined with partners to ensure that all children thrive and meet their potential.

She said that the Ministry looks forward to continued support from UNICEF and Canada to help accomplish these goals.

The ECD component of Promoting safe and healthy learning and living environments to migrants and host communities in Guyana's hinterland project seeks to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 4: by 2030 and ensure that all girls/boys under 5 years have access to quality early childhood

development, so that they are ready for primary education.

The project will prioritize quality services to give a jumpstart especially to the most marginalized children, including migrants living in the targeted communities, to ensure that no one is left behind. It will also address the challenge of poor water and sanitation practices.

It is expected that by December 2022, at least 75% of girls and boys under 4 years of age in 100 communities in the targeted locations in Regions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 have access to quality ECD programmes and family support services and have readiness skills for easy and on time transition to nursery school.

Another component of the project focuses on safe, secure, healthy learning environments for secondary school adolescent boys and girls living in dormitories in Guyana's hinterland, through system strengthening and gender responsive programming for healthy lifestyles.

PAGE 24

Kaieteur News

CCJ to rule on GRA's tax...

From page 3 surrounded whether or not damages are taxable under the Income Tax Act and what procedures GRA must comply with to ensure procedural fairness.

The appeal also raises vital issues concerning what constitutes taxable income under the Income Tax Act Cap 81:01, and the process and procedural safeguards that GRA must adhere to in order to ensure a process that is fair, transparent and accords with the principles of natural jus-

tice.

Damages are monetary awards owed to a winning plaintiff by the losing defendant in a civil case tried in a court of law. It should be noted that civil damages are granted when a person is injured and/or suffers a loss which stems from the wrongful or negligent actions of another party.Yesterday, the attorneys for the appellant and the respondent made their submissions to the CCJ and during their submissions it was noted that the equiva-

lent of the original judgment award; the sum of $44 million was deposited to the court's registry by the GRA. During the two-hour hearing, the lawyers were also asked a series of questions by the CCJ judges. Ramsahoye was represented by attorneys-atlaw C.V Satram, Roopnarine Satram and Ron Motilall, while attorney-at-law, Maritha Halley, in association of Judy Stuart-Adonis and Hessaun YassinNandlall, appeared on behalf of GRA.

Man in handcuffs chokes lover...

From page 15 police ranks. Caromota was also present at the time and as the Magistrate was in the process of reading the

charge, Jose jumped over the dock in his attempt to assault the woman. The woman was reportedly rescued by a police constable, on sentry du-

ties, who also managed to restrain Jose.

As a result, Jose will remain behind bars until March 30, 2022.

Friday November 26, 2021

‘Blow the whistle on corrupt cops’ - Region 2 Police commander urgesa public Region Two Commander, Denise Griffith, has urged the public to report all cases of police ranks engaging in corruption acts.

Commander Griffith made the plea when she appeared on the Guyana Police Force radio programme “Police and You” with the Force’s Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) Public Relations Officer, Stan Gouveia.

She said that the relations between the police and the public in Region Two have proven to be a major challenge. However, she pointed out that the distrust possibly persists from alleged acts of dishonesty on the part of ranks who operate in the Region. “From my observation, the relationship between the police and I’m going to be very frank – is not 90% with the public. There is a lot of distrust, because maybe of different reasons – some acts of dishonesty on the part of some of the police [officers], alleged corrupt involvement,” the Commander explained.

She further pointed out that since her deployment to the division she has been

Region Two Commander, Denise Griffith during an interview with the Force’s Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) Public Relations Officer, Stan Gouveia. reaching out to the public for help to improve the relationship between her ranks and the residents.

Meanwhile, on allegations of bribery, Commander Griffith posited that this illicit act involves a giver and a taker, and if a rank demands money, a resident has the right to make a report and to refrain from engaging in the act.

She said the same goes for ranks who are offered money

to turn a blind eye.

“If you’re offering the policeman not to be prosecuted then it is an offer and an acceptance…So if you want us to work together, then members of the public have to cease getting the police involved in acts of corruption.

That is one of the challenges, but I can tell you that it has been minimised a lot,” she added.

Mohamed’s Enterprise defends receiving...

From page 23 was part of the signing ceremony of the contract on Wednesday also related that he is only aware of the $614M that was in the contract document. Kaieteur News also contacted NPTAB for some clarification on the matter but was asked to write a letter to the entity’s chairman to verify whether or not it was an error.

Experience: Responding to questions about its experience in the construction field, Mohamed’s Enterprise stated in a press release that it is competent enough and has been in the construction business for some 30 years.

“Our less touted projects included our own main office in Lombard Street, two stateof- the- art buildings for the ISA Islamic School, the Albouystown Masjid and countless homes for Guyanese in need of such space”, stated the company.

Mohamed’s Enterprise added that the experience it has garnered throughout the years has been applied to projects it has done in recent times.

One of the top tier projects that it has completed recently is the construction of four major laydown yards that are currently being used by many of the oil and gas companies and tier one contractors.

The company’s Proprietor Nazar Mohamed said that due to current infrastructural

boom in Guyana, his company had decided to venture out into the construction business and has been doing a good job, which has allowed it to be competitive in winning government contracts.

Mohamed’s Enterprise, he pointed out, had recently built 20 elevated two-bedroom core homes within the contracted period for the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the Ministry of Housing and Water.

In the press release the company noted: “We are also ahead of schedule on the construction of facilities at Lusignan Prison.

Apart from meeting deadlines and producing quality work, Nazar Mohamed, explained that his company has access to “liquidity” or ready financing and does not have to wait on government to start and finish a project.

He added too that due to his company’s reputation, it is able to credit construction materials from local suppliers unlike other companies.

These advantages, said Mohamed have made his company competitive in winning government contracts.

The businessman continued that many might believe that one makes millions by winning these contracts but sometimes you can lose. He recounted that he had placed a bid for a recent government contract when price for materials was low. Mahomed related that that eventually he

won the contract but by that time the price for materials had gone up and in the end he ended up losing because the government refused to go back to the drawing board.

Nevertheless, he explained, he still does his best because he takes pride in doing work for his country. The businessman promised that he will finish the new GFS headquarters on time and will ensure that it is durable and of high standard.

According to Ministry of Home Affairs, it will be a modern facility with sufficient space to house more equipment.

Kaieteur News was told that the front of the building will be designed with double ply tampered proof glass for a modern look.

The idea of building a new GFS headquarters was introduced by former Fire Chief Marlon Gentle who posited that it was necessary to decentralise the current headquarters located in the Stabroek Market area to improve efficiency.

He had noted that the congested streets around that area would often delay its response to fires in the city. As a result, the government, in the 2021 budget set aside $1.9B for the construction the new headquarters along Homestretch Avenue and a smaller fire station at Eccles. Part of that sum was also set aside to purchase new fire tenders to boost the GFS’ services.

Friday Friday November October 29,26, 2021 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

Amaila Falls Hydro project figures don't add up …onus now on Govt. to come clean - Energy Institute

Electricity generation in Guyana is largely fueled by Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Diesel powered plants, run by the State owned, Guyana Power and Light Inc., (GPL), at a cost of about US$0.36 per kWh but the figures being proffered as cheaper alternatives, do not add up.

In fact, the administration in its presentations trumpeting the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project (AFHEP) previously estimated in excess of US$1B—has in fact, convoluted the affair with regard, whether the cost of electricity for the consuming public will be reduced or increased.

Vice P res ident, D r.

Bharrat Jagdeo, has been at the forefront in recent years, reiterating ad naseaum, the electricity rates for consumers in Guyana being slashed by half with GPL still earning a decent profit.

The assertions were recently adumbrated by Think Engine Institute &

Energy Services' (TEIES) Alfred Bhulai, who in a recent public missive said, based on the information being peddled by a d m i n i s t r a t i o n spokespersons, the repayment costs for the projects would not allow for the electricity cost to be reduced but in fact will increases.

According to TEIES' Bhulai, the administration's defence of the Hydro Electric Project is rooted in a 2016 Norconsult study which states, “The only realistic path for Guyana toward an emission free electricity sector is by developing its hydropower potential.

The fastest way forward is to maintain AFHP as the first major step for substituting its current oilfired generation.”

He said while this was debatable in 2016, it is no longer the case since solar power has overtaken it in terms of cost effectiveness.

With regard, the AFHEP,

Bhulai contends that with a price tag of US$900M (we are hearing about US$1B now) for 165 Mega Watts, this works out “at 38 US cents per kWh unit of electricity.”

Since then, it has been revealed to the public—without any documentary study detail—that China Railway Group Limited will build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) the AFHP at no cost to Guyana except for 7.737 US cents per kWh that GPL will pay for 20 years.

As such, according to Bhulai, this would mean that “if we get the full 165 MW power from AFHP over the 20 years, we should receive 29 TWh (Terawatthours) of electrical energy, for which GPL will have to pay US$2.24B. in order to access this energy.”

A d d i t i o n a l l y, h e reminded, as was confirmed by several government reports that, “GPL will obviously have to set up a

transmission and distribution (T&D) system.”

The TEIES' spokesman said too, based on the generation to T&D ratio of costs for a US$2.2M contract for the design, supply and installation of a 150 kW hydropower plant on the Cheong River, at Kato Village, in Region Eight, signed by the APNU/AFC government in September 2019, the T&D would cost GPL an additional US$3.8B (not the few hundred million US dollars which they seem to be considering) amounting to US$6B for 165 MW of power.

This, he said, works out to US$0.21 cents per kWh, more expensive than the US$0.15 cents, which the Government is telling us we will have to pay, but far less than the US$0.38 cents, which I worked out before this new revelation was booted up.”

This, he said is a huge difference, “but it is not my job to account for it by

guessing how the Government is playing with our future.”

As such, Bhulai was adamant the onus is on the Government to provide the information requested by citizens, who without knowing the financing conditions (and other concessions?), have to make assumptions about interest rate and payback period.”

He said, let the Government publicly reveal the conditions of financing.

Qualifying his position, Bhulai said, “…we have good cause to ask our respective governments” and pointed to allegations of rigged elections, a foisted backlog of 10 years of audit, Omai Gold Mines Ltd. never declaring, a lack of proper auditing of gold and oil production, in addition to oil companies getting away today with unaudited project costs and their-at-first-secret production sharing agreement, “which our governments and oil

Think Engine Institute & Energy Services' Alfred Bhulai companies say is not supposed to be renegotiated.”

Further qualifying his position, he pointed to the bungled US$200M Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project (SSMP). Emphasising the implications of the lack of proper audits and the administrations' successive track records, the Energy Institute spokesperson adumbrated “This is why the calculations behind the revelation of the US$0.07737 price of AFHP electrical energy per kWh must be shown.”

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

Friday November 26, 2021

Rawle Toney Classic is the only FIBA endorsed 3x3 in the region Following the announcement of the Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic basketball tournament that is scheduled to return with season two next year February 19-20, the organiser, Rawle Toney, has indicated that many teams are already showing interest in participating, not only locally but from the region.

The broadcaster mentioned that the reason why the tournament is getting so much traction early on is because it is a FIBA-endorsed 3X3 event which will aid Caribbean players to get muchneeded rating points, especially since the covid19 pandemic had put the brakes on sport. More developed countries/ regions have been able to

bounce back and return to sport but most of the Caribbean and South America have not been so lucky.

For Guyana, like other n a t i o n s , t o b o ost its chances of contesting more flagship FIBA 3×3 tournaments, and most importantly entering the main draw stage, they need to participate in as much FIBA endorsed events as possible.

Speaking to the media, Toney mentioned that it is more important for b a s k e t b a l l p l ayers to participate at a FIBA endorsed tournament because if Guyana wants to qualify to compete at a qualification tournament for the 3X3 World Cup next year, they have to play at least three endorsed tournaments locally.

More importantly, the Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic is the only event that has been approved by FIBA in the region, so the demand by foreign players to compete will be high, with Aruba, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago, all showing strong interest thus far.

The initial tournament was held at the Burnham Court on Middle and Carmichael Streets in 2019 but after the two-year hiatus owing to COVID-19 the tournament will now head to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) which is no stranger to International basketball events.

A total of sixteen teams will play from a grand total of $600,000 in cash prizes and all matches will be live streamed.

NBA roundup: Rockets beat Bulls, end...

From page 28 scored 28 points, leading the way among seven Pacers scoring in double-figures.

Justin Holiday hit four 3pointers en route to 16 points, T.J. McConnell and Caris LeVert each scored 10 points, Myles Turner added 12 points and Domantas Sabonis recorded his 14th doubledouble of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Kings 125, Trail Blazers 121 Buddy Hield made five 3pointers and scored 22 points off the bench to help Sacramento notch a victory over visiting Portland.

De’Aaron Fox scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half for Sacramento but drew two technical fouls and was ejected for arguing with 6:06 left in the game. The Kings also lost Harrison Barnes, who had 13 points before missing the final quarter due to a right foot injury.

Damian Lillard recorded 32 points and 10 assists for

GFSCA to honour the late...

Friday November 26, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Someone you know well could be saying one thing to you while your intuition tells you another.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) A female friend may seem to be upset with you and might not admit it. If you ask what's wrong, she'll probably say, "Nothing."

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Emotions might run high with today's astral energies.

Your friends may be snapping at each other and even getting into quarrels. Stay out of it!

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LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your emotions may cloud your intuition today. You might not pick up on the thoughts and feelings of others the way you normally do, and you could feel at a disadvantage.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today you might feel especially passionate and desirous of some time alone with your significant other.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Your significant other may be expected at your house tonight but not show up, and may not even communicate with you.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Some people with whom you spend a lot of time could get into a debate over spiritual or metaphysical concepts. This could make you and everyone else very uncomfortable.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Someone you need to contact for information may be temporarily unavailable.

You might have to try to find whatever you need somewhere else.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Disagreements and hot tempers could hinder the completion of an important project. There may be a detail to the plan that some people just can't agree on.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You're probably doing better financially than you have for a long time, but you still might not have reached some of the monetary goals you'd set. This could be on your mind today.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You might have gotten home later last night than is good for you, and you may feel a little tired and dragged out. Take your vitamins and don't use coffee as a stimulant.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your parents or another couple close to you may be quarreling, and you might be expected to take sides.

Don't do it! It's better to stand aside.

From page 26 name a few. He was a popular TV personality hosting a daily morning programme with NTN and Cricket Announcer whenever there is Regional and International Cricket in Guyana. (Sean Devers)

Portland, which fell to 1-8 on the road. Jusuf Nurkic scored a season-best 28 points and matched his season high of 17 rebounds and Norman Powell tallied 22 points for the Trail Blazers.

Warriors 116, 76ers 96 Seth Curry scored a teamhigh 24 points to nearly offs e t b r o t h e r St e p h e n ’s game-high 25, but Golden State used greater depth to outlast road-weary Philadelphia for a fifth straight win in San Francisco.

Andrew Wiggins (19 points), Jordan Poole (17), Juan Toscano-Anderson (13), Otto Porter Jr. (12) and Draymond Green (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who rallied from 19 down to record their ninth home win in a row. All nine of the victories in the home streak have been by 12 or more points.

Tyrese Maxey (19) and Danny Green (10) were the only other 76ers to reach double figures on the final night of a long road trip without star big man Joel Embiid (health and safety protocols).

Nets 123, Celtics 104 Patty Mills scored 23

points, Kevin Durant added 21 points and eight assists and Brooklyn routed host Boston as James Harden totaled 20 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for the Nets, who have won four straight and seven of their past eight games.

Durant’s first basket, on a pull-up jumper at 10:05 of the opening quarter, moved him past Allen Iverson (24,368 points) into 25th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Durant finished the night with 24,388 points.

Marcus Smart finished with 20 points and eight assists to pace the Celtics.

Boston’s leading scorer, Jayson Tatum, made just 4 of 16 shots to wind up with 15 points, and Dennis Schroder had just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.

In other results: Bucks 114, Pistons 93 Timberwolves 113, Heat 101 Jazz 110, Thunder 104 Raptors 126, Grizzlies 113 Pelicans 127, Wizards 102 Hawks 124, Spurs 106 Hornets 106, Magic 99 Suns 120, Cavaliers 115 (Field Level Media)

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Friday November 26, 2021

Hutson wants all 13 Nations Application at the crease will be key for Windies going forward in 2022’s 20th S.A. 10k The president of Athletics Guyana (AG), Aubrey Hutson has declared that for the 2022 South America 10k Road Race, he is aiming to have all the 13 countries of South America compete.

This grand gesture is being planned in observance of the 20th edition of the South America 10k race and if it is a success (which is expected), Athletics Guyana may look to have each nation compete at every subsequent edition.

In recent years, the South America 10k that has been a three-leg race beginning in Suriname, then French Guiana with the final in Guyana, and it has seen participants from all over the Caribbean, South America and as far as Africa competing but never has all the members of South America Athletics

(Consudalte) participated.

As is the case with the South American Championships, both Junior and Senior, all of the nations compete with participants from other Caribbean countries being given the option to partake as well.

The budget for the event that is set for November 22 will be in excess of $30 million with Athletics Guyana covering accommodation and airfare.

Huston noted that last Sunday’s successful hosting of the 19th South America 10k road race was testament to the logistical prowess of his administration, and as they look ahead to the 20th edition, they want to ensure that surprise champion Marlon Nicholson is given every opportunity to excel with an early encampment being touted.

GFSCA to honour the late Reyaz Hussain The Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) will honour its former Vice President, the late Reyaz Hussain by way of two T20 matches, a softball and a traditional hardball game at the LBI facility.

The softball game will be an Over 50 contest between M i k e ’s We l l m a n a n d Floodlights. Several guest players who rubbed shoulders with Hussain

during his playing days, will also be involved. That game starts at 10.30am and to be followed by the hardball game. Most of the same players will be involved.

Reyaz, as he was popularly called, was a long serving player and executive of GFSCA. As a matter of fact, he was there from the inception, sixteen years ago until his demise after just passing the age of 50. He served in many positions and

against Sri Lanka, says da Silva Joshua Da Silva

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The late Reyaz Hussain at softball game did so with distinction.

He was the captain of the team on its first overseas tour to Florida. He played a major role in all the tournaments, The Guyana Softball Cup, hosted by GFSCA over the years. He also was a player and then executive of the famous Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and mounded super stars such as Ramnaresh Sarwan, Reon King, Leon Johnson just to (Continued on page 25)

portsMax - West Indies wicketkeeper batsman, Joshua Da Silva, believes application at the crease will be the key for the Caribbean side for the remainder of their Test series against Sri Lanka.

The Windies lost the first test to the Sri Lankans by 187 runs in Galle while only managing to score 230 and 160 in their two turns at the wicket.

The problem, according to Da Silva, was a technical one.

“We played a bit too far in front of us, especially in the first innings,” he said.

Da Silva was one of the bright spots in the second innings, making a well-

played 54 off 125 balls as part of a 100-run partnership with Nkrumah Bonner, who remained not out at the end on 68.

Speaking after the match, Da Silva highlighted the difficulty of the conditions that the batsmen faced.

“Conditions were challenging. The pitch was turning a lot and the straighter ball was sliding on a bit so it was a difficult newball wicket but once the ball got a bit softer, it was a bit easier and we were able to get more on top of the bowlers,” he said.

The Trinidadian also gave some insight into what led to the big second innings partnership with Bonner that saw them take the score from 18-6 to 118-7.

“Well, when I got into the wicket with Bonner we had to rebuild. We had to think about how we were going to get out of a bit of a collapse so we just wanted to bat balls and both of us wanted to be at

the wicket at the end of the day,” said Da Silva.

He also said that Sri Lanka didn’t do anything the Windies didn’t expect going into the game.

“They just played the cricket they know how to play. They used their spinners wisely and they batted well in the conditions they know how to bat very well. They used their home advantage,” he said.

F i n a l l y, D a S i l v a explained what needs to change for the West Indies to turn the series around.

“I just think the boys need to fight. We need to believe in ourselves.

Nobody goes out there to fail. Everybody’s trying their best so just a bit of application and give yourself some time. You have a lot more time than you think,” he said.

The Windies will be looking to even the series in the second test which begins on Sunday at 11:30 pm local time.

Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

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Embuldeniya five-for helps Sri Lanka beat looming rain and West Indies ESPNcricinfo Nkrumah Bonner defied Sri Lanka for 173 balls on day five, Joshua Da Silva joined him for a 100-run, 44.4-over stand, but although the sky was swimming with dark clouds, rain did not arrive until minutes after Sri Lanka claimed the last wicket to clinch victory in Galle.

Having scythed through West Indies’ top order on the fourth evening, Sri Lanka’s spinners were made to toil on day five, bowling 48.3 overs for the last four wickets.

O ff s p i n n e r R a m e s h Mendis had begun the day with four wickets to his name, but it was left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya who finished with a fivewicket haul - the third of his 11-Test career - claiming all but one of the wickets to fall on day five. Praveen Jayawickrama took the other one. Between them, Sri Lanka’s three frontline spinners took 18 wickets in the 187-run victory.

Bonner and da Silva battled hard during their morning resistance, trying few run-scoring strokes, and

Joshua Da Silva and Nkrumah Bonner frustrated Sri Lanka before lunch • Nov 24, 2021 © Associated Press Lasith Embuldeniya removed Joshua Da Silva • Nov 24, 2021 © Associated Press generally displaying a level of concentration and application unseen from West Indies’ batters so far in the match.

They had contrasting styles - Da Silva more comfortable on the front foot, and the more likely of the two to sweep, and rotate strike. They each had good fortune. On a treacherous track, there were edges that fell short of slip, aerial mishits that landed in space, deliveries that barely missed the stumps and the outside edge, and missed chances as well. da Silva could have been run out on 19 when the pair attempted a quick

single, but the cover fielder’s throw missed the stumps.

He could have been caught on 23 when he inside edged a big-spinning Mendis d e l i v e r y, b u t P a t h u m Nissanka could not hold on to a tough chance at leg slip, diving to his right. Later, Nissanka would grass another tough chance at short leg, this time off Bonner. But so long as the rain held off, it seemed as if Sri Lanka would continue to create chances, so rapid was the turn off the surface.

Wi t h D a S i l v a ’s dismissal in the half-hour before lunch, West Indies’ chances of securing a draw

dipped substantially. He had completed a fifty off 121 balls, but was squared up by a turning Embuldeniya delivery a few overs later, with the resultant edge held

by Dhananjaya de Silva at slip.

Rahkeem Cornwall then joined Bonner, and put in a shift that lasted 46 balls until he ran out of patience, toeedging a catch to mid off when he attempted to heave Jayawickrama down the ground. Warrican, the No.

10, saw out 20 balls before he gave a bat-pad catch to silly mid off. Shannon Gabriel, whom Bonner was trying desperately to shield from the strike, was also squared up and caught at slip off Embuldeniya, after a sixball stay. Bonner remained unbeaten on 68 off 220 balls.

The victory was perhaps just reward for Sri Lanka, whose top order led by Dimuth Karunaratne had dominated in both innings, and whose spinners used

helpful conditions well.

They earn 12 World Test Championship points in their first match this cycle. West Indies also have 12 points, but have played three matches.

Scores: Sri Lanka 386 (Karunaratne 147, Chase 583) and 191 for 4 dec (Karunaratne 83, Mathews 69*) beat West Indies 230 (Jayawickrama 4-40) and 160 (Bonner 68*, Embuldeniya 5-46) by 187 runs.

Kaieteur News

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Friday November 26, 2021

Ralf Rangnick: Manchester NBA roundup: United set to appoint German Rockets beat on six-month contract Bulls, end

B

BC Sport Manchester United are close to appointing Ralf Rangnick as interim manager on a sixmonth contract.

The 63-year-old German is poised to join United but will not be in charge this weekend against Chelsea while he waits for his work permit.

United have agreed terms with Rangnick, but not with Lokomotiv Moscow, where he is the head of sports and development.

It comes after United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday following a trophyless three-year spell as boss.

Rangnick won the German Cup with Schalke in 2011 and took RB Leipzig to the final in 2019.

During the 2010-11 season he guided Schalke to the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they lost 6-1 on aggregate to United, who were then beaten by Barcelona in the final.

United are eighth in the Premier League and Solskjaer, who scored the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final for the club, was dismissed following an embarrassing 4-1 loss at Watford on Saturday.

Michael Carrick, Solskjaer’s assistant, was placed in temporary charge, with United saying he would

be in place while they looked to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season.

Carrick took charge of United on Tuesday for the 20 win at Villarreal, a result that ensured they would finish top of their Champions League group.

Rangnick has built an impressive coaching reputation during his time in Germany, chiefly through spells at Stuttgart, Hannover, Hoffenheim, Schalke and RB Leipzig.

He was subsequently in charge of the Red Bull group of clubs and his current club Lokomotiv have a Europa League game against Lazio on Thursday evening and United are mindful of not disturbing their preparation.

Rangnick impressed during an initial conversation with United officials earlier this week.

However, he has held further discussions about his role beyond the end of the season.

Senior United figures believe Rangnick’s expertise will be invaluable from a technical and structural perspective.

The move backs up the Old Trafford outfit’s view that bringing in an interim manager to the end of the season will provide them with space to assess the managerial situation properly.

Mauricio Pochettino is

known to be interested in the United job but the Premier League club are wary of getting into protracted discussions with PSG that could drag on for longer than they want.

It is understood Carrick will remain in charge for Sunday’s game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Former German keeper Lutz Pfannenstiel briefly worked with Rangnick at Hoffenheim and believes his arrival at Old Trafford will be beneficial for United.

“Ralf Rangnick is a big expert, really one of the best coaches or managers Germany produced in the last 15-20 years, I would say,” said Pfannenstiel, who is the sporting director at St. Louis City SC. “Everything he did so far was successful and he always was very clear that if he gets the opportunity to work for a big club in England, he wants to do that.

“So looking at this interim head coach, I think he is the one who really can get everything stabilised to really get Manchester United back on track. I think he probably was the best man on the market.

“We like to call him in Germany, the football professor, everything he does is very well thoughtout, the way he puts structures in place at every club is something amazing.”

15-game drought Reuters - Danuel House Jr. scored 18 points off the bench and served as the spark plug as the Houston Rockets snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 118-113 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

House nailed a 3-pointer with 2:23 left to stall what was a 14-3 Bulls run to within a three-point deficit.

House added a pair of critical free throws after Garrison Mathews sank a corner 3 out of a Chicago defensive trap that lifted the Rockets to a 114-108 lead with 25.5 seconds remaining.

House and Mathews (12 points) both scored in double digits off the bench. The Rockets received 59 bench points while four starters also scored in double figures, paced by Christian Wood, who paired 16 points with 10 rebounds. His sixth and final assist set up the Mathews 3.

Zach LaVine paced the Bulls with 28 points while

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) shoots the ball in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

(Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports) Lonzo Ball scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half.

DeMar DeRozan added 17 points, Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Alex Caruso scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, including two late 3s to fuel the rally.

Lakers 124, Pacers 116 LeBron James scored seven of his season-high 39 points in overtime, and Los Angeles closed its five-game road swing with a defeat of Indiana in Indianapolis.

Los Angeles controlled the extra period, holding the

Philadelphia 76ers guard Seth Curry (31) makes a shot over Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) in the second quarter at the Chase Center. (Cary EdmondsonUSA TODAY Sports)

Pacers to just four points.

James, who missed the would-be game-winner at the end of regulation, connected on a step-back 3pointer and fadeaway jumper in the waning moments to keep Indiana’s rally efforts at bay. Russell Westbrook scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished five assists in the win, which came without Anthony Davis, who missed Wednesday’s game due to a non-COVID illness.

Malcolm Brogdon (Continued on page 25)

Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

Youngsters in deep concentration during a chess event.

PAGE 31

‘Farewell match for Gayle could set bad precedent’ - Analyst believes WI legend must get into squad on merit

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Three tournaments in packed chess weekend In a release to the media, the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) has announced that they will hosting three online chess tournaments beginning tomorrow which are all being sponsored by Mobile Money Guyana (MMG)Inc. (Mmg is a mobile application that allows you to buy, shop, top up, send money, and pay bills through a mmg+ account or a mmg+ agent near you.)

Action gets underway with the mmg+ Online Rapid Female Tournament at 13:00 hrs, while the mmg+ Online Junior and Senior Rapid tournaments commence on Sunday at 13:00 hrs.

The Junior Tournament will be open to all chess players under the age of 20.

Time controls for the Female and Junior tournaments are fifteen minutes with two second increments (15 mins + 2 secs), while the senior tournament is ten minutes with two

CWI hoping to give Chris Gayle a proper send off against Ireland at Sabina Park SportsMax - Cricket West Indies is hoping to give Chris Gayle a proper send-off at Sabina Park when it hosts Ireland for a white-ball series in January next year.

Following a disappointing performance at the ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Gayle had indicated that he would love to play one more match in West Indies colours before his home fans, a request that has divided opinions across the region.

Among those against is noted cricket commentator and analyst Fazeer Mohammed.

“Are you saying somebody is going to be left out on merit to accommodate somebody’s farewell? Give him a testimonial, in the same way, you see in other countries…but I think it’s a dangerous precedent where someone is allowed to play an official international match as a farewell if they don’t deserve that place on merit,” Mohammed said while speaking on Mason & Guest in Barbados this

second increments (10 mins + 2 secs).

Each tournament will be 7 rounds with prizes awarded for the top three finishers.

The prizes up for grabs are: 1st Prize: $10,000 GYD 2nd Prize: $8,000 GYD 3rd Prize: $7,000 GYD The cash will be delivered to the winner’s mmg+ wallet.

The tournaments will be hosted on the Tornelo.com platform with National FIDE arbiters John Lee and Irshad Mohamad managing board pairings and supervising games.

Players interested in competing are invited to register on guyanachess.org.

The federation has been working with mmg+ for some years and is pleased to have them come on board as a sponsor for this weekend’s events.

Chris Gayle

week.

His comments were in response to comments from CWI CEO Johnny Grave, indicating that the board was in discussion with stakeholders in Jamaica, to honour the Universe Boss with a T20 International against the Irish.

“That would be, hopefully, if fans are allowed into Sabina, a good opportunity for us to say farewell to Chris at his home ground,” Grave said on Mason&Guest.

“We are still talking to the government of Jamaica around the protocols and the ability to play the series there but I hope within the next few days we can confirm that series, one, taking place and two, being held in Jamaica.

“It would certainly be appropriate, as far as I can see, to treat our players and give them the opportunity to bow out, especially players like Chris, who have had unbelievable careers and won trophies for the West Indies.”

portsMax - Cricket commentator and analyst, Fazeer Mohammed, believes using an official international fixture to bid farewell to legendary T20 batsman Chris Gayle could set a bad precedent.

The 42-year-old batsman was widely expected to call time on his career following an unsuccessful ICC T20 Wo r l d C u p c a m p a i g n .

F o l l o w i n g t h e t e a m ’s elimination from the tournament, however, the big-hitting left-hander suggested that he may be given one more game, at Sabina Park, in his home country of Jamaica, to bid a final farewell to international cricket.

The suggestion has divided opinion.

While

some believe that paying tribute to a player who has scored the most runs ever in the format, with 14,321, others believe he should simply have moved on following the end of the tournament. In the past, the regional board has been accused of not honouring players that have made a huge mark for the West Indies, but some insist an exception should not be made for Gayle if his form does not merit a place in the squad.

Mohammed, however, believes the solution could lie somewhere in-between.

“It’s another thing to see a situation where a player has basically called for a farewell, called for an opportunity to play a final match,” Mohammed told the

Mason and Guest radio show.

“Gayle also wanted to play a last Test in Jamaica thankfully that was not granted because I think that is going down a road where players of a certain stature are making demands, which I don’t think should be entertained as far as the international structure of cricket,” he added.

“Are you saying somebody is going to be left out on merit to accommodate somebody’s farewell? Give him a testimonial, in the same way, you see in other countries…but I think it’s a dangerous precedent where someone is allowed to play an official international match as a farewell if they don’t deserve that place on merit.”

LeBron James has two courtside Pacers fans ejected in overtime win over Indiana The two fans that were ejected following LeBron James’ complaint to the match official. (The Action Network/Twitter)

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ahoo Sports - A pair of fans sitting courtside at Gainbridge Fieldhouse were kicked out on Wednesday night after allegedly saying something to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

James, midway through overtime of their 124-116 overtime win against the Indiana Pacers, grabbed an official and walked directly at the two fans in their seats.

James pointed directly at the two fans, who were then quickly escorted off the floor

and out of the arena.

It wasn’t clear exactly what the two fans said initially, though they clearly set James off.

They also didn’t seem too bothered during their walk out of the arena, and made faces to the crowd as they received a small ovation on their way to the tunnel.

James didn’t specify what the fans did exactly after the game, but hinted that they were either using obscene gestures or language. Either of those things, he said, aren’t

acceptable whatsoever.

“When obscene gestures and language come into it, can’t be tolerated,” James said, via CBS4’s Chris Widlic.

James finished Wednesday night with a season-high 39 points to lead the Lakers to the win. He dropped eight of Los Angeles’ 12 points in overtime, and added six assists and five rebounds. It was his first game back after being suspended following an altercation with Pistons center Isaiah Stewart.

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Kaieteur News

Friday November 26, 2021

Iyer and Jadeja revive India to 258-4 vs NZ on Day 1 New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson celebrates the dismissal of India’s Mayank Agarwal with his teammates during the day one of their first test cricket match in Kanpur, India, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

KANPUR, India (AP) — Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja revived India in an unbeaten partnership of 113 to 258-4 against New Zealand at stumps on the first day of the first cricket test yesterday.

India was reduced to 145-4 halfway through the middle session but Iyer

progressed to 75 not out in his test debut, and Jadeja was 50 not out.

Play was called off owing to bad light with six overs remaining.

India was well placed at 82-1 at lunch — Mayank Agarwal fell early for 13 to Kyle Jamieson — but lost the other opener Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Ajinkya Rahane.

Gill scored his fourth test half-century when Jamieson bowled him through the gate on 52 off 93 balls. Gill hit five fours and a six.

Eight overs later, Pujara was caught behind off Tim Southee in a repeat of the batsman’s dismissals against Australia and England — edging outside off stump.

Pujara scored 26 and India was 106-3.

Rahane added 39 runs for the fourth wicket with Iyer when Jamieson returned and castled Rahane on 35 for his third wicket.

New Zealand’s gains in the middle session began to fade, however, as Iyer and Jadeja dug in.

Iyer picked his moments against the spinners as he struck seven fours and two sixes. He reached his maiden test half-century off 94 balls.

Jadeja was patient and solid at the other end as the duo took India past 200 runs.

He scored his 17th test halfc e n t u r y o ff 9 9 b a l l s , including six fours.

Their 100-run partnership came off 192 deliveries.

Most of New Zealand’s workload was shared in 45 wicketless overs by left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, playing his 10th test, and offspinner William Somerville, playing his fifth. The debutant, batting allrounder Rachin Ravindra, bowled seven overs of left-arm spin.

New Zealand picked three spinners but the fast bowlers took the wickets, Jamieson 3-47 and Southee 1-43.

“We found some swing early. It was up and down a little bit,” Jamieson said.

“Hopefully the new ball swings a little bit in the morning. India is a fraction ahead, I think.

“We hung around pretty well and we need a good start in the morning.”

India has rested key senior players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah for this two-test series. This is also a first test assignment for new coach Rahul Dravid, who started his tenure in the preceding Twenty20 series with a 3-0 win over the New Zealanders.

This is the first test between the teams since the final of the inaugural world test championship in June, won by New Zealand in Southampton.

India hasn’t lost a home test against New Zealand since 1988.

Scores: India 258 for 4 (Iyer 75*, Gill 52, Jadeja 50*, Jamieson 3-47) vs New Zealand.

India’s Shreyas Iyer, left, congratulates his teammate Ravindra Jadeja, right, after he scored 50 runs. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Friday November 26, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 33

GuySuCo to give Enmore youths Christmas golf experience Children from the orphanage enjoying the game.

Coaches/ Players Avinash Persaud (left) and Joaan Deo (right) with the children and other members of the orphanage following a session.

GuySuCo plans to join with the Nexgen Golf Academy to ensure that youths from the Enmore Orphanage and surrounding area are given the opportunity to experience a grand holiday celebration in a safe manner.

CEO Sasenarine Singh said, “This is an important part of commitment to the corporate social responsibility of GuySuCo that ensures all persons within our communities benefit from our presence.”

Mr. Singh plans to provide the youths with a covid-19 compliant day of activity at the Nexgen Golf Academy and will provide transportation to the ground, refreshments, photos with Santa/Christmas background and a chance to play golf and win prizes.

This is a continuing event that the Nexgen Group has been involved with since 2018 and GuySuCo plans partner with them to brighten Christmas for children in the years to come. Alicia RahimFernandes, Special Projects Officer explained that, “Every child deserves an opportunity to enjoy the festive season and our organization is extremely involved in providing homes and families with the reasons to celebrate.”

“GuySuCo is especially intertwined with Enmore area since the launch of Enmore Crystals brand of sugar that is specially formulated for better cakes and drinks, making holiday

ginger beer and black cake taste so much better.”

The CEO also emphasized that this commitment to Enmore is only the beginning and there are many great plans to i n c r e a s e G u y S u C o ’s involvement in all areas in which they operate and he sees the sport as an integral way of making this reality.

“We have produced many athletes from our estates and believe that there is tremendous talent just waiting to be discovered, both in terms of work and sport from our workers. We will do our best to open doors for everyone in the years to come.”

“The Enmore Orphanage is grateful for the support that we have received over the years from Mr. Hussain and appreciate the involvement by GuySuCo that will mean a lot for our youths,” said Mr. Kenneth Finlayson, Director of the Orphanage.

Mr. Hussain stated that the approach by GuySuCo was welcomed and would make a tremendous impact on the lives of these and other kids who will be given the opportunity to enjoy a sport that they would normally be excluded from due to cost and accessibility.

“We wish to thank Mr. Singh and the management team of GuySuCo for this fantastic initiative and look forward to working with them to promote golf to all estates around the country.”

Golf has risen to national prominence in the past few

years as evidenced by the Minister of Sports Honorable Charles Ramson’s recent remarks that government is planning to invest in several courses in the coming years.

Hussain feels that with over 8,000 school children having access to the sport through the efforts of the Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit, and it being on the PE syllabus, it is only a matter of time before Guyana becomes a golf tourism destination.